Even though I emerged victorious, I did not defeat the beast I wanted. Henry was my ultimate target. Once he catches wind of the beating that his brother endured, he would surely set out to seek payback. As I was leaving the premises, a number of students came to congratulate me; but I could tell that they were only putting on a facade because I was strong.
I took a detour from my usual routine and went around town looking for things to buy, after all, I obtained coins from Xavier's mother. 2 of these coins would go to Jasper as I at least wanted to help him out a bit and the rest would remain mine. After entering several shops and being left unimpressed by the lack of quality items, I noticed a small store in a dark alleyway.
I walked through the passage way and was met with ominous stares from strange looking orcs. I paid no heed to the strangeness of the situation and walked towards the shop. My expectations were as low as they could be. The wooden building was nearly caving in on itself; the rotten wood panels on the structure's front gave the impression that they could fall down at any minute. The glass windows were shattered and barricaded with metal bars. This looked more like a bandit stronghold than a shop, but nevertheless, I still walked in.
"Hello is anyone here," I yelled.
My shout received no reply and prompted me to venture further into the shop. Bizarrely, the inside was much nicer than the outside. The floor was lined in large white tiles and the walls was adorned with decorative elements; there were several chandeliers lighting up the place. The products were displayed under glass cases and appeared to be decent items. The quality kept on increasing until the end of the room, however, there was a door with presumably more items behind.
I knocked once again, but this time, I received an answer. The polished metal door swung open and a tall muscular orc greeted me. The beast had coal on him and wore an apron paired with leather gloves. His presence evoked a sense of reverence in me.
"What do you want?"
"I'm looking around for some items," I replied.
"Anything specific?" he asked.
"No."
"Come on in," he said.
I was in awe; I couldn't put what I saw into words. The bright light reflected off of the shiny metal surfaces and blinded me. The blades looked sharp and gave off the impression of being unbreakable.
The blacksmith and I engaged in a friendly conversation and I got some information about him. Thomas was actually the best blacksmith in this tribe. He equaled or surpassed the most talented blacksmiths from the other eight tribes and even the capital tribe. All of the upper echelon bought their weapons and armor from him.
"Why are you in such a remote and scary place then?" I asked.
"I only do business with people who aren't scared of coming here," he said while laughing.
His logic made sense. If you were his target customer, a couple of ruffians would not be anything to be concerned about.
"You're still tiny and young so getting you something big and heavy would only be an expensive waste."
"Would you be interested in this?" he said while pointing to a pitch-black vest.
"What's this?" I asked
"This is a modular vest," he replied.
"A what?"
The vest's name made me even more confused; what about it was modular? This was just a black garment.
"This vest adapts to your body. It will shrink to fit you perfectly and as you grow, it'll expand with you," he said.
My mind was blown even more; orcs had this kind of technology? Even us humans did not have expanding clothes.
"What are the vest's properties?"
"I provides you with increased protection, a slight speed and strength boost. It can shield strikes from swords with ease; granted your opponent has understood less than 2 chapters," he replied.
"How much is it?"
"Twenty gold coins," he said.
My heart dropped; that was four times the average price. I hesitated to give an answer and started stuttering.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't have enough money to pay for your product."
"How much do you have?" he asked.
"Three gold coins."
He stroked his chin for about five minutes before a smile emerged on his face.
"Let's do it!"
I nearly jumped up in joy; I was getting my hands on what could only be described as a work of art for a fraction of it's original price.
"Try it on," the old orc said.
I removed the rag that I used as a shirt and donned the brand new vest. At first, three of me could fit into it, but as soon as it came into contact with my body, it began shrinking until it was skin-tight.
"Take this and try to cut yourself," he said while throwing a sword at me.
I caught it by the hilt and inspected it; it was an average sword, most likely not his work. I pointed the blade at me and slashed across my chest and there was, nothing. I did not feel anything.
"So how do you find it?"
"It's awesome!"
After giving him the three gold coins, I took my leave and rushed back to Jasper's place.
[Back at the blacksmith]
"Why did you give him the vest for so cheap, master?"
A young orc asked as he emerged from another room and approached Thomas; the beast had even more coal on him!
"My dear apprentice, sometimes you need to be able to discern talented individuals and help them. You don't know when you'll need them."
"Also Hunter asked me to look out for him," he added.
As I swung the door open and entered the cottage, Jasper was about to yell at me when he noticed my new acquisition and only nodded.
"Did you forget about training?"
"Yes I did..."