I turned the corner. Only to be met with a dusty and old shop front.
I could feel the disapproval of the people around me. They thought of me as some rich asshole.
An easy target that could do nothing but watch as he was robbed.
And I couldn't blame them, the ensemble that I was wearing right now was pretty fancy. And I didn't really look the part of a warrior.
It was a gift from Nia, though I couldn't really call it one.
She had finally been fed up with my homeless look and had given me some clothes to wear.
Incidentally they were extremely fancy.
Though seeing as I had nothing else to wear I couldn't really complain.
But back to the people in front of me.
Their gazes were fixed on me. Like hungry wolves.
And although I had Nia attached tk my back they still didn't back off.
I could tell that most of them were at least as capable as me. If not as skilled and well equipped.
They must not have been climbing the tower for a while before they hit a roadblock and decided to be homeless.
I took hold of En and found myself glaring at them. My mana flaring into the air.
Signaling my intention to kill them.
They backed off a bit, giving me room to maneuver into the store.
It seemed like I wouldn't have to deal with getting robbed. They must have thought that it would have been too much trouble for them.
…
"What do you dirty bastards want now!" A voice yelled, breaking me from my thoughts.
I looked over and saw what looked to be a dwarf.
He was quite stout, his body only coming up to my chest.
"Oh?" He said gazing at me with a clinical eye.
"A firstie, not even conquered the second floor and your over in this hellhole."
He laughed, obviously mocking me. But that laugh soon died down as his gaze found its way to En.
He seemed to freeze before an immense pressure fell upon me.
"Where did you get this?!" I was frozen at the words, his hands gripping the collar of my shirt.
I hissed in pain before coming to my senses in anger.
I felt his hand reach to steal En, and with it I could feel the anger and hate at being separated from me.
"Let go of her!" I yelled.
"Her?" He asked dropping me to the floor and taking En in his hands.
"Yes, her. I forged En"
"Forged her? You?"
He practically spit on the ground.
"Your a fraud, I've only seen this type of craftsmanship once and it was not made by some brats hand."
I glared at him before grabbing En back from him.
For a moment he froze and I took that opportunity to take her back.
I felt the hum of warmth she gave me and smiled before looking back.
She had used something in order to weaken the man.
"Look man, I didn't come here or to have my work stolen. I came for ores and ingots. If you can't provide that then I'll go."
"Find what you want, but I'll be keeping an eye on you."
…
"I want these, ring me up." I said practically growling.
Despite our differences and hostility I could still recognize quality and these were of the highest.
I wouldn't deprive myself of such a valuable resource just because of my own feelings.
I could feel En's disapproval, but it wasn't at the man but at the thought that I would make something better than her.
I had to strike her and whisper soft nothings to her ti get her out of that mindset.
"That'll be 250 points."
I nodded and went to lay before my hand was grasped in a tight grip.
"Show me you actually forged her and I'll give this all to you free."
It was finally now that I noticed what he was up to.
He was using the products that I so obviously wanted and offering them to me so as to verify my word.
I scoffed and turned my head.
"Fine."
What, you thought I would decline. Points are points and I wanted as much of them as I could.
Especially with the privilege that I had.
…
I walked into the back of the shop, watching as the dwarf in front of me lit the fire of the forge.
He gestured to me and I took my place in front of him.
From the piles of metal that I had obtained from him I found myself picking a few.
Some that were extremely hard when forged and others that were soft and flexible.
For a moment I just took a breath before I activated my magic circuits.
I took the metal to the forge and found myself thinking of nothing more than protection.
I remembered the many times that I had been pierced by arrows, cut by swords, poisoned by daggers.
And then I found myself imbuing those feelings into the metal.
Even as I worked through them, hammering them into submission and shape.
Every hammer took with it my mana and that mana took the form of pure protection.
If my desire ti not be hit, ti not be hurt.
It took everything and condensed it into a set of armor.
Hours later, after everything had cooled, I found myself wearing the new armor.
It fit perfectly in me and even as I tried ti move in various complex ways I found myself not wanting for any flexibility.
It was as if I was naked. There was no weight and nothing hindering my movements.
I smiled at my achievement. It wasn't the best that I had done, as I felt the swords that I had made were of higher quality but it was still good nonetheless.
[Flexible Plate Armor]
[Made from a smith's desire to avoid all damage. A rank two defensive item that allows for full flexibility and weightlessness while wearing it.]