Heading into Distinctly Lavish with Ignatius behind him, Loki waves at Elsie and she walks over to them.
Directing them to their seats she says, "It's good to see you again Ignatius! I never thought I'd see you leave your store again after your valiant efforts. Oh! Your food will be ready shortly, sit tight and we'll get you both eating."
"Valiant efforts? Are you a hero of sorts, boss?" asked Loki.
"Not really, there was a huge attack on the city and I just helped kill a few and supplied weapons where I could. It was no big deal, but I can tell you that story later though." replied Ignatius.
"Okay, well, I want to ask about if you've had any previous apprentices? What were they like?" asked Loki, wondering if he's a good apprentice or not.
"Hmm, well, other than you, I've only had one apprentice. I have to say your ability to learn outweighs theirs by a vast margin. However, they were persistent and, just like you, she never gave up."
"She? A girl was your apprentice? How good was she as a blacksmith?" asked Loki.
"Yes, she was a girl, and she was go-" Ignatius got cut off by Elsie coming in, placing their food and drinks, beer for Ignatius and a fruity juice for Loki, in front of them.
"Here ya go boys, the best rabbit stew we can offer!" Elsie said with pride.
Before continuing their conversation, they thanked Elsie and took a few bites of the stew. It was small chunks of meat in a soupy broth with some steamed carrots and spices that mix perfectly with the meat and vegetables. The aroma was incredible as the freshest spices used to create a smooth and delectable stew that they both felt that they could eat endlessly.
Ignatius takes a sip of the beer that was given to them with the stew before continuing his story, "As I was saying, her name was Valentine, and she was one of the most persistent people I've ever met. Always wanting to learn and grow, she even began to create Epic grade weapons but with a very small chance."
"Woah, Epic grade? I'm still very far from Rare grade..." Loki said self-deprecatingly as he compared himself.
Ignatius saw this and proceeded to smile before comforting Loki, "Don't compare yourself too much, that was after 4 years of endless work. She probably could've gotten further if her fate wasn't against her."
"Her fate was against her? What happened?" asked Loki in curiosity.
"How do I explain? Well, let's just say I didn't learn about her name until a few years after meeting her, and I learned that she is a part of a larger world than I could've thought from a hard working girl." Ignatius answered.
Ignatius decides to continue, "There is a place in this world where Affinity users are plentiful and we call them Lineages. Valentine was a part of it; I don't know how much involvement but she ended up catching the eye of a prince from another kingdom and her family wished to gain their techniques. They demanded she enter their family. However, her pride wouldn't let her be taken by some prince she never met and she ran away, meeting me in the middle of a forest."
"Wow, I have so many questions. What are the Lineages? Are they powerful?" Loki asked in rapid succession.
"Haha, I'll answer your second question first. You could call them the most powerful force in the world; 7 families united under a banner calling themselves 'Sunderin Heptarchy', each controlling their own region, but fighting for the same cause: Family." answered Ignatius.
Ignatius said, "To get more specific on your first question, Lineages are families that carry a specific banner with a deeper meaning. They represent the Seven Deadly Sins, each born of a lineage carrying traits of their respective sin. Gluttony feast on knowledge; Wrath inherently gets angry easily. Other sins as well but you'll learn of them in due time. For now, let's eat; my stew is getting cold dammit."
"Interesting… I want to learn more about them, but thanks for the story!" replied Loki before chowing down and enjoying the remainder of dinner in silence.
After dinner, the duo head out after saying goodbye to Elsie and return to the smithy. Loki is lost in his thoughts about what to do next and Ignatius asks "When are you heading to the cathedral?"
"Oh! I forgot. Probably tomorrow; I still don't know what to really expect from tiering up though. Do you?" Loki decides to ask Ignatius in hopes he can give him more info on what it means to tier up.
Ignatius facepalms in exasperation, "I forget you don't know anything. Well, tiering up means you upgrade your entire being, monsters don't have tiers but a constant growth rate, however humans grow exponentially after each tier. An example would be 2x strength 2x Vitality 0.5x Agility 2x Charisma, depending on your first class upgrade which you'll find out more of tomorrow."
"Oh okay, I understand. I'm excited to see what my class is going to be. I hope it's something cool!" exclaimed Loki thinking about wielding magic more.
Thinking about magic, Loki remembers he can go see the Guild Master to learn about his Nature affinity now that he has reached level 10. He sets his plan to do that after visiting the Cathedral. Then, Loki wants to head out for more quests and see if he can become a Rank D adventurer.
"I'm going to head to bed, then I'll be heading to the Cathedral and then the adventurer's guild to hopefully learn more about Nature magic. Goodnight!" said Loki, yawning while walking towards his room.
"Good night and sleep well, you'll need it. If I don't see you in the morning then good luck kid. I'm excited to see you reach a new height." Ignatius responded with a big yawn of his own.