Prytaneum
Brewing
"Hey Percy, why is your shield glowing?" Welf asked as he sat down beside me.
"It's magic," I brushed off, as I'd been doing all day. "Don't worry about it."
Welf blinked slowly at that and then shrugged.
"Cool," He said before looking around. "We've never really been her during the day, have we? It sure is different!"
I nodded in agreement, following his lead. We were in the Hostess of Fertility, but for lunch instead of supper. Since we, and most other adventurers, usually spent our daylight hours working in the Dungeon, we hadn't really stopped by this place when it was actually open for the day, only coming by early in the morning when they were setting up or at night. During the day, it really was more of a café than anything else, catering to more civilian crowds, which gave it a vastly different feel. It wasn't somber or subdued or anything like that, but it was a pretty stark contrast from the general noise that adding alcohol to a large group of adventurers resulted in.
The same waitresses as always were moving through the shop, tending to the patrons, but they seemed less busy. Not so much because there were less people because the bar was very obviously popular—but the patrons during the day probably couldn't drop tens of thousands of valis on a single night's food without a second thought. One of them, a human girl Syr had introduced as Lunoire Faust, had already approached my table and asked if I wanted to order anything, saying that Syr herself was on break, but I'd just told her I'd wait. I still wasn't good enough with the language or the local cuisine to be sure of what I was ordering without someone around to help me decide, and it's not like I didn't have the time. I'd just wait until Syr came by and let her do as she willed.
"But man, how cool is it that we both Leveled Up?" Welf asked, relaxing in his seat and still looking excited, even though it had been nearly a day since it happened. "I mean, of course we did after that mess, but still. Ugh, I can't wait!"
"Wait for what?" I asked absently, still watching the door.
"For a lot of things, I guess," Welf mused after a short pause. "I mean, I've been waiting for this for so long and now I don't know what to do first. Now that I have Blacksmith, there are so many things I can finally do. Make you some better armor, put a bunch of those drop items we've been saving to good use, maybe even remake that dagger of yours. Well, but I'm still not sure what to do with it yet—if I'm remaking it, I can't let my craftsmanship fall short, you know?"
At the mention of Annabeth's dagger, I blinked and looked his way, pulling my eyes off the door.
"You don't have to worry about it so much," I said after a moment, memories tugging at my heart despite the words. "Now that I have this shield especially, I probably won't be using it much. It's…just a memento, I guess."
"Then…do you mind if I hold onto it for a little bit longer?" Welf asked after a moment of hesitation. When I raised an eyebrow, he hurried to explain. "It's just…if I do it now, when my skills only at this level, I'd feel disappointed…I guess? Even if it's not something you intend to use, it's something important to you, right? So since it's something for a friend and something that matters to you a lot, I want to give it my all."
"Well…That's fine, I guess," I said, nodding and then tilting my head. "Does that mean we're going to continue?"
"Huh?" He asked, sounding confused.
"As party members," I clarified. "You just wanted to gain Blacksmith, right?"
"Oh yeah," Welf said slowly, as if only now remembering. He looked embarrassed until he just laughed at himself, shaking his head. "Well, my situation hasn't really changed, you know? I mean, I've only gone from a low-rank blacksmith to a third-rate blacksmith—I can't just stop here, right? Over half the people in my Familia are Level 2 and my Blacksmith ability is only at 'I' right now; something that's amazing for me now, but nothing to write home about. If I want to really call myself a master smith, I have to reach much higher than that. 'F' is the bare minimum if I want to call myself that and what I'm aiming for is far above that still. I…want to make something that amazes even Hephaestus."
"Sounds tough," I said. "How far do you have to go to do that?"
"Farther that anyone in my Familia ever has," He said wistfully, looking away. "At least 'E', in that case—but even that's probably not enough. 'D', 'C', maybe even higher…! Hephaestus is still so far above me I can't even see her. I still have a long way to go."
I nodded, but didn't answer him, because even I could do that math. Improving Developmental Abilities wasn't something that was tied directly to Levels, but it was still something ludicrously hard to do and there were parallels. He was talking about being the best smith the Hephaestus Familia had ever had—the best smith in the entire world—and that probably meant at least Level 5 or 6.
It was something that was still a long, long way off.
"That's why I need to rely on you awhile longer, Percy," Welf said, closing his eyes and turning my way with a smile. "Same as before, of course, and I'll still provide all the equipment you need. I'm still not sure I'm good enough, but I'll keep working to keep up with you and become a great smith—"
"Your explanation is too long," I said, cracking my neck. "You should have just said we should stick together because we're friends."
Welf's smile faded before returning, this time looking more honest.
"My bad," He said. "Don't know what came over me."
"Mhm," I hummed back, crossing my arms on the table and resting my chin upon them. "I told you already, but it could be awhile, though."
"No problem, man," Welf replied. "I've got enough ideas to keep me working for a couple months, even without your help. Add in some stuff created with Mystery and who knows what I could make? We'll be partners in crafting from now on, right? Even just having a source of Undine Silk is amazing, you know?"
"Really?" I asked. "It's not much more durable than normal cloth, though."
"Maybe," He admitted. "But the power woken into that stuff is beyond even a High Smith's abilities in ways, just because of the magic woven into it—even assuming it doesn't get any better. Now that you're a Level 2…actually, speaking of which, did you decide on what Developmental Ability you wanted?"
"Not yet, but I guess I'm learning towards Hunter," I said. "Both because of its use and because I can't get it any other time. It makes me worry about what I might miss out on by not taking anything else though…."
"Mm, must be tough," Welf said, nodding. "It was easy for me because I wanted Blacksmith more than anything, but I can get it being hard to pick one. Hunter's not a bad choice, though! But that might just be the smith in me talking, since Hunter would help in getting drop items, too. Between it and you being monster bait, we could churn out the stuff."
"Lili's going to have to carry it all, you realize," I reminded him.
"Oh, right…well, we'll think of something. Maybe I can finally make something for Mrs. O'Leary, like we talked about?"
"Would be nice," I said. "The only other option I'm really thinking about is Mage, because of all the magic I use—and because of that spell book thing you talked about."
"Grimoires?" Welf wondered, nodding. "Would be pretty sweet to be able to just make stuff like that. I mean, a book that can make you learn magic is just wow. And those things sell, man. But on the hand…might be a good idea to wait, for that same reason. You need two Developmental Abilities to make them, right? Meaning you need to be at least Level 3 to begin with—and besides you, only three other people are known to have Mystery, period. You start making those things at Level 2, it's not going to make you stand out any less."
"What Level do you usually need to be to make magic swords?"
"Fair point," He replied. "But keep in mind—that's both a known fact and has cause more than a bit of trouble. Maybe not a great example."
I inclined my head at that, bobbing my eyebrows in concession.
"But…on the other hand, I could give you and Lili more spells…" I murmured, partially to myself.
"Man—is that what you're worried about?" Welf said, laughing to himself.
"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked, confused.
"No," He said. "It's very…you. It's just that most people would probably think more about the fact that they could buy a hundred houses than on just giving them away."
"What would I do with a hundred houses?" I asked, even more confused.
"Who knows," Welf replied, shrugging. "High-class adventurers make absurd amounts of money, compared to you and me, but I have no idea what I'd even do with it all. Buy a lot of adventuring equipment, I guess."
"I don't need stuff like that, since I already have you," I said matter-of-factly. "I mean, you're my smith, right?"
"I am, but…well, if you made that kind of money, you could buy stuff from someone way better that me."
"Sounds like a pain in the ass," I said. "Wasn't the deal that I wouldn't have to buy equipment? You should just become a better smith."
"You say stuff like that so easily…" Welf said with a chuckle. "But…well, I'll figure something out."
"Cool," I said, going back to watching the door. "So what do you think about grimoires? If you want one, I'll just pick Mage."
"You should be less easy-going with stuff like that," Welf told me. "But…while I can't speak for Lili, I can make do with what I've got. Or rather, I wouldn't want you to waste any chances for my sake. It'd be awesome to have magic like yours, don't get me wrong—but nobody has magic like yours. If I get some super-spell, it'll probably have a long chant attached to it, which means I have to either compensate for it or not use it. In comparison, magic swords are more convenient, you know?"
"I thought you weren't going to make any?" I asked. "The Goliath thing excluded, I mean."
"I wasn't but…if it's to keep my friends safe, it's probably okay," He murmured to himself. "It got us in a lot of trouble with the Soma Familia, but…I can't ignore the fact that if I'd had one on hand, we wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble yesterday. So…as long as we're careful, it should be okay, right? So don't just think about what you have to do to help me; pick whatever you think is best. I'm sure Lili feels the same way."
I sighed slowly, frowning to myself. He might have had a point. By default, adventurers can only have three spells—baring special circumstances—and I already had all of mine. Lili now had two, meaning I could potentially teach her one more, while Welf stood to gain the most with two, but Welf had his magic swords as well. But…
"I guess," I said. "It's just that…"
"It's fine to worry," Welf said. "As long as you don't forget to worry about yourself now and then, too."
"I suppose…"