Prytaneum
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"Idiot!" Wayland scolded, scowling fiercely as he watched Welf work. "Do you think you're a master now that you have Blacksmith? That it's all you'll ever need?"
"Dammit!" Welf swore, glaring down at the steel he was forging, keeping his hand steady. "It is all I need, you ass!"
Wayland spat into the flames, glowering at the younger smith.
"That's we you're nothing but an amateur," Wayland snapped. "It should go without saying that a smith should be diverse! Have you even thought about where you'll go next? What Developmental Ability you'll aim for next!?"
"I Leveled up a few days ago!" Welf shouted back. "Give me a fucking break!"
"With that attitude, it's no wonder you lag behind!" Wayland shouted. "At least have the guts to decide for yourself! Metalworking, Mixing, or something else!?"
Tilting my head at the conversation, I looked towards Ryuu, who stood near me at the edge of the heat. Wayland had probably been standing in forges for decades, Welf had the Undine Silk stuff I'd made for him, and I was me, which left Ryuu as the one least equipped to deal with spending hours near an Inferno Stone. Though she hadn't complained, she began sweating almost immediately, and while I could have transformed everything she was wearing into Undine Silk as well, what she was wearing was her uniform and it was a fairly irrevocable process. Since I didn't want to ruin it when she was already going to be in trouble, I just took off my already Undine Silk shirt and leant it to her. She'd been understandably hesitant and embarrassed, at least by her standards, but there's embarrassment and there's 'this forge is literally a hundred and fifty degrees inside, even away from the flames.'
Having said that, it was a bit hard for me to look at her. A good chunk of that was for pretty obvious reasons—shelter from the heat or not, a girl was wearing my shirt; a shirt I was no longer wearing. Just being shirtless wasn't that big of a deal for me, not with everything that happened at Camp, but this was different and all the battles and games and tragically destroyed shirts in the world didn't change that.
The rest was the fact that it was almost comically huge on her. Ryuu wasn't tiny the way Hestia or Lili were, and in fact seemed to be above average height-wise in Orario and the tallest of the Hostess' waitresses. Even if she was five-five and I was over six feet tall, that alone would just have made the shirt seem pretty large. The real issue was that Ryuu was nowhere near as broad-shouldered as I was or as bulky—even for a woman her size, as an elf, she was very thin. As such, even if the shirt itself wasn't too long, it looked like it could have fit two of her in there, and she had to actually hold it closed. But even wearing her waitress uniform underneath, she wasn't sweating anymore.
"Is it that big a deal?" I asked, making myself ignore it yet again by focusing on my work. In a bowl, I ground a bunch of the plants I'd bought with a mortar and pestle, reducing them to a fine powder before adding a bit of water to mix it into a paste. When that was done, I added the blood-filled Nectar I'd made, half filling the bowl and mixing it again, this time stirring it into something almost like paint, which I then began to paint on the surface of the light-armor Wayland had provided me with. It wasn't quite free, but I was apparently paying for it by enchanting it and giving it to Ryuu, so…good enough.
"For many adventurers, Developmental Abilities are exceedingly important choices," Ryuu said, still seeming uncomfortable in my shirt. "Because of the amount of appropriate excilia required and the limited number of opportunities, many must work long in advanced to prepare for the acquisition of one they desire. While some can be obtained with relative ease, many are extremely difficult to gain, even with years of work."
"Is it that difficult?" I wondered, frowning as I remembered the choices I'd been given when I Leveled Up.
"For many adventurers, yes," Ryuu replied and I noticed her wording. "It's not uncommon for adventurers to have less Developmental Abilities than their Levels might indicate, simply because they couldn't meet the conditions required. As such, it's a matter of great forethought and preparation for many adventurers, as the ability taken can have enough effects on their owner. While this is obviously important in the Dungeon and in battle, however, it's also very important to the business Familia in Orario."
"Because those without them can't compete with those that have them," I remembered. "Welf said something like that."
"Precisely," Ryuu said. "And a difference in ranks can potentially have the same effect; as such, many are forced to decide precisely what they want to focus on. For instance, while most members of the Hephaestus Familia obtain Blacksmith as a matter of course upon, there comes the question of what's to be focused on next. Though it may not seem like it, Mixing is often a popular choice among smiths, for several reasons. One is simply offer a broader array of items to potential customers, but perhaps more important is the production of alchemical reagents. Used properly, its possible for a user of Mixing to create liquids that can harden or alter metals, tend to and protect them, or countless other things, depending on their resources and skills."
Ryuu tilted her head and looked at me.
"It's possible you might benefit from Mixing as well, Mr. Jackson," She said.
I looked down at the Nectar-infused mixture I'd made and had to agree. I'd already decided that, if and when I reached Level 3, I would take Mage for my next Developmental Ability, because adventuring was still my priority. Making items like this helped that, as did selling them for a profit, but not to the extent that I thought Mage would. After that, however…I had no idea. I hadn't really thought that far, because it didn't really matter until after I was Level 3 and I had no idea what would be going on by the time I reached that point. I had a decent array of options when it came to Developmental Abilities, too, so there was a fair bit to choose from.
However…if possible, I'd rather just enchant another's work, like I was doing now with this armor. The results probably wouldn't be as good as they'd be if I actually did everything myself, but it was still pretty damn good. Nectar, though…Nectar was something only I could make and it was playing a part in more and more of my creations now. If Mixing would affect it—and the things I made from it—it might not be a bad choice, though I liked to rely on Miach when it came to potions and such. But maybe I could talk to him about it.
"What about Metalworking?" I asked. "I mean, the ability to work with metal, I guess, but how's that different from Blacksmith?"
"They're related," Ryuu replied. "And as a result, Metalworking is a fairly popular choice among Hephaestus Familia as well. If Blacksmith is the ability used to create armor and weapons, then Metalworking is the ability to work it into less direct forms. Necklaces that allow one to resist poisons, bracelets that improve one's Status while worn, glasses that allow one to see in the dark, and so on. It's a useful ability and having both in conjunction can greatly improve the quality of a Blacksmith's work, due to the overlap between them, which is why some Blacksmiths have been known for incorporating complex designs and decorations into their armor. Even on the most basic level, however, both abilities improve one's skill at metalcraft. If possible, it's best to choose Developmental Abilities that synergize in a similar way."
"I got it," I said, finishing my own designs. Owing to my artistic talent, it looked like a big, muddy splotch smeared all over the armor, but after letting it sit in the heat for a while to dry, I began to scratch the surface with the edge of a blade. Have you ever done that art thing where you used a look of different colors and then painted something black before scratching it away to reveal all the cool colors underneath. This was like that, only instead of looking like someone had vomited a rainbow, it looked like stone. Specifically, it looked like the stone floor, right beneath the armor. "Here. It's not invisibility, but…"
Ryuu took the armor as I held it out to it, watching it slowly shift and change colors to match what it was set against. I'd tried to puzzle out how to make an actual Invisibility Cap, like the one Annabeth had always used but…I couldn't. Mostly because I didn't have the materials, really, didn't have anything that just seemed to click.
What I'd made instead was Chameleon Armor, like the ones Beckendorf used to make. It wasn't invisible so much as it was just really supped up camouflage, made from materials harvested within the Dungeon. Up close, it wasn't that effective, but at a distance…
Ryuu held it up to the light, considering it for a long moment before nodding.
"Thank you, Mr. Jackson," She said. "I will use it properly."
"Sorry I couldn't make something better," I said, shaking my head. "I just don't have the materials. I do think I should be able to make temporary wings, though. They'll probably break like the other ones did if used for too long, which is kind of a bad thing for things meant to let you fly, but…I'll figure out something."
I closed my eyes and let my shoulders sag as I spoke, unable to keep from thinking back.
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Mr. Jackson," She said. "Or perhaps the fault is mine for making such unreasonable requests. I apologize again."
"No, really, it's fine," I said, assuring her quickly. "I'm just not much of a craftsman, I guess. I just feel a little bad, remembering them."
"Did you try making such a thing before?" She wondered.
"Ah…no, a friend of mine did, so it made me think of him," I said. "It's just…well, he's gone now."
"I understand," Ryuu said, lowering her head again. "…What was his name?"
For a moment, I hesitated, wondering if I should say—before remembering that I was probably the only one who remembered him any more, just like I was the only one who remember Zoe or Chiron or…or just about anyone else. That's why I'd told Welf about Riptide. Mrs. O'Leary's former owner deserved the same.
"His name was Daedalus," I said, wiping my face. "We didn't know each other for very long but—"
"Oi, boy!" Wayland cut in, breaking off his tirade at Welf. "What did you just say?"