Chapter 29: Can't Speak?

Being pushed out of the potion shop so quickly made Clark wonder what the old man was all about. He had connections to Alexander along with other figures within the city. He made large batches of high quality potions for requests. And on top of it all, had so many high ranking materials that if sold could make anyone a rich person never to work again. A mystery to Clark.

"Devi, let's head toward the burning smith's blacksmith shop now. We can worry about the old potion maker later." Clark knew it was worthless wondering about things he couldn't understand right away. It was better to remain focused on the task at hand. He had already wasted a few hours.

"If I remember right, the burning smith's blacksmith is the small forge at the end of the market." Many blacksmiths fought for the front of the line when it came to the market. They wanted to be the first that could see their wares and show off their skills. What was new and ahead of other smiths always took the market by storm.

But the burning smith's blacksmith was the smallest out of all of them. It was a solo blacksmith that worked making specialized gear for those who had the gold. Clark knew that the smith had held the small shop against every large blacksmith for many years. Where the large blacksmiths made bulk items, they could not even scratch the quality that the burning smith's blacksmith produced.

With blacksmiths, two things were required when it came to their services. The high quality materials needed to produce the desired item. And money. Lots of money. Walking in to such a place with silver coins would be risky. The full sets of gear often cost multiple gold coins to create. This was not exorbitant though.

The high quality materials used would need to be shaped carefully. If the blacksmith was not well versed in every detail of the materials, then the quality of the overall forged item would fall. The price from the time taken to create a forged item that didn't degrade in quality was fair. Not to mention the runes that could be carved in to the armors to activate the innate qualities of the materials used.

"Who in the hell is coming in to my damn shop so late in the afternoon! It's lunch time, get your sorry…hmm, Alexander sent you huh?" The drastic change in the one armed man's attitude came as Clark had hurriedly pulled out the necklace. He had walked in to the burning smith's blacksmith making the bell alert whoever was inside.

It appeared that the one armed man was the only person there. But what Clark was stuck on was the way the store looked. The armor on display was nothing that Clark could ever imagine purchasing. His system was analyzing it and telling him things he never imagined.

'Thorn crown armor set- ultra rare

This thorn crown armor set is made using living vine crystals along with root serpent scales. The pair of these with unique runes carved in to them assist the wearer in activating the thorn body skill known to be used by the root serpent. This will deal damage to anything that touches the armor along with potentially poisoning them with the living vine's paralyzing poison. It is a very tough armor to forge but well worth it when encountering close combat.'

'Spider cloak- rare

This is a cloak weaved using a steel thread spider's thread. It is tough enough to protect the wearer from harsh attacks including blades. It has the added rune carving effect of being lighter than feathers. Hence the way the steel thread spider is able to use the thread to weave a parachute to travel great distances. The skill level to forge such threads is very high.'

'Black needles- unfinished

These are needles made from the bones of assassin wasps. Unlike normal beasts, the assassin wasp is known for harvesting calcium from the victims it hunts. This allows the shell to become dark black bones that allow it to blend in to the night. These needles are unfinished due to the missing materials needed to properly carve the runes necessary. The assassin wasp is known to shoot out parts of its body as spikes to defeat opponents. The unique skill allows these spikes to return to the assassin wasp's body after being fired using their natural energy. This quality is what the black needles are designed to have once proper rune carving is added.

The missing material is a dark crystal from a darkness type beast.'

The information overwhelmed Clark. Not only was the armors and weapons super high quality, but even the system evaluated them as such. On top of that, the system had suggested the best material to finish an unfinished work.

"Can't speak, can you? What does that guy need now? He places so many last minute orders and sends random messengers here. What are you here for in that outfit? Did the smith that made that for you have a fetish? Huh?" The one armed man wasn't necessarily being mean but he wanted to get on with the job.

"I am here to pick up a package for Alexander."

"Of course you are. And let me guess, you are his student now?" The one armed man saw Clark nod. "I knew it. Then you aren't like the other messengers. Come on it kid. I can't say your style is good but your gear is made properly so you seem to have some brains. Let's get this over with." Clark knew there would be more to these packages than just picking them up. He was here to learn some lessons about how these crafts were made and how he could pick them out in the future.

"The basics are simple. High quality materials can make trash equipment if abused. That right there is the skin of a raging bull beast from the fields. It seems tough, right? If I were to forge that in hot flames it would become paper thin and weak. But on a low flame just barely warming it, even a dagger would struggle to pierce it."

"The methods used can make or break a material. That means you should know who to bring what to. Then you have the materials themselves. Mixing materials comes at a risk. If you add a fire and a water material together then you could have an explosion. But with a catalyst, you could have a dual elemental type creation. The smith needs to have the knowledge to do that. Balance is key."

The lessons sounded like the one armed man had done so before. He was ready to teach because that seemed to be what Alexander had asked of him. But the information was extremely valuable to Clark. He could use that and the system's guidance to ensure he would get the proper materials to the right person. He would also be able to ensure that the techniques used in forging were successful.

"What about the materials to carve runes? They have to be the right type to forge the [roper rine. Like the dark crystal that the black needles need to be finished?" Clark was sure his question was basic, but the one armed man dropped his jaw without the ability to speak.