Capítulo 86: The strongest warrior and the glacial fury (1)
"Krito, look at this! This is impossible," Vina exclaimed with horror as she gazed at the numbers above the storerooms after the auction ended.
Asura's Guild amassed a total of 89,500 gold pieces. Not a bad result, but not enough to secure victory this year. "Our guild collected 124,000 gold pieces," Vina continued, "but compared to those at the bottom ranks, it raised suspicions. Five, six, at most ten thousand - these were the sums gathered by the strongest guilds among the newcomers."
"Vina, what madness is this? How did they manage it?" Krito asked in disbelief.
"Yes, a guild of thieves managed to rob all the storerooms and take everything valuable. The other guilds filed a protest to the rector, but alas, it's not against the rules. The rector declared that he will ban intrusion into storerooms next year, but for now, he can't change anything. Only we were not affected since there was nothing in our storeroom, and two other guilds as well," Vina explained.
Vina pointed to the list. Even with all the stolen treasures, the thieves were only in third place. "Only 156,000 gold pieces adorned their storeroom. It seems the merchants declared a real war on them after this act, so they couldn't sell everything at high prices. But the merchants themselves secured second place with 187,400 gold pieces on the scoreboard."
"Please don't tell me it's them!" Krito exclaimed.
I looked at the first place: "Holy Flame", and Alfred occupied that position with 268,000 gold pieces.
"What the hell? Why didn't he suffer?" I wondered.
"Krito, don't get worked up," Vina tried to calm me down, "he claims to have placed sacred amulets around the storeroom, which protected him from thieves. That's why he remained unscathed. But that's not all; he promised to enchant all his treasures with the same charms, raising their value nearly threefold."
"That's nonsense! Such charms don't exist!" I protested.
"Tell that to the religious fanatics, your nobles are full of them," Seleria sneered, looking disdainfully at the V.I.P. lodge. "They'd buy anything considered sacred, thinking it will absolve them of their sins."
"But still, it's strange how they managed to survive," I pondered, and then a thought struck me. "Vina, tell me, how did you find out about the thieves' guild's plan?"
"Well, when I was still with Alfred, I accidentally overheard his conversation with Miguel. He was also planning to set up guards around the storeroom," the golden-haired girl said thoughtfully. "You think...?"
"Yes, they were in cahoots, and the guards were just for show. Now both the thieves and Alfred won't be at a loss. Vina, I think it's time to start the main auction."
"But, Krito? We've already sold everything; those counts and barons won't be impressed by the trinkets you've unearthed from the dungeons," Vina worriedly remarked.
"Don't worry. I only want to sell two items. Let's go," I replied.
I made my way to the stage; three hours remained until the end of the auction, and everyone had already sold what they wanted. It was time to turn all the rules of this foolish festival upside down!
The crowd looked on quietly as two disciples stepped onto the stage. It might have seemed foolish to start bargaining now, but they had some hope.
"Krito, are you sure about what you held back until the last moment?" Vina asked cautiously.
"Cough-Cough. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to present to your attention this blade!" I raised the elongated bundle held behind my back and unraveled the cloth.
In my hands, a darkly gleaming, slightly curved sword of an unusual shape for the local knights was revealed. Sharpened on one side, it had a dark black blade with a light blue, sharpened portion. Thin white lines, resembling patterns, could be seen on the dark side of the blade. It had a beautiful gilded guard and a hilt wrapped in red fabric around a black stone.
"My katana?" Asura's quiet voice was audible only to those sitting beside her guild members.
"Lady Asura? Are you saying this is your sword? But it was destroyed," someone questioned in confusion.
And the guy on the stage continued.
"This is a katana of exquisite craftsmanship, forged from meteoric iron, with a dragon claw hilt, but that's not all of its virtues!" I glanced in Asura's direction. "To demonstrate all of its qualities, I would like to invite a master in handling such weaponry to the stage. Asura, will you help me?"
"What? Me?" After hesitating for a couple of minutes, the warrior finally proceeded to the stage and took the blade from my hands. "It's a bit heavier than before."
The girl twirled the sword in her hand, switching it from hand to hand.
"A fine blade, perfectly balanced. How did you manage to create something like this?" she asked.
"One of your fans, who's fascinated with unusual blades, helped me. This sword is made of special steel that not even dragon fire can melt. But that's not all of its advantages." I slightly lowered the cloth at the end of the hilt, revealing a perfectly round diamond embedded in the recess. "This is no ordinary sword; I will need your assistance to demonstrate its capabilities."
"I'd be happy to help you," Asura said, smiling for the first time since she lost her beloved katana.
"Stop, stop, stop!! What are you trying to do here?" Alfred stormed onto the stage with indignation. "The sword might be beautiful, but you can only sell treasures taken by you from the dungeons. This blade was not found in any dungeon; are you trying to deceive us?!"
Following the outraged temple knight, the Rector also appeared.
"I'm afraid Lord Alfred is correct. This sword is not on the lists, and we have to withdraw it from the auction," the Rector stated.
"Well, why isn't it on the lists?" I slyly smiled at the Rector. "Would you mind giving me the list of what I took, and I will show you everything."
The Rector was a bit surprised but handed me the list.
"Here it is, all listed. A heavy black pot, an old rusty sword with a black hilt, a pitcher of black dragon blood, white dragon saliva, a golden bracelet with three round stones: a diamond, a ruby, and a topaz." As I listed the items, I pointed to different parts of the sword: the blade, the hilt, the dark side of the blade, and the white lines on it, and the diamond at the end of the hilt. "Anything else?"
"Krito? Did you forge it from the items you collected in the dungeons?"
"Well, you can carry anything out, but nowhere does it say that these things can't be mmmmm... improved, right, Rector?"
The old man burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! Young man, you are the first one to figure it out!! And it was so obvious!"
"What? Rector, are you allowing this!?" Alfred remained unyielding.
"Of course! That's exactly what I created this festival for, so that young people can showcase all their talents! But could you tell me how you did it?"
"Well, the idea came to me a long time ago, back in the first dungeon, but the form of what I would create only revealed itself to me five days ago."
Three days before the contest.
I entered the familiar weapons shop-forgery in Rumia.
"Whoa, it's my good client! I heard you need some weapon repairs for the contest. Want me to fix something for you?" the blacksmith said.
"No, surprisingly, my blades still look as good as the day I bought them. I'm here for another reason," I replied.
I laid out all the items necessary for the blade in front of the blacksmith.
"Well, what do you think?" I asked.
"The pot is suitable for the blade size, but this material reminds me a lot of what your swords are made of. How do you plan to melt it down?" the blacksmith questioned.
"I found something special about it; it's made of meteoric iron, so you couldn't melt it down. You'll need the most intense heat your forge can produce," I explained.
"Well, you're giving me quite a challenge! My forge can handle it, but where will you get such fuel?" the blacksmith inquired.
I placed a gilded pitcher on the table.
"Will this do?" I asked.
"What's in it?" The blacksmith examined the contents of the pitcher. "Oil?"
"If I'm not mistaken, that's black dragon blood, and it produces the hottest flame in this world," I replied.
"You must be crazy! There's so much of it; it could bring the whole academy down!" the blacksmith exclaimed.
"Don't worry; we'll need it later. Do you know Asura, the warrior from my class?" I inquired.
"Ooo, that blue-haired beauty. Who doesn't know her? I love visiting her cafe during lunchtime. So, what are you planning with her?" the blacksmith wondered.
"What are you thinking? Have you seen her sword?" I asked.
"The katana? Yes, it's a good blade. I enjoy all those refined works. Our knights prefer simple and effective swords, but these are works of art. In fact, I've been wanting to forge such a blade myself," the blacksmith revealed.
"Then what's stopping you?" I slyly smiled and nodded towards my ingredients.
"I don't know if it's a good idea, and what if I make a mistake?" the blacksmith hesitated.
"I believe in your abilities, and I'll help too. This will be used as the hilt," I handed him an old, rusted sword. Its hilt was in excellent condition and was a perfect fit for a katana.
"It's going to be a tough night. We'll have to forge until morning. Are you ready?" the blacksmith asked.
"Let's get started."
By morning, the blade was ready. There were a few challenges, but to my surprise, our combined efforts allowed us to forge a blade of the same shape and size as Asura's broken sword.
"There, it's done. We just need to adjust the hilt a bit to fit perfectly and sharpen the blade. By the way, she had such a beautiful guard," I said.
"Here it is; use it," I handed the blacksmith the last remaining piece of Asura's sword.
"But this is hers! What happened to the sword?" the blacksmith asked.
"It broke during battle and couldn't be restored," I explained.
"Oh, ho-ho! Planning to give a gift to the girl?" the blacksmith smirked.
"Maybe. Once you finish the sword, give it to me; I want to do something else with it," I said.
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