He led Kaelus into a back room, a small space filled with an array of half-finished projects and tools. The air was thick with the scent of metal and mana. Grolnuk then revealed the true nature of his craft.
"I'm not just a blacksmith," Grolnuk said, his voice now devoid of its usual gruffness. "I'm an artificer." Artificers were a rare existence, the only ones capable of creating artifacts, items infused with immense magical power. In the entire human territory, there was only one known artificer in the royal court of the House of Emrys, a 5-star artificer named Soren Gremhart. Grolnuk, however, was a 6-star artificer, capable of creating 6-star artifacts.
He then unveiled the katana. It was a masterpiece, its blade a dark, iridescent sheen, the mana within it so concentrated it hummed with power. The katana was a 6-star mid-rank artifact, an item capable of being wielded to its full potential by only a peak 6-star mage or higher. Grolnuk had added a mana limiter to the katana, allowing a peak 4-star mage like Kaelus to exert a fraction of its power without being overwhelmed. Aelius, however, was a peak 7-star dragon, more than capable of exerting the full power of this artifact.
Grolnuk explained that he had added a supplemental item to the mana stone, a treasured family heirloom—a dragon scale. The scale, he said, was a Stoutbeard's Family treasure, and he had used it to forge his greatest masterpiece yet. The katana hummed with a unique mana signature, a lingering warmth that Kaelus immediately recognized as his own. He was confused. Dragons, as far as he knew, turned to mana upon death. Their scales should not exist.
"How did your ancestors acquire a dragon scale?" Kaelus asked. "As far as I know, dragons are beings of pure mana. When they die, their bodies disperse and blend into the surrounding mana."
Grolnuk smirked. "It's simple. That dragon scale was given to my ancestor by a true dragon. A true dragon can remove a fraction of its mana by simply removing one of its scales. The portion of mana from that dragon remains on the scale. It's the same for monster hunting. Before you kill a certain monster, you have to cut all of its valuables from its body, like horns or fangs. These items can be forged into artifacts. Other adventurers don't know that, and they just kill the monsters without removing the valuables."
Kaelus was stunned by this revelation. "Then why didn't you post a quest on the Adventurer's Guild bulletin about getting materials like that?"
"Posting a quest like that is like announcing that I'm an artificer," Grolnuk explained. "The royal court, even the Magic Court, wouldn't sit idly by. They would force me to make artifacts for them. I don't want to live like a livestock, like Soren Gremhart, the 5-star artificer of the royal court."
Grolnuk then looked at Kaelus seriously. "I need your help, Kaelus. I need you to find me items I can use to practice my artificer skills. I'm a 6-star high-rank artificer now, and I believe I can break through to 7-star soon. I just need materials to practice with. I'll pay you higher than what the Adventurer's Guild rewards."
"And as a gift for saving my life," Grolnuk added, unveiling another one of his masterpieces, a Knight's Cape. It was a 6-Star High Rank Defensive Artifact with magical resistance.
The cape, folded on the table, displayed a shocking, deep scarlet red that seemed to absorb the light. "The raw material alone is priceless, Kaelus. It was woven from the web silk of a 4-Eyed Amber Spider—a genuine S+ Rank monster my clan helped put down over a century ago."
Grolnuk leaned closer, his voice dropping to a serious rumble. "But its true value is the enchantment. Forged into the weave is the single greatest technique of the barrier expert known as the Iron Sentinel—the best of his era. That skill, once activated, will grant you an absolute barrier for exactly forty-five seconds. It can stop anything. But heed this warning: that is all you get. When the skill's time is undone, the delicate enchantment fails, and the cape will explode beyond repair. Use it with caution."
The Dwarf carefully smoothed the red material. "Even a full blast from a 7-Star Mage cannot scratch this." He paused, a look of profound respect in his eyes. He thinks that even a dragon like him wouldn't be able to withstand it without a scratch, so the cape will take its role.
"I'm giving you this item because there's a voice inside my heart that tells me I needed to befriend you," Grolnuk said, his voice filled with an uncharacteristic earnestness. "I don't know what it is, but I trust my guts. I hope I'm right."
"Now go and grab me some materials," Grolnuk said with a smile.
"Wait, Mr. Grolnuk," Kaelus said, looking at his new sword and cape. "How do I look?"
Grolnuk took a step back and looked at Kaelus from head to toe. "Ah, you're right. You look awful. You need an armor set."
Kaelus's eyes lit up. "I badly need an armor!" he said, a childlike excitement in his voice.
Grolnuk shook his head with a chuckle. "I don't know what's so exciting about putting on armor, but here you go." He handed Kaelus a set of full-plated armor. The armor was a dark green with elegant gold lines running through it. "This is not an artifact, but the defense is not that bad. And you look good in these."
Kaelus thanked Grolnuk and left the shop. With the katana sheathed at his waist, the Knight's Cape clasped around his shoulders, and the dark green armor set on his body, he looked like a seasoned veteran. He now had the appearance of a powerful A-rank or even S-rank adventurer. Kaelus laughed internally, a mix of amusement and cunning in his mind.
He left the city gates behind and began his journey to the hunting grounds, his destination the town of Valeridge and the Red Orc subjugation quest.