Chapter 131: Master
When Arthur opened his eyes, the morning sunlight was filtering through the leaves, casting a line of text onto the curtains like a projection:
[You have received the Lover's Comfort. Skill proficiency gain rate significantly increased.]
Arthur carefully propped himself up on his elbows, shifting his weight bit by bit as he retreated toward the edge of the bed. But almost at that exact moment, Maria opened her eyes.
"Leaving already?"
"Mhm. If all goes well, I should finish hammering the sword blank into shape today."
Arthur leaned down, intending to kiss Maria on the forehead, but she tilted her face up, proactively meeting his lips with her own.
"Fine, then go. Don't forget to eat breakfast."
"I know. Is there anything you want? I'll bring it back for you..." Before Arthur could finish, he realized Maria had already drifted back into slumber. This time, her sleep was accompanied by a soft, rhythmic snore she was clearly exhausted.
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Arthur felt a pang of sympathy. He had made almost no noise getting up; Maria had been jolted awake merely by the slight recoil of the mattress. What kind of tumultuous past had she endured to develop a level of alertness that rivaled a combat feat?
The moment Arthur stepped out and gently pulled the door shut, he jumped in fright. Dandelion, Zoltan, and James were lined up in a row like three cabbages that hadn't been watered in a fortnight.
"You're quite delicate with the door, aren't you?" Dandelion was the first to speak, his expression one of mock solemnity. The two flanking him held their faces as tight as drumheads, but with six mismatched dark circles under their eyes, the atmosphere refused to stay serious.
"It's still early. I didn't want to disturb everyone's rest."
Zoltan gnashed his teeth in fury. "Oh, now you know how to be quiet?"
Shing! James drew his longsword in a flash. "Didn't you say you wanted me to spar with you? Perfect. We haven't practiced fighting in cramped corridors yet!"
Dandelion conjured his lute into his hands as if by magic, poised to pluck the strings. "My vocal cords can no longer be restrained!"
Arthur hurriedly cast an Acoustic Barrier to shroud the hallway and bowed repeatedly to the three disgruntled souls, pleading for mercy.
"My apologies, my apologies! I went a bit overboard yesterday and kept you brothers from your sleep. Tonight, nobody buy dinner I'm treating everyone to a feast. Consider it my penance, alright?"
Zoltan rolled up his sleeves, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Just one meal? Not enough. Hammer him!"
The other two stowed their gear and lunged forward.
With Arthur's stamina, he could have easily outrun them. But knowing he was in the wrong, he simply crouched down, covering his head in a "beat me as you like" posture.
Seeing such a shameless display of surrender, the trio's rage dissipated by half. Only Dandelion managed two indignant thumps to Arthur's shoulders. "You know how to use an acoustic barrier now, but where was it last night? All that creaking and groaning were you trying to dismantle the building?!"
Arthur wanted to defend himself by explaining the mechanics of sound conduction through air versus solids, but he figured the bard wasn't in the mood for a physics lecture. He simply kept promising to be more careful next time.
After finally placating his brothers, he hurried down to the main hall, only to stop at the front desk.
"The bed in the Lavender Room is damaged. What is the cost for the replacement?" Arthur asked the innkeeper, his fingers fumbling in his pocket.
"Damaged the furniture! Well, that will be..."
Behind the counter sat a middle-aged woman, perhaps in her forties, clutching an expensive-looking little vial as she attempted to preserve the fading embers of her youth.
When she heard about the damaged furniture, her face first flickered with delight, then shifted into a mask of sudden fury. She began to shriek in a voice that sounded like a wire being dragged across glass.
As she ranted, she sized Arthur up, calculating exactly how many gold coins she could extort only for the screeching to stop abruptly.
"Oh, goodness! No need to be so tense! Our establishment is famous for its integrity; we'd never overcharge a guest. It's just an old bed a few simple repairs will do..."
The landlady's rage vanished, replaced by a beaming smile. A pair of pudgy hands, capable of crushing stone, reached out with practiced speed to "accidentally" pat the back of Arthur's hand.
"I'll pay the full replacement value. The bed is quite thoroughly wrecked; I'm afraid it's beyond repair."
Arthur tossed two crowns onto the counter the standard market rate and fled the inn like a man escaping a burning building.
When he finally reached Blacksmith Street in the North City, his heart sank. The front of Percival Schuttenbach's forge was swarming with dwarves, packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.
"What's going on? Why the crowd?"
Sensing the hostility in the dwarves' expressions, Arthur kept his wits about him. He feigned being a casual passerby and tapped a dwarf on the shoulder.
"Get lost, get lost! We're busy with serious business here!" The dwarf snapped, his face twisted with impatience. But a second later, the dwarf felt his body go light and the crowd rapidly receded Arthur had hoisted him by the scruff of his neck and rounded the corner of the street.
"You "
The dwarf prepared to unleash his fury, but noticing that Arthur was holding him aloft with a single hand, he quickly pivoted to a forced smile. "Actually, it's nothing much. We're all just here to demand an explanation."
"An explanation? For what?"
Seeing the dwarf being vague, Arthur increased the pressure, lifting him higher. He was relying on Percival to teach him the secrets of the forge; nothing could be allowed to jeopardize that now!
The dwarf's short legs kicked twice in the air. Realizing he couldn't bluff his way out, he spilled everything.
Last night, Percival had suddenly stumbled into the Blacksmiths' Guild, declaring his intent to purchase a Thunder-Fire Furnace.
This was the second-best type of furnace in all of Mahakam. Not only was the design state-of-the-art, but it utilized magical instrumentation to assist the heating process. It could reach temperatures high enough to liquefy almost any metal an absolute necessity for developing the latest advanced alloys.
Compared to a standard forge, the price of a Thunder-Fire Furnace was also "magical" impossibly high. Even in Mahakam, they were a rare sight. Cintra only possessed one, housed within the Guild itself.
Naturally, when Percival announced his intent to buy it, everyone dismissed it as drunken rambling. Had the matter ended there, things might have quieted down.
The problem was that Percival had indeed drunk a fair amount, and he was still reeling from the shock of Arthur's massive tuition payment. Stung by the Guild's mockery, he actually pushed a small cart filled with two thousand gold crowns right up to the Guild's counter.
The entire Guild exploded. The President made an excuse about needing professionals to move such equipment, then immediately leaked the news everywhere.
Though Percival thought he had kept the "apprenticeship" a secret, he couldn't hide it from those looking for answers. Within a couple of hours, the truth had been pieced together over the blacksmiths' tavern tables:
That old fox Percival must have sold the secrets of the Gwyhyr blade! How else could he have that much coin?
Once that logic took hold, the blacksmiths were incensed. The forging process of a Gwyhyr was the brightest jewel in the blacksmith's crown; how could it be cheapened by being sold to an outsider? If it was to be shared, it should be shared with his dwarven brothers! Thus, the smiths had blockaded Percival's door, demanding he surrender the Gwyhyr secrets.
The whole situation was so absurdly "meta" that Arthur could only shake his head.
Percival... the man was full of advice when it came to others, but his own mouth was a leaky sieve.
Despite his exasperation, Arthur knew he had to help Percival through this crisis. After all, his chance at owning the world's most legendary gear depended on it!