Chapter 28: Dreamlike Death Metal

Blaze had passed by Balkan City’s blacksmith shop before. How should he put it? It had a run-down, neglected feel to it.

The furnace looked like it had never been lit, and the iron hammers seemed as though they had never been used. Various ores and materials were piled up in the corners, and a thick layer of dust blanketed the workbench.

Foreigners rarely visited the blacksmith shop either, because the Blacksmith Profession was capped below Master Forger. As a result, there was a visible limit to the weapons they could craft. The gear they forged was nowhere near as good as the loot obtained from defeating Monsters in the wild or completing quests. The only time a scattered few customers would trickle into the shop was when they needed their weapons repaired.

[Hade / Fire Rabbit Totem]

Level: 60 (0)

Profession: Master Blacksmith Level 10 / Iron Hammer Master Level 15 / Brewer Level 10 / Strongman Level 10 / Fire Ritual Officer Level 10 / Dwarf Equipment Appraiser Level 5

Power: 1300

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 50

Faith: 200

Skill: ???

Magic: ???

Equipment:

Weapon: Hammerhead Shark (Sledgehammer)

Head: Fighting Spirit Headband

Upper Body: None

Waist: Fireproof Apron

Lower Body: Heat-dissipating Sandals

Accessory: Dwarf Master Certificate

Blaze examined the old man before him, who was sleeping soundly against the furnace with a bare chest. The mountain of empty bottles declared to the world that he was currently dead drunk.

"This is the master of masters I found for you. A legendary Dwarf, one of Master Eugene’s prized disciples," Herbie boasted, crossing his arms with immense pride.

Blaze felt a little uncomfortable because Audrey had tagged along. She was currently frowning, silently expressing her dissatisfaction with this sloppy Master Blacksmith.

"Ah, Audrey came along to prepare for the future." At this moment, Herbie’s usually sharp mind seemed to have short-circuited, completely oblivious to Blaze’s restraint. "We can’t have her traveling the rest of the way in that dress, so we need to get her a new set of equipment."

"With her current Strength Value, she won’t be able to wear any heavy Armor. She can equip light armor at most," Blaze said, scanning the surrounding equipment. The vast majority of them had the "Novice" affix. Judging purely by Defense Power, they probably weren’t even as protective as the dress Audrey was currently wearing.

"It’s still better than these clothes," Herbie argued.

"That’s true. Lady Audrey wearing this dress is like a walking flower. She draws attention just by standing there," Blaze agreed.

"Your attitude is so weird." Herbie narrowed his eyes, on the verge of entering bloodhound mode. "Ah... speaking of which, you are a Knight, after all. It makes sense that you’d be polite to a lady."

Tilting his head, Herbie decided not to waste any more brainpower on the matter. He turned around, pulled out a bottle of Incense—likely a hangover cure—and held it under the snoring Hade’s nose.

"GAG-COUGH-COUGH—!"

The item took effect immediately. Hade’s complexion rapidly shifted from a flushed red to a sickly pale green as he woke up dry-heaving. Calling it a hangover cure was a stretch; it was more like an instrument of torture.

"It’s you again, you little rascal! Just how many favors do I still owe you?!" Opening his eyes to Herbie’s grinning face, Hade’s skin instantly changed from sickly pale back to a flushed red—though this time, it was purely out of anger.

"You still owe me plenty," Herbie replied. He took a step back, allowing Blaze to step into Hade’s line of sight. "Take a look at the guest I brought you."

"Guest my ass—COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO—!"

Hade’s curses abruptly morphed into a deafening, robust rooster crow. It was so loud that even the actual chicken nestled in the mane of Blaze’s Lion Skin was startled awake, rubbing its eyes with its wings and looking around in confusion.

"Where did a rooster come from?" Blaze muttered.

"I-is this the legendary dream metal, Soul Steel?! In all my years, I’ve only ever seen a piece the size of a fingernail, yet this entire suit of Armor is forged from it!" Hade panted heavily. He spread his fingers, desperately wanting to touch it, but couldn’t bear the thought of leaving smudges on the metal. As a result, he just stood there, contorting his limbs in a weird, twitchy dance that looked like some evil ritual.

Seeing this, Herbie let out an "I knew it" smirk. That definitely wasn’t the expression of a Merchant burning a favor; it was the smug grin of a man who had just trapped his target into owing him yet another one.

"Do you recognize this Armor?" Blaze asked, ignoring Herbie’s expression. He obligingly extended his arm toward Hade so the Dwarf could gently touch and inspect it.

"I don’t. This doesn’t look like Dwarven craftsmanship. Or, at the very least, it’s not from the lineage of Dwarven crafting that I inherited." Hade admired the dense network of scars crisscrossing the metal, unable to hold back a sigh of awe. "As expected, Soul Steel really is the best material for Armor."

"What is Soul Steel?" Blaze asked. Though he was a bit disappointed that Hade didn’t recognize the piece, learning anything more about it was a win. He had never even heard of a metal called Soul Steel before.

"It’s a dream metal. You should know that metal itself has a Memory and a lifespan, right?" Hade pointed to a breastplate sitting on a nearby workbench, which bore a massive fissure down its center.

[Noble Knight’s Breastplate / Griffin Engraving]

[An Armor crafted as a reward for a Knight who swore fealty to a noble. It was left with a massive scar after being attacked by a Griffin.]

[Has a probability of triggering a Wind Element Attack when striking, dealing lacerating damage.]

After the originally ordinary Noble Knight’s Breastplate was attacked by a Griffin, the metal remembered the strike. Through a specific forging ritual, that Metal Memory was transformed into an ability for the Armor. However, as a price, its durability and Defense Power were reduced to that of light armor.

"A Metal Memory can remember the damage it takes, but the metal’s lifespan is whittled down with every memory it retains. Even Mithril and Refined Gold can’t escape this fate.

"But Soul Steel is different. Soul Steel is a dead metal, and that which is already dead cannot die again. The Power of an Armor made from Soul Steel will only grow stronger and stronger. Of course, as a trade-off, its Defense Power will continuously drop," Hade explained.

"But this Armor has never manifested any memories from these scars." Blaze touched his chest. There was a massive claw mark there—something that looked like it had been left by a Dragon Species—but it had never triggered any related abilities.

"That’s because this Armor has forgotten its own name. It’s even forgotten that it was ever hurt." Having admired it to his heart’s content, Hade pulled out a flask of booze from nowhere and started drinking again, having unilaterally decided that his job here was done. "If you want me to help you recover the Armor’s name and awaken its Metal Memory, then I’m sorry to say that I lack the ability to do so.

"In this day and age, where the Dwarves who could converse with Flame and metal have fallen into decline, no one in this world has that kind of capability."

"Converse with the Armor...?" Blaze stared thoughtfully at the cracks on his chest plate.

"Ah, by the way, where exactly did you get this Armor?" Hade asked.

"Generally speaking, shouldn’t that be the very first question you ask?" Blaze retorted.