The Misty Armory

Lake stood there dazed at the person who came out of the room. Not because they immediately started yelling when they came out, no.

It was because the person who came out was such a young girl!

She had chestnut hair that didn't go past her chin, brown eyes and a bandanna wrapped around her head. And most importantly... She was his height!

'W-what's going on here? Don't tell me this little girl here is the owner?!'

When she saw that Lake was just standing there the girl immediately was irritated, "I said we're busy, what are you still doing here?!"

Lake had no idea how to respond but luckily he didn't have to as someone else came out from the back quickly. The person who came out this time was a human male. I say human because what came out didn't look like one.

The door opened and the man stepped through. The first thing that I noticed was his size. He cast a shadow that nearly filled the room. His shirt fit him perfectly and his muscles rippled as he moved.

"Chie what are you doing?! I told you to rein in that temper of yours or else you'll never advance as a craftsman!" Shouted the man.

Pouting the girl ignored the man and turned around in a huff, returning to the back room.

Watching her the man sighed, "Sorry about that, she's usually not like that but recently she's been rather cranky since her training hasn't been going well.

Lake just nodded, indicating that he understood. Yet he was surprised that such an intimidating man could be so polite.

"Okay, you said you're here for the job? So you must be Lake right?"

"That's right." After clarifying with him, the man was bewildered that the applicant was just a kid, but knowing what kind of world it was he wasn't too surprised.

"Alright, well I'm Vince. That little explosive back there is my apprentice and daughter Chie, I run this store together with her. Although I can usually take care of both sides of the store on my own, she wants me hire someone else so that I can teach her more often. All I need from you is to take care of the people that come in and to keep the store clean, is that alright with you?"

"Yeah."

Satisfied the man said, "Great then you can start by organizing all the armaments in this room."

"Understoo... Wait what?" Lake thought he misheard but Vince obviously wasn't going to explain anymore as he left the room while grinning and laughing to himself.

'I've been tricked', Lake thought with a bitter smile. 'Whatever, if I work today then I can get paid today as well.' Rolling up his sleeves Lake picked up an armament and began work.

And whether he thought that just to comfort himself or if he truly believed it, even Lake didn't know.

An hour later while Lake was still cleaning, he heard some clanging sounds coming from the back.

While he had constantly been hearing them throughout the day, these sounds seemed different than before.

Putting an armament onto the shelf he saw the door was slightly open and took a peek inside. What he saw had shocked him.

Vince was standing next to an anvil, holding a hammer in his right hand and using his left to manipulate the fire. Using the flames he covered a piece of carapace from some creature.

Slowly the carapace softened and he began striking it with his hammer.

One hit. Two hits. Three hits. Over and over again. Soon the carapace was being molded. Slowly it was becoming something else entirely. It was taking the shape of a knights shield, it had a sleek and glossy shine to it and was pitch black like the night.

Lake was amazed at the incredible control Vince had while working with the metal. Simultaneously controlling the heat of the flames while striking with extreme precision. Making sure no spots were missed.

To Lake, Vince looked like he was fighting a beast rather than crafting.

Impressively, his breathing remained even and there wasn't a single drop of sweat on his body.

'So this is what an armament craftsman looks like!' Thought Lake in awe.

Lake's thoughts came to an abrupt end when Vince glanced at the door suddenly and sent a wisp of energy to shut it.

Smiling bitterly Lake returned to cleaning the store yet the scene from before kept replaying in his head. 'An armament craftsman is incredible, to use those kinds of skills and create weapons and armors like the ones here is nothing short of amazing."

...

Soon the room was nearly spotless, all the armaments that were on the floor had been picked up and placed neatly on the shelves and racks. The counter tops had been dusted off and the floor had been swept.

The store looked completely different from when Lake first came in, now it looked like a proper establishment.

Vince came out and was astonished at the scene in front of him.

"I'm impressed kid, I thought I had walked into the wrong place." Vince spoke while looking at Lake in a new light.

"Thanks." Lake answered simply and nodded.

"So," Vince looked at Lake while emitting a slight pressure from his cultivation, "what did you think of my forging?"

Lake sucked in a cold breath while exclaiming in his mind, 'An Iron Esper!! Sh*t! Armament craftsman take their techniques as their pride, they'd never let outsiders know of them!'

Thinking this Lake tried to slowly move but found his body frozen by the pressure, finding no other choice he answered Vince. Yet he wasn't as afraid as he knew that Vince could've taken him out long before, yet he hadn't. So it seemed like he didn't have any ideas about killing him.

"It was unbelievable."

"Oh? How so?" Vince sounded intrigued but didn't let up on the pressure.

"I'd never seen a craftsman at work. And I was impressed at your ability to create these high-quality armaments, so I'm sorry if I offended you when watching." The pressure was increasing as he spoke.

It almost became unbearable when it suddenly disappeared. "Wahaha!!! Well thank you kid! I didn't think you'd be able to recognize my greatness!"

While Vince was laughing, Lake took a second to catch his breath. Staring dumbfounded at Vince, he was speechless.

'What the f*ck?!'