blacksmith

Thomas couldn't help chuckling after hearing the last line from the voice in the darkness. It seemed he had unintentionally bullied the voice into depression. He let the voice mope around for a little bit before speaking up, "Listen. The only thing I'm interested in is crafting. If you'd like me to make stuff for you, I'd be more than happy to... for the right price. Oh, and just to be clear, I mean interesting things. I don't do mass production!"

The voice seemed to sniffle a little before it spoke again, "What do you mean?"

Thomas shrugged his shoulders, "Well, for example, a nice sword or suit of armor made of whatever material with the finest enchantments. If you provide the blueprints and materials there's really not a whole lot I can't make. As long as you don't want me to make a Legendary item it shouldn't be a problem."

The voice scoffed, "Are you trying to imply you can craft anything up to Epic rarity?"

With a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, he replied, "Yup."

"Bullshit! None of you immortals should be good enough to make Epic items yet!"

Thoms chuckled, "I guess you could say I cheated a bit by using superior materials."

Even though Thomas couldn't see the voice, he could still feel the shock emanating from it. It seemed like the voice just didn't know how to handle an oddity like Thomas. Silence permeated the cave for a few minutes leading to him growing bored. He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently as the minutes ticked by. When he was tired of waiting he called out, "Did I break you or something?"

"You... you didn't break me! You broke the common sense of the world! What the hell are you?!"

With another shrug of his shoulders, he replied, "Just a guy who likes making cool toys."

"Ugh. Okay okay", the voice let out a long drawn out sigh as if releasing all of the crazy Thomas had been implanting in its mind, "So you're willing to work for us by making weapons, armor, and so on but you are not willing to lead armies or become king of the world. Am I right so far?"

Thomas nodded, "Yup."

The voice released another long sigh, "Fine. Fine. So what can you make and how much do you charge?"

Though the voice wouldn't be getting the ultimate commander for its forces it could still get something out of it at least. If Thomas wasn't lying to it then he was still a powerful ally to have. Epic rarity items weren't like stones you could just find on the side of the road, they were always powerful and rare. An entire country might have no more than a thousand Epic items within its borders. If Thomas could produce them reliably then he could singlehandedly improve the might of an entire country!

Hearing the question, Thomas put on a complicated look. He had no reference for the value of Epic items as he'd never seen one for sale. He suspected they were rather highly prized though. Thomas uncrossed his arms, straightened his body, and put on a business smile, "It really all comes down to what you want to be made and how much support you provide in making it. If you just tell me you want a flaming sword and provide nothing else then it would naturally cost more but if you provide all the materials as well as the design then it would cost less. As far as designs go, the simpler the cheaper. A basic longsword design would be cheaper than one embellished with a detailed carving of a dragon. Get the idea?"

He took a breath before he continued, "I work on three principles. Fast, Cheap, High Quality. If you want it fast and cheap it won't be high quality. If you want it cheap and high quality it won't be fast. If you want it high quality and fast it won't be cheap. Get the idea?"

"I see", the voice went silent for a moment as it thought for a bit, "I'll have someone find you and relay the request, materials, and payment."

Thomas smiled brilliantly, "Wonderful. Be sure they bring enough!"

Before he could say anything else, the cave around him began to shimmer like a mirage before fading away into darkness. At the same time, Thomas awoke in his bed and looked around. It was still the middle of the night. Although he felt he hadn't been in the dream world all that long, it seemed like it might have been at least a few hours. Who knows how time works in a place like that? He closed his eyes and went back to sleep with a smile on his face. He was going to have his first real customer soon and that excited him.

A while back when Thomas was first pulled into the dream realm, Selena snapped awake and sat straight up. Her eyes darted around her as she looked for something. Just a moment ago she felt a ripple of Unholy magic. It was minuscule. So small that only someone like her who was nearby and deeply in tune with Unholy magic would have been able to detect it. Anyone further than a few feet away wouldn't have noticed anything, even if they specialized in Unholy magic like her. Seeing nothing in her room and feeling no more of a disturbance, she focused her gaze in the direction of Thomas's room. He was right next to her and the only other person she knew for certain had access to Unholy magic.

Was he really stupid enough to use his Unholy magic in the middle of a bustling city? She didn't think so but she wasn't completely certain. She kept staring in the direction of his room for a good half an hour. There were no further disturbances. If he really did something at least it was small and didn't last very long. However, she would have to have a word with him about it tomorrow! He couldn't just go around using Unholy magic wherever and whenever he wanted! Even with her strength and connections, she had to be careful! Selena shook her head and lay back down to go to sleep. She'd give Thomas an earful in the morning!

Morning finally arrived without further incident. Thomas made his way down to the dining room with Snowlily to join Selena and Lexiana at a dining table. Lexiana appeared to be in a pretty good mood for a change while Selena was giving him the stink eye for some reason. He gave Selena an odd look but brushed it off. He hadn't done anything wrong, as far as he knew, so he dismissed it and enjoyed his breakfast. He made sure Snowlily had extra veggies. She was still being punished for eating nothing but meat while traveling with Lexiana. If he could have, he would have forced Lexiana to eat more veggies too!

No one really talked as they ate but it was a companionable silence with no sense of awkwardness to it. The four of them would be together for a while and soon they would have two more joining them. Thomas couldn't help noticing that he was surrounded by NPCs without a single player tagging along. On top of that, they were all female. Though he had no romantic feelings for any of them, he couldn't help realizing that any man would be excited to be surrounded by such women. He didn't know what Selena's guards looked like but just Selena and Lexiana were already two beautiful women. If Selena's guards were decent looking he would become the envy of all men.

Once breakfast was finished, Thomas started to climb to his feet when Selena spoke up, "Before you go, Thomas, there's something I would like to talk to you about."

Thomas arched an eyebrow curiously but didn't see any reason not to talk to her. The three of them retreated to Selena's room where she set up the candles and lit them once again. Once she was done with that she turned to Thomas and glared at him, "What the hell were you thinking using Unholy magic last night?!"

Thomas froze under her glare. In the entire time, he'd known her he had never once seen her angry. If he was being honest, she looked rather cute while glaring at him. Though, given the situation, he did his best to suppress his smile. He didn't want to piss her off more. It didn't take a genius to realize what she was referring to when talking about the use of Unholy magic last night. He took a calming breath, to keep from laughing, and slowly explained to Selena what had really happened. He explained everything to her. With the knowledge that the voice in the cave was somehow related to Unholy magic, he figured she might be able to give him more information.

Selena silently listened as Thomas narrated his two meetings in his dreams. Even she couldn't resist a few giggles as Thomas narrated his story. Knowing that the man before her had talked a being that was most likely a high-class demon into depression was endlessly entertaining. High-class demons were peak mortal existences that all sat within the Emperor realm of power. They were not beings to be trifled with. Yet, with just his words and attitude, Thomas had made one hate its life. If anyone in the churches heard about this they would die of laughter and likely give Thomas a strange title related to the incident.

When Thomas finished narrating the events, Selena took a breath to calm her laughter and gave Thomas an apologetic look, "I understand now. I'm sorry I thought you were using Unholy magic. As for the voice. I don't know who it was but I'm guessing it was a high-class demon. They're pretty uncommon but there are still too many to determine which one you may have been speaking with. If it was an Arch-Demon it would have been able to kill you in your sleep the first time you upset it. Don't think a high-class demon is weak though. All of them are Emperor class, some stronger than others but none are ranked below that."

Thomas listened to her and took it all in but he didn't feel any fear. As for working with a demon? He didn't care at all. The fighting between the 'light' and the 'dark' had nothing to do with him. He was a weapon maker! Wars were damned good for business and he had no scruples about selling to both sides. Besides, he was really looking forward to seeing what kind of materials a demon would provide him. Maybe he'd get to see some metals aligned with Unholy magic. Just the idea of trying to make a sword that combined both Holy and Unholy magic thrilled him to the core.

The two spoke about the incidents a bit longer before Thomas brought up something, "By the way. Do you know anyone that might be willing and able to teach me a bit about Holy magic? I've had access to it all this time but I don't know how to use it properly. If I could it might come in really handy."

Selena wrinkled her brow as she thought, "If we were back in Reykhoten it wouldn't be too hard to find someone. Here... I'll have to talk to some contacts and see if there are any outcasts from the church. Even after abandoning their god and losing access to Holy magic, outcasts still retain the knowledge on how to use it. If I can find one then they might be able to be convinced to help teach you."

Hearing her talk about using contacts to find someone made Thomas want to facepalm and bash his head against a wall. Didn't he have his own methods of finding people?! He felt like a moron at the moment and was filled with regret. If he'd just gone to the private forums he could have asked for help a long time ago. It would likely only cost him some gold or a good piece of equipment. FUCK!

Once he calmed down he looked at Selena with a smile, "I'll see if I can't find some info myself."

Selena eyed Thomas curiously. If he had his own contacts why hadn't he used them already? She was tempted to ask but seeing the slight shade of red on his cheeks she held back. It looked like he was already embarrassed about not thinking of that sooner. With their conversation finished, Selena collected her candles and the two of them went their separate ways. Thomas went straight for the Adventurer's Guild to continue his work. Selena went to find a contract writer to get the contracts written for herself, Thomas, Lexi, and her guards. Secrets needed to be protected and a magical contract was the best way to do it.

After arriving at the guild, Thomas made his way to good old room number five. This was going to be his place for at least a few more days. Once in the room he cracked his knuckles and grinned, "Time to get to work."