Chapter 3
(Three days later)
In the center of a town known as "Mudfall" stood a medieval-style stone castle , referred to by the people of Mudfall as the "Dark Heart's Smithery," a proud establishment known for its monopoly over the manufacturing of almost, if not all, the weapons and magical items within the town.
{DARK HEART'S SMITHERY}
Currently, within an underground dungeon located beneath the "Dark Heart's Smithery" first-floor viewing area, a child and a dark-haired middle-aged man could be seen conversing with each other in what seemed to be a repurposed jail cell.
"Didn't we make a promise that you would leave me alone the next time you came here, kid?" the middle-aged man with dark brown hair and a cigar in his mouth remarked as he looked at the dark-skinned boy in front of him.
"Oh, don't be like that, mister, and I didn't come down here with anything to purchase, so you don't have to worry about me haggling with you," the dark-skinned child known as Adrian said as he laid down a thick rolled-up leather sheet on the clerk's dark metal counter, then unrolled it to reveal five dark red shards strapped onto the leather sheet, ranging from 3.4 inches to 5.6 inches.
"Where'd you get these, kid?" the middle-aged clerk asked, intrigued as he examined the shards before him.
"I was lucky and just so happened to stumble upon some decent shards, that's all," Adrian said in a playful tone before removing three of the smaller shards from his makeshift holder and placing them directly onto the clerk's counter.
The middle-aged clerk didn't respond to Adrian's nonsensical story and simply waited for Adrian to state his business so that he could get it over with and then smoke his cigars in peace while waiting for the next annoyance to come to his clerk station.
"Though, to tell you the truth, I was originally going to trade these in for silver at the 'Adventurers Guild' and probably live a comfortable life for a while without worry. But then recently I heard that the 'Dark Heart's Smithery' had been buying up shards in high demand, as well as trading equipment of equal value for them," Adrian said while carefully lining up the shards on the clerk's dark metal counter.
Sigh.
The middle-aged clerk sighed as the child in front of him continued to tell stories instead of plainly saying that he wanted to trade in his shards for some adventurer's equipment and be done with it.
"I guess maybe I should thank the appearance of that monster... What did the guild call it? ... Oh yeah, I think I remember now . *Ahem* As I was saying, maybe I should thank the 'three-headed, face-changing manticore' that appeared in the 'Whispering Forest' for this god-given opportunity to potentially fulfill my dream of owning a 'Demonic Artifact,'" Adrian smirked and almost laughed as he deliberately extended the conversation for his own amusement.
'Shut up! You little shit!!!'
"Hmm . I guess you should. So, then. Why don't you tell me which 'Demonic Artifact' you would like?" the middle-aged man asked before he bent under his counter and pulled out a large book with the words "Dark Heart's Inventory" written on it.
"I'd like a 'Lesser Demonic Artifact' with either a strength or defense-type 'Art' attached. The 'Demonic Artifact' can be either a weapon, shield, or accessory of any kind. My starting budget consists of these three shards, which should be roughly worth ten silver coins. If ten silver coins' worth of shards isn 't enough, then I'm more than willing to add these last two shards with the worth of-"
"Let's see here, strengthening or defense..." the middle-aged man interrupted the dark-skinned child mid-sentence as he opened a random page of the "Dark Heart's Inventory," revealing blank yellow pages on both sides of the open book.
....
The middle-aged man took out a quill from his pocket, dipping it in ink. He then pressed it lightly onto the yellow pages of the "inventory book" and began writing the words "currently available, strength-based special attributes items" onto the pages.
*Swiss* *Swiss*
*Swiss*
The book's yellow pages turned by themselves as yellowish magic circles appeared in the space around it. Finally, after a few seconds , the book's pages stopped turning, and ink-black text and colored sketches began to appear on its pages.
The middle-aged man glanced through the now visible pages one by one, occasionally asking Adrian to change his desired attributes, as the strength and defense attribute-based items ranged from thirty to sixty silver coins. a price that was definitely out of his budget, even with the addition of his two extra shards into the trade.
....
(Twenty minutes later)
Sigh.
"We finally found something within your price range," the middle-aged man with dark brown hair said while pointing toward a detailed sketch of a plain-looking metal shield priced at twenty silver coins , which had a short description of its defensive art and effects on the user.
"Its defensive art seems great for its price. I'll take it," Adrian said as he read the shield's description. After confirming that he wanted to trade for the shield, the clerk weighed the shards he brought for an accurate evaluation, which turned out to be nine copper coins over the 'Demonic Artifact's' selling price.
Which the middle-aged man then handed over, along with the receipt for the shield, which had to be given to the "Demonic Artifact" managers on the second floor of the "Dark Heart's Smithery."
....
(Half an hour later)
In a cheap inn at the edge of Mudfall, a child of only ten years of age was sitting on a high- padded bed while rubbing the surface of a metal shield.
'I was right to save those five shards that night,' Adrian thought before he closed his eyes and began to try and feel the shards that were mixed into the shield's metal, not with his hands but with the one thing that's always been with him since both lives...
His soul
*Break* : Adrian said as he envisioned an ethereal hand grabbing onto countless bloody shard fragments within the shield, before clenching its palm tightly while his flesh palms held onto the physical shield, waiting to receive a blood-red liquid that not many could say they've ever felt.
Ting! Ting!
Ting!
The shield began to emit tinging sounds as tiny blood-red droplets started to form on its surface.
Huff! Ting! Huff!
Huff!. Ting!
*Break* : Adrian said again, but this time sounding out of breath, which didn't surprise him. Even though this was his third time using this seemingly unique cheat ability of his, he knew that unlike the first two instances, where he would only focus on breaking into the "Demon Blood Shards , " this would be a difficult task. Not only would he have to force his soul into an object, gather up the shard fragments that gave the item its "Art" but he also needed to break into those fragments before retracting his eternal soul hand back into his body while drawing the liquid blood found in the shield onto its surface.
Ting! Ting!
Ting!
....
(Three days later )
In a cheap inn at the edge of Mudfall, a child of only ten years of age was panting on the floor while a metallic color covered his skin
Pant. Pant.
Pant.
*Defense, fall * : The child said with a proud yet demonic tone as his skin turned into a dark brown shade
Hahahaha.
a dark-skinned child exclaimed with a smile on his face as he began to lose consciousness from sheer exhaustion of both body and soul.
February 8th of the holy calendar, in the town of "Mudfall," a child of psychological age ten had firmly stepped onto his own path of power never before seen, utilizing it in the manner he had discovered .