Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 133-134 (Patreon)

Reya brought Arwin the leather he needed just an hour or so before it was time to use it, and he put the finishing touches on Rodrick’s chestpiece shortly before nightfall. This time around, there was no vision.

The chestpiece sat, streams of blue metal running throughout a sea of silver. The Maristeel was condensed around Rodrick’s chest and sides. It swirled to gather around his shoulders and matched the patterns on the greaves perfectly.

The moment that Arwin took his hands off his creation, the Mesh rushed to acknowledge it. Energy gathered around the chestpiece and flooded into the metal before swirling forth as golden letters.

[Ripple Chestplate: Rare Quality] have been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Achievement: [Smart Set] has been earned.

[Smart Set] – Awarded for forging a set made entirely of [Awoken] items.Effects: Gain guidance on a single class-related choice. This achievement will be consumed upon usage.

Arwin stared at the words floating before him. They shimmered innocuously, unaware of their meaning. He swallowed. Never before had he heard of an Achievement that gave advice. He didn’t realize something like that was even possible, and he wasn’t so sure he liked its meaning.

Good advice could only come from something that knew what it was doing. Granted, there was no guarantee that the advice would be good, but it seemed strange to give an Achievement that would give bad advice.

Achievements didn’t have any intelligence of their own. They were just one of the ways that the Mesh rewarded challenge. But, if one of them had advice rather than just a direct modification… it meant he would be getting the advice not from the Achievement, but from the Mesh itself.

And if I ask the Mesh itself for advice, that means it isn’t just aware. It’ll be aware of me in particular. I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

One of the Achievements he’d gotten recently had already been slightly suspect. [Decapitated] had felt a little more… personally addressed than the other Achievements he’d gotten.

He’d only gotten a moment to read it before it had vanished, but Arwin could have sworn it had said something about enjoying the show. Unfortunately, he had no way to verify that. The Achievement faded just moments after it had first appeared.

I’m willing to bet it really did say what I thought it did. And, if that’s the case, there’s no denying it. The Mesh is a lot more alive than anyone believed. Another secret that the Adventurer’s Guild kept? Or is this something that even they don’t know?

Arwin swallowed. He waved the Mesh away. Even though nobody else could read messages sent directly to him by the Mesh, leaving it out in the open felt dangerous. He glanced over his shoulder to look around the building.

Aside from his workstation, it was entirely empty. He shook his head and looked back to the armor. The Achievement implied that he’d succeeded at his work, but there was only one way to find out for sure.

Ripple Chestplate: Rare Quality

[Awoken]: This item has taken on life of its own. The echoes of a vast flowing river churn through it and empower its wearer. It will permanently bond to the first person to equip them.

[Rushing Barrier]: You are one with the raging river. This item will draw magical energy from its wearer whenever a blow successfully connects with them, reducing the attack’s impact with rushing water. The amount of energy this ability draws will scale with the intensity of the attack without limit. This ability is more effective when more liquid is present in the nearby environment.

[Crashing Wave] (Locked): Bring down the might of the churning river into a single blow. Use magical energy to draw in moisture from your surroundings before unleashing it in a strike. This ability is more effective when more liquid is present in the nearby environment.

[Ripple Armor]: This is a set item of [2] pieces. When the entire set is worn, [Crashing Wave] will be unlocked.

Arwin let out a pent-up breath he’d been storing in his lungs. The chestpiece had been a success. It had what could technically be considered a detrimental ability in the form of [Rushing Barrier]. Hypothetically, if Rodrick got hit hard enough, the armor could completely drain all his magical power in an instant.

That said, it was far better to be drained of energy than to be dead. The real test would be finding out just how much power the armor drew with normal blows. If it chewed through everything he had after just a few strikes, it wouldn’t be the best – but it would still be quite an effective piece for a tank.

Looking past the potential detriment, the armor was fantastic. The set ability looked powerful and both the greaves and the chestpiece had powerful boons in their own right. He took one last look around the room to make sure nobody was watching him, then lifted his creation to his nose and took a sniff.

Fresh salt and seaweed greeted his nostrils. It was accompanied by notes distant tropical fruit that made his mouth water.

Smells great. Doesn’t really give me any insight into [Magical Olfactory], though. I forgot to sniff the greaves, so I’ll have to do that before I give them to Rodrick. So far, everything I’ve tested with magic smells pretty good.

Arwin grinned and grabbed several uncut strips of leather to wrap around the armor and conceal it. He set the bundle down on the ground near the edge of the room before peeking out the door. It was darkening, but there were still a few hours before he felt he had to head back to the tavern.

Perfect time to make some bracelets.

He was out of new Brightsteel, but he had more than enough scrap and pieces that wanted to be various weapons lying around. He located a small strip of Brightsteel that hadn’t been large enough to put into the armor but didn’t seem too picky about what it turned out to be and got to work shaping it into a bracelet.

It was a process that Arwin had done so many times that it almost felt like second nature. He used [Scourge] to bend the bar once it was heated, working it into the proper shape like he was playing with wet sand.

In just under thirty minutes, he’d completely formed a bracelet. The Mesh rushed into the metal, filling it with power before filling the air with golden letters.

[Metal Bracelet: Average Quality] has been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

[Brittle]: This item has a chance of shattering on every blow. Upon shattering, the magical power stored within the weapon will be released in an instant, causing a minor magical explosion.

[Watery]: The memory of a flowing river runs in the flame that heated this metal, infusing it. This item can allow its wielder to move through the water at a slightly increased pace at the cost of magical energy.

It was far from the most useful bracelet that Arwin had ever made. Detrimental, with an ability that wasn’t all that useful. In other words, it was food. He lifted it to his mouth, then paused for a second to sniff it.

The vile scent of salt and what resembled burnt seaweed greeted him like a hammer blow. His nose scrunched in distaste and Arwin pulled the bracelet away from his face, gagging. It smelled wretched.

“What the hell?” Arwin asked, turning the bracelet over. He quickly sniffed at his hand to make sure none of the Maristeel scrap was somehow on it, but it was clean. The smell was coming from the bracelet.

Or, more accurately, it was coming from the magic in the bracelet. It was rancid. Arwin stared at it, his brow furrowed in confusion. It wasn’t any different from anything else he’d made, and it was average quality.

A chill ran down the back of his spine.

Don’t tell me that the Maw is telling me this isn’t enough anymore and that Average items are now too low in power to properly feed it.

He hurriedly grabbed some more Brightsteel scrap and brought it to the hearth, working it into a second bracelet. Another half hour later, he’d formed it into a second piece.

[Metal Bracelet: Average Quality] has been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Metal Bracelet: Average Quality

[Toasty]: This item was made with such haste that it forgot to release some of the fire trapped within it. This item can grow hot at the cost of magical energy. Its wearer does not gain any resistances to its heat.

Arwin brought the still-hot metal to his nose and took a sniff. In complete contrast to the previous piece, it smelled like fresh flowers and a grassy field. The confusion knitting Arwin’s eyebrows intermixed with a relieved sigh as he lowered the bracelet.

It’s not the quality, then. The smell is coming from something specific about the bracelet, not its rank. That said, neither of these smell anywhere near as good as the rare equipment I made recently, so quality might have something to do with it as well. It isn’t everything, though.

And that meant the smell had to do with the magic in the bracelets. The first thought he had was the most obvious. [The Hungering Maw] didn’t want to eat items with bad detrimental traits such as [Brittle].

That couldn’t have been everything. The second bracelet only had a single trait and it was still at least slightly detrimental. Meanwhile, the first bracelet had a second trait that seemed just about as useful as the other bracelet’s – he just wasn’t anywhere near the water. He highly doubted the Mesh was going to count that against the bracelet.

“I wonder if it’s got to do with how bad the detrimental trait is,” Arwin mused to himself. “Brittle is just objectively bad, while Toasty could possibly be useful. Is it getting picky over the actual traits I eat rather than just magic in general?”

The Mesh didn’t respond. If he was right, he hadn’t made enough progress in his discovery to progress the Challenge. Arwin slipped both bracelets onto his wrists. Bad smell or not, they were both edible. He decided to wait to eat until the pain started in his stomach – with any luck, he’d end up using the bracelets in a fight and get two benefits for the price of one.

Even if the first one didn’t fill [The Hungering Maw], he was fairly certain that the two of them together would. He was tempted to make another, but it was already pretty late into the night.

I did promise Lillia I’d wake her up if I came back while she was sleeping, but it would probably just be better if I showed up before that. It’s not all that far from when I normally head over anyway.

Arwin held a hand out to the hearth and summoned the [Soul Flame] from it, then grabbed the bundle with Rodrick’s chestpiece and headed out to see if Lillia had made anything for dinner.

Chapter 134

Lillia had added two more lanterns to the tavern in the time he’d been gone. The first hung in the center of the room from the ceiling, illuminating the room with just enough light to make out the food any prospective customers might be eating, while the other was situated near the side of the bar. He headed over to the bathroom and cleaned the grime that had built up from the day’s work off before retuning to the common room.

Arwin could hear Lillia working in the kitchen, but his attention was caught by a plank of wood resting on the bar countertop. He approached it, squinting in the dim light to see the words burned into its surface.

The Phantom’s Phial

It looked like Lillia had finally decided on a name for the tavern. A grin crossed his lips and he bit back a laugh. She’d chosen to run with the street’s ill reputation instead of trying to avoid it entirely.

The name certainly rolls off the tongue, and it fits the theme pretty well. I wonder if she’ll suspend some imps from ropes and drape bedsheets over them to make some ghosts for the tavern. That would be quite the sight.

Arwin headed into the kitchen, clearing his throat to announce his presence. Lillia looked up from the sandwiches she was preparing, then quickly broke eye contact with him as she resumed her work.

“I saw you got a nameplate,” Arwin said. “Did that come in today?”

“Yeah,” Lillia replied. She finished the sandwich she was working on and wiped her hands off on her apron. “Just a few hours ago. I’m going to hang it up tomorrow. What do you think of the name?”

“It’s good,” Arwin said. “Really fits the street. Playing into the rumors might be a really smart idea. People will be less wary if we’re directly addressing them instead of skirting the topic.”

“That’s what I was thinking as well. Have you thought of a name for your smithy yet?”

Arwin coughed into a fist. “I haven’t really been thinking too much about it. Other stuff on mind, you know?”

“Yeah,” Lillia said, her voice growing distant for a moment. “I do.”

“I’ll get around to it once Ridley finishes his work. There’s no need to rush it before then. A name isn’t something that can be rushed. You have to find it the right way. How’d you come up with yours?”

“It kind of just came to me while I was trying to distract myself.” Lillia slid the sandwiches she’d made onto a wooden board, then nodded over her shoulder toward the darkness of her room. “Do you want to eat?”

“I’d be thrilled to. What were you trying to distract yourself from, though?”

Lillia just shook her head in response and headed into the darkness, leaving Arwin to walk blindly after her. He held his hands out, following the wall until he passed the doorway and inched his way into her room.

“I have not yet memorized the exact position of your bed,” Arwin said, shuffling a foot forward in an attempt to locate his seat. “A slight amount of guidance would be appreciated.”

There was no response, but Arwin heard something shift a few feet away from him. He followed the wall over to it until his foot touched straw. He lowered himself down carefully, not relaxing until he was seated.

He let out a huff once he managed to sit without accidentally stubbing a toe. As comforting as the darkness was, it was a pain trying to do anything in it without a guide.

“Is something going on? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Arwin asked.

“It was funny.” Lillia pushed a sandwich into his hands and he nearly jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. Her muted laughter echoed through the dark and Arwin rolled his eyes. It sounded like Lillia hadn’t gotten enough entertainment throughout the day.

He took a bite out of the sandwich, taking a few moments to savor it. The flavor wasn’t close to anything he’d been expecting. The meat in it was buttery and flaky, with a strong undertone of sharp lemon. It had been paired with a bed of something crunchy and, if his guess was right, green.

“What is this?” Arwin asked once he’d swallowed the mouthful of food.

“Do you really want to know the answer to that question?” Arwin could hear the smile in Lillia’s voice.

His thoughts drifted back to the dungeon, where she’d proclaimed a certain type of meat would go well with lemon. A moment passed. Then he took another bite. “I think I figured it out.”

“And?”

“It’s good,” Arwin said. “Maybe not the most appetizing sounding meat, but I like it. Tastes a bit similar to lobster. Did anyone else try yet?”

“Yeah. I was thinking I could really push the monster theme by having odd dishes like this one,” Lillia said. “You know, really lean into it. My goal is to have people that are consistently here, not just swinging by for a day.”

“You’ll certainly attract a certain type of clientele, but I can see it. Are you adding this one to the menu?”

“I’m not sure if I’ll add anything specific to the menu since I don’t know where we’ll be raiding in the future. I’ll probably do unique offerings every week or so – or however often we end up going looking for materials. Reya picked up some big backpacks for all of us so we don’t have to leave so much behind in the future.”

“That’s a great idea. I was starting to think we should try to bring the wagon to the dungeons, but I get the feeling the old thing wouldn’t make it more than a few feet out of the city.” Arwin chuckled and shook his head. “Bags are definitely a wise choice.”

“Especially for the near future. We’re going to have a lot of Wyrm meat to officially launch the tavern with. I’m going to try to announce its opening after we take out the horde.”

“Isn’t it already open?”

“Yeah. It’s just a marketing trick that Rodrick told me about. It gets people excited because they think its new. And to be fair, the tavern has kind of been pretty devoid of much draw. Once we’ve got some Wyrm meat and I’ve finished furnishing the rooms, I’ll have a real product to sell people.”

Arwin nodded. They both finished off their sandwiches, not saying anything else. The peace was nice. Even though it had only been a night since he’d last eaten with Lillia, he hadn’t realized quite how much he’d missed it. It was a good change of pace from working through the whole day.

I need to go full force for the last few days before we head out to deal with the Wyrms. After that, I can let myself breathe a little more.

He leaned back against the wall but was surprised to find that there was a pillow already behind him. Lillia must have already set the bed while waiting for him. The thought caused the back of his neck to redden.

A moment later, she sat back beside him. Arwin thought about saying something for a few seconds. The problem was, he wasn’t sure what to say. All the words he could think of would take the conversation in a direction that they couldn’t afford – not when there was so much at stake in the near future.

Not tonight. This isn’t just about me. Lillia and I both have a responsibility to our guild and keeping them safe. I can’t risk all of that because I can’t control myself for a few days.

His shoulder brushed against Lillia’s and his determination nearly crumbled then and there. Arwin drew in a slow breath and let it out through his mouth to steady himself.

“Not too long until we head out to deal with the Wyrms,” Lillia observed from beside him. “You think we’ll be ready?”

“Yes,” Arwin replied without an ounce of doubt in his mind. “We’ll be ready. I finished the set for Rodrick today, and I’ll give it to him tomorrow. My bow is just about ready as well – I just need to make an arrow for it and some gauntlets to keep me from cutting my hand off with the string. After that, it’ll just be making extra gear until we set out. Maybe we can go back to Olive’s dungeon – there could be some more good materials we could get.”

“It’ll be a few days before we can. It’s only open on certain days to make sure the monster population doesn’t get cut down too hard. I already asked her about it,” Lillia said through a yawn. “I don’t think we’ll have time for another run before the horde.”

“Then we’ll deal with the horde as we are. I would have loved to get a few more levels in Apprentice before we did, but I can’t complain. Are you close to Apprentice 5?”

“Getting there. I might hit it before the horde – and I’ll definitely hit it after. My progression is slower because I need to cook rare monsters to get the most magical energy and, well, we haven’t exactly fought that much all that rare. Not much that was edible, at least.”

“Yeah. We did get a bit unfortunate in that regard.”

“It’s fine. I’m going to make up all that drawback when we take out the Wyrms. I’ve even got some iceboxes ready to store their meat,” Lillia said, a tinge of excitement entering her voice. She shook her head, and her hair brushed against the nape of Arwin’s neck. “I don’t want to start cooking my eggs before they hatch, though.”

“I don’t think that’s the saying.”

Lillia let out a soft laugh. “Olive taught me that one. Either way, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’m just looking forward to being done with this shitshow. If those Wyrms turn into a big problem, the Adventurer’s Guild might actually come out here. That’s the last thing we need.”

“We’ll stop them,” Arwin said, his jaw setting. “Well, that or we’ll find out that there’s no horde at all and we’ve completely misread the situation.”

“All the hints point toward a pregnant wyrm, but I suppose we’ll find out,” Lillia agreed. She yawned again, then slid down a few inches in bed to rest her head against his shoulder. “But we can worry about that when the sun is up.”

“And after I give Rodrick his armor,” Arwin added, a grin flitting across his lips. “He’s going to lose his shit.”

“I’m sure he’ll love it. I still like my set more, though.”

“You haven’t even seen his set.”

“I haven’t,” Lillia agreed. “But you made mine for me.”

Arwin’s heart skipped a beat, but it seemed like Lillia had already forgotten the words even after they’d come out of her mouth. She settled in, her entire side pressed against his, and her breathing slowed as she drifted off to sleep.

How can she do that so quickly? It’s unfair.

He let his head rest against the pillow behind him and let his body relax. Lillia was right. There would be enough time to worry in the morning. Right now, he needed to get some rest – and even if he’d want to try to think about anything else, Lillia’s presence at his side wouldn’t permit it.

Arwin’s eyes drifted shut. It wouldn’t be long before it was time to deal with the Wyrms. And, after them, they’d find a way to deal with Jessen. When he thought of it like that, it wasn’t all that bad.

All they had to do was survive the next week or so.