With the tavern now closed, Brand went up to the inn for rest. He was also monitoring the old man's movement with his beetle.
The old man's live location was showing up on his Map. The yellow dot indicated his location, moving through the silent streets, until it stopped moving."Hmm, the old man didn't exit the village." Brand observed. He then looked at his hand.
"I'm down to eight fingers now…" Brand looked at his fingers.
"You can make eight more beetles!" Seraphine giggled, tapping his fingers one by one. Brand just ignored her, too lazy to give her any reaction.
"I need gloves," He needed to cover his hands. At this rate, he might really use up all his fingers.
He checked his wolf pelt to see if he could make a pair of gloves out of it, but he gave up the thought.
He could just buy from the market.
"Let's head to the market tomorrow morning." He decided. The first thing he would do tomorrow was head straight to the village plaza.
Brand went to sleep after saying that. This has been a very long day for him. The piled-up fatigue made him want to release them all. There have been too many stimuli up to now.
Seraphine looked at the moon and smiled. Then she flew to the side of Brand.
"Sleep tight, Brand." Seraphine caressed his hair and sang a lullaby for him.
A silent lullaby was humming in the worn-down inn.
…stars…night…twinkle
*
Over the night sky, with the moon as backdrop, a long violet-haired woman was floating, with a spear in her hand.
She was looking straight at the upper floor of the Tavern of Brawl.
To be more specific, she was looking at the room, with Brand sleeping alone.
Then she flew off in the direction of the moon.
***
The next morning, Brand woke up early and waited at the tavern for Lena. He planned to go to the street market together.
He tied his baggage together with the Vibrant Shield and carried it on his back.
"Even if we're unsure of Lena's identity, she was still disguised as a merchant." Brand spoke to Seraphine.
"Okay?" Seraphine tilted her head at Brand's sudden statement.
"It would always be nice to go shopping with a merchant." Brand nodded his head to his own statement.
This was coming from his own experience.
His mom was a beast when it came to negotiation of price in the market, always getting the best deal.
However, after waiting past breakfast time, Lena still had not come down.
"Hmm, still sleeping?" Seraphine asked.
"Or maybe she went to do her things?" Brand pondered. However, the beetle in the oasis has no feedback yet, so he let her be.
"Let's just go." He wrapped the new hand that had a finger removed.
He would quickly go and buy a pair of good-looking gloves first, to hide his hand. He might really need to summon more beetles.
'I'll run out of excuses on how my fingers got decapitated.'
As Brand walked through the street, he browsed through the goods offered for sale. He saw some herbs up for sale, the herbs he had picked in the oasis.
He was surprised when he saw the price and asked the vendor. They were surprisingly high-priced.
"It was hard to come by herbs in deserts, lad." The vendor replied.
"Well, good point," Brand said to the vendor.
He'll make a return to the oasis in future days. To stockpile some money-making herbs.
He continued skimming through the vendors until he reached the equipment shop.
"Good morning!" The owner of the shop was a middle-aged man with a beard across his face.
He greeted Brand while lifting a bag of coals with an arm.
Brand felt an intense heat across the shop and looked around to find that the equipment shop and the blacksmith next door were connected.
The furnace was sitting in the corner of the shop, burning relentlessly.
"Do you know how to use the forge?" The shop owner put down the coals and asked.
"A little. I know how to make spearheads and arrows," Brand replied proudly.
Right then, he got a notification from the System.
==========
Mission: Forge a spearhead.
The owner of the shop, Blacksmith Eran, was impressed that you have experience in smithing.
Show him your skill.
Reward: Worn glove from Eran.
==========
"Interesting, hahaha!" Eran laughed and pointed to the forge. "Show me!"
Eran passed his glove to Brand.
[Eran's Work Glove - Glove worn for 30 years. ]
Brand's cyborg eye was activated, and scanned the work glove handed to him.
"Whoa… 30 years of sweat!" Seraphine let out a playful giggle.
Brand shook his head, pinching the glove between two fingers. "No wonder it's so… fragrant. It's basically an antique."
"It had accompanied me through blood and sweat!" Eran declared while laughing.
"He seemed happy to pass you the glove," Seraphine remarked. "Just accept it!"
Brand checked the effect of the glove and was stunned.
[Hard Work Pays (Passive): Forging an equipment or weapon would have a low possibility of stat increase.]
"Here goes nothing." Brand was more than willing to put on the glove and walked towards the forge.
The forge was both demanding and relentless. Anyone who used the forge knew this well. The forge rewarded those who were patient and persistent with creation.
Brand stood in front of the forge and felt a wave of heat rush over him. The flame flickered on his face. He felt the heat and began to sweat on his forehead.
His focus was all on the metal rod he had in his hand. He shoved the metal rod into the forge and watched it heat up. The metal rod slowly glowed as its temperature rose.
Once it was hot enough, he pulled it out with his tongs and placed it on the anvil.
He raised the hammer over the forge and struck it with steady force, flattening the heated metal bit by bit.
With each strike, he tempered the metal, slowly shaping it into the form he envisioned. The metal rod was slowly malleable into a spearhead under the constant tempering.
Brand inserted it into water, and steam burst out as the hot metal cooled.
He smiled, satisfied with the newly forged spearhead, as well as the notification from the System.
[You have successfully forged a weapon.]
[Hardwork Pays (Passive Skill) - activated. STR +1.]
[Mission Accomplished - Forge a spearhead.]
[Reward received - Eran's Work Glove.]