'What an impressive lineup.'
Noah looked at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar faces in front of him, his gaze moving across each of them.
These were the main force of the Loki Familia.
Bete Loga and the Hiryute sisters.
"Welcome to my workshop, adventurers of the Loki Familia." Noah smiled as he opened the workshop door and gestured for them to come inside.
"Huh?"
The werewolf youth furrowed his brows.
His twitching eyebrows made it clear he was holding back a lot of anger.
While the others had already started walking in, Bete stayed rooted in place with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey! Finn! Are you messing with us?!"
His roar was so loud that the Amazon twins quickly covered their ears with disgusted looks on their faces.
Tione, the older sister who had a similar short temper, stomped her foot so hard the ground shook.
"Shut up, Bete!"
"Enough! This isn't a joke! I don't have time for this crap! Explain yourself, Finn!"
Finn, who was also covering his ears, lowered his hands and glanced at Noah.
To his surprise, the boy looked completely calm, like a bystander watching an amusing show.
Finn sighed and explained, "Bete, what exactly are you so dissatisfied about?"
"Everything! Absolutely everything!"
Bete waved his hand wildly in Noah's direction.
"First of all, isn't this just some brat? A human kid who looks barely ten years old."
At that moment, Noah expressionlessly raised his hand like a student in class.
"I'm indeed ten years old."
Bete froze for a second.
Then he exploded again. "THAT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE!"
He knew that in the world of blacksmithing, age usually meant experience and skill.
This kid was way too young!
Seeing how worked up he was, Finn spoke helplessly, "Bete, I already told you before we came here that his abilities are guaranteed."
"Ah, Bete never listens to anyone anyway. I think he's really hard to get along with," Tiona whispered to her sister.
Unfortunately, her voice wasn't quiet at all since everyone heard it clearly.
"Tch, who has time to play games with you?"
Bete clicked his tongue and turned to leave.
But Finn suddenly appeared right in front of him, blocking his path like he had teleported.
"Wait."
The sudden move startled the werewolf, and veins bulged on his forehead.
Noah watched the scene in surprise.
'Finn's speed is insane... I couldn't even follow that movement.'
From what he knew, Finn wasn't even specialized in agility, yet he moved that fast.
The physical stats of the pallum race were usually low, but Finn made up for it with incredible technique and precision.
"Move!" Bete said coldly.
But it wasn't Finn who reacted next—it was Tione.
After coming to Orario, she and her sister had accepted many challenges.
Most adventurers who wanted the twins in their Familia got completely crushed.
Until Finn showed up.
Tione had challenged him to a duel, and the result was a total defeat.
That overwhelming strength had left a deep impression on her.
"Bete, you better show some respect, or I won't mind ripping your tail off!"
"You fucking bitch, come and try it! I'll kick your ass!"
Noah let out a quiet sigh and silently activated the Raven Feather on his hand.
He pressed his palm against the ground and directed the force forward so he wouldn't damage his new workshop.
'Impact—Resonance Detonation!'
BOOM!
The ground groaned loudly.
The sudden shockwave startled everyone except Finn, making them jump back.
Cracks spread across the earth beneath their feet, forcing them to tense their muscles just to keep their balance.
"Can we go inside and talk now? My time isn't unlimited either."
Despite causing such a huge commotion, Noah's face remained completely calm, as if the earthquake had nothing to do with him.
'This... isnt he Level 2?'
'What kind of Level 2 has this kind of power?'
'Riveria was right.'
'This guy isn't normal!'
Bete suddenly went quiet.
Of course, he wasn't scared. Even if a black dragon dropped from the sky right in front of him, he wouldn't be intimidated.
He had noticed something important.
A normal Level 2 couldn't possibly produce that kind of destructive power.
The secret was in that dark gray metal gauntlet on the boy's hand.
He had only pressed his hand on the ground with no strength in it and no chant—yet it caused that much damage.
That alone was enough proof.
'As hard as it was to believe, this brat... really was a blacksmith.'
Although Noah wasn't looking directly at them, he was carefully observing each person.
He knew Bete was the type who only respected strength.
Having lost too much in the past, he saw weakness as something unforgivable.
'But once you earn his recognition, he becomes the most reliable ally you could ask for.'
'Who would've thought a guy who looks this rough on the outside is actually a classic tsundere inside?'
"That's so amazing!" Tiona's bright and cheerful personality made her easy to like.
She praised Noah without hesitation and walked straight up to him.
"Hey, you're Noah, right? I'm Tiona. Ais told me about you. You're really something! You forged Alise's weapon when you were still Level 1, didn't you? It might not be my ideal type of weapon, but it's definitely incredible."
Noah looked at her and thought that even though she was older than him, she acted more like a kid.
"Thank you. You can tell me your weapon requirements now. I'll take notes and create equipment that fits your fighting style and personality."
"Really?" Tiona's eyes sparkled with excitement.
This was her first time getting custom-made equipment, so she was genuinely thrilled.
"Of course. Actually, I'd like you to tell me as much about yourself as possible."
"Got it! Then I'll start talking!"
Noah nodded, took out a pen and sat down at his drawing table.
"I have two skills! One is Berserk, which makes me stronger the more injured I am. The other is Intense Heat, which boosts all my abilities when I'm close to death. When both skills activate at the same time, I become super, super, super strong!"
'Hmm... The more injured, the stronger? She's basically a berserker.'
"Tiona, extend your hand."
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Faced with Noah's sudden request, the Amazon girl responded without hesitation and held out her hand.
Noah took it gently and activated Appraisal.
Since Tiona's level was quite high, simply looking at her only gave him limited information, so direct contact was needed.
[Tiona Hiryute]
・Loki Familia member
・Adventurer Level: 4
・Race: Amazon
・Status: Minor Injury
・Basic Abilities:
Strength: S912
Endurance: A884
Dexterity: B760
Agility: A855
Magic: I0
・Development Abilities: Diving G, Fist Strike G, Abnormal Resistance H
・Skills: [Berserk], [Intense Heat]
'As expected of an Amazon. Her strength, endurance, and agility are all outstanding.'
Since she had no magic-related skills or special traits, her magic stat was zero.
That was pretty normal though—only a few people were blessed with magic.
"You're injured?" Noah asked casually while he began sketching.
Tiona tilted her head, looking a bit confused, but answered honestly.
"Yeah, my shoulder got hurt a little earlier. But as long as I don't move it too much, it doesn't really hurt."
"Oh," Noah replied, then lightly snapped his fingers.
A soft light similar to a healing potion suddenly appeared around Tiona before quickly fading away.
"Huh?" Tiona moved her shoulder in surprise.
The pain that had been there moments ago was completely gone.
"It's healed! That's so cool! What was that? Was it Magic? Noah, you can use healing magic too?"
'What??'
This time, even Bete and Finn looked shocked.
'No chant, just a snap of the fingers, and the injury was gone?'
Finn narrowed his eyes.
'Strange.'
Based on all the information he had gathered so far, he had been certain that Noah himself had no magic ability.
Although he could heal others, it should have required those special items called "Recovery Bullets."
But just now, he only snapped his fingers...
'Could my previous analysis have been wrong?'