"What did you just say?" Danzel said with this chilling voice.

Even though Gerak tried to keep himself calm and serious, the sudden blood lust from Danzel was like throwing ice-cold water on top of him.

His heart started racing while cold sweat was already forming behind this back just by looking at him.

*Gulp...

Gerak nervously stared at Danzel, while this figure was by the second growing taller and taller.

"I...."

"Explain, if the answer is fitting then you might survive." Danzel interrupted Gerak.

'Maybe...' Gerak's grim expression became even worse by that word.

"Well...the thing is that the sword that I spend all my resources, including the money from you runes were spent into the creation of this work is back at my forge".

"I planned to deliver this sword for my apprenticeship test in hopes to increase my chances. Going back in the kingdom would be a massive loss on my side and maybe destroy all my last hopes of getting an apprenticeship "

Putting a brave front, Gerak said firmly.

"And I couldn't possibly want to separate myself from his chance!"

Danzel looked at the dwarf speechless.

Gripping the sheath, Danzel slowly drew Veren out.

A panicked look showed on Geraks face.

"Wait, wait! Hear me out! There are benefits too!"

Hearing the magic word, Danzel removed this blood lust and looked and hinted to go on.

"You see... since I ain't having a [Ring of Spatial Storage] such as you lucky an*s, I usually keep most on my saving behind a small hidden door under the reception table. There should be some left from my savings and the sword".

"..." Staring at Gerak, Danzel's silence started to creep Gerak a bit.

"Gerak, you should know that I got no use of money. What's the use of mentioning money to me?" Danzel said solemnly.

"You ungrateful country pumpkin! Money makes the world move! Someone like you will never understand the effort that goes into making money!" Gerak pointed that, feeling greatly insulted by Danzel's remark.

Gerak didn't know much if not anything about runes, but what he knew was, that making runes was completely free of any costs!

Compared to enchanting that required rare resources and blacksmithing that took hours just to craft an item.

Rune carving basically laughs at those two occupations right in their faces.

Dismissing the fact that runes needed a catalyst for them to work, they were no other cost involved.

And with runes being so scarce and the process of carving being if mastered less than a half an hour.

One would swim in gold coins.

After all, runes counted as an additional permanent increase of someone's equipment.

The one seeking external power wouldn't hesitate to throw their gold coins at Danzel.

Heck, they would even beg him to take their money from their wallets!

Though as a dwarf blacksmith, Gerak received a similar treatment, he who had to worry about finding mana crystals and various resources to continue crafting and improving his skills in blacksmithing find it unfair.

"..." Danzel stared at Gerak and began stroking the hilt of Veren with seemingly no good intent.

Seeing that, Gerak started to get nervous.

"Danzel... There shouldn't be anyone on my smithy and I just want you to pick my stuff for me. Though others except for me and Smithen, the others aren't aiming for an apprentice. But I do."

"And my only chance to receive it is by presenting this sword. Without it I ain't leaving Bernes...and without me present those guys would never help you out of the capital..."

Gerak bowed. At 90 degrees towards Danzel.

"Please, I need to retrieve the sword. Consider it as if own you..."

Geraks bow looked somewhat comedic to Danzel as the former was half his height.

Looking at the genuine look of Gerak, he moved this head and stared at the sky.

`I should even know that coming in the capital was a mistake..." Danzel though.

Though he gained many benefits from coming here, in his opinion. The risk involved wasnt worth the reward.

The moment he showed this ability of runesmithing, he was doomed to bring unwanted attention to himself. Be that as it may, he could only blame himself alone, not Gerak.

He had many chances to leave while also achieving his original object, which was to get a new armor for himself.

If he had left after the first auction, he would have the armor at the gold to get by around for a long time.

`I dont regret it... Danzel firmly thought while glancing at his [Ring of Spatial Storage] and all other items he got inside of it.

`Getting myself such treasure and the resources to grind my XP in peace was good enough... I shouldnt be greedy.

"You just want me to pick the sword right..?"

Gerak raised this head in surprise and looked straight at Danzel with a hopeful expiration.

"Yes..."

Dark green ethereal mana siped out of Danzel's armor, wrapping around his armor.

"Understood..." Leaving traces to the ground, he used [Leap] together with [Dash] to jump up high.

Gripping a window of the building, Danzels finger dug in the stone itself before using the same combination of skills to jump to the roof.

"Dont forget, you own me one..."

Danzel voice echoed through the alley before he disappeared from the sight of the dwarfs.

****

Night in front of the OuruFire Smith...

"Ugh... here I accepted the transfer from the gates just for the better pay, but to think that they would make me work at night..." A man wearing a guard's uniform complained out loud.

"Thats why I am telling you to hear probable before you accept any new jobs, you idiot." The man beside him with the same uniform mocked shortly after.

"Are you calling me an idiot, Tedric?" The man frown.

"Of course I mean you Derrick, do you see someone else around in the road or roof?" Tedric said as if he was stating facts.

"Tedric, you..." Derrick's face frowned at this friend.

"Now~now, at least see the positives. With that money we get for today would be enough to go somewhere and have some fun with a slave or two." Tedric said with a vicious smile on his face

Hearing that, Derrick quickly dismissed his annoyance towards this friend.

"Sigh...why are we even sent in that abandon smithy anyway?" Derrick said while watching some insects gathering around the light out of boredom.

"Man...did you accept the job without knowing anything about it?" Tedric look at Derrick as if he was an idiot.

"Well... all I know is that I have to stand guard here and the additional pay. As for the details..." Derrick scratches this cheek out of embarrassment.

He felt quite awkward being caught red-handed.

"Sigh...dwarf blacksmiths have been disappearing suddenly all around the capital and the abandon smithy behind us was where one of those dwarfs was."

"I see..." Derrick nodded solemnly, with an expression saying `I listen to absolute nothing.

"Anyway, will you be paying after our shift is over-" Before Derrick finishes his sentence, a large roof tile fell to the ground, shattering into many pieces.

*Btcch!

Both Derrick and Tedric pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the place where the roof tile fell.

"Who is there!" Tedric screamed while scanning these surroundings.

...

Except for his echoes, silence fell in the dark roads with only some lanterns lighting the way.

"Hey Derrick, go check that alley over there quickly..." Tedric said while looking at the roof tile and a dark alley path.

"Huh? Why should I go? Is just the wind..." Derrick said annoyed.

"Go already..." Tedric firmly said while looking warry around.

Seeing that, Derrick frown.

"Tch, fine! But you will be paying for the next drink." Derrick said while walking towards the broken roof tile.

Tedric who stayed behind at the door looked at Derrick and sighted internally.

`I guess the recent war got me stressed out to make me paranoid. As Tedric put this sword back in his sheath. A cloaked figure came from above with a long sword covered with cloth.

When the cloaked figure made a contact with the ground, no sound was made.

Without noticing the tall cloaked figure, a hand blocked Tedrics mouth, with the long sword shortly piercing Tedrics heart.

"!!!" Tedric wanted to scream out of pain, but the fingers of the cloaked figure basically sank in this face, making him unable to make any sound at all.

The cloth covered long sword glowed weakly with crimson light and the cloth that absorbed the blood started to get clean again.

In less than three seconds, Tedric lost all his strength with the light on his eyes fading away.

"Hey, Tedric! It was just the wind after all!" Derrick called out as he was getting closer to the smithy from the alley he went.

The cloaked figure quickly pulled his sword out and in less than a second, the corpse of Tedric vanished completely into thin air.

The cloaked figure hastily jumped to the roof, disappearing without leaving any traces of blood or body.

"Hey, make sure that you will pay for the nex-" As Derrick came out of the alley and back to the road of the OuruFire Smith.

There were no traces of Tedric to be seen.

"Huh?" Stunned, Derrick looked around nervously.

"T-Tedric? Tedric! Where you-" With panic showing in this face.

A shadow befell on him.

And before he knew it, a runed blade pierced this heart.