I answered, not caring about his embarrassment, “Overpowered. I’m gonna be salty! This should make a big different in the tournament.”
The dwarf sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t make you a masterpiece set of armor for you to take it and play around with a bunch of fools. I won’t have it.”
I lifted up the chest piece and slid it over my head. The pauldrons were already attached and I marveled at how perfectly it fit. The vambraces were snug against my skin. It gave me an odd feeling, almost like I was wearing a thicker set of skin over my own. It felt even lighter and more flexible than my thick leather armor had been.
“I’m not going to be playing around. I spoke with Teegan about recruiting people to go and fight the Rat King. He said that if I won some fights in the arena, my reputation would improve and make it more likely to win fighters for the cause. Or was he mistaken?”
Helping me adjust the armor, he begrudgingly agreed, “No, I suppose not. You’d better tell everyone who made it, though.”
“Of course I will.” Next on were the gauntlets and greaves. I jumped up and down a few times and threw some punches in the air.
“You look like a jerk now,” he said. “Pick your axe up and take a few swings. That will give you an idea of what you’re dealing with.”
I took the dwarf’s sage advice. To my continued delight, the armor proved flexible, even when twisting in a slashing strike. I didn’t care who I’d be facing in the ring today. With this on, they were all but dead already.
Wardahl informed me as he surveyed the gleaming red armor, “I’ve got another set for your friend, though it is designed differently. I hear she’s a ranger.”
“I’m sure Hana will be excited. We can’t thank you enough.” I looked the dwarf in the eyes, trying to be serious for once. “What can I do to repay you? This is far too grand a gift to accept without proper thanks.”
He shook his head solemnly. “I won’t accept a thing. Besides, I have enough extra material to make a couple other specialty items. I could sell them for a thousand gold or more. There was also the honor of working with the material itself. More precious than mithril, though don’t tell Wardeen I said so.”
I pressed, hoping to gain something from the man I could do for him. “Please, just tell me something you fancy, then. Consider it a gift from a friend. What makes Wardahl the handsome happy in his heart?”
He blushed at my compliment, a strange thing to see on a dwarf fierce enough to eat stone, then replied softly, “Well, if you ever find any sapphires, I do fancy them. Beautiful things but also useful. They can be imbued with power and can even accept runes. An enchanted gemstone can enhance any item, you know?”
“Gems, eh? Alright. Thank you, Wardahl. I’ll be off now. See you at the arena. I’m gonna see if there is anything else I can buy that might tip the scales.” I left the smith with a spring in my step, the soft click and snap of the armor moving around me.
I browsed some wares in a potions shop and scoffed at the prices of the healing potions. 500 gold dragons for a single Minor Health Potion. It only raised your HP by ten percent! I left after buying a few clean bandages and a pile of herbs. Some could be chewed for slow healing effects, others cured poison, and one increased movement speed by five percent for two hours.
A few doors down, I found an armorer. I gazed fondly at the heavy axes and a mithril warhammer. Nothing was as good as what I already had, though.
The smith caught me drooling and asked if I wanted to hold any. I refused and asked him if he could take a look at my axe. I showed him the mithril one that I’d gotten in the mines, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head.
“Can you put a new and better handle on it? I just feel that it could be improved.” I was hoping that the man might be able to boost me up once more before the fights started.
He just shook his head, not breaking eye contact from the glowing silver metal. “No. Only a dwarf weapons master could do anything helpful with that. It is affixed to stone wood, so it could be worse. Yet something like dragon bone or alabaster elm might improve its qualities further.”
I thanked the man, but before leaving, found a small steel throwing axe. I inspected the weapon to see its stats.
High-Steel Throwing Axe
Quality: Fine
Durability 100/100
40-150 damage
+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity
On a hunch, I asked the man how much it cost.
“25 gold dragons. It is nothing so fine as mithril, but it will hold up and it is very light for how strong its edge is. A warrior like you could throw it a hundred strides I’d guess.” The merchant in him was coming to life again.
Not even bothering to haggle, I just paid the man in full and thanked him. The look on his face told me how foolish that might have been, but I was in a great mood. Why not share the love?
The last shop I visited was a jewelry and trinket store. I searched the glass cases, marveling at all the baubles. Most were beautiful, but to me, they were just ways to increase my strength. I already had the amulet that I’d lifted from the thug last night, but I felt a ring was due.
Some gamers, having access to serious YD like I did, would spend thousands of dollars in the real world and come into Eternal Online armed to the teeth yet low-leveled and unskilled. That just felt gross to
