Kazike and I strolled through the bustling central market of Druzka, the heavy scent of hot metal and coal fire wafting through the air. I glanced down at the wrapped bundle I clutched to my chest. "Kazike, are we heading to the smithing shop first?"
"Yes," Kazike replied, nodding. "We'll ask the master dwarf there about the weapon you're holding. The name alone suggests it's exceptionally powerful. Lord Raku said it doubles the wielder's speed, right?"
"Alright," I agreed, practically buzzing with excitement. "With a name like Wrath of God, it must be incredible!"
"Save your questions for the smith," Kazike advised, adjusting his armor. "I don't know much about ancient artifacts either. We'll consult Renarudo; he's the best smith in the market."
As we walked, I looked up at him thoughtfully. "Well, Kazike, my birthday is tomorrow."
"Birthday?" Kazike inquired, looking genuinely puzzled.
"Yes, it's the day someone is born. Don't you celebrate birthdays here?" I explained.
"Oh, I see! An anniversary of birth. I didn't realize it was your special day tomorrow. I'm sorry I don't have a gift prepared for you yet," Kazike said, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling a pang of guilt.
"It's alright, Kazike! But since it's a special day, can I ask why you didn't invite your new fiancée, Bitshu, to join us?" I asked cheerfully.
Kazike looked at me, thoroughly amused but slightly embarrassed. "You're quite young to be asking questions about my love life, kid."
"I'm just saying, you should definitely have a good time and take Bitshu out to celebrate!"
Kazike sighed, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Yeah, yeah. I'll ask her out later."
As we arrived at an open-air forge, the ringing sound of hammers hitting anvils echoed around us. Kazike called out over the noise, "Murphiette! Where's your father?"
A young dwarven woman, her face smudged with soot and engrossed in hammering a breastplate, looked up. "He's out back pulling slag, but he should be returning soon."
"Ah, I see. By the way, this is Kazu, an S-Rank adventurer from our Guild," Kazike introduced me.
"S—S-Rank?!" Murphiette's eyes widened in surprise, dropping her hammer. "Isn't that the absolute highest rank?!"
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you," I greeted with a polite bow.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot my manners. I'm Murphiette, the master smith's daughter. Just call me Murph," she said with a bright smile.
"Ah, okay, Merph," I replied.
"It's Murph. Not Merph. Just because you're an S-Rank doesn't mean you can mangle my name!" Murph retorted, crossing her arms.
"I'm so sorry! I must have misheard over the fire. It's Murph, then," I apologized, feeling incredibly awkward.
Murphiette's father, Renarudo, a broad-shouldered dwarf with a thick, braided beard, arrived from the back room at that exact moment. "Kazike? Good to see you! And who's this little one?"
"Renarudo, this is Kazu, an S-Rank from our Guild. Kazu, this is Renarudo, the master smith of Druzka," Kazike introduced us.
"S-Rank... but he's just a child," Renarudo mused, eyeing me with deep interest. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, lad."
"Hello, sir," I greeted respectfully.
"So, what brings you to my forge, Kazike?" Renarudo asked, wiping his soot-stained hands on a thick leather apron.
"Kazu has some questions about a Rune Stone and his new weapon. Oh, and Kazu, you should be the one to talk to him so the locals get to know you," Kazike advised, stepping back.
"Yes, Kazike," I replied. Turning to Renarudo, I reached into my pouch. "Sir, we found this Rune Stone with a [C] symbol on it. Can you help me understand what it does?"
Renarudo's eyes bulged as he examined the glowing stone in my palm. "Wait! Where in the world did you get this?! It's one of the rarest and most valuable types of Rune Stones in existence! How did you acquire it?"
"I found it lying in the dirt in a dungeon a few days ago," I explained honestly.
"Found it?! You can't just pick up a stone like this. You need a high-level Mining skill just to safely extract such a delicate artifact from the bedrock!" Renarudo said incredulously.
"But... my Mining skill is only Level 1," I admitted.
"Level 1?! It is mathematically impossible to retrieve a Combat Rune with such a low skill level. You are impossibly lucky, lad," Renarudo marveled, shaking his head.
"But what does it actually do?" I asked eagerly.
"There are four main types of Rune Stones," Renarudo explained, holding up a thick, calloused finger for each. "The [C] stands for Combat. A Combat Rune drastically enhances the maximum potential damage of a weapon. For example, if you attach a [C] Rune to an ordinary iron dagger, it permanently doubles the base damage. The [D] is for Defender; it nullifies incoming magic skills from F-Rank to A-Rank and adds up to fifty percent additional physical defense to armor. The [E] Rune is for Experience gain, and the [S] Rune provides additional passive skills to the wearer. Do you understand?"
"Somewhat... I really want to learn more," I said, my interest fully piqued.
"Good. Prepare yourself; I have much more to teach you about the art of Runesmithing," Renarudo said, gesturing for me to follow him deeper into the smithing area.
Kazike yawned widely. "You two have fun with the nerd stuff. I'm going to take a nap on these grain sacks."
For the next three hours, Renarudo lectured me on the precise magical temperatures and hammer strikes required to bind runes to metal. My eyes were wide with understanding as I absorbed the information.
"So, the core effects are: [C] for damage, [D] for defense, [E] for experience, and [S] for skills?"
"Exactly! You're a very intelligent lad, and incredibly quick to memorize all this technical information. No wonder you're an S-Rank adventurer," Renarudo praised, clapping me on the back.
"Aahh... Hehe, it's nothing, Renarudo. Actually... I wanted to make a request regarding my new weapon. I hope it's okay," I said nervously.
"Let's see it. What kind of weapon is it?" Renarudo asked.
"It's a dagger," I said, handing over the weapon wrapped in soft velvet. "It was given to me as a reward for completing an S-Rank job quest for Lord Raku."
Renarudo unwrapped the cloth, his breath hitching. "The Wrath of God... This is an ancient artifact. I've heard the legends. It enhances the speed of anyone who wields it, but the blade has no runes currently inscribed. It also requires a massive, constant drain of mana just to hold it. Is that correct?"
"Yes, but I don't know much else about it," I confirmed.
Suddenly, Kazike jolted awake from his nap on the grain sacks, flailing his arms. "Huh?! What's happening?! Who's the enemy?! Where are they?!!"
I laughed out loud. "Kazike... you were just having a nightmare. Go back to sleep."
"Oh, right. Sorry, I must have dozed off too deeply. I'll just rest here a bit longer," Kazike mumbled, settling back down and immediately snoring.
Renarudo turned his attention back to me, his eyes gleaming with professional challenge. "So, you want to forge your [C] Rune Stone into this ancient dagger?"
"Yes, please. Is that possible?" I asked.
"It is. However, it's incredibly dangerous and expensive to smith a God-tier artifact. My normal fee for this level of work is three hundred gold coins, as I'm the best smith in the country. But..." He grinned through his beard. "I've never had the chance to strike my hammer against The Wrath of God. I'll do it for free this time, just for the honor of the craft. Just make sure to take good care of the blade after I'm done."
"Thank you so much!" I bowed deeply, incredibly grateful.
"Alright, give me the Rune Stone, and stand back so you can see the results," Renarudo instructed.
I handed him the glowing [C] Rune. Renarudo placed the dark dagger on his massive mythril anvil. He took a deep breath, his muscles bulging as he raised his glowing, enchanted smithing hammer.
With the first strike of the hammer against the rune and the blade, a brilliant, blinding light radiated through the entire shop. CLANG! Sparks of pure magic showered the room. Renarudo continued his rhythmic, powerful strikes until the Rune Stone completely melted and was absorbed directly into the dark metal of the blade.
"The light..." I murmured, shielding my eyes.
"It's done," Renarudo panted, wiping sweat from his brow. He used a pair of tongs to quench the blade in a barrel of glowing blue liquid. "But I must warn you... condensing a Combat Rune into an artifact usually increases its physical density. You might find it difficult to lift."
He set the cooled dagger on the table.
I reached out and picked it up. "It's a bit heavier," I noted, twirling it casually in my fingers, "but I can still lift it perfectly fine."
Renarudo examined the situation, his eyes narrowing. "Hmm... the mana drain on that weapon should be astronomical right now. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"Yes, it feels completely natural to me," I smiled.
Renarudo reached out, trying to grasp the hilt from my hand just to test the weight. The moment his fingers brushed the leather, a violent shock of static electricity threw his hand back, and his knees briefly buckled from the sudden, violent mana drain.
He gasped for air. "Well... it seems you are exceptionally strong, lad. It has bound itself to your aura. You are the only one who can keep it."
"Really? Thank you so much! I finally have my own weapon!" I exclaimed, overjoyed.
Renarudo watched as I strapped the dagger to my belt, a deeply thoughtful expression on his face. "I wonder if he could handle the other cursed artifacts I have locked in the vault..." he muttered to himself.
I walked back out to the storefront where Kazike was stretching his arms. "Oh, Kazu, you're back! How's the dagger? You look happy."
"Yes, Kazike! I'm so excited. The smithing is complete!" I said, unbuckling the sheath to hand the weapon to him so he could see the new rune glowing on the blade.
Kazike grabbed the hilt. He immediately dropped to one knee, groaning as he nearly dropped the weapon. "What is this?! It's impossibly heavy... And it just violently shocked me!"
"Are you okay, Kazike? What happened?" I asked, quickly taking the dagger back. The moment it left his hands, Kazike gasped in relief.
"I'm fine, but why is it so heavy for me and not for you?" Kazike wondered, rubbing his tingling palm.
"I'm not sure. Renarudo said it bound itself to my mana," I replied.
Suddenly, a massive blue system window materialized in front of my eyes:
[Notification: God-Level Artifact Recognized] [Weapon Name: The Wrath of God (Runed)] [Item Skill Unlocked: Light Speed] Allows the holder to move at the absolute speed of light for 2 minutes. (Cooldown: 10 minutes). [Passive Effect: Combat Rune (C)] Inflicts an additional 100% base damage to all targets.
My eyes widened in absolute amazement. Item skills?! Even items have their own unique skills?! I think I'm starting to understand how this world works...
Kazike glanced at the setting sun, completely oblivious to my system screens. "Kazu, I need to head home now. I've got to get ready for my date with Bitshu tonight. You can manage getting back to the orphanage on your own, right?"
"Ah, yes, I can manage!" I replied, eager to find an empty field to test the dagger. Speed of light... I definitely have to try that later.
"Alright, take care, kid. And happy birthday in advance!" Kazike called out as he walked away, waving over his shoulder.
"Thank you, Kazike!" I shouted back, waving goodbye as I eagerly anticipated the adventures that tomorrow would bring.