Luck's brain momentarily went blank.
Gard Hellion: The Legendary Blacksmith.
Luck knew this name well. In fact, it would be a wonder if he didn't. His father almost always mentioned this name when recounting his adventures through the lands.
Additionally, his father always spoke the blacksmith's name with great pride and respect. Not only was this legendary figure part of his party, but he was the one who created the only weapon his father used since then.
Even as a Saint, this weapon hadn't lost its value; in fact, he suspected that it became more lethal in the hands of a Saint.
"Are you really Gard?" Luck asked with slight hesitation. "The Legendary Blacksmith, I mean."
Gard chuckled wryly, " The one and only. I'm a little confused why your father didn't introduce us sooner, but it's nice to meet ya, kid."
It wasn't really Luck's fault that he didn't know everyone in the village, even though he was the village chief's son and had supposedly lived there all his life.
Luck was first and foremost a secluded person. He would stay locked in his room whenever he could. The only time he was seen outside was during his pre-awakening training sessions.
Because of this, Luck didn't have close relationships with the other villagers.
That was his brother's forte.
A thought crossed Luck's mind, making him give the dwarf a sidelong glance.
If he was really Gard Hellion, then why the hell was he selling defective products?
"You want to ask me why I'm selling these faulty gears if I am who I say I am, right?"
Luck stared at the dwarf, causing the blacksmith to chuckle with amusement. "It was already obvious with the way you glanced at me like I was Public Enemy Number One. You sure know how to keep a grudge, lad."
Luck looked at the dwarf with an expressionless gaze. "I'm listening."
The smile on Gard's face was replaced with a solemn look as he looked at the young necromancer,
"I understand that you think I'm cheating others by selling these trash goods, but in reality, I'm just trying to protect my creations like any other artisan.
I also used to think that I should put my best into anything I created. It was my pride and joy to see others smile at the works I created. It filled my heart with joy.
But then I started to realize that people didn't really appreciate my work and expertise. I saw countless of my supposed 'loyal customers' change their equipment due to the negligence of their former ones.
Naturally, they didn't blame themselves but the blacksmith, which basically meant that they would seek to get their equipment from somewhere else,
The realization hit me hard. My work was no different from the other smiths in town. In fact, they considered it worse. So I asked myself what the point was of creating crafts for people who didn't even recognize their true value.
To me, the answer was clear as day. So I closed up my shop and left my home city to travel the lands with a broken will."
Gard sighed as a hint of sadness flashed through his eyes.
"I met your father during one of my travels. He recognized my value as a blacksmith and immediately invited me to join his party.
Naturally, I wanted to decline at first, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided to take a break from my partial isolation.
I've been with them ever since, and I can frankly say that I've had the best memories I can remember with them, so when Dan and Vera founded Clearwater Village, I decided to build a shop he
But I guess I still felt complicated about my experience of my first shop, so I came up with the idea to test my customers with these ornamental armors. No one's passed since then."
Luck smirked smugly, "Until I came along. Well its only natural the first to pass your test was me."
Gard gave him a sidelong glance."Blowin' too much smoke up your ass, aren't ya lad?"
Luck shrugged in response. That was what he believed.
"Anyways, even though I don't really understand why you told me all of that and the principle of why you did all that, I've got to respect that."
Gard smiled, "Back to the topic, you get five wishes. Plus, I'll throw in these armors as another freebie."
Luck nodded, indicating he understood.
Gard nodded back in response, "I'll get that packed up for-"
Luck raised a hand casually, "Don't worry bout that."
His shadow rapidly expanded and swallowed up the armors, much to the blacksmith's disbelief.
"Neat trick, huh?" Luck said with a smirk, making Gard click his tongue in annoyance.
He recovered quickly, though. "What do you want?"
"Let's see..." Luck's voice trailed off as he scratched his chin while he decided.
(Since I'm getting things I need, I should get something for the others while I'm at it."
By 'others', he was talking about his summons, of course.
(In that case...)
"I would like..."
As Luck stated what he wanted, causing Gard to raise a brow in surprise.
"Interesting choices. Luckily, I keep a lot of things since I don't usually have any customers."
The dwarf snapped his fingers, and two scrolls appeared in front of Luck, catching him by surprise.
Gard started to walk away. "I'll be back with the rest of your stuff."
Luck, not bothering to reply, held the scrolls in his hands.
*Ding*
[Would you like to learn the skill [Integrate(Ep)]?]
[Y/N]
[Would you like to learn the skill [Craft Comprehension(Ep)]?
[Y/N]