CH.424 The Weapons Competition, part 1

CH.424 The Weapons Competition, part 1

And so, with the legendary sword finished, which we aren’t actually going to show off, the day of the weapons show came.

My original plan, when I heard about the competition, was to move HomeBase up north so that it was close to the city where the competition will hold place, but with all the dhampirs now temporarily living on HomeBase, I decided that it would be a bad idea. International kidnapping or something like that. Sure I have a Royal decree allowing me to keep the dhampirs here, but it is only for the Kingdom. I’m not actually allowed to take the dhampirs out of the country.

So instead Wilma, Karl, Unika, Molly, Cina and I headed for Smorog in B.E.S. Big Core MK-2.

Spoiler

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As to why that exact lineup, well Karl and Wilma should be obvious. Unika will be their guard, not that they really need one. And Molly and Cina just asked to come, so I brought them along.

Admittedly, I was a bit worried. I mean, just look at our group. Two evolved dwarves with both Legendary Weapon Maker and Legendary Bladesmith titles. Two centaurs, one Flame fox-kin. And then there is me, but I’m not really worried for myself. If someone actually overpowers me, then there would be some major trouble.

So because I was worried, I got some help from Iris so I could make emergency teleport devices. They’d basically use a mix of HomeBase’s dungeon founder/master emergency teleport and Space Magic to instantly move someone back to HomeBase. It is a bit mana costly, as it takes between 8,000 and 12,000 mana, depending on the distance, but that is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

So I added an emergency teleport magic circle to the magic circles HomeBase is constantly keeping active and then just added a small addon to the HomeBase access devices that would let them teleport home whenever they needed. I even linked it to the emergency defenses that the access devices have, so if the emergency defense device is activated, after 15 seconds, the teleportation will automatically activate.

Unless the wearer disables it. I wanted that short countdown in case there was an emergency that didn’t require a teleport, like if the defense system already dealt with the threat and it was better to apprehend the attacker.

The city was quite busy, so it took us a while to get anywhere and find an inn. Yes, we could just travel to HomeBase, but we should still have an inn so we aren’t overly suspicious.

And it isn’t like money is a big problem. Yes, this place uses its own currency, but for one, I can just exchange some money, and two, I have a Storage full of monster materials that I can sell. And with all these people in town for the competition, there are plenty of merchants willing to buy materials for higher ranked monsters.

So I got rid of about 20 treants worth of wood. All from B-rank elemental treants. So with that, we have more than enough money for whatever we might need to buy this trip.

Getting a room at an inn was a bit more difficult though, mainly because of Cina and Molly. Not that I blame the locals for the fact that most rooms don’t account for centaurs.

Eventually we did find a place with large rooms and beds which could house them, but I’m not so sure the owner actually liked us beyond the fact that I had money to pay him with. I think he assumes Cina and Molly will shed or something and that he will have to have someone clear away piles of horse hair.

... and in case you were wondering, they do shed. But only really when they brush their bodies. They don’t just leave piles of fur everywhere.

And lastly, we did have to get multiple rooms. Three in total. I was sharing a room with Karl, Molly and Cina had their own room and Unika and Wilma were sharing the third.

Could I have paid for more rooms? Yes. Was the innkeeper already questioning my money use? Also yes.

I do wonder why though. I mean, he is the one making the money off of me. Maybe because he was hoping to get more variety with his quests? We do have to pay for our meals separately, so it is possible.

The next day, we went to sign up for the competition. It was just myself and the two dwarves. The centaurs, after transforming back into horse girls to get less attention, and Unika went shopping somewhere.

There was a bit of a line at the signup, but no more than 6 people. But because the signup itself was a bit time consuming, it took us a while to get our turn.

After paying the entrance fee, 2 smorags or about 1 gold and 2 small silver in the Heroic currency, we, well Wilma and Karl, had to fill in a form about their weapons. And because I was their sponsor, I had to sign and stamp the papers as well.

Oh by the way, I suppose I never talked about that. I did pick what is basically family insignia for myself a while ago. Back when we were in the capital. I just never mentioned it because ... I don’t really know.

And because I wasn’t very creative, I just picked the swirly thingy on the back of Yugioh cards to act as my insignia. Is it somewhat boring and generic? Yes. But also, all of my cards have it, so I think it is appropriate. It is my unique skill after all, and no other noble family has anything like it.

I did also consider using a tree of some kind, you know because my last name is Wood, but trees are quite common in family emblems, so I didn’t really want to use it.

The whirly dirly, and no, I don’t mean that episode of Rick and Morty, also kind of became the mark of ‘Made on HomeBase’ as I put that mark on most HomeBase made things.

It is also etched into the weapons ... well, sword and shield, that Karl and Wilma are putting up into the competition. The sign is right next to where they carved their names. And yes, the two have been marking everything they’ve made post me coming up with the idea with the mark. I told them they don’t have to, but they say I’m the one getting them the materials, so they still do.

And yes. That does mean that Errelitea has that mark, alongside the names of the two dwarven makers. The sword does also carry a bit from each of the superior spirits that helped make it, but you have to know Spirit Magic to be able to ‘read’ that information.

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“... what do you think you are doing?” I asked. I didn’t even bother standing up or anything, but I did try to make my voice sound cold.

That made Karl realize that something bad was going on so he turned around and saw the arm stopped just a bit away from his head.

“Hugo!” Karl called out.

“Hmph. I didn’t know they let criminals into town. How did you cheat the guards? Did you pay them with your non-existent money?” The dwarf, whom Karl identified as Hugo replied.

“Criminal? Karl is suffering his punishment for his crimes, being my slave.” I calmly answered, even though that was a complete lie. He hasn’t been a slave for a while, but that is the punishment that was handed to him for the crimes he ... well okay, he did technically commit.

For those that don’t remember, Karl had a blade of his stolen before he could finish it. He then tried to steal it back, but the dwarf who stole it had already carved his name on the blade, so in the end, Karl was blamed and he was made a slave as a punishment.

And I feel like I might have an idea on who stole his blade. ... you know, just a hunch.

“So I will ask you this. With whose permission are you trying to put your hands on my property?” I asked Hugo, still trying to sound as cold as possible.

“Who the fuck even are you?!” Hugo responded.

I stood up from my seat and easily towered over the dwarf. Sure he may weigh more than I do, but having a good 40 cm of height on the dwarf must be intimidating. ... not to mention the likely over 100 levels I have on him.

“My name is Brian Wood. Honorary Baron of Ruiso Kingdom.” I introduced myself. “So again, with whose permission are you trying to put your hands on my property?”

“... I ...” I don’t know if it was because of the pressure I was putting on him with Telekinesis, or maybe because of my title that Hugo didn’t answer. He just ended up falling onto his knees before he finally got himself together.

“I ... I am very sorry, Lord Wood.” He said. “... I didn’t mean to offend.”

Since he apologized, I decided to let off the Telekinesis I was oppressing him with. He seemed to visibly calm afterwards.

“I shall let it go this time, as long as you don’t approach Karl while we stay in town. And do not worry, we won’t be here for long. We will leave after the auction.” I told him.

“Y-Yes, my Lord.” Hugo said, as he got off the ground. He then took his group of dwarves and practically ran off into the night.

“... was he the one?” I asked Karl after Hugo ran off.

“... yes, he was.” Karl confirmed.

“I see. ... sorry I called you my property, like you were still a slave. It's just ...”

“Don’t worry. I understand. They think I must still be a slave, so it was a good way of allowing you to use your title to defend me. In the first place, I should be thanking you, Master.”

“You know you can just call me Brian.”

“And I do, most of the time. But this moment calls for a different title, I feel.” Karl said.

“... alright. Thanks.” I honestly thanked Karl. “And when the show comes, everyone will see the smith they sent away with their short sightedness.”

“Yes. Yes they will.” Karl agreed, before getting us another round of drinks.

And as he did, a System screen popped up for me.

Mission: Good MasterWorker Karl respects you as his Master.Reward: Dragonmaid ChangeoverSpoiler

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Dragonmaid Changeover, huh. The Dragonmaid fusion spell. It is nice and all, but not all that necessary for me for any reasons other than Collection. But collecting is the second most important reason anyways, so I will happily take it.

... In case you were wondering, the most important thing is how cheaty it is for helping my life in this world. Cheaty cards are always the best. Just look at Upstart Goblin.