Bro, I'm not an Undead!

HammerDown’s apprentice looked the same as when Skullius had last seen him.

The baggy eyes as well as the dark and dirty gloves he wore made Skullius scoff.

This man looked like he could keel over and die anytime.

He was busy serving a customer, taking their order for what kind of item they wanted crafted by the shop at this moment, seemingly oblivious to the twos’ presence.

When he finally turned and saw Tulnas with Skullius in tow standing at the front, his immediate reaction was to sigh in exasperation, anticipating having to go over the rules about line cutting again, but the moment he saw Tulnas, his eyes bulged and for a time, he completely forgot that he was serving another customer!

Tulnas hurriedly raised his hand to stop the young man from fanboying over him as he felt like he had already wasted enough time with this.

“Hello. We have come to make a collection for this young man. Can you call Gruff for us?” he said, his words suggesting that he was asking while his tone heavily implied that he wasn’t.

The young apprentice stammered. He didn’t even look at Skullius nor consider what Tulnas had said about this being an item for the Discount Human.

His fingers went every which way until he finally rushed into the shop._.

The customer whose service had been cut short didn’t complain as he saw a distinguished figure higher than himself.

He merely smiled at Tulnas and Skullius before drawing back a distance, giving them their space in a mute fashion.

‘Ah. I wish people could treat me like that. It would be really fun to have all of them respect me on sight,’ Skullius thought, admiring the authority that Tulnas enjoyed.

From the looks of it, the man had worked hard for it given that he could exchange words with Terian and Damilla without worrying about the potential consequences.

Soon, a tall man with a portly belly appeared, his eyes actually honing in on Skullius first as they squinted and then onto Tulnas.

He stretched out his hand to the muscular man far behind him in height, to which Tulnas happily obliged.

“It’s been a while, Gruff,” said Tulnas.

“It indeed has. You seem to improve each time we meet. I hope there’s results to come out of this constant growth,” Gruff said as he chuckled.

“You have no idea,” said Tulnas as his relaxed smile grew wider.

The burly blacksmith couldn’t help but smile. He was the one to make the armour of each and every individual in the Harem Guild, from the finest and even to the less than impressive items.

His philosophy on giving the best of his equipment to those that could afford it had proven him right with this young man who used his creations to rise from the dirt.

HammerDown then turned to Skullius, moving his gaze up and down as he took in the Discount Human’s figure.

He had a strange expression on his face as he saw Skullius.

“If not for the fact that you left such a deep impression on me, I might have not recognised who you were. Hmm. Given your behaviour last time, I’m guessing you don’t intend on engaging much in pleasantries?” said HammerDown with a strict tone.

“It’s fine either way,” Skullius said.

At this moment, Tulnas realised something about Skullius as he took note of his expression during his exchange with the blacksmith.

HammerDown shook his head and turned to his apprentice who was beginning to put the dots together with a dumbfounded expression.

“Wait… Master, is he that man from—”

“Yes. Now go get the sword,” HammerDown cut off the young man with a succinct answer and an instruction.

The apprentice slowly backed away, his eyes not leaving Skullius for a good five seconds and then he then rushed to collect the sword.

HammerDown coughed a bit, clearing his throat before throwing down a small rock-like object with a dark lustre on the ground.

The moment it hit the hard crust, a barrier appeared, obscuring the visual of the three men inside it from the outside as well as any audio emitted from within.

Grumbles of disappointment echoed from the lined up crowd.

‘Oh, that’s pretty handy,’ Skullius thought as he saw that he could clearly see everything outside, despite there looking to be a slightly hazy, murky sphere around them.

“Because of the large payment you issued last time, I let your late collection slide and even added a worthy sheath for your blade to fully cover the value of the cores you left. Your sword is an absurdly beautiful and powerful piece and that brought with it some challenges,” the tall man said as he folded his arms.

Skullius frowned.

What did this mean?

“The sword used runecraft for certain portions of its craft, making it impossible for a simple blacksmith like me to realign and energise such intricate parts. There were also some rather old etchings I couldn’t identify to full restore the sword’s special effects. The one who made this was a master with knowledge beyond my own and such is the result. That much I can admit and acknowledge.”

Tulnas merely nodded while getting really curious about the sword that Skullius had handed over.

Skullius however was getting nervous. Was the sword he hoped to boost him up considerably going to turn out to be trash instead?

The figure of the apprentice appeared, rushing near the barrier where HammerDown waved his hand, a hole large enough for the young man to pass through appearing.

The apprentice walked in with a dark, shiny sheath that looked to be made of hardwood, slightly curved in its shape with the polished, golden hilt of the sword showing while hiding its blade.

The apprentice handed the sword to Skullius who gulped unconsciously and wiped the spotless sheath with his hand.

“Well? Let’s see this sword,” Tulnas urged.

Skullius nodded before grabbing the hilt which seemed to have been adjusted, additional friction added to make gripping the sword easier.

He pulled on the hilt, a green sheen oozing out as it was all around a curved blade with a single edge sharpened to perfection.

Vague markings could be seen on the blade as it glistened while it no longer looked ancient but produced a vibrant aura that screamed of youthfulness instead.

The blade hissed as it slid from the sheath and full came out for all to see.

Tulnas whistled.

This was one heck of a sword visually.

And when it came to power… it was moreso.