"Ring that doorbell, you bastard, and I’m going to knock all your teeth out!" A rough voice resounded from the distance.
Rather, it came from a room in the back. Immense heat radiated from that room, and for a moment, Raelis was surprised.
After all, he had a degree of fire resistance, so being affected by heat was extremely surprising.
Even so, he went forward and stopped right in front of the back room’s door. Then, he knocked on it a few times, causing the heat to recede slightly.
That was when the dwarf, Girgon, stepped out, sweat pouring from his forehead like a waterfall.
He spotted Raelis and scoffed.
"A child? This ain’t a diner, but a smithy, so be on your merry way," Girgon said plainly. "Oh, and if you came in here for a piss, the bathroom’s out in the back, just don’t step in the cow shit."
Cow shit? There are no cows around...
"No, I’m sure I’m in the right place," Raelis replied. "I want you to forge a few knives for me. I have, uhh... a little over 20 Silver coins."
"20 Silver coins? Do you want me to make you knives out of cardboard? No... scratch that. If you want knives, then just go further up the street. Barnes sells pretty decent knives for cooking," Girgon said.
He went back inside the room. A moment later, he came back out, holding a pitch-black longsword. It had a long scratch mark across its surface, and clearly, from the thin and uneven edges, this was a failure.
"I created yet another masterpiece." Girgon smiled, turning to Raelis. "Hey, I’ll give you 1 Silver coin if you can survive a hit from this sword. How about it? Oh, but I’m going to strike your neck, so be prepared."
"Pass." Raelis shook his head. "Oh, and I’m serious. I need these knives for my Stealth Technique. They need to be as durable as my other ones and, preferably, made out of steel."
"Steel..." Girgon sighed. "Kid... steel? Are your other knives also made out of steel? Also, did you just say your Stealth Technique? Have you already established your foundation?"
"Yes, and yes. Steel daggers are enough for now. I’ll change them eventually when I have more money," Raelis replied honestly. "They’d hold out long enough for me to deal with some demons, that’s for sure."
Girgon’s brows twitched.
"Well, your face is very punchable right now," Girgon said plainly. "What kind of idiot child establishes their foundation that early? Let alone have the right materials to start with? You do know only middle-aged people get into this assassin business, right? You know why? Because by then, they’ve got enough money to retire!"
He heaved a deep breath and accidentally dropped the black sword to the ground.
Upon making contact with the ground, it shattered to dust, almost like the entire sword was made out of coal.
And after taking a closer look, Raelis realized that it really was made out of coal.
What kind of nutjob...
"I’ll look somewhere else then. Sorry for bothering you," Raelis said, turning around.
He walked toward the door when, all of a sudden, the dwarf coughed twice, making Raelis turn around.
"How many knives do you need, kiddo? I have some spare steel lying around, so I can make you some right away," Girgon offered.
"What’s with the change of heart?" Raelis asked skeptically. "A moment ago, you wanted me to leave. Now you want me to stay?"
"Well, that’s before I knew you were an assassin. Or rather, you’ll become one, right? Still, I do need some proof. Can you, like... what’s it called... slow your heartbeat to the point where I can’t hear it? That should be enough," Girgon said and approached.
But instead of doing something so stupid, Raelis let out a sigh and faded into the shadows. A moment later, he reappeared inside Girgon’s shadow.
He left the shadow silently and then tapped Girgon’s shoulder, startling him.
"Don’t ever do that shit again." Girgon swatted away his hand. "Oh, and what was that technique? You were pretty fast."
"Hmm... it’s a secret," Raelis replied with a slight smile. "I’ll tell you if you give me a discount though."
"Fat chance. I’ll take your 20 Silver coins and make you... how many did you say you need? A couple dozen? Ten? Twenty?" Girgon asked.
"Five," Raelis corrected. "Just five."
"Five for 20 Silver coins? You have a deal!" Girgon replied cheerfully and extended his hand.
However, Raelis simply stared at him with a raised brow.
"You seem awfully cheerful about making more knives, so why don’t you?" Raelis said with a smile. "At a good blacksmith, I can get a small steel knife for 1 or 2 Silver coins. You’re basically charging double. So what do you say to 9 Silver coins for five knives?"
"I say you get your ass out of here," Girgon replied. "A good blacksmith that takes 2 Silver coins for his services probably takes a piss in the mold. There’s no way they’d charge that cheap, so either you’re bullshitting me or just trying to weasel a discount."
He took a few steps backward and met Raelis’s eyes.
"Kiddo, final offer. 20 Silver coins for 5 steel knives. Take it or leave it. But you only have two seconds, so make up your mind now," Girgon said and raised two fingers.
"One..." he lowered one finger.
And just as he opened his mouth to finish the count, Raelis interjected.
"Fine. Five knives for 20 Silver coins," Raelis replied regretfully.
But in reality, he was genuinely surprised.
He’d thrown out that price as a test.
Normally, steel knives like the ones he wanted to get cost around 40–50 Silver coins per knife. So for this dwarf to be so nonchalant about it, Raelis found it strange.
If someone knows about the existence of Stealth Techniques and Stealth Foundation, then they definitely know the market price of the thing they’re selling...
Raelis met the innocent dwarf’s eyes.
Why are you doing this... really?