Chapter 9: 9. ’Hero’ sword and mysterious blacksmith
THE NEXT MORNING
ALEXANDER
The next morning came too fast, too clean, too normal which immediately meant something was wrong.
"DING."I heard a familar voice.
"I already hate this day."I stared at the ceiling.
"DAILY TASK: ACQUIRE A WEAPON"A panel floated into view.
"A weapon?" I muttered.
Scarlet was already sitting up beside me like she hadn’t slept at all. Noa was leaning against the wall, eyes half-lidded, like she was personally disappointed in reality.
"It’s consistent." Noa said.
"That’s not comforting."I said.
"Master needs a weapon."Scarlet tilted her head.
"I don’t need anything!"I said annoyed.
"REQUIRED OBJECTIVE MUST BE COMPLETED."The system responded instantly.
"Fine. Let’s just get this over with."I groaned and got up.
The city felt different in the morning, not quieter, just more aware. Like it remembered what happened yesterday and decided not to speak about it. We walked without talking much, the streets slowly thinned, buildings got older and the air got heavier. Then we saw it, a broken sign hanging by one nail. "BLACKSMITH"
"This is it." I said.
"Abandoned forge site."Scarlet nodded.
"No active residents detected."Noa said.
"OBJECTIVE LOCATION CONFIRMED."The system chimed.
"Of course it is."I sighed.
We stepped inside, the door didn’t creak. It fell inward slightly like it had been waiting to collapse, dust filled the air immediately. Old tools, dead forge. Weapons half finished and forgotten mid existence. It didn’t feel abandoned, it felt stopped.
"Something powerful used to exist here."Scarlet whispered.
"Residual authority present."Noa said.
"Hello?"I took a step forward.
A single sound from the back precise, controlled. Like metal being acknowledged by someone who understood it better than reality did.
"Okay. That’s not normal."I stopped.
"There is someone here."Scarlet shifted slightly.
Noa’s hand moved near her weapon then a voice. Old, rough, satisfied.
"About time."A man said and stepped out from behind the forge.
A dwarf, short, broad, covered in soot like it had become his skin instead of dirt. His eyes locked onto me immediately and stayed there.
"So it finally brought you here." He muttered.
"Wrong person."I blinked.
The dwarf smiled.
"No." He said. "Right one."
"He recognizes Master."Scarlet tilted her head.
"High level recognition confirmed."Noa narrowed her eyes.
The dwarf stepped closer. Each step made the abandoned forge feel less dead, more awake.
"You’re the Gacha carrier." He said.
"How do you know that?"I froze slightly.
"Because I used to hear that same kind of system noise before I got kicked out."He tapped his chest.
"You had a system?"Scarlet stiffened.
"No. Worse."The dwarf snorted. He gestured at the forge. "I had people who wanted me to pretend steel needs magic to be good."
"So you were a rejected master blacksmith."Noa said.
"Correct." He said. "Because I refused to lie to my craft."
He looked at me again.
"And you." He added. "Are a walking contradiction."
"I just want a weapon."I frowned.
"Good."That made him grin.
"Then you came to the right corpse of a workshop."He turned toward the forge.
The air shifted, not magic, not system. Something heavier, like the place remembered how to breathe.
"Master... this forge is reacting."Scarlet whispered.
"High authority presence detected."Noa said.
"This is where we see what your system really thinks a ’weapon’ is."The dwarf placed a hand on the anvil.
"I don’t like how that sounds."I stared at him.
"Perfect."The dwarf laughed.
The forge flickered and for the first time since entering it wasn’t dead anymore. The dwarf exhaled slowly.
"Alright." He muttered.
"What now?"I frowned.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached into his coat.
"Master... something is changing."Scarlet stiffened instantly.
"Unknown artifact detected."Noa narrowed her eyes.
The dwarf pulled it out. A card, black, heavy looking even in the air, like it didn’t belong in the world at all. On its surface, one word was carved in dull metallic letters: "BLACKSMITH."
"WARNING: UNKNOWN GACHA CORE DETECTED!"The moment I saw it the system screamed.
"You have got one too?!"I took a step back.
"Oh, I don’t just have one."The dwarf grinned.
"I kept mine."He tilted the card slightly.
"Master... that is structurally identical to your summoning system."Scarlet whispered.
"Same origin classification." Noa said.
"Let’s see what it still remembers."The dwarf tapped the card with his thumb.
He snapped it, and the forge went silent. Then A CRACK. The air split open above the anvil, not a portal, not magic, a refusal of absence. Something stepped through. A man. Broad shouldered, covered in soot markings like scars that never faded. A blacksmith’s coat hung over him like it had been forged with him rather than worn. And the moment he appeared the entire forge reacted in fear and respect at the same time.
"That pressure..."Scarlet stepped back.
"Impossible aura density."Noa’s eyes narrowed.
"Who is that?"I stared.
The dwarf smirked.
"That." He said. "Is Zavier."
The man didn’t look around, he looked at the forge. Like he was checking if it still remembered him.
"Still broken."Then he spoke.
His voice was calm, too calm. Like he was talking to something beneath his feet.
"He is not normal."Scarlet whispered.
"Confirmed."Noa said.
Zavier finally looked at us. His eyes landed on me briefly then lingered.
"You’re new." He said.
"Yeah?"I blinked.
"And unstable."He tilted his head slightly.
"I am not unstable!"I said angrily.
"Oh, he’s absolutely unstable."The dwarf laughed.
Zavier ignored that. Instead, he stepped forward into the forge space. Every step made the air heavier, not oppressive, aligned like reality itself was adjusting its posture.
"I was cast out." Zavier said calmly.
"For what reason?"Scarlet froze.
"Refusing to corrupt steel."He paused.
"So you rejected magical enhancement forging."Noa’s eyes sharpened slightly.
"They called it progress."Zavier nodded once. His gaze lowered to the anvil. "I called it weakness."
The forge flickered violently, like it remembered him and feared him. The dwarf crossed his arms.
"He was unstoppable." He muttered. "Until they got scared of him."
"Unstoppable how?"I frowned.
"I never lost a forge duel."Zavier answered without looking at me. "And they stopped challenging me."
Silence fell again.
"Master... this person is a natural disaster in human form."Scarlet whispered.
"Confirmed."Noa said.
Zavier exhaled once, then looked at me again.
"You came for a weapon."He said.
"Yes."I nodded slowly.
"Good."Then placed a hand on the anvil, he stepped closer.
The forge lit up instantly, not fire, not magic, but recognition, and for the first time the abandoned blacksmith shop felt like it had been waiting for him all along.
