Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 427: Prototyping

Arwin headed back to the Menagerie’s street without wasting another second, leaving Thane with a promise that they’d see each other again that night. There was too much he needed to accomplish to sit around talking any longer.

The sun had just begun to poke up over the horizon and thin rays of golden-pink light cut through a heavy cover of clouds that hung above Milten. They paved the way before Arwin as he strode back into the Devil’s Den, pleased to find that the others were already awake.

Rodrick sat at a table along with Reya, a large pile of papers spread out between them. Olive and Anna sat a table over alongside Kien, and Esmerelda had joined Madiv at a table near the back corner of the common room. Even Monica leaned against the wall near the door, nursing a large ale.

He was surprised to find that the Menagerie weren’t the only ones up and about already. Wallace and Koyu were both present as well. The two of them sat at the counter, locked in a clearly heated but quiet discussion.

The only ones missing were Elias, Maeve, Art, and Vix. Arwin could even hear banging from the edge of the room, where Ridley must have been working on some expansions to the Devil’s Den.

Lillia poked her head out of the kitchen as Arwin closed the door behind him.

“Busy morning already, huh?” Lillia asked. “You want anything?”

“Always do. Something fast would be a blessing,” Arwin said. He was in a hurry, but there was never a hurry that was too great to keep him from her cooking. He wouldn’t have passed up on it even if there wasn’t literal magic within her work. “I’m glad everyone’s up already. There’s something I’d like to discuss. We have access to a… unique opportunity.”

“Are we killing someone?” Esmerelda asked from the corner of the room. “I’ve got a new potion I wanted to test out. It should do the trick quite nicely, so long as you don’t mind if their guts end up on the wrong side of their skin.”

“I — no. No, I’m not,” Arwin said. His eyes narrowed. “I thought you were going to hold back on some of the cursed shit.”

“It’s not cursed. It’ll just make you lose control of your bowels and void them,” Esmerelda said.

Arwin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I see. You were being metaphorical about the guts—”

“—until you shit out your internal organs,” Esmerelda finished. She cleared her throat. “Not cursed, though. Just a lot of oil and grease. There is also the slight chance of developing heartburn.”

“Don’t sell that to anyone,” Arwin said flatly. “Seriously. You could make so much more money if you actually tried to sell things that weren’t… whatever it is you sell.”

“I don’t make a habit of selling my potions. They’re a hobby.” Esmerelda crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I sell magical objects.”

“Cursed ones,” Madiv said.

“Allegedly,” Esmerelda corrected. “And when’s the last time anyone got a report of someone buying a cursed item from me? Not recently, that’s when. All my customers are satisfied.”

“How many customers do you have?” Anna asked.

Esmerelda cleared her throat. “None.”

Arwin suppressed a sigh. There were some fights that needed a whole lot more time and energy to take than he was willing to spend today.

“Please try to conduct yourself as a respectable member of our guild, Esmerelda. But I don’t want to get distracted. Melissa found me this morning. She’s gotten us access to a newly discovered dungeon. An Expert Tier one.”

Just like that, every single eye in the room snapped to Arwin.

“What’s the catch?” Rodrick asked. “That kind of thing doesn’t come for free. I take it this is part of the business deal she’s been working on?”

Arwin nodded. “It is. With a group called House Blacktongue. They’re apparently some noble house that have more money than sense. There are two catches. The first is that we’ve got to go today. And the second… they want their kid to be escorted into the dungeon so he can get a class from fighting an Expert Tier monster.”

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“Wait, what?” Olive blinked. Then her eyes narrowed. “He wants to get his class? As in, unlock it? In an Expert level dungeon?”

“Yes,” Arwin said with a grimace.

“How many people can go in at once?” Anna asked. “Is it one with lower restrictions that would allow a large number of us—”

“Four.”

“Ah. They want you to kill their child,” Madiv said. “So we are doing an assassination.”

“Madiv!” Reya exclaimed. “We can’t do that!”

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get access to a newly discovered dungeon at a good tier?” Koyu asked, turning to look at her. “Some risk would most certainly be worth it. I’m certain the family is aware that they’re sending their child into a very dangerous situation.”

“I think I’ve heard of families that do this,” Wallace said with a knowing nod. “The lad must have been training his entire life. Poor kid has probably never seen anything but a training field. Some people are convinced that it’ll give their brat a better chance at unlocking a strong class. I think it’s a crock of shit, but Koyu is right. There could be some very valuable materials in an Expert Tier dungeon, not to mention magical items. This could be what you need to progress our project, Arwin.”

“See, there’s the problem,” Arwin said. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “The kid has zero training. None.”

Wallace’s beard twitched.

“The vampire is right. This is an assassination mission. His family wants him dead.”

“It’s… not entirely impossible,” Arwin admitted. “But don’t write this off so quickly. Do you really think I’d be willing to accept a deal that ended in the death of a child?”

“You accepted her offer?” Lillia asked, her eyes widening. “Seriously? Do you have a kid-sized set of armor that grants immortality that you’ve been hiding from us?”

Well, I’ve got the Soul Guardian. I’m pretty sure that thing could do some solid protecting… but I don’t believe it’ll work well if we take it away from our street. It needs me and the Infernal Armory to both activate it together.

“You’re assuming that I’m going to let the kid fight at all,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “He’s not going to go up against a single monster.”

“You’re just going to scam his family and clear the dungeon out without getting him the class — or by getting him the class somewhere outside of the dungeon?” Anna guessed. “I’m not normally the biggest fan of deceit, but that seems like a prudent way to go about things. But will the kid agree?”

“To that? Probably not. He’s got his head all twisted up about honor. I have a much better idea,” Arwin replied. “I can get him his class while we’re in the dungeon. I’m almost entirely certain of it. That’s all I’ll be promising, and that’s all his family should care about. But in the meantime, I plan to clear the damn thing out. I’m not a fan of people who offer their own children up as bait.”

“That means we’d have to clear it out with just three people,” Rodrick said with a small frown. “Do we know how far into Expert it is?”

“No. We’ll see that when we get there. The biggest problem is that, if we don’t take the deal, then House Blacktongue is just going to get the boy killed by hiring someone else.”

The Menagerie exchanged grim looks.

“If someone’s going to do it, might as well be us,” Rodrick said. “I get the feeling House Blacktongue would struggle to find a guild with Expert ranked members that are interested in doing something like this if they’ve come to us. They probably want to stick to Adept Tiers so we can’t clear too much of the dungeon out ourselves, right?”

Nothing ever slips past this guy, does it?

“That’s our best guess,” Arwin said with a nod. “Which is why I accepted. I don’t think there’s anyone better suited than our guild to handle something like this. Even with just three of us… we’re the best chance the kid has.”

“Who would you send?” Madiv asked.

“Definitely Anna,” Rodrick said without a moment of hesitation. “Even if you’re right about being able to get the kid’s class without putting him into a fight, you’ll need a healer to delve deep into an Expert Tier Dungeon.”

“Anna, Olive, and myself,” Arwin said. “That’s my ideal lineup. I’ll take up the frontline. Olive focuses on protecting Anna and the kid, and Anna makes sure none of us stay down. I wish I could take everyone, but—”

“You don’t have to explain your choices. You’re the guild leader,” Reya said. “And for what it’s worth, it makes sense. Rodrick isn’t as good of a warrior as Olive is. I’m fast, but my powers are best with a full team rather than just three. I’m a support. And Lillia — well, we probably don’t want the Blacktongue Family finding out anything about her being able to fight. That’s the wrong kind of attention.”

Rodrick nodded in agreement. “I would have chosen the same lineup.”

“I’m willing to go,” Anna said. “If you’re confident that the boy will survive this, then I’ll go. I can’t let him just get killed.”

“I will as well,” Olive said. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t. But what about you? I thought you kind of don’t have any armor at the moment.”

“You’re right. I don’t. Not yet.” That was one task handled — and now it was time for the second of the three he wanted to accomplish today. He turned to Koyu and Wallace. “That’s where I’d like the two of you to come in. I’ve got an idea.”

“For the project?” Wallace asked, his brows lifting. “I thought we needed better materials.”

“For the final run, we do,” Arwin said with a nod. “But I think this is the perfect opportunity for a test run. I did something similar when I made a set of equipment for Melissa to great effect.”

“What are you going to be able to make in the time we’ve got left today? There are only nine or ten hours at most if you’re planning to go to the dungeon before the dead of night,” Wallace said.

Arwin smiled. “If we were trying to make a full suit of armor, you’d be correct. But I don’t need that. I just want a prototype, and if both of you help me, I believe I can have it finished before the day is half over.”