Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 14: Weapons, Wonders, and Warnings

Hand in hand, the siblings arrived in the village relatively quickly. At some point during their walk, Luna managed to regain her composure, acting all cool and mature again but her own rabbit ears twitching betrayed her joy and excitement that was hidden.

The two of them arrived at a small stone building with a large chimney, black smoke emanating from it, the scent of burning coal and metal hanging heavily in the air. On the door was a sign that said 'Pyrs Smithery' which meant they were at the right place.With nothing to lose, Leo pushed the door open and entered the shop, Luna following closely behind him.

"Whoa...."

Leo couldn't help but exclaim in awe. Along the walls were weapons of various types lined up along the walls. Behind the counter stood a bald man wearing a pair of heavy goggles with a grey beard and was covered in soot and ash.

"Oi Young Lass! What are you doing here! Did your teacher send you on another errand? That brat still owes me 10 silver for fixing that axe of his!"

The man shouted in a loud gruff voice that was a bit grating on the siblings ears.

"He sent us here to talk to you Sir. Besides, my teacher said that he covered the cost of your tab at the tavern again. He said its you who owes him now. 2 silver was it?"

Luna didn't even flinch at the mans shouting and instead responded smoothly.

"HAHAHAHA"

the man guffawed briefly before coming out from behind the counter. Leos eyes widened a bit in shock when he saw the man was actually a dwarf, barely over 4 feet tall with a strong muscular frame. Leo couldn't help but stare at the dwarf, something he had never seen before. His gaze while pure, seemed to agitate the man

"What are you looking at lil lady?! You have a problem with me?! Never seen a dwarf before?!"

Being called a lady again made Leo frown in displeasure but before he could retort in anger, Luna interjected.

"Mr. Pyrs... this is my BROTHER Leo. My teacher told him to come see you about his weapon. He said you may know something about it."

she had a slight smile on her face but while it did seem like she was being polite, her eyes were staring at the dwarf coldly, clearly not okay with her brother being treated so rudely. Leo could have sworn he saw the outline of a demon menacingly floating behind her. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

On the receiving end of his Sisters Death Glare, Pyrs didn't overtly react, simply turning away and saying "My bad lad. Follow me to the back. I shall inspect this 'weapon' of yours". Both of the siblings could see a bit of cold sweat forming on the back of the bald dwarfs head as he led them to the back.

Somewhat happy that someone else had stood up to protect his pride, he flashed a grateful smile to his sister before following the stout dwarf to the back of his shop where he saw a decent looking forge, anvil and long table.

"I will be back in a bit. I am going to go meet my friend. When you are done we can go hunting in the forest and level up. Okay?"

Luna didn't bother to listen to Leos response as she rushed out in a hurry, leaving him alone with the Blacksmith.

"Alright then. Show me the weapon. Though be warned if it involves pulling your trousers down, I will beat your skull in with my hammer"

Pyrs arrogant warning left Leo appalled at the statement.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

"Its not that..."

Leo trembled slightly on the spot, suppressing the rising urge to try and beat the Blacksmith up. Instead he raised his arms, showcasing Astras transformation ability.

"Hohoho~! Now that is interesting. Where did you get this? What Grade is it? SR, SSR, UR?"

the blacksmith eyes gleamed with interest, the transformation of Astra alone had now piqued his curiosity.

"Well it tells me that it is a Soulbound Weapon and it is Rare grade for now. It can be upgraded apparently"

Just like Barry, Pyrs froze upon hearing those words. Without a word, Pyrs rushed closer to Leo, fully intent on studying Astra. He looked like a little kid opening presents on Christmas day.

" I have never seen one before but I have heard the legends and myths. Plus its a growth type? That's even rarer!"

Pyrs was gushing, clearly believing every word Leo had told him.

"I shall use a high level analysis of that gear, what did you say its name was?"

Pyrs tried to explain but remembered that he had yet to ask for its name.

"Its name is Astra"

Leo was a little caught off guard by the sudden change in the behaviour of the gruff dwarf.

"Ahh. Astra huh. Pretty name for a pretty weapon~"

Seeing a muscular dwarf cooing made the hairs on Leos back stand up in disgust but Astra didn't seem to mind.

'Hehehe~! This one is much better' 

.

It will take a bit to get the spell ready. Would you like a drink while you wait. I have coffee, tea, ale and water... I mean I guess humans would consider it beer. "

"I'm good. Thanks. I'm fine" Leo said with an awkward smile, a bit uncomfortable with the sudden show of hospitality. Pyrus walked a short distance away to a corner of his shop as he prepared to do a deeper appraisal of Astras abilities.

While Leo was waiting for Pyrus to finish, he noticed a small blinking mail icon in the corner of his vision. Someone had sent him a message.

Opening it, Leos expression crumpled into a frown as it was a letter from a Pharmaceutical company.

To Mr. Haronyu

It has come to the attention of Samael Pharmaceutical Corporation that you are experiencing a previously unseen medical phenomena. We seek your cooperation in the betterment of society and request that you donate your body to our medical research team.

Please be aware that if you choose to deny our request, we will have no choice but to seek compensation for the unpaid medical bills from your sister. Please take your time and consider your options. We look forward to your cooperation in the near future. 

Regards,

Anthony Samael. 

"What the hell is this?"