The atmosphere in the smith was depressing. The orcs were disappointed and their sighing was a pretty obvious indicator.
"Hey, pay attention all of you" Ed said to the disgruntled orcs. They looked up once Ed said this, however, and they perked up once they noticed his intention.
"I'll be teaching you all a couple of things" With the level up to craftsmanship, Ed's expertise had risen. He didn't dare say it did so by a significant amount but he felt it was enough to help the orcs get a better understanding of the basics.
First thing was selecting the material. Ed went over the pros and cons of common materials and left the orcs utterly stumped. They only had orc iron!
"I'll leave reserves of these materials in the smithy occasionally. If you need any however, Shel you can talk to me or if I'm not present, to Sharog" Ed added surprising all of them. They could use those metals?
Ed hadn't just babbled on about metals. Ed had also explained the rankings of equipment. The regular orc iron would just make normal weapons. If the metal was swapped out for something like the Caerulite he used for the earlier axe than the weapon had a chance to become a magic weapon.
Caerulite was a metal that based on the system, had affinity with the water element. That being the case, under the right circumstances it could help the wielder improve the circulation of water mana. That was without adding any sort of special runes.
Finally, there were the living weapons which Ed actually didn't bother to explain at all. He himself didn't know much. He just had the orcs know that the tier existed.
But even with this limited knowledge, the orcs were well-equipped to know that Ed's metals were a great gift. The knowledge on its own was worth being grateful but the metals… they were almost too valuable!
They didn't know where Ed was getting them from but it couldn't be easy as growing them from a tree or anything remotely similar that might imply Ed had a near endless supply!!!
'It's a good thing I've got mushrooms that will grant me an almost near endless supply of magic metals' That was of course assuming he melted down the adventurers' armors which he was indeed doing. If he didn't do this he would be losing out big time by giving these gifts.
As the orcs chattered happily amongst themselves basking in their newfound knowledge. Ed decided to bring out a new metal.
It was a fire attuned magic metal he had as expected melted down from armor. This metal was called Ignite which was an understandable name choice given its fire resistance.
"You should all smith something, the winner gets what ever I make from this" Ed declared while holding a fiery red chunk of metal. The orcs who heard this didn't even bother to ask any questions.
They disappeared from their spots and each grabbed some orc iron and a forge to use. As it turned out, all forges were immediately occupied.
'I think some of these orcs aren't even smiths' Word of mouth got around fast especially when it regarded Ed. It could be said that some orcs even followed him around like he was a celebrity. That… or a magician. Some orcs were just excited to see what wizardry he'd cook up next.
Now however, these orcs realized that they hadn't made a mistake in going there, they would get to do more than see a show. They could participate! To win a weapon crafted by Ed was a matter of life or death!
"Ah, Shel, you don't have to. I'll make you something later anyway" Ed told Shel who had initially wanted to ask for more details but rushed out once she noticed everyone was raring to go. She stopped in her tracks hearing this, however.
"Really? Just for me?" She asked to confirm with Ed who sighed and nodded in response. The smile he received in reply had Ed looking for something to distract himself with.
'I guess I should make it now…' He would need to get started on everyone's equipment sooner rather than later.
With Ed himself heating up his forge and getting ready to smith something up, the competition started to both figuratively and literally heat up.
The first Sanctuary's best smith competition had a brash and spontaneous start but it was definitely an event for the history books.
***
Exploring the cave of myths was a dangerous task but it had an even greater reward. This reward came in the shape of weapons and equipment. But what was more vital than weapons and equipment? Knowledge.
Some parties that now frequented Arbor town were starting to capitalize on this quirk of the dungeon. The adventurers were selling what they learned inside the dungeon either to small start up businesses or on their own to other adventurers.
Actually, this was very common. The selling of knowledge regarding the layout of the dungeon and its monsters was a common business and expected to arise for any dungeon with a shred of popularity.
Yet, the cave of myths was still quirky in its execution of this. The knowledge now included things like common puzzles and possible loot to acquire when solving these puzzles.
That included the weird yet practical heating device. For a magic tool, it was pretty portable and good for those wanting a cup of joe in the darkness of the crypt.
Thanks to guides like these, there were at least 20 parties were venturing the area looking for goodies. One such party was the Valiant Wheat party. It was composed of farmers from the countryside who found they had a knack for adventuring.
There were a total of 6 members, all of them were at the C-class.
"Hey… Do you hear that?" One of these member asked alerted.
"Footsteps!" Another shouted brandishing a sickle.
The 6 party members all brought out their weapons hearing the sound of loud and speedy footsteps approaching.
"He- Hey, maybe we should run!" One of the younger farmers suggested.
"Aw come on! Don't shame the valiant wheat!" A member chastised just as the footsteps neared.
"Who are you!?!" But the members were left surprised once they found that what approached was not a monster but a person.
"Huh?" They also had another person on their back. How odd.
"Are any of you healers by chance!?!" The overly anxious Wiley asked coming across people for the third time.
"Damn he is fast!" The oldest knight, the one in his early thirties, exclaimed. The knights couldn't compare to the energetic and young WIley when it came to long distance running.
Ever since they left the boss room, they had been on a mad sprint for the exit only stopping to ask if there was a healer when coming across people on their beeline towards the exit.
"No- No…" The guy with the sickle said intimidated by Wiley's loud and sudden query.
"Tsk!" Wiley said before starting to run off again.
"Damn it!" One of the knights exclaimed as they continued to follow after Wiley.
The knights were very annoyed with the situation. Yet, that made some of them feel rather guilty. That was because they had written Agalia off as dead already. On the odd chance that she was alive, they didn't believe she would be waking up.
The team of 7 continued to sprint making twists and turns only where the dungeon dictated it. Just like this, they eventually even made it to the very first floor. Ironically, the first floor was barren and without people. Wiley and the knights did not stop for even a second and went straight for the exit.
"We… We are out…" Wiley said with shaky legs as he finished going up the last few steps. As he slowly made his way forward, his face was greeted by the setting sun. The beautiful cascading rays of red sun made Wiley clench his teeth and muster a last bout of strength.
"I NEED A HEALER!!!" He screamed out with a hoarse voice. He felt sore all over and wanted to lie down but Agalia was still occupying his back.
Fortunately for Wiley, someone did answer his shout. It was a graceful woman who also appeared to be ethereal.
Clarys Goodful didn't ask any question as she immediately showered both Agalia and Wiley in white light. As an A-class healer she was wanted in many places. She had been travelling all around Bosque as things were especially with the war situation and the king's sickness.
She had finally managed to catch a breather as well as Samuel's fancy, apparently. The leader of the Arbor Town branch once more reached out towards her not to ask her to participate in the conquest of the dungeon, but to deal with external matters.
Clarys was still somewhat unwilling, however. The death of Drake Vermilion had not been an easy one to go over. It was heart quenching, actually.
Apart from herself and Samuel, no one witnessed the funeral of the Vermillion fist A-class warrior. This had weighed on Clarys down quite often. it was a condition at this point. She couldn't help but want to visit the outskirts of the dungeon and help manage it as she once had. That was also when she met Azrael a childhood friend, or acquaintance.
"There is always something happening here…" Clarys muttered watching how Wiley slumped to the floor from exhaustion.
Clarys also paid attention to the girl on Wiley's back and frowned slightly. She had been briefed by Samuel and shown a couple of simple paintings. That was definitely the party leader of Samuel's new expedition squad.
Soon, a c-class freedom union member came to Clarys feeling greatly surprised. There were injured people! The knights also came up the stairs at around this time.. That was good, the knights would be able to tell them what happened.