The aura of an S-rank.
Gragas was a powerhouse at S-rank level.
It was an interesting development that he didn't expect.
Souta walked forward and entered the room in the back. His senses were raised to the limit and his muscles were very tense right now. He was ready to fight it out at any moment.
Inside the room was a dwarf with a hammer in his hand. He had curly hair, a thick beard, mustache, and eyebrows. His fierce eyes were looking straight at Souta like the ones from predators.
His energy was oozing out of his body and it was giving an intense pressure.
"Quite rude, aren't you? You even set up a field around my shop."
The dwarf asked in a cold tone.
Souta ignored the fierce aura around the dwarf. He found a vacant chair and sat down nonchalantly.
"You!!"
The frown in dwarf's face grew deeper. He opened his mouth and asked, "Do you understand me, monster? If you didn't answer my question I will eliminate you!"
Souta fiddled with his clothes before he took out a white envelope. He placed the envelope on the nearest table and said, "I'm here to give you this letter. A lady from the Earthen Core City called Eilish asked me to give this to you."
"Eilish, that bitch! But why did she send a monster to my door? Just what she is planning... Monster dungeon or Union Peace."
The dwarf said while glancing at the envelope. He was still holding the hammer in his hand, clearly wary about Souta.
Souta fixed his posture and his expression turned serious. The dwarf in front of him was still wary even after knowing that Eilish sent him here. If it wasn't for Eilish, Gragas would've attacked him immediately.
He used best feram to set up the field and an S-rank like Gragas would sense the energy of monster in the air.
"Let's get to business. I don't know what's written in the paper or anything about her plan. I came here because I heard something from her." Souta said to Gragas.
"What do you want, monster? If I didn't like anything then I would capture you and report your existence in the officials." Gragas said in a strong tone. He was warning Souta not to do anything wrong as he was in a human and demi territory not in the wild where monsters roam freely.
"I heard that you know a lot about witches. I want you to tell me about it then I'll leave this place, no, this city. You see, I'm currently investigating the whereabouts of the witches but there's almost no clue about them. Luckily, Eilish said that you know something about them." Souta explained to Gragas.
"It's true that I know something about witches but what makes you think that I will tell a monster about it. Who knows what will the monster dungeon do?" Gragas said as he picked the envelope on the table without removing his gaze at Souta.
"You read that first. I will wait so that we can have a good conversation." Souta said while pointing at the envelope.
Gragas slowly placed the edge of the envelope in his mouth. He didn't want to let go the hammer in his hand with a monster in front of him. Who knows if this monster will attack him or not?
He opened the envelope and read the words in the letter in his mind.
After a while, he crumbled the letter and looked at Souta.
"It seems that bitch, Eilish, trust you," Gragas said.
"Oh, what did the letter say?" Souta raised his eyebrows.
"It's just about you. She said that if possible I should cooperate with you. Both of us had the same goal so we can work together. She also added the incident in the hidden base of the Witch Clan."
"Then, what's your opinion about it? Are you going to cooperate with me or not?" Souta asked with an amused expression. He didn't expect that the contents of Eilish's letter were about him.
"Your goal is different from my goal. I wanted to replicate the soul weapon of the witches using my skills as a blacksmith. I don't need to know why did they disappear decades ago. It's none of my concern. Plus, Union Peace is likely to be related to it." Gragas said to Souta.
"I see... Then, what if I tell you that I have a witch at my side?" Souta grinned.
"You... What?!!" Gragas opened his eyes widely when he heard Souta's words.
Souta raised his finger and said, "I just want to know the information you had regarding the witches. Also, have you thought about it? Maybe, you will understand the uniqueness of a soul weapon if you learned all the secrets of the witch."
"Are you saying that my skill isn't enough?" Gragas asked in a grave tone. His eyes were fiercely staring at Souta as if he wanted to devour him.
"Yes, skill isn't enough. You need to acquire all knowledge about soul weapons." Souta nodded.
In the game, there were countless powerful blacksmiths that wanted to replicate a soul weapon but all of them failed. In return, those blacksmiths only managed to create the compression ability which will turn the weapon and armor into a small marble that they could carry anytime.
No one even able to create a universal grade weapon or armor in the game.
But he wouldn't tell this to Gragas.
Replicating a soul weapon was simply a dream.
"You're quite good, monster," Gragas said as he sat down and placed his hammer on the table.
"Good. Now let's have a proper conversation." Souta smiled when he saw Gragas place down his weapon. This was a sign that Gragas was willing to talk to him.
"I'm willing to share my information to you but in return, I need to know if what you said is true. That you have a witch friend." Gragas said.
"No, no, I will not lie to you. I have a witch friend and the reason why I'm trying to find the Witch Clan is because of that friend. The identity of a witch is confidential so I'm afraid that I couldn't introduce my friend to you." Souta shook his head. "If you have something you want for help then I can help you with it. Meeting my friend is impossible for now as I don't even know if you will keep this as a secret or not."
"Fine... I understand your logic." Gragas sighed as he knew that just like him, Souta didn't also trust him.
"Then, can you tell me what you want so that we can proceed? Letting you meet my witch friend will take some time. Maybe that friend will appear if I discover some good information." Souta said with a faint smile.
"Don't be like that. I tell you everything that I know after you've helped me in getting something in the upcoming underground auction two days from now." Gragas said.
"Auction?" Souta tilted his head.
"Yes, in that auction a soul weapon will appear. The owner of that soul weapon has died and it's pretty much useless to other people aside from the owner but I can use it to study." Gragas explained and Souta understood right away.
"You want money?"
"Yes, also if possible I want you to steal it if you don't have money. After you steal it you can return to Earthen Core City and have Eilish deliver the soul weapon. Then, after I confirmed it I will go to that city and tell you everything that I know." Gragas said.
"Money, I don't lack money at all," Souta said as he shrugged his shoulder.
"Then that's good. It will make it easier to get that soul weapon." Gragas said.
"That's it," Souta said before he stood up and added, "I will return here after two days to join you in the auction."
Souta, Amanda, and Yenxa left the shop and returned to the inn. They stayed there for two days and kept training inside Saya's inner consciousness.
Although Souta learned the [Archetype: Vajra Extremity], he was still training to increase its proficiency. This skill couldn't be leveled up using skill points or free attribute points. He could only master it by practicing it countless times until he could use it as his breathing.
He absorbed in his training that he forgot that ten days had already passed inside Saya's inner consciousness. He looked at his skill in the system.
Ultimate Skill: [Archetype: Vajra Extremity] Proficiency 4%
Souta wiped the sweat on his forehead with a satisfied expression. This was enough for him as he knew that in terms of stats he would be able to rival his game character soon. The only thing that he lacks were combat arts, spells, equipment, and blessings.
If he reached the combat prowess of his game character then he was sure that he would be able to fight those top-tier powerhouses below gods.
Blood was a character that could rival weaker gods. There was a reason for that and that's because of the blessings.
In this world, a mortal body wouldn't be able to handle the blessing of two or more gods.
In the game, players had no restrictions. That's why he could gather the blessing of twenty-six commanders and eleven generals of the Mechanic Country.
This was the reason why he could stand at the top in the player's community for several years.
The game character Blood was such a character.