Published at 17th of November 2020 01:49:13 PM
Chapter 671
Aincrad, 48th floor, Lindarth
There’s a quaint cottage near a quiet corner of the main settlement here . This cottage is characterized by a small moat around it and a unique water wheel operating near it .
This is a smith shop that’s actually quite famous within the industry . Normally, one wouldn’t see a lot of players coming in or out of it . But, high-level players appear from time to time because they know and/or experienced the skills of the blacksmith here .
Inside the shop, a girl with short pinkish hair hammered her latest piece of art with dedication . She had a very attractive figure despite sporting a very serious look . The molten metal she’s working on kept changing shape as she hammered it into the form she wanted .
Ding ding ding ding
The predictable hammering sound echoed throughout the smithery . Like the beautiful sound of an artist hard at work, one could easily see her skills just by listening to the sounds she’s emitting . A musician would get inspired by the beautiful tune here .
She hammered the hot slab of metal into a sharp blade . Slowly, the blade took the form of a well-forged piece of cold weapon .
The blacksmith girl’s eyes shone up when she looked at the result of her hard work . She continued hammering the blade to reduce the imperfections, sharpening it, and turning it into a better weapon . Without a doubt, once this sword is complete, it would definitely be a high-quality good .
Alas, it seems like the heavens played a prank on her . Just as she was about to finish her work, someone came knocking on her door and opened the door to her smithery without waiting for a response .
“Hey there, Lis!”
Due to this sudden interruption, the blacksmith inadvertently smashed the wrong side of the work-in-progress and the red-hot sword broke into two pieces .
“Eh?… Eh?!…”
Lisbeth was stunned by this . She stared dumbfoundedly at the pieces of a sword that could have been .
“Ahhhh!”
The house shook after she exploded like a tiny bomb . The shout made the culprit’s mind go blank for a second .
He calmed down and he looked at the blacksmith who emitted a heart-breaking shriek .
He saw Lisbeth holding her broken sword . With tears in her eyes, she looked like someone who just lost her parents . She’s absolutely stricken by grief, she’s just missing the characteristic trail of dried tears that would indicate someone who just bawled her eyes out .
He understood why she cried out loud . He froze up when he realized the implications of his actions .
When the pieces of metal in her hands shattered into data fragments, the two finally reacted . Lisbeth lowered her head as a dark aura started spreading around her . She lifted her head and she stared at the person who started all of this .
“Ki-ri-to!”
Lis turned into a demon as she declared Kirito her enemy . Kirito stepped back due to fright and his heart started racing .
“Y-yo, Lis…”
Kirito somehow forced a smile out of his petrified face . He mechanically lifted his hand to greet her .
“I-I entered the shop and no one was around… I tried to call for you but you didn’t reply so I…”
Lis gnashed her teeth at Kirito . She ground her teeth audibly . Kirito feared few monsters but against an existence like her, he felt unsafe .
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Lisbeth looked at the hammer in her hands, she wanted to cry but can’t for want of tears .
She planned for this forge since a long time ago, she made sure to temper the material well before she started forging this sword . She also closed up her shop and she turned off the shop entry notification which led to her downfall .
“Erm, about this, Lis…”
“You shut your mouth!”
Kirito swallowed his words . The adage, don’t start shit you can’t finish obviously didn’t cross his mind as he continued .
“Well, don’t get too hung up on it . I am guessing that piece of metal is probably not that rare so you wouldn’t be able to forge a good sword from it anyway . ”
“What did you say?!”
Lis got enraged and she grabbed Kirito by his collar .
“Do you know the trouble I went through to get all of that ready? You want to lecture me on rarity?! I spent a fortune obtaining materials for that sword, it would have been a prized item in my inventory, how dare you say it’s mediocre!”
“Ye-yeah?”
Lis is huffing inches away from Kirito’s face, a drop of cold sweat flowed down the side of his head and he continued retorting .
“I don’t if your sword is comparable to mine…”
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Lis moved her eyes toward the black sword on Kirito’s back . It’s a balanced black sword with gray trims . The sword glimmered elegantly inside his sheath . Even in a sheathed state, it’s not hard to see that this blade is of an unusual origin .
The Black Sword, Elucidator!
It’s a dropped weapon that’s almost like a demonic sword when compared with other dropped weapons .
In terms of performance, this blade stood near the top of all the swords in SAO .
Lisbeth had a scary look but her frustration outgrew her anger . After getting to know Kirito, he would always come here and request her help to maintain and upgrade Elucidator . It looked underwhelming at first sight, but, she’s the only one who truly understood the capabilities and the potential of this sword .
Lisbeth is confident in her own abilities but she’s not sure if she can make another weapon that can rival the Elucidator . Although it pained her to admit it, her lump of metal isn’t as precious or rare as Kirito’s sword .
However, rarity is irrelevant to her present situation .
“Don’t get too smug with me!”
Lisbeth released Kirito and she yelled at him .
“I just don’t have enough high-grade materials . If I had them, I can easily make a sword on par or even better than the Elucidator!”
“Oh? Really, now?”
Kirito cast a doubtful look .
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“If that’s the case…”
Kirito sighed and he put on his business face .
“Can you fulfill my request?”
“Hmph…”
Lis snorted and she turned her head the other way .
“My skill level is almost there, if there is no change in special modifiers or the likes, I can make it if I am supplied with the right materials!”
“That’s great to hear…”
Kirito released a sigh of relief . He smiled because he busted his ass to get on Lis’ good side, mostly through paying regular visits to her shop . He also benefited from this by obtaining the calling card of a skilled blacksmith like Lis .
“Okay, how can I help with getting the materials?”
“I need metals from the 55th floor…”
“The 55th floor, eh? Alright, got it . ”
“Wait! Take me with you!”