I finally arrived at the Ferrum Armory with Maybelle standing beside me. It was quite a small building layered in stone and framed with wooden planks.
The structure of the building perfectly appealed to the general aesthetic of a blacksmith, split into three compartments: the weapons/armor shop, the family's accommodation, and the forge, which bore a chimney that protruded from the roof tiles.
"I know it's a little small compared to Steel Grove, but everything I said earlier about the quality here is true. Please trust me." It seems Maybelle mistook my observational gaze as silent doubt.
"If I didn't trust you, then I wouldn't be here," I assured.
"Yeah, I guess that's true..."
Once we passed the entrance, a strange feeling slithered around my insides, causing my body to jitter for a moment as the ambient dampness of the air brushed against my skin.
Luckily, Maybelle didn't seem to notice the way I reacted.
As we moved past the narrow hall of armor stands that stood beside the shelved accessories and weapons, I could hear a rhythmic clanging that got progressively louder as we neared the edge of the aisle.
The counter, where a shop keeper would normally be, appeared empty.
"Is that sound coming from the forge?" I asked Maybelle, who seemed unbothered by it.
"Yeah, my father must be finishing up his latest weapon. I'll head over to the forge and let him know we have a customer."
"That's fine."
"Alright, feel free to have a look around while you wait. Let us know if there's anything that catches your eye. I'll also see if I can get you a discount since you're now a valued customer." She winked at me strangely before heading over to the smith's compartment.
Eventually, the sound of clanging ceased, and I decided to browse the display of various weapons and armor that surrounded me.
I recalled what Larg taught me about how to assess the value of purchasable weapons through their material.
"All alloys and metals are graded, therefore, a weapon or piece of armor will share the same grade as the metal it is made out of."
'Grade one' is the lowest and 'grade five' is the highest. Grades one and two are what Collectors refer to as "standard grade", while all grade three equipment is associated with the term "mid-grade", and grades four to five are all "high grade" or "military grade" equipment.
Each grade represents a particular group that certain metals belong to, based on their names. For example: Platolium (grade one) belongs to the 'L-group' and Kenium (grade three) belongs to the 'N-group'.
In total, there are five different groups that correspond to the five different grades respectively: L-group, R-group, N-group, T-group, and S-group.
At first glance, it's quite difficult for one to detect the grades of armor and weapons–let alone the metal associated with the grade, since it requires extensive knowledge of metals or advanced Clairvoyance.
Although I only possessed a standardized CCU model, I was still able to see the grades of all the equipment as my Clairvoyance ability was much more advanced than the average.
I searched for any equipment that was decently cheap, something that ranged from grade two to grade three, since all equipment became increasingly expensive to purchase and repair as the grade increased.
First, I should probably decide on which weapon path I want to take…
There are several classes or "Paths" associated with each kind of weapon you decide to use, ranging from close range to long range weapons.
These paths included 'Agility' (daggers), 'Chivalry' (swords, spears, lances, shields), and 'Frailty' (bows and arrows). These three were most commonly used.
However, additional paths like the 'Path of the Mighty' (blunt/larger weapons: greataxe, greatsword), and the 'Path of Egoity' (dual wielding) were more uncommon than the others.
Fortunately, I discovered an item at a decent price.
This doesn't look too bad. The price is good too.
It appeared to be a Kenium dagger, resting up a wall hanger that was too high for me to reach.
Since Mel practically forced Larg to share some of his earnings with me, I was able to afford a mid-grade weapon that could replace my current standard grade: the Platolium dagger that Amber previously gave me.
The usual currency in Promenia were gold coins, possessing a regional emblem on its head side, and a numeric currency value on the tail side.
This currency is known as 'Mida', and the amount of Mida you have is represented by the number that is shown on the tail side of your coin.
However, if you are using Mida to purchase something from a region that's different to the emblem on the head side, the value may differ, which can over complicate things.
There are several exchange areas within regional banking stations that allow you to exchange your Mida coins for the other coins specific to the region you're in, appropriating values accordingly.
For example: when Amber paid for food over at the Collectors station this morning, she used Mida from the Nixous region. The cost of one Eastern Morning was ten Mida, and the cost for two was a deal at fifteen Mida. Amber was able to purchase the 'Double Eastern Mornings' deal with a Nixous coin that had the number twelve embedded on its tail side.
This meant that Nixous coins had more value within the Garmen region.
Thanks to Mel, the amount of coins in my possession came to about one thousand Mida.
But I knew I had to be cautious with my spending so I could still purchase some other essentials.
The price tag for the Kenium dagger showed the number '550' with the symbol for Mida written beside it.
It was incredibly cheap for a third grade weapon.
Now I just have to search for armor, I thought, having already made up my mind about the dagger.
I was planning to purchase any low priced armor I could find–probably something of the standard grade that wasn't too heavy and would be quite easy to move in.
As if the armory became a sentient mind-reader, I suddenly took notice of a leather jacket that was hung on the wall.
Although I hadn't paid any attention to it before, it was displayed quite conspicuously as if the owner was desperate to sell it.
It was a jacket made of a dark, shiny leather, built in with metal plates of Platolium that covered a few vulnerable areas like the arms and shoulders.
From a glance, I could tell that the leather was quite durable, but once I made contact with it, my thoughts were truly reinforced.
This is almost perfect, I marveled internally.
Before I got my hopes up too high, I took a glance at the price tag: 'thirty-five Mida'.
It's a complete steal!
In total, the items that I considered came down to only 585 Mida. By adding the ten percent reduction through owning a Collectors license, then it only comes down to only about 526 Mida, meaning I would still have a good amount left over.
As I pondered whether or not there were any other pieces of equipment I required, I heard the entrance to the forge gently creak open and watched as Maybelle casually emerged.
She grinned at me cheerfully, like she was happy to see that I was still present.
"Anything caught your eye yet?" she asked, as she approached me.
"Yeah, there's a certain dagger that I'd like to purchase, and a piece of armor to—"
At that moment my breath was stolen by an abrupt entrance.
So, this must be the blacksmith...
At that moment, I finally saw him–the person that I had been wanting to meet since he was first mentioned to me…
The man known as Quinn Ferrum: the mysterious blacksmith and owner of the Ferrum Armory.