Iron Furnace Ridge, eastern Kingdom of Fiore.
A young man in black and a lightly dressed young woman disembarked from the train, gazing at the several mining mountains not far away, glowing red from the scorching firelight and forming a circle.
On the way here by train, Noah had heard Cana introduce Iron Furnace Ridge as the collective name for these mountains. Because the terrain of the mountains resembled an iron furnace, coupled with unexplained high temperatures, it earned the name Iron Furnace Ridge.
Although the high temperatures were unbearable for ordinary people, the high-quality iron ore attracted many Mage blacksmiths to travel long distances, smelting metal and forging Magic items on-site at the foot of the mountains.
Because high-quality Magic items were frequently produced here, more and more people came to Iron Furnace Ridge, gradually forming a "Magic Trade Market" at its base.
This was Noah and Cana's destination for this trip.
Watching two fully armed squads of soldiers pass by, Noah was somewhat puzzled. "Why are there soldiers here?"
"They are soldiers of the Kingdom of Fiore, maintaining public order." Cana didn't say much, just gave Noah a knowing look.
Noah immediately understood: because a large number of Magic items circulated here, the area received special "attention" from the nation. If powerful Magic items appeared, the first to know would certainly be the country's high-ranking officials.
The market was large. Cana led Noah through many twists and turns, and they encountered patrolling soldiers asking questions twice along the way. It seemed something had happened, but neither Noah nor Cana went to investigate.
Finally, Cana stopped in front of a shop without a sign.
"Here it is."
As soon as Cana finished speaking, she pulled open the shop door, bottle in hand. A burst of flame suddenly rushed out from inside the shop. If Noah hadn't reacted quickly and pulled Cana behind him, she might have "burst into flames" as Natsu often said.
"Damn it, how could I forget that old man's habit..."
Cana remembered something and looked at Noah, who was shielding her, with concern. He must have been seriously injured by the forging flames that could instantly melt iron ore.
For a moment, Cana felt guilty. She grabbed Noah's hand. "I know there's a Healing Mage in the market. I'll take you right away..."
"Eh?! Noah, why are you fine?!"
Noah turned his head and gave Cana a resentful look. "Do you want me to be hurt?"
Cana waved her hand awkwardly. "I just didn't expect anyone in the guild besides Natsu to be immune to flames."
Coincidentally, Noah dared to withstand the flames precisely because of the (strong) Fire Resistance he gained from Natsu's Wish request.
When the flames hit him, Noah felt nothing at all.
Patting his undamaged clothes, Noah realized that the Fire Resistance not only worked on his body but also extended to his clothing.
It seemed that the clumsy pink-haired young man's Magic was very powerful, though Noah didn't know what kind of Magic it was.
"Who's there!" A spirited, burly old man carrying a large iron hammer walked out of the shop.
Seeing it was Cana, the old man put down the hammer. "Little Cana, bringing me another customer? How much are you getting this time?"
"Five percent!"
Watching Cana proudly hold up five fingers, the old man's eyes flashed as he looked at Noah. "Well, well! Hooked yourself a big one this time!"
Cana's expression quickly changed. She rubbed her hands together at the old man. "Old Man Doran, don't forget my finder's fee for bringing you a customer."
"Yeah, yeah, you little drunkard. Like I'd ever forget your 50,000 Jewels."
The blacksmith Doran pulled out the money and handed it to Cana.
Watching this scene, Noah only felt like he had fallen into a trap.
On one hand, she brought customers to the blacksmith, receiving a fixed reward of 50,000 Jewels for each willing customer.
On the other hand, she would get a five percent commission from his purchase of Magic items.
Cana was truly profiting from both sides!
And for Blacksmith Doran to be so generous with money, Noah already had a premonition that there would be many zeros on the price tags of the Magic items in his shop.
"Don't worry, Noah, Old Man Doran's prices are fair and honest."
Under Cana's recommendation and Blacksmith Doran's invitation, Noah still entered the Magic shop.
If it was truly too much of a rip-off, he would just leave.
After learning Noah's needs, Old Man Doran brought out a large basket of Magic weapons and enthusiastically introduced them to Noah.
"This 'Absolute Hit Bow' with a Lock-On ability and its matching Tracking arrows. Just aim at the enemy and shoot, and the arrows will automatically track."
"Only 99,800 Jewels! Comes with twenty Tracking arrows!"
"The Demon-Breaking Greatsword, forged from the unique Starlight Ore of the Kingdom of Stella, has a strong Nullification property against Magic. Its only drawback is that it requires replenishment with Starlight Magic Power."
"This weapon is also only 99,800 Jewels!"
"I call these gloves 'Bare-Handed Blade Catch,' made from strong magnets. The gloves are divided into positive and negative poles. When using them, you must pay attention to 'likes attract, opposites repel.' You wouldn't want your hands locked together by magnetic poles during a battle, would you?"
"Still a flat price, 99,800 Jewels!"
"The Powerful Solar Cannon, immensely destructive, but requires twenty-four hours of charging under sunlight before it can be used..."
"Its price, you know it, only 998 Jewels!"
...
"Boss, no more 998s. Bring out the better goods."
Noah didn't know if Old Man Doran was tired from introducing dozens of Magic weapons in one breath, but if he didn't stop him, Noah himself would soon be brainwashed by that enchanting "998."
These Magic weapons undeniably had unique characteristics, fitting their 99,800 Jewels price tag, but relatively, their flaws were too obvious. Noah wasn't looking for such unbalanced weapons.
Hearing Noah's words, Old Man Doran's smile instantly turned strange. "If you want to see other Magic items, you need to have the strength. Otherwise, you only deserve the 998 trash."
Ho, quite the character.
Noah now understood why Doran would ask others to help bring in customers.
"It seems you are very confident in your craftsmanship. How can I be sure that your other weapons aren't similarly defective?"
Noah pointed at the weapons Doran had just introduced with a half-smile. Before, he was only suspicious, but with Doran's current words, he could confirm that all these "998" items were failures.
"Quick on the uptake, kid."
Doran confidently stated, "Looks like you're from Fairy Tail too. Titania's armor and weapons? All forged by these hands."
Seeing this, Cana whispered in Noah's ear. "He means Erza, one of our S-Class Mages. Her Magic is Requip: The Knight, so she needs tons of weapons and armor. I'm the one who introduced them."
Erza, huh... Noah hadn't seen Erza's Magic yet, but he knew her title as an S-Class Mage. He just hadn't expected that valiant female knight to use Requip Magic.
"So how should I prove my strength?"
"Fair warning though—my Magic isn't combat-oriented. That's why I'm here buying Magic items in the first place."
Despite his words, Doran only saw an expression of "confidence" on Noah's face.
What an interesting kid.
"The trash from a Black Magic Cult has targeted the market. The regular soldiers of the Kingdom's army will have a hard time against these unscrupulous individuals."
"Consider it my request. Get rid of that trash, and afterward, I will open up my true works to you and give you a good reward."
Black Magic Cult? What's that?
Noah hadn't even finished reading a single book at the guild before Cana brought him to buy Magic items, so he knew nothing about the Black Magic Cult Doran mentioned.
Before Noah could ask, Cana interrupted him with a cold face, glaring angrily at Doran. "Noah is just a newcomer who just joined the guild. It's too much to ask him to deal with a Black Magic Cult!"
Doran was also stubborn; he would never break his own rules.
"Hmph, I'm only asking him to deal with a small branch of a Black Magic Cult. There isn't even a priest. If he doesn't even have the strength to deal with them, he might as well stick to playing with these 998 items."
A priest of a Black Magic Cult was equivalent to an S-Class Mage in a Legal Guild, but Cana continued to argue. "Old Man Doran, if you want to eliminate evil for the people, why don't you do it yourself?"
"Nonsense, I'm a Mage blacksmith. Why should I go fight to the death?"
Doran's words infuriated Cana, but they were also undeniably logical, leaving her unable to refute.
"I'll take this request."
Noah's sudden remark astonished the two who had been arguing.
Doran: He agreed just like that? No more haggling?
Cana: He's so brave, does his family know?
Looking at Cana and Doran's varied expressions, Noah smiled casually. "Don't worry, even though my Magic can't be used for combat."
"I am very strong."