Chapter 42: The Strongest Blacksmith

Maze City, Northeast Avenue.

This is the hub of Orario's proud magic stone product manufacturing, adjacent to the industrial zone's manufacturing area.

Under Finn's lead, Rigel walked into this area.

Unlike Northwest Avenue, which is predominantly populated by adventurers, most of the pedestrians here are workers in work uniforms.

There are muscular middle-aged humans moving equipment.

There are beastmen walking alongside merchants, conversing with them.

There are burly dwarves arguing and shouting at each other.

There are blacksmiths carrying weapons, loudly hawking what seem to be their masterpieces.

The sound of hammering is everywhere, and the smell of metal permeates the air. This is a completely industrial street, with almost no buildings other than factories, workshops, and forges, and not even a single woman or child in sight.

Walking down such a street, Rigel and Finn, who are dressed more brightly, stand out quite a bit.

Fortunately, both of them are strong-willed individuals who don't care about such trivial matters, so they remain composed and natural, walking step by step toward the center of the street, despite the curious and scrutinizing gazes of others.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a workshop.

It is a flat building.

Clearly not well-maintained, this building, covered in soot, seems to have even more intense and louder hammering sounds than other places.

"We're here," Finn said, standing in front of the workshop.

"Here?"

Even though he had some guesses, Rigel was still somewhat surprised to learn that this was his destination.

It's hard to imagine that this workshop would be used by an important figure of the Hephaestus Family, a prestigious blacksmith clan.

As a commercial clan specializing in the sale of weapons and equipment, the Hephaestus Family's reputation in Orario and even the entire world is no less than that of the Loki Family.

The reason is simple.

If the Loki Family is one of the strongest exploration clans, then the Hephaestus Family is the strongest blacksmith clan.

The clan's deity is the god of fire and blacksmithing, Hephaestus, who is revered even in the heavens.

This clan, organized by the god of blacksmithing, not only attracts a large number of blacksmiths but also has a complete talent cultivation system. It is not an exaggeration to call it a prestigious blacksmith clan.

With so many blacksmiths gathered, including many high-level blacksmiths who have mastered the "Forging" ability, it's easy to imagine how excellent the weapons and equipment produced by this clan are.

Now, the Hephaestus Family has become a high-end brand worldwide. Works from this clan are held in the highest honor among peers. Any weapon or equipment branded as "Hephaestus Family" is immediately sought after by many, and its value can increase several times over.

In such a situation, the person who could make Finn personally come to place an order must be a high-ranking member of the Hephaestus Family.

But the high-ranking member of the renowned Hephaestus Family is actually staying in such a place?

Rigel couldn't help but feel surprised.

Finn chuckled at this.

"Don't worry, famous blacksmiths are mostly like this. They prefer to stay in dirty, messy workshops rather than sit in luxurious offices. The person we're looking for is even more so," Finn explained. "If we had made an appointment elsewhere, we wouldn't know when he would be free, but if we come here, he's definitely here."

With that, Finn pushed the door open.

"Let's go. We've already informed them, and since they didn't come out to greet us, we'll go in ourselves," Finn said, leading the way, and Rigel followed.

Rigel immediately followed Finn into the workshop, which led to a spacious forge.

The space was dimly lit by a few magic stone lamps, with only a faint red furnace fire glowing in the depths. The air was thick with the smell of iron, making it a place that would make anyone want to turn back.

"Cherry! Are you here?"

Finn, completely unfazed by the environment, shouted towards the forge.

A moment later, a voice responded.

"I'm here!"

With a powerful response, a figure emerged from the forge, where the furnace fire was visible.

It was a woman.

She had a beautiful face, long limbs, black hair, and red eyes. She wore a work uniform in a Far Eastern style, with a bright red hakama skirt and a white cloth wrapped around her upper body, which was somewhat eye-catching.

Her skin was brown, darker than the wheat-colored skin of the Tiona and Tione sisters. She wore an eye patch, and her appearance and attire were quite distinctive.

This beautiful woman greeted Finn with great enthusiasm.

"It's been a while! Finn!" She laughed, opening her arms to Finn. "You're still as young as ever, but you're quite cute. Come here and let me hug you!"

She really did try to hug him, without any regard for the person standing nearby.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Finn deftly avoided her, calmly saying, "Is the goddess Hephaestus not here?"

"No, the deity is not here," the brown-skinned woman said, looking disappointed. "She's been in a bad mood lately, probably because a friend who's been staying at home is too lazy and eats too much. The deity has accumulated a lot of resentment towards this parasitic friend and won't have time to deal with us until the issue is resolved."

Finn didn't react to this, but Rigel, standing to the side, subtly raised an eyebrow.

Unfortunately, neither of the two noticed this, and after a brief conversation, they turned to Rigel.

"Let me introduce you," Finn smiled at Rigel and introduced the woman. "Cherry Cobrand, the leader of the Hephaestus Family, the strongest blacksmith in Orario, and a first-level adventurer. In terms of fame, she's not inferior to me."

After introducing her, Finn was about to introduce Rigel to Cherry, but she interrupted him.

"Rigel Brihaut, the new member of the Loki Family, a rising star who went from level 1 to level 4 in just over a month. How could I not know you?" Cherry stared at Rigel, seemingly very pleased. "Orario has been buzzing about you, especially the gods, who are trying to gather information about you. Even our deity is paying attention. I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Hello," Rigel nodded politely to Cherry, his expression calm, showing no signs of being flattered by her praise.

"Oh, you seem to be a very composed person," Cherry scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I don't know how to deal with this type of person."

"Don't worry, Cherry," Finn took the opportunity to tease her. "Don't be fooled by his appearance. When this guy goes crazy, even I get nervous. He's not as steady as you think."

"Really? That's great," Cherry's eyes lit up, and she laughed. "It would be boring if you were as lifeless as these old guys."

With that, she completely disregarded gender differences and put her arm around Rigel's neck.

"Newcomers should act like newcomers, be energetic and a bit wild. That's what makes you cute," Cherry said with a smile. "Why don't you stay with me for a few days? I'll take good care of you."

"Cut it out, Cherry. You just want a free laborer to help you hammer," Finn pushed her hand away without hesitation. "Don't mess with our clan's future pillar. If anything happens to him, Loki and Levia will come after you."

"Then I'll pass," Cherry immediately became serious, muttering, "If I get on the bad side of the trickster god and the famous elven princess, I'll never have a moment's peace."

Finn gave her a "you know better" look, and Cherry raised her hands in surrender, making Rigel, who was struggling to keep up with the situation, scratch his nose.

However, Y1S1, the hug just now felt quite nice, quite soft.

Cherry, unaware of Rigel's thoughts, put her hands on her hips and got to the point.

"Alright, enough fooling around. Hand over the order," Cherry extended her hand to Finn. "You're here to have us forge backup weapons and equipment for your expedition, right?"

Bulk orders for backup weapons were exactly what Finn had come for.

While each member of the Loki Family has their own preferred weapons, weapons do wear out, and different situations require different weapons. Therefore, the most essential items to prepare for an expedition, besides medicine, are backup weapons.

Especially for group combat, where effective offense and defense can be organized, a large number of arrows are always needed.

For this reason, every clan prepares a large batch of weapons for each expedition, and a large clan like the Loki Family, which prepares for expeditions to the ultra-deep levels below the 50th floor, needs even more.

Thus, the Loki Family always has a large order to place with a commercial blacksmith clan, and the Hephaestus Family often takes on these orders.

One could say that the Loki Family is a regular customer of the Hephaestus Family, and Cherry, the leader of the Hephaestus Family, is quite familiar with them.

Therefore, Cherry naturally knew why Finn had come.

But today, something was different.

"Here's the order. Try to get it done as soon as possible," Finn handed a piece of parchment to Cherry and added, "In addition, I need you to forge a weapon for the rising star you mentioned."

"Oh?" Cherry took the order but didn't look at it, instead focusing on Rigel.

More accurately, she looked at the sword on Rigel's waist.

"Good craftsmanship, but it seems to have a lot of wear and tear. It must have been repaired many times, right?"

The strongest blacksmith in Orario had a keen eye and smiled.

"It seems this third-level weapon is no longer suitable for its user."

"Do you want me to forge a new one for you?"

"Sure, tell me your requirements."

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(End of Chapter)