Bro, I'm not an Undead!

A burly man with a portly belly that pressed outwards against the dirty apron he wore emerged from behind the young man.

From his appearance, one didn't even need to guess to know why the last part of his nickname, 'Gruff' was relevant.

A rough grey beard with hints of ash and soot along with darkened skin with wrinkly textures could be seen on his face while his eyes brimmed with a light blue shade.

At this moment, there seemed to be fury building up within him as he looked at his apprentice from a height of almost two meters, the young man shrinking back and moving to the side.

What could be the possible reason for such hostility from his teacher?

Had he come to denounce Skullius himself?

The Discount Human was perplexed, not by the bulky man's stature, but by the fact that this man, had a blue core!

A dull blue core to be exact and while it didn't have the same brightness as from those he had felt within strong opponents and mercenaries, it definitely put this hunk on his map.

HammerDown Gruff.

The best Blacksmith in the city at this current point in time.

He didn't spare Skullius much of a glance as he went on to take [Demion's Dance] from the hands of his apprentice and inspect it with shocking intensity.

In this instance, Skullius truly hoped that this man didn't turn out to be a sockethole who would run off with his blade.

That would leave him regretting why he hadn't just used [Unbound] to fix and transmute it into a new one.

"Where did you get this fine weapon? I could sense its ancient and unique aura from out back," Gruff said, his eyes never leaving the blueish curved blade that had shallow circular groves with a glossy shine about them.

The elegantly made golden hilt with mini designs of swirls and curls that enhanced friction made Gruff nod his head as his brows alternated the duty of showing his immense interest.

"I got it from a certain merchant," Skullius lied through his teeth.

"Is that right?" Gruff questioned as his fading blue eyes gleamed dangerously but Skullius withheld his stance.

'He must think me a fool. The level of smithing, etching and artistry behind this piece is way beyond my capabilities. Yet he claims a mere merchant let him walk away with it?'

"Hmph! Nomatter how much you remain composed, I can tell that you're not from the circle you're trying to fit into. My interest is in this weapon. What would you have me do?"

"The weapon has lost its durability. It can no longer do what it was meant to do. I was hoping you can restore it," Skullius said.

Gruff scoffed as he placed the sword on the side.

"First. Tell me truthfully. Where did you acquire this blade?" Gruff asked with a sizable amount of threat saturating his voice.

Skullius didn't back away.

"Like I said. I got it from a merchant."

"From where?"

"On my way from Eofel to this city. Bastard must have not recognised its worth since it is all worn out now, bro. But still, I had to pay him three Tier 3 dead cores before he was willing to part with it."

Gruff frowned slightly and harrumphed like a beast.

Perhaps it was true. Only seasoned merchants who were well versed in the sale of weaponry would recognise their value even if they were damaged or worn out.

If the man before him was telling the truth, then perhaps the merchant still had enough brain to see the eagerness within Skullius' eyes and exploit it.

"What do you fancy about this sword then?" Gruff asked. Perhaps he had misjudged this determined young man.

Skullius grinned under his solemn facade. He could tell the guy everything about the sword but he refrained from doing so as that would likely increase his chances of getting screwed over.

From the looks of it, Gruff didn't see the sword as the legendary construct it was. Hell, he probably couldn't decipher everything about it.

"I can tell you it's a very rare weapon. Maybe even legendary. Or least it was. The fine work on it probably means it has two or more skills that can be activated. Of course I won't be the one using it but that was what all I was able to find about it," Skullius explained.

The tall man before the Discount Human paused for a bit with a hint of shock peeking from his face.

In the next moment, Gruff began to laugh heartily as a smile finally broke free to his face!

"Hahahahaha! Splendid! To think I'd finally see another customer with good appraisal skills!" he said as he grabbed [Demion's Dance], his apprentice being puzzled out of his mind. "Good, good! Come! Let me see what I can—"

"No!" Skullius suddenly exclaimed as sweat visible trickled down his face. This had escalated too quickly.

Maybe he had sold the idea too well and his affable broship had revealed Gruff's good nature.

Whatever it was...

His mind raced as he thought of how to solve what he saw to be a problem merely seconds away.

Soon, he thought of the only way to possibly redeem the situation.

He pulled out two dead cores from his spatial storage ring, one being Tier four and the other Tier five and set them down.

Gruff was confused and awed at the same time. To casually pull out such high quality dead cores.

"I'm not here to have a good chat, you bloated sockethole! I just want my weapon fixed! All I need are your skills. Now tell me, when should I return for it?" Skullius feigned being angry.

The burly man couldn't believe his ears.

The transition sounded unnatural. What had gotten into this man?

Slowly, his hearty cheer receded as a professional and cold look appeared on his face.

No. He had misjudged. This man was no different from the stuck up fools that thought as long as they had money, they owned the world.

Even though it was a hypocritical thing when he himself shied away from those that couldn't afford his expertise, that was because he valued himself.

While others had abandoned the city for bigger cities, he had stayed in order to be a pillar for the community of Inhone City. At least a major one.

The Capital Knights who needed greater equipment approached him along with many others and he would put his full effort in crafting the best weaponry and armour that saved lives.

But, he would never allow himself to be undervalued.

His philosophy was simple.

'If you can't afford it, someone else will. And that someone is going to do it for you.'

If a commoner visited his shop with a request to get a powerful sword but without the means to pay for it, he wouldn't acquiesce. A Knight with the means to pay for such would come with the same request and adhere to the threat that plagued the very commoner the next day.

It was faulty belief but he firmly held onto it. It made sense to him.

This was what the existing system was for.

"Frankly, this craftsmanship is quite beyond my level. All I can do is restore a fraction of its capabilities. Do you still accept?" Gruff said in a rough tone.

Were it not for the fact that he was interested in the sword, he probably would have chased Skullius out. But then again, this was his job. Forming friendships was only a bonus that wasn't guaranteed. Yet this one truly disappointed him.

"How long will it take?"

"Roughly 4 days."

Skullius grimaced. It was better than nothing at least.

"Alright. I'll come back then."

The Discount Human immediately turned and left, slapping his own face with a crisp smack after walking dozens of paces away.

Aside from the fact that he was disappointed that [Demion's Dance] couldn't be fixed fully and that the little it could be restored would take days, he was also bummed because he had deliberately cut off a potential, budding friendship.

The reason was obvious.

UNCoddled.

Contrary to how HammerDown Gruff looked, he wasn't a sockethole at heart.

The moment Skullius saw the hearty cheer and friendly gaze, he knew that he had almost screwed himself. He would have loved to befriend the burly man but that would end terribly.

Besides the fact that he would turn the man into a gooey mess, killing a well-known blacksmith like HammerDown would make his life hellish.

'<Sigh>. Let's cheer up. We're about to resurrect Red bro anyway. Won't be alone for much longer,' he thought to himself.

With the issue of the sword done for now, Skullius headed to his semi-secondary destination, the National Guilds Association building.

As he was familiar with the path, it didn't take Skullius long to reach the place.

Upon arriving though, he was met with a burst of activity in and out of the Guilds Associations building. Many mercenaries were walking in and out with urgency in their steps, fully decked in armour and most heading out of the city.

Skullius spotted a few mercenaries who were going into the building covered in Conqueror's Halos which he hadn't gotten used to seeing.

This was his first time seeing the light akin to flares surrounding a bunch of mercenaries with some having brighter ones and others having layered Halos that circled around their figures!

'Woow... it does look cool now that I think about it.'

It was unfortunate that asides from decorative purposes, it didn't have much value but Skullius groaned as he called that it was only him who didn't benefit anything.

He couldn't gain the other benefits for clearing Clusters.

Still though.

'Alright! That's enough of the negative. Let's go get that mercenary license.'

The Discount Human marched into the building as he aimed to take his first step into becoming a mercenary.