Monsters Uprising

As the day broke, the redhead was already outside the inn, cleaning one of the tables with a clean cloth.

Across the street, she could already hear hammering echoing off the iron, making her smile slightly, until she heard footsteps approaching from behind. She turned around with a smile.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?"

It was Sief, dressed in new clothes. His old shirt had been replaced by a black one, and he now wore long pants, along with black boots and a light smile on his face.

"Ten copper coins are worth quite a bit, but not that much." He sighed, stopping beside the woman, crossing his arms and looking towards the blacksmith's house. "Was it his doing?"

"I can take action too, you know? It's not just those who do business with my husband that pay me." She gave a slight smile and unlocked the table, saying, "Rude boy."

"I think I'm getting tired of hearing that..."

Sief sighed, placing both hands on his hips and closing his eyes, but then he turned to the woman and said.

"Thank you, I haven't even asked your name yet."

"The name's Silvia." She gave a sharp smile and finally tapped the table lightly, saying, "If you want to thank me, you can store this table inside for me, we're closing up for the morning."

"Silvia..." He stared at the table, remembering what she had said about it the day before, finally swallowing hard and grabbing the table to try to lift it. "Alright..."

In an instant, Sief pushed himself forward, and when he tried to lift the table, it was as if he was trying to lift a gigantic stone.

His legs trembled, and he gritted his teeth, trying to move it, realizing it was a medium and simple table, but its weight was far beyond what he could imagine, even heavier than the sword he had given to Edgar.

Sief gritted his teeth and forced himself a bit more, making the table float slightly, but contrary to his expectations, it was Silvia who lifted it with a slight smile, placing it on her shoulder and saying as she turned.

"Thanks for the help, boy." She walked towards the inn, still flaunting her smile. "Go on, get your things and enjoy the start of the day."

Left outside, Sief walked with a furrowed brow and a long sigh, finishing with:

"And you didn't even ask my name... scary woman..."

He turned around, still trying to get used to the idea of that woman, who was a little taller than him, carrying all that weight. Sief wondered if at some point she had also been an adventurer, but as he arrived at the smithy, he saw the smoke filling the place and noticed the blacksmith leaning on his counter, seeming to relax.

Noticing the boy, the blacksmith gave a slight smile and bent down, grabbing something from under his counter as Sief approached, saying:

"Good morning..." He sighed and said, "Is everything ready?"

"Do you wake up grumpy, boy?" The blacksmith stood up and placed a bracelet similar to the previous one, but seeming much more fitted for Sief, who found it odd and heard. "It's just like the previous one, but a more compact model with the same weight so you don't lose its benefits. Plus, it can be used for blocking too; you have some marks on your arms, so this might help."

"It's not grumpiness, it's your wife showing off with that table." Sief grabbed the bracelet and equipped it, noticing its weight hadn't changed, but it fit much better on his arm. When he clenched his hand, it revealed the blade, but this time with a brownish tone similar to a strange metal. "Are these just the claws?"

"Ah, my sweet Silvia." The blacksmith sighed, blowing even more smoke that covered the place. "No, I fused it with a bit of metal to reuse some of that material; the original structure was quite fragile, so I had to change it a bit."

Sief observed and moved the blade, feeling a strange sensation as he still hadn't adapted to the bracelet, and finally opened his hand to hide the blade.

"Hm..." He looked somewhat doubtfully at the blacksmith, who smiled again and continued.

"But I also took the opportunity to lower the service cost a bit and made some other things for you." He grabbed a bag that was near the floor, placing it on the table, still closed, and finally releasing more smoke. "You'll only be able to test all this in a monster-filled territory, but once you get used to it, you'll be a bit stronger."

"You've helped me a lot, I don't know if the items I gave were really that valuable." Sief opened the bag and saw a leather armor with shoulder pads, as well as another simpler leather bracelet with iron protection. "Why all this?"

The blacksmith breathed deeply, still with the twig between his lips, but soon exhaled, filling the place with smoke again.

"You're too suspicious for your age. As I said, just be thankful and we're even... but it's not just that." He continued with a slight smile, but slowly his expression turned serious. "I have brothers with a skill similar to mine. I imagine they chose a trade similar to mine. If you find them, ask them to come here. This is an advance on a secondary objective for you—after finding your sister, find my brothers and bring them here. If you do, and bring quality materials, I promise I'll give you a friend's discount, unlike the blacksmiths who will try to rip off an inexperienced kid like you."

"And with 10 copper coins as change, right?" Sief smiled and saw the blacksmith smile too. "I don't know if you're a strange calculator or just a nice guy with a lot of quirks, but thank you, I'll remember that..."

Sief tied the bag and slung it over his back, still with a slight smile, turning towards the exit as the blacksmith crossed his arms, saying:

"A merchant's duty is to extract everything that's rightfully his." He placed the twig between his fingers and concluded. "And to make the customer leave with a smile on their face, with the promise that one day they'll return."

As he left the smithy, Sief smiled, but as he looked ahead, someone else was there.

It was Silvia, who had a slight smile on her face and was carrying a tall, well-covered sack, sealed multiple times with a ribbon. Seeing the boy, she smiled and extended it, saying:

"Take this with you. Since you liked it so much yesterday, it's good to eat something before you go. Make sure to eat them while they're still warm; they might not taste as good as freshly made, but they'll remind you."

"I didn't pay for all this..." Sief lowered his head slightly and accepted it with a slight smile, taking the sack with both hands and noticing five meals inside. "Thank you, Mrs. Silvia."

"So you've learned some manners, huh? But I'm sorry, it's not free." She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Come back here again, boy. After all, you owe me for these meals. When you pay, I promise you a better room with a discount."

The assassin kept a slight smile and sighed as he stored the meals in his backpack.

"All this to secure a customer, huh? Tough job..."

He adjusted the backpack on his back and began running again, passing Silvia, who kept a slight smile on her face. In the end, she turned toward Sief, who was getting farther away.

Little by little, the city was waking up to start another day like the previous one, and despite carrying more things with him, Sief felt lighter and ran with a smile on his face as he mused:

"Yeah... this is another good place to come back to..."