Iron Furnace Ridge

Eastern Kingdom of Fiore, Iron Furnace Ridge.

A black-clad boy and a lightly dressed young woman stepped off the train and gazed toward several mines clustered in a circle not far away, their peaks glowing red in the scorching light of flames.

On the train ride over, Noah had heard Cana explain that Iron Furnace Ridge was the collective name for these mines. Their terrain resembled an iron furnace, and the unexplained high temperatures had given the ridge its name.

Though the heat was unbearable for ordinary people, the high-quality iron ore attracted many Magic Blacksmiths willing to travel long distances. They smelted metal from local materials at the foot of the mountains and forged magical items.

Because they often produced high-quality magical items, more and more people came here, and a "Magic Item Trading Market" gradually formed beneath Iron Furnace Ridge.

This was the destination of Noah and Cana's trip.

Watching two fully armed squads of soldiers pass by, Noah asked with some confusion, "Why are there soldiers here?"

"Kingdom of Fiore soldiers. They're here to keep the peace." Cana didn't say much, only giving Noah a look that said he understood.

Noah immediately got it. With so many magical items in circulation, the market had attracted special "attention" from the kingdom. If any powerful magical item appeared, the first to learn about it would certainly be the kingdom's higher-ups.

The market was huge. Cana led Noah through several winding turns, and along the way they were stopped and questioned twice by patrolling soldiers. Something seemed to have happened, but neither Noah nor Cana went to investigate.

At last, Cana stopped in front of a shop with no sign.

"Here we are."

After speaking, Cana pulled the shop door open, a bottle of liquor in hand. A burst of flame suddenly surged out from inside. If Noah hadn't been quick enough to pull Cana behind him, she might have "started burning," as Natsu was always saying.

"Damn it, how could I forget that old man's habit..."

Cana remembered something and looked with concern at Noah, who was standing in front of her. He'd taken a direct hit from the old man's forging flames, hot enough to melt iron ore in an instant. He must have been badly hurt.

Cana felt a little guilty. Grabbing Noah's hand, she said, "I know a healing Mage in the market. I'll take you there right away..."

"Huh?! Noah, why are you fine?!"

Noah turned his head and gave Cana a reproachful look. "Did you want me to get hurt?"

Cana waved her hands awkwardly. "I just didn't expect anyone besides Natsu in the guild to be able to treat flames like they're nothing."

As it happened, the reason Noah dared to take the flames head-on was that he'd gained Flame Resistance (Strong) from Natsu's Prayer request.

When the flames washed over him, Noah didn't feel a thing.

After patting his unharmed clothes, Noah realized that Flame Resistance didn't just protect his body; even the clothes he wore benefited from it.

That careless pink-haired boy's magic must be powerful. Noah just didn't know what kind of magic it was.

"Who's there?!" A vigorous, muscular old man came out of the shop, carrying a massive iron hammer over his shoulder.

When he saw Cana, the old man lowered the hammer. "Little Cana, bringing someone to look at my wares again? How much commission can you get this time?"

"Five percent!"

Cana proudly held up five fingers. The old man's eyes gleamed as he looked at Noah. "Ho! You've hooked a big fish this time!"

Cana's expression changed in an instant. Rubbing her hands together, she said to the old man, "Doran, don't forget my finder's fee for bringing you customers."

"Honestly, little drunkard, do you think I'm short five thousand jewels?" The blacksmith Doran immediately pulled out five thousand jewels and handed them to Cana.

Watching this, Noah could only feel that he'd fallen into a trap.

On one hand, Cana brought customers to the blacksmith. For each one who was willing to buy something, she got a fixed reward of five thousand jewels.

On the other, she could also take a five-percent commission from Noah for any magical item he bought.

So Cana was making money from both sides!

And judging by how readily Doran had handed over the money, Noah could already imagine how many zeroes there'd be on the price tags of the magical items in his shop.

"Don't worry, Noah. Doran's prices are fair. He treats everyone equally."

With Cana's assurances and Blacksmith Doran's invitation, Noah still walked into the magical-item shop.

If it turned out to be a rip-off, he could always leave.

After learning what Noah was looking for, old man Doran hauled out a huge basket of magical weapons and enthusiastically introduced them.

"This bow, the 'Sure-Hit Bow,' has a 'Lock-On' ability and comes with matching 'Perception' arrows. Just aim at your enemy and shoot—the arrows will automatically track them."

"Only 99,800! Comes with twenty Perception arrows!"

"The Magic-Severing Greatsword is made from the Kingdom of Stella's unique starlight ore. It's highly effective at 'disrupting' magic. The only drawback is that it needs to be replenished with starlight magic power."

"This weapon is also only 99,800!"

"I call these gloves 'Empty-Handed Blade Catch.' They're made of powerful magnets, with the gloves divided into positive and negative poles. Be careful when using them: 'like poles attract, opposite poles repel.' You wouldn't want your hands locked together by the magnetic poles in the middle of a battle, would you?"

"Same flat price—99,800!"

"The Powerful Sunlight Cannon is incredibly powerful, but it needs to charge in sunlight for twenty-four hours before you can use it..."

"You know the price. It's only 998!"

"Boss, enough with the 998 already. Bring out the better stuff."

Doran had introduced dozens of magical weapons in one go. Noah didn't know if the old man was tired, but if he didn't stop him, Noah was about to be Brain Controlled by that spellbinding "998."

There was no denying that these magical weapons all had distinctive features, and their prices of 99,800 were justified. But their drawbacks were just as glaring. Noah wanted weapons that weren't so unbalanced.

At Noah's words, Doran's smile suddenly turned strange. "If you want to see my other magical items, you'll need to prove you're capable. Otherwise, you're only fit for this 998 trash."

Ho, he had quite a personality.

Noah now understood why Doran had asked other people to help bring in customers.

"Seems like you're very confident in your craftsmanship, Boss. How do I know your other weapons aren't flawed like these?"

Noah gestured at the weapons Doran had just introduced, wearing a faintly amused expression. He'd only suspected it before, but after what Doran had said, he could be sure these "998" items were all failures.

"Quick on the uptake, kid."

Doran spoke confidently. "You look like you're from Fairy Tail too. I personally made the armor and weapons for your guild's 'Titania.'"

Cana leaned close and whispered to Noah, "He means Erza, one of the S-Class Mages in our guild. Her magic is 'The Knight,' and she needs a lot of weapons and armor. I'm the one who introduced old man Doran to her."

Erza, huh...

Noah had never seen Erza's magic, but he knew she was an S-Class Mage. He just hadn't expected that the gallant female knight was a Holder Mage.

"In that case, how do I prove I'm capable?"

"Just so you know, my magic isn't suited for combat. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here to buy magical items."

That was what Noah said, but Doran saw only a confident expression on his face.

What an interesting kid.

"Some trash from the Dark Magic Cult have set their sights on the market. Against these ruthless bastards, the ordinary soldiers of the kingdom's army will have a rough time."

"Consider it a request from me. Get rid of those bastards, and afterward I'll let you see my real work. I'll also give you a decent reward."

The Dark Magic Cult? What was that?

Noah hadn't even finished reading a single book at the guild before Cana brought him here to buy magical items. He knew nothing about the Dark Magic Cult Doran had mentioned.

Before Noah could ask, Cana cut him off, her face cold as she glared angrily at Doran. "Noah only just joined the guild. It's too much to ask him to take on the Dark Magic Cult!"

Doran was stubborn too. He never broke his own rules.

"Hmph. He's only supposed to deal with a small branch of the cult. They don't even have a priest. If he can't handle them, he can stick to this 998 junk."

A priest of the Dark Magic Cult was equivalent to an S-Class Mage in a Magic Guild, but Cana continued arguing. "Doran, if you want to rid the people of this menace, why don't you do it yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm a Magic Blacksmith. Why should I go fight and risk my life?"

Doran's words made Cana furious, but they were so reasonable that she couldn't argue against them.

"I'll take the request."

Noah's sudden declaration left the two arguing in astonishment.

Doran: He's agreeing just like that? Isn't he going to argue a bit more?

Cana: He's so brave. Does his family know?

Looking at the very different expressions on Cana and Doran's faces, Noah smiled casually. "Don't worry. Even if my magic isn't suited for combat..."

"But I'm strong too."