The streets were crowded in the daytime.
The streets teemed with people. The constant cries of vendors and haggling voices rose and fell, making it feel as though you were standing in a bustling sea.
All kinds of sounds mingled together, forming a cacophonous tableau.
In front of the shops lining both sides of the street, employees dressed in various uniforms stood greeting passing customers.
Some shop employees held flyers high and loudly told passersby about their shops' promotions or discounts. They also carried thick stacks of identical flyers in their arms.
Some of these employees worked for restaurants and taverns, while others represented clothing and equipment shops.
A young man standing in front of a weapons shop stopped a passerby and held out a flyer from the stack in his arms.
"Sir, our weapons shop just opened. Would you be interested in taking a look?"
"No thanks, I already have equipment."
The passerby pushed away the flyer the employee had held out.
"You could at least take a look. We're offering great prices for our grand opening, and you could buy something as a backup weapon.
After your purchase, our shop can also sharpen and maintain it for free, anytime."
Even after being rebuffed, the employee continued promoting the shop as he followed the passerby.
"Do you sell first-tier weapons?"
The passerby asked the employee.
"You jest, sir. We're just an ordinary equipment shop. There aren't many weapons of that caliber anywhere in Orario."
The employee gave an awkward laugh as he answered.
"Take a look at the flyer. Stop by if you need anything."
The passerby didn't ask anything else. The employee forcibly stuffed the flyer into his arms, then returned to the shop entrance.
The employee began greeting people nearby again.
The passerby glanced at the employee returning to the shop, then looked at the flyer in his hand and shook his head helplessly.
He folded up the flyer and put it away, then flicked it lightly into the air in front of him. The paper gradually disappeared.
Liber continued down the street, glancing around at the shops as if curious about everything on display inside.
But he didn't stop to ask about the prices.
After turning past several street corners, the crowds gradually thinned.
The surroundings were much quieter, no longer as noisy as before.
After leaving the shopping district, Liber looked at the fewer shops around him, the curiosity on his face fading.
He studied the people walking toward him.
There were far fewer people around here, and compared with the ordinary shoppers in the shopping district, they were much better equipped.
Most had calm, serious expressions and hurried along, looking busy.
Liber reached into the air and took a note from his personal storage space, checking what was written on it.
He surveyed his surroundings as if verifying some information, took a brief look at the buildings, then turned into a narrow lane beside one of them. After a few steps, he stopped.
Liber looked at the workshop before him: thick smoke billowed from its chimney, and the clang of hammering came from inside.
"Found it."
He checked the information in his hand once more, put the note back into his storage space, then stepped forward and knocked on the workshop door.
Liber waited a long time, but no one answered. He hesitated, then cautiously pushed the door open.
He walked in slowly and saw a scene of bustling activity.
Dazzling firelight illuminated the workshop walls, and a searing heat filled the air.
The craftsmen wore leather jackets and boots as they swung heavy hammers and held iron tongs. Some had stripped off their clothes down to the waist, baring their upper bodies.
Sweat continually beaded on their foreheads and traced the lines of their faces before dripping from their chins. It fell onto the heated, red-hot metal and vanished with a hiss.
Their entire upper bodies glistened with sweat streaming down them, like a dense, unbroken flow of water from a shower.
Flames spread inside the furnace, gradually forming a spinning ring of pale gray sparks. As the craftsmen worked, the metal softened and changed shape in the intense heat.
Then the craftsmen grew more and more focused, forcefully raising the hammers in their hands and mercilessly striking the metal held in their tongs, blow after blow.
Deafening clangs rang out as the hammer struck the steel, mingling with the hissing of the furnace fire.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask about something."
Seeing the craftsmen all busy at work and still unable to get anyone's attention, Liber called out to them.
One craftsman gripped the tongs tightly around a glowing red short sword. In his other hand, he held a hammer and struck the blade with precision.
He raised the hammer high in the firelight and brought it down in a steady rhythm. After hammering the blade, he lifted the short sword with the tongs and examined it briefly, then gently skimmed it over a small pool of water nearby to quench it.
After repeating the process several times, he inspected it, then set the quenched short sword and his tools aside.
He walked over to Liber and, taking in his youthful face, asked,
"Are you here to pick up a weapon you ordered? Did you make an appointment?"
"Uh, no. I came to the Goibniu Familia because I want to order a weapon and ask about the price."
Liber looked at the muscular craftsman standing before him, drenched in sweat, and discreetly shifted backward as he replied.
The craftsman was wiping sweat from his forehead with his arm. Noticing Liber's slight movement, he wiped his face with his hand, shook the sweat from it, and spoke unconcernedly.
"We don't usually get strangers coming here to order weapons. How did you find us, kid?"
"I'm Liber Miller, a new member of the Loki Familia. The weapons sold in shops don't feel right in my hands, so I want a blade that suits me.
I asked some of the senior members of my Familia, and they sent me here."
Liber answered the craftsman politely.
"The Loki Familia, huh!" The craftsman scratched his head and asked Liber, "So... what kind of weapon are you looking to order?"
"The weapon itself can just be an ordinary longsword. My top priority is durability, and ideally, I'd like equipment with an indestructible attribute." Liber carefully explained what he needed.
"Equipment with an indestructible attribute? That's a problem. A weapon of that level would require the god Goibniu himself to make it," the craftsman said with a troubled expression.
"Wait here. I'll go ask the god."
Leaving him with those words, the craftsman turned and headed deeper into the workshop.
Liber waited a little while, then saw him come back out and point inside, beckoning Liber to follow.
When Liber saw him beckoning, he walked over and followed him to a separate workshop room.
"The god is inside. You can go in by yourself."
Standing at the entrance, the craftsman lifted the curtain and gestured inside, letting Liber enter.
Once Liber went into the room, the craftsman dropped the curtain and left.
Liber looked over the deity in the room.
The god was a short, elderly human man with a face lined by many wrinkles, a prominent nose, and dignified features.
He had white hair and a beard, and his bare upper body showed muscles comparable to those of a dwarf.
He held a thin sword in his hands, running it back and forth over a whetstone. The bracelets on his wrists moved along with his hands.
When he saw Liber enter, he stopped what he was doing, gently wiped the blade with a towel beside him, then set the thin sword aside.
He picked up a nearby water jug, took a few sips, and said,
"Now, young man, I hear you want a weapon with an indestructible attribute?"
Liber nodded and waited quietly for the god to continue.
The god was Goibniu, the patron deity of the Goibniu Familia.
He was renowned for his smithing. Although his Familia was far smaller than the Hephaestus Familia, which was likewise famous throughout Orario for producing equipment,
its smithing skills were just as good as those of the Hephaestus Familia.
Unlike the Hephaestus Familia, which sold everything from top-of-the-line weapons to ordinary, low-grade equipment in a wide range of types and quantities,
most of their weapons were made to order for adventurers.
Many members of the Loki Familia carried weapons made by the Goibniu Familia, and the two Familias worked closely together.
"Weapons with this sort of attribute are all high-tier equipment. They don't come cheap."
As he spoke, Goibniu set down the water jug and slowly put on the clothes around his waist.
"I've asked around. The price varies depending on the weapon and the material, but even the cheapest one costs 150 million Valis."
Liber spoke calmly to Goibniu.
"Good, then you know roughly what they cost. You're a new adventurer, so I doubt you have that much money. Or is the Loki Familia willing to cover the expense for you?"
Goibniu studied Liber and spoke calmly.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have that much money. I only decided to come here on a whim, and I haven't asked the Familia for funds."
Liber spoke earnestly to Goibniu. "There's something I'd like to ask you. Could you forge a weapon that could level up alongside an adventurer?"
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