Titansteel

The shops in the Royal Trade District were not only lavishly decorated outside; stepping inside gave one an even stronger sense of refinement.

Even this ore shop had followed suit with elaborate interior renovations, giving it a feel... nothing like an ore shop at all.

The red-haired male elf behind the counter politely greeted the three of them when he saw customers enter.

"Welcome to Strange Stone Minerals. I'm the manager, Lucius. What precious ores would you like to purchase?"

Liadrin and Sylvanas both turned their gazes toward Charlemagne. Lucius clearly recognized him as the actual customer, too, and warmly led the three to the shop's reception area to discuss his needs in detail.

Charlemagne was still unfamiliar with the types of minerals currently available in Azeroth, so he asked Manager Lucius to give him a brief introduction to the most precious ores.

"The most precious ores? That depends on what you intend to use them for. Thorium ore has excellent hardness and is ideal for making weapons, while Truesilver Ore has excellent ductility and flexibility, making it more suitable for mixing into weapons in small amounts to improve their toughness."

Manager Lucius conscientiously introduced Charlemagne to the more commonly used metal ores of the day.

"Human pioneering expeditions to the northern land of Northrend have also produced small quantities of even higher-quality ores, though those are rather expensive."

As he spoke, Lucius rose and retrieved three small pieces of metal ore from behind the counter. To make them easier for customers to identify, he had probably already done some preliminary cleaning of the dirt on their surfaces. The colors and textures of the three ores were now readily apparent.

The piece on the far left had a sickly green hue throughout, giving it a somewhat ominous feel. Judging by his experience from his previous life, this ore from Northrend was probably Saronite Ore.

"This ore reportedly caused quite a disturbance when it was mined. It seems to possess some sort of power to beguile people's minds. What you see now is its appearance after purification by a priest. Before that, the green glow coming from the entire piece was much more pronounced."

"To be honest, I wouldn't recommend buying this ore. This ore, named Saronite Ore, has relatively high costs because it requires purification by a priest, and I'm also a little uneasy about an ore with such strange powers."

Even holding this purified piece of Saronite Ore, Lucius still felt some lingering apprehension. He clearly remembered the priest's warning back then.

"This ore possesses an uncanny power. It would be best not to sell it as merchandise."

Of course, as a merchant, Lucius had still brought the ore out as a sample, but out of professional ethics, he responsibly informed his customers of the risks.

Charlemagne knew the origins of Saronite very well. This mineral from Northrend had been influenced by the Old God sealed by the Titans in Ulduar-Yogg-Saron, the Fiend of a Thousand Faces-and possessed some of Yogg-Saron's own ability to beguile minds.

This was not like the game, where he could use it however he pleased. Given other options, Charlemagne was unwilling to use this uncanny metal to make weapons.

The second piece of ore gave off a faint blue glow. From Lucius's introduction, Charlemagne learned that it had been named Cobalt Ore.

This ore was much safer than Saronite, and its hardness was at least equal to Thorium's, making it an outstanding material for weapons.

The third piece had an exceptionally pure metallic luster, though there was much less of it by weight than either of the other two.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this ore is extremely rare. This is all we have in stock. According to the miners with the northern pioneering expeditions, this ore, which they named Titansteel for its extraordinary hardness, is exceedingly rare even in Northrend."

"If you want this ore, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while. We won't have any more until the next merchant ship returns. And the price... is also extremely high. Just that little piece in your hand costs thirty gold coins."

"What!?"

Before Charlemagne could reply, Liadrin cried out.

"Thirty gold coins for such a tiny piece? Wouldn't making a weapon cost at least three hundred gold coins, then? Manager, do you know what three hundred gold coins means? That's enough to buy a high-quality magical weapon. Is this ore really worth that price?"

Women had an innate talent for bargaining... Liadrin had deliberately brought up the price of magical weapons in hopes of bringing down the price of Titansteel a little. She could tell from Charlemagne's eyes how much he liked this ore.

How could he not? This was Titansteel!

Charlemagne had not held much hope for the ores from Northrend in the first place, but he had never expected Strange Stone Minerals to actually have the connections to obtain this rare ore from the north.

Judging by the size of the ore, three hundred gold coins' worth of Titansteel should be just enough for him to forge a pair of blades. Once they were successfully forged, he would not need to replace his melee weapons for a long time, at least.

It was a little expensive, but Charlemagne, who knew full well how rare and hard this ore was, also knew it was absolutely worth the price.

At least until he found a ship to the Broken Isles and obtained the superior Felslate Ore, it would probably be difficult to find a better ore anywhere in Azeroth.

As for Felslate, setting aside the fact that the Burning Legion had yet to invade and this ore did not exist at all yet, even if he found it... wouldn't using ore containing fel energy to make weapons just be asking for trouble...? He was no blind hunter or warlock.

Ragnaros had yet to break through the Elemental Plane and enter Azeroth directly, and the avatar deep within Blackrock Mountain did not possess the immense power of his true body.

Naturally, Obsidium Ore and Elementium Ore, which only appeared because of this fire Elemental Lord, did not exist yet either. As for Ghost Iron Ore... Pandaria was still shrouded in mist.

After considerable deliberation, Charlemagne decided to buy Titansteel. But since Liadrin was willing to bargain for him, he was naturally happy to let her, as the beneficiary.

In the end, Lucius agreed with a pained expression to lower the price of the small amount of ore he held to twenty-five gold coins. He refused to go any lower, no matter what.

The experienced Liadrin probably also knew this was his lowest price. She gave Charlemagne a look to signal that she had done her best.

Charlemagne gave the young priest an appreciative glance, inwardly admiring her homemaking virtues.

If Lor'themar could marry this tomboy... the Theron family would have a bright future.

An earl's daughter, with a substantial family fortune and good household management skills, who knew how to bargain and save money-such a girl was truly a rare find.

As for Charlemagne pursuing her himself? Forget it... Thinking of the tomboy who would one day swing a hammer and smash people's damned heads in, Charlemagne declared that he would leave that blessing for Lor'themar to enjoy. Amen.

(End of chapter)