Chapter 6: My Legendary Armor is Born

The next couple of days flew by fast for Ryu mainly because he had been working from sunrise to well past sunset on his training. He was now on the fourth day of his deal with Mr. Tetsu, and he had managed to give himself a chance to achieve the goal set by the Sage. He had completed twenty-seven orders in three days and had noticed a rapid advancement in his Blacksmithing and Enchanting abilities. As he entered the forge to begin working on today's orders, he felt he could clear double digit requests if he had needed to. His Mana Manipulation, Accelerate, and Morph spells were all over level thirty now with two of them close to level forty. He had a feeling his afternoon was not going to be difficult especially after unlocking a new passive skill called Novice Enchanter that reduced his mana cost by five percent when imbuing charms on items. On his ninth and final order yesterday, he had also noticed his MP Regeneration was incredibly close to being equal with the amount he was having to expend.

As he started working on the requests, he felt considerably less exhausted after each one. His pace was scorchingly fast today as he fulfilled his fifth purchase in less than four hours. Mr. Tetsu had noticed the difference and was starting to struggle to keep up with his production. The Sage whistled as Ryu handed him the sword for the sixth order as he said, "What is up with you today kid? At this rate, I am going to start falling behind you?" Ryu had broken into a light sweat as he wiped his forehead while saying, "I forgot to tell you yesterday before I left, but I got a new skill called Novice Enchanter. It has made my life so much easier." The Kenja let out a hearty laugh upon hearing the news. He was very proud of how far his pupil had come in just a few short days. He had a beaming smile as he said, "I thought I had given you an impossible goal by setting your goal at thirty-five orders in four days, but here we are now. I am proud of you kid. Have you been practicing outside of your time here?" Ryu blushed a little from the praise as he finished enchanting the chest plate for the fifth request. As he set it down on the shelf of completed items, he said, "You caught me. I have been refining my skills during my morning training sessions. I am glad you gave me a difficult challenge because it forced me to push myself even harder to become stronger."

The two of them continued to work diligently for the last couple of hours till the sun disappeared and gave way to the night. As Ryu placed the last item of the day on the shelf, the Kenja started to count the total orders they had completed. He mumbled lightly under his breath, "Ten, eleven, and this last one makes twelve." While Ryu plopped himself down on the ground to allow his MP to recover, Mr. Tetsu made his way over to his work bench to figure out their final number of completed purchases. As he finished his count, he suddenly stood up holding the paper up in the air. He had an astonished look on his face as his tone turned grateful and he said, "We completed thirty-nine orders in four days. All your hard work paid off kid, so I will honor my side of our deal. Thank you for assisting me in my shop the past few days. What made you decide to complete more requests than we agreed upon?" Ryu waved his hand in the air indicating no thanks were required as he said, "I would never have learned so much if you had not given me a chance. I just wanted to express my appreciation to you and try my best to reduce your workload around here a little bit."

The Sage momentarily struggled with the words he had just heard from him before he suddenly ran upstairs before coming back with two gold coins clinched in his fist. He swiftly grabbed Ryu's hand and placed them in his palm. He paused for a minute before he started to shove him out of the shop. As he pushed him through the door onto the street, his voice quivered slightly as he sincerely said, "It hurts my soul to lose my money, but I believe you deserve it kid. Tomorrow we will begin the construction of your dream equipment." Ryu managed to turn around just in time to see the Sage's face before he shut the hatch. He could have sworn he saw him crying as he slammed the door. He shook his head in disbelief because it appeared it had been a tremendous emotional hurdle for Mr. Tetsu to give him some of his money. While he was proud of the fact that he had made such an impact on the Sage, he could not help but agree with Jinsoku that the blacksmith was an avaricious person at heart.

As he started to make his way back to the inn, he suddenly felt the presence of somebody on the roof of the building to his right. He continued walking as if he was unaware of their existence. He activated his Detect skill as he tried to discern the mysterious persons intentions. He did not sense any murderous intent from the individual, but he refused to let his guard down just because of that. He started to channel his magic into his left hand while turning away from them acting as if he was admiring the clothing store next to him. His body hid the view of his hand from the stranger as he quickly casted Mirror magic and created a replica of himself while simultaneously using Mirage to hide the clone simultaneously.

As he continued walking, his duplicate made its way up the building to get into position to flank the spy. With a sudden combination of Dash and Wind magic, Ryu was hovering in the air above his observer. The clone had come to a stop hidden in the shadows positioned to the right of the stalker with an Ice Shard elemental circle ready. He materialized the same spell as he sternly said, "No sudden movements or I will attack." The shadowy figure froze as if they were determining if they should strike or surrender. Ryu took the pause from the person as an opportunity to ask, "Who are you and why are you following me?" The spy suddenly threw a knife at Ryu's clone while leaping into the sky drawing a short sword from a scabbard hidden under their cloak. The clone deflected the blade with a Barrier as Ryu fired multiple ice shards at his aggressor. The observer swiftly avoided the magical strikes as he sliced at Ryu's right side. It forced him to quickly cast a Barrier that just managed to halt the sword as it deflected off the shield. His clone suddenly appeared to the left of the attacker and launched itself into them while wrapping its arms around them. The replica casted Dash causing the two of them to rapidly accelerate toward the ground. The spy was slammed into the cobblestone before they could defend the counter.

Ryu's duplicate disappeared from the damage it had sustained. The stalkers short sword was jarred out of his hand and slide a couple of feet away. Ryu disappeared from the sky and materialized above the hidden figure with a Blaze spell ready to ignite his attacker on fire if they did not surrender. He began to warn the individual as he said, "Stop now and concede..." Before he could finish his sentence, their hood fell down revealing their face. It was a younger gentleman who could not have been older then fourteen. In his hesitation, the kid started to laugh hysterically before saying, "You have done it now. You should have never messed with me." The boy had a small wooden talisman in his hand. He squeezed it tightly breaking the object before Ryu could stop him. A black cloud started to seep out from the broken charm slowly enveloping his body. Ryu suddenly felt an evil and sinister force as he jumped away. He could do nothing but watch as the boy started to grow a pair of horns from his head. As the kid got back to his feet, his eyes changed to a bright red color and a pair of black wings sprouted from his back. A magical black aura started to emanate several inches off of his body.

Ryu swiftly launched a powerful Fireball at the bloodthirsty monster in front of him in an attempt to end the fight before it got out of hand. The beast raised his hand and conjured a pitch-black void that absorbed his spell leaving no trace of the attack. It suddenly took off as it rapidly closed the distance between the two of them only allowing Ryu a split second to quickly dual cast a Barrier and Protection spell. The monsters punch shattered his shield and launched him through the air backwards as he careened across the ground several feet away. His secondary defense was destroyed in the process, as he slowly got to his feet. The demon appeared to be in the process of casting its own magical strike as a black fireball started to form. Ryu suddenly saw a glimpse of a green blur as the creatures spell dissipated as if it had been cancelled out. Its head slowly slide off of its shoulders before falling to the ground as its body collapsed to the cobblestone. Jinsoku stood behind the beasts lifeless corpse with his sword drawn. A murky blackish red blood was dripping off of it as he angrily turned around and shouted at Ryu, "Are you stupid kid!" He was still in shock at the sudden appearance of his master as he stood speechless while his teacher continued yelling. "Get out of here now! The guards will be here soon. We will discuss this later." As he finished speaking, he quickly swiped his blade at the ground throwing the blood off of it splattering the stones before sheathing it.

Ryu knew he was in big trouble for the entire situation that had just unfolded as he swiftly bowed. His voice had a tremble in it as he said, "Thank you Jinsoku." He hastily leaped into the air as he used wind magic to swiftly cut across the city back toward the inn. As he entered the establishment, he was unaware of how frazzled he appeared. Kasai caught a glance of him and immediately knew he had been involved in a fight as she rushed over to him. Her voice was full of worry as she said, "What happened to you Ryu?" He snapped out of his thoughts as he realized his arm was bleeding from a pretty decent sized gash on it. He started to heal it as he answered, "I am okay Kasai. I just got in a scuffle on my way back from the workshop. Jinsoku showed up though, and he put an end to it." The cut disappeared, but his shirt was still covered in blood. She started to lift it up while saying, "Please take a seat and let's get this top off of you. I will get the chef to start your meal, and I will wash the blood out of your tee later tonight." He was slightly embarrassed being shirtless as his cheeks turned a light red. He quickly sat down at a table in front of Megami as he waited for Kasai to return.

She was acting like she was reading her book, but she had been watching Ryu ever since he had entered the inn. She had been very concerned about his injuries to and was relieved that he was okay. She suddenly found herself staring at his back as she admired the beautifully designed tattoo on it. As Kasai came back with his meal, she noticed Megami gawking. She was instantly concerned that he had another injury. As she placed his plate down, she asked her, "Does he have another cut on his back?" Ryu turned as he tried to check because he did not feel anything hurting. Megami's face turned bright red as she stuttered, "N..o.. I was just... Uhmmm.... The tattoo." He chuckled at her for her awkwardness as he said, "Do you like it? It looks cool doesn't it." He was beaming with pride as he flexed and posed to show off his art. Kasai slapped him on the back of the head as she started to scold him, "You may be a young man, but you are still a child. Who let you get inked up?" He rubbed his occiput as if it had hurt him, but he was completely fine. He smiled in response to her motherly questioning before saying, "I just decided one day I wanted it, so I got it. Megami likes it, so that alone makes it feel worth it to me."

She suddenly closed her booked as she nervously said, "I have to use the restroom now." She quickly stomped off to the bathroom with her face completely red in embarrassment. He grinned as he watched her leave glad to see that he was able to mess with her. Kasai was unenthused watching his antics as she angrily walked away back to the kitchen huffing and puffing the whole way. Ryu hurriedly ate his meal before disappearing upstairs before either of them could return. He was still very concerned about how his master was going to punish him for picking that fight in the street. He struggled to fall asleep as he lay in the dark half expecting Jinsoku to appear in his room threatening to kill him. After dozing off for a couple of hours, his Detect ability suddenly went off alerting him to somebody's presence in his room. He quickly sat up and assumed a defensive position while activating his magic. The golden glow of his aura illuminated the area and allowed him to see that it was Kasai returning his shirt. She was clearly startled by his sudden awakening as she held her chest while saying, "My goodness Ryu. You scared the life out of me." He quickly bowed apologetically as he said, "I am so sorry Kasai. Thank you for bringing my clothing back."

She nodded to indicate she forgave him as she told him, "Be careful today, and I will forget about you scaring me." He smiled as she left the room before he got out of his bed. As he picked his shirt up to put it back on, he noticed that there was no trace of blood on it anymore. It also smelled like springtime, which was very comforting as he headed downstairs. His morning run and breakfast went how they typically do every day. As he approached the clearing, he struggled to keep his nerves together as every step brought him closer to facing Jinsoku. If his teacher did not kill him during their practice session, Ryu was certain he was going to receive an especially painful beatdown from him. As he entered the field, he gazed around the area for his master. It appeared he was running late, so Ryu decided it was best to be ready as he walked over to pick up the wooden longsword. As he turned back around to get in position, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, and the air unexpectedly turned crisp. He could sense a menacing dark aura as Jinsoku materialized out of thin air in front of him. He suddenly found it hard to breathe as if his teachers bloodlust was suffocating him. He stood petrified as he nervously waited for his master to address him.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Jinsoku finally said, "I feel I owe you an explanation for why you have royally pissed me off before I mercilessly beat you up and down this clearing today." Ryu could feel sweat dripping down his face, but he refused to move in fear of angering his teacher further. Jinsoku started to slowly walk closer to Ryu as he continued, "That kid was nothing more than a scout for a group of kidnappers I have been trying to track for the past week. While I am proud you were able to detect him and defend yourself, you forced him to turn into a demon by your actions." He came to a stop a few inches away from his student as he grabbed a fistful of his shirt before saying, "I covered for you kid to the guild master, so he was not aware you were there. Which meant I had to sit there and listen to him belligerently complain about all the things he does not like about me till the sun came up this morning." He activated his magic with no control as it emanated several inches off of his body. Ryu quickly casted a strong Protection spell in anticipation of an impending strike from his teacher, who was now staring into his eyes with a grin on his face, as he finished saying, "Since you have managed to destroy my investigation, get your ass handed to you by a weak demonoid human, and caused me to waste my time enduring the guild leaders lecture, I feel it is time I knock you down a peg since you think you are strong enough to pick fights in the city streets at night."

He suddenly let go of Ryu's shirt as he unleashed a vicious kick across his stomach. It instantly shattered his shield and sent him flying across the clearing at a rapid speed. He quickly casted a dual Barrier spell as his back slammed into a tall oak on the opposite side of the field roughly thirty feet from where they had been standing. His defensive guard managed to cushion the blow, but he still felt a sizeable chunk of the impact as he fell to the ground. The tree broke at the base and collapsed to the forest floor as he painfully healed himself while struggling back to his feet. The next six hours of training for him felt like he was in an endless cycle of hell as he relied purely on his will to endure the pain while attempting feeble excuses for counterattacks. Toward the end of their bow training, Jinsoku unleashed a simultaneous strike by dual casting an Ice Shard and a Fireball at him that shattered two of his Barriers. He swiftly followed it up with a lightning-fast spinning back kick that Ryu was unable to dodge. It effortlessly broke through his last shield as it landed flush across the side of his head obliterating his Protection spell. It sent him into the ground as he dropped his bow. As he laid on the grass struggling to remain conscious from the shot, Jinsoku stepped back away from him.

It was clear from his smile that he had thoroughly enjoyed the last six hours of beating his pupil as he said, "That is time. I hope you remember your own strength in the future before you do something stupid to anger me again. Now get up and go to the dwarf's shop to continue your training." As Ryu staggered to his feet, a gust of wind suddenly blew and Jinsoku disappeared. He could barely walk let alone think through the splitting headache he had from that final kick as he walked through the forest. His mana had been depleted under two thousand from the sparring as he tried his best to heal his injuries. The entire trek back to the city gate felt laboring on him causing him to take longer than typical to show up at the store. Mr. Tetsu had been worried about his apprentices tardiness as he stood out in front of his shop peering toward the entrance of town trying to find Ryu in the crowd. He finally saw his pupil a few feet away as he walked over to him. As he neared Ryu, he could tell from his appearance that he had been on the receiving end of a fierce beatdown.

His paced quickened and his voice was full of concern as he said, "What happened to you kid? You look rough." Ryu painfully replied, "Training was a little intense today. I am fine though." The Sage assisted him through the front door of the store as they made their way to the back. As Ryu sat down on the stool, he grimaced slightly. The Kenja stepped back clearly angry at the condition that Jinsoku had left Ryu in as he said, "Let's discuss the gear you were interested in creating, and I can start working on it while you relax and try to regain your bearings. How does that sound?" As he finished speaking, he sat down at the workbench hoping to distract his student from the pain he was feeling. Ryu smiled as he started to explain to him the type of sword he desired. He had not seen a katana in this world, so he had decided it would be the perfect weapon for him to have at his disposal. He believed it would give him the versatility to fight with one hand free depending on the situation. He also discussed with him about the possibility of it being malleable to allow him to morph it into different forms. The Sage was intrigued at the thought of a multi-style weapon as he continued to take notes while drawing a rough sketch of what the blade, the hilt for it, and the sheath to store it in would look like.

As he finished talking about the katana, he started to explain to him the outfit he wanted. He wished for it to be extremely lightweight to prevent any hinderance of his movement but still strong enough to protect him. He was hoping it could be the perfect blend of stealth, defense, and speed. As the Sage listened to his apprentice's thoughts, he started creating an image of the clothing. The two of them sat in silence as Ryu watched him put the finishing touches on his sketches and write ideas for the potential materials to be used. They discussed thoughts on how to make the gear extremely versatile to maximize Ryu's unique set of skills. It was not long before he started to nod off as his sore body was gently being embraced by the heat from the forge. When he suddenly woke up several hours later, he found the Sage prepping the material he had decided on for the equipment. He felt guilty for falling asleep and leaving him to work alone on his items. He quickly sat up and started to apologize as he said, "I am so sorry Mr. Tetsu for falling asleep." He jumped slightly as he turned around. His apprentice's words had startled him since he had been snoozing quietly for the past four hours. He waved his hand expressing it was no big deal as he said, "No worries kid. There was not much you could do anyway while I figured out the finer details of your gear. I believe I have everything ready if you want to start creating the blade."

Ryu eagerly nodded as he walked over to the Sage to see what metal they were going to be using for his sword. He started to feel confused as he peered into the two buckets. One held charcoal while the other had a black sand inside of it instead of some type of ore like iron, steel or titanium. Mr. Tetsu could tell his student was flummoxed by the chosen materials as he said, "These two items are the best options for creating a weapon that can change its form. We are going to use an ancient technique called Tatara Smelting that has been passed down in my family for many generations. It was used long ago to create a legendary sword for a warrior that was unmatched in combat." Ryu was on the verge of excitement at the possibility of having such a rare item as he nodded for the Sage to continue. He cleared his throat as he began to explain to him the process of creating a special metal called Tamahagane Steel as he said, "To create the metal we will be using for the blade, you will have to cast multiple spells at the same time. It starts by using fire magic to melt the sand into iron while igniting the charcoal at the same time. Next, you will need to apply Accelerate to the two minerals while maintaining a consist heat to both of them. Finally, you start infusing them together while maintaining the spells you have casted on both of them. Their subsequent combination will produce Tamahagane Steel."

He momentarily paused to ensure Ryu was still following the steps in the process so far. Seeing his student had no questions, he continued, "The difficult part of this technique is ensuring the correct combination of carbon to iron. We want to form a batch of high carbon steel and a batch of low carbon steel. The high carbon steel will be used for the edge of the blade while the low carbon steel will be used for the spine." Ryu activated his magic ready to begin the difficult method for creating the metal that would be used for his katana. Mr. Tetsu quickly separated the black sand into two piles before adding charcoal to each batch. The amount of it differed for both stacks to ensure that both steels were created. As he started developing the high carbon pile, the Kenja carefully watched. He heated both minerals separately till they both had melted before combining them together. Once they were amalgamated, he casted Accelerate to hasten the infusion of them. He maintained the spells for ten minutes before the Sage tapped him on his shoulder indicating that the first batch was completed. As he stopped, he realized he had used a whooping twenty-three thousand of his MP. He was covered in sweat from draining over half of his total magical reserves. As the Kenja kneeled down to analyze the metal, he pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket and put them on. He started to rub some of the blackened soot scale off of it to reveal a slight glimmer of silver below.

After several minutes, he gave his approval as he motioned for Ryu to start the creation of the low carbon steel. The brief moment of rest had allowed him to recoup a couple hundred of his MP. He was grateful for the recovery time as he started the process again for the second stack. As the Sage told him to stop, he fell to one knee from the strain of depleting his magic so low. While he sat on the ground recovering, Mr. Tetsu gave his approval of the second batch. He was beaming with excitement as he said, "This is some great quality steel for the blade kid. Please continue to rest, so you are ready when I require your assistance again. I am going to start working on layering these two sets together." Ryu was relieved as he leaned back against one of the barrels. He watched as the Kenja further cleaned the metal. After he was done prepping it, he started to cast Morph on it as he referenced his notes to make sure he had the shape correct. He then utilized the heat from the forge to create the layering. An hour passed before he finally stepped back to examine the blade before quenching it in the water. He placed the sword down at his work bench before taking a seat. He double checked his measurements as he began working on the hilt. Ryu felt he was good to go now as he stood up and made his way over next to the Sage. He continued to watch as the Kenja put the finishing touches on the weapon. The beautiful wavey appearance of the silver had particularly taken Ryu's gaze as he admired his mentors work. Mr. Tetsu let out a hearty laugh as he finally noticed his student lurking over his shoulder ogling over the katana. Since he appeared to be fully recovered, the Sage instructed him to start on the armor.

Ryu stepped away slightly embarrassed as he made his way over to where the leather was stored. He studied the different pieces on the wall next to the assortment of ores before grabbing a large piece of one. As he placed it on the floor, he started to fold it in half before cutting holes into it for his head and arms. Meanwhile, the Kenja put the blade into the newly finished hilt and decided to begin crafting the sheath. He got up from his table and walked over to the wall next to the leather to grab a piece of wood. As he passed by Ryu, he quickly gave him some advice as he said, "You should take one of those smaller pieces you have already cut off and turn it into the hood. You can sow them together with the wax thread." He nodded as he grabbed some of the twine to attached the two parts together. As he finished sowing, he added another layer of leather to the shoulders. He then formed the four straps in the front for tightening the armor before creating the belt around the waist for securing the outfit to his body. With the construction of the outline finished, he utilized Morph to make it fit his body while leaving some room to ensure it was not to tight. He then casted a multi spell consisting of water and fire magic to shrink and harden it to his desired form. Once this was completed, he set it aside, so he could create the interior lining of metal that was going to be under it for additional protection.

The Sage had instructions set out for him on the table about how to create the special armor. As he picked it up, he started to read them out loud to himself, "Materials: Wolframite, Rutile, and Nickel crushed into a fine metallic powder. Process: simultaneously cast very powerful fire magic with gravity magic while using spatial magic to create a vacuum for five minutes. This will create a very powerful metal that is extremely tough, durable, and lightweight. Warning: Will consume a rapid amount of MP quickly." Ryu had never used a Gravity or Spatial spell before as he asked Mr. Tetsu, "How do I cast these incantations that are used to create this special alloy?" He temporarily stopped working on the sheath as he explained to him the parameters for those abilities as he said, "Those two are similar to Accelerate. You need to define the area you are wanting to use them in because the bigger the space is, the faster and more draining it is on your MP. Since those materials are in a powdered form, you should do a small zone. Be careful though kid and do not push yourself past your limits." Ryu nodded while saying, "I think I got it. Thank you for the guidance." As he turned back to the minerals, he decided he would begin by making the spatial box around them first as he visualized the square. Once that was completed, he started casting Gravity to crush them together. Finally, he unleashed powerful fire magic inside the void to melt everything, so they could fuse into one metal.

As he glanced at the clock, he noticed he only had one minute left, but he was not sure he would make it as he felt the strain from the continuous channeling. He started to feel lightheaded as his vision became spotty just as the timer went off. As he staggered backwards, the Kenja caught him and assisted him to the stool. He only had two hundred MP left as he struggled to stay conscious. He watched as Mr. Tetsu picked up the metal sheet from the ground and placed it on the ledge of the forge. As he turned back toward him, he said, "Alright kid, I think we can call it a day. I will work on putting the finishing touches on your equipment tomorrow morning, so you can enchant all of it when you get here in the afternoon. For now, let's get you back to the inn to get some rest." Ryu nodded as he attempted to get back to his feet. The Sage quickly grabbed his arm as he put it over his shoulders to keep him from falling. The two of them slowly made their way out of the shop onto the streets. A full moon was high in the sky illuminating their path all the way back to the inn. By the time they made it to the entrance to the lodging, Ryu was starting to feel comfortable walking on his own again. He thankfully bowed to his mentor for accompanying him before wishing him a good night. The Kenja smiled before waving goodbye as he made his way back toward the city plaza. As Ryu went inside, the first thing he noticed was that nobody was present today in the dining area as he sat down at one of the open tables.

Kasai came out from the kitchen briefly to see if any patrons had come in for the night. She smiled as she walked up to him while saying, "Good Evening Ryu. How was your day? Are you hungry?" He was glad to see that she was still here as he said, "The start of my day was rough, but I made great progress on my gear at the weapon shop with Mr. Tetsu today, so it had its highs and lows. As for if I am hungry..." Before he could finish his sentence, his stomach growled loudly. She chuckled as he blushed in embarrassment. As she turned to head back to the kitchen, she said, "I will have the chef start creating your meal now. It will be out in a few minutes." As he sat quietly in the dining area, he put his hands together on the table before laying his head down on them as he thought about his almost completed gear. A few minutes pasted before Kasai came back with his meal. She let out a quick "uhm" as she stood next to him. As he tiredly sat back up, he let out a yawn which prompted her to ask, "Are you getting enough rest at night?" He sleepily replied, "I have been. I just used a lot of magic today at the forge, and it really wore me out." She softly smiled as she rubbed his head while saying, "Well hurry up and finish your meal and get to bed, okay?" He nodded as he picked up his silverware to start eating. As she departed, he quickly devoured his food before heading upstairs to go to sleep.

The next morning the sun was high in the sky, and the weather was beautiful. He was feeling giddy as he headed for the blacksmith shop after his training with Jinsoku. Luckily, his teacher had decided to go back to his normal pace which made their practice feel like a breeze after what he had to endure yesterday. As he entered the forge, he was left speechless at the appearance of his gear being displayed. The Sage turned around in his seat at the workbench upon hearing someone come in. His face quickly lit up with excitement upon seeing his apprentice as he said, "What do you think kid? I put the finishing touches on all your items this morning, so we only have to enchant them, and you will officially have your own equipment." Ryu started to cry unbeknownst to himself as he admired the masterpiece creations that they had designed together. The chest piece of his armor was a beautiful dark red color with black accents for the extra padding. The straps had brass rivets used to secure them to the leather. The pants bore a striking resemblance to a pair of black cotton joggers from his old world which had always been his favorite pair of trousers to wear whenever he went out somewhere. The shoes were a dark brown pair of sandals, but they appeared to be designed with multiple overlaying bands. One of them was across the top of where Ryu's arch would be while another was around the heel that went over the top of where his foot came to a bend. The final fastening was a little higher around the ankle to secure the shoes to his feet.

His attention slowly shifted from his clothing to his weapon as he began to gaze at the sword and its sheath. The scabbard had been created by carving a rich mahogany wood, and it was incredibly small compared to the length of the katana. It appeared it would be better suited for a dagger as his focus shifted to the blade itself. He was stupefied at how magnificent the Tamahagane Steel had turned out. It was a dark shade of silver on the spine that transitioned to a lighter color as it moved toward the edge. It had a stunningly wavey appearance to it where the two different carbon metals met in the middle. The hilt had a black wrapping cloth arranged in a crisscrossing pattern that left seven diamonds of open space on it. A stunning rose red rawhide skin was visible through the gaps. At the top of it right below the guard, he noticed a fabric was tied around it that was white as snow. Out of curiosity about it, he finally broke out of his trance as he asked, "Is that ribbon on the hilt for decoration?" The Sage laughed as he got up from his seat and walked over to the Katana. He held the cloth in his hand as he said, "It is made of a special material called Dyneema. It will be vital for the multi-styled weapon you desire."

Ryu was ready to begin the enchanting process for all of his items as he suddenly clapped his hands together. He walked over to the chest piece and grabbed it before placing it down on the charm table. As he got ready to start, he figured the best spell for his light armor would be a Protection blessing to allow him to absorb stronger attacks. As he finished, he put it back in its spot as he took the pants. As he sat them down, he started to think about what enchantment would be the most beneficial on them. After several minutes, he had a brilliant idea, but he was uncertain if it was possible. He turned to the Sage as he asked, "Is it feasible to put an MP Regeneration blessing on these? Would it be a similar to a passive ability?" The Sage nodded in agreeance as he said, "Your assumption is correct Ryu. The charm would have that effect for you, and it would double the speed you recover your magic." With that information confirmed, he enchanted them with the spell they discussed before putting them back in their place. As he picked up the shoes, there was no hesitation in his mind of what charm he wanted on them. He quickly gave them the Conceal ability before setting them back in their spot.

He stopped for a second as he wiped the sweat from his brow. After his magic regenerated back some, he continued with the last two items that needed to be enchanted. Mr. Tetsu had been patiently waiting for his pupil to get to his katana. He had an idea for the charm Ryu could put on it, so it would be adaptable to whatever style he required as he suddenly said, "Before you start, I believe you should put Morph on it. The steel of the blade is malleable enough to compensate for the stress of the transformations which will allow you to have a versatile sword that can double as a short bow because of that ribbon attached to the hilt." Ryu was glowing with excitement as he nodded before performing the enchanting process. He was thrilled that his mentor had found a way for him to have the weapon he desired. As he put the katana back on the stand, he grabbed the sheath before placing it down on the table. Before he could start, Mr. Tetsu put his hand on his shoulder as he beckoned for him to move out of the way. He started to place the blessing on the scabbard to Ryu's surprise. It took him roughly ten minutes before he finished. Ryu thought it was particularly strange that it had consumed so much time since every enchantment he had completed to this point was only two or three minutes max. As the Kenja stopped, he stumbled backwards. Ryu swiftly caught him and assisted him back to his chair. He took a deep breath as he tried to recover before he explained to his apprentice what charm he had put on the sheath. As he exhaled he said, "There is an enchantment I learned long ago that is called Restoration. It is a complicated spell that can only be achieved if your Blacksmith and Enchanter skill are both level seventy five or higher. When your blade is in the scabbard, it will be repaired if it has sustained any damage. "

Ryu was speechless and unsure of how to express his gratitude for all of the Sage's assistance in training him and creating his gear. He suddenly had an idea of how to show his appreciation while revealing his new armor to everyone. He suddenly bolted out of the forge while saying, "Stay here Mr. Tetsu. I will be right back. I have a great idea..." His voice trailed off as he swiftly used Dash with his wind magic to traverse the city quickly back to the inn. As he frantically entered the lodging, he was glad to see Jinsoku, Kasai, and Megami were all in the dining area today. He started to breathlessly say, "Will you guys please head to the adventurer pub across town? We have finished my gear, and I was hoping to throw a surprise celebration as a thank you for all of Mr. Tetsu's help and unveil our creations to you guys!" Kasai smiled as she clapped her hands together in excitement as she said, "That is great news! I will round up everyone here if you want to see if anyone at the guild also wants to come to the celebration." He nodded before turning to leave when Jinsoku suddenly grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

He had a mischievous smile on his face as he said, "You forgot to provide us with the funds to pay the pub for this little party of yours. Do you want me to cover for you, and you owe me the money?" Ryu shivered at the thought of his master stalking him everywhere and harassing him. He quickly pulled out his bag while saying, "How much do you think it will cost?" Jinsoku swiftly snagged the pouch out of his hands which annoyed Kasai. She was fast to interject before he took all of Ryu's money as she smacked him on the back of the head before yanking the purse away from him. She opened it and took out five gold coins before closing it. As she handed it back to Ryu, she winked at him as she said, "This should be more than enough, so don't let him bully you for anymore." He chuckled at the sight of his teacher being disciplined as he got back to his feet. He bowed before he took off toward the Adventurers Guild to deliver the invitation to everyone there. As he exploded through the doors of the association, it was relatively empty inside. He quickly ran up to the front desk where Yasei was standing while saying, "I am throwing a party here in a few minutes at the pub across the road. I was hoping to invite Souatari and all of you guys to come join us. It is for the Sage. I want to express my appreciation to him for assisting me with my gear." She smiled as she said, "I will gladly pass the message to him, and get a couple of us together, so we can get over there." He blushed with gratitude before waving goodbye as he hastily made his way back to the Blacksmith shop.

As he entered the forge, Mr. Tetsu was still confused on what was so urgent all of a sudden as he asked, "Where did you go kid? You left so frantically I was worried something was wrong." He apologetically waved as he said, "I just forgot I had an appointment today is all. Let's get all this stuff put on me and head over to the adventurer pub, so I can buy you a drink to thank you for all of your assistance with my items." He quickly got dressed and morphed his katana to a dagger before sheathing it. As he finished getting situated, the two of them left the shop. They made their way toward the center of the plaza before heading left to the Adventurers Reprise. As they entered the bar, the group that Ryu had assembled for the celebration in unison yelled, "Surprise!" Mr. Tetsu let out a hearty laugh as Souatari put his hand on his shoulder while giving him a mug full of ale. Kasai excitedly asked Ryu to show off his gear to everyone. While he was presenting his equipment and explaining the enchantments on them, Jinsoku curiously stared at the pair of peculiar characters painted on his armor. He rudely interrupted his student's rambling as he said, "What is that scribbling drawn on your back?" Ryu awkwardly rubbed his nape as he tried to think of an explanation since the letters were Japanese.

He decided to wing it as he said, "The symbols stand for the word Honor. It is written in the language of the village I came from." Jinsoku smirked while saying, "Honor is about standing on your convictions which you have no problem demonstrating everyday kid regardless of how effortlessly I beat you senseless." His indirect compliment frustrated Kasai who quickly quipped back, "At least he has some decency unlike you. You have no manners and a dismal attitude." Jinsoku turned pale as a ghost as his soul left his body. Everyone laughed as they continued drinking and partying deep into the night. The memories Ryu made that evening would be cherished by him for the rest of his life. He was unaware as he had fun that tomorrow would be the beginning of a long bloody filled path as he continued his journey through the Empire to save it from complete desolation.