Episode 110 — To Woo A Smith
Episode 110 — To Woo A Smith
First Day in the Month of Deutzia Flower (July 1) in the Year of the Griffon
Front Line 64
With Harmonic Salvation being repaired, Bladescape shifted her focus back to Merlin. She made her way from Lis’ shop, down to a nearby bridge over one of the larger waterways. In its shadow, she put the glass ring on. She popped up on the plateau and immediately began to jog to the cathedral. The door was opened for her by a smiling Merlin.
“I would have died if I didn’t have my friends,” Bladescape immediately informed him, to ensure he would let them come along more often. “But it's done. I have the stone and the dragon head.”
“Yet your heart is heavy over something else,” Merlin said. “And on your back is not your sword.”
“I need to sit for the tale,” Bladescape said.
“I have lunch ready if you wish to eat with me,” Merlin said, stepping aside to let her in.
“Please,” Bladescape said.
She gave Merlin the gem before they ate. After she had filled her stomach up a bit, she began to tell the tale. Merlin was relieved to hear that Harmonic Salvation had survived.
With her business with Merlin concluded, she had him send her to their headquarters, but onto the private teleport plaza. Back on their island she headed inside and to the kitchen. Jade was the only one in the kitchen at the moment.
She bowed to Bladescape. "Kaisho, what can I do for you?"
Bladescape bowed back, but not too low. It was unbecoming of her to bow as low as someone ranked below her in the guild. "Jade, I know I will need Konpeito for parts, and I don't expect her to be too much longer, but I need a late dinner for two. It needs to be the very best this kitchen can make. I am taking the smith, Lisbeth, who cares for our equipment, here in payment for her saving my sword, Harmonic Salvation. It was almost destroyed today. The bet is that if I can provide her with the best dinner in Aincrad, I won't have to pay for the massive repair job she is doing."
Jade grinned. "Kaisho, we gladly accept that challenge and I will begin to make preparations. Delton and Ithilian are out shopping for ingredients for food. They can pick up anything we need. Do we have a budget?"
"Umm…" Bladescape thought. "No," she decided. Lisbeth was about to get a lot of work from the Wondercolts. Buttering her up was wise. "I expect that you can make it the best and be economically friendly. We have plenty of equipment to purchase or make for the others."
Jade bowed again. "Then I know exactly what to make. Konpeito Itamae and I have been expanding her cookbook’s recipes so they can feed an oversized guild. We have a five course meal designed that will blow our honored guest away. I will need Itamae for the main course, as it will require an S class meat, but the rest of the meal is remarkably inexpensive and easy to make. The main dish’s ingredient is what truly makes it a special meal."
"I trust you," Bladescape said. "Now I need to head out to our trainees and see how they are doing before I am needed at dinner."
"Oh course," Jade replied, bowing again. "But if you are heading out there, may I bother you with a package, to deliver food to them?"
"Of course," Bladescape replied. "I'm headed there. It's not a bother."
Jade had a lot of food cooked. It wasn't the best meal they could make, but it was more than adequate. They were focusing on durability over savoriness, but it wasn’t bad food by a long shot. The better stuff would be made by Konpeito when she got back. Cupcakes and cookies made up for the more durable meals.
Packed with the food, Bladescape teleported to Floor Twelve. She had had no will to do the long walk out to the training ground. She had a horse and it would be fun, plus a good way to destress after the tough morning.
Boots was out, but Bladescape had access to Plaudit and saddled him. He handled the teleport fine and they rode out to the training ground at a good pace. He was very happy to be out of the stable, with her riding him.
She arrived to find a heavy camp set up, including tents. Malus said she could easily set up shelters, but it looked like an army’s battle encampment with large, four walled tents. They were in a good place with everything nestled in the mountains, restricting the directions they had to worry about. Guards were posted since they were not in a safe zone. They bowed to their Kaisho as Bladescape slowly rode into camp.
She dismounted and Malus walked over to her from the command tent, which was little more than a giant tarp with two walls, one to block the sunrise and the other to shield them from the sunset.
"I have a food delivery," Bladescape said. "I wasn't expecting you to have this done up so… seriously."
Malus shrugged. "If we’re gonna do this rodeo in less than two weeks, this's what we gotta have. It took a bit to get the stuff and rig her up, but it’ll be worth it. From beds to food, we can keep everyone in the field round the clock. Our first rotation started right after lunch."
"I trust you," Bladescape said with a smile. "I will be out here tomorrow morning. I have business tonight."
"The quest went smoothly then?" Malus asked.
"Not in the slightest," Bladescape chuckled as they entered the command tent. Kiefer was there as well. "Typical Wondercolts disruption before we even got to face the dragon. Where are Lobelia Kusa and Kamishi Kui?"
“In combat,” Malus said. “Lobelia Kusa is fighting in the Green Boar. Kamishi Kui is in The Flying Duck.”
Kiefer went off to get them.
"This is workin well," Malus said. "I ain’t had a chance to go in yet. I was settin everythin up. I did get to see Kiefer's one hour rotation XP. We’re using it as our control an we’re chartin all the XP gained. The different levels ain’t gonna cause too much of an issue, specially if we can stay deployed like I got us set up for. With a heavy rotation, we're lookin to be on mark for twelve days. Fourteen at most if some need extra rest. Many of em are greenhorns to a push like this."
"We can stay deployed," Kamishi said as he joined them. He had sprinted over to them and was panting heavily. Although that might have been from the bar fight. "I will make sure they rally. So will Thunderborne. We can do this. The starting morale is high. We got our initial break after the merger; they know they will get a white code break after this push. It’s good for the others to have me in there, encouraging them."
"I agree," Lobelia said as she entered the shelter. "It is positive for them to see their leaders doing this alongside them. We are equal when it comes to leveling requirements."
"I will be back out in the morning," Bladescape said. "I have business tonight. It looks like it will be expensive business, but it will be beneficial."
"What did you do?" Malus asked, wary of the answer.
"I'll explain that in a moment," Bladescape replied. "First off, Natora and I made an executive decision. Actually, it was Reisenki and I in the heat of the moment, literally as we hid behind a column for protection against the dragonfire. He didn't have his shield or his axe and I didn't have Harmonic Salvation."
"Hey, yeah, where is it?" Kamishi asked. "I knew something was off about your look."
"Quite a few things are off," Bladescape said. "The point first is that Natora agrees. All Wondercolts are now required to carry a sufficiently strong secondary battle set and keep it well maintained. That would include a proper shield if applicable. I had Bajutsu to fall back on, but Reisenki was forced to spend a good half hour trying to get his axe because it was by the dragon’s claws. It took a while longer to dislodge his shield from the dragon’s mouth as well. All that time, Diemond was our only shield. She did more than admirably. Well, active shield since the dragon had trouble breathing fire with the shield lodged in its teeth.
"But I won't let us end up in that position again. Well maintained weapons should not break, ignoring rapiers, but if we happen to lose them for any reason, we need backups that are not storage junk. Only our preparedness saved us from the opening disasters. Even then it was with a good amount of luck."
"That’s gonna stack up fast," Malus said. "But it’s wise."
Bladescape checked the time in her vision. She was good on time. She could tell them the story from the start.
It was the fourth time telling the story of the fight against Elvarg the Mother of Aincrad's Dragons. This time, she kept the suspension in the story about Harmonic Salvation. They laughed about Konpeito being able to cleave the fireballs in half but never being able to block, deflect, or avoid the tail.
After the story, Lobelia spoke first. "Your battle does give a strong reason to ensure that we are always covered with a spare. I think many of our current weapons will be sufficient for their backups."
"I want to see the statistical analysis from Knightstar, but I believe so too," Bladescape replied. "Plus, they don't have to be actively enhancing them. They just need to be strong enough to handle being the designated spare. Now, let me tell you the tale of the… Well, I don't have a name for it. We ran into a guild outside of the entrance to Elvarg's lair. She was not the dungeon boss, but we are lying about that. The others are clearing it and we won't have to worry about it."
They nodded and Bladescape explained the interaction. Malus wanted to go to the prison and beat some sense into him. She still was very protective of Doombunny, despite Doombunny's successes.
"I need to meet Lisbeth," Bladescape said. "I have time, but I want to make sure things are ready. Perfect really. Many of our weapons will come from her, so we need to be on her good side. I will be here in the morning, I promise."
"Go," Kamishi said with a grin. "You spent enough time here today. We will make sure that the others know you brought the food while you came to check on us. Go woo Lisbeth into staying our smith, despite the expansion."
"I will," Bladescape said. "And I'm sure the message that popped up ten minutes ago from Konpeito was good news."
Bladescape exited the command tent and went to where Plaudit was being looked after. He had been fed a few apples and some sugar cubes. Bladescape read Konpeito's message. It was short and sweet, confirming her acceptance of the challenge.
Bladescape mounted Plaudit. She rubbed his neck. "Let's get clear of the camp and then book it." Plaudit nickered, indicating he was ready to run free. He stayed calm in camp, but as soon as they exited he surged forward on his own. He had been given permission before they started so he wasn't going to ask.
It felt amazing to be on horseback as he rushed across the land. Bladescape knew it wouldn’t last long, but she pushed that aside to enjoy the ride. She needed it and it relaxed and focused her.
Plaudit hated slowing down for the town, but it was still busy enough and Bladescape didn't want to rush anything inside the town. They got some odd looks as they got onto the teleport plaza, but they smoothly teleported back to the stable.
Boots was back. She was happy Bladescape had taken Plaudit, instead of not using her property because Boots wasn't there. Bladescape couldn't socialize, but she knew they would go riding soon.
Back at the castle, Bladescape met with Konpeito in the kitchen. They went over the dinner plan. The preparations were going smoothly. The cost of the meat hadn't been too terribly high. It was more than Bladescape expected, but she did not know the cost of most ingredients. They all agreed; they had to woo Lisbeth, even at the cost.
Reisenki and Doombunny were eating an early dinner and were about to head out to the training location. They would not be in rotation often, but their presence would build relationships and make them all equal. It was a powerful subconscious message to send.
Natora gathered the Elvarg team together in the dining room while Reisenki and Doombunny ate. “Blade, the rest of the dungeon went smoothly. The boss was sensitive to Doom’s drugs. It wasn’t even fun, but I really got us together to ask you to show us the Green Draconic Visage.”
Bladescape shrugged and opened her menu. “No problem.”
“That's big,” Reisenki said as the head popped out onto the open table. “It's a little smaller than hers was.”
“The Black Draconic Visage is the same size,” Bladescape explained.
Natora looked the entire thing over. “All of the teeth are here,” She declared.
“Why wouldn’t they be?” Bladescape asked.
“Because Konpeito caught the tooth that came out with my shield,” Reisenki said. “Diemond has it right now, but Konpeito stashed it in her hunting pouch. It didn’t shatter. We were thinking the head was missing it.”
Bladescape just rolled her eyes with a smile. It was more of Konpeito being her typical, Pinkie Pie self inside the game. A notice came from the gatehouse, meaning someone was seeking an audience, it ended the discussion. Natora went to answer the door, since it likely was furniture, and everyone went back to what they needed to do.
Diemond and Konpeito were staying at the castle for a few days. Diemond would do her time training, but she was making their member’s new armor and that was where her focus had to be. Although plenty of tapestries and wall hangings would be made as well to break up the monotony of her work. Konpeito would also get her rotations in, but making sure their field team was stocked with high quality food was her primary goal. Food could easily make or break their morale on the long training sessions. Both should net them solid XP to help them keep up while out of rotation.
Natora came back. "Blade, you have a visitor. I put him in our sparsely furnished living room. He knows the state of the guild's furniture, so you won't need to explain it. I think this one is best done by you. I'll get water and snacks for you guys."
Bladescape went to meet their visitor. They only had the couch and two chairs in the large room. It was in sore need of the ordered furniture. On the couch was Thinker. He stood up upon her entrance and bowed in greeting.
"I was not expecting to see you personally," Bladescape admitted after she had bowed back.
"I read the note," Thinker said. "I decided to wait until later to come personally. I'm glad it had your wax seal or I never would have seen it. I personally took care of the issue. Celtec's time in prison is permanent. I won't tolerate any action like that against members of the Assault Team. Plus his demeanor during the hearing was quite telling.
"The rest of the council agreed with my punishment. We believe he is a danger to himself and other players, and would continue to be one if we released him after a few days. For that, we chose to keep him indefinitely. He does get to be in a joint cell with seven other, less hostile, prisoners. He will have plenty of time to make some new friends. Thankfully, the prison does not allow duel requests to be sent."
Thinker sighed heavily. "The truth is, I have lost most of the control of the guild. Yulier is still loyal and so are plenty of others, but we have a weak position for power. Kibaou is a sub leader, not on the council, but high enough that he has captured the loyalty of many key members. We have become what I didn't want us to be. Taxes, as they are being called, are now being collected by force and the hoarding of hunting locations is now out of control. The Army is officially feared. I'm now little more than a figurehead they can't remove. At least not yet."
"If there is anything we can do, I would be glad to help," Bladescape offered.
"I appreciate it and I will take you up on that if the time ever comes,” Thinker said. “Your assistance to the Highlander Guild today really shows your dedication. Your reputation is very well earned and what you say, you do."
Bladescape looked at the time. She still had plenty, but not enough for a proper tour.
"Is there anything you wanted to speak to me about for the case?" Bladescape asked, trying to appropriately run some of the time off the clock.
"No," Thinker replied with a sigh. "I came because I needed to assert my position. Me being aligned with the Wondercolts is going to be key to staying in control and the lower echelon still needs us. Or something. If Kibaou and his friends are certain that disposing of me will bring the Wondercolts down on them, that will be a good deterrent. Even at eleven, you could hurt those who took over."
"We have eight squads now, each a full party of six," Bladescape casually stated. "We merged with Meigibu last week. Their joining with us means that we could more than knock some sense into them if we need to."
"Interesting," Thinker replied. "Casually reporting that information will give me a lot more leverage."
"Good," Bladescape smiled. "Kibaou's attitude always had me on edge and not just because of how he treated Natora for being a beta tester. He was never the smoothest and he was rash. He led his guild to their doom on Floor Twenty-Five, trying to be the top guild. He doomed some of his rescuers because he would not retreat. I was almost skewered in half in that fight, barely surviving. I nearly kicked him in the head after the rescue was over, out of frustration, multiple times. He claimed we were pushing him out, but he was the one who refused to leave and lost over half his guild in that catastrophe. Hopefully he can be stopped from making a second catastrophe."
"I truly hope we can stop him too," Thinker solemnly replied.
Bladescape checked the time. "I would love to give you a tour, but I can't personally do it. Shortly I will be meeting our smith and taking her here to a very nice dinner. She has no idea we upgraded or merged. Natora is our Kaisa, our second Councilor, and she would be glad to give you a personal tour of our island castle."
"That would be wonderful," Thinker replied. "This place looks amazing. I want to see more. Plus, the longer I stay, the more powerful our alliance looks."
"Then eat dinner with Natora Kaisa," Bladescape said. "You are right, the longer you are here, casually socializing, it shows a better friendship between us that is in your favor. I don't envy your job. It's ambitious and necessary. I don't know what else we can do but declare our friendship."
"I like it," Thinker said with a grin. “And thank you. It can feel like what I'm trying to do is not necessary."
Bladescape got Natora. She was happy to give him the tour and have dinner with Thinker. She understood perfectly what they needed to do to get Thinker into a stronger position in his guild. She didn't want Kibaou to get any more power than he had. He still had it out for her.
With that delegation of duties out of the way, Bladescape headed to her room and changed into something nice. Diemond kept giving her clothes. She was really into Kimonos at the moment. Bladescape chose a semi-formal one. It was red, with a pretty floral design on it.
At the last moment, Bladescape decided to ask Diemond to fetch Lisbeth. Diemond was happy to assist. She switched out of her “idea dress” into another fashionable ensemble and was gone in a flash.
Bladescape waited in the private dining room. It was still sparsely furnished, but the square table had a very nice tablecloth in blue and everything was perfectly set for two people. Two weeks ago, she would have also sent a runner for the important guest. It didn't bother her that it was Diemond. However, if any of their new members had suggested it, she would have accepted, but felt like she was using them. She would feel like they thought she was more important than them. She wasn't, yet she was.
She had to get over that. Her job meant she had different things to worry about. Right now, she had to woo Lisbeth. She was the only one in the guild who could do it. She would also, under normal circumstances, be the one giving Thinker the tour of their castle, since he was another guild leader. It was her, their head councilor, who should be building the guild connections, along with helping him regain the control of his guild. Torgus had said it perfectly only a few hours prior when he called her "The Wondercolt." That was her status and she couldn't break from it. She didn't want to break from it. It was what she had worked hard to be.
The last thing she needed, as their Kaisho, was to worry about where she would sit for breakfast. She was making sure they all got into the right squads and sent off to do their daily jobs. She didn’t need to worry about the small details. Ultimately, even with their structure, she had to think about most of the small things and be ready to respond as their Kaisho. They shouldn't need the council looking over their shoulders, but she had to be ready to assist and adapt, which meant paying attention to everything, knowing the general situation of all teams. Today was a perfect example of that. The plans shifted and she needed to get a team together to assist her on the quest. It could have been someone else who needed assistance with a quest or who needed to fall back for a day, whatever required her to adjust teams.
Bladescape heard the doors to their Great Hall open. That meant it was time for her to perform. At least, a little bit. Her relationship with Lisbeth was pretty close, but this was the first time Lisbeth would see her as Bladescape Kaisho. Bladescape was thankful that this wasn't their first dinner together. She never would have chosen here for the bet if it was.
Bladescape heard Diemond outside the door. "And here you are, your table and our fearless Kaisho are waiting for you inside."
Bladescape stood up to greet her. The door was opened for Lisbeth and she stepped inside. Lisbeth was carrying a carefully wrapped Harmonic Salvation. She stopped just inside as she looked over Bladescape's kimono, in total shock.
"Wow!" Lisbeth exclaimed. She couldn't resist a sly grin. "You cried on my floor today and I see you in a formal kimono. Quite a few treats for me today."
"Still your sassy, usual self," Bladescape grinned back.
"This is heavy," Lisbeth said, walking over to the table and setting it down on the other side, which didn't have dishes on it.
She unwrapped it. The sword looked the same, but Bladescape felt like she was seeing a miracle. The resurrection of the dead.
Bladescape gingerly picked up the sword. It lasted only a second as her hand involuntarily gripped the handle with familiarity and strength.
"I still have trouble believing she is here," Bladescape said. "I couldn't get her free from the floor. And then I watched her get stomped on by an angry dragon. We all heard her shatter."
Lisbeth shook her head in disbelief. "When you first got her to me, she didn't have ten minutes before she was out of durability and would have been gone. I spent the first five minutes stalling the decay. For every ten points I added, I lost nine. It was a tough battle. Don’t make me do it again!” They both laughed. “I was so mad that you thought you were better than my other customers, but then I saw the horror on your face and how ragged you looked, and I knew something big was up. It was like you had been tortured all morning. I get why now."
"Your customers understood," Bladescape assured her. "Your reaction showed them how important it was. Torgus directly stated he wished he had a sword to cry over and that would make the smith freak out. I think he got one."
"I'm pretty sure he did," Lisbeth winked. "Especially thanks to your assistance. I was down to the lowest I could go for him. I was barely covering the price of the materials. I didn't make any profit off his sword, but you inspired me to be generous. Especially after he stepped out of line to be by your side."
Bladescape pulled up her menu. She removed Harmonic Salvation's sheath. "You said you knew what that was like?" Bladescape said as she sheathed her hope.
Lisbeth snorted under her grin. "Yeah, but first I deserve some answers."
"Sure, but let's sit. Dinner will be brought out momentarily."
"Kaisho?" Lisbeth asked. She was fully aware of how much sass she was applying. "All Diemond would say is that you would explain it. All she ever said to any of my questions was that you would explain it. I didn't expect a personal castle for your new Guild Headquarters, but I dig it."
Bladescape smiled as she nodded. "I'm the Kaisho of the Wondercolts because we needed a clear structure for our new Wondercolts. As head councilor, I was given Kaisho as my title. We based them in the JMSDF ranks."
Konpeito brought out the first course. She was wearing her formal Itamae attire. The first course was soup. She used smaller bowls so they wouldn't fill up before the main course.
Bladescape continued in her explanation. "We would like you to be able to assist in weapon enhancements and we will most likely need a large quantity of weapons made. Much of the normal upkeep can be done by our crafters, but for our boss battle teams, I would still like to use you. I think the system favors you for our equipment."
"That is the other thing," Lisbeth said after a spoonful of soup. It was just at the right temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. "I know the Wondercolts as eleven members, but that is clearly no longer accurate. How many of you are there?"
"Fifty-one,” Bladescape replied. "We merged with Meigibu, but kept the Wondercolts name, colors, and symbol. That officially happened five days ago, on the twenty-seventh. Only forty-eight members are combatants. We have three non-combat Wondercolts, who mostly do cooking for us."
"Of course you had to keep those," Lisbeth stated. "What is the front line, especially the Assault Team, without the Wondercolts?"
It was a serious statement. They were important, but Bladescape suddenly felt like she didn't understand how important they were, at least for morale. That added pressure to a lot of things they were doing.
"Most won't fight bosses," Bladescape explained. "And our goal is, currently, to have four deployed on the front on a daily basis, that is four full squads on the front. We have many crafters and they have the levels to do the base work for keeping our armor in tip-top shape, but our initial belief is that we will need to upgrade their weapons. We will need a smith who can handle that."
Lisbeth was having fun being coy and sassy. "Let's see how good your meal actually is. Konpeito threw a pretty good Christmas dinner, and that surprise for my shop's opening day was pretty good too, but I know she has only gotten better. If she's as good as she claims she is, it might be worth my future headaches."
It was a fun remark. It didn't last as Lisbeth got serious. "I can certainly provide you with what you need, but metal prices are high. If you could help me out by putting some Col down to cover the materials I know I will need, it will speed things up. It also will help me put in orders to Piandao for alloys. He needs col to do those raw ore acquisitions. A list of weapon classes would be appreciated so I can preplan."
Bladescape nodded with a grin. "We can do that and I would be happy to do that. Upfront costs are a normal business practice. I know we can get you weapon numbers too. My turn though. You said you knew what it felt like to lose a weapon?"
"Yeah," Lisbeth chuckled. "The other day, Kirito came into my shop. He was…"
Lisbeth stalled out. Bladescape realized she probably knew the real reason why Kirito was looking for a new sword. However, Bladescape couldn't be certain of that and she wouldn't betray his secret.
Bladescape finished for her. "He is looking for his next sword. I fought beside him the other day. It was looking rather weak compared to what he was capable of dishing out."
"Yeah," Lisbeth agreed. "So I gave him the sword that I had just made. It was the best one on my shelves. He was annoyed at the light weight. He decided to test it against his Elucidator and struck mine on his. My sword broke like a piece of uncooked noodle, yet his black sword was untouched. Not a scratch."
Bladescape grinned. "And then he said something bumbling and stupid?"
"How'd you know that?" Lisbeth asked. “He totally insulted my sword and my smithing skills, not meaning to, but still!"
"Educated guess," Bladescape smiled. “I have a few years on both of you and probably a lot more dating experience. Guys are pretty standard in the models we get to choose from. They don't always think."
Both of them laughed.
“Besides, I've been fighting in boss fights with him since the beginning and seen him plenty during clearing.”
"When did you run into Kirito?" Lisbeth asked.
Bladescape explained their impromptu fight against the King Black Dragon. She left out the dual wielding and his sword breaking, as well as her Greatsword skill. She also left out the dragon dropping his head.
"So that is what Thunderborne is using now," Lisbeth remarked. "I finished her rapier a while ago. I actually was starting to get concerned about her weapon status.”
"Yep," Bladescape nodded. "Plus, she wasn't the only Thunderborne we met. We met another today."
"Another Thunderborne?” Lisbeth asked, cocking her head in confusion. “How? Two players can’t have the same name."
"She spells hers with an E on the end of borne. He tried to, but she beat him to it."
Lisbeth laughed. Enjoying the confusion that ensued during that story. Bladescape avoided the rest where Celtec snapped.
Things stayed calm and fun. For the main course, it was a dream. Bladescape admitted she hadn't ever had S-Class food. Lisbeth was very vocal about her impression. She couldn't believe they got a hold of S-Class ingredients for this meal.
Bladescape didn't state it, but she knew Lisbeth understood they did it to ensure they had her as their smith. To be that wanted, especially by a very large guild, was any smith's dream. Her shop was purchased largely because of the steady stream of business the Wondercolts brought her. Now, Lisbeth would never have to worry about her finances. She would be fine because of the constant income from forty-eight players. Busy, but financially stable, and that stability would mean she could do her own projects for fun and make many more masterpieces.
After dessert, Bladescape gave Lisbeth a tour of their headquarters. It was dark, but bathed in the beautiful soft light of the gas lanterns the castle had outside. Lisbeth was practically drooling over their personal smithy. It was like a factory from the duplicates they had for hardware like anvils and grindstones. They just had to work the grindstones with the foot pedals, while she had the water wheel to power everything. Currently Diemond's work was everywhere as she made the armor for their new members. It was impressive. Diemond was on the second floor and they stayed out of her way.
Bladescape showed Lisbeth her tower, but only her bottom floor. Her private room above wasn't important and the view from the balcony was basically nonexistent since it was dark. As they entered the room, Lisbeth had a few questions.
"Are these shields the ones you made with Rendil?"
"Yes," Bladescape nodded. "Not too bad for my first shields and first time doing heraldry, but not my thing."
“They are quite good,” Lisbeth said as Bladescape directed her to the cheap couch.
“Thanks,” Bladescape said, sitting in the armchair.
“I can’t believe that you pulled off getting a place like this,” Lisbeth said, still in shock. “And that you still have col to give away.”
“And it’s all a safe zone,” Bladescape added. “Private island, private teleport plaza, private castle, private swimming hole, and all in a private safe zone.”
Lisbeth sighed contently. “It’s beautiful. I love my home in Lindarth. It is quiet and nice. The waterwheel is everything I need for my smithy and store, but it isn’t a castle.”
“Floor Sixty-One was bugs,” Bladescape reminded her. “We had to clear this place out with a quest before we could buy it. It was a mess before we bought it, in need of restoration. Thankfully the buildings were sealed shut, so we didn’t have to clear out where we sleep and eat, but we beat the bugs and we got to buy it. We needed something bigger because of the merger. Actually, Soryuto beat the flag boss and got an amazing sword out of it. A better sword than the one you know. You will see that weapon soon enough.”
“Hey, yeah, where is everyone?” Lisbeth asked. “It was quiet the entire time. I heard Konpeito at times with a few others in the kitchen and Diemond was in the forge, but this place is empty.”
“They're out training,” Bladescape replied. “I'll be joining them tomorrow morning. We're running an aggressive leveling push. The new members need to meet our quotas. Well, we created quotas to bring them up to a better level so they wouldn't struggle as much as they were. We're not leaving the field until they are at the quotas. It’s a twenty-four seven operation.”
“That sounds horrible,” Lisbeth retorted.
"Malus set up a solid camp, with guards, and the rotation will give them the rest they need,” Bladescape explained. “As soon as we're done, they get a day off. It will be worth it. They know that and they're ready for it. It's an all Wondercolts operation, including the original crew. Natora will be here for the next two days, to receive the new furniture, but then she will join us and one of the other councilors will step back, probably me since I don't need the levels. Natora and I will likely swap any time we need a councilor back home. Malus can't since she is running everything and Kamishi and Lobelia need the levels."
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Lisbeth said. “I know how intense you all are. I hear all of your levels have outpaced most of the other Clearers.”
“We are focused and intentional,” Bladescape replied. “Which is why we need a good smith. One we can run ragged with requests but who understands just how much she is doing to free us all from the game.”
“I never saw it that way,” Lisbeth admitted. “The work I do for Asuna, now for Kirito, and a few of the other Clearers, along with the Wondercolts, I am freeing us from the game, aren’t I?”
“Absolutely,” Bladescape said, smiling at her. “You aren't swinging the swords on the front, but you are keeping them swinging. That's something to be proud of and just as important as actually swinging the weapon.”
Lisbeth’s eyes sparkled with mischief in the low light. “If I'm going to be doing so much for your guild, can I claim it?
“You absolutely can,” Bladescape nodded, grinning. “Make yourself a copy of our symbol to put on your wall and declare that you are the official smith of the Wondercolts. Own it. You deserve it.”
BLADESCAPE: Level 85 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics — Greatsword
NATORA: Level 81 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint — Extended Weight Carry
MALUS: Level 81 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend — Sprint
THUNDERBORNE: Level 81 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing — Search
KONPEITO: Level 81 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry — Rend
DIEMOND: Level 81 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation — Rend
DOOMBUNNY: Level 82 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche — Search — Sleight of Hand
KIEFER: Level 80 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts
SORYUTO: Level 78 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 80 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation — Two-Handed Weapon Creation
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 74 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce — Search
LOBELIA: Level 62 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Search — Meditation — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Painting
KAMISHI: Level 64 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Katana — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Reveal — Trap Dismantling
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I'm excited to see where we go, and I really hope we can have a full-on arc about trying to stop Kibaou and his staining of the Army's reputation. Things in the lower levels may be starting to heat up, and it won't end well for Kibaou.
Lis will eat up good from now on with her new position and the money she will make because of Blade's sword scare. I love those interactions between the characters and seeing how respected the Wondercolts' name has become in SAO. I really hope to see more of how they are seen between the Front and the Lower Levels.
I loved this arc, but I do feel like it is dragging on a bit, and I would love to see its conclusion soon so we can get back to the Floor Bosses. Outside of that, I am loving this story and I am excited for next week!
By this point Liz should just beome an offical Wondercolt. That could be quite interesting!
I never thought about that before, but thinking on it, the crafters and smithers REALLY were a CORE part of clearing the game
More about Thinker will be to come.
Next week will be an episode unique to Ruby Palace. It will definitely freshen things up. We are past the halfway point for the merger arc. 116 is the end. There is some great stuff after it that is only in Ruby Palace. I'm doing my best to get more lower level view points. Its like driving forward in a NASCAR race while trying to only look in your rearview mirror. lol. We are closing in on one from Silica's POV.
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Some, like Lis, really are core. Without the equipment, they could not fight. Kirito went to Lis in canon for a reason. Same with Asuna. It holds true for Ruby Palace. A Wondercolt Lis would be interesting, but would it alienate her other customers? Especially the intermediate players? And she would get taxed automatically on any sales. Commission a sword for 100k and only get, at most, 90k?
Oh boy Lobelia, you gotta a work harder now that the camps setup.
GRIND!
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Or maybe on the other side of the coin becoming a Wondercolt could increase her business even more. I mean it is possible lol. Also Lis was rather calm about learning about the WC/Megibu merger, I honestly expected a bigger reaction of surprise
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She has yet to start getting orders from them. lol. Also, she was pretty exhausted by then from fixing Harmonic Salvation. Oh! I had a meme made for that! lol
i.postimg.cc/XvvpYRhZ/Lis-Fixing-HS.jpg
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It was later that night not long after Lizbeth had gone to bed before her eyes suddenly snapped open and she bolted upright in her bed "HOLY SHIT THE WONDERCOLTS MERGED WITH MEGIBU?!"
Elsewhere Pinkie suddenly giggled "wow talk about a delayed reaction!"
An S class meat huh?
Happy to see him again!
Thx Thinker!
And there's worse to come sadly...
"Interesting,"*
He's one of several SAO players I never liked!
replied.*
necessary."*
I had a feeling she'd bring it up, seeing that the events took place a few days before this chapter happened.
Nice.
With how important Lisbeth is becoming, I am starting to hope that she officially joins the Wondercolts now.
Good to see the guild is learning from the experience.
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Hahaha. Love it!
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Glad ya liked that
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Gosh, those errors stacked up fast. Thanks! And yes, I had to poke Kirito going to her shop how I could.
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I am actively trying to bring in more Pinkie Pie to Konpeito. It isn't easy. Either it is so automatic they roll with it so it never registers, or she is roll playing Konpeito and more focused. I have more future chapters getting into her head coming.
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I too would love to see her as a Wondercolt. This biggest issue with her joining is taxes and other players. 1: taxes are automatic. While it is not really noticeable for players fighting monsters, if you sell something for 100K and only get 90k, that is really hard to ignore. 2: The players, many of them are intermediate players. Guild membership may drive them away. They would be funding another guild. Whenever Asuna pays it would got to WCS, not all to Lis. It is different than if she joined a crafting guild.