Today’s weather is terrible.
Will got up to see a thoroughly gloomy day, but it wasn’t the kind that offered a refreshing downpour.
The sky overhead was a dark, murky black, not a hazy, diffused gray.
It was as if to add another layer of atmospheric pressure to Will, who was already under immense psychological stress about meeting Princess Treya.
And then, stranger things began to happen…
Will walked through the streets.
The city streets today were even more somber than before; there weren’t many people around, and few shops were open and bustling.
And even more terrifyingly…
There was an unprecedented number of guards.
Having lived in the capital for three years, Will was familiar with its patrolmen. He’d never seen such a large deployment of guards in his three years here.
Had something happened to the Royal Family again?
No, even if Emperor Edward had passed away, it wouldn’t warrant this many guards on the streets…
Will, wearing a hat, quickly moved past them and headed to the blacksmith’s shop.
What awaited him there was perhaps the only joyful thing of the day.
“I haven’t seen a customer in such a hurry for a long time. But thankfully, I’m quite interested in these challenging projects, old man.”
Will had expected his order to be completed by now, but he hadn’t anticipated—
The Shadow Nightmare Sword.
It now lay solidly in his palm.
It felt light when he weighed it. While the blade’s width exceeded that of a “rapier,” its weight was perhaps only four-fifths that of some ceremonial royal rapiers.
For a swordsman skilled in agility, this was truly a perfectly suited weapon!
And…
It was genuinely “black.”
The forging hadn’t altered the raw material’s color; it retained its strange, dark hue. Now, as a sword, this blackness seemed capable of cleaving through anything.
Even more exquisite was its hilt. He had indeed transformed that tattered cloth…
Well, it wasn’t just cloth, but a deep curse from a “Demon-type Dungeon.”
It was wrapped around the hilt like bandages, and when held, one could feel the layered textures, providing an excellent grip.
“…Thank… Thank you so much!”
“It’s nothing. The shield you wanted is also here.”
“!!!”
Will had figured that getting one item done would be a good result.
But…
The shield for Iaar was also finished.
The ice-blue shield face matched Iaar’s favored attributes perfectly. More importantly…
“Why did you have to put a dog’s paw print on the shield? You’re a strange person.”
“It’s custom-made, so it should be strange!”
“Alright, alright. With these done, I’ll probably have to close shop. If you need any after-sales service, don’t look for me here anymore, okay?”
“…Huh?”
Will blinked in surprise.
“I haven’t had much business lately, so it’s about time I packed up and left. It seems that even taking orders from the Royal Family in the capital isn’t a stable source of income.”
He sighed, and Will noticed for the first time that the hearth fire behind him was extinguished. This at least indicated that the blacksmith shop wouldn’t be open today.
“Then… where will you go next?”
“Probably not the capital anymore. Doing business with adventurers is much better. I’ll likely move to a place with a Dungeon. Speaking of which, you seem quite familiar with adventurers. Do blacksmiths who make weapons for adventurers have to follow the Dungeons around?”
“…”
Will was rendered speechless by the question.
For him, “blacksmith” and “blacksmith shop” were merely fixed functional NPCs in the game. You’d find them in a location, and they’d be available to fulfill your requests.
From a developer’s perspective, functional elements needed to adapt, but the key was always ensuring “players” could find them when they needed to.
…
But they were indeed “people” living in this world. Furthermore, the blacksmiths in this world’s lore possessed considerable skill and earned more than ordinary farmers.
So, that’s why…
Because “Dungeons” were not fixed, the gathering points for adventurers were also not fixed. Therefore, these “functional NPCs,” to support their families, would naturally move with them.
At the same time…
They would also change their locations due to “events” encountered in this world.
The fact that items and people could change was also a part of this world’s “realism.”
“Cat got your tongue? I see. A young master like you probably wouldn’t know these details. It’s fine; I know plenty of blacksmiths who can help me.”
He waved his hand.
“You’re going to the Royal City to find Princess Treya, aren’t you?”
“Uh… How did you…” Will realized he hadn’t hidden much from this blacksmith. “Yes. I might depart this afternoon, after all, she… has been waiting for me for a long time.”
“Actually, I didn’t recognize you as the young master from those Wanted Posters all over the city.”
“Ah?”
Will thought, “If I respond now, I’ll end up revealing too much.”
“Old man, I get so many orders in a day when I’m busy, how could I possibly observe every customer? It’s just…”
He pointed across the street.
“Today, the guards are tearing down the Wanted Posters one by one. That’s when I noticed that the person printed on them looks quite like you.”
Torn…
Torn down?
Will’s eyes widened.
He wasn’t accustomed to seeing his own Wanted Posters, so he deliberately avoided them when passing by, never facing them directly.
“Everyone is saying that Princess Treya might have found the person. I was thinking…”
The blacksmith’s eyes, squeezed by the wrinkles on his face, looked at Will.
“Perhaps she has?”
“…”
—Strange, strange, strange.
—Why is this happening?
—Why are these things occurring?
“Ah… ah, right, I… I’ll take my things and go now.”
Will quickly walked on his way back “home,” then his eyes widened as he looked at all the walls along the streets he had passed—
They were gone, gone, gone.
Not a single one of the Wanted Posters that had once plastered the entire city was visible now.
All that remained were faint traces of glue on the walls.
Nothing else was left.
The guards had indeed been swift, especially in a capital controlled by the Royal Family.
“Hah… What… what on earth happened?”
Will closed his door, propped the shield behind it, and stared at the wooden floor of his home, panting.
His mind raced, desperately analyzing the information. But unfortunately, he felt that the scattered pieces of information in his hands would never form a complete answer.
Did Treya discover he was in the capital?
It wasn’t impossible, but if she had, why hadn’t she come to him directly?
Could it be that something had happened to the Royal Family again…?
Damn it, if this were a major royal event, the original work should have mentioned it. He couldn’t recall anything.
If only he had the “Quest System” at hand; he could flip through its pages.
The current situation was somewhat different.
How to explain it…
The most peculiar thing was that while seemingly nothing had changed, Will felt a strong sense of impending misfortune, similar to the day he met Liya.
Will had two choices—
One: Leave immediately, report to the guards, and enter the Royal Palace.
Two: Flee the capital at once. The situation was already too strange. He’d deal with it later.
Moreover, this was a choice he had to make quickly.
Which…
Which choice should he make?
He had always been the one to put pressure on others, but today, he didn’t spare himself.
“Come on, tell me—”
As Will, as Will Systom, as the captain everyone trusted.
As the one who had personally raised them.
And as the person Treya needed now and at every moment in the future—
He looked at the sword, impeccably crafted and undoubtedly powerful, in his hand.
“Let’s go.”
—He opened the door.
