Chapter 25: Custom Warhammer (Part II)

Facing the Master of the Broken Anvil's eccentric proposal to quench the blade with the blood of the Phoenix King, Sinuoli, who held the idea of uniting the majority of Order races to resist the Chaos invasion, obviously could not agree; it would be disastrous to go parading about with a "Elf Slayer" like that!

"Uh, let's choose a different quenching option!" Sinuoli replied.

"Dragon Blood is also a widely chosen quenching material. Compared to the former, where the blood of other powerful races only effectively targets specific races, Dragon Blood has a much broader range of application and has a certain intimidation effect on most monsters and creatures with lower intelligence in this world.

Of course, I've heard some explorers say there are terrifying creatures in the jungles of Lustria that can tear dragons apart, so I can't say if it would be useful against them!

I have the finest Star Dragon blood here, though I hear your guild still retains the blood of that Drakxion; if you can get your hands on that, I guarantee I will forge you a blank for a legendary weapon!"

"Grungni above! If I could get my hands on that holy relic, wouldn't it be better to just trade it for a legendary Warhammer? But Dragon Blood sounds good!" Sinuoli nodded, "Are there any other options?"

The Master of the Broken Anvil was not impatient; he continued to explain:

"Ordinary water—the honorable Chosen of the Goddess surely wouldn't settle for that, right? Almost no customers who come to me for custom work choose that option!" After receiving Sinuoli's affirmative reply, the Master continued:

"Then what remains are various elemental liquid condensates. After these things are melted and diluted, quenching with them can also add additional effects to the weapon, but there is one problem: most of these raw materials are one-of-a-kind, and I can only roughly infer the specific effects they might bring based on their properties."

The Master paused and took another puff of his pipe, "Many adventurers who discover these materials might not even be able to explain where they came from or how they were produced, let alone those that have passed through layers of middlemen; it purely depends on how the merchants in between spin it. Therefore, based on my experience, I have no way to judge the specific effects of the finished product and can only proceed with the quenching operation according to convention."

Upon hearing this, Sinuoli nodded repeatedly; compared to various types of blood, elemental condensates were more to his liking. "I think elemental condensates are better. May I ask what types of elements there are?"

The Master of the Broken Anvil pondered for a moment, "There are many I'm not sure about, so I'd better not tell you! Look at this beard of mine; heading to the halls of the Ancestor Gods is a matter of these next few years. If I were to create some strange effects on your weapon and you were to report this old man to the Mother Goddess, I'd be in trouble!"

The Master of the Broken Anvil saw the other Dwarfs amused by his witty remark and also revealed a satisfied smile. "Back to business, I recommend three effects: burning, freezing, and increased weight. I have done these many times before and have rich experience and full confidence."

Before Sinuoli could make a choice, a Dwarf nearby reminded him, "Master, did you forget that a Ranger just sent over some plasma the day before yesterday?"

"Aha, right, I can also add a paralysis effect for you!" the Master of the Broken Anvil said, "The fresher the raw material, the less energy loss, and the better the effect. How about it?"

Sinuoli felt happy when he heard this and decisively nodded in agreement. The Master of the Broken Anvil jotted down a few more notes and began the next customization item.

"Are there any requirements for the engraved patterns?" Sinuoli thought of his status as the "Chosen of the Goddess" and the Clan that had given him such great help, so he decided to have the portrait of the Ancestor Goddess engraved on one side and the Clan's Shijabiaoji on the other.

"Respecting tradition is a good thing! You are much more reliable than some of the Little Beards these days! Some of the things they talk about, I don't even know what they look like!" the Master of the Broken Anvil praised.

After the Master signaled, a Dwarf nearby immediately began designing the two patterns Sinuoli mentioned on paper.

"Hmm, accessories, next are accessories. We have a partnership with the best craft shop in the city; if you have any needs, just mention it, and my Apprentice will take care of determining the dimensions." Sinuoli shook his head; he felt it was better for a weapon to be simple and there was no need to hang any accessories on it.

The Master flipped the form to the back.

"Let me see, next is... Runes, hmm. We have partnerships with both Master Tiezhuo and Master Ronghuo of the Rune Smith Guild. Both of them are highly respected Rune Masters who can provide engraving for the vast majority of conventional Runes.

If there are special requirements, our workshop can even send it to Kalake-Tiefengbao to request the services of Master Thorek Ironbrow, though this will take more time and cost more." The Master of the Broken Anvil rattled off a long list.

"Master, I don't think I need additional Rune engraving services." The Master of the Broken Anvil's face, wearing a monocle, poked out from behind the form; he froze for a moment and then slapped his forehead.

"Look at that, look at that. I've customized so much equipment according to this list that I've memorized the content and didn't think it through. In this world, where would a Rune Master entrust others to engrave Runes?" Sinuoli laughed upon hearing this.

"Runes, handled by the client," the Master of the Broken Anvil crossed out this column, "Finally, delivery method, hmm, you are a local Dwarf, so I don't need to ask this! It must be self-pickup!" After writing a few more strokes, the Master of the Broken Anvil flipped the list back to the front.

"Let's calculate the price!" The Master turned to Aunt Sonia. "Base fee is 20 Oath Gold, plus 5 for the plasma—this is a rare item—and the patterns, 200 gold coins will do! It's quite difficult to process this on meteorite iron! Thank you for your patronage!"

"Is there a discount?" Aunt Sonia smiled slyly, "This is the Chosen of the Ancestor Goddess; him using weapons produced by you is a living advertisement!"

The Master of the Broken Anvil shook his beard: "The God of Wealth has gifted you with a silver tongue, Lady! But what you say is indeed a fact." The Master pondered for a moment.

"Hmm, then let's round down the remainder and give you a twenty percent discount! Let's call it 20 Oath Gold, provided that you allow me to engrave my name and emblem on the Warhammer!"

Sinuoli had no objections, and Aunt Sonia took a bag of Oath Gold from her bosom to pay the bill, "When can you deliver? You must rush it for us; Master Sinuoli is waiting to use it!"

"No problem, no problem, bring me the work schedule and let me see!" The Master of the Broken Anvil readily agreed; he beckoned his Apprentice to bring over a leather folder, which contained several lists.

"Let me see, the one on the workbench now will take three more days, the next one is... it's a pair of Chain Axes..."

"Master, this one cannot be delayed; it was customized by the Slayer King of Karak-Kadrin. In a few days, the heavy snow will block the mountain roads. If it isn't forged before the last caravan heading north this year departs, the client won't receive the goods!" the Apprentice who brought the work schedule reminded him.

"That makes sense," the Master nodded.

"The next item, the next item isn't urgent, so let's put the Warhammer after the Chain Axes. Let's speed things up; one month should be enough, right? After that, I'll give you all a few days off!"

After the Master wrote "Payment received, delivery in one month" on the list, he tore it off, handed a photocopy of the back to Aunt Sonia, and clipped the original into the work schedule.

"Come get it in a month!" the Master said.

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