The Chronicles Of Rhaxtyx

"I can be an adventurer. Yeah."

Rhaxtyx was smiling. He was excited for this new experience. He walked around the market after exiting the guild hall. There weren't many interesting things, some fruits and vegetables. There were a couple of small-time weapon and armor stores but their quality was not top notch. It was enough for Rhaxtyx however.

He entered one of these small weapon shops and approached the front desk. There was a dark-skinned man sitting there. He wore nothing on his upper body so his muscular body was obvious to everyone. He had an intimidating look in his eyes. His brown hair was oily and disorderly. He held his head with his huge hand on the counter and was tapping his left index finger on the counter. He was sitting yet his body was so huge that the table could not cover him completely. He was almost at the same height with Rhaxtyx. Rhaxtyx approached the man with a smile and when he noticed him, the clerk spoke in a flat voice.

"The price tags are underneath the wares. No negotiating. The prizes are fixed so if you are not happy then leave."

"I'm not looking to buy anything right now."

"Then why are you wasting my time?"

As he spoke, the clerk's eyes landed on Rhaxtyx and he scoffed at his attire. Rhaxtyx could only smile wryly at that.

"Do you forge these weapons yourself?"

"Do you see anybody else who can?"

"Do you only do weapons or-"

The clerk cut Rhaxtyx off with his finger pointing at the armor stand to his right. There were chain mails, studded leathers and various other armors hung up.

"I see."

"What? Not to your liking?"

"I'm not saying that no. I was just looking at what you can offer."

"Everything that I offer to sell is hung all over the store. You want something, the price is there. You don't like anything at all? Then there's the door."

"I see you are proud of your work and don't really care if you really sell or not."

"Only genuine people can see the value of my art! And knowing it makes me proud of my work naturally."

"Do you consider forging an art?"

"Yes! It is one of the most difficult! You have to feel the iron when you are hitting it. You have to hear its cries!"

"I understand. Then another question."

"You really are wasting my time!"

The store clerk was becoming irritated and Rhaxtyx could feel it. He put his hands in front of him and talked with an easy-going smile.

"Wait wait. I'll get to a point I promise. Just listen."

"Haah. Fine. Be quick about it. There are customers that I have to attend."

*Silence*

"There's no one in here though."

"Just keep talking!"

"Okay. My other question. Do you know what people say about the artist who likes their art?"

"What do they say?"

"It's average at most."

"What!?"

"It's true! I think the same! I doubt the work if the artist loves it. You know, they say an artist never likes their art."

"You don't know what you are talking about!"

"Am I wrong? If you were great at this art you would be a renowned blacksmith already."

"I suggest, sir, that you watch what you are talking about."

*Crack. Krr krr*

Rhaxtyx was smiling the whole time and gazing at the various wares the store has to offer. But when he looked at the store clerk, he could see that the clerk was shaking from anger. He was clenching his fists and there were some cracks on the table as well because of him.

"I mean I'm not wrong, right?"

"You don't know. The effort! That I-"

"It's not only about the effort though is it? There must be something else. And you know it too."

"Hmph. Like you know anything about forging."

"You are kind of right about that point."

"Ha! Ignorant are fearless indeed!"

"But I met a lot of legendary smiths back in the day. Their worst was still better than most of these in my honest opinion."

"You talk yet words are just words!"

"Well I don't really trust my abilities as a forger as I only picked the hammer a couple of times in my life. I have other methods, if you will."

"You are pretty confident aren'tcha! And you seem to challenge me as well!"

"Well, do you dare?"

"Do I dare? Do I dare!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You, a kid that knows nothing about forging, are asking me if I dare!? HAHAHA. You are a funny lad!"

"Well?"

"Of course I dare! Plus if you win, I'm going to build a forge, just for you, with my b.a.r.e hands!"

"No need for a forge, I'll ask for something else. Is that okay?"

"Sure, why not! You're going to regret your mistake today!"

"We'll see who regrets what."

They shook each other's hands. Rhaxtyx's hand was tiny in comparison. The clerk was laughing heartily and it started to hurt Rhaxtyx's ears a bit. After a minute or so, the clerk was finally calm again. Rhaxtyx, seeing his chance to speak, asked.

"Do you have the materials or should we wait for a day or two?"

"Ooh. I'm ready when you are! Come then! Let's have our showdown."

The store clerk closed the doors of his shop and locked them. He pulled the curtains and took Rhaxtyx to the forge in the back room.

The forge room was not so big. It contained a simple anvil, a furnace and other various tools. A blacksmith could work here but they could not do much, just simple things. The place was dusty to the point that when Rhaxtyx entered the room, he started a coughing fit. The clerk laughed at that and started the furnace. He picked two ingots of iron set them aside.

"We will work with the same two pieces. Same weight, same purity, same everything. As there is only one furnace, only one person can work. So we will have to decide who will be the first."

"Please go first. I want to see your 'top class' work."

"Heh. You rascal. Alright! I'll start first then. That way you can realize your own mistake and start apologizing earlier. Hahaha!"

After heating the furnace to the d.e.s.i.r.ed temperature, he put the ingot in. After it became red hot, he started hitting the piece of iron and started shaping it. He did this until the iron became thin enough to start the final step. He lifted his hammer up and began hitting it again. Sweat was dripping from all over his body and occasionally it fell on the hot iron and evaporated immediately.

The sound of metal hitting metal rang for hours inside the small forge. The clerk was banging on the piece of iron. It looked more and more like a dagger as time went by. Finally, after he was satisfied with its shape, put the hammer down and soaked the dagger in water. He wiped his sweat with a cloth nearby and looked at Rhaxtyx with a smug expression.

"I'm done! Your turn now."

"I can see that. I'll be starting then."

"Do your worst."

Rhaxtyx put the iron in the furnace and waited until it was red hot. After he picked up the ingot and put it on the anvil, he picked up a hammer. Lifted it and without pausing, started hitting it. He was hitting it like he didn't care about the consequences. His blows were seemed random and in truth they were! His aim was thinning the iron a bit so it was resembling the shape of a knife. After that he was going to use his usual artifact crafting technique. He would use mana usually on a material to shape it and give it special features.

Rhaxtyx continued to hitting the hammer. After he thinned it enough, he dropped it and started using his mana to shape the iron a bit. All of this took shorter than the clerk. That was why he was more shocked. The clerk could not believe what he was seeing and continuously rubbed his eyes and pinched his cheeks to confirm he wasn't dreaming.

The iron slowly began to resemble a knife. Rhaxtyx was happy that he could manage this on his first try with a common material. But what he didn't know was that a common material couldn't be turned into an artifact the way he did, especially in a different world with a different set of laws. He felt this and looked at the store clerk. He spoke with a wry smile. The clerk was in a trance as he watched Rhaxtyx work.

"I would take a couple of steps back if I were you." (Rhaxtyx)

"H-huh? What are you-"

"And I would do it now."

"O-okay…"

*Boom*

As soon as the clerk took a couple of steps, something exploded. When he looked towards Rhaxtyx, he saw the smoke coming from the anvil and the ash covered face of Rhaxtyx. The forge next to them was scattered across the floor and the anvil was cracked all over. Rhaxtyx coughed the ash that got in his mouth and spoke.

"F*ck. I did it again…"