Progressive Factor

To the Human Town of Zumfut

Koharu

"F-F-F-F-FIFTEEN?????" Koharu can see Joshua's soul escape his body as Asuna shows off her newly forged rapier, the Chivalric Rapier. What has him shocked is the number of upgrade attempts the rapier has. Instead of the eight like their first-floor weapons had, Asuna's has doubled. But not just that; Kirito said that, in a few successful attempts, her rapier would surpass Jaymes' Azure Sky Blade in power, the strongest weapon in the party. Koharu's partner continues to blink at the stats of the rapier again and again until she's sure his virtual muscles will give out from wear. "That's unfair! How did you, of all people, get this?"

"Jealous," Asuna says wryly.

"You didn't even know how to upgrade a sword a week ago! Forget that, you were using Iron Rapiers like a noob not too long ago. How many times did that blacksmith hit the sword?"

"Forty," Kirito answers.

"FORTY? That's... That's unbalanced." Jaymes faces Koharu and looks at her plus five Anneal Dagger. "You better get something good, Ko. I'll accept it if you get a weapon comparable to Asuna."

"Does it matter?" Koharu retorts. "It could be that the elf blacksmith is very good compared to the human ones. At least, that's how it is in all the fantasy movies."

Kirito crosses his arms and hums. "Hmmm... Well, that's rather true for RPGs, but still. Could you give it a go, Koharu? This will prove if lightning indeed can strike twice."

"Okay. For research purposes, then."

"...That's the cleanest use of that sentence ever. C'mon, Ko."

The quartet makes their way to the blacksmith. Kirito and Asuna stayed back, and Jaymes walked halfway with Koharu, leaving her to deal with her business alone. Nervous, as this is the first time she's created a weapon from scratch (she bought the Anneal Dagger she owns) and the blacksmith height and general look of apathy admittedly frightens, Koharu looks back to her partner, who nods encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, she steps up and speaks to the blacksmith. "Excuse me, I would like to create a new weapon."

Snort.

Koharu is taken aback by the rudeness of the blacksmith, but the shop menu appears. Relieved, she holds her finger above the 'Create Weapon' command, then shifts it down to the 'Create Ingot' button. Not sure of herself, she looks again to Jaymes. "Should I..."

"It's your choice. I think you got enough ores to make a good ingot. You can fail a craft, anyway. But... If you believe in the soul of your current weapon being carried over, go ahead."

Koharu takes the dark-bladed weapon and holds it in front of her. She never told anyone, but she didn't buy this weapon for herself; Jaymes bought it for her about a week into the game. He didn't have the Col to get the Azure Sky Sword he was aiming for but saw an opportunity to upgrade her while the opportunity was present. She wanted to deny him, but he did what he wanted anyway. Since then, she's done her best to make the most out of her weapon to show her appreciation to him. Like Asuna, she wants the soul of her sword to continue so she can appreciate her partner's gift even longer.

So when the blacksmith hands her the dark ingot made from the Anneal Dagger. she proceeds to the next step. She hits the "Create Weapon' button, followed by 'One-Handed,' 'Dagger,' and 'Select Materials.' A second window showing eligible items for use popped up, and Koharu added as many materials needed along with the recently received Ebony Ingot. Pressing the 'Yes' button, two sacks filled with the materials appear next to the blacksmith. He picked them up and tossed them into the forge.

While he got to work, Koharu once again turned back to Jaymes. Without having anything said between them, he walks up to her side, and she takes his dominant hand in both of hers. Earlier, she didn't care much about whether her weapon's stats matched Asuna's or not; but after the smith adds the got to the currently white-flamed forge, she prays lightning strikes again, that she's as lucky as her friend.