A Background Character's Fate

Chapter 17[OLD]

The day after the dark elf stayed at my house, I went out to sell my deathworm loot. I still have five hours until I need to assemble at the army headquarters

For now, she still doesn't talk or try to tell me her name so the Krist family calls her Elvis, she doesn't seem to mind as she answers our call when we say that name.

My first stop is at the blacksmith. There are two blacksmiths located in the first section of the capital, both desperately competing for customers.

One of them is called Golden Hammer, the other is Life Best.

I go to the Golden hammer, not far from the entrance.

I open the door and walk in. The shop has rows of weapons like mace, swords, rapiers and even bows hung up as displays on the wall. Below the displays are shelves of weapons and stands of armour.

An old man sitting behind the counter immediately wakes up to the sound of the door opening.

"What? There's a customer?" He mumbles.

He looks at my uniform and immediately recognises me. "You are that tournament winner... Let me tell you something, there is nothing good you can find here for someone of your calibre, I recommend you go to Life Best."

I smile. "It's okay, I want to commission something from you."

The old man gets up and gives me a confused look. "Did you not see how shabby this place is? Why are you so persistent?"

"My instinct, that's all."

...

He sighs. "Fine but you will have to collect the materials yourself-"

"Here."

I place a bag of deathworm scales on the table.

!!!!!

"D-Deathworm! You want armour?"

I nod.

"..."

He gives the bag back to me. "I do not have materials strong enough and compatible with the Deathworm. You better go to Life Best-"

"Why are you chasing away such an important customer? You don't need to worry about expectations, I believe in your skills." I say.

!

The old man stares at me. His muscular body was built from years of hard work and practice in Blacksmithing. His white messy long hair and white beard cover most of his head.

He sighs when I continue to pester him. "Argh fine! But let me warn you, my work is of low quality and will potentially cause you to lose your life. Use them wisely."

This old man here is Gravos. He is the man who donated his sword and armour to me when I first started as an adventurer under the guise of throwing them away. He is also constantly reminding me that the work that he gave is a failure and can cause me to lose my life.

The reason why he is this paranoid is because of his son. When he first started as a blacksmith, he created a "good" sword and decided to give it to his son as a gift. His son treasured it dearly and was a knight. However, during a fight, the sword broke, causing his son to lose his life.

That created a huge trauma and scar in Gravos's heart.

However, it is his trauma that pushed Gravos to constantly improve his blacksmithing to the point of it being one of the best in this world.

That is why Gravos store is in business. People who have tried purchasing from his store know how good Gravos is.

Sadly, 4 years later, Gravos blacksmith will be closed down as Life Best spread rumours about him and nobody dared to purchase from him.