Aria was staring at the harvested materials from the Great Jaggi, Jaggias, Jaggis, and Arzuros. There were many parts that could be used to create weapons and armour, but Aria drew a blank when it came to deciding what she wanted.
"Well, based on my memories, I could try making either the Great Jaggi or Arzuros armour set, but they do come with limitations." Aria inspected every piece of material while pondering her options.
"Arzuros armour set has higher defense, and its skills are great for gathering materials, but the Great Jaggi armour set is designed for speed and attack. Then again, depending on the generation of the game, their skills are different, and I do not remember much... However, this is another world, so maybe they will not be the same..." Aria mumbled as she stared at the sky.
After pacing around for a while, a voice called out to Aria.
"Heya, missy! Soz ta hav ya waitin' for us!" Noel cheerfully waved her hand as she walked out of the guild's entrance toward the parked carriages. "Wowsie! There are lots'a stuff ta be brought ta the smithy."
"Noel... How are ya so energetic in ta mornin'...?" Mary followed after her with a sleepy expression. "Sides, we just got down n' dirty yesterday with these mons, and me body's still tired."
"Good morning, Miss Aria. I hope that you did not wait long." Gunther came out next and approached Aria. Peter and Elisia followed behind him, both biting into some apple-like fruits called Akarubi.
"There were some problems with the paperwork, and as the leader of Group One, I had to make an extra-long report. I also went through a rigorous interview to ensure its accuracy."
"Oh no, please do not mind that. I am the one who came too early. I tossed and turned in my sleep because of excitement and woke up while the night was still dominating the sky. When I arrived at the guild, the staff were not even ready yet. Hehe."
"Gunther, it'll be best if we move now, or the smithy will get too crowded." Peter swallowed his last bite of fruit and informed Gunther in a deep voice.
Gunther nodded and proceeded to pull one of the carriages while the others moved to do the same. Peter, being the biggest among the group, pulled the largest load.
"Are you sure you do not need my help? I can take some of the load off and carry them."
"Hahaha. I appreciate the sentiment, but it would look bad on us if we made a child carry heavy loads. Besides, we ought to thank you for giving us a portion of the materials."
"I am already eleven... Anyway, this is to thank you for your guidance. It is too much for me to have them all, so I am thinking of putting those materials to good use and crafting better equipment for all of you. I hope this will help you raise your ranking."
"Oh, tha's sweet! Noel is fallin' in love with ya again!" With a teasing expression, Noel inched closer to Aria while pulling the carriage, only to receive a light knock on the head from Elisia's magic staff.
"Enough with that. I will seriously report you to the knights."
"Boo... Elisia is too stiff. Some teasin' would do ya good, n' if ya keep hittin' me in tha head, I'll get dumb, ya know. So please stop with tha strikes."
Aria looked at the scene and laughed as the atmosphere became as bright as the rising sun.
The group arrived in front of the blacksmith workshop located in the southern region of the city, where most of the industries were concentrated. The shop recommended by the guild was named 'Hearth of Forge', and it boasted a large number of highly qualified blacksmiths.
The smell of molten metal, the sight of dancing flames, the sound of hammer striking metal, and the oppressive heat assaulted Aria's senses as she entered.
"Gunther!" A loud, deep, and gravelly voice came from the back of the shop. A tall, muscular man emerged from the hectic background and approached the customers. "What sort of stuff did ya get me today?!"
"Good morning, Sir Lucio. You must have heard about the expedition conducted by the guild yesterday. Well, these are the monsters that we hunted down."
"What the hell are you talking about? Didn't Lord Sultier put some kind of bounty on them? They should've belonged to the Lord." Lucio stared at the contents of the carriages, inspecting them carefully. "Well, I'll be damned. I've never seen these things before. Did the Earl give them to you, Gunther?"
"I'd be happy if that were the case, but it was this young lady who earned the Earl's favour." Gunther nudged Aria forward, prompting her to face Lucio.
"Ho... With that hair and those eyes... I see. Well then, let us check these materials and determine what can be made." Lucio turned around and gestured for several blacksmiths to carry the materials into the workshop. "Little missy, I need your measurements. Do you know them?"
"My name is Aria, and no, I do not have my measurements. I do not know what needs to be measured either."
"Alright. Since I need your measurements to make good custom armour for you, I'll need you to go to the back room and have some of our female employees take your measurements. After that, you'll need to decide what kind of armour and weapons you desire, and I'll make them."
"Understood."
"Hey, hey, Aria. Wanna let me take your measurements?" Noel got behind Aria and placed her hands on Aria's shoulders. "With my nimble hands-Atah!"
Elisia's wand struck her with considerable force, causing Noel to clutch her head in pain.
"We are going to the knights' station." Elisia made a frightening expression as she looked down at the crouching Noel.
Aria decided to ignore the comedic exchange and asked a female blacksmith for assistance.
After taking several measurements, Aria was escorted to a spacious room at the back of the smithy. Lucio was discussing the materials with the members of the 'Will of the Wind' party before Aria joined them.
"These monsters have different qualities, and maybe we should do some basic testing to determine their flexibility, strength, and durability." Lucio recommended various tests since he had never worked with the presented materials before.
Gunther nodded at the suggestion, but looked toward Aria for approval. Aria stared at the materials before asking Lucio whether the smithy had any other materials available in storage.
"There are only several monster bones and ores, but you'll need to pay extra if you're going to use them. I can give you some discount if you buy in bulk, though." Lucio replied while showing Aria the storage room, which housed a large amount of materials, all properly sorted.
Aria compared it to the guild master's office and felt that this place was much more organised.
She touched some of the ores and bones before realising that they were similar to those found in the game from her memories.
"Miss Aria, you seem oddly familiar with these materials. Have you had some experience handling them?" Lucio asked suspiciously as he watched Aria pick out some of the materials from storage and group them together with the Great Jaggi, Jaggias, Jaggis, and Arzuros materials.
Aria remained silent as she focused on her task. After a while, she looked at Lucio and asked him to teach her how to craft weapons and armor.
Everyone was surprised by her declaration.
"Miss, are you crazy? Making equipment for adventurers requires years of practice. There is no way you'll make something half decent, especially with materials we haven't seen before."
"Please." Aria bowed. "I am familiar with the materials, but I am not familiar with the machinery in this store. Therefore, I would like your guidance in making the best possible armour and weapons. I do not want the struggles that the expedition members had to go through to become obsolete."
Lucio looked at Aria as she maintained her bowing posture. After a long pause, he finally relented.
***
"Hey, Gunther, do you think it is the right choice to leave it to her?" Elisia questioned as she sat on a chair, drinking ale at the inn where they were currently staying. "Lucio is known for being strict and can get violent when his apprentices make mistakes."
Gunther finished his cup of ale and beckoned to a waiter to bring him another. "I doubt that Lucio would get violent with Aria. He must have noticed that she is related to the Earl and that there is something mysterious about Aria that we cannot understand. It is as if she was granted some kind of knowledge from Lord Flare."
"I suspect as much. She might be some kind of messenger or someone blessed by the God. I have heard about it somewhere when I visited the church to pray and learn some basic healing magic, though I never fully mastered it."
"Oh yeah, you have an aptitude for Light magic as well."
"Only at level one, though..."
"Don't blame yerself too much fer that." Noel came over to her seat beside Elisia and put down several bowls of stew and a spring vegetable salad on the table. "Sides, we got our resident shield ta take a hit fer us. Right, Peter?"
"Noel, please stop with the joke. Having someone who can perform healing is very beneficial to us. I wouldn't have survived several hunts if Elisia didn't know a little healing. Granted, the potion did most of the job." Peter grabbed a bowl of stew and devoured it.
Mary took a bowl of vegetable salad and ate it while savouring the crunch of the fresh produce. "Let's believe in little 'ol missy. If ya think too much, ya gonna have a hard time livin' life. I'm sure she knows what she's doing with 'em."
"Right, right, Mary. I'm lookin' forward ta the bows she's makin' fer us." Noel scooped up some stew and savoured its earthy taste before taking a sip of ale. "Ya guys are curious 'bout what she's makin' fer ya as well, rite?"
The other three looked at each other and smiled. They believed that Aria was special and that she would deliver what she had promised. They all cheered, each holding up a cup of ale, and drank into the night.
They woke up the next day with terrible hangovers and were unable to take any quests.
***
"I really can't believe it. You managed to craft several excellent pieces of equipment in just a little over a week." Lucio watched in awe as he looked at the armour and weapons laid out before him. "You amaze me with such beautiful craftsmanship. You have talent that all blacksmiths would be jealous of."
"Thank you for the compliments." Aria replied in a tired voice. She had been staying in the smithy for many sleepless nights, trying to accomplish what she had in mind. "I have finished all the necessary parts, and the rest is just cleaning up..."
"Miss Aria?" Lucio turned towards Aria and noticed that she had fallen asleep. Smiling, he carried her to the back room and laid her down on a bench, covering her with a cloth. "Sleep well. The rest will be taken care of by yours truly."
Lucio proceeded to polish some of the blades and wipe them clean before sorting them out neatly for the customers. Afterwards, he ordered an apprentice to inform the 'Will of the Wind' party members, who were staying at an inn called 'Paradise of the North', that their equipment was ready to be collected.
The apprentice returned within an hour and informed Lucio that the party was out completing a quest, but he had told the innkeeper to notify the party when they returned.
As the sun began to sink towards the horizon, the 'Will of the Wind' party members arrived at the smithy, exhausted. Apparently, some unknown creature similar to the Jaggi had appeared in the Forest of Beginners, but since they had experience hunting Jaggis, they did not face much trouble.
"Wow! These pieces of equipment look gorgeous. Aria must have given her all to make these." Gunther picked up the longsword made for him. "The spine of the blade looks like the spine of the Great Jaggi, with teeth coming out of it. It is as if I am using the monster's bones itself as a weapon, and the sheath is beautiful, with shades of purple and orange."
"Miss Aria named it the Canine Katana. She also said that she adjusted the length to be suitable for you, Gunther, so you ought to thank her later."
"Speaking of Aria, where is she?" Gunther returned the blade to its sheath.
"As expected, she is tired after many sleepless nights, so she is currently sleeping in the back room over there. I guess she will be staying here for the night again today."
"There is no need for that." Elisia spoke up after taking a look at her new magic wand. It was a modified Hunting Horn that had been made much smaller and could also act as a large mace in close-quarters combat.
"I will be carrying her back to our inn, and she can sleep with us in our suite. Besides, I need to thank her for this weapon. This will greatly enhance our combat capabilities and will also deter Noel from her usual behaviour." A scary smile formed on Elisia's face.
"Excuse me! I'mma be dead if that hits me in ta head, boss!" While inspecting her bow made from Arzuros materials, Noel complained to Elisia, but to no avail.
"Well, if we can get these things, I guess it's a fair trade for Noel's head." Mary practised nocking her bow, which was made from the same Arzuros materials as Noel's.
"Mary! I thought ya were on my side!"
"Alright, alright." Gunther clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention and stop the drama. "We will carry the equipment back to our inn, including Aria's. We will also be taking a break tomorrow to familiarise ourselves with this equipment and allow Aria to tell us about it."
"I can inform you about them right now."
Everyone turned and saw Aria walking out of a room, stretching her body as she made her way towards the group. It was clear that she was still tired from her groggy steps and dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Miss, you've done a lot for us. Please, take care of yourself. We don't mind waiting another day to learn about this equipment." Peter knelt down to meet Aria eye to eye and expressed his concern. "The guild master told us to take care of you. You're only eleven years old. Don't take everything onto your shoulders. Allow us to bear some of your responsibilities as well."
"That's right! Come with big sis Noel to our inn! We're gonna clean ya up and snuggle ya into some comfy bed." Noel exclaimed enthusiastically as she approached Aria.
"There'll be a great party to celebrate with lotsa food. Big sis's gonna spoil ya good and dress ya up good." Noel was about to pick Aria up when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Elisia's smiling demonic face approaching her with her new weapon. "Wait, wait! Elisia, I'm just jokin', please put that down."
Aria laughed and agreed with them.
***
"There are other monsters in the Forest of Beginners?" Aria asked while soaking in the warm public bath. "Did they cause any trouble?"
"Not so much trouble, but more like an annoyance. We did not see any of the so-called leaders like that Great Jaggi, so there was not much difficulty in hunting them." Elisia stretched her arms up as she soaked her tired body in the bath beside Aria. "Their colouration is different, though. They are blue with blackish stripes, their eyes and mouth - or rather, beaks - are yellow, and they have a red crest like some bird."
"Ah... that thing, huh..."
"I seriously do not understand the adaptation behind having that colouration since they stick out like a sore thumb against the greenery. At least the bear monster's colour is more muted, allowing it to blend in with the rock faces found near the streams."
"However, they're more aggressive than tha 'ol purple monsters." Mary was rinsing her short red hair with cold water before entering the warm bath. "Thanks to tha colour, we could spot 'em before they do n ambush 'em."
"Hmm... I guess I could tell you all about them, but I suspect that their leader might be nearby."
"So they do have some kind of alpha male leading them. I think we should inform the guild master about it and increase the number of scouts."
"Maybe there'll be anot'er hunt fer those blue fellas." Noel stood up from the bath and removed the cloth covering her blonde, shoulder-length hair before getting out of the tub. "Anyways, I'll be outta here to get some fresh milk to drink. Ya'll take yer time 'ere."
"Noel, for the last time, milk does not make your breasts grow."
"! Sh... shut up! I'm not like ya with those gigantic lumps! Ya're blessed while I need ta grow mine!"
"What I have has nothing to do with what I just said. All I am saying is that milk does not help with breast growth. You can see that Mary's did not grow larger from drinking it."
"Hahaha... I've given up ages ago. Sides, it's a blessin' that ours're small cos we're archers. Don't wanna have tha same thang tha happened to Elisia."
"Please do not remind me of that. It was embarrassing and traumatising." Elisia's face turned gloomy as she clutched her chest while reminiscing about the agonising pain etched into her memories.
"I'm still seventeen! I'm still growing!" Noel stormed out of the bath as the other bathers chuckled quietly.
After staying for another ten minutes, the other three walked out of the bath and joined the others in their private room.
"This room is quaint, comfy, and warm. It must have cost a lot." Aria looked around the suite, which came equipped with its own fireplace, tables, chairs, candles, and bedding made out of wool and feathers. "It is almost like nobility."
"Hahaha. I believe Miss Aria has lived in a better room than this one before." Gunther took a seat and offered Aria some tea to drink. "We are pretty famous around here for never failing a quest, and as such, many believe that we are blessed by Lord Flare. They want some of our luck and blessing to rub off on them, and that is why we got such a good deal with the owner of this inn, since we bring in many customers."
"In return, it also puts a lot of pressure on us since we need to consistently prove our mettle." Elisia poured herself a cup of tea and sat next to Aria. "That is why that last expedition to hunt the Great Jaggi was quite stressful, since we were walking into unknown threats."
"Well, as luck would have it, Aria came into our lives and performed such incredible feats despite being a newbie. You even shared the harvested materials with us and made such wonderful equipment. Truly, we are blessed to have met you, Aria." Elisia smiled and gave Aria a head pat, reminding the latter of her late mother.
"Well then, after finishing this tea, we will head to bed and wake up early tomorrow to get used to the new equipment. Miss Aria, as the party leader, I once again express our gratitude for the equipment." Gunther bowed in gratitude.
With a warm feeling in her heart, Aria smiled and accepted his sincerity before going to bed beneath a comfortable blanket of companionship.