Chapter 172 (2/2)

The smiling man laughed and walked over. “Ah, you are the wonderful Engraver who has so helped my Style. I am Artisan Dwei, of the Crashing Wave Style. Claptrap was just assuring me that you would arrive with the new batch of armor any day now.”

Randidly’s eyes twitched almost imperceptibly. Was there a hint of a threat there…? Randidly wasn’t sure of what the man’s actual strength was, but he was an Artisan, which made him wary. Again, all the people inside of the prison at the Artisan level had been stronger than Randidly, but they had been there, training through constant combat for dozens of years as they served out their various sentences.

Still, with access to dungeons, who knew how much this man had trained-

Then Randidly shook his head, banishing the thoughts, and shook Artisan Dwei’s hand. It was better to not make more trouble than he had to deal with, especially now.

“Yes, here.” Randidly unceremoniously dumped the 300 or so Engraved armors on the ground, careful to keep his few Shadow rune attempts to himself. Still, there were quite of bit of each kind, with most being over 60% efficacy. His eyes glittering, Artisan Dwei stepped forward and began to check them all.

Claptrap sprinted over with a ledger, his eyes glittering, drool coming out of his mouth, and Randidly hesitated for a second, but grabbed his arm. Then, with a flourish, Randidly produced his 80% efficacy bracer and offered it to Claptrap. Perhaps this level of efficacy would cause problems for them, the same way the Shadow Rune would, but Randidly figured that while the efficacy problem might be more of an issue, it didn’t have much more room to grow. As long as the rune was still relatively basic, the Engraving Guilds would likely respond, but take their time doing so.

A rune on the level of the Shadow Rune might draw undue attention much faster.

“Oh. Oh oh oh.” Claptrap said, his face flushing red. His hands trembled reverently as he looked down at the thing. It might seem like a small boost; after all, the 60% bracers usually gave somewhere between 10 and 14 extra stats, while this gave 20, plus the extra mana. But the two highest stats were very relevant to the combat focused nation that they were a part of.

In addition, to get an extra 10 stats from only a single piece of armor… It was an accomplishment that people were willing to pay money for. Money on the order of a few hundred Silver.

Randidly leaned back, slightly reassured by the fervor and enthusiasm with which Claptrap entered into negotiations with Artisan Dwei for the bracer. They quickly outstripped their previous cost structure, and began talking in a very direct way about values and what markets Claptrap would have for have for such a powerful piece of Engraving apart from the Crashing Wave Style.

Randidly didn’t really care very much for the money, aside from providing for his potion making, which he expected to be very generously overshooting right now, so he said very little, aside from informing the two others that he could now make the Gazelle, Oxen, Dolphin, and Preying Mantis Runes.

Artisan Dwei finally battered down Claptrap, and they settled on a price, and they worked out what the Crashing Wave Style would want for their next order. Then Artisan Dwei turned to Randidly.

“It is a strange thing… but over 80% efficacy, there is the chance that some pieces will have… an extra ability. We will pay… very heavily for those pieces. If you continue to improve, I’m sure you will find that ability.”

Then Artisan Dwei stored the equipment, handed over his money, and prepared to go. During that time, Randidly turned to Claptrap.

“Were you able to learn anything about the Spear Phantom Style?”

Claptrap flushed, then shook his head. “I asked around to a few people, but… I’m honestly not very popular around here, so-”

“I know that story.” Artisan Dwei said, his typical smile fading away. He looked seriously at Randidly. “Would you like to hear about the founder of your Style? It is not a pretty story.”

Randidly shrugged. “Life is not a pretty place.”

Artisan Dwei chuckled, and then walked over to a small table in the corner. After Claptrap had brought them all a glass of wine, the Artisan began to speak.