Chapter 262: A Sword of Asfolt

Noah lay on the ground, breathing heavily and struggling to focus his gaze on the sky.

​At that moment, stepping right up to him, Iron smoothly took a horizontal position and lay down in midair, putting both hands behind his head and rocking slightly as he said:

"Well, did you survive?"

​Noah struggled to focus his blurry gaze on Iron and forced out:

"And why did you help me?"

​Iron just chuckled:

​"Are you completely stupid?"

​Noah opened his mouth, about to snap back, but realizing that Iron was right, immediately pressed his lips together, looking away.

​Iron sat up in the air from his lying position and looked at Noah seriously.

​"In about five days we need to be in the Katogida Valley," Iron said, taking a short pause. And then added: "I need to get a certain crystal there. We literally need to hold out for 15 minutes and that's it. Or we can do it, of course, in a minute, if there are no problems."

​Noticing that Noah was about to say something and clearly wanted to ask about monsters, Iron immediately interrupted him:

​"Don't worry, there will be very strong enemies there. At the very least there will be strange guards. They are so strong that they managed to defeat me. And I am sure they will cause you trouble."

​Hearing this, Noah, still unable to properly get up, barely noticeably smirked and forced out:

​"Yeah, right..."

​Iron noticed that Noah couldn't stand up properly yet, and finally lowered his feet to the ground. Wasting no time, he instantly collapsed the space.

​In the very next second, Iron materialized right high in the sky, above the dome of the Avers kingdom. Extending his hand forward, he launched an antiphase interference. The barrier immediately trembled and instantly fell apart.

​While falling, Iron immediately asked in his mind:

​Lumon, is the fifth room empty?

​Correct, Lumon responded instantly.

​Iron vanished. In that same split second, he grabbed Noah's coordinates and transferred him straight into the room, laying him on the bed. Iron himself materialized for a moment nearby, but immediately vanished again, ending up already outside the room's door.

​Straightening his clothes, Iron walked unhurriedly down the corridor to the front desk and calmly said:

​"Hey."

​The girl standing behind the desk flinched in surprise. Seeing Iron, she immediately started fussing, not knowing what to do.

​At the same time, in the technical sector beneath the Avers kingdom, the barrier generator trembled and a deafening beep echoed through the underground complex.

​Engineers, technologists, and other specialists responsible for the systems' operation ran around in a panic between the terminals and drives, nearly tripping over one another and trying to understand what was happening.

​"Professor Goldberg, what happened?!" shouted one of the specialists, chaotically reading the metrics crawling across the screen and trying to intercept the controls.

​Professor Goldberg gritted his teeth and barked across the entire hall:

​"I don't know! Check all possible consequences, and also double-check absolutely all interferences with the generator itself!"

​Dozens of specialists immediately rushed to execute the order. They urgently began running repeat diagnostics, requesting node reports, and checking the integrity of the physical circuits.

​Literally a few seconds passed, filled with fuss and the beep of the alarm.

"Everything checks out!" shouted one of the engineers.

"The data is clean!" a second person from the opposite end of the platform immediately confirmed. "No one interfered with the generator directly!"

​Professor Goldberg froze in complete confusion, looking at the instruments.

​And exactly at that moment, the piercing beep abruptly stopped.

​The generator hummed loudly and the barrier over the kingdom was restored.

​"The dome is working perfectly again!" one of the technical service representatives reported loudly, taken aback.

​Goldberg immediately ran to his console and dug his eyes into the fresh graphs:

​"Did you record what caused it?!"

​"No... No exact factors were provided, and so far not even a theory has been identified as to why the barrier went down."

​"Damn!" exhaled the chief engineer. "Everyone quickly find out what caused this! And report to His Majesty!"

​At this time, in the hotel, the girl fussed and spoke with respect:

​"Hello, M-Mister Iron. You haven't been here in a long time. Came for a room again?"

​"Yes, can I have the room with number 5?" Iron asked calmly.

​The girl immediately wanted to take the key, but stopped abruptly, looking at him with surprise:

​"With number 5? Or maybe we can provide you with number 7? After all, this room is bigger, better..."

​Iron immediately shook his head:

​"No, no, I need exactly the fifth one."

​Without further questions, the girl took the key from the back wall and immediately handed it over:

​"Alright, hold it."

​"Thanks," Iron said, took the key, and walked back towards the fifth room.

​The girl behind the desk exhaled heavily.

​Iron walked to the very dead end of the corridor, thrust the key into the lock, opened the door, went inside, and closed it behind him. Walking to Noah, he tossed the keys on the table on the go and sat on the chair, crossing his legs.

​Iron just looked at Noah, seeing how he was starting to slowly recover. In parallel, he scanned his condition and said aloud:

​"I take it you improved your technique, right?"

​Noah, still breathing intermittently, forced out:

​"Yes."

​"Tell me, how do you do it?" Iron inquired.

​"Well... I just pump all my blood, let's say into my right arm, and make a swing," Noah explained, still breathing heavily.

​Iron nodded.

​"Listen, ah..." he started, but immediately remembered Elyria's words about Noah. Instantly changing the subject, Iron asked out of place:

​"...Ah the weather is good today, right?"

​"Well... probably," Noah answered.

​After this, Iron got up from the chair and added:

"Get well. As I already told you, in about five days we need to be there."

​Saying this, Iron immediately vanished.

​And materialized in a quiet and dark alley. With a calm step, he walked out of it onto a busy street.

​Without thinking long, the engineer decided to walk through the weapon shops.

​Soon the first of them caught his eye—a small establishment with a sign in the shape of crossed blades. Iron pushed the wooden door. Behind a workbench sat a man in a leather apron. Seeing the entrant, he nodded amiably:

​"Good day. Looking for something specific?"

​"Just looking around," Iron answered and walked along the long wooden stands on which various swords lay.

​He moved unhurriedly along the stands, looking closely at the shape of the blades and the quality of the forging. Taking one of the one-handed swords into his hand, Iron weighed it on his palm, swayed his wrist a little, checking the balance, and lightly ran his finger along the fuller. Then he returned it to its place, looked at a couple more options, but didn't notice anything good. Saying goodbye to the owner, he went outside.

​The second shop turned out to be significantly larger and richer. Here, entire collections of decorated weapons were hung on the walls, and along the display cases stood polished stands with swords made of expensive alloys. In the room, artisans quietly conversed with buyers.

​Iron walked a bit deeper into the hall and began to carefully study the swords. He walked from one rack to another, examining swords, long rapiers, and falchions. Some blades looked quite beautiful, but, looking closely at the crystalline structure of the metal and taking a couple of them to try, Iron quickly realized that these were more likely ceremonial weapons for the nobility. Twirling another blade with a gilded guard in his hands and making sure that it was no better than the previous ones, Iron put it back and left the store.

​Going out into the fresh air and realizing that there was no ready-made sword of the needed quality, Iron said mentally:

​Lumon, give me a map.

​In that same second, a transparent projection of the kingdom's territory unfolded on Iron's retinas. On it, Lumon immediately highlighted the places where merchants of rare materials and special ore were located.

​Iron's gaze ran across the map. Among a dozen marked points, Lumon immediately highlighted one, blinking in a dark blue color.

​The highest concentration of high-density metals and rare magical ores is recorded in this shop, Lumon's calm voice sounded in his head.

​"Understood," Iron responded quietly, collapsing the projection.

​Soon he walked up to an inconspicuous wooden house. Pushing the door, Iron went inside. Right in front of him stood a counter, behind which several people were actively discussing something. In order not to disturb them, Iron took a little to the left and began to calmly examine the ore displayed on the stands.

One of the people behind the counter noticed the new visitor, separated from the rest, and walked up to Iron:

​"Would you like to purchase something?"

​Iron nodded silently. The seller continued:

​"We could advise you on which ore is better to use—for example, for a sword, for armor, or for something else."

​"For a sword," Iron answered shortly.

​"Alright," the seller responded and immediately raised his hand up, pointing his finger at the very top shelf. "These three ores are very well suited for making a sword."

​"I need a light one, and at the same time very sharp," Iron specified.

​"Then this ore will suit you," the seller pointed to the one that lay exactly in the center of the three.

​He walked to the wall, pulled over the step ladder standing nearby, climbed it, and took the needed piece. Coming back down, he put it right in front of Iron on the counter.

​The ore was purple and white, mostly purple, with thin white inclusions visible only in the very center. It had many sharp edges.

​"This ore is called Asfolt," the seller began to explain. "It is mined in the Eternal Mountains, at the very highest point. And even there, finding it is extremely rare."

​Iron meanwhile activated his scan. An instantaneous flow of data flashed across his retinas: an incredibly high density of the crystal lattice along the edges, minimal weight, and exceptional cutting ability.

​The seller easily lifted the ore with one hand, demonstrating its weightlessness:

​"It is very light. But at the same time incredibly sharp. Do you see these many edges? They can cut even metal."

​"Is it possible to demonstrate this?" Iron asked.

​"Yes, of course," the seller nodded.

​He stepped out from behind the counter and gestured for Iron to follow him through the door on the side. Iron entered after him. Inside the room stood a cabinet. The seller opened it, took out metal armor, carried it out, and placed it next to Iron.

​Taking the Asfolt, the seller made one swing, then a second—the sharp edge of the ore went through the armor plate with a light crunch, leaving a deep cut.

​"If a sword is made out of this, then I am sure it would pierce right through the armor itself," the seller said, examining the damaged armor.

​"Yes, I know," Iron nodded. Then his gaze dropped to the seller's hands: "And these gloves, won't they be able to cut them?"

​The seller looked at his palms in the thick gloves with which he held the ore:

"Yes, these are special gloves that do not let a single cut through. They were specially enchanted by the kingdom's high mages."

"So, a sword won't be able to pierce them, right?" Iron inquired.

"Oh, no, what are you saying! A sword would most likely pierce them easily. Still, I am just holding the ore like this right now and not striking my palm. If I did that, the gloves simply wouldn't hold up. But like this, I can calmly hold them in my hand without any harm to myself..."

​"Okay," Iron interrupted. "Is there this same ore but smaller? I only need enough of it for an average-sized sword." Iron showed the approximate dimensions of the future blade with his hands.

​"Yes, of course, we specifically have ores prepared exactly for this," the seller answered.

​They walked out of the room. The seller closed the door, and Iron returned to the counter.

​"Wait here," the seller asked.

​"Okay," Iron answered.

​The seller walked through the back door into the warehouse. There, among many shelves and materials, he found a piece of Asfolt ideally suited for the dimensions of an average blade. Taking it, he returned to Iron and laid the piece out on the counter:

"This one here should be more than enough for a sword."

​"How much does it cost?" Iron asked.

​"If the previous ore cost one hundred and fifty gold, then this one will cost eighty."

​Iron lowered his hand below the level of the counter. In his open palm, a small pouch instantly materialized. Pulling his hand back, Iron put it in front of the seller:

​"I'll take it."

​The seller put the piece of ore down on his side of the counter, so it wouldn't lie in plain sight. Then he took the bag and began to untie the string.

​"There are exactly one hundred coins there," Iron said.

​"Yes, I understand, but I still need to recount," the seller responded.

​Iron quietly sighed and leaned his hands on the counter:

​"Alright."

​The seller counted out the coins. About thirty seconds later he nodded:

​"Everything is correct, there are exactly one hundred coins here. Here are your twenty gold."

​Iron took the change. As soon as his hand went under the counter again, the coins immediately disappeared.

​The seller took out the selected piece of Asfolt from under the counter and put it in front of him:

​"This is yours."

​After which he bent down even lower, slid open a small cabinet door and pulled out a pair of gloves, similar to his own, but looking a little simpler:

"Here are your gloves. They are, of course, not as strongly enchanted, but you can still safely hold..."

Iron, meanwhile, was tossing the ore on his palm, walking to the exit.

​The seller watched him in confusion, finishing the sentence:

"...the ore."

​Iron slightly turned his head as he walked, without slowing his step:

​"I don't need them."

​He pushed the door and walked out onto the street. Making sure that no one was looking at him, Iron immediately moved the ore to the Main Building.

"Well, and now the forge," Iron said quietly.