Entering the Blacksmith Association, a wave of warmth instantly hit her face. It wasn't hot or unpleasant, but controlled by formations to be enveloping and warming. The interior wasn't as grand as the Adventurer's Guild, and you could tell that there were way fewer people here.
After all, although weapons and armor were important and very asked for, you wouldn't need a new one every day.
"Welcome, how might I be of service to you?" the voice of a man in steward's clothes reached her as the man approached with a friendly smile.
This was another difference. Instead of a reception table, there were a few stewards who would personally approach customers to talk.
"I am here to have some Demi-Divinity finger claws custom-made. I need at least a Tier 7 blacksmith for the task. Dan said he has contacted someone named "Klein"."
Hearing this, the steward's eyes shot open in surprise. Considering Celys displayed strength at the Foundation Establishment stage, not to mention her request, the names she was spouting so casually overwhelmed the steward.
"Uhm... sure. Let me ask in the back. If Sir Deri is not there you could-", before the steward could finish, though, a voice interrupted him from behind.
"I can take the task, Norbert."
Looking down behind Norbert, the steward, Cely caught sight of a 1-meter-high dwarf with a 50cm long beard. Who else, but Klein?
"S-sure thing, Sir Deri!" Norbert stuttered as he made way for the small dwarf. Klein was the head of the Blacksmith Association, and Norbert could not comprehend how this girl in front of him attracted him. He knew better than to ask, though, and backed off from the pair that had started making their way to the back to discuss terms.
Having arrived in Klein's private forge, the dwarf looked at Cely with interest.
"Dan has informed me of your arrival. Told me it would be worth my time to take your request, and judging by your strength and what you demand, I can't say I'm not intrigued. Let's discuss payment upfront, though. Can't be giving my services for free after all."
Nodding, Cely took out the rapier again; this time, though, she didn't drop it, and instead brought it out of her soul space right on the small table in front of her.
Looking at the sword, Klein's eyes lit up as he quickly jumped to unsheathe the rapier. Holding the sword longer than himself, Klein admired the craftsmanship, inspecting every rune and groove of the blade and handle.
"Marvelous! This is peak elven craftsmanship! These runes here create a special circuit to-", Klein began to lose himself in exploring the blade. Cely didn't interrupt; she was learning as well. Why stop someone when you are getting a free lesson in Blacksmithing?
It took half an hour until the dwarf finally calmed down enough to realize what he had been doing. "Uhum... uh... sorry for that. I... tend to get lost when seeing such works of art."
"No problem. Your enthusiasm also gave me a moment to evaluate you as a craftsman. You are definitely the best I could get to make my weapons around here. I would assume this sword is sufficient as payment?"
Cely smiled as she looked at the embarrassed dwarf.
"Enough? This is more than enough! If you ever need my hands again for another craft, do come back. Though, for those, I will be asking for the required materials as payment. Now then, what are your requirements for the claws? Anything specific?"
"I need them to be light enough to be easily worn all day long by someone of my current strength. As for abilities, I need self-repairing, protection, temporary sharpness enhancements-", Cely began to list abilities. Klein, though, didn't seem to mind, simply nodding his head with a smile.
"-finally, I want remote control capabilities, with each claw being able to act on its own, independent of the others."
"Hmm... yes, that's all doable. I must say, Mrs. Cely, you truly know your stuff. Most of what you listed is standard practice, but so many small capabilities even a Master Blacksmith might not know show that you must also be a blacksmith of caliber. I won't pry. I don't have anything I might want to add to it, so I'll get to making them now. Go out, and I will look for you by the end of the hour with everything made."
Hearing this, it was Cely's turn to be surprised. Considering the complexity of the weapons she asked for, it would take any normal Tier 7 Blacksmith at least 6 hours.
"I'll wait in the lobby then." With that, Cely left the forging room and returned to the lobby.
It only took 40 minutes before Klein appeared in the lobby again, holding an ornate box.
"Here it is. I have taken a bit of liberty in the design, since you made no particular requests in that area. If you ever need my skills again, notify me, and I will make space in my schedule."
And with that, Klein handed over the box to Cely before heading back to his forge.
---
Now, while Cely is heading out of the city with the box, lemme explain what was meant by "finger claws" all along.
Now, many of you might be imagining something like Wolverine claws, from the knuckles, yes?
Wrong.
Those, if anyone in this novel will ever have them, will be called "knuckle blades", because it's descriptive, alright?
Now, Cely's claws are basically metal fingers that can be draped over each finger individually to act like claws. Due to Klein's weapon forging, these claws can move independently from the rest of Cely's body, controlled by her energy.
What is practical about them is that they never need to be unequipped, while still being usable as a weapon at any time.
Back to the story.
---
After a good few hours of pure walking to the edge of the city, Cely finally got outside, starting to head towards Nimmer Forest. Her new addition, the Demi-Devinity finger claws already equipped.
The claws were segmented into three sections to allow full finger mobility. Their color was a silvery white, shining with a dangerous glint. Countless lines intersected across them, forming immensely complicated networks of runes. These grooves had a light green sheen flowing across them from time to time, seeming futuristic in a sense.
Their weight was completely fine for Cely, but for any normal person, it would not be doable. Each of the claws weighs in at roughly 10kg.
Looking at these claws, Cely knew she made the right choice trading away that rapier. Although that sword was far stronger than these claws, Cely was not adept at using it. Not to mention, it was way too heavy for her level and was a known weapon of a known person. To avoid trouble, it was just better to trade it for a more suitable weapon.
'The design is nice, fitting the clothing and aesthetics of this body very well.' Cely thought as she started manipulating the claws away from her body to get used to their feel. Within a couple of minutes, the movements of the claws flying through the air seemed to become more and more erratic.
Each one seemed to move separately in differing patterns. To a well-trained eye, though, this would appear terrifying. Each claw moved with precision across predetermined paths, crisscrossing with the other claws in an inescapable net.
If there were a person in the center of this spectacle, they would become a meat pile in seconds. This, though, wasn't the full power of these weapons. Cely wasn't yet able to use any advanced abilities of the claws, but there were still a lot of simple runes she could activate with her current energy.
Temporary speed increases, cloaking, sharpness increases, weight manipulation, and air resistance reduction were easily usable even for her, though she could not run them to anywhere near their maximum capacity.
Still, with just this much, her combat strength had increased from Core Formation to the later stages of the Soul Tier. She would still struggle against anyone at the peak of the Soul Tier, but the fight would be heavily stacked in her favour.
Considering this, the missions she took should be a cakewalk.
Stopping the dance of claws in front of her and returning them to her fingers, Cely wandered into Nimmer Forest towards her targets. The missions included rough directions for the frogs and an exact location for the spider nest.
From her current trajectory, she was just walking in a nearly straight line towards the nest, which incidentally passes through the area the frogs were spotted in. The Poison Leaper Frogs had combat power ranging from early Foundation Tier to early Core Tier, while the spiders were merely at the early Foundation Tier, but won out in terms of sheer numbers, perfect as a meal.
A few minutes after she had started walking through the forest, the cracking of branches attracted her attention, as a large figure stalked around a tree to her left. It was an Alpha Shadow Unicorn. It had likely been waiting in the surrounding area for her, since she had killed parts of its pack.
With a large howl from the nearly 5-meter-tall wolf at the early Core Tier, dozens of shadows sprang into the valley, as the rest of the pack revealed itself. 25 Tier 2, 7 Tier 3, and the leader at Tier 4.
Cely's eyes lit up under the mask as she eyed her prey that was attempting to subvert the roles. She couldn't fully control her intent to kill, which seeped out visibly from the seams of her clothes.
"What cute doggies you are to come and play with me. It's almost sad that you won't live through this." Cely's sultry voice echoed through the valley in a threatening and mocking manner. The Tier 2 wolves were scared shitless by the sheer aura coming off Cely and would already be looking for ways to retreat if not for their leader.
The latter, too, started to regret engaging this enemy. Though there wasn't really any retreat for it at this point. It could tell. It could tell that Cely had already spread throughout this whole area. And should they attempt to retreat, they would only make themselves vulnerable to her.
The alpha wolf had already reached the Core Tier after all. It wasn't some dumb animal, instead boasting a strong human-level intellect. So, it howled, ordering its pack to attack.
Seeing this, Cely lost herself in excitement.
"You will make a great appetizer!"