A Scorching Gift
The tournament entry registration had somehow been sorted out.
Only one task remained.
Outfitting her with a weapon worthy of her name.
But the moment I went to open my wallet, I hesitated.
Was it right to just shove a bow into an elf's hands without thinking? Or a staff, since she spat fire everywhere?
At times like this, the only place I could trust was the community gallery — overflowing with absolute degenerates.
I pulled up the familiar interface and logged in.
Haaah... this is fucking brutal.
Ruby Scarlet. That rabid dog.
At first she went completely ballistic — "Have I lost my mind? You want me to play court jester in some noble pageant?" — thrashing around and throwing a full-blown tantrum.
So I just turned my brain off and baited her. One little "scared?" and her eyes rolled straight back in her head, yeah.
"Who's scared? I'll just burn the whole thing down!" — and she stamped the contract right then and there.
Hitting the berserk button really is the fastest way.
Anyway. Budget's solid, so throw me some builds.
She's an elf so bow by default? Or staff since she's fire-affinity?
Thing is, anything I put in her hands is gonna turn to ash or snap in three seconds flat and that makes me nervous...
Recommend something with insane durability and solid firepower amp.
……I hit post and refreshed.
My balance sat at a little over 10,000 PT. Converted to gold, roughly 100,000 gold.
A quick scan of the market district showed that even decent mass-produced weapons topped out around 30,000 gold.
Money wasn't the issue. Optimization was.
The match was right around the corner — I couldn't exactly send her in bare-handed.
Dogpile, my ass. I ground my teeth and kept scrolling.
Then a comment dropped that actually reeked of a real expert.
Kangkangrobot2se……?
Come to think of it, I'd heard this guy operated as a blacksmith.
I grinned and dropped a reply.
Sharp analysis, alright — exactly what you'd expect from a blacksmith-class user.
Infinite magazine, huh……
The image painted itself in my head.
Rabid dog Ruby Scarlet spraying Fire Arrows like a machine gun, turning the entire battlefield into a sea of flames.
Click.
I closed the hologram window.
Perfect solution.
No matter how much they called her a half-breed or a rabid dog, elf instinct was carved into Ruby's DNA.
Her dynamic vision and agility were second to none.
And a mana bow that needed neither a quiver nor string replacements?
It was a god-tier play that solved durability and supply issues in one stroke.
"Alright. Target acquired: the Mana String Bow."
Decision made. Now I just had to buy it.
The moment I went to close the window — ding — a cheerful notification chimed.
That bastard again.
Gogumador. The most clingy son of a bitch alive.
I frowned and checked the message.
"……Black Anvil?"
A name I'd buried in the back of my memory surfaced.
The black market that dealt in hidden pieces and illegally modified items back in the game.
Ding.
A system message arrived alongside map coordinates.
The location was something else. The deepest, darkest corner of the city.
The comment section's consensus, and the guy's desperate attitude……
Haaah.
Clingy as hell, sure — but I couldn't deny he'd dropped critical early-game hints before.
"Ugh, fuck it."
Nothing to lose but time.
"Fine. I'll let you scam me one more time."
Night's curtain fell once more.
Ruby and I walked a street empty of people.
"……How much farther are we going?"
"Well, I've got a present for you, Ruby."
"Ha? A present?"
Ruby narrowed her eyes and let out a snort of laughter.
"What kind of present could it be? Coming out of a brat like you's pocket, it's gotta be cheap candy at best."
"……Hmm. Is that so? Feel free to get your hopes up."
I put on a deliberately leisurely smile and picked up the pace.
Past the bustling district with its flashing neon signs, a damp back alley emerged — even the streetlamps flickered uncertainly.
Unidentifiable filthy water pooled on the ground. The stench of rot hung thick in the air.
The spot Gogumador had marked was smack in the middle of a garbage dump.
I suddenly found myself doubting whether a shop could really exist in a place like this.
"……Hey."
Ruby's footsteps stopped cold.
She wrinkled her nose in pure disgust and clutched her skirt hem.
"Are you trying to mess with me right now? You said you had a present and now you're crawling into a dumpster."
"True treasure has a habit of being hidden in the gutter, you know. Just bear with it a little longer. We're almost there."
"Ha. What a load of crap. So much as one drop of mud on my shoes and I'll torch your hair first — remember that."
Vicious barbs poured out of her, but thankfully she kept following behind me.
Curiosity must have beaten out the disgust.
We arrived at the far end of the alley.
No signboard. Just a rusted iron grate and a thick steel door, shut tight against a dilapidated building.
The coordinates point exactly here…….
I looked around.
Nothing particularly strange stood out.
That Gogumador bastard…… lying again……?
Hm?
Something suddenly flashed across my vision.
True to the name Black Anvil, the surrounding walls were caked in soot.
"Wow, real classy. Hey, kid. What are they even selling here? Gonna gift me some moldy bread?"
Ruby crossed her arms and sneered.
"……Just a moment. Could you keep quiet, please?"
"Ha?"
I stepped up to the steel door and knocked three times, just as instructed.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A heavy silence settled for a beat.
Then the small peephole set into the door scraped open with a creak.
A single bloodshot eye glared out at us from within.
— ……What.
A gravelly voice like steel scraping steel.
I swallowed dryly and forced out the embarrassing password I'd memorized earlier.
"……Beer hotter than a hammer."
Behind me, Ruby's snort of laughter exploded — Pffft!
"Pfft, kkhkhkh… what? Hotter than a hammer? Ahahaha!"
My ears burned, but I forced myself to ignore it.
Haaah……
Laugh it up. Go ahead.
The eye beyond the peephole swept over me, then the elf cackling behind me, before slamming the hatch shut.
A moment later came the sound of a massive bolt being drawn back.
Clank. Creeeak—
The heavy steel door swung open, and a blast of heat fierce enough to sting the skin came pouring out, thick with the acrid stench of iron.
"Come in. Here for merchandise, I take it."
I glanced back at Ruby, who was still wearing that smirk, and gave a little shrug.
"See? I'm going to get you something seriously scorching, so look forward to it."
"Hmph. It better actually be scorching."