The sound of the regular, methodic beating of hot steel was broken by the tingling of a doorbell. The forger quenched the steel in sizzling oil and went to find out who was paying him a visit. He didn't often have visitors, as his wares were elite, mainly dealing with crystals of the predator tier and a few either side of it.
Walking through to the front of the shop, he spotted a familiar face, or more accurately, a familiar veil. While he was no tailor, but he could appreciate the craftsmanship that had gone into producing such an unsettling thing.
"Knight," he said. "Do you have something for me?"
"Yes," she said, placing three predator tier cores on the counter. They had a good clarity and a slightly yellow essence. "For the faction."
"You're joking?" he said.
Les Chevaliers had a simple rule when it came to spirit cores: you keep what you kill. Or that's how it was often worded anyway. In truth, you could pick the best of what you killed, which usually meant the highest tier core. In the case of the Knight of the Haunting Veil, she had killed four such beasts and so one was hers.
"I would like you to craft this into a dagger," she said, pulling out a fourth core. "How much? And how long will it take?"
"To the knight who brings me three cores, I'll get straight on it, no charge. I just have one other thing I must finish first."
Intrigued, she asked: "A tourney prize?"
"Yes, a monster tier blade. And I imagine one of yours will go to a runner up."
"What affinity?" she asked, still curious about the main prize.
Technically, such information was not supposed to be shared, as the unveiling of the prizes was considered to be part of the event. Also, as she would likely qualify for a place with her most recent ordeal, such information was especially precious.
However, the three cores on his counter had put him in an especially good mood and the strength of the knight in front of him could not be doubted. He looked to each side, ensuring no one was around them, then stepped forward, whispering in her ear: "It's a spirit regeneration enhancement."
Her eyes widened. That affinity was known to be incredibly rare. In some ways, it might have been considered strange, being passive only, with no active effect. However, the higher the level, the faster using such a weapon would recharge their essence, essentially allowing them to fight for a much longer period of time. It was perfect for her war-of-attrition style of fighting. Though in truth, she was not a sword user, she could always swap to it as a secondary weapon when her essence had diminished, giving her a sort of second wind. Besides, if she didn't get along with it, although the factions did not allow you to sell weapons above the predator class, they could always be traded like for like.
"I know that look," said the forger with a smile. "You want it, don't you?"
She didn't respond. The question was, could she win in a tournament of elites? They were designed to filter out the strongest predator tier hunters, giving them their first piece of weaponry or armour of the next rank. It was assumed that anyone winning such a thing would join the national hunters. Les Chevaliers, like the Salamanders, had multiple national squads, so there would still be some options for her. It wasn't that she had never considered such a thing, but she always found her position in Section 42 with the Starry Knight to be a good fit. She knew things would not be the same without him.
"Forget about the dagger," she said, then picked up the fifth core she had placed down and put it back in her pocket. She left without saying another word and the forger simply smiled, then went back to his work.