Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ] Chapter 174 172 – Stealing Enchantments

Rusty strode forward, his armored fra clanking softly as he made his way down the cobbled path toward the rchant district. Gleam perched comfortably on his shoulder with her legs tucked beneath her shiny carapace, her antennae twitching with curiosity. The sun had reached its zenith and swept away all the shadows. The streets buzzed with activity while rchants shouted to attract new custors.

Despite the noise, Rusty kept his eyes fixed on the shop from which he had once been thrown out. He pushed the door open with pride and marched inside, his chest puffed out, his steps broad and exaggerated. It was a theatrical walk that mimicked the strut of wealthy rchants he had observed. Instantly, all eyes turned to him. Just as before, he headed straight for the door that led to the back of the store and knocked.

The door slit opened once again, and the sa pair of eyes peered out, narrowing slightly as they recognized him.

"You again?"

The guard grumbled, clearly not expecting to see Rusty back so soon.

"Didn't I tell you…"

Rusty held up his new adventurer card before the man could finish. The D-rank symbol glead faintly in the light.

"...Hmph?"

The guard paused and leaned forward, scrutinizing the card with a trained eye before muttering.

"How did you… never mind, wait here."

With a click, the slit closed again. A few seconds passed. Then ca the sound of locks turning and a heavier thud as the reinforced door was unbarred. It creaked open, revealing the other part of the store within. The guard, now slightly more respectful, stepped aside and gestured for Rusty to enter.

"You can co in, but rember, if you touch and break any of the items, you have to buy them."

Rusty glanced inside and nodded.

"Sure."

Finally, he stepped inside. Before, he had been turned away, but now, with the help of a small card that signified a touch of prestige, the path lay open to him. He still didn't fully understand why humanoid creatures divided themselves so rigidly, but for now, he had to respect their pecking order. This likely wouldn't be the first or last ti he would need to collect credentials to reach more exclusive places. If he intended to use humans to accelerate his progress, he would need to play along with their rules.

"(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)"

To his surprise, the guard said nothing about his companion relieving herself on his shoulder, which imdiately delighted Gleam. She was also quite curious about the items gathered in the shop. The reason was most likely the store motto: if his friend broke anything, he would have to pay for it. It was possible the store owner even counted on this, since selling sothing a tad beast happened to knock over would be easy enough.

There weren't only enchanted weapons for fighters but also various other objects, including books filled with magical knowledge and skill books. Unfortunately, they were both monsters, and monsters couldn't gain skills from books, no matter how tempting the pages seed.

"Make sure to rember all the prices, Aburdon."

"Of course."

Aburdon replied while Rusty began examining each item carefully. Rusty still relied on his guide to rember every price, enchantnt level, and material quality, and to match each detail with a value. Once they returned ho, he planned to write everything down in a notebook before deciding what to do with his own smithy. Although the idea hadn't seed worthwhile at first, he realized it would be a waste not to use his item-copying ability to earn a few extra coins. He only needed to make one weapon in order to copy it.

With such a quick way to bypass the crafting process, he could spend most of his ti grinding in the dungeon and only dedicate a few hours a day to selling items. He also wanted to improve his smithing skills, and taking on tasks from real custors would give him more practical experience than creating items within the soul forge. He was still inexperienced and unsure of what people actually wanted, sothing he would only discover once his shop opened.

"Now let's see what we have here, which enchantnts have the most mana on them?"

The first ti he visited this store, he had only managed to catch a glimpse of what was inside. Most of the items were kept behind glass cases, each accompanied by a detailed description explaining what it was and which enchantnts were etched into it. Rusty also had his mana sense skill, and with it, identifying the items carrying the highest mana concentration was relatively easy.

The items with the strongest mana signatures usually held the most powerful enchantnts. He soon began browsing the displays. The first weapon he ca across was a case filled with swords. They were all identical in shape and carried the sa enchantnt.

"Sharpness Enchantnt?"

"More like the lesser sharpness enchantnt. Who even buys these failed products?" Aburdon remarked as Rusty examined the five swords lying side by side. Rusty wasn't sure what his guide was complaining about, but then Alexander spoke up as well.

"The person who made these wasn't very skilled. So of the etchings are uneven. And they're charging an entire gold coin for one of these?"

The price did seem steep. From what Rusty understood, this enchantnt simply sharpened the blade and enhanced its cutting efficiency. Mana would fill certain gaps in the steel and smooth them out during use, but the effect wouldn't last long and wouldn't strengthen the blade itself. Still, so monsters were highly resistant to physical attacks, and even a low-level sharpness enchantnt like this could an the difference between life and death.

"If the craftsman wasn't very skilled, could I make it too?"

Rusty studied the patterns on the sword using his mana sense. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to clearly see the magic circles that had been etched into the blade, but he could.

"If you can rember what the enchantnt looks like, then in theory you should be able to copy it. It won't be easy, though. First, you'd need to replicate it exactly. Do you think you can manage that?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Alexander asked while Rusty leaned in closer to the glass case containing the swords. All of them had the sa enchantnt, but the placent of the patterns wasn't consistent. In theory, that ant he was seeing the full enchantnt spread across the different blades. Still, retaining all that information and replicating it later in his own smithy would be difficult.

"Hmm… I don't think I can, but could you two do it and then explain it to later?"

He directed the question to both of his guides. He knew Aburdon had a photographic mory, and Alexander had once been a master craftsman. If the two of them worked with him, they could help him copy not only this sharpness enchantnt but also all the others that were being sold in the store.

"I can, but I'm not sure if our little hero is up to the challenge."

Aburdon mocked Alexander slightly, but Alexander wasn't impressed by the shallow attempt to provoke him. He responded in a similar tone.

"If our little demon lord can draw a schematic of the magic circles involved, I should be able to convert it into a proper enchantnt diagram."

"That's great. Can you see it like this, or should I lean closer?"

"..."

"Are you interested in one of the swords, good sir?"

As Rusty leaned closer to the glass case, a man approached him. He wasn't one of the guards; instead, he looked like a rchant or perhaps an appraiser. He wore a tailored vest with gold trim and large square-shaped glasses. His smile was polite, but Rusty sensed it wasn't genuine.

"I was just admiring the enchantnts. Do you have more of these, and could I see them up close?"

This seed like a good opportunity. Glancing at the weapons through the case was impractical; it was much easier to assess them when holding the item directly. The rchant gave Rusty a curious look. It was clear he wasn't used to adventurers taking such a deep interest in the enchantnts themselves, since most cared only about power or price. Still, he was a businessman first, and a potential sale was a potential sale.

"Of course, sir."

The rchant said smoothly.

"These are from our entry-tier enchanted line, but if you're looking for sothing more refined, I can show you the masterwork selection nearby."

"Masterwork? Of course, let see them!"

The man's eyes glistened when he heard Rusty raise his voice in apparent enthusiasm. He quickly led him to another display case, which he opened with a key. From within, he took out a one-handed mace and began to speak.

"This is called an Impact Mace. It's one of our best products."

Rusty examined the weapon and imdiately noticed that the mana around it was slightly denser, but not by much. Just as he expected, his guides spoke up.

"Don't be fooled, Rusty. This enchantnt isn't much better than the other one. This is no masterwork. It's just a lesser impact enchantnt. "

It was obvious that the rchant was exaggerating the quality of the item. But Rusty wasn't here to make a purchase. He was only testing the stock of his competitors. He didn't even have enough money to buy a small enchanted dagger.

"Can I hold it?"

"Of course, dear custor. Please try it out, but do be careful."

Rusty took the mace in his hand, weighing it slowly. The balance was decent, but it wasn't much better than what he could craft himself. Rather than swinging it around, he inspected it from every angle. Then, to the surprise of the rchant, he simply handed it back.

"Did you get it?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"Good!"

Rusty replied to Aburdon and then looked at the rchant, a glint appearing in his visor.

"Could I see so more of these 'masterworks'?"

He asked calmly, and although the man looked slightly confused, he didn't seem discouraged. With a polite nod, he returned the mace to the display case and moved on to the next item, which was a larger sword with a different enchantnt.

"This great sword has a lightning enchantnt. It's one of our best-selling weapons and works very well against the monsters inside the dungeon!"

"Oh!"

Rusty pretended to be impressed and examined the sword. Aquatic monsters were usually weak to lightning elental damage. Although this enchantnt countered his own abilities, he had already taken precautions to protect his core from electrical attacks. He probably wouldn't need or use the sword himself, but that didn't stop him from planning to replicate the enchantnt and sell it back at his own smithy. To his knowledge, this was a much simpler version of the enchantnt he had placed on his halberd and possibly simple enough for him to replicate.

"This is good."

"I knew you had a sharp eye, sir. Would you like to-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Rusty shoved the sword back into his hands and interrupted.

"Let see the next one."

The man's eyebrows twitched. It was clear that he was starting to grow irritated, but he refused to let it show. He straightened up quickly, regained his composure, and changed his approach. He pointed toward a shield hanging on the wall.

"This shield cos equipped with a mana barrier enchantnt..."

"This is great, I could use a mana barrier enchantnt!"

"You could? Then?"

"Yes! Let see the next one!"

"..."

This is how the next hour went by for Rusty. The rchant's patience wore thinner with each passing minute. By the ti Rusty finished inspecting a twelfth item without showing the faintest sign of purchasing anything, the man's smile had morphed into a nacing frown. Gleam, on the other hand, was utterly delighted. She wiggled her antennae every ti a new item was revealed, her eyes glowing with innocent curiosity.

"That's enough!"

"Huh? But the next ite-"

"No more items. If you're not going to buy anything, then get out!"

Finally, the man lost it. Rusty tilted his helt, pretending to be confused. He had managed to examine a good amount of enchantnts, but there were still so left to be seen.

"But I thought you said I could see them all."

"That was before I realized you were wasting my ti."

The rchant snapped, his voice strained.

"This is a business, not a museum for broke adventurers. Do you even have enough money to buy a single item?"

The man glanced at the satchel strapped to Rusty's side. It was clear this was as far as Rusty could go. There wasn't enough money in the bag to convince the rchant otherwise.

"I... I don't need to take this from you!"

Rusty was no longer a newborn. Instead of apologizing for his deception, he chose to do what the humanoids often did. He lied and doubled down. He acted offended and stord out of the store. Rusty shoved the door open with more force than necessary, drawing the attention of a few custors loitering near the entrance. Gleam let out a chirping whine in protest as she was jostled on his shoulder, but Rusty didn't slow down. His armored feet clanked as he stomped back into the bustling streets.

"Haha, not bad, Rusty. I see you're starting to learn."

Aburdon was elated to see Rusty behaving this way. The man trying to sell him items wore a surprised expression but ultimately said nothing about his behavior.

"That went better than expected... I should go to all the other stores now!"

"Are you sure, Rusty? I think we have enough information for now."

Alexander comnted, but Rusty didn't listen. He marched off to another store and used the sa tactic wherever he found enchanted items. At first, it worked again. However, the longer he kept it up, the angrier the rchants beca. Eventually, he was kicked out of one shop after another until there were no more stores left for him.

As Rusty erged from the final store, a large boot print was on the back of his armor, courtesy of the last furious shopkeeper. His notoriety had grown in the small city, but he had achieved what he ca for. Ard with this information, he returned ho. Now he could finally create his plan to take over the city.

According to his guides, the quality of local weaponry was not very high. That ant establishing himself as a powerful magical blacksmith might not be as difficult as he had first imagined.