SB: Chapter 242 – An Expensive Sword Case (Patreon)

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I looked at the final product in front of me made of platinum and gold alloys. It was everything I had imagined. While I had used up my reward for the demonic book, I wasn’t going to take any chances with the Seraphim Quest. If divination skills or Mana were able to trace the sword I was supposed to destroy, I had no doubt there would be endless trouble.

“A unique and interesting request. The key aspect to make this case work as requested was the null Mana metal sinks located throughout. The runic arrays will focus any Mana inside onto those Mana sinks to manage a large source,” the Professor in charge of creating the specialized sword case explained.

It was a shame that the case wouldn’t have a use after I used it. “Unfortunately, with the design, it can’t be stored in a spatial space, and the weight…it is quite high.”

“But it blocks all Mana and divination?” I asked.

“Yes. I can promise that. If something is placed inside and this overdesigned sword case is closed, no Mana will escape and no chance at divination working on whatever is inside. Even the case itself is immune to divination, drawing in Mana touching its surface to ensure nothing escapes.”

“Is it safe to be carried?” I asked.

“Yes. Incredibly safe. The Mana it drains through touch is a small amount. It just drains Mana to prevent any from escaping. I wouldn’t sleep touching it and carrying it for periods of over a day could begin damaging your body if you are touching it. Any enchanted item will have issues touching the case over time. Also, it comes with our best key and runic lock. Without the key, no one will be able to casually open the case,” the Professor explained.

I carefully reached out and grabbed the case and tried to lift it. It barely budged. I put my back into it and was barely able to lift it up. “What? Why is it so heavy?” I asked. I knew it would be heavy but this was ridiculous.

“The density of the alloys used to ensure the runic inscriptions aren’t damaged even if the case is dropped. If something damaged even a single rune, the entire case could easily stop functioning, which would be unacceptable,” the Professor explained.

“And I can’t store it in a spatial pouch?” I asked just to be sure.

“No. And we can’t disassemble it. The activation of such an item required very strict conditions. Something to block out Mana while using Mana to power itself was incredibly tricky. Any lesser metals would have broken instantly. Now this will last for a hundred years, guaranteed, before there are any problems with the runic script,” he explained.

It was a bit overengineered, but I couldn’t afford to have it break. The real problem was moving the case itself. My Strength stat was at 48. If I put all 200 of my free stat points into Strength, I should be able to move it easily by increasing my Strength to five times my current Strength.

Ozy looked at the case and let out a hiss. He clearly didn’t like it. Strength was my lowest stat and I didn’t want to dump all my free stat points into it. But I had no idea how to move the case.

“If you are considering how to move it, we have a cart on wheels. You can push it,” the Professor suggested as an assistant brought over a flat cart with handles on one side which would allow me to push it. My face darkened at the idea of trying to push the cart through the dungeon and across the beastkin continent. It would be a joke.

“What Strength stat did you have in mind when you designed this?” I asked slowly.

“Around 200, which is standard for adventurer equipment at the elite level of 80. That is 1,600 stat points, or 200 per stat. It really is a piece of equipment a legend would use, so it should be easy for a legend to move,” he replied happily.

“I am not a legend Professor,” I said.

“Ah well, it couldn’t be made with lesser materials or thinner. Durability for adventurers is key. And my reputation. If you took possession of this custom sword case and it didn’t work, why it would impact my reputation for custom equipment,” the Professor said as I felt despair.

A 1,000 platinum case of metal, that I couldn’t move even when I put everything I had into it. “Can you make a pack that can hold the case so my arms are free?” I asked.

“Easily. Nothing special as part of the pack?” the Professor asked me.

“No, nothing special, it just needs to be able to handle the weight,” I replied.

“Then that is easy. Just stop by tomorrow and I will have one ready. We often make custom carrying solutions for adventurers. Just leave the case here so we can check the measurements and ensure there are no issues,” he said with a smile. He was too smart to miss that the weight was a big problem, but clearly wasn’t going to focus on it.

“I will be back tomorrow,” I said heavily, and left the workshop.

If that case was put on my back, I would be crushed into the ground and turned to paste. After so long, I wanted to hold off using my free stat points. Over the last year Strength had gone up by 3 stat points on its own. If I used my free stat points, those types of gains for that stat would disappear.

“Trouble?” Staff Member Melody asked me. She had brought me news about the case being completed.

“It is too heavy. You know I am holding off using my free stat points for as long as possible. But I have no idea how I am going to carry it,” I answered.

“Hmm, well you can hire a porter. Adventuring teams without a spatial pouch hire a person like that. Normally professionals or elites, who want to carry more in the dungeon,” she explained. I had known about porters, but I hadn’t considered that option.

Even with the risk to my quest, I could track the individual with my divination skill Compass Of Desire. So, there would be no escape if they tried to run. The case locked as well, which was good and had been one of my requirements. I didn’t want it accidentally opening while I was carrying it. I just hadn’t realized the sheer weight of the case.

“Is there any porter you trust and has a Strength stat of at least 200?” I asked.

“That is a bit high. I don’t know any personally, but we can check the general hiring hall here at the College for workers and miscellaneous jobs,” she replied. After a walk across the College, we reached the building Melody had talked about.

There was a handful of men and one woman chatting on benches out front. They looked up at us as we approached and entered the building. Melody took me over to a staff member manning a counter.

“Justin here is looking for a porter for the dungeon with a Strength stat of over 200,” she said.

“Length of descent?” the clerk asked and Melody looked at me.

“Two years,” I replied and he nodded.

“Normally we use porters for loading and unloading various supply crates. But I am sure one would be interested in a descent contract. This contract would be enforced by the Adventuring Guild as well as the College. If you return without your porter, a black mark would be placed on your record and you would be blacklisted from all services until you pay the fine, which is set at 100 platinum multiplied by what you should have paid them,” the clerk said.

“That much?” I asked in surprise.

“It’s to protect the porter from unscrupulous teams that would take advantage of their services. Standard pay is 1 gold per day. Two years would cost around 7 platinum. So a 700 platinum fee if you return without them. You just require Strength, nothing else like food preparation or equipment repair?” the clerk asked.

“No. They just need to be able to carry what I want, listen to orders, and not ask questions,” I replied.

“Confidentiality is standard, but not enforced. Any porter found selling information is issued a bounty. With no other requirements. You are lucky someone like that is at the College as part of the refugees. Normally such people hang around the big Adventurer’s Guilds,” the clerk said as he turned to the side and flipped through several pieces of paper.

“Boris. The man is impossibly strong and doesn’t complain. But he eats for three men and doesn’t have any other useful skills beyond his Strength,” the clerk said.

“Really, he put everything into Strength?” I asked.

“I can’t say. But he likes to eat, drink, and to get paid. Most teams who hire a porter don’t do so out of the College or they want someone with additional skills,” the clerk said. Ah the rich graduates would want comfort if they went into the dungeon.

“I will meet with him,” I said and the clerk nodded.

“Great, I will let him know to be here first thing tomorrow at eight in the morning.” I nodded at this.

“I will be here,” I replied and then had to fill out and sign a couple of forms. Once that was completed, I invited Melody to dinner to thank her. She was much older than me, but I considered her a friend from my time at the College of Advancement and during my most recent stay.

“I am surprised you want a porter. Since you have two spatial storage bags,” she said.

“My commission can’t be stored in spatial storage, and it is a bit too heavy,” I replied.

“It is that heavy?” she asked.

“It is solid and durable. But I need my hands free to fight. Hiring a porter was a great idea,” I said.

“I do have those occasionally. I hope you have good luck in the dungeon, Justin. Things are getting more chaotic up here on the surface,” she replied and I nodded at this. While I would have to bring the porter back, that was fine. Just a small bit of wasted time. Compared to getting rid of the curse skill, Seraphim Quest, it was a minor inconvenience.

“I am curious about what you need the case for, but I won’t ask questions,” she said.

“I appreciate it,” I replied as we reached Furious Fang, a new restaurant here at the College run by my friend and professional cook, the beastkin Judy. She wasn’t the owner, but one of the lead chefs.

“A table for two,” I told the waitress who came over to greet us. I regularly came here to eat. Judy’s cooking was quite good and had left me far behind.

“This place has a nice atmosphere, despite being quite new,” Melody said.

“My friend Judy is one of the main chefs,” I replied.

“Oh, I heard about that. The daughter of one of our professors and a beastkin becoming a chef at a restaurant. You met during cooking class?” she asked and I nodded.

“A relaxing skill. Now, I don’t know if I should have spent as much time on it as I should have,” I replied.

“As a top graduate, I wouldn’t worry too much. While some skills might seem useless, you never know when a skill might come in handy,” she replied. That was nice to say. But leveling my skills was always a struggle with how many I had.

It wasn’t a good mindset to have, worrying about such things. But there was nothing I could do. The confidence of youth had faded over time. I wasn’t even that old, but the more I worked on my skills, the more I understood how much further I had to go. It would be nice if I could just hit a button and skip all of that.

I was honestly regretting not taking Seraphim Skill Tempering as my skill choice instead. With all my skills I could have eventually found a way back here. But I had been a bit too desperate to fully consider everything long term. The Compass Of Desire was a good skill, an insanely good skill, but I couldn’t continually use it to strengthen myself.

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