"How expensive are we talking about?" Khan asked.
"Let's move to my anvil first," Curtis exclaimed, and Khan and Amber nodded at Master Cansend before following his apprentice.
Curtis led the two past a corner that hid a trapdoor and descended from the staircase connected to that opening. A vast underground hall with a far livelier atmosphere unfolded in Amber and Khan's eyes, and they could immediately see that everyone there was relatively young.
"Curtis, do you finally have a client?" A woman near the bottom of the hall shouted as soon as the trio left the staircase.
"Shut it, Betty," Curtis snorted as he stormed through the hall. "I'm with Lieutenant Khan here."
"That Khan?" Betty gasped as she and everyone else in the hall moved their eyes on Khan.
"She is richer than me," Khan commented while pointing at Amber, but the comment didn't affect her polite smile.
"Sir, thank you for your work out there!" An apprentice shouted.
"Thank you, sir!" Another apprentice followed, and many others voiced similar lines.
Khan had the chance to see how regular citizens viewed him from those reactions. He had often met superiors or soldiers at his same rank, but the various apprentices showed him how his fame was incredibly positive. He even noticed some reverence in a few gazes.
"I'm sorry that you ended up with Curtis as your blacksmith," Betty eventually stated.
"Betty!" Curtis scolded.
"Is he bad?" Khan asked.
"Not at all," Betty responded through a laugh, "But we like to tease him about his style."
'Style?' Khan wondered, but the answer to those doubts became evident when he reached Curtis' corner.
The underground hall was full of apprentices, and all of them had small cubicles with anvils at their center. The short tables that separated the various spaces had different materials and weapons in exposition, so Khan could quickly see some of Curtis' weapons.
The weapons were fine. Some were incomplete, but they didn't have any damage or crack. The issue was with their handles since Curtis tried to shape them like skulls.
"No one understands my genius," Curtis scoffed as he sat behind his anvil. "A battle starts even before clashing weapons. A mere sight at my creations will make the enemies cower in fear!"
"How can anyone see this design if I have my hand wrapped around it?" Khan honestly asked.
Curtis seemed to freeze, and the other apprentices also went silent for a second before exploding into loud laughs. Mocks quickly followed, but Curtis appeared able to ignore all of them.
Khan liked that lively atmosphere. He preferred it over the heavy political tension, but he still felt worried about the actual utility of those strange handles.
Nevertheless, Curtis' weapons subverted his expectations. Khan picked a sword on the table around the apprentice and noticed that its strange handle felt unnaturally comfortable. The holes for the skull's eyes and nose didn't hinder his grasp at all.
"Why do you even need to shape the handles like this?" Khan asked. "I'm not complaining, just curious."
"My genius can come out only when I'm free to work as I want," Curtis exclaimed. "It's as if my mana knows that I'm doing something I love."
Luckily for Curtis, Khan could completely understand that statement. The mana could react to feelings on its own if they carried enough intensity. It actually spoke for Curtis' talent that he could express such effects without even realizing it.
"The shop's regulations force me to warn you that this is my first time building something out of chaos-resistant materials," Curtis admitted once the laughs went quiet. "I worked on a few preparations with those metals for Master Cansend, but I never built a complete weapon with them before."
"How much will it cost?" Khan questioned.
"I can't be sure unless I see its specifics," Curtis explained.
Khan picked up his phone and browsed through the menus of the Divine Reaper's program. A few holograms came out of the device when he reached the part that described which knives suited the martial art, and Curtis studied them thoroughly.
"The current price of the chaos-resistant alloys isn't too high," Curtis commented. "Would you mind sacrificing some length to make the knife even cheaper?"
"I would mind," Khan responded. "I don't want to have problems with its range."
"Are you sure you need it to be a second-grade weapon?" Curtis asked. "I know I can make a first-grade knife that can last for a few years even under the influence of the chaos element. I'm sure you don't even launch spells all the time in battle, so that might help lower the price."
Curtis' understanding of battles was correct, but it didn't apply to Khan's situation. His mana anomaly gave the properties of the chaos element to his energy all the time, so its destructive power affected his weapons even during his martial arts.
Also, Khan didn't want to remain a first-level warrior for so long. He would need a better weapon anyway once his attunement with mana reached the next checkpoint, so he nodded without considering other options.
"These requirements don't help you," Curtis sighed. "I need to hammer down many layers to reach this level of sturdiness, which means more chaos-resistant alloys. The lowest I can go is nine thousand Credits."
Khan couldn't help but feel surprised about the price, but a glance toward Amber revealed that it was within her expectations. She even nodded to express her approval.
"My Master would have charged you three times that, at least," Curtis revealed. "I can't wait to gain his approval and start making crazy money like him."
"I suggest you don't speak like that in front of your customers once you move up," Amber chuckled.
Curtis' eyes widened, and an awkward smile appeared on his face as he glanced at Khan. However, the latter had barely heard his last comment.
'Nine thousand Credits,' Khan shouted in his mind, 'And the price will only go up once I start requesting better weapons. I guess I need to find a way to make money.'
"Khan, this is the best deal you'll find," Amber said when she saw that Khan remained silent.
"I'll take it," Khan exclaimed after snapping out of his thoughts. "How long will you need to make it?"
"I can order the alloys now," Curtis declared, "And the project will have my full attention once they arrive. I think I'll complete the knife in a couple of weeks."
"Do you need my payment now?" Khan asked.
"First, I need your main hand for the measurements," Curtis responded.
"Can you make it for both?" Khan questioned.
"Of course," Curtis announced before using one of his tools to measure Khan's palms and fingers.
Amber and Khan left Curtis to his work afterward, and Khan completed the payment on Master Cansend's anvil. Khan's finances decreased significantly, but he still felt no attachment toward money.
"I need to pay a visit to the "Beasts' King" now," Khan revealed after the two left the shop and returned to Reebfell's streets. "You can go back to the camp if you want."
"Don't worry about that," Amber cheerfully replied. "I want to see how you pick your Tainted animals."
"You must really like hanging out with me," Khan teased.
"I do, actually," Amber grinned, "Especially now that I don't have to worry about breaking your heart."
"You would have totally fallen for me," Khan joked.
"As if!" Amber scoffed. "I want my man to be smart and knowledgeable."
"When did I become dumb?" Khan questioned.
"Shall I remind you who showed you how to withdraw Credits from the consoles?" Amber sneered.
"No one can look past my background," Khan sighed. "My poor heart will crumble among these biased rich people."
Amber laughed but didn't say anything, and the two soon went back to their random conversations. The part of the commercial district that handled Tainted animals wasn't close to their position, but they didn't mind walking.
The two eventually reached the "Beasts' King", and the same waiter from the last time welcomed them with a broad smile. He appeared ecstatic to see Khan returning after only a week.
"I hope the Tainted ape didn't cause problems," The waiter announced after the exchange of greetings.
"No, it was perfect," Khan responded. "It broke bones as easily as advertised."
The waiter didn't know how to react to that statement, especially since it probably involved wealthy recruits. The man limited himself to rub his hands as he waited to hear the reason behind that visit.
"I need a batch of Tainted animals this time," Khan quickly continued. "They don't need to be as strong as the ape, but I don't want to make it too easy for my students either."
"I have exactly what you are looking for," The waiter exclaimed before leading Khan and Amber toward one of the cages at the end of the first floor.
The cage contained five Tainted snakes that had gone through a series of bionic enhancements. Some of them had metallic attachments to their tails, others featured glowing fangs, and one even had a pair of small arms in the middle of its body.
They looked as proper Tainted animals, but Khan sensed how little mana they had inside their bodies. They were little more than ordinary beasts, which gave him a chance to exploit the weakness planted last time.
"How much would these cost?" Khan asked while keeping his poker face firm.
"I would normally sell these Tainted snakes for a few thousand Credits each," The waiter happily announced, "But I'll apply a special discount since it's already your second visit here. You can take all of them for three thousand and five hundred Credits."
"That's very generous of you," Khan exclaimed.
"Nonsense," The waiter chuckled. "We offer nothing but the best, especially to such promising heroes."
"Why would you charge so much then?" Khan asked as his tone became cold. "These snakes don't have even a tenth of the ape's mana, and I'm considering all of them."
The waiter's smile froze, and even his hands stopped moving. Amber didn't seem to know much about Tainted animals, so he had thought to overprice the snakes a bit, but Khan had seen right through that rip-off.
"It seems that the "Beasts' King" is only interested in Credits," Khan sighed while wearing a disappointed face. "I can't believe it doesn't care about the soldiers' future."
"No, please, I didn't-," The waiter stuttered.
"Let's go, Professor Teldom," Khan interrupted while turning to move toward the exit. "It's clear that this shop doesn't have the Global Army's interests at heart."
Amber played along, but she had to walk past Khan and cover her mouth since an amused smile had appeared on her face. Still, that only worked in Khan's favor since the waiter saw the strongest among the two trying to leave the shop in a hurry.
"Please, wait!" The waiter called as he hurried after Khan and Amber. "I didn't know the snakes were part of a bad batch! The people on the upper floors must have made a mistake!"
Khan and Amber didn't stop, and the waiter even failed to enter their field of view. He started to panic, which forced him to resort to drastic measures.
"Why don't I give you the Tainted snakes for free while you make a different purchase?" The waiter shouted. "I'll obviously add a special discount to make up for this unforgivable mistake."
Khan slowly stopped, and Amber imitated him. He turned, but she voiced an excuse to leave the shop since she found herself unable to suppress her smile.
"What kind of discount?" Khan asked in a cold voice as soon as the waiter started to show some relief.
"I'll cut the price by fifty percent!" The waiter exclaimed.
"That's what you did with the Tainted ape," Khan shook his head. "It seems that the shop isn't as sorry as I thought."
Khan turned to leave again, but the waiter immediately started to increase the discount. Khan pretended not to hear anything and stopped only when the words "eighty percent" resounded in the hall.
