"To think he hadn't left the workshop even after upgrading his armor to Epic+ rarity…" Walking through the corridor that led to the guild's various private workshops, Julian faintly shook his head as he lightly sighed. "Doesn't he know he has to depart for the inheritance tomorrow?"
From the time Julian had entered the workshop Valyr was occupying to give the latter his identification badge and news about the negotiation, roughly three days had unknowingly passed, with the day the Four Pillars' Inheritance opened happening tomorrow.
Of course, in those three days, Valyr had put in most of his attention towards creating gunpowder, making a fire lance, as well as modifying the fire lance he had made into something more gun-like.
However, Julian knew nothing about that.
"Valyr, you there?" Letting out a low sigh as he thought about reprimanding Valyr for losing track of his time, all of those thoughts briefly disappeared as Julian caught the faint scent of something burning wafting throughout the young man's workshop. For a while, a bit of concern appeared on the man's face as he thought Valyr had gotten into an accident of sorts.
"Yeah? What's wrong?" Fortunately for him, all of those concerns swiftly disappeared once he heard the familiar energetic voice of the young man, prompting Julian to let out a sigh of relief as he made his way into the workshop.
"I just wanted to remind you that you'll have to depart for the inheritance tomorrow." With the concern he felt for the young man's safety, thoughts of reprimanding the young man disappeared from his mind as he instead bluntly told Valyr his reasons for coming. "Though, from the looks of it, it seems like you haven't forgotten it?"
"How could I?" Hearing Julian's question, Valyr let out a bit of laughter, his body entirely relaxed as he sat down on a chair. "Aside from the fact that I was sure you'd reprimand me if I forgot, I would definitely regret it if I missed the opening of the inheritance."
"Well, I'm glad that you know there are consequences to missing it, at least." Before entering the workshop, Julian expected the young man to still be engrossed in the work he was doing. However, with reality in front of him being a stark contrast to his expectations, the man could only let out a slightly awkward chuckle.
"Oh, right. I smelled something burning before entering the workshop." Feeling the air around them becoming more awkward, the man decided to change the topic to what he had noticed earlier, a slightly worried expression appearing on his face. "Did a fire break out here or something?"
"Ah, that." Raising his eyebrow in slight confusion, Valyr eventually put two and two in his mind as he briefly chuckled. Standing from his seat, he then made his way to a table placed a considerable distance away from the furnace, prompting Julian to look at the table.
Or, more specifically, the item that was placed on its surface.
"This would be the cause of that scent you smelled," said Valyr, pointing at the item on the table. "I suppose you've gotten noise complaints from a few blacksmiths the past few days?"
"I did." With his eyes slightly widening, Julian nodded, recalling the multiple documents he had gotten about it. "Don't tell me you also had something to do with that?"
"Yeah…" Awkwardly chuckling, Valyr scratched the back of his head with a nod. "Well, I had no choice if I wanted to make this item."
"What kind of item is it anyway?" At that question, Julian looked at the item in greater detail, taking note of the long metal tube that made up most of it. Affixed to its covered end was a handle that looked to be made out of treated wood, shaped in a way where the wielder would be able to grip on it without a problem.
Deciding to pick up the item, Julian eventually noticed that there was a small hole on the side of the tube near the grip. Slightly tilting his head in confusion, the man only felt even more confused once he noticed the small bowl-shaped attachment under the hole, as well an attachment beside the hole that looked to be a place that one could string cordage through.
"It's a weapon I'm still in the process of completing." Seeing that Julian had placed the item back in its rightful place, Valyr looked at the man with a calm yet confident smile. "There's still a long way to go before it reaches its final form, but I guess it's already reached a usable state?"
"Have you given this weapon a name yet?" Hearing that the item was actually a weapon, Julian looked at Valyr with curiosity, getting the feeling that it served a far greater purpose than he initially thought.
"I don't have an exact name for it yet…" Valyr flashed a wry smile. "However, for the meantime, I've decided to call it an arquebus."
"Arquebus…" Repeating the word a couple of times in his memory, Julian eventually gave Valyr a nod. "It does seem like the name fits for such a weapon."
"Anyways, don't forget you'll have to depart for the inheritance tomorrow." Feeling like he had already stayed long enough in Valyr's workshop, Julian prepared to take his leave. "Better get some rest early since we'll be heading to the place before dawn."
"Where will we be meeting up tomorrow?" asked Valyr, taking a look outside the window. Seeing that the sun in the sky had reached its peak, the young man thought that there was still time for him to do some last minute preparations.
"At the entrance of the Blacksmith Guild," replied Julian, waving farewell to the young man soon after. "I'll personally escort you there."
"Got it." Nodding as he waved back farewell in response, Valyr watched Julian's silhouette disappear from his field of vision before focusing his attention towards the weapon he had made.
"I guess I might have some use for you in the inheritance." Smiling in satisfaction as the weapon was the culmination of all his effort so far, the young man went ahead and tied a long loop of cordage around it before slinging it around his back. After that, he stored the leftover cordage and gunpowder mixture he had made prior into his spatial bracelet.
Double checking to see if he had forgotten anything, the young man bitterly smiled as he grabbed the spear he had forged for Wells at the very last minute, affixing it to his back as well.
"That's pretty much everything, I guess." Checking one more time to see if he had forgotten anything, it was only then did the young man finally leave the workshop, bringing along many items with him in tow.
For the meantime, he was going to make a detour to where Wells and Edward were.
