"You... Were you listening to our conversation?" Rory looked at the young blond man, who had an unusual magical gem on his forehead, green like his own.
Lukas' magical shape was very distinct, much like a sledgehammer, something hard to see around, as it completely escaped the geometric pattern usually found around the kingdom.
"No, I just saw you two talking while looking in the direction of the club." Lukas smiled at Rory. Then he looked at Vicente. "Fate has brought us together again, so I can't pass up the opportunity for us to talk.
I won't lie to you. With such a different gem, it would be ridiculous for me not to try to approach someone I've talked to before."
Vicente looked at the young man and narrowed his eyes.
This was a complicated society, but just like on Earth, one's contacts could take them further or further away, hurt them, or help them.
Lukas was interested in what Vicente could do and achieve with his magical form. He didn't have to say that out loud. But the same could be said for Vice.
Vice knew very few people in Millfall and relied heavily on Aaron and his own luck to make new contacts. Then wouldn't it be interesting to expand his reach with a young man with great potential, as was the case with Lukas?
"Hmm, let's talk while we walk. We have a few free minutes." Vicente said, leading the way to Lukas.
"By the way, this is Rory, my friend and business partner."
"Nice to meet you, Rory. I'm Lukas Oak."
Rory greeted this young blond man, a Senior Apprentice, who didn't seem much older than he and Vicente.
After a brief introduction, Vicente asked. "Since you are so open about your goals, I won't hide the fact that working with young talent like you would also benefit me. What kind of things are you involved in?"
Lukas nodded positively, knowing this should be the case. He answered. "I am a 1st stage blacksmith, so what I do is somewhat obvious. However, unlike most local blacksmiths, I am not part of a blacksmith's family."
Magical form and talent were closely tied to the genetic heritage of magicians. So you would normally find families of blacksmiths, alchemists, and so on.
There could be cases where a blacksmith had children with an alchemist, creating a family with multiple talents. But the most common thing was that similar people got together to form families that focused on specific skills.
This was a way to strengthen their genetics and increase the family's position within a particular specialization.
Often, the family patriarch would choose mates for their sons and daughters who followed the family's compatibility.
This had several social implications, but in particular, it was responsible for the concentration of power in the hands of certain groups rather than diffusing that power throughout society.
In this case, because he was not part of a blacksmith family and had a different skill set than his family members, Lukas did not have the same support and favorable conditions that many of his competitors had.
"As you can imagine from someone in my position, I need more friends than enemies, or I'll have problems."
Lukas was an outgoing person from an early age. But after his awakening 3 years ago, he learned how hard it was not to have proper support. Thus, he developed more social skills.
He was a threat to the young talents of the established powers, so more than his competitors, he needed to make friends and allies.
"So that's why..." Vicente said, understanding Lukas' reasons for being so open and approachable with strangers.
"Does your family have any special background? I mean, are these talents of yours above average or just different in form from what one normally finds in your family tree?" Rory asked.
"I'm a little more talented than the people in my family. As for their magical form, it is related to alchemy." Lukas said.
His family members were alchemists, which could be good at first sight since he would still have good support to grow in this society. But his family members were people with yellow talents, lower than his.
What did that mean? They could hardly provide him with all the opportunities he would need to develop his potential.
Lukas realized this the next day after his awakening. Since then, he had started looking for friends and potential future allies.
He had approached many people in Millfall since then, just as he was doing now with Vicente. His purpose for the moment? It is simple to have options available, if possible, to give aid in anticipation of a later return.
He did not simply believe that these people would help him in the future. But by acting sincerely and with no intention of harming anyone, he believed he would at least have people to propose more profound agreements to in the future.
Lukas was not stupid. He would not propose a deal to Vicente, a stranger he knew nothing about. He just wanted to leave that 'door' open for the sake of his own future.
"What about you guys?" He asked them both.
"Rory and I have magical forms of combat. And we are merchants." Vicente said.
In this society, talking about your specialty wasn't a problem. It didn't say much about a person.
"Two merchant warriors," Lukas muttered.
"But I think I also have an affinity for the forge," Vicente commented.
There were cases of magicians who could actually have two specializations.
The most common thing to see was not that. In general, people were totally focused on one area, as in the case of the brothers from the tavern Vicente had passed earlier.
But some skills useful for alchemy, for example, could also be useful in combat. A person with flame-related powers could use their affinity with the element of fire to make pills and potions but also to fight.
Not every such ability would lead to an affinity with two specializations. Yet, it was possible, and there were several cases like Vicente's in Polaris Realm, although they were the minority.
"Oh? Is that true?" Lukas looked more seriously into Vicente's eyes. "Is that why you seemed so interested in the association?"
Rory nodded along with Vicente.
Lukas smiled and asked, "Who is your master? Do you already know how to forge?"
"No, I don't have a master yet. All I know for now is my affinity for forging." Vicente said before showing the armor he was wearing. "I made this armor myself."
Since Lukas was a blacksmith, there was no reason why Vicente wouldn't use this opportunity to get names of blacksmiths who could accept him as a student!
"You made it?" Lukas' eyes narrowed as he studied the armor closely, noticing details he hadn't noticed before, as this item didn't seem to be of a high level.
But as he looked more closely, he couldn't help but notice some strange signs. 'This... But how was it put together? More importantly, how does he take it off?'
