Chapter 18: The Myth of Blacksteel

“Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?” I asked.

The boarman glared at me. “Your bag, or we slit your friends throat.”

I opened my palm and set a huge fireball ablaze. “It’s just me, huh?”

[Ironskin(Journeyman)] activated.

I kicked the stool back and slammed the fireball on the orc’s face. He flew back, hitting the man next to him.

The man on the opposite side drew a blade. I swiftly turned around, elbowed his face, then blew a fireball to his waist, causing him to scream in pain. I caught his cutlass and swung it to the two men blocking my way. Blood splattered on the floor, forcing everyone around them to flee.

Before they could cut Horeln’s throat, I raised a spike from beneath the floor. It impaled two of them and missed one. He drew his borestuff, but Horeln kicked him on his knee and he knelt on the floor. I finished him off by decapitation.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” I said.

I didn’t even break a sweat. It all happened in less than ten seconds. Ten seconds and I beat seven larger men on my own! Well, Horeln deserved a credit. Hopefully this wouldn’t inflate my ego and grow arrogant enough to assume I could kill a god.

Horeln was heaving nervously, shooting me an astonished look. As for the people around, they pushed themselves against the wall. It had gotten so quiet that I could hear the wind blow.

I opened my arms with the cutlass still in my hand. “So, who wants a gold coin for information?”

No one spoke. They were all too astonished to even say a word. Even the gangbang session was on hold, and the four— no, never mind, there were seven participants in total now, stood naked.

“No takers?”

Horeln rushed to my side. “I don’t think they’d wanna approach you after all that.”

That made sense. But I wasn’t gonna leave empty-handed. So I had Horeln loot their bodies as fast as possible. I ended up with four pouches of coins, some rings, and a necklace.

“What about the borestaves?”

“Leave it. We’re going somewhere else.”

I ended up having fun. I actually expected to go full Human Torch and just set everyone on flame. As soon as I held the cutlass I felt like I’d been training with it my entire life. It felt so natural. It was all thanks to my skill-copying ability. Maybe I should fuck a master swordswoman sometimes.

But it wasn’t fruitless. I got more money than I expected to spend.

“You killed my brother!” a man yelled from behind us after throwing his chair.

Before I could turn around, a loud shot rang in the hall. I searched my body for any wounds, but nothing. I looked at Horeln and he was completely dumbfounded.

The man stood with a short borestaff, smoke bellowing from the tip of the barrel. He just missed us from ten meters away.

“What the hell was that?” I said.

Before he could draw his sword, I launched a fireball at him. He flew back and out into the window.

Then I caught sight of the scene. It was a damn mess. I ended up wrecking a few furniture and leaving corpses behind. If I was gonna stay here then maybe I should be a bit more responsible. So, I went back to the barkeeper and gave him five gold coins.

“For the trouble,” I said, smiling. His jaw was agape.

We left the tavern. Gladly the people outside were unaware of what just transpired back there. I should probably just ask someone else. Someone more friendly, and maybe looked a bit more approachable. And less greedy, too. And I needed to hold myself back – I really was looking for a fight to test my abilities.

“Hey!”

I felt someone grab my arm. I swiftly turned to slice the man’s hand off, but he quickly stepped back and raised his hands in submission.

“I ain’t lookin’ for trouble!”

It was a short, thin man. If not for his beard I would’ve mistaken him for a young man.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Jord’s ring! It belongs to me!”

I stopped to show him the rings I earned. The man pointed at one with a green nicked metal and a clear gem. I didn’t give it to him, though.

“How much is it for you?”

“I’ll give ‘ya any information ‘ye want! I know everythin’ about this place and a lot more beyond!”

Well, he did seem like he’d been through places.

“What’s your name, buck?”

“Rulof, sire!”

“Well, Rulof, I’m Caesar. How about you walk with us for a bit?”

I had him walk with us while we talked. My question was about the strongest metal in existence, something that could easily cut a lizard scales. I thought they’d be more aware of how tough their skin could be, so I described it as something as durable as iron. Maybe something close to a steel.

He hummed while he thought, recalling any memories in his mind.

“I could think of three right now…”

The first one was jodglass. Despite its name, jodglass turned harder than steel when poured with mana. Its properties were similar to mithril. But it was difficult to acquire. Jodglass was exclusive to the mountains to the west – the same mountains full of troll that Amea and I passed. Those lands fell under the territory of Vonditz, a principality. So every jodglass was owned by the prince and were only for sale to elite warriors.

I could pretend being an envoy from a kingdom they dealt with, but that required weeks if not months of preparation. And I needed a constant supply of it, too. So I crossed it out for now.

The next was alvorim, a gray metal much harder than jodglass. It was believed that the Seaslayer, a weapon used by a hero to slay the queen of mermaids, Agaphonet, was made of alvorim. It could even fell a god, he said.

“Are you sure it’s not just a myth?” I asked.

“The blade? I ain’t sure, but the metal’s real. I’ve seen a piece from one of the captains I sailed for.”

Unfortunately, alvorim was even more exclusive than jodglass. It came from a cold region up north called Vestyot. That place was where one of the cult members back in the lair came from.

Only warriors handpicked by Vestyot’s royalties could wield alvorim-made weapons.

“So what’s the last one?”

He hesitated for a bit, so I had to force him to say it.

“It’s mythical, but there’s a greatsword forged from blacksteel. But I’m only includin’ it ‘cause it counts!”

The last one was blacksteel. From the name itself, it was dark as a moonless, starless night, with a glittery violet luster whenever light bounced off it.

The greatsword Tvasek was forged from blacksteel. It served as the king of Swegon’s authority, so it never left his side. Unless it was just a replica, then blacksteel might as well be a myth. But a custom existed where the king had to brandish Tvasek every time he held court. The weapon’s beautiful luster was said to be the highlight of it.

“That’s the only proof of blacksteel’s existence… but a famous tale tells about—”

“The tale of king Iowans,” Horeln interrupted.

There was a tale about a Western king who once fell in love with a mermaid. They built a home somewhere in the Bloodscale sea together so Iowans could visit her from time to time. When the mermaids discovered the forbidden relationship, they buried Iowans alive in that same island. It served as his reminder to step away from the sea.

But Iowans, being the son of a demi-god, dug himself out and discovered blacksteel. He used his powerful arms to bend the metal into a sword then fought his way back to land. He did this while paddling with his feet, swinging Tvasek in one hand and holding his mermaid wife in another.

The mermaids formed an army and assaulted any coastal cities in search of him. So Iowans amassed an army and led them to the sea. He reclaimed the island, fortified it, and mined blacksteel to forge more weapons in preparation for the battle against the queen of Bloodscale sea. But when his mermaid wife died from an unknown disease, he abandoned the quest and went back to the mainland, bringing only one weapon made of blacksteel.

“The island lies somewhere to the east. It’s believed to be a part of this island chain, but a mist veils it. No one dares to sail close because of the mermaids,” Horeln added.

It seemed like mermaids were pretty real, then. But if that island existed, it would save me from the troubles of committing fraud with nations I might transact with in the future. However, the danger was mermaids. How dangerous were mermaids?

“They hunt men, drown ‘em, then eat ‘em,” Rulof said.

“So they don’t sing?”

“They screech! They shatter the ears of their victims first before grab 'em into the Depths.”

They were monstrous, but the tale implied mermaids were an intelligent race… I hoped. If so, then I could probably negotiate with them.

“I guess I’ll check the island out.”

“Are you insane?” they both exclaimed.

“It’s the mermaids! The daughters of Agaphonet herself! The spawns of the Depths!” Horeln said.

“I don’t care. I’m just checking to see if the fairy tale is real. So how do I get there?”

They both looked at each other, astonished. After a short silence, Rulof spoke.

“How much is it for ‘ya?”

“This golden ring here,” I said.

“I don’t want anythin’ else from those goons. Three gold coins and I’ll bring ‘ye to the seventh island. That’s as close as I can get.”

“What you want me to swim?”

“You can borrow my boat. But you can’t take me with ‘ya.”

Horeln raised his hand. “I’m not going either.”

Not like I expected them to. But I got the information I wanted. If this island of blacksteel just ended up being a fairy tale, then I guess I’d die. But surely the mermaids wouldn’t be that bad? I got marine skills thanks to one of the elves back in the cult’s lair. With my current strength and my ability to manipulate water, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem…

Right?

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