CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 70: THE SOULFORGER’S DEAL

Chapter 70 – The Soulforger’s Deal

Kaden didn’t quite know what to say.

He was just here to complete his mission so that he could complete his quest and earn his rewards.

So why, all of a sudden, did he have to pay for something he didn’t do?

Something his big brother did instead?

What kind of bullshit was that?

Kaden shook his head at Old Smith.

"Ma’am, you got the wrong saying. It’s not the younger brother who has to pay for the older one. I mean, the opposite seems more logical."

"It doesn’t matter," Smith said. "What matters is—you will have to pay for your brother’s actions."

"Don’t ask me why. It’s because I decided so," she added, taking a puff from her pipe, her deep, hardened black eyes never leaving him.

Kaden started to frown.

"What if I don’t want to?" he asked, his voice now cold.

Smith immediately noticed the shift.

She looked at Kaden and could clearly tell he was irritated by all this, but...

’He’s not brute-forcing his way through, huh... interesting.’

Smith thought inwardly, then smiled.

"Good. Then I have a deal for you," she said.

"What?" Kaden asked, a bit puzzled by the sudden change in tone.

"Your brother promised me he’d let me study his weapon if I forged him an armor. But in the end, he vanished. Never upheld his part of the deal."

Smith’s voice turned sharp, her disappointment clear.

At her words, Kaden frowned slightly.

He didn’t know much about his brother, but Kaden did know the Warborns never went back on their word. Honor and respect were sacred in their house.

So why...?

Kaden couldn’t help but feel curious about his brother’s actions back in Asterion.

"I propose you let me study your weapon—and I’ll double, no, triple your mission rewards," Smith said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Kaden tilted his head.

"You want to study my weapon... which means you want to study my Origin."

"Do you really think I’d accept that? If you understand everything about my Origin, wouldn’t you be able to counter it easily?" he asked, voice serious.

This was something no sane being would ever accept.

And Smith knew that.

She had already prepared for this exact kind of suspicion.

"I will swear on The Will that I will not use it to harm you in any way possible. And if I ever do—even unknowingly—then my soul will be yours, forever," Smith said, her voice so grave and sincere that the room itself seemed to tremble with the weight of her words.

And she meant it.

She was dead serious.

Because that was the only way forward.

Being a Forger Blacksmith was good—but she had hit the ceiling of that realm.

She needed to enter the next one.

The realm of Soulforger.

And after years of searching for the path to ascend, she had discovered one truth:

The only beings who had reached Soulforger status were either close to a Warborn...

Or a Warborn themselves.

No one else.

And none of them had ever explained how they did it.

But Smith could guess.

She’d heard that the Warborns’ Origin weapons were always sentient.

They were alive. They had thoughts, emotions.

A weapon with thoughts and emotions.

Wasn’t that exactly the dream of any Soulforger?

Even if she would never replicate the level of a true Warborn Origin, it would still be enough.

Enough to break through the limits.

Enough to evolve.

And that’s exactly why she was ready to gamble her soul.

Because if she didn’t become a Soulforger...

Then her life had been a failure.

Hearing all this, Kaden was a bit surprised.

He knew that swearing on The Will was irreversible—an eternal bond that nothing, not even death, could undo.

So yeah, this dwarf... she was serious.

"Why?" he asked. "Why do you need it?"

Smith gave him a look like he’d just asked if fire was hot.

"Of course—to improve my blacksmithing. And how can you, a Warborn, ask a question like that? Isn’t your whole damn family made of blacksmiths?" she asked, puzzled.

Kaden tilted his head.

Now that he thought about it...

There was a blacksmith forge in their basement.

A place his father was always in—when he wasn’t provoking his mother into battle.

He remembered, vaguely, his father asking him to come down there once in a while... but Kaden always chose to be with his mother and sister, chatting and training.

Kaden’s lips twitched at the memory.

"Well... my father seems to do blacksmithing, yes," he said, nodding awkwardly.

Smith stared at him.

At his physique. His hands.

"You’ve never touched an anvil, have you?" she asked. "Never held a hammer? Never felt the breath of a deep-burning forge?"

Kaden blinked.

"I never did," he admitted honestly.

Smith looked like she’d been personally betrayed. Her face twisted in pain.

"A Warborn... not doing blacksmith?"

She shook her head, legs dangling, pipe puffing in distress.

"What a waste of talent. What a waste of advantage..."

Kaden didn’t know what to say.

But... he agreed.

He wasn’t sure he had talent for it, but still... blacksmithing was important.

He was starting to see that now.

Until now, he had only cared about training. About improving his skills.

In the back of his head, he always thought Reditha was enough.

But Fokay had shown him otherwise.

Even a simple mask—an artifact—could change life and death.

And that realization made him want to learn.

But here was the issue:

Artifacts weren’t just blacksmithing.

They were the fusion of blacksmithing and runesmithing.

And his family?

They only created the weapons. The rune inscriptions were done by outsiders—either the Cerveau or the Elamin.

’Such a dumb decision. Fortunately, I told them to stop using the Cerveau for that.’

Kaden couldn’t help but think.

And the more he thought about it...

The more he wanted to learn both blacksmith and runesmith.

And that’s why,

"Do you know runesmithing too?" he asked Smith.

Smith’s face lit up with pride.

"Of course. I’m already at the Rune Scribe realm. I can write basic runes on what I craft to turn them into real artifacts."

At her words, Kaden didn’t hesitate.

"Then I’ll accept your deal but only if you agree to teach me both blacksmithing and runesmithing. Not now, but later. I’ve got things I need to finish first."

Without a second of delay—

"Deal!" Smith shouted, grinning wide, her heart pounding in her chest.

After all...

She had just secured the one thing she wanted most.

The path to becoming a Soulforger.

And even better...

She would be the master of a Warborn.

At that thought,

She grinned with wide anticipation.

—End of Chapter 70—