Craftsmen street

A few days later Lilly and Iain once more found themselves in a transray. After training their heat resistance for two days, Iain's skill shot up quickly and reached level 7 in two days.

Groob had been shocked by his rapid progress, but they soon figured out that this happened because of Iain's experience as a smith.

Lilly consequently only reached level 5.

Afterwards the intelligent woman had made a strange discovery. Despite her having learned a new skill, her stats hadn't increased as much as they should.

Fortunately, they always had Groob near them for explanations. Thus, they soon understood that the vault wouldn't reward them endlessly. They would only be strengthened by two more skill than necessary for their advancement.

Therefore, the vault granted them strength for three skills until they surpassed level 10. Only then had Iain realized this problem, earning him a mocking remark from his sister.

After clearing the siblings' confusion, Groob also added that they had to meditate to change the skills they wanted to receive the rewards for and set them as their main skills.

This, however, had led to some bewilderment for Lilly as her skills seemed to have swapped automatically. A few seconds later her parents explained that they could help them swap whenever they wanted.

A lot of possibilities instantly appeared in Lilly's mind. However, her worry also grew. If it was this easy for the vault to alter their stats, then could it take them away too? If yes, then what would happen if someone controlled the vault…?

Lilly had been worried about those problems until the next day. Fortunately, she shook off her doubt as her bother dragged her to go shopping.

 The siblings first wanted to buy equipment at the plaza they saw before, but Groob talked them out of it. This plaza didn't have many of the things they would need in the Frozen Hell, and if it had them, they would be way overprized.

Thus, the siblings had now boarded a transray bringing them to the Water District. A lot of craftsmen had their shops there selling practical equipment.

As the siblings heard Groob mention this name, they remembered that Nua had also owned a shop there. So, by right, the siblings now also owned a shop there.

Due to them wanting to inspect their property, they dropped by at their home to grab the key card and memorize the location of their store.

Despite this small detour it only took half an hour before the siblings alighted at the Water District.

Leaving the station, Iain and Lilly quickly understood how the district gained its poetic name. An artificial river divided the street in front of them in two. A fascinating variety of plants hemmed multiple bridges.

Hundreds of picturesque seats invited passersby to rest while gazing at the gurgling river water. A tranquil feeling permeated the air despite the huge amount of people enjoying their lives here.

A few streams separated from the river, fusing into some smaller lakes. Leaves wearing all kinds of colors drifted on their surface. Those rained from massive trees artistically scattered on a big, grassy area surrounding the station.

Lilly and Iain almost felt like they had entered paradise after only a short drive. Weirdly enough they didn't see any signs of craftsmen.

Fortunately, Groob had already mentioned to them that they should just orient themselves through the signs at the station. Heading his advice, they soon followed the river towards a small square where it vanished beneath orange pavement.

The siblings noticed that the people going in the same direction mostly consisted of adventurers. Their ferocious appearance easily gave them away, while some of them even wore their dangerous weapons and heavy armors.

A group of still bloody men grabbed Iain's attention. While loudly laughing they turned towards a street marking the district's edge, where scantly clad ladies greeted them enthusiastically. The young man turned his head away in embarrassment when another woman winked coquettishly in his direction.

Fortunately, Iain didn't catch Lilly eyeing a muscular man seducing some female adventures down the street. Otherwise, it would have surely been the young woman's turn to be mocked.

As the crowd in front of them quickly advanced through the plaza, Lilly and Iain observed the gate leading to the craftsmen street. From the surrounding chatter the siblings had already made out that this gate would scan everyone's possession.

If someone wanted to leave the craftsmen street they had to pass through similar gates. Therefore, it was impossible to bring illegal materials or steal something from the street.

Of course, flying was strictly prohibited here. A parking space was provided nearby with its own checkpoint.

Soon it was Lilly's and Iain's turn to enter. A gate of red stone with many artful decorations towered in front of them.

At the sides it seamlessly connected with the surrounding buildings, basically forming a wall, which separated the Water District in two parts. Therefore, the district was often called the two-faced district among common folk.

Funnily enough there were even two explanations for how the district got the name Water District.

It could either be named after the beautiful river granting the recreational part its unique scenery, or after Hequarium, which was the predominant material mined on Hex and well known for its high water affinity.

The siblings only knew about Hequarium from Groob. Iain looked forward to appreciating all the items made from this novel material as the siblings finally passed an invisible energy field and entered craftsmen street.

As soon as they stepped on the busy street, a plethora of noises suddenly reached their ears. The sounds of haggling businessmen, working craftsmen, and chatting adventurers filled their surroundings.

Lilly and Iain were amazed at the gate's ability to prevent the noisiness from spreading. As they were contemplating where to go first, a voice suddenly reached them from the side.

"Hey, you two!"

After the siblings turned around in confusion, the were startled when they noticed a soldier approaching them. Recognizing the characteristic white robe and the dangerous sword put some pressure on them all of a sudden.

The soldier came to a stop in front of them. As he noticed their uneasiness he put on a friendly smile while speaking:

"We realized at the gate that you had a shop key with you. I wasn't sure if you knew it, but you can enter from another entrance if you own a shop here. It's in the building over there with the 'bureau' sign."

Noticing the soldier's friendly intentions, Lilly quickly calmed down. She nodded as thanks before the soldier added:

"Judging from your behavior you might not be quite used to the proceedings here. If you just received your shop, you should register at the bureau once."

"Thank you for the advice."

Having said what was on his mind, the soldier didn't hesitate even for one second before turning around and returning to his position at the gate.

Lilly and Iain felt some relief as they thought that not everyone in the army might be as bad as Groob made them out to be.

Since they didn't have a strict plan, the siblings decided to follow the advice and entered the bureau.

Thanks to Nua's preparations they didn't encounter any trouble as soon as they mentioned their patron's name. The city's official receiving them efficiently granted them ownership of their store.

On the way out Lilly even grabbed a map introducing the various businesses on craftsmen street.

Finally, Iain couldn't hold back his curiosity and dragged Lilly to the next best store for artifacts.

Most of the stores on this street weren't too big. The store the two siblings had entered even belonged to the medium category with its two floors.

From the introduction they received, this store specialized in standard weapons and armors mostly worn by beginner adventurers. Those were cheaper but wouldn't suit higher leveled warriors.

Unfortunately, whether it be standardized or custom equipment Iain quickly realized that his skill weren't enough to create either of them. The young man would already be lucky if he received any work at all as an apprentice.

Maybe the siblings would even have to give up on their store if they didn't have so much invisible support. Just as Iain was gleefully inspecting the swords on display, their support showed up to prove its worth.

A grave headache suddenly hit the unsuspecting smith. With it came his father's voice.

[Concentrate your mind and strongly desire the skill 'Dismantling Eye'. This skill has been our family secret for generations. Focus on training it and it will be your biggest assistance.]

Lilly suddenly shouted in shock as she saw her brother staggering.

"Iain?!"

The young woman hurried to support him. Worry was apparent on her face.

"Don't worry. It was just dad. He never said so much before."

"Phh, then I'm relieved. If he spoke so much, I'm sure it was important."

"Yes, it's about a skill I should learn. Let me try."

With those words Iain let out a breath before straightening his back and staring intently at the weapon before him.