“Your wife makes a mean roll,” Arden said.

  “Well, she is a baker by trade,” Loyid said.

  “Bread and butter is her bread and butter, huh?”

  Vera glanced at Arden who was biting the side of his lip, trying to keep in a laugh.

  “Laughing at your own joke there?” She asked.

  “Yeah, I thought it was pretty good.”

  Loyid shot Arden a glance.

  “I think I understand why Laurent said you were trouble.”

  “I've made a pun. That doesn't automatically make me an asshole.”

  “I never said you were. Just that you were a troublemaker.”

  There was a beat and then Arden responded, thinking of what had happened over the past few days.

  “Okay, maybe I am.”

  Vera took the opportunity to jump into the conversation.

  “You seem pretty close to Laurent. You two friends?”

  Loyid pushed the door open. Refreshing autumn air flowed into the house.

  “Yeah. He was my coworker over at Miasma for a while.”

  “You're Miasma?”

  “Not anymore. I'm a utility Starborn, so I was never that important in the grand scheme of things. My employment contract ended after the cascade, which seemed like the perfect time to end it. I'm an independent contractor now. It's a lot more than just Miasma paying for my services.”

  “Any reason for retiring?”

  “It's safer for one. I have a family, so I want to keep them safe. With most of the Celestials cleaned up and the goal of Miasma attained, it was great timing. Plus, I make more money as one of Miasma’s contractors than I ever did over there. More clients, more freedom, and more money. Exactly what I wanted to do for my family.”

  Loyid walked them through the backyard to the domed forge garage. As they walked, Sya took special note of the pool surrounded in flagstone and white plaster. Water features shot three jets of water into the air from a wide tanning ledge several centimeters from the water's surface.

  “You can afford this just by being an independent contractor?” Sya asked, her eyes locked on the pool.

  Loyid laughed.

  “If a guild is willing to pay a premium to use your services without actively employing you, that means they are willing to take a loss just to ensure steady use of you. They respect your power and your skills. Your reputation grows as a result. Reputation equals more requests, and more contracts. And more contracts equals more money. Take my advice, if you decide to ever go independent, play every side you can.”

  Arden grinned.

  “Rather mercenary for a family man.”

  “I’m mercenary because I'm a family man.”

  “I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. I'm pretty sure I'm the same. Laurent said the same thing a while back. Something about doing anything for his family.”

  They stopped in front of the forge. The biggest difference between a normal garage and the forge in front of them at a glance was the large vault door made of Celestinite.

  “Careful now,” Loyid advised. “It's gonna be really really hot.”

  “Copy that,” Arden said, immediately donning his Stoneflesh Shroud from his Soul Cluster.

  “A gentleman would offer his heat-shielding armor to the one with the least heat resistance,” Sya said.

  “I imagine a gentleman would, yes.”

  Vera’s hair changed from mostly black to mostly icy blue and touched Sya’s neck with an exasperated sigh.

  “That should help a bit.”

  “Thanks. Why are you together with him again?"

  “I ask myself that question once every couple of days.”

  “And every time you do,” Arden cut in. “You remember why.”

  Vera sighed.

  “He's not wrong.”

  “You guys ready?” Loyid asked, getting nods in response.

  He turned the crank handle and the vault door opened. Immediately, they were blasted with a sweltering heat. All three of the Starborn unfamiliar with the forge started to sweat, even though their respective defenses.

  The sound of fire cracking gave Loyid a backdrop to raise his arms into the air and make an announcement.

  “Welcome to the Forjer Forge!”

  More of the same spatial abilities had been used on the inside of the garage, expanding the inside to the size of the house they were just in.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The forge had an open floorplan, making it extremely easy to get from one piece of forge equipment to the next, something that Arden believed was imperative for creating the best equipment. He had no knowledge of forging equipment, but it made sense to him. If a piece of metal cooled too quickly before it was able to be shaped, it would have to be heated again. Of course, Arden didn't know if reheating ruined the quality of the materials. If that weren't the case, then it would be a waste of time, if nothing else.

  Loyid took the group on a tour around his personal domain. He first brought them to a large pit raised a meter into the air with a domed lid leaning against it. It looked like something from a fantasy world, given how it wasn’t made of typical materials, but grey celestinite reinforced with the red scales of some Celestial.

  “This is the forge of the workshop,” Loyid explained. “Originally, it was just a basic, man-made celestinite forge, but it couldn’t withstand the heat needed to forge some stronger pieces. So, red drake scales. Got them at the auction house for a pretty penny. I think it was worth it.”

  Next to the forge was a large anvil as long as an ironing board. This one was made out of a lustrous black stone. Along the wall next to it was an assortment of accessories for shaping the materials on the anvil

  “Is that an obsidian anvil?” Sya asked.

  “Kind of. It’s a Satellite from my second trial.”

  The anvil turned to orange sparks and flew to Loyid, before he summoned it back to the floor.

  “It's made from the same obsidian-esque material that the Celestial it came from is made of. Way tougher.”

  “Do other smiths use Satellites in their forge?” Arden asked, looking at the anvil that reminded him of his own Satellite anvil.

  “If they get lucky enough. Having this stuff expands their horizons as craftsmen. They can use more exotic materials because the equipment is stronger. Sometimes there will be a buff that helps with forging in one way or another."

  They passed a rack covered in an assortment of different types of tongs and hammers. They all seemed to be made with different materials and all had different shapes.

  “You can never have enough of these.”

  At the end of the wall was a desk which Loyid walked behind. He bent over for a second to fish a can of beer out from a celestinite minifridge and a notepad that was resting on top of it.

  “Alright,” he said, opening the can and taking a swig. “So Laurent tells me you guys need some equipment. What is it you’re looking for? Weapons, armor, accessories?”

  Vera took the initiative.

  “We need some Satellite weapons, and some forged armor. Red-tier.”

  Loyid raised an eyebrow.

  “You don’t want Satellite armor?”

  “Oh we definitely do. But we have less than a month before the field assessment, and weapons are quicker to forge.”

  “That depends on the weapon,” he said, folding his arms. “What types are you looking for?”

  “A straight sword for each of us, plus an extra for me. 70ish centimeters, bladed on both ends.”

  “I’d also like a guandao,” Sya said.

  Loyid nodded and turned to Arden.

  “Do you want another weapon as well?”

  “I already have one. The sword is a backup in case my gauntlets are destroyed.”

  “Alright, let's see if I got this right,” Loyid said, reading his notes. “Five red-tier Satellites. Four of them are straight swords. One is a gaundao. I’m going to assume you want them as protostars, correct?”

  “That’ll work,” Vera said. “We’re not looking for anything special with the aspects. Probably durability enhancements."

  “That makes it easier for me. Make them more reliable for you as well. Alright, five red-tier protostar Satellites. Five red-tier cores for the base Satellites, and another two for each aspect.”

  “The aspects are worth more than the Satellite itself?” Arden asked.

  “Of course. If a Satellite didn't have any aspects, it’d just be a fancy tool. Aspects are what give them life.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  “So that brings your total so far up to fifteen red-tier cores for the weapons. Let’s talk armor. It’ll be another core for each set, by the way."

  "That's fine,” Vera said. “Like I said before, we’ll take some forged armor. No Satellties.”

  Loyid pointed to the wall opposite of the forging equipment. Weapon racks hung from the wall while armor stands stood on the ground adorned in unique armor.

  “That’s all the forged equipment that I have for sale. If it’s not to your liking, I can make some custom stuff, but it’ll cost extra.”

  “Always does,” Arden muttered.

  Vera and Sya took their time exploring Loyid’s selection of armor, hoping to find the ones that spoke to them, while Arden explored as well, trying to figure out which ones Vera would look the best in.

  ‘A hot chick in armor is a good combo,’ he mused. ‘But why is all of it heavy platemail? I’m not looking for bikini armor, or even exposed skin, but all of this stuff looks way too bulky. Give me sleek.’

  Arden was pleased to hear that Vera and Sya had the same complaint.

  “Do you have anything lighter?” Vera asked. “We’re more of the nimble type.”

  “Unfortunately not,” Loyid shook his head. “This is all the stuff that hasn’t sold, and it's been here a while. Most of the lighter armor is taken as soon as it's made. Truth be told, I’m a lot less confident in my light armor. It all depends on the materials.”

  “What do you mean?” Arden asked.

  He took a step back from the only armor that wasn’t overly bulky. Instead, it just had a massive hole in the navel, which went against the entire point of armor. He could tell it was a design choice too, which just confused Arden further.

  “Well, this is a forge,” Loyid said. “When it comes to metal, alloys, or refining Celestials into either of two, then I’m your guy. But it’s hard to find light metal, even from all of the synthesized Celestials.”

  He pointed to Arden’s armor.

  “I could make stone plates like what you have there. Rock Celestials are fairly common. But if you wanted me to make the rest of it, you’d have to find someone else. I’m a blacksmith, not a tailor.”

  “Do you happen to know one?” Sya asked.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. My brother-in-law, Yoru’s brother, Yuro. I can give you the address of his workplace.”

  “That’d be great.”

  The three customers returned to the desk, where they handed over the twelve star cores. Arden forked over nine of them, while the rest was split in half by Vera and Sya. They agreed on this beforehand, knowing that Arden didn’t need his cores to evolve.

  He was still a bit bitter about it though.

  “When do you need these done by?” Loyid asked.

  “Before the end of the month,” Vera said. “Field assessment.”

  “Right. That should be enough time. How should I contact you to let you know your equipment is done?”

  Arden sighed. They really needed their own personal phones or communicators.

  “Laurent, probably.”

  “I guess that works,” Loyid said, handing over the address. “When you head to Yuro’s and make a request, you get a discount if you are able to provide the resources yourself. Tip for every production job out there, actually.”

  Arden silently cried as he lost a third of his star cores. He understood why it took so long to get to main sequence if they needed a thousand for evolution, while spending it on other important things.

  “We’ll make sure to do that. We’re going hunting tomorrow, anyway,” he said.

  “Good hunting, then,” Loyid said. “I hope you find plenty of resources to turn into armor.”

  “So do we. Have a good afternoon.”

  “You too.”