“So umm… should we go too?” I asked finally breaking the silence. Kara approached the teleporter in a huff grabbing me by the collar.

“Come on Newbie.” She growled nearly knocking me over. “We’re going back to the first floor!”

We teleported back down to the first floor. I was about to ask where we were headed, but Kara was already storming away. I chased after her as people gave her a wide berth. She led me through the Town of Beginnings without slowing down once.

As she led me down a number of darker alleyways I realized we were nearing the outer border of town. We approached a wide cubic generic building save for a waterwheel attached to the side where Kara finally stopped. Taking a deep breath, her grim mood seemed to melt away to the point that she actually seemed happy. She coughed awkwardly as she noticed me staring before signaling me to follow her inside.

The inside of the building was rustic and a bit disorganized. Weapons of all forms lined the tables and walls. I didn’t have much time to take it all in however, as no sooner had we enter than a voice called out to us.

“Oh!? Little Kara?! Is that you??” A man’s voice called out in disbelief. I looked towards the front to see three large, middle aged men all staring wide eyed.

The man who had called out was the oldest. His high forehead and angular features gave him a bit of a serious look. Next to him stood a taller man who appeared to be a bit more laid back. He almost had a bit of a pompadour going for him. The third man was a short and stout man with curly hair and a bit of a mustache, though it was fairly sparse. He leaned out from the back looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Are these… the friends you told me about?” I asked Kara. She shook her head.

“These guys are good at what they do, but we’re here for someone else.” Kara turned to the men who still seemed to be pinching themselves if Kara was truly there. “Is she still here?” she asked, but before the men could answer, there was a clatter of dropped items from behind us.

We turned around to see a young girl with short brown hair a similar shade to mine and freckles standing there amidst the series of dropped supplies. Tears began to well in her eyes as she stood there staring at Kara with her mouth slightly agape. The girl attempted to find the words to speak before she finally just ran to Kara giving her a tight hug.

“Hey. It’s been a while Lisbeth.” Kara replied in a gentle voice while stroking her hair.

“I thought I’d never see you again!” the girl sniffled burying her face deeper into Kara’s shoulder.

“I know.” Kara soothed. “I’m sorry. I had a lot of stuff to deal with.”

Lisbeth shook her head. “I heard what had happened.” She replied. “I knew you weren’t on the front lines anymore, but I hoped you knew you could still always come by and visit.”

The middle aged men smiled knowingly at the warm reunion. One even wiped a tear from his eye. I stood awkwardly off to the side the only one unaware as to what exactly was going on.

After a minute Lisbeth released her hug and took a deep breath to regain her composure.

“Okay then.” She sighed. “I’m guessing you came here for something other than just a visit. What can I do for you?”

Kara took a step back pointing towards me. “I promised my friend here he could get his blade replaced by the best blacksmith in all of Aincrad!” she beamed.

Lisbeth jumped slightly at finally noticing my presence. The surprise quickly turned to suspicion however as she carefully looked me over.

“Not meaning to doubt your judgment, but are you sure about this?” she whispered to Kara. “Our blades are pretty expensive seeing as we make them for a lot of clearers, and he looks like the kind of riff raff you see hanging around here on the first floor!”

I shifted awkwardly trying to act natural. I wondered if she realized I could hear everything she was saying. Kara patted Lisbeth on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry.” Kara replied. “I know he looks completely unreliable, but he’s not as bad as he looks. He’s saved up a decent amount of col as well.”

Okay, Kara DEFINITELY knew I could hear her. If this was her way of ‘sticking up for me’ I think I faired better on my own.

Lisbeth gave me another suspicious glance before finally raising her arms with a defeated sigh. “Well, you know your business best.” She replied. “Follow me then, I’ll see what I can do.”

We were led through to the back of the shop where there was a small room with a furnace and anvil. It appeared that each of the members of this shop had their own work station to set up as they wished. Lizbeth’s room was the smallest, but it was easy to see she did quality work.

Blacksmithing in Sword Art Online was a fairly automatic system, yet somehow the blades in Lisbeth’s room appeared more elegant and ornamental than the ones in the main shop. I found myself drawn to a beautiful silver rapier hanging on the wall.

“Ah! That was a test product I did for a client of mine.” Lisbeth called out noticing my admiration. “You’d be impressed!” she beamed turning back to Kara. “I managed to get a real celebrity client!”

“It’s so… beautiful…” I said half to myself. I strange smile came over Liz as her cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

“You can try it out if you like?” she suggested.

I stepped back from the sword shaking my head. “I’d be afraid I’d break it!” I replied looking at the sword more like a work of art. Lisbeth just let out a heavy laugh.

“If you could break one of my swords by picking it up, I’d have to give up my role as a blacksmith!” she chuckled.

Finding my courage I picked the elegant rapier up and delicately slid it out of its sheath. It was heavier than my daggers were but still felt surprisingly light and balanced. I lamented not having any rapier skills to test it with, though in the tiny room, trying out sword skills was probably not a wise choice anyways. The blade was so polished it glittered like a star. It was easy to see that whoever used a sword like this intended to make an impression.

“You’ve grown so much since I last saw you!” Kara exclaimed to Lisbeth excitedly.

“Of course!” Lisbeth replied confidently. “I’ve been working hard these last eight months since you last stopped by! I’m even thinking of opening my own store once I earn enough col and customers!”

“Wow! I’d love to visit You’ll have to let me know when you open!” Kara beamed. “You should do something fancy to stand out!”

I carefully placed the rapier back in its sheathe returning it to its spot of honor on the wall. I knew we had come here for my dagger, but I felt like right now, it was more important she had the time to catch up.

All the time I had known Kara she had seemed a bit terse and unapproachable. Kind of understandable being a girl in a predominately male game. It was kind of nice to see her just relax and having fun with someone. It was like I was getting to see a side of her few others would.

“I was thinking of changing my hair colour.” Lisbeth agreed twirling a lock of her bangs between her fingertips. “Maybe something red like yours!”

“Eh?” Kara reacted. “You should go for something a lighter shade than my hair colour. You’d look cuter that way!”

I awkwardly approached the counter feeling unsure what I should be doing. Upon noticing me again, Lisbeth cleared her throat.

“Right! So your friend came for a blade right? Did you bring materials with you or will you be buying them here?” Lisbeth asked attempting to switch back into her professional mode.

At her request, I proceeded to hand over the materials Kara had supplied me with prior. Lisbeth grabbed the bag and inspected it.

“Eh? Not bad.” She mused to herself. “I take it from these materials that you’ll want to upgrade it a few times afterwards as well?” Again, I gave her a simple nod to confirm.

Lisbeth took the materials over to the furnace and anvil. “Well, let’s get the new blade out of the way first. What kind of weapon do you use?” she asked opening up her menu.

“Umm… Daggers…” I replied sheepishly. Lisbeth shot me another suspicious glance between Kara and I, but didn’t press any further. “To each their own I suppose.” She mused to herself as she expertly flipped through her menu.

I watched in awe as she tossed the ingots into the furnace where they blazed red hot. She proceeded to remove the molten metal from the furnace with tongs and began hammering away at the ingot rhythmically. I had read from Argo’s guide that the weapon crafted was more powerful the more hits it took. I held my breath as Lisbeth faithfully hit the ingot again and again and again. Finally with one last hit, the ingot started to glow bright as it morphed into the shape of a dagger. The finished product was a cyan blade that appeared to have an almost translucent quality to it, as if it were made of ice or glass.

“Phantom Fang.” Lisbeth read off of the item description. “For the materials you brought in this is actually a pretty decent blade. You must have some good luck! Now, onto the hard part.”

Putting the blade back onto the anvil, Lisbeth tossed the ingredients into the fire where they melted red hot.

“What enhancements are you interested in?” she asked me.

I thought for a moment. My new fighting strategy revolved around linking as many sword skills together as possible and making the most of the dagger skill line’s critical strike bonus. While sharpness and heaviness were tempting for insurance, if I was going to commit to this strategy I had better go all the way.

“If you could upgrade quickness and accuracy as much as you can I’d appreciate it.” I answered.

“Eh? You’re more bold than I took you for!” Lisbeth mused to herself as she tossed my new dagger back into the furnace.

My stomach lurched a little as I watched my brand new dagger melt. Admittedly I hadn’t been the one who had spent all my time collecting resources, but the rare risk of losing your weapon that was unique to enhancements was enough to make anyone nervous. Kara’s faith in the young blacksmith was not misplaced however as she continued enhancing my dagger until it had +15 Accuracy and +15 Quickness changing its name to ‘Phantom Fang +30’. A considerable upgrade from my base level iron dagger.

Lisbeth found a matching blue sheath for the dagger and then handed it over to me to test out. As soon as I drew the blade I felt the difference. I had never thought much about wasting money on fancy weapons before considering I was just going to outlevel them anyways. Perhaps it was a remnant from my days playing classical RPGs. But as I held the custom made blade in my hand, my arm almost seemed to move on its own.

“So?” Lisbeth asked with a smirk.

“It’s the best blade I’ve ever held!” I replied honestly.

Lisbeth blushed at my unexpectedly forward answer yet still maintained her composure like a skilled craftsman.

“A satisfied customer is a craftsman’s pride!” she beamed.

The cost of the blade and upgrades burnt through whatever boss rewards Argo had left me with, but I truly felt it had been worth it. I proudly equipped my new blade smiling like a schoolboy. Lisbeth had just begun taking off her gloves satisfied with her work when Kara stopped her.

“Ah! Before you put away your tools, I was wondering if you could maybe help me out as well.” Kara exclaimed. Lisbeth’s eyes went wide as a number of emotions I couldn’t quite place seemed to rush through her heart.

“Kara… you don’t mean you’re…” she began, but Kara simply raised her hand.

“What’s done is done.” Kara replied. “Locking myself down here isn’t going to change anything. I think it’s time I started moving forward again.”

Lisbeth stared at Kara seeming both impressed and at the verge of tears. Putting her gloves back on again she returned to her professional mode, though perhaps a touch more energetic than she had been with me.

“So what can I do for you? Repairs? Polish?”

Kara picked the giant axe off her back with one hand. It never ceased to amaze me how such a slender girl could wield such a massive weapon. Even knowing that this was a digital world where everything was controlled through stats, the sight was amusing to behold.

“I have a few more upgrade attempts left on her.” Kara replied. “I think I’ve got the durability where I want it to be, but it could use a bit more heaviness. It had some issues getting through a boss’ armor recently and it’s feeling a bit too flighty to wield.”

Kara handed the massive battle axe towards Lisbeth like it was a light stick. As she let go of it, Lisbeth had to brace herself to keep from falling. She struggled to carry the massive axe over to her forge in both arms where she rested it awkwardly on top of the anvil. Receiving enhancement materials from Kara, Lisbeth proceeded to follow the same steps she had taken for my dagger. By the end, Kara’s axe had been upgraded to an ‘Imperial Warbringer +50’ with +20 to durability and +30 to heaviness.

“Phewph.” Lisbeth exclaimed wiping her brow. “I don’t think I’ve ever managed to pull off so many successful enhancements in a row before. You really know how to make a girl work!”

It was all Lisbeth could do to carry the upgraded battle axe to the counter. Kara however tossed the massive axe up with one hand. Taking a test swing she smiled at the feel of it. I was curious just how many points this girl had put into strength, though I knew my life would be forfeit if I asked such a question.

“Kara…” Lisbeth called out as Kara had hooked her battle axe onto her back. Her face seemed nervous but determined. As if she didn’t want to ask but knew she had to.

“You’re going to be okay right?” she asked. “When I heard about what happened… I thought… I mean you of all people must have been…”

Once again Kara raised her hand to stop Lisbeth from going any further.

“It’s okay.” She replied giving a bittersweet smile. “It still hurts, but I don’t think staying here would’ve been what they wanted for me.”

Lisbeth’s lip quivered as she ran to give Kara one last hug. After making Kara promise to come back again, she let the two of us go. The three middle aged men wished us the best of luck and we were on our way.

As we walked through the dark alleyways again towards the Teleport Plaza, Kara was unusually forlorn. I found myself constantly glancing in her direction but had no idea what I should say to her. Surprisingly it was Kara who eventually broke the silence.

“Thanks…” she replied. I gave her a confused look, but she continued without prodding. “I’m sure what you heard in there gave you a lot of questions about me, but… thanks for not asking them.”

For a little while longer we both walked in silence. Kara’s expression changed as she broke the silence once again.

“I can’t tell you about it now.” She explained. “It’s not because of you. I’m just not ready to talk about it myself yet. But I promise I will some day. So wait for me okay?”

I blushed slightly at the unintentional insinuation.

“Okay.” Was all I could manage to reply. The two of us made our long quiet walk back to the teleport gate.