In the middle of the day, I decided to make a sign out of plywood for my shop out of sudden inspiration, and people then knew my shop was called “Guso’s Quality Shop”.

A simple name but one with presence.

As the day went by my inventory got smaller and smaller and my pockets were filled to the brim.

Everything I had, was something everyone in town highly coveted, whether it was the inexpensive quality meat for the common citizen, the raw materials for the Nutritional and Medical Experts, or the powerful and rare weapons that the City’s Powerful would go crazy over.

Eventually I earned myself over 70 platinum coins, and a great amount of common currency to the point where a visit to the Bank was becoming paramount.

Money and Martial Art Techniques weren’t the only things I accumulated.

People told me all kinds of information and rumors in hopes of getting discounts or deals for the things I sold.

I heard that many of the Shops and Apothecarys in town had set their eyes on me, and we're looking into where I was getting my supplies from.

I knew people would ask questions on where I got my goods but I never thought I could pose a threat to any large scale establishment, especially since I was just a street stand.

Other things I heard was that people were still out to get me, and that there are a couple Organizations out there who especially hate me.

It was something I was glad I became aware of, but in the end it did me no good worrying about it.

I would deal with it when the time came.

Things like the best Martial Arts Organizations, the drama and rivalries between Organizations, new Rising Stars and Martial Geniuses, were things I cared little for.

From the beginning of my journey, improving myself, and beating the person I was before, has always been my path to improvement.

It's interesting stuff to hear but I hardly put any value to it.

One of the few things that did catch my ear was news that Unyielding Martial Will Dojo was going to have a massive recruiting event in a couple months.

Something like that would have gotten me excited before, but after some life experience, and a bit of inside knowledge from Kemoro, as well as the fact that I was now under the tutelage of a Great Master, who was rumored to have beaten Unyieldings Head Master, I decided that trying to join their Dojo was no longer a viable path for someone like myself.

The Universe and the power that be, had guided me in a different direction, and I was more than willing to follow the current than to go against it.

After a successful day of business, I packed what little merchandise I had left, and made my way back to what now felt like home.

As usual when I got there I found Yupow had already passed out and was snoring the night away.

I too followed suit putting away all plans i had of my future endeavors.

***

Great Inner Fire Weapons Company Headquarters

This was perhaps the second biggest power in Martial Citadel solely because of the fact that they possessed the secret to creating perhaps the best quality Inner Martial Arts weapons in the City and perhaps in all of Volunterra.

They Safeguarded the secrets to creating and forging material such as Inner Martial Iron, Inner Martial Bronze, and Inner Martial Steel.

The majority owner of the Company was a Martial Clan by the name of the Firebrun’s.

The Firebrun Clan has always been lowkey in their movements and actions especially since they weren’t the biggest power in the City.

The oppression of Unyielding Dojo’s influence was always something Clan Head Dirgen Firebrun constantly loathed.

Suddenly the door to Dirgen’s office opened and a man carrying a elongated cloth sack walked in.

“Dirgen I managed to get one of the weapons the City has been going crazy about. It wasn’t easy. The kid is very selective to who he sells to.”

“I'm impressed with Kemoro’s eye for talent, this kid is not only a Ranker at such a young age, but he's also a savvy Businessman, if he wasn't his disciple and under the protection of Yupow I would’ve already cut such threatening talent right at the bud before he fully matures. So Gimok what have you been able to determine regarding the origins of his weapon. Who's supplying them to him.”

“From what I can tell the weapon doesn’t have any signs of any of the known Weapon Crafters in the area or even Volunterra as a whole. I had many of our Expert Craftsman and ‘Old Know it all’s’, who have been around, and know just about every person who's worth knowing in the weapons crafting world, and even they were unable to determine its creator. One thing is for certain, they coincided with me in their amazement that despite the crude and simple crafting technique, the weapon is a work of Art and definitely of high quality even if it can only qualify as a low tier Magical Weapon.”

“Do you think the United Kingdom of Magic has anything to do with this? Usually they’re always so cheap in trading with Volunterra any of their Magical Items, our City barely even registers in their radar, it's actually humiliating how much they look down upon our Inner Energy Weapons. If they’re mocking us with their throwaway trash I might just go over there myself and knock some Mage heads off their stupid robes.”

“I definitely don’t think this has anything to do with the UKM, upon closer inspection of the Weapon we can't notice any of the tell tale signs of their Weapon Crafting Arts. Not even from any of their crappiest works, in fact we have so much of their subpar exports, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this weapon and the other ones he’s selling are actually much better than what the City gets on a regular basis from these UKM merchants. It might not be made out of Metal, but the stone tip is as strong as any metal out there, you'll have a hard time breaking it. The craftsmanship, carvings, design, and features of the weapon are all quite unique and very powerful for a weapon of this class. Most low level Magical Weapons we receive from the UKM, can barely even be qualified as Magical Weapons; they are usually enchanted with low level spells or seals, usually with things like a durability spell or a sharpness spell. Most of the time the weapons can’t even deal magical damage. The creator of this weapon made it so that it deals not only magical damage, but also it seems to be enchanted with a weak but effective petrification spell that petrifies any tissue or blood the spear tip comes in contact with. It has many more such useful magical features that ultimately i'm hard pressed to say that despite the crude crafting materials, this weapon is definitely worthy of a higher ranking than that of a low level magical weapon.”

“ Have you determined what materials it's made of and do we have anybody that can replicate it?”

“That too is what's so odd about this thing, after me and all the old bones analyzed this thing for hours, we could only conclude that the materials used to craft the weapon look no different than Burning Yew, and what seems to be Shattering Stone, generic Twine, and some sort of sealing Resin. The problem is that they are all enchanted with Magic, which as far as I know can only be done to such low quality materials through or by high level enchanting spells, secret transmutation spells, or Special Rune Etching. I don’t know why anyone would waste precious resources like those on such low quality materials and on such a simple looking weapon.”

“I don’t understand, if it's so simple, why haven't you answered my question? From the looks of it, your information is outdated and it seems like you in fact can enchant normal materials with magical properties most just don't know how. And it seems this boy Guso is the key to finding out the method. To be able to easily enchant any material or weapon is the dream of many warriors, alchemists, and weapon smiths. It would change the weapons market forever. We have to find out the secret behind this weapons crafting, and if we do you can say goodbye to being relegated to a second rate organization by the likes of Unyielding Dojo. Is that clear to you?”

“Yes it's clear Dirgen, in fact I have a feeling Guso might’ be the crafter himself, since this weapon bares a small tiny signature that seems to match the initials of his name. meaning he's received training in at least low level Magon Magic or Magical Weapon Smithing Arts. Why someone with Skills and Arts like these would want to become a Martial Artist is beyond me, but that might make things easier for us in figuring out his secret Enchanting Method. The only obstacle is Yupow. From my understanding it's not even possible to reach a 10 mile perimeter of his place without getting targeted, and there’s a mysterious shroud covering his home preventing us from spying from a distance. I've also heard rumors of many notorious Experts known for doing dirty work suddenly disappearing. It certainly looks like how things are now, as long as Yupow is looking after the Kid, I don't think we're going to be able to get close to him.”

“It's ok there’s no need to rush things although what you said might be true. I personally cannot believe that he's the Weapon Crafter. I just don't see him having the resources and knowledge to pull something like that off. It doesn’t matter though he’s still the one that's selling them so for now do what you can to get close to him and get as much information as you can from him. I'm tired of being in this Dingy City, becoming a powerhouse in Will City or even Mystic City will soon no longer be just a dream. It’s time for our Clan to rise Gimok.”

“Yes Dirgen i'll do my best, but it's best that you know I'm not the only one after the kid, not just Kemoro’s enemies but even the Martial Cooks Guild, Martial Apothecary's Association, and Food Markets Alliance, have all shown interest in the boy for his ability to get stuff that everyone in town has been struggling to get a supply for.”

“It looks like the boy has many secrets, don’t worry, continue as planned, everyone else will have to wait to get to him just the same as us. A monster like Yupow is not someone anybody in this City can afford to offend.”

“Then It's settled. Next time I see you I’ll definitely have the secret to Universal Enchantment.”

Gimok left and Dirgen stayed there in his office contemplating the origin of Guso, the multitalented Disciple of Kemoro.