TBAGM Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 4

When we reached our destination, we couldn’t help but gasp at the building’s dignified presence.

“It really is huge.”

“It is. Thinking about it now… I used to work here, didn’t I?”

This was the One-Eyed Workshop; one of the largest blacksmith guilds in the country.

Maybe it was the intricate carvings on the outer walls, or the variety of metals and gems embedded throughout the design, but the building exuded an overwhelming sense of grandeur.

“Lord Lloyd! Should I go speak with them on our behalf?”

Considering Ellis had worked here until three years ago, it wouldn’t be surprising if some of her former colleagues or superiors were still around. Under different circumstances, I might have let her handle this. But in this case, I was the better fit.

“No, it’s okay. I know someone here too.”

With that, Ellis and I confidently walked through the front doors of the One-Eyed Workshop.

“Not much has changed in the past three years, huh?”

“Yeah, maybe just a wider variety of weapons now.”

The building wasn’t solely occupied by blacksmiths.

The first and second floors were dedicated to selling weapons and armor. The third held exclusive items available only to registered members. Meanwhile, the basement and fourth floor housed the blacksmiths, hammering away at their forges.

Passing by racks of gear, we made our way to the reception desk.

“We’d like to discuss a partnership agreement.”

“May I have your guild’s name?”

“Veiled Moonrise.”

I presented our emblem as I gave the name.

The receptionist tilted her head for a moment before smiling.

“Oh, the new guild that was just founded, right?”

“That’s right. I’d like to request a meeting with the guildmaster if possible.”

“Understood. Let me check… Ah, you’re in luck! He’s free right now, though only for about thirty minutes. Would that be enough time?”

She asked with a somewhat apologetic tone.

Meetings like this usually ran over an hour, but since we didn’t make an appointment, we weren’t in a position to complain.

“Yes, that’ll be fine.”

“Then please come this way. I’ll guide you.”

She led us to the elevator. The moment it started moving, Ellis let out a startled yelp.

“Wh-what?! What is this!?”

She had probably never been allowed to use it before, since she’d only been assigned menial tasks.

Puffing her chest out, the receptionist replied with pride.

“This is our elevator. It’s a masterpiece built with all the One-Eyed Workshop’s technology. Convenient, isn’t it?”

“Yes! It’s incredible! Lord Lloyd, can we install one in our guild too?”

“Haha… Our guild doesn’t have the funds or tech for something like that yet.”

“Hmm…”

Pouting slightly at my response, she puffed out her cheeks.

Please stop making that face, it makes me want to spoil you.

“We’re here. That door at the end of the hall is the guildmaster’s office.”

“Thank you kindly. Let’s go, Ellis.”

“Ehh… Can’t we enjoy the elevator a bit longer?”

“We’ll take it again on the way down. We only have thirty minutes, remember?”

“Fiiine.”

Ellis reluctantly nodded. She seemed completely smitten with the elevator.

Once Veiled Moonrise’s income stabilized, I’d make sure to install one just for her.

When we reached the guildmaster’s office, we heard his voice before even knocking.

“Come in.”

It was almost as if he had been waiting for us.

The receptionist had likely contacted him via the 【Telepathy】 skill when checking his schedule.

As we entered, the guildmaster—already seated—greeted us.

“It’s been a while… Lloyd.”

“Hm? Ah, yes. Long time no see, Mr. Abaddon.”

He spoke without lifting his gaze, as if weighed down by something.

He seemed a far cry from the cheerful, energetic man I remembered. Something was definitely off.

“Has it been a year already? You haven’t visited the Workshop in a while.”

“Yes… I’ve been caught up in meeting quotas.”

The man sitting across from me was Abaddon, guildmaster of the One-Eyed Workshop.

He’d lost his right eye from a flying spark during weapon forging. Even now, he wore a black eyepatch over it.

.

[Name]	Abaddon (29)
[Title]	One-Eyed Workshop – Guildmaster, A-Rank Blacksmith
[Stats]	Vitality: B/A  Magic: C/B  Ambition: B/A  Leadership: B/A  Intelligence: A/A
[Skill]	Blacksmith’s Secrets: A/S  Spirit Infusion: B/B
[Inherent Trait]	None
[Profession]	Blacksmith
[Attributes]	Devotion: A/A  Blade Crafting: A/S  Metal Shaping: A/A

.

Abaddon’s stats were top-tier for a blacksmith. There were only a handful of A-rank blacksmiths in the entire country.

“So, I heard you were expelled from Incarnation of the Sun. That’s… quite the misfortune.”

“…Yeah. But I’m honestly happy with where I am now.”

“You started a new guild—with her?”

Abaddon turned his gaze to Ellis, who had been silently observing the conversation.

The news of my expulsion hadn’t been made public. So how did Abaddon know?

I felt a twinge of suspicion but chose to respond calmly.

“Yes. Today, we came to form a partnership contract—with you personally, Mr. Abaddon.”

“…Not with the One-Eyed Workshop, but with me?”

Abaddon’s brow twitched at my words. He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk; that was his old habit when hiding something.

Seeing that, I felt a quiet certainty and smiled with confidence.

“Yes. We want a direct contract with you.”

“And why is that?”

He chose his words with care, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing.

“Because we only need weapons forged by you.”

“But with your current guild, the compatibility wouldn’t match, would it?”

“That can be dealt with later. Have you forgotten my profession?”

Weapons and armor had attributes like Power, Durability, and Weight. These were grouped into classes, and adventurers were meant to equip items matching their own class level.

That’s what Abaddon meant by ‘compatibility.’

For example, even within Full Armor, there were various class levels. A D-Class Full Armor could only be properly wielded by a D-rank adventurer or higher.

Everything Abaddon crafted was A-Class.

Which meant Ellis, currently a D-rank, couldn’t use any of it. That was clearly what he was implying.

Apparently, Abaddon already knew Ellis’s rank.

But Ellis had reached the pinnacle of 【Water Ball】. It wouldn’t be long before she rose to A-rank.

“Not even you could raise a D-rank to A-rank that easily, could you?”

“That’s strange. Normally, you’d agree right away. But today, you’re being cautious.”

“—Wha… What are you getting at?”

Abaddon’s voice sharpened slightly.

He was clearly shaken. And I had a good guess as to why.

With a hint of cruelty, I pressed the point.

“Well, I figured someone told you not to work with us. I didn’t expect Kyros to move this quickly behind the scenes.”

Once I said it, everything clicked into place.

Kyros always preferred to work in the shadows: covert pressure, slow isolation, systematic takedowns.

“…When did you figure it out?”

“Your complexion, Mr. Abaddon. It was obvious something was bothering you.”

So Abaddon had already aligned himself with Kyros.

Kyros had likely threatened to terminate the One-Eyed Workshop’s partnership with Incarnation of the Sun if Abaddon made any deals with me.

From a business perspective, it made sense. Between the most powerful guild and the weakest one—Veiled Moonrise—the choice was obvious.

“Ellis, we’re leaving.”

“We get to ride the elevator again, right? Yay!”

Despite the failed negotiation, Ellis bounced up from her seat cheerfully. She didn’t seem disturbed in the slightest; she must trust me deeply.

If the One-Eyed Workshop wouldn’t take us, we’d try somewhere else. Even if Kyros had poisoned the rest, we still had to check.

Just as we turned to leave, Abaddon raised his voice in desperation.

“I had no choice! Kyros threatened to cut all ties if I so much as spoke with you!”

“So you chose Incarnation of the Sun. That’s all there is to it.”

“Guh—”

Abaddon fell silent, his gaze dropping to the floor.

He had no words of rebuttal.

To him, I delivered one final declaration.

“I’ve decided—I’m going to reach the top with her. And if you’ve chosen to side with Kyros, then I’ll fight the One-Eyed Workshop with everything I’ve got.”

With that, I turned and left the room, hoping—deep down—that it would never come to that.

 †

About a week earlier—

News reached Kyros’s ears: Lloyd had founded a new guild.

“What! Lloyd started a guild!?”

Kyros roared from within his chambers.

“What the hell is this!? There’s no way that man could’ve built a guild!”

“It seems… the Chairman of the Adventurer’s Association is backing him,” the woman kneeling before him replied.

Clad in all-black, her face was stiff, expressionless and curt.

Her name was Wraith. She oversaw intelligence gathering for Incarnation of the Sun; in other words, she was one of its operatives in the shadows.

“Damn it. Orgus… so he’s getting in my way now.”

Kyros had ordered Wraith to report any information about Lloyd directly to him.

(Tch. If he’d just shut up and accepted his demotion to grunt work, we wouldn’t be in this mess…)

It wasn’t that Kyros had underestimated Lloyd’s contributions.

Quite the opposite. He was afraid Lloyd might someday jeopardize his own standing.

Kyros, who held an A rank in Intelligence, wasn’t blind to how well-liked Lloyd had become among the First Unit.

After establishing Incarnation of the Sun, Kyros had retired from adventuring to focus solely on management; making him, like Lloyd, a non-combatant.

If Lloyd’s standing rose, it could render Kyros obsolete.

They were both original founding members. Both had long careers.

And so, Kyros had decided to demote Lloyd from executive to errand-boy.

(Making me clean this up myself… what a pain.)

Kyros knew Incarnation of the Sun’s rise was thanks to Lloyd.

That’s why he’d wanted Lloyd to stay and train the low-ranked recruits from the shadows.

Instead, Lloyd had walked away entirely.

(Damn it. It had to be done—for the guild’s sake… and for Lloyd’s too.)

Wraith, noticing Kyros’s growing frustration, gently offered her thoughts.

“Lord Kyros, perhaps there’s no need to concern yourself so deeply?”

“What do you mean?”

Wraith was the one Kyros trusted most. She had saved him numerous times through her intelligence work.

Incidentally, Lloyd was the one who had discovered her talent.

She, of course, had no idea, and had sworn absolute loyalty to Kyros.

“As of now, the only member in Lloyd’s new guild is a single D-rank adventurer. They’re severely lacking in personnel. Give it a few months and I’m sure they’ll either collapse or come crawling to Incarnation of the Sun for support.”

“I see… yes, you’re right.”

Kyros had feared that if someone like Lloyd, an exceptional instructor, were to create a guild, it might one day rival Incarnation of the Sun.

But with her words, he realized something: All the truly talented adventurers in this country had already been scouted.

“So, would it be acceptable to leave him be?”

“No. Even pesky little gnats should be swatted ahead of time.”

Kyros curled his lips into a twisted grin.

He was not the sort to let things lie.

His Ambition was almost a talent in itself, and it had elevated him to the top of the country’s guild hierarchy.

If there was even a slight chance of that position being threatened, he would crush it with everything he had.

“Inform every blacksmith and alchemist guild under partnership with us: If they associate with Veiled Moonrise, all contracts will be severed immediately.”

If the largest guild in the country, Incarnation of the Sun, cut ties, those suppliers would face massive losses.

It was only natural they would choose Kyros over a newly established upstart.

Veiled Moonrise would be isolated, unable to rely on anyone, and dissolve quietly.

“What about the Adventurer’s Association?”

“Telling Orgus would be pointless. Start buying off their staff little by little.”

Kyros knew full well that Orgus was deeply indebted to Lloyd.

Telling him to betray Lloyd would be like talking to a wall.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

Wraith bowed deeply and vanished in an instant.

Alone again, Kyros exhaled, satisfied.

“Well, that should do it.”

He had no idea this complacency would one day lead to his own undoing.

†