If the Forge was the beating heart of the craft and innovation where dreams birthed in fire came to life, and Olympus’ Steps was the unreachable summit reserved for the elite, then the Keep was the marketplace where those two worlds collided.
To the average Player, the gear stores lining the streets of Neo-Tokyo were sufficient. Those shops dealt in ‘mass-market product’ created by companies specialised in RIFT technologies – standardised, soulless equipment spat out by automated workshops to meet the high demand of the RIFT rush. They were functional, but they lacked finesse and power.
Absolute power that Jin sought. There was a reason why Master Haephastus gave him the Yàn Shén token, and he was not going to let it idle in his back pocket or stashed under his pillow, acting like a good luck charm.
Also, adventuring inside RIFT was a matter of survival of the fittest. The difference between a mass-produced blade and an Artisan-crafted weapon was the difference between a tool and an extension of one’s own body – one discarded after its durability zeroed, and the other lasted for generations.
And the Keep was the only place where the Artisans of the Forge sold their wares directly. Here, Players could purchase weapons tempered with specialised skills and infused with magistones – crystals dropped from Boss Monsters and imported from outside Neo-Tokyo – that granted customised magical enhancement and properties. To those with pockets deep enough, they could even commission a blacksmith to craft items tailored to their specific quirks and needs.
Want to be an assassin walking the path of shadows without a trace or sound? Sure. It would only cost a hundred million dollars for a full set of the latest ‘Prince of Darkness’ gear. But that was not all to it.
Jin stopped in front of a display featuring the
“Damn,” he said, shaking his head as the price tag stared at him. Five million dollars. For a Tier One sword, it was an astronomical insult – absurd by any standard. His personal budget earned as a reward from Chairman Heihachi, topped out at a million for his entire kit. Definitely not reserved for a single weapon.
But the craftsmanship was undeniable. He reached out, his fingers hovering over the glass. Even the shopkeeper, a man in a pristine suit who had been looking at Jin’s hooded form with blatant disgust since he first entered, paused.
But with Emilia leading the group, the shopkeeper had no choice but to oblige at Jin’s request to try it out.
“Not many could wield it as you do, kind sir,” the shopkeeper said, his voice dripping with a forced tone that lacked any respect.
“You want me to buy the sword for you, Frank?” Emilia offered, her hand already moving toward her family’s credit line. Jin stopped her before she’d do something that he would regret.
It wasn't about the money or getting into debt. He had saved some before his untimely ‘death’. It was a matter of principle he had carried since his dating days with his late wife, who had tried similar gestures. A bushido code, Jin was often told, was not to live and spend beyond your means. Else, he would be a beholden man, not understanding the value of money and freedom.
“If you don’t want that sword, then what are you getting, Frank?” Elise asked, her eyes darting toward a display of enchanted accessories. She couldn’t use them, but the girl couldn't resist the window shopping.
“I don’t know yet,” Jin replied, his gaze coursing through the other items around him. He returned the sword to the shopkeeper, who then buffed away traces of Jin’s fingerprints as quickly as he could before returning it inside the display glass.
But the man didn’t care one bit. He wasn't looking for the dramatic, aura or glow; he was looking for balance. “So many things... but damn, ain’t it pricey.”
“What do you expect, Frank?” Emilia said, her voice carrying the natural ease of a highborn who never fretted over money. “The Keep only sells the best. You’re paying for the name as much as the steel.”
“Maybe next time,” he said, his voice turning cold. “I need a full set of equipment, not a museum piece. Do you have anything cheaper, shopkeeper?”
Whatever mask of respect the shopkeeper left for Jin shattered in an instant. His eyes swept over the customer’s casual appearance, his expression turning lukewarm at best and downright rude at worst.
“If you want something cheaper, why don’t you try the lower floors, kind sir?” the man sneered, gesturing toward the service elevators. “Every shop on the Third Floor will be outside of your modest budget.”
“Alright,” Jin said, feeling a surge of genuine relief. The air up here was too suffocating and pretentious anyway. “I’ll go to the lower floors. See you next time, Emilia. Have fun shopping.”
He turned on his heel with Elise tucking her arm into his as they walked away. Behind them, Emilia stood frozen. She looked at the expensive sword, then at Jin’s retreating figure as realisation dawned on her that perhaps she had insulted his pride. She dropped the items in her hands in haste and ran after him.
“Frank! Wait! I-I’m sorry,” she panted as she caught up. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”
Jin chuckled, the tension leaving his shoulders as they descended into the noisier, more honest parts of the Keep. “Relax, princess. I have a limited budget. I’m not from a rich family, you know.”
They visited several shops, but nothing struck Jin’s fancy until they reached a cramped space tucked into a corner of the first floor. No marble or expensive hardwoods decorated this shop. Instead, the floorboards creaked with age, most likely not maintained since the Keep’s construction. The smell of metal, oil, and sweat clung to the air.
While the girls lingered by the counter fixated on accessories, Jin waded into the clutter of mismatched racks. He scanned the rows but found nothing of note until he reached a bin in the far corner marked ‘To Be Returned’. Inside were various types of gear.
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The shopkeeper explained that the items had sat gathering dust for too long, and to make room for newer stock, he had shoved the pieces aside, waiting for the maker to come and haul them away.
Jin pulled a leather cuirass from a bin. Most Players would skip the Tier One item as it looked plain at best. And their abilities worse. To him, however, the piece displayed masterful craftsmanship. Its maker had hammered the metal with detailed precision, and the stitching flawless. In short, it possessed a soul that the five-million-credit sword he wielded earlier lacked.
“This,” Jin whispered, running his thumb over the leather. “This is what I was looking for.”
“Huh? That’s it?” Emilia's eyes widened. “But that’s trash. It’s in the bin for a reason, you know.”
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Jin smiled as he saw a few more items that caught his eye.
To any Players, newly awakened or not, the System allowed them to discern the items into simple, colour-coded tiers.
The lowest tier was the Tier One items, shimmered with a clean white font – standard gear for the masses. Tier Two pulsed with a soft green light, indicating magic-imbued properties. Tier Three was a deep, ocean blue, the ‘Rare’ mark of a serious Player with money. Above those sat the regal purple of Unique items and the blinding gold of Legendary Tiers.
To every other Players, this was a complete spectrum. To Jin, however, who carried the red-fonted Gem of Life – a Divine Artifact – in his inventory, the ‘Legendary’ gears on display no longer fazed him.
Above all else, Jin didn’t care about the labels and tiers. While Players like Emilia preferred brand names and their enhanced magical properties, he was looking for a soul in the steel. And he found it here, inside a bin at a corner shop.
He scoured the place and picked up a set of equipment that stood apart from Emilia’s flashy, mismatched gears. His was a cohesive set, every piece bearing the same subtle, rugged insignia.
‘Vulcan’.
That was the name of the blacksmith who had poured unmatched obsession and vigour into the craftsmanship. According to the shopkeeper, who had softened slightly under Jin’s intense scrutiny of the wares, Vulcan was an apprentice-level blacksmith – a Bronze V-ranked, Level 30 artisan still fighting to climb into the Keep's upper echelons.
Jin didn't care about the rank or background. He cared that the leather was supple where it needed to move and reinforced where a blade would likely strike. The set – a leather cuirass with a moisture-wicking inner shirt, matching gauntlets, a sturdy girdle, trousers, and boots – felt more ‘alive’ and ‘trustworthy’ than the five-million-dollar sword upstairs. Better still, the whole thing cost him a little over a million dollars.
With the leftover budget, he snagged two short swords for under five hundred thousand. The shopkeeper, perhaps sensing a true connoisseur, threw in a complimentary three-sectioned quarterstaff.
“Say my thanks to the blacksmith, will you?” Jin said, his voice low as he ran a thumb over the length of the new weapon. Balanced and sturdy, as how he liked it.
“Very well, sir,” the shopkeeper replied, his tone bellowing his admiration. “Since you mentioned that this is your first time in the Keep, I could help you make a Keep’s token. Free of charge.”
“A Keep’s token? What’s that?”
“It’s your identity within here and the Forge,” the shopkeeper explained, gesturing toward the girls. “Your lady friend has hers.”
Emilia, with a smirk on her face, produced a wooden block engraved with her name and the Lowenhald family crest. It was a badge of status, a VIP card for the elite to access the best the Keep had to offer. Not every Player would have it – only those deemed worthy.
And somehow, this shopkeeper, unlike the previous one, deemed Jin to be worthy to receive a personal token too.
“Oh. That one,” Jin muttered. He reached into his inventory, taking out the wooden block Master Haephastus had handed him. “I was told this would open some doors for me. Does this count?”
Jin set the token on the counter. The shopkeeper’s eyes widened, his jaw dropped. Even his breath stalled, and he had to grab the edge of the display case to keep from collapsing.
“T-T-This is... Master Haephastus’ token!” he stammered, his voice trembling with a mix of terror and awe. “W-where did you get it, sir?”
“Well, he kind of gave it to me,” Jin said with a casual shrug.
The answer shook the man to his core. He needed Emilia’s steadying hand just to remain upright, while the girl herself looked between Jin and the token with growing confusion. The question she had in her mind was easy enough for Jin to read.
‘Who was this Frank that a God of the Forge would grant him his personal seal?’
When the shopkeeper finally collected himself, the atmosphere shifted. He adjusted his collar, smoothed his apron, and offered a bow so deep it was an act of worship.
“I am honoured... beyond words,” the man muttered. He went to the back and pulled three items from a velvet-lined cabinet. All of the items totalled to ten million dollars “Please, take these. As our gifts for your patronage, sir.”
Jin frowned. “I don't take handouts.”
The two went at it for a while; the shopkeeper was relentless, and Jin was not going to back down from his beliefs.
Finally, they reached a compromise: Jin would pay an additional million for the items - a ninety per cent discount that felt like a gift but allowed the recipient to keep his pride.
The first two items were enchanted earrings, which he straightaway handed to Emilia and Elise. Their delight was instantaneous, while their rivalry was forgotten in the glow of the Tier Two jewellery. The third was a Tier Two magic ring, etched with subtle runes that promised a boost to Jin’s mana recovery. He could use that.
Once he had everything he needed to gear up, it was time to leave the Keep. However, his shopping wouldn’t end anytime soon. A boutique caught the two girls’ attention, and they dragged Jin inside.
“Oh my! This is the latest set!” Emilia said. “I thought it sold out!”
“Oh?” You got good taste, girl,” Elise teased as she tested the colour on her wrist. “Now, that’s what I call summer chic look. I’ll take this. And these,” she said, pulling a few eyeliners from the shelves into her hands.
Jin looked on, shaking his head. He had no use for a makeup set–
Wait.
Makeup set?
Jin’s heart ached for a moment. Seven years ago, the morning of that fateful day, Eleana asked him for a makeup set, to which he rejected the request, causing his daughter to storm past the school’s gate without saying their usual goodbyes.
The very same brand was on display in front of him – La’ Aeterna. With its sleek and elegant packaging of red and black motifs and gold engraving, it was a premium item that most girls went crazy for. It had captivated a ten-year-old girl seven years ago, but for a seventeen-year-old now? Perhaps it was finally time Jin bought her one.
“Oh? Who are you buying this one for?” Elise asked, her head peeking over his shoulder as Jin picked up the La’ Aeterna Limited Edition. Unlike the standard sets, the one he picked came with a case made of obsidian-glass, with a latch shaped like a single sakura flower that seemed to pulse with a faint glow.
Not wanting to arouse suspicion or field any more stupid and pointed questions, he grabbed two more – masking his true intent behind a mask of reckless purchase. One for Elise, and one for a stunned, blushing Emilia.
To the other shoppers, he looked like a generous, albeit somewhat impulsive playboy, dropping close to a thousand dollars on cosmetics without blinking. Compared to the millions he’d spent on gear, it was a drop in the ocean. But to Jin right now, this transaction was heavy with ghosts and past regrets. It wasn’t that he couldn't have afforded it seven years ago – it was that he had prioritised practicality over a little girl's dream.
And practicality meant that he must get a bike too. However, with the two girls hogging his attention, there was no way he could shop in peace. Maybe, just maybe, he would beg Bahamut over a cinnamon roll to magically whisk these two off to America instead.