It was a bright and warm, sunny Summer day. An occasional fluffy white cloud made it's way across the sky. The heat did not bother Hiro Kouen much though, as he walked through the marketplace of Adeluna City. There were people all over selling their wares, everything from pots and pans, pottery, horseshoes, to bladed weapons like swords, axes, and polearms. Hiro wore his ornate crimson plate armor, covered with a cloak as he walked through the crowded marketplace. Everyone else around him was dressed in more comfortable, cooler clothing. However, Hiro, with his heavy armor and full length cloak, seemed unphased by the Summer heat. His deep blue eyes were caught at a stall that had 'Mastercraft" weapons. The young man, around 18 years of age, with black hair, streaked with red, walked toward the shop,
"Welcome! Welcome! Come one, come all! Come gaze upon my Mastercraft weapons! I am the Legendary Swordsmith Zestria! I have traveled across the land, gathering the rarest materials to make the best weapons the land has even seen!" The middle aged, balding, stocky man had attracted quite a crowd of people. "See this sword over here?" He held up a long sword he removed from its sheath. The blade had an ornate hilt, and a straight edge, with etchings across the blade. "This sword is a work of art! Enchanted to never rust, never break, unyielding, never dull! It's made from a rare metal, lacriamium! It's a magical metal, unmatched in strength!" Hiro looked at the sword the man was holding up to the crowd. Something looked off about it. It did not appear to be made of that magical metal, and the blade appeared slightly oily, as if it was coated with some kind of polish. "Look at this shine and luster! This sword could cut through any metal plate like a hot knife through butter!" He moved to the side revealing a suit of armor on a training dummy. He took the blade and sloppily slashed into the dummy, chopping through the plate and the dummy. "This sword is unmatched, and I have a few swords like this, and I'm willing to part with them for 10,000 silver!" Hiro looked deep in thought as he watched the blade in action.
"Good Sir Zestria, was it? I'm interested in this sword. May I take a close look at it." Hiro stood tall among the crowd, stepping forward. Zestria looked at the young man, catching a glimpse of the armor he had under his cloak. It was like he saw dollar signs light up in his eyes.
"Certainly, good sir! Certainly! You look like a man of refined taste, a man of culture, and money!" he laughed, wiping his mouth. it seemed he was nearly drooling over the thought of making a sale to this young knight, who was likely a noble or some such. He handed the young man the sword in it's sheath. He started to draw the blade from the sheath. The sword indeed had an oily coating on it. He slipped his finger into the sheath, finding a coating of the same oily liquid found on the blade. "So this blade can cut through almost anything, huh? Interesting, very interesting. It seems very sharp, high quality." Hiro tested the balance of the sword, handling it, and taking a few test swings, far enough from anyone so no one was injured. "I bet this sword could cut through anything, huh? Even this tree over here?" He glanced a large oak tree across from the market stall. Zestria froze for a moment, then looked at HIro wearily.
"If you've the strength to cut through a tree, I'm sure it could, but it is a sword, not a wood cutting axe, it is meant for piercing flesh and bone, inferior armors and blades," Zestria responded, with some hesitance.
Hiro walked over to the tree, the crowd watched him with a concentrated gaze. Hiro took the sword in hand, and swung at the tree, cutting a slice cleanly through the tree, with some resistance. The blade was still sharp, but some of the shine had came off the blade. Hiro took a couple more swings, cutting gouges through the tree, pieces of wood flying from the strikes.
"Hmm, it can cut through a tree, I'm impressed." Hiro studied the blade once more. The coating on the blade was coming off, he studied the cuts on the tree, where some of the coating had come off the blade, and left residue on the trunk. It wasn't noticeable unless you were studying it carefully. "I think I'll purchase this fine blade!" The Swordsmith gave a look of relief. ". . . One more test, though." He gripped the blade in both hands, and swung hard, a powerful blow at the tree, the blade started to penetrate the tree, but then stopped part way. "Eh? What's this? I thought the sword isn't supposed to dull . . ." He pulled the blade from the tree, raised it over his head, then swung down once more. The blade struck the tree, then a loud crack could be heard, as the blade broke, a piece of metal flying through the air and hitting the ground, gasps escaping from the crowds, then a deafening silence. The "master bladesmith" screamed.
"This sword wouldn't happened to be covered in LIQUID lacriamium would it? Or maybe a cheaper substitute? It's a substance that'll give a weapon properties approaching a blade made of that metal, as long as it remains coated in it. It will not rust, it will not break, it will cut through almost anything, but the coating will come off with repeated use, with reduced effectiveness." Hiro took a cloth and rubbed in the inside of the sheath with it, he showed the cloth to the audience, there was now a oily stain on the cloth. "There appears to be a coating of a similar substance inside it's sheath. You wouldn't expect something made of this mystical metal to need a special coating, no? My father was a master blacksmith, he'd worked with this metal, and similar metals, like adamantium. This sword is made of regular steel, low quality, and coated with an alchemy potion to resemble lacriamium, and I bet if I had bought one of these blades, it'd work for awhile, then when the coating ran out, it'd stop working as promised, and fail me in battle. Like this sword failed against a damn tree. Sir, you are a fraud." Hiro pointed at the man with the broken sword, walked over to him, sheathing the blade, and dropping it into his hands. "I bet the substance you used was literally made with snake oil." People starred in dead silence for a few good moments, before booing and walking away. The blacksmith, Zestria, started to cry. His dreams of money was shattered.
