The day had only just begun, but the shop was empty as customers hadn't started to spill in yet. As Devroux stood behind the counter wiping it down for the day, there was a surprise that literally came knocking at the door. The first customer today - if he could be called that - happened to be Noctis, the long-leg he'd spent some time with, but hadn't seen for awhile for almost no reason at all. He was sure his ally had been busy with his own things, just as Dev had been busy manning the shop now that Sam was out of the picture.

The long-leg stepped up, prompting a nodding greeting from Devroux, but setting down some equipment on the counter that piqued some level of interest. The items that had been place in front of him were a simple cloth and an outdated hammer, but if Dev hadn't been a blacksmith of a decent level, they would have looked like nothing more than that. To the experienced eye, there was more to them than that.

The first item that mink picked up was the cloth, as that was outside his expertise and made him a little more curious than the other object. Bringing it close to his eye, Dev inspected the stitching, as if the item were as important as Noctis bringing it in suggested, that's where what made it special would lie. At first touch, however, the mink could notice a small difference in the fabric compared to normal cloth. Inspecting the stitching only solidified what he'd expected. It was different, but he wasn't as knowledgeable as he could be on the subject.

"So, tell me about this. It's... different, but I don't really know how. It feels different."

Moving on to the next object, Devroux picked up the hammer and twirled it around in his hands. The metal was old and unkempt, but he could take care of that with a little smith magic. Running his clawed fingers up the handle and over the bell, he figured out what made it different from a normal handle. The head of the hammer had a joint built into it that gave it some amount of give. It was interesting, as he hadn't thought of doing that himself. The only thing he couldn't understand was why someone would want to do something like that.

"I'm going to assume you brought this to me to dissect, yes?"

WC: 430
Haki Stamina: 10/10

Equipment:

"Well, let's take a look then," the mink stated, taking the hammer into the back of the shop with him. Devroux wouldn't say it explicitly, but the long-leg was allowed to follow him if he so chose. Not worried about his ally, the mink was fascinated with the idea of weaponry that could transform, or was otherwise more than what it seemed.

Setting the hammer down on the workbench, the mink moved around the room to gather some of the equipment he thought he'd need to truly inspect the item. When he retrieved what he wanted, he went back to the hammer and began picking away at the crusted debris the surrounded the head and the joint until he could see what he was really working with. When he'd cleared what he needed to, he was able to remove the plate that made up the face of the hammer head.

Within the head of the hammer, two devices were of importance. Primarily, the piece that gave the joint its give was built in a way that meant it wouldn't contract without a given amount of force. Meaning, whatever was intended to happen wouldn't happen unless enough power was put into striking. The second device of note wasn't really a device at all, but a metal plate with a black powder residue that could be seen on both the backside of the face plate and the plate that hid beneath it. The black residue was something he was familiar with, as it was the same residue that would appear on firearms when used, but the rest of the device was completely foreign.

Calling out to Noctis, Dev began to talk about his findings with obvious interest in his tone. "The hammer and the jointed face plate are obvious. They work similarly to the hammer of a gun, but on a large, more blunt scale. The residue here is black powder, which is what makes bullets fire. I don't know what this is though..." Removing the metal plate from inside the hammer head, Dev gave it to Noctis to inspect himself.

WC:
Haki Stamina: 10/10

Equipment:

Dev handed the plate over the Noctis and watched the long-leg tinker with the device. The object was completely unfamiliar to the blacksmith, but as it was described to him as a mine, things began to make a little more sense. After watching his ally create a shower of sparks, the mink leaned himself back against the nearest wall and pondered over the weapon that had been brought to him.

As a blacksmith, he'd created and designed many different weapons. Swords and armors, yes, but certain firearms as well. Even the revolver on his hip that he carried around daily had been forged by his own hands, but they'd each offered their own learning curve to create. All of them, however, similarly had a hammer that allowed the weapon to fire. Things were a little different in the case of the hammer, but the function of a mine was something that everyone knew about. Pressure applied to the face plate would create an explosion, similar to the hammer of a gun colliding with a bullet's primer.

"It's... wholly inefficient," the mink began, finally putting his thoughts into words. "When you fire a gun, the primer of a bullet is struck, lighting the black powder in the casing and firing the bullet. A mine, as everyone knows, explodes when pressure is added. They're using the hammer to apply pressure, striking a mine like a firearm strikes its primer. But with only one shot... That seems... stupid."

Devroux had come to love his job as a blacksmith. Working and creating things for people was only a means of amassing currency, but the labor of creation was something he was rather fond of. It was all in his hands while he was working, so he knew he could trust the product. Yet, everything was designed to be as efficient as possible. Lives were at stake. This weapon... It was an affront to smithing. It was almost disgusting to look at. But even in his disgust, a sense of interest scratch at the mink from within.

WC: 350
Haki Stamina: 10/10

Equipment: