n

n

n

"Of course you would,

" Eldrian said, not sure how to end this analogy. With his pause, Jen started looking at him suspiciously.

n

"However, the thing is... Even though the jobs are dangerous, many people still do them. Some even aspire as children join them.

"

n

"So?

" Jen questioned, failing to understand where Eldrian was going.

n

"I just wanted to mention it.

" He said, leaning back and enjoying another sip of his smoothy.

"I wanted to mention that danger in jobs is accepted. The examples were a bit more clear-cut, but now I can also bring up participating in construction or science.

"

n

"The former an accident might happen, and while the danger is less,

" Eldrian said, hoping to make it clear that he thought of the danger more in line with the former examples than these ones.

"It is still there.

"

n

"In science, the danger might come from failures in the safety measures. Or an unknown variable being missed.

"

nJen nodded and asked,

"What exactly are you trying to say.

"

n

"I want to say that the danger is due to the latter, and that this isn't just a game. Sure it is how it has been represented and what is being advertised, however, it is much more than that. Especially to me.

"

n

"I want to be part of it, even if you can't come to understand. Please, just understand that it is important to me.

"

nA moment of silence ensued, during which the waiter came to ask if they were finally ready to order. After shooing him away, Jen finally replied,

"But why? Why is it so important?

"

n

"Because it simply is...

"

nSighing Jen said,

"We should have given him our orders.

"

n

"Then?

" Eldrian stretched the word to make it clear that it was a question.

n

"I'll try. But I want daily updates... Or at least bi-daily, and we have to get together each week again. Like before.

"

n

"Agreed.

" Eldrian nodded his head as he indicated to the waiter that he was ready.

n

"Now then, I heard what happened to Sarah. How is she holding up?

" Eldrian asked after they had ordered.

nJen quickly hopped onto the new topic, happy to be able to confide in someone who was not daily in contact with Sarah. Someone who did not share, at least in part, her pain.

n

"So he is still unconscious?

" Eldrian asked, sympathizing with Sarah the more he heard about it. He could understand where she was coming from, especially after all he had been through in the game. Especially after losing Sabrea, even though he had only known her for a few days.

nSarah had been together with her boyfriend for almost a year and a half now, the shock must be far more for her.

n

"Yes,

" Before Jen could continue, their food arrived. After thanking the waiter and ordering a glass of water, she continued,

"His wounds are healing, but the doctors have no idea when he will wake up.

"

nI wonder, would the headset help? Eldrian naturally did not bring this up, instead, he kept listening as they started eating before their food would get cold.

n...

n

"Dragos's Fire! Why did he want the entire thing?

" A dwarf in the classic armor of the local region grumbled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

nThe local armor was armor made from Black Steel, generally Tier 3 or 4 magical ranking. Tier 3 was given to fresh recruits, and Tier 4 after they survived three battles. Something that has become far easier with Boran's arrival.

nUnlike normal plate armor, theirs was much much thicker. The shoulder pads, in particular, were nearly as thick as a dwarf's finger, while the center of the breastplate was a tick as two. If you were not a true warrior, the set would simply drag you down.

nWhere it shined though, was in a formation with their fellow dwarfs.

n

"Who knows... Don't complain, we should get out before he arrives.

" This dwarf's armor had a small purple line in the center of all the plates.

nIt identified him as a captain, and the lines were not just for show. It was made from Adamant and made the armor far stronger than if it was made just from Black Steel, not to mention it also being a Tier 5 set.

nWith his words, the other dwarves stopped wiping their foreheads and instead hurried to leave the forging room. A few minutes later a dwarf carrying a peculiar double-headed axe entered the room. The edges of this axe had a shine similar to the metals in his right arm.

n

"They delivered it so fast, and then they rushed off. Am I really that scary?

" The dwarf mumbled as he walked close to the corpse they had delivered. It was the drake he had killed, and its black scales would make a perfect armor.

nBut first,

"There it is,

" The dwarf's eyes shone as they landed on the decapitated head. Moving over he picked it up from the ground and placed it on an anvil.

"To work.

"

nWith that, he took out a small blade made from Adamantine and started to get to work. The first thing he did was carefully removed the eyelids, making sure to not hurt the eyes themselves. Thereafter he carved them out and placed them on a table nearby.

nNext he moved on to the fangs, which he removed with the help of some Adamantine tongs. He only took out the two largest ones, moving to the claws after that and also only taking the two largest ones. With them all taken out, he then cut open the head, leaving it as is for now.

n

"For the axe will slay all,

" He said, starting two forge fires to light both heads at the same time. Once they were the right glow he placed the fangs on one side and the claws on the other. He placed them on the sides of the heads, not on the edges or the middle.

n

"As min eísai ektós tópou, min se vlépeis.

" He said, the words coming to him as he worked. With it, so did mana, flowing through his right arm and lighting the room in its blue glow. (AN: Let you not be out of place, let you not be seen)

nPicking up the blade, without a care for the heat, he placed it on the anvil and hammered. The hammer of Mithril shining from an overflow of mana. After the fourth, cracks started forming, but the dwarf did not care.

nAfter just thirty seconds the hammer fell apart. The dwarf placing the axe in the forge again as he retrieved another hammer. By the time the fangs and claws were finally embedded, he had gone through four mithril Tier 6 hammers.

nPicking up the axe -with a truly strange appearance at this point- the dwarf said,

"Giatí eísai méros mou.

" (AN: For you are part of me.)

nWith that declaration the metal in his arm glowed brighter than ever, the edges of the axe joining in this glow. Not long after, the sides of the heads also started to glow. And with it, the claws and fangs melted into the metal. Forming another unique alloy.

nSeemingly overjoyed by the addition, the axe shook fiercely. The sides of it turning from a dark purple metal, into a pure black.

n

"Gia séna tha skotóseis. Giatí tha travíxete aíma gia ekdíkisi.

" The dwarf said, and as he did the blue metal in his arm grew. From just a few embedded pieces to what started looking like scales. (AN: For thee shall slay. For thee shall draw blood for revenge.)

nHe did not realize the change happening to him, instead, he moved to the opened head and dipped the blades into the drakes brain.

"I próti sou simasía,

" (AN: Your first kill of significance.)

nWith the blades dripping 'brain juice' he brought the axe back to the anvil and place the eyes on the heads. Instead of taking a hammer, he summoned a fire, not through a spell, but through sheer will.

n

"Min eíste móno mia lepída. gíne sýntrofós mou

" (AN: Be not just a blade; be my partner)

nBringing the flame to the axe, the eyes melted into the heads. Forming one red dot in the center of each head.

n...

n

"What?

" Amnur's eyes flew wide open, heat spreading out and setting everything within ten meters aflame. Yet before he could regain his cool he got another message, making the flames even stronger.

n