n

n

nKatania nodded with a sigh,

"Were you meditating again?

" Eldrian replied with a nod and she continued,

"You should be more careful. At least do it inside the camp.

"

nEldrian nodded again, but then argued,

"I can't, there is still quite a bit of noise there. Plus... The smell.

"

nLaughing at his counter, Katania told him to follow her. Eldrian shocked to find the inside of the camp appearing perfectly normal. The only remnants of the battle were the walls that were still being repaired and replaced.

nHe also immediately saw a massive four-meter tall square pillar where the cabin used to be. Strange carvings covering it from the bottom to the top, with some not at all resembling what Eldrian was used to.

nInstead of appearing like spell modules, these appeared as actual representations of what would be summoned.

nAtop this decorated pillar was an all too familiar crystal, lighting the top half of the pillar in a soft purple hue. Dust, lights of all colors, and mists floating inside this purple hue. Like a forming galaxy.

n

"It is quite the sight alright,

" Katania remarked upon following Eldrians gaze.

"We call it a miniature tower.

"

nEldrian nodded due to habit, his focus on the crystal and how much it resembled a Magic Crystal at the moment. Much like the latter, it was floating atop the tower with nothing keeping it in place.

nThe light it let out also resembling that of a forming galaxy, similar to how the inside of a Magic Crystal appeared. The only difference was that this crystal was sending light out, while a magic crystal did not.

nThough, while the Magic Crystal did not send out any light into its surroundings, its details were clearly visible. Self-contained light, allowing one to see in and no more.

nEldrian marveled at the similarity and stark contrast. Finally truly understanding why the two were the same crystal, the Mov just a defect. The defective part must certainly be it not being able to contain its own light.

nAfter giving Eldrian a moment to enjoy the sights, of moving lights that appear inside a vortex of materialized mists of different colors. Like a physical aurora, Katania said,

"As you can see, we can repair quickly. So don't go meditating outside, it might just get you killed.

"

nEldrian nodded and brought his eyes back to ground level, still needing to look up to look the centaurette in the eyes.

n

"I assume you want to know why I went searching for you?

" Katania said, Eldrian nodded but only half-listened. He was busy checking the time and realizing that he needed to log out to make it for the fights with Pheonix Division.

n

"Pelaros told me to give you your reward,

" Katania said, bringing Eldrian's attention back for a moment. With puppy eyes, he looked up at the centaurette and hoped for the best.

nSeeing his pleading look she giggled,

"Here... Unfortunately, due to the guild rules we can only give you a silver emblem. Gold would require us to not have access to the spell you modified.

"

n

"No problem!

" Eldrian shouted in excitement, quickly taking the small silver emblem from Katania.

nMarveling at how something just barely the size of his thumbnail could be worth 25 gold. Much like the iron emblem he had gotten before, this one also featured a shield and two crossing swords. However, the detail was far more. Carvings similar to runes on the shield.

nA smile blossomed as Eldrian realized he was rich. Only if he ignored craftsmen, nobles, and royalty. But he was rich for a Chosen, for a player. This made him feel quite proud of himself, even though he knew that the gold was going to go to help Erik get Akarui out of Vruntis.

n

"Right, Pelaros also asked that you stay within the camp. Unless you are planning to go out and try to make some more money?

"

nEldrian quickly replied that he had no such plans. The last close call having informed him of the dangers.

nKatania sighed in relief,

"Good. We will be making three camps like this, the next will be ten kilometers further in. Once the area has been cleared. Give or take a week.

"

n

"Alright... What are you going to do in between?

" Eldrian asked, most of his attention still on the emblem, trying to figure out how it worked.

n

"Help clear the infected areas.

" katania replied and started walking away. Eldrian giving her one last look, then the emblem, then he logged off.

n...

nAfter waking, stretching, showering, and changing, Eldrian was ready to start the day. Only to realize he needed to join the fights in the arenas in an hour.

nSighing, he fell back onto his bed and stared at the roof for a few minutes. Contemplating all that has happened over the last few days, and even the last few months since he had gotten his first headset.

nI need to make some time. He thought, recalling how he had drifted from his sister. He had also not gone out with Erik in a while. Though they were in contact, he needed to go visit and maybe go clubbing again.

nThinking of the last time they did that brought a smile to Eldrian. He realized that he had been missing the small things, much like when he got a haircut. Thinking of that caused his smile to grew and his cheeks to redden.

nShaking his head, he stood up and decided it was better to not let his thoughts wander. The more they did, the more awkward he would be when meeting Vivian again.

nThough... No no, no. Don't... It took Eldrian a few minutes to finally become distracted, having turned on his PC to see what the other players had been up to. Having not done this in quite some time.

nThe most popular posts were those of how to grow stronger in the arenas. With streamers sharing their subjective opinions, while some of the top teams shared their objective advice.

nEldrian leisurely scrolled through them, most of the tips being to reach the highest Tier and level possible. Easier said than done. Or to get good equipment, Even harder than the former.

nSome of the posts were quite funny, with one streamer claiming that having a few girls would drastically increase your chance of winning. Saying that they just need to act charming and enchant the enemy.

nEldrian chuckled upon reading this, slightly worried when he saw the comments stating that this really worked. Calming down when he saw it worked only up to the rank of Graduate(150 points). Thereafter people were actually invested in winning, more than just having fun in PvP.

nAfter a few minutes of scrolling, Eldrian found a truly interesting post from the gunsmiths. They stated that they had finally managed to make the first flintlock pistol.

nCurious Eldrian opened the post and read in more detail, finding the notes there interesting. The players generally complained about the difficulty in making the pistols. While magic could be used to an extent to help, they felt that making machining tools would be the better way.

n

"Yikes, hope they don't start an industrial revolution,

" Eldrian mumbled as he continued to read, astonished when he saw that they had finally gotten backing. Or at least get into contact with the nobles.

nThe youngest twins, a brother and sister of the kingdom Praxorin, had happened upon the players as they were testing their flintlock pistols.

nAt the moment they were severely lacking, but it seemed the twins fell in love with them nonetheless. Going back to their mom to nag her into investing, knowing that she would be easier to convince than their father.

nThe players however had been cautious of partnering, so for now things were just talk. However, they had made a cannon with the help of some skilled black- and runesmiths. A picture of it was supplied below.

n

"Oh, that is strange,

" Eldrian mumbled, realizing that there must be something more than just runes. One of the patterns he recognized to be an array, while it was not like those on the pillar it was far too complex to be something simple.

nDo the two crafts connect? Eldrian wondered, sad that his training with Boran had never truly gone anywhere.

nAfter finishing his train of thought he continued reading. Finding that it was indeed an array, however, it was an array made by the runesmiths.

nThis should allow the cannonball to ignore air resistance, while also increasing the explosiveness of gunpowder multiply. Naturally, the cannon itself is made of Dark Steel, and it is also enchanted.

n

"Do they have a test run?

" Eldrian mumbled, finding that the end of the post stated they would be testing the cannon in three days. In front of most nobles in the city. They would also be streaming it

nIt also added a warning to other players, If you wish to partner with the NPCs, make sure that you sign a contract. The god you choose does not matter, just that the system informs you it will hold. In doing so, no one can steal the concept. Not without being known to have stolen it.

n

"That's nice, but they will still steal it,

" Eldrian mumbled, finding no reason why any noble would care.

nLuckily, as double security, the players were the only ones who knew how to make gunpowder. The smiths they had worked with had also sworn to not share the secrets they had learned. Thus the runes were also a secret.

nAs Eldrian was just about to finish and go for a walk, his tablet rang.

nJoren wanted to see him.

n