By the time Valyr returned to the inn where he and Wells were staying, the two of them briefly talked about what the other side was doing the entire day. Unsurprisingly, Wells asked Valyr at some point if he was the guy many people were talking about that forged an artifact in the forging duel.

In response, Valyr took out the Hammer of Beginnings from his spatial bracelet and gave it to Wells to hold, whose eyes opened wide from shock. After all, from the very moment his hands touched the hammer, he instantly felt the power of the hammer coursing throughout his body, giving him the feeling as if he gained the ability to forge high-level equipment.

Giving back the forging hammer to Valyr, the two of them talked for a bit more, eventually grabbing something to eat at a nearby restaurant after they felt their hunger calling for them.

…

“I’m planning to head to Anadhar City tomorrow.” Whist both Valyr and Wells were finally chowing down their respective dinners, Valyr said something to Wells all of a sudden.

“What are you going to do there?” Placing his utensils to the side, Wells looked at Valyr with a raised eyebrow. “Are you planning to meet up with my family, perhaps?”

“Do you want me to?” asked Valyr in response.

“Definitely not.” Wells shook his head. “If anything, that’s the last thing I want you to do.”

“In any case, I’m not heading there to meet up with your family or anything.” Briefly shrugging his shoulders as he understood his good friend’s train of thought, Valyr eventually told Wells his purpose in heading to Anadhar. “I’m just there to meet up with someone and claim something I should’ve claimed sometime ago.”

“Is that so?” Faintly nodding in response, Wells returned his attention to the meal he was eating. “In that case, have a safe travel.”

“As if I don’t already do that.” Letting out a slight chuckle, Valyr returned to the meal he was eating as well. Eventually, the two of them finished their meals and returned to the inn, getting a good night’s sleep sometime after that.

…

“I wonder what Julian wanted to tell me yesterday that he wanted to come this early in the morning.” After going through his daily morning routine, Valyr eventually left the inn after upgrading the remaining unleveled skills he had to their max level, roaming the streets of Algerie Kingdom as he made his way to the Blacksmith Guild.

Though, knowing that many people would probably be searching for the young man that dueled against Theraldine in forging yesterday, he changed his appearance to something that was different thanks to

Enhanced Polymorph, allowing him to arrive at the guild’s entrance without any mishaps a few minutes later.

“You’re finally here,” said Julian, quickly recognizing Valyr, even though the latter’s appearance had changed. “Come with me.”

“Alright?” Faintly nodding in response, Valyr began to follow behind Julian with a hint of confusion on his face, continuing to wonder what the latter wanted to talk about. Unsurprisingly, the two of them attracted the stares of a few people within the guild, considering that the Guildmaster was interacting with a young man.

“What are we doing here?” Eventually, the two of them arrived in front of one of the counters made for the guild’s official members, prompting Valyr to ask Julian a question.

“It’s to reward you, of course,” said Julian in response, causing even more confusion to appear on Valyr’s face as he wondered why he was getting a reward in the first place. Thankfully, Julian’s next words shed light on that exact answer.

“As someone who has shown the ability to forge an artifact, it only makes sense that your position within the Blacksmith Guild should be adjusted accordingly,” Julian told Valyr while grinning. “Give the attendant your badge.”

“Okay…?” Though he felt like everything that was happening so far felt a bit too sudden, Valyr did what he was told, giving his Core Member badge to the attendant before them. “Now that I think about it, hasn’t it only been a few days since you upgraded my rank to Core Member?”

“If you showed me a few days ago that you had the ability to forge artifacts, then we wouldn’t have needed to go through this process all over again, no?” Saying these words in response, Julian put on a calm expression as he looked at the attendant.

“With the power vested in me as the Guildmaster of this branch of the Blacksmith Guild, I now hereby declare that the rank of this member shall be increased to Legacy Core Member.” Hearing these words come out of Julian’s mouth, Valyr was left speechless.

After coming to terms with what Julian was doing for him, Valyr thought that his position would be upgraded to an Elite Core Member, perhaps a True Core Member if he were lucky.

But a Legacy Core Member?

‘Is this all because I’ve shown the ability to forge an artifact?’ Asking this question to himself, Valyr watched the attendant before them process the entire thing, with Julian mentioning to the attendant to give Valyr the Technology Points that came along with the position.

“As you’ve already claimed the 1,000 Technology Points that comes with being a Core Member, you will only receive a total of 7,000 Technology Points. Congratulations on becoming a Legacy Core Member.” A couple of minutes later, the attendant was finally finished processing everything, giving Valyr his new badge as a Legacy Core Member.

Ding!

Your previous rank

Rank 2 — Core Member has been improved to

Rank 2 — Legacy Core Member. Increase your rank or merit to improve your position.

You have received 7,000 Technology Points.

Comparing the design of his old Core Member badge to the new Legacy Core Member badge he had received, aside from the badge now being made out of solid gold, the Legacy Core Member badge had a ton of fine details on its surface, showcasing the impeccable craftsmanship that went into making it.

Even the letters and numbers denoting Valyr’s class rank and position seemed to have been finely carved, giving anyone who looked at it the feeling that the badge was pleasant to look at.

“Are you going to do the same thing for Theraldine as well?” After pondering over how he would allocate the 7,000 Technology Points he had just received for a bit, Valyr posed a question to Julian as they headed to the latter’s private workshop.

“I’ve already done it, actually,” replied Julian. “Though the improvement to her position was not as drastic as yours, the amount of Technology Points she now has access to will definitely help her out for certain.”

“Anyways, this was pretty much the reason why I wanted you to come to the guild this early,” added Julian soon after. “You’re free to do whatever you want after this.”

“Free to do whatever I want, huh…” Muttering these words to himself, an idea gradually popped up into Valyr’s mind, causing a slight grin to appear on his face. “Say, would it be possible for me to use the guild’s Teleportation Hall?”

“With your position as a Legacy Core Member, you would be able to use it at any time.” Julian nodded, only to ask soon after, “Why? Where are you planning to head?”

“Oh, you know.” Valyr smiled. “I’m just going to head to Anadhar City.”

“…I see. Say, by another city, which city are you heading to specifically?”

“…”𝒪𝑣𝓁xt.𝗰𝓞𝓂