With silver fluffy hair, and a giant sword on her back, the wolf woman standing in front of me offered her hand as she introduced herself.

“I’m Serra, and the guy in armour is Sebastian. Together we are the A-rank duo known as the Silver Night. We heard that the guild here was paying greatly due to a shortage of adventurers, so we decided to come. Look like they were lying. That was impressive work you did back there. Thanks.”

“No problem, I’m Emery, A rank, and these two are my familiars, Hybry and Gnash.” I said with a handshake. Even if I didn’t know her, she seemed friendly enough, so I thought it would be a great idea to at least get on her good side. Remembering the fate of the poor soul who met her sword, also pushed me in that direction. The sound of his bones cracking was still fresh in my mind.

“I’m Reylia, B rank. Happy to meet you.” Reylia said. Standing beside me, she intended to stay with me, while she could have easily left without a word. For that, I was grateful. Not that I was scared of the pair, but it was always reassuring to have a friend nearby. I guessed that Hybry and Gnash also covered that part, but she was welcome nonetheless.

“The pleasure is ours. Name Sebastian.” Standing beside the wolf lady, Sebastian was smiling brightly, with his armour almost as shiny as his teeth. He offered his hand to Reylia, and they both shared a handshake.

“So you said you came because of the lack of high-rank adventurer?” I asked.

“Yeah, we have been at Newsky for almost an entire year, so we needed some fresh air. We heard that Dawnriver needed more adventurers, we thought it could be a profitable venture.”

“Newsky?”

“You never heard of Newsky?” Sebastian asked, tilting his head.

“She not really from around.” Reylia said.

“It's a city a week away on carriage, a little smaller than Dawnriver, but the snowy mountains there are great to hunt! The locals are friendly, and they make the best sweets in probably the whole country!” I could hear some nostalgia in Serra's voice, she seemed to almost daydream as she talked about the place.

“I keep that in mind if I ever visit. So, what were you planning to do for the rest of the day?”

“Nothing really, just find a nice inn and maybe try some local food.”

“That's great, then why don’t you both come with us! We were just about to do some shopping!” Reylia said.

“We were?”

“Yes, remember I told you that I knew a few places that may have what you’re looking for!” I did ask her if she knew any shop that sells quality swords, but I didn’t expect to go the same day I asked. “Come on, why wait until later? It be a great way to show them around, and shopping is always better when we do it with friends!”

“That be cool!” Serra said. “Sebas, what do you think?”

Shrugging his shoulder, he didn’t seem to mind. “ As long as I’m not carrying your stuff like last time, I’m in.”

“Come on, it wasn’t even that much.”

“Said that to my shoulder. Even monsters can’t hurt them as much as you do.”

“Like you ever complained afterwards! Anyway, let go!” Hiding her barely visible red cheeks, she pressed Reylia to lead us to the first shop. Sebastian and I had to walk fast to not be left behind.

“Is she always like that?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know. She usually way worse when we’re alone.”

“I trust you on that.”

A short walk later, we arrived at the first stop of the trip. It was a small store that sold a variety of products like whetstone, oil, and a multitude of vials. I took a particular interest in their stock of potions. Even if their efficiency was only surface level, it could always help to have a few, so I bought some stamina, mana and healing potions. They did have some swords to sell, but their quality was far inferior to my broken sword.

The second store was a bit more interesting with a bigger stash of weapons available, but still no steel sword in sight. The only thing that caught my eye was their adventuring accessories like bags, pouches and travelling necessities. They even had specialized dog clothes for protection and travel. Reylia and I had an absolute joy playing fashion with Gnash. From full black cloak to metal armour to harness made for sled dogs, they had it all. In the end, we settled on a simple brown light armour covering only Gnash torso, made for ease of use and mobility. It also had multiple straps to attach bags, pouches and other things. I also bought some emergency rations that could last multiple months if needed. They were composed of dried meat, bread and hardtack. I had no intention of eating them unless I needed to, but it was better to be safe than sorry, so I filled a few pouches and hung them on Gnash's new outfit.

Being the last store on our list, I was hoping that the next place would have some decent blades to sell, but their stock was no match for my sword. When I asked the owner about steel blades, he answered that he already sold all his stock to multiple groups of B-rank adventurers a day ago. The only thing he had left was what they hadn’t bought. He didn’t even have any arrow to sell! I used my entire quiver in the plague land and still haven’t restocked yet. At the time, I was too exhausted to get my arrows back, but if I knew that nobody would have any to sell, I would have fetched them all. As the shop specialized in weapons, there was nothing else for me to buy, so I let the others do their things before we all left.

“The last shop was rather disappointing,” Serra said. “The only weapons they had were no better than sharp sticks.”

“I’m sorry, last time I visited, they had way better weapons than that.” Reylia looked truly disappointed, and it pained me to see her like that. She wanted to help me find a new sword, but her effort came short.

“Don’t worry, it's not a big deal, at least Gnash got something out of it.”

“Woof!” Gnash barked in approval. Since he got his armour, he took pleasure in transporting some of our stuff for us. As none of what Reylia and I bought was heavy or too big, he didn’t have any difficulty. Serra's luggage was left to Sebastian, who didn’t say anything when she gave him the mountain of things she just bought, like clothes, food and daily supplies. His only reaction was just to let out a big sigh and endure.

“I can always find a new sword later. I’m sure they restock before too long.” It was not like I was about to go on another quest tomorrow. There were a few things I needed to do before that, mainly the familiar bonding ritual with Gnash, Lendwrek and Mendry. I have been putting it off for a while, but now that I had Gnash, I had one more reason to do it.

“Wait, you were searching for a sword all along?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes, my sword snapped during my last quest, so I need a new one.”

Serra and Sebastian looked at each other for a second. They clearly were thinking about something, but seemed to hesitate to give it away.

“We might know someone who can help you with that.” Sebastian and Serra looked around to make sure no one was listening before continuing.

“He’s a blacksmith and a good one, but he not very trusty of strangers. He might refuse to sell you anything altogether.” Serra was almost whispering at this point.

“And he is in Dawnriver?” Reylia asked.

“Yes, he told his store location last time we saw him, and I doubt he changed place since then.”

“You’re sure about this?” I asked them. “ It feels like you’re letting us in on a big secret. Won’t you both get in trouble with him by telling us that.”

“As long as you won’t go everywhere screaming his location to anybody, he probably won’t hate having one or two more customers. Take that as a thanks for helping us back then. Even if we would have been fine without you, you helped without asking for money in return. Not a lot of adventurers these days are like you, and that's a compliment.”

“It was nothing really.” We were just passing, and we didn’t even stop our flight. For us, it was more like free target practice than anything else.

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“Still, we would like to return the favour, you won’t regret it. Let's get going before it gets too dark.”

Guiding us through the city, Serra only needed some key points of the city to get an idea of her friend's shop. With how little hesitation she had about following what she was told, she must have trusted him deeply. Starting from the main plaza, we delved into alleys until it was getting hard to remember which path we took. After about fifteen of almost being lost in the complexity of the city, backstreets. We reached a store that seemed to fit perfectly in its surroundings. The sign that there was a store was the single board hanging from the window.

“If you know, you know,” Reading out loud the board, Serra then checked the surroundings to make sure nobody was following us. When she was sure that we were alone, she opened the door, and we walked right behind her.

Inside, everything was net clean, with shelves after shelves full of a wide range of items. Colourful potions, strange-looking daggers, and entire racks dedicated to highly detailed and well-crafted weapons were everywhere.

As I started looking at the displayed swords, footsteps were coming our way from the door next to the counter. When the door opened, it revealed the owner of the shop and the blacksmith of all these beautiful weapons. The blacksmith looked like any normal human with his brown hair and normal profile. Wearing a standard white shirt and trousers, he was the pinnacle of a normal human, or at least, he looked like one. Reylia and I could see right through his camouflage the moment we laid eyes on him.

The room was silent as the owner froze the moment he noticed both me and Reylia. None of us knew what to say as we were glaring at each other. Sebastian was the one to break the silence.

“How you’re doing, Tarek. We thought you could help our friend right here to find a new sword. Your work is equalled by none, and we would really appreciate it if you could do us that favour, please.”

“I guess it's fine. But remember, the only people allowed in my shop are those who are not loose lips. If too many people learn where I live, I leave this city immediately.”

“Thanks, we appreciate it.” I said.

“So, what do you need.”

Taking out my broken sword, I showed him the snapped blade.

“My sword broke during my last quest. No merchant had any that could match its quality, and I didn’t want to settle on a cheap sword. I’m kinda used to quality.”

“I can see that,” Taking the sword, he began inspecting it with his meticulous eye to make sure no detail escaped him. “It’s standard, but well-made with quality steel. Follow me, I have a few swords that are sure to catch your eyes.” With Hybry in my arms, Reylia followed me. Gnash was sleeping near the door, making sure that nobody was spying on us.

With a low voice, so that neither Serra nor Sebastian could hear her, she asked the one question that I didn’t dare to ask.

“I didn’t know there was another elf in the city. What are you doing here?” As all pure elves could recognize each other immediately, we knew what he truly was, even if he was camouflaged as a human.

“Hiding, and you both should too.” He answered hesitantly.

“Hiding from what?”

“You don’t know? The cult is back. They almost captured me in the capital, thank the gods I was able to run away before that happened.”

“Cult? What cult?” I asked. Nobody ever told me about any cult that I should worry about. Except for the city church, I barely seen anything religious since I’ve been here.

“No way…” Reylia seemed shocked at the news.

Tarek, the owner, was thankfully generous enough to explain why I should worry.

“You seem young, so you might not know about them. They are a sect created almost a thousand years ago that entirely dedicated themselves to pure elves. Hunting and capturing any pure elf unlucky enough to be found. No one knows what happened to those who have been captured, has no one ever saw them again. I see that you’re also camouflaged as a human, keep it up that way, it’s safer.”

“Why are they back? My mom told me that they disappeared six hundred years ago.”

“They did, but it had only been a year since I saw them myself, yelling about how pure elves were the pinnacle race only matched by the gods themselves. Think about it, an entire group of like twenty deranged cultists shouting at you that they will restore the elf race to its true glory. No one is insane like that, no one except them.”

“The description fit, but what about pure elf in other cities? Have they been warned?”

“I met a few others, but less than I expected. I did some research before going into hiding, and they have captured at least thirty pure elves in all the known continents. The guild and law enforcement tried to find them, to no avail. It possible they have captured even more.” Thirty! If I remembered what the goddess told me, that was like a third of the entire race population. That cult was not joking around. No wonder he’s hiding in some dark unknown street in Dawnriver, far away from the capital.

“What can we do?” I asked. His answer was simple.

“Stay hidden and stay sharp and most importantly, don’t go yelling that you’re a pure elf around. I don’t think they have many agents in the city, so there shouldn’t be too much to worry about, at least for now. Anyway, now that you’re both warned, let's get down to business! It has been a while since I had customers!” The change in attitude was so sudden that it took me a moment to understand what he said.

My original objective was finding a new sword, and this place was bound to have one fitted to me. After a quick look at some of his work, I stumbled on a set of weapons emanating faint traces of mana. The energy I felt in each of them was different from each other, but I was able to recognize the magic in them. There were spears, maces, long swords and even katanas all emanating a variety of elemental affinities like fire and water. The ones that I wasn’t familiar with were probably other affinities that I didn’t have, like wind or earth. I confirmed that fact with Reylia who possessed the earth affinity.

“I didn’t know it was possible to make a weapon have an affinity. How does it work?”

Taking one of his sharp creations in hand, he ignited the tip with burning flames. He swung it left and right as he perfectly controlled the intensity of the flames. “Transfer some mana in a weapon that you have a shared affinity with, and the weapon will absorb the magic to gain the wanted effect. You won’t see many of these around. I learned the technique from an old, insane guy. He told me he researched this type of magic forging for almost all his life, before finally getting it. It was hard to convince him to teach me, but the result speaks for itself.” Spinning the sword, the blade moved quickly as it left behind a brazing trail. With a simple thought, he was able to control the fire and make it move like a snake in the air, illuminating the whole room with crimson light. With the fire grazing my hair, I could feel that the fire wouldn’t harm me, even if I were to touch it. He was probably capable of making it avoid burning allies at will. After a bit more show-off, he stopped and put the blade back where he took it.

With the beautiful spectacle we just had in mind, Reylia and I started looking for a suitable magic weapon. Leaving without one each was now impossible, as we were totally mesmerized by the appeal. It was a magic weapon, after all! Who could have seen that and be left indifferent? The idea of having my own burning sharp stick was almost haunting my mind. My gaze lingered on the weapon he used for his demonstration, the beautiful steel roaring with fire, but I decided otherwise. As much as I wanted a fire sword just because it was cool, I thought I should at least see what other affinities were capable of doing when used with weapons.

Leading us to a separate room with training dummies and isolated walls, he told us to try whatever we wanted as long as we didn’t destroy the whole place. Reylia first tried a sword fuelled by water magic. Circulating her mana through the blade, she was able to create a thin double-layer edge that added to the sword's sharpness. Aiming at the dummy, she let the blade fall on his head and split him in half. With some concentration, she was also able to increase the water edge of the sword to make it longer and thicker. Before she was able to test the new-found trick, the water fell to the ground, having run out of mana. Putting a hand on her head, the mana headache quickly disappeared as she put the sword back in its rack. After testing it myself, I felt my mana evaporate with each millilitre of water added to the weapon. These things were extremely mana-hungry. In a short fight with multiple allies, this would not be a problem, but if I ever was isolated and surrounded, this was bound to drain all my mana. At least, the user was the one who chose whether to feed the weapon or not. If simply touching the sword had consumed mana, these would have been too detrimental to use.

After an hour of toying with magic swords, we each settled on a weapon to buy. Reylia ended up buying the first weapon she tried, the water sword. The others that she tried weren’t bad, but she felt more comfortable using something that she could hide most of the time. After a minimum of practice, she was able to reduce the water edge of her blade to be extremely thin and cut deep into the stone floor. With more time, she was sure she could apply the edge just before landing her hit, minimizing the mana consumption.

As for me, I choose something a bit more special. Just under of metre of total length, my new sword was shining with a single line tracing the middle. Being double edge with a short tip, its weight was perfect for my taste, and it came with hit own custom-made sheath. Testing the sword one last time, before leaving with it, I channelled mana through the blade and light began emanating from it. With the darkness of the night settled on the city, my blade illuminated the whole shop with a bright, warm light. Turning it downward with the tip resting against the floor, the mana accumulated rapidly until it blasted its entire mana supply around me. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel how brightly the light was. Lasting barely two seconds, if it was used in real condition, the light blast was bound to blind my enemies and give me enough time to cut them open. The most appropriate way to describe its effect would be to call it a flash bang, exactly the name I decided to give the blade.

Costing thirty-five gold each, he absolutely refused to give us any discount on the basis that with how little customer he had, he needed to put the price high for his product, which was fair taking the quality of the swords into account. I also bought enough arrows to fill my entire quiver to the brim. With some special fire arrows that could combust anything and water arrows filled with controllable liquid, my arsenal was now more dangerous than ever.

Leaving the store, we said goodbye to Tarek and walked to the city plaza, guided by Gnash's sense of smell. When we reached it, we asked Serra and Sebastian if they needed help to find a suitable inn, but they declined, telling us that they already spotted a few interesting places during our shopping.

Giving them our inn location if they wanted to see us, we left toward our accomodation.

Back at home, Reylia took her stuff from Gnash transport bags and told me to have a good night, as she headed to her room a few floors higher.

Inside my apartment, I found Tara still on the bed, not having moved a single inch. Swaying left and right in front of her always opened eyes, the eight black holes followed me in my track, meaning she was awake.

Before going to sleep for the day, I took some time to prepare what I would need for tomorrow. The familiar bonding ritual was not something that could be taken lightly, especially when done with a plague dog and two eye-catching dragons.