Zach was sitting at a table, now after recovering. Soot covered his face, and a slight glow was surrounding him. Mathew handed him a bottle of water. “Oh, thanks. If you are here, It’s probably been over a week since I drank anything, let alone ate. You were still in the Dungeon last I knew.”

“I’ve been back for just under a week. You were in here when I came back, so your guess is almost right. Care to tell me why Ragnork is complaining about broken enchantments and who Polyphron is?”

Zach drank the entire bottle of water. He gasped for air after chugging it. “I had an inspiration.” Zach had a childlike smile on his face. “Here I was, doing my normal crafting, working on improving a few techniques before going to the Hearth Crystal for my Level 25 class. I was going for something that was a mix of combat and smithing. My current class is uncommon, but not what I want moving forward. I had an idea of something to make. A mix of something that existed on earth and fantasy.”

Mathew didn’t interrupt him, letting him continue telling the story.

“I want a suit of enchanted armor, but not just magically enchanted. I wanted something technologically integrated as well. A combination of the two somehow. So, I thought of creating power armor, or at least a very basic version. It involved several mana cores and some help from Ragnork, but he was only there the first day. After that, it’s like I saw what I was making. Every joint, every plate, even the leather straps. I saw schematics for things I didn’t know how to make before that moment.”

“So, I started to hammer away. The days went by in a blur. Whispers of what to do next flowed into my ears. Judging by the blue screens, I had more than just a weird moment of an idea. I was inspired by something beyond us. Polyphron is someone who reached out to me that first day when everyone was visited by God-like beings.”

Zach had a small moment of sadness on his face before continuing. “He isn’t a God. He is their equal in power, but not in ideals or status. He doesn’t rule over a domain. Polyphron is a Chosen. Someone who was destined for greatness and went beyond it. Think of him as a mortal with godlike powers that want to help others. That’s what I do. He is a God of Innovation. He encourages others to come up with new ideas, to push the limits of what is known.”

“I’ve had a quest for him to make things, but I apparently went beyond expectations. I have three new titles and four entirely new powers. Two of which are just an upgraded Skill and Ability.” Zach chuckled after that. “I’m totally getting a crazy new class and profession aren't I?”

Mathew was skeptical about the power armor being made. Such a creation sounded too far out there, even with magic existing. Zach wasn’t a mage, so how did he enchant the armor? Or was it more than that?

“What about Axioms?”

“Oh yea, I got a new one, starting off at Beginner rank at that. Glint Axiom of Pattern. From what I understand, it’s because I followed schematics, and created something new as well as helped. Well, I don’t think I created the first set of power armor in existence, but it’s something I personally never knew how to make, nor did anyone on this planet. Not anyone human anyways. Oh, and my Glint Axiom of Iron went up to Beginner as well. I only have two.”

Mathew almost coughed but stopped himself. “What are the odds we both have the same Axiom? A smith and an enchanter?”

“Do you have any ritual or enchanting skills?”

Zack shrugged, “Not technically. I have a vague [Magic Smithing] skill that was upgraded from [Smithing]. That’s as close to that as I am going to get I think.”

Mathew took a slow and deep breath. “Zach, rest up. I want to see what you made soon. Also, please promise me your God or whatever they are to you isn’t going to steal The Workshop from us.”

“Huh? Oh no. It’s a temporary thing. Once it goes away, so do the protections. Polyphron hates it when others force people to not experiment. So long as nobody outrights tarnishes my idea of power armor it’s safe. Actually, I should copy the blueprints for others to duplicate them.” Zack then stared at Mathew. “Wait, you can do Rituals. Any enchantments you think you can stick on the armor? It’s a blank slate. Any enchantments we can put on it will be great to test the waters with.”

Mathew shook his head. “My rituals are one-time use. I don’t have anything that is permanent that would work on the armor. Unless you think my bag enchantment will work on it.”

“Maybe if I give it pockets?” Zack thought to himself. He had the expression that he was deep in thought.

“Rest, please. I don’t want our best smith to hurt himself. Plus, I would think you would be interested in working with Dr. Garcia to test my limits.”

Zach had a huge grin when Mathew mentioned that and snapped out of his own thoughts. “Reached a new plateau of power? Fuck yea I want to see it. I bet you could demolish buildings with a single spell now!”

“Maybe, we will see. Don’t spread the word about it. I rather keep some of what I can do private.”

“Of course Mat. Your secrets are safe with me.” Zach gave a wink.

Mathew walked downstairs, “Zach is fine. Ragnork, when you think the enchantments upstairs will be fixed?”

“Oh, a day or two at most. With the mana condenser going full throttle and nobody else draining the mana, I’d say less than thirty hours.” The stone giant walked up the stairs to start repairing everything.

Mathew left the building and went home to sleep. He made plans to talk to Zach about his own understanding of the Axiom of Patterns. Perhaps he could help him develop his own.

The next few days nothing significant happened. The only thing of note was that Henderson was still missing. A search party was put together to start looking for her as well as a mission through the Adventurer’s Guild.

Mathew had zero thoughts that she was kidnapped or left of her own choice. It was that she was busy getting stronger before selecting her own Apprentice Rank class or was forced to take care of something. A System quest or perhaps something from her own God or Goddess. Unless she had something like Zach did. Then whatever it was called. Chosen, God, Lord, Queen, the list of titles for those of that prestige was seemingly endless.

Agnox and Jeffery’s armor was finally repaired and they were heading to challenge the Volkar dungeon alone. Mathew had zero doubts that Agnox could do it alone. Jeffery was there as an emergency contingency.

As soon as they came back, Mathew would visit the Hearth Crystal. He has been putting off visiting so he could take care of everything at once. Cherry would need to pick up her Level 15 class power choice. More than likely a new spell. Mathew hoped it was something that was related to healing or another buffing spell.

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She had picked up a general medical-related ability called [Diagnose]. It would help her figure out what was wrong with someone with ease. Mathew was hoping she could pick up [First Aid] as well for a Skill but agreed they should wait to see what was available for Level 15. She only had a single skill slot left, and with a powerful profession, something much stronger could be available. Waiting another day wouldn’t be that drastic.

As far as Blue Oaks went, nothing else happened that was so drastic Mathew had to be involved. He increased the rewards for finding new Dungeons and pushed for people to find new Hearth Crystal zones.

There was only one that was over an hour's drive away that was discovered recently, however it was small and seemingly undefended. Mathew didn’t like the report and recruited a team of four to investigate it further before he went.

He could just purchase the trading hub as part of his deal with Tulio so he could acquire the Hearth Crystal promised in the contract. That way he could finally get the title to upgrade his zone. Yet, he wanted to wait a little bit before opening that can of worms.

People were still recovering from the aftereffects of The World Dungeon and Zach’s quest reward for a temporary buff to The Workshop. Weapons, armor, tools, and so many things were created there it created a high demand for raw materials.

The ores Mathew acquired from the Kobold dungeon were given out for free to several crafters on the premise that anything they made went to the guard force for Blue Oaks. He didn’t make any direct profit off the items, but free weapons and armor for guards increased their prowess.

Once he had some free time, he spent a day visiting Q over at New Watago. The people there were all doing just as fine as Blue Oaks. Alan was also there, carrying out his duty as a personal bodyguard for Q.

The large man offered to return to Mathew’s side, but Mathew pointed out that anything Alan could protect him from, Mathew could do so with ease now. Alan didn’t believe him, so Mathew decided to prove him wrong.

“Fine then. If you can land a single hit on me, you can return to my side. I’ll even pay you a monthly salary equal to three hundred UC times your level.”

Alan seemingly gained a few levels in the month Mathew was gone from Earth. He hefted up a large double-bladed ax and activated his magic armor power. He ran forward and swung his ax downward.

A semi-opaque blue barrier appeared in front of Mathew. Cracks formed where the blade met the shield but didn’t shatter it. A silver shimmer surrounded the shield as well. Mathew smirked, “I didn’t even think he could damage the shield with my Axiom of Resistance buffing it up as well. Just how high is his strength?”

Alan didn’t let that slow him down, he stepped back and swung sideways. As he did the ax took on a green glow. Mathew put up a shield at an angle while also ducking down. The blade bounced up higher than Alan was swinging, sailing right over Mathew.

Mathew didn’t stay still, he summoned his spear and shoved the point up toward Alan’s neck, stopping right before he touched the conjured armor. “Have I proved my point?”

Alan gulped and nodded, “Sorry I’m not strong enough anymore.” Alan said sadly.

Mathew patted the large man's shoulder, “It’s fine. I went through hell in that place. I would have loved to have people like you watching my back. It made me stronger. You can still protect people Alan. I can’t be everywhere and protect people. Everyone has a job to do. Protecting Q here is just as important as protecting me. Q represents me. So think of it as protecting someone I value. Your sister and nephew are still being taken care of, aren’t they?”

Alan nodded, “They are. Everyone for the most part is. I wish the food tasted better, but it beats starving.”

Mathew almost didn’t care about how everyone else was eating seemingly tasteless food. He also didn’t want Alan hovering around him constantly. Plus, it felt good to show off his power.

“Good. Keep doing your job and those benefits will remain.”

After their spar, Mathew returned with Alan to the magic store in New Watago. He had money to spend on himself, and he needed new rituals.

The same green skinned man named Ni worked the stall. “I see you finally decided to come back! Came for more Mana Cores? How about some Apprentice Ranked ones? I can tell you’ve ranked up Mathew. Leader’s discount! Limited time offers here!”

“Maybe, I have my own stash, and harvesting them from the Hearth Crystal is also a great profit.”

“Sure, but having more won’t hurt. Business the past few days have been booming. I heard some sort of area buff over at The Workshop appeared as a reward.”

Mathew pursues the shelves, seeming uninterested. “Maybe. What sort of recipes do you have? Alchemy, Rituals, Enchanting, anything else?”

“A few people have picked up Alchemy, so I am fresh out of Novice Ranked recipes. As for Enchanting, I have a few novice blueprints. You will need the proper skill or equivalent to use them. Unless you can channel mana naturally. Staff, Orb, and Wand blueprints. As for Rituals, I think I have some schematics for those as well, nobody picks that slow art up here. Too many humans are interested in immediate power, not interested in investing in themselves. I have a handful of Array schematics too if you are interested in those.”

“I’ve heard the term Array used once or twice, what are those?” Mathew asked, somewhat interested.

“They are the next stage after Rituals. Larger area coverage, much stronger, also much more expensive. Typically you need multiple people who can channel mana or at least have the ability to Mana Cycle to use them. Don’t even start thinking of Sigils. Those things require at least an Adept Rank. Cities use them for giant protection domes or to help crops grow.”

Mathew never heard of Sigils before. At Gaia’s place, he knew Arrays were the next step after Rituals, but this was new information, all of it for free.

“Well that sounds interesting. How about I pursue your schematics for both Rituals and Arrays and see if we can come to an agreeable deal.”