“A crystal sword with fireball magic?!” Violet said, sitting on a dirty, unmade bed in the guest room. “I’d almost be honored to get cut with something like that.”

“Maybe you’ll get your wish if you end up teaching me too well. Are gemstone swords rare?”

“It’s the first I’ve even heard of such a thing. I’ve spent a lot of time around a lot of different warriors, and I have never seen a sword made of crystal before. I just can’t wait to see what it looks like.” Violet said. Kenrich smiled.

Kenrich then sat on the other end of the same bed that Violet was on. He had a major worry now after the situation with the necromancer. He had thought he could use the Ring of Life however he wanted but it seems that this was not the case. He felt some solace knowing that he and Violet could revive one another, or maybe even someone else who deserved it, but now he was more worried about their dangerous journey and about losing Violet again or his own life. Death has always been the one avoidable truth and having a way to undo it at any moment with such ease was definitely worth the time and resources of any influential person to give in order to gain that power. He was starting to wonder if the Ring of Life was even that powerful to begin with. These thoughts would be harshly disproved in time though.

“So, are we going to continue to Aquarium once the sword’s done?” Kenrich asked.

“Of course. We can’t stay in one place too long. We’ve gotta continue your training as well, so we can’t waste any more time,” Violet said. “Guess it can’t be helped that we’ll be stuck here for at least a couple more hours though. Let's stock back up on supplies. I’m sure it won’t cost a thing now that we’re known as the ‘Saviors of Forge.’ Maybe they’ll build us statues.”

“That would be a nice breadcrumb to leave our many hunters.”

“Gotta cut them some slack sometimes, y’know?”

“And they’ve sure cut us right back…” Violet threw a fist at Kenrich’s gut.

“With me not having to babysit you, it won’t happen again!” Violet said.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t either,” Kenrich said. “I feel like that battle unlocked something in me that I didn’t know I had. I finally feel like I might be able to keep up in a fight.”

“And that’s why experience is so important. You only fought a bunch of zombies and one necromancer though, so you’ve still got a long way to go. I am impressed with how far you’ve come in only a week, nevertheless. We’ll be arriving in Aquarium in about two more weeks, so I’m confident that you’ll at least be able to defend yourself once we get there. There’s a chance that every place we go we’ll have enemies, and in a place as large as Aquarium, we can practically guarantee it.”

“I thought Aquarium was a peaceful nation? Would they not be able to keep the Admian military and those masked freaks out?” Kenrich asked.

“I think it’ll be unlikely. Queen Puri is very outspoken against King Thelden and the Admian conquests, but Aquarium itself doesn’t hold enough power to keep them from looking around as they please. She doesn’t want to give Admia a good enough reason to declare war. Denouncing him is all that she can do while keeping her people safe. Also, those masked freaks somehow figured out we were who they were searching for and that we’d break into that gem shop, so I’m sure they’re more than capable of making it into Aquarium,” Violet said.

“So, laying low in Aquarium is probably out of the question…”

“They are the only nation that could potentially give Admia trouble, but that won't stop them from declaring war if provoked. We only wish to receive Queen Puri’s help in preventing the ring from making its way to Admian hands. They're the only place where something like that is possible. Queen Puri does already have one of the Shift Stones under her control after all.”

“What’s a Shift Stone? I’ve never heard of that,” Kenrich asked.

“Read a book sometime. They’re the most powerful known gemstones in Nebulan. They house powers that have the potential to shift the balance of the world. Queen Puri has the Liquid Ring which holds the power to create a never ending amount of drinkable water.”

“So people never go thirsty there, huh?”

“They don’t have to pay for water at all. They can use as much as they want for no charge. That’s why Queen Puri is looked up to by so many. Many other leaders would tax their citizens for such a thing, even when production is free, but she never hesitated for a moment to make sure the whole nation never had to. It’s also why Aquarium houses so many refugees.”

“That is really admirable. Being able to be as frivolous as you want with life’s most precious resource, the people must be pretty happy there.”

“It’s hard for anyone to be happy with the Admian conquests, but Queen Puri is really good at distracting them. It’s the best people can do these days surely,” Violet said.

“So, would the Ring of Life be considered one of the Shift Stones?”

“Undoubtedly. Perfect resurrection would be the most overpowered ability any magic stone has ever had. None of the other known Shift Stones could hold a candle to such power.”

“Ugh… The more I think about it, the more anxious I get. Maybe if we give the ring to the masked men they’ll keep it out of Admia’s control…”

“Don’t even think about it. We have no idea what they’re plotting to do with it, and they KILLED ME! I’ll hold a vendetta forever for that! No one’s ever killed me before!”

“Well, I’d prefer to live my whole life without getting killed…”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“That was a dumb sentence.”

“I mean like being killed by someone! I don’t count natural causes as ‘getting killed’!”

“Whatever, dumbass. Another thing opening a book might fix for you.”

“Do we need to take things outside?!” Kenrich said. “We haven’t sparred in a bit after all!”

“So, now you actually want me to kick your ass? Who’s the pervert now?”

“What does that have to do with anything?! And I never called you a pervert!”

“Uh huh. I'm totally slicing off your arms once we start training with real swords.”

“Don’t even joke about that!” Kenrich yelled.

After a bit more arguing, Kenrich and Violet finally left Breld’s guest room to acquire some supplies in order to be ready to get back on the road. They made their way to the market square to see if any shops had begun to open now that the necromancer had been defeated. They found that everyone knew who they were immediately and all the vendors that were present offered them whatever resources they wanted. Kenrich and Violet were able to restock on food, water, clothing, and all the other essentials without making a single dent in their wallets. Being heroes was a good thing when it came to receiving rewards, but Kenrich still worried about becoming more known and making it easier for their hunters to track them. Violet held these same worries, but could not deny that these rewards helped offset some of that worry. Kenrich’s new ability to fight also gave Violet some confidence and even some slight anticipation for their first tough battle together. There was a part of her that wanted to fight those masked men again, but she knew that was selfish of her. She wanted to prove that she was the superior warrior to them more than anything. After what she said about them to Kenrich during their first meeting, she had never felt more shame. She wished she had never admitted that she thought they might be more skilled than herself. Kenrich had thought that she was strong for it, but she beat herself up about it, and after losing her life in the gem shop, she was struggling with her own confidence.

They made their way back towards the guest room, but were intercepted by Breld who was holding a bagged object that was shaped exactly like what Kenrich and Violet were hoping it would be.

“I-is it done?” Violet asked nervously.

“It is. My finest work yet, I’d say,” Breld answered.

Breld threw off the cloth bag and under it was a sword that sparkled. It was white like a cloud during a summer day, but imposing like the tooth of a wild beast. The golden hilt made the sword look like a piece of modern art, almost unfit for the battles it was going to see in the future. Almost too perfect to stain with blood. Breld held it out to Kenrich and he gripped the gold handle while getting into his basic battle stance. It felt good. It felt right. Kenrich knew with the entirety of his being that this sword was meant for him and only him.

“How d’ya like it? I used a steel-gold alloy in order to keep the hilt from bending on you during battle. It should still conduct the magic just fine. Why don’t you give it a test by shooting that barrel right there?” Breld pointed to a barrel in the corner of the shop that seemed to be empty.

“You truly do not care about the state of this place, do you?” Violet asked.

“I’ll fix the barrel when I get to it! Now, go ahead, lad. Light it ablaze! It works just like a magic stone. Just point the tip of the sword at your target just like you would with your hand using a fireball stone.”

Kenrich remembered how he used the fireball stone during their battle with the ogre commander and remembered Violet’s advice on treating the sword as an extension of his arm. Putting these together, he made a perfect shot right at the unsuspecting barrel which was quickly turned to ash. It felt so natural to him. Having a weapon that could be both powerful at short and long range brought Kenrich’s confidence to an all time high which made him more excited than ever to continue his training with Violet.

“Nice shot! Seems you got the hang of that quickly,” Breld said. “Make sure to not hurt Violet too bad once you start sparring now. I’d love to see that Admian soldier’s blade she wields try to keep up with my greatest work.”

“It’s not about the sword, it’s about the wielder,” Violet said. “Kenrich is still a long way away from landing any blows on me.”

“I sense talent in this young man. You better watch out or he’ll surpass you before you know it!”

“...”

“Well…thank you, Breld. I very much appreciate you forging this for me. I promise to take good care of it.”

“That’s all I can ask of you. Thank you two for your service to this village and I wish ya both luck and good health on this ‘secret mission’ of yours.”

Kenrich and Violet said their goodbyes and left Breld and Forge behind to continue their journey to Aquarium.

“They never did ask about what happened to the captured villagers,” Kenrich said as they rode Atlas down the road just outside of Forge.

“I think deep down they knew what happened. The fact that we didn’t bring any of them back, was enough information for them. I’m sure they’ll give them all a proper burial.”

“The world is a horrible place sometimes.”

“There is definitely a lot that needs to change to bring peace and balance to this world, but that much is out of our hands. Hiding this ring is all we can do right now,” Violet said. “Although, with a sword like that, maybe you can be the hero this world needs, huh?”

“I’m nowhere near good enough for that, and I probably won’t ever be.”

“A hero isn’t as black and white as it seems like in the stories we’re all told as a child. Heroes are just people. They’re flawed. They have moments where they’re weak. There are times where they can’t save everyone. But…they are the ones who never stop trying to make the world a better place.”

“I didn’t expect this kind of romanticism from you, Violet.”

“There was this little girl back home who really wanted to be a hero. Plans changed quickly for her due to familial circumstances though.”

“This little girl was trapped in your mirror, I’m assuming.”

“Perhaps. It’s all in the past though. Fairy Tales and real life rarely mix after all, so it was just a dumb girl’s dream.”

“I think you’re a hero.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not. This mission that you undertook to keep this ring out of King Thelden’s hands is something a hero would do.”

“And doing that only keeps things from getting worse. A hero makes things better.”

“I don’t think being a hero is that black and white.”

“...Maybe not.”

“Once we complete this mission, maybe we can continue our fight to make the world a better place,” Kenrich said.

“Possibly. For now though, you aren’t even close to strong enough to be talking like that. You ready to continue your training?”

“I am.”