Once their mission was over, leaving the castle ended up being easier than I had expected. The soldiers were already exhausted after the three days of constant mana bombardment done to make sure I was dead.

I felt honored to deserve dozens of flying castles' constant bombardment. I couldn't imagine the cost of such a military exercise, but I could guess that it was far more than anything we had been able to collect.

Too bad their glorious display of force didn't even come close to succeeding.

Amusingly, that extended effort made it simpler for me to avoid attention during my unintended stay. There had been several patrols in the castle, but they were foisted on the least capable soldiers, while the stronger and more competent ones were busy repairing the many malfunctions they were experiencing.

And, now, three days after their grueling effort, the soldiers were in no condition to question a servant, carrying a sealed box to one of the flying carts that were supposed to deliver supplies to another castle … even if that servant didn't come out once he entered the cart.

The box was empty, and large enough for me to fit comfortably. And, once the flying cart moved, I left the box, my Concealment allowing me to avoid the attention of the driving soldier.

As we drifted near the clouds, I let myself drop, not bothering to use my mana platform trick as I dove.

Even as I moved to Town Yoentia, I watched the skies, noting just how many flying castles were moving toward the sea. It seemed that, now that the cultist threat was gone — along with the source of easy experience — they were pulling back from the border.

I frowned as I counted the number of the flying castles. Their retreat was reasonable, but not to this scale, not with the enormous breach that remained after the influence of destruction disappeared. I had no doubt that a dungeon could be built there, one that was far bigger than ours in Town Yoentia.

I would have expected the royal military to take over, but maybe one of the stronger nobles exerted control.

However, once I arrived at my destination, I had to stop thinking about that, as the changes were significant enough to suppress other strategic curiosities, making me do a double-take. The walls were supposed to be guarded by the Night Blades … and not the Dawn Hammers.

"A small change, indeed," I muttered. Through our communication, Zolast informed me that there were a couple of minor changes, but nothing to worry about.

Being pranked was not nearly as entertaining as being the one doing the pranking.

I walked around town openly, as Euon. The excuse for my disappearance was that I had been away for a business deal, and I decided to continue that particular ruse. While Zolast had managed to prank me by keeping such a detail hidden, he wouldn't have done so if the situation required discretion.

I didn't ask any questions to the guards, just nodded and waved as I passed them. I didn't need to ask questions, the gossip my presence triggered was enough to create a rough picture. Duke Kyrll Yoentia had declared that he had joined the guild and revealed that detail when he bravely fought against another guildmaster during the challenge.

It was a total mess, of course, as there was a lot of buzz about the weakness of Zolast, and how we somehow tricked or blackmailed the young duke for it. Knowing Kyrll, it was more of an impulsive decision.

Though, at least I understood why Zolast had pranked me. The timing of the duel … was about the time I had given him his Life Elevation ability … which would make it very difficult for him to hold back during a bout.

I couldn't help but chuckle as the realization hit me. No wonder Zolast was exasperated. I had somehow pranked him with an excellent ability, and I did so accidentally.

I went to the forge. Thanks to the Heroic Party, I could feel the location of Zolast and Limenta constantly. The latter was out of town, likely running the recruitment effort like I had requested. It must have been going well, because many of the guards that wore our colors were sporting new weapons, all stamped with the sigil of our guild.

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Launara and Zolast were at Launara's private forge. Launara had a hammer in hand, repeatedly folding a piece of metal while covering it with thin layers of mana … until Zolast interrupted.

"The mana layer lost its smoothness. Again," Zolast called. Launara didn't complain as she threw away the metal she was forging, and pulled a new one from the flame, her hammer dancing against her mana.

Another surprise, I realized as I watched Launara work steadily, her abilities had become far greater than the last time I had seen her. She had her promotion, that much was clear, but more importantly, whatever class she had received was good.

Too good.

Interesting.

"Someone has just gone through some changes," I said as I walked in, my voice enough to disrupt Launara's concentration, and her control over mana slipped, ruining another piece of metal.

"Failure again?" Zolast said, chuckling. "Come on, Launara, you're better than this."

She looked frustrated. "Hey, this doesn't count. Boss scared me," she said even as she looked at me with mock frustration.

"You need to react appropriately to surprises," I said with a chuckle. "Congratulations on the new class. It looks like a fancy one."

"W-well, yes, it … it is," she said, her sudden self-conscious manner showing that it wasn't as simple, but she clearly wanted to hide the reason.

"Spill," I responded immediately.

"S-spill what, boss," she said.

I couldn't help but chuckle, and Zolast joined. "Your new class might be amazing, girl. But it didn't teach you how to lie better." She shuffled in discomfort, but not in panic. "Come on. Whatever it is, we would rather know so we can plan for it," I said.

She didn't answer immediately, and I didn't push it. Whatever worried her, it was clearly important. "My … my goddess spoke to me during the promotion," she started speaking, almost a minute after.

She closed her eyes, no doubt trying to gather her courage. I looked at Zolast, and noticed his slight surprise, his attitude showing that it was not exactly common.

"And, what did she say?" I asked after a while, ignoring the temptation to use Charisma to make her feel more confident.

"S-she said that the Calamity is coming, and that I need to reach level hundred and ascend before it triggers," Launara admitted.

Zolast sighed. "Is this why you have been refusing to visit the dungeon?" Launara didn't answer, but her face answered all that he asked.

"So, you don't want to ascend?" I asked.

She paused for a bit, looking like she was about to cry, but she held herself back. "Not if it means leaving all of you to die to the Calamity. Maybe enough to survive until heroes could defeat it —" she continued before freezing suddenly. "Why are you not surprised?" she asked. "We're talking about the Calamity!"

"Because we already know that it's coming," I said as gently as I could manage.

"Then why are you not doing anything to prepare —" she started, only to freeze again. This time, she sighed. "That's what you are doing with the guild," she said.

"True," I said, which wasn't exactly a lie, but it was certainly not the whole truth either. But I didn't want to continue. She looked overwhelmed enough. No need to complicate it by explaining the artificial nature of the Calamities, or our intent to stop it.

Or, my class.

"How can I help?" she asked.

"Well, what we lack most is weapons, so there won't be a change there," I said. "Though, I much prefer if you forge fewer ordinary weapons. Instead, it's better to split your time between research and teaching." She looked a little hurt at that, like I implied her weapons weren't good enough. "We need a lot of weapons. Far more than one person could forge, no matter how fancy your new class is." I paused for a moment. "What's your new class by the way?"

"Mistress of the Forge," she said proudly, which was not undeserved from what I had seen. Even by watching her practice, I could see that her class was extraordinary. "It gives Vitality, Strength, Wisdom, double Attunement, half Agility, and half Perception. And, two free points. And, I received the Intermediate Life Elevation."

"Eight points. Fancy indeed," I said as I looked at Zolast, whose nod confirmed it was unexpected enough to surprise him as well. I didn't bother speculating about why the Goddess had made such a significant investment in Launara. We had more important topics to discuss first. "Did you assign your free points?"

"Not yet. I'm trying to get used to my current Stats before assigning them."

"Hold on to them for now," I said.

"As you say, boss," she said, quick to accept. She didn't even ask why, showing that her new class didn't suddenly turn her arrogant.

However, it earned a suspicious glare from Zolast, knowing that I wouldn't ask something like that without an important reason.

"Now, why don't you continue practicing while I drag our glorious guildmaster away for some important work," I said. Launara nodded, much more relaxed now that her 'secret' was out. Then, just as I was about to leave, I pulled a little trick. "Also, don't forget to ask Limenta for some combat training once he returns from the mission. There's no harm in keeping your combat skills sharp."

"As you say, boss," Launara said. She turned her attention back to the forge before we even left, unaware of the nature of the little trick I pulled.

The fun was good, especially what awaited me was a long discussion on politics…