Barlet came out from the still-nameless store and spread the news, “The old man took it. Leave.”

“What? He managed to take it?” One of them was clearly shocked at the sudden turn of events. Most of them initially thought that Barlet would win the sword yet reality made them ponder just what the old man could’ve possibly offered.

“What did the old man give?” An overly eager person questioned Barlet.

“Classified information.” Barlet scoffed and promptly left, not even bothering to entertain any more questions from these bunch of fools. He had a more pressing matter to attend to, personally explaining the situation to his superiors. He had to ensure that his guild wouldn’t be led astray as to who the real leader was.

As Harry was happily guiding Elliot to his place of dwelling an observant eye peeked at them. Helena was curious as to what would transpire when Elliot found out that there was no such sword here.

The bunch of envoys from their respective organizations quickly left the scene as they hurried to report back. This left the one-filled shop empty except for a young girl expectantly waiting for a certain pair’s arrival.

“So, Elliot.”

Elliot sounds a bit weird for a girl’s name but her face doesn’t lie. Harry proudly assessed him. ‘If I show off Master’s sword then she should definitely fall for me! Muahahaha!’

“Yes, Harry?” Elliot casually took his time walking. He was genuinely satisfied with being able to hang around someone who treated him as ‘him.’

“Where did you come from? I haven’t seen you around here?” Harry was quite good at putting up a poker face. He had completely no idea if Elliot was even a native here since they just arrived in Pioneer City. At least the part that he hadn’t seen him up until that point was true.

“Oh, I guess that does make sense. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m a representative of my guild, The Stars Above. I’m here to try and see if we could acquire the sword.” At this moment, Elliot finally realized just how he was coming off.

“I didn’t mean to mislead you! I was just following your lead, if you dislike me then I would understand. I apologize in advance.” Elliot clasped his hands together.

“Ah? Oh, don’t worry! I’m actually happy that it turned out this way. Believe it or not, my Master dotes on me quite a lot. With my backing, I’ll help you get your hands on that Lower Rank 10 sword easily!” Harry proudly exclaimed.

“Woah, really? I mean, I don’t… wait… Lower Rank 10?” Elliot was then caught off-guard by Harry’s sudden words. “It was rumored to be a Lower Rank 9 sword, when did it become a Lower Rank 10 sword?”

An observing eye from above stared at Harry, “I guess you’re not as clueless as you seem, boy.”

“Oh, haha. My Master saw that the blacksmith he guided was far too inept in blacksmithing and decided to put an additional touch on it! This pushed it from Lower Rank 9 up to Lower Rank 10.”

“Harry, I know you mean well but… Lower Rank 10? Is it even possible right now? The current public peak was Peak Rank 7. A gap of two ranks is absurd enough as it is but to even push beyond to reach a status, is that even possible?” Elliot was clearly full of doubts. He fully understood that this situation was too much.

“Trust me! My Master has reached the peak in the other world. Even a casual robe he makes could force nations to go to war.” Harry proudly spoke of Cain’s skills.

“If it really is a Lower Rank 10 sword then… I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford it. Even if we pulled together all our wealth it’ll probably only reach 6 High-Quality Mana Stones at most.” Elliot felt a little down, although he knew that this was more or less a show of their guild’s strength without any intention of acquiring the sword, to suddenly see such a powerful weapon land in the hands of the current leading powerhouses would undoubtedly increase the already monumental gap between them.

In this new era, the strong become stronger while the weaker become weaker. It was currently a war for resources. Countless monstrous experts were lying in wait, regaining their own power to show off just how terrifying they truly were.

As for the current situation, it wouldn’t last long. Most if not all of the current famous guilds would be swept away by the tides of time, suddenly being consumed by the new emerging generation. At best, the current organizations could try and get ahead start of the competition before the real talents show their faces.

Elliot sardonically smiled as he continued walking towards a pointless goal.

Harry saw such a cute ‘girl’ act like this and felt that he should do what any man should in this kind of situation, “Don’t look so down. If anything I can promise you that I’ll help you in the future! I’m learning from the strongest person so I think I won’t be that shabby.”

“Strong? Haha, that does sound about right. What kind of monster could create a Lower Rank 10 weapon this early on?”

“Hmm? Create? Are we still talking about my Master?” Harry looked at Elliot.

“Right?” Elliot looked back in confusion.

“My Master didn’t create that sword. He was just given the sword. He owns it. That blacksmith created a Lower Rank 9 sword and gave it to my master.”

“But… you said he guided him. Did you not?”

“Yeah, my Master just looked at him and I named the sword. That’s how we got the Lower Rank 9 sword.” Harry was perfectly recalling the events.

“Then how did it become a Lower Rank 10 sword?”

“My Master touched it. That’s how it became a Lower Rank 10 sword.” Harry nodded along.

“Harry, I know you mean well but what do you mean by that? Your Master touched a Lower Rank 9 sword and it became a Lower Rank 10 sword? Is that correct?”

“Exactly.”

“Your Master didn’t use any tools but his own hands…” Elliot was really struggling with the mental gymnastics with this one. He had thought that Harry was a well-informed individual but hearing this he was really trying hard to make sense.

Harry finally saw that Elliot was struggling with it all, “It’ll all make sense when we get there! At least believe me until that point!”

“I… alright. I believe you.” Elliot wasn’t losing much checking it out. Although a seed of doubt had already been planted, he still chose to believe his newly made friend.

“Hahahaha, I wonder. Should I let this continue or should I ruin it?” Helena was still observing them and thought about it in even more detail. “As fun as it is seeing Harry cry, I want to see where this is going.”

Helena immediately went downstairs to Cain’s complete dismay. He was still in the process of creating a sword when Helena barged in.

“Back off!” Helena shoved Cain to the side and looked at a wooden sword completely made out of an unknown material. She checked this sword and played around with it. Slowly putting in her mana, she started wielding it around trying to test out where the limits of this sword lay.

“Helena! I told you I was doing something important! Drop that, it’s still not finished!” Cain picked up his dropped tools and placed them on the bench he was using.

Helena then proceeded to stare at the wooden sword, muttering something. An intensely chaotic orb of flame and thunder suddenly appeared and danced on top of the sword. It immediately assaulted the sword to no avail, not even leaving scratches nor burn marks on it.

“Cain, what’s the sword still missing? As far as I can tell, it’s already done.” Helena examined the sword to see if there was still anything missing but couldn’t find any.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“See here, I was going to infuse this into it so that it would grow in strength.” Cain pointed at a prismatic-colored shard.

“Hah… how much stronger?” Helena sighed as she never gets old from the absurd things Cain makes daily. “And be accurate, just how much stronger will it become?”

“Roughly… twelve times? Though that’s mostly because of this Evernight Stone. So if you please, I would like to finish the prototype.” Cain walked over and tried to get his sword back.

“Alright.” Helena threw the sword back at Cain. “Make another one, this time weaker by ten-fold. You have ten minutes.”

“W-Weaker? What do you mean weaker? It’s already weak enough!” Cain was struggling with Helena’s nonsensical orders.

[Item: Unnamed Wooden Sword

Power Level: Average

Cultivation Level: Higher Rank 10

Description: A casual sword created from Green Moon Bark using perfect technique. Lacks a core component. Very aesthetically pleasing.

Point Value: 1]

“Besides, why would you want a weaker sword? Isn’t it better to make stronger gear? Hello? Helena, don’t you walk away from me!” Cain was annoyed that Helena was doing this as she pleased.

“That woman, always ordering me around. I was supposed to be the leader this time… If she wants a weak sword then a weak sword she’ll get! Hmph!”

Cain had learned ‘Spite.’

Cain took out the system bought an even weaker wood variation and decided to make it more aesthetical than practical. He decided to hinder its sharpness but went overboard and made the sword completely blunt. As he continued to do so, he even caused the handle to be weak and full of holes letting it snap if enough force was used on it.

After time was up, Cain angrily threw what he made towards Helena, “Happy?”

Helena did so as before, filling in the mana to reinforce the sword was so much more taxing than before. Cain’s last sword felt as if she could easily wield it as if it was made for anyone’s use. The current sword in her hand felt as weak as a twig swaying in a rainstorm yet as sturdy as the trunk of a tree.

The blunt sides of the wooden sword were completely counter-intuitive to what a normal sword should be. At most, it could be used for practice. Even though she accurately and expertly filled in the crevices of the sword, her entire being started to get pressured.

As her mana filled in, the aesthetic design of the sword started to form murals within her mind, letting her see a concept of perfection. She quickly receded everything and carefully stored it away in her own special storage.

Instead of being a battle-ready weapon, it was a practice sword. It served to further enhance the practitioner’s ability to learn the sword. It was nearly priceless. Due to the weakened nature of it, even a normal person could wield it easily.

“I guess you did make it weaker by more than ten-fold.” Helena sighed as she was mad that she got what she wanted yet at the same time realized that Cain was somehow still holding out on her.

“Hmph!” Cain crossed his arms. He felt that Helena was intruding more than she normally does.

“Satisfied.” Helena saw Cain start forming a little bit of hostility towards her. Seeing that she went a little too far she tried to ease him, “I’ll make it up to you.”

“You better! It’s your turn to look after Nue.”

“Ugh, fine. I guess taking care of a pet is part of the job.” Helena grumbled about Nue but Cain didn’t openly oppose her.

There was a short brief moment of silence…

“What do you want to do with the store?” As she was already here, Helena wanted to find out more about Cain’s goal. She already had her own motivation, to have fun. She was curious as to what Cain wanted.

Cain grumbled out his answer, “To help people. What about it?”

Helena recalled the memories of the otherworld, “When we were traveling through the other world, did you have fun?”

Cain was suddenly caught off-guard by Helena’s sudden question. “I guess I did. I didn’t like fighting all that much but seeing the world felt freeing.”

“What if you were suddenly forced to fight against people who wanted to kill you? Can you do it?” Helena was trying to see how Cain would react to this. As far as she could tell, Cain hadn’t been able to kill a single person the entire time. Though he had killed people unknowingly, he hadn’t had the heart to personally do the deed.

“Huh… what’s this all about?” Cain was starting to get confused. Helena’s expression didn’t change as she continued on waiting for his answer, “I guess… I don’t think I can.”

“That’s more than enough of an answer on how we will go about this little store.” Helena snapped her fingers. A brief blank occurred as Cain was wondering what Helena was thinking about.

“How about this, I’ve been leading for far too long. Do you want to take the wheel for once?” Helena sighed and finally decided to let Cain loose. She doesn’t know what would happen if Cain was let loose unsupervised but at the same time, she knows that he desires to finally stand on his own two feet. A little bit of entertainment and development at the same time.

“Let me take the wheel?” Cain’s previously grumpy attitude turned a bit more joyful. “What do you mean by that?”

“Simple, what we’re generally going to do, you call the shots. We’re already following you opening your shop anyway. We’re just making it more official.”

Although it was already happening, hearing Helena say that out loud made Cain satisfied. His morale improved as he continued on going back to forging the wooden sword he was planning on making.

Now for the real show above. Helena slowly walked upstairs just in time for a pair to show up to enter the premises.

“Harry, who’s your friend?” Helena waited for Harry to introduce him despite fully knowing who Elliot was.

“I’m-” Elliot was immediately stopped by Harry.

“Just a friend! By the way Helena, do you still have the sword?” Harry was beaming his signature smile as he buttered up Helena.

“What sword?” Helena’s eyes showed a weird glint as she said this. “Cain made a few swords, which one are you talking about? Name and rank.”

“I see what you’re trying to do here, Helena. Haha, come on. Please don’t make me look bad in front of my friend here.” Harry then came up close to Helena. “I’ll slide you something under the table if you just stop grilling me here.”

“My, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Harry. My memory is a bit fuzzy.” Helena feigned not knowing. Harry was starting to get annoyed that Helena was making it harder for him.

“Fine! Alright, you win! The Lower Rank 10 sword, The Dawn of a New Age!” Harry roared out. “Just bring it out.”

I knew it. Harry knows more than he lets on. Helena internally thought.

“Sorry, someone already bought it. Or perhaps we never had it in the first place?” Helena looked at Elliot. “You there, would you be so kind as to tell me what kind of lies Harry told you?”

“M-Me?” Elliot pointed at himself. “Harry said his Master owned the rumored sword. Is this true?”

“Is it?” Helena giggled and looked at Harry.

“Helena! Don’t do me like this… aha! Master will back me up! Wait here!” Harry immediately went downstairs without hesitation. He wanted to bring Cain back up to show Elliot that he wasn’t lying.

Now there were only the two of them left here, “Hello…”

“As you heard, you can call me Helena. I don’t really mind. You’re pretty interesting, aren’t you? A man looking much more seductive than even a woman.” Helena rested her head on her hands as she questioned Elliot.

“That isn’t my fault. The otherworld I was sent to was quite odd.”

“That does sound quite right. See, I like making fun of Harry a lot. It’s pretty fun.” Helena straight up revealed her intentions.

“If you help me out, I’ll give you something that’ll surely make your guild look at you more favorably.” Helena immediately took out the weak wooden sword that Cain had just made. Elliot saw this sword be unleashed in front of her and realized that this was a genuine sword of great strength.

“T-This… is this… real?” Elliot couldn’t believe it. In front of her was a genuine Lower Rank 10 sword, the mana radiating off it was so immense that it even made it difficult for her to breathe.

“If you help me make Harry panic for a little bit then I’ll give this to you. Easy, right?” Helena smirked and threw the sword towards him.

Elliot panicked but still managed to grab a hold of the sword. He could feel the pure destructive yet guiding force of the sword. It was as if he was being blessed by the pure will of the sword itself.

“Well?” Helena’s devilish words were tempting Elliot.

As for Elliot, he looked at the undoubtedly divine sword in his hands and trembled. This was such an immensely great opportunity for him.

He recalled just earlier that Harry stood up for him, seeing him for who he truly was. He started weighing the options, a chance for greatness or a friend he had just met earlier. From Helena’s sword, it seemed that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

As Elliot looked back at Helena, he raised the sword and dropped it off at the desk in front of him. He bowed, “I appreciate your kindness but I don’t have the heart to treat my friend like this.”

“Oh? Not even for a Lower Rank 10 sword? It wouldn’t even be that bad you know. All I want you to do is just leave and come back tomorrow. Not that difficult at all.” Helena continued on to tempt him with her own plans.

“I know it’s dumb! I know it’s stupid but I just can’t. I value my friendship more.” Elliot continued speaking from the heart.

Helena sighed, grabbed the sword, and threw it back to Elliot. “Keep it. It’s not even fun anymore.”

“Huh? Lady Helena, what do you mean by that?” Elliot didn’t expect for Helena to just give it for nothing in exchange. “I may be a fool but I think need to know what the condition is!”

“Condition?” Helena could feel the rapidly approaching footsteps from below. “Simple, use that sword and practice. Elliot, with how you are right now, you wouldn’t even be able to last a month. You’re friends with a genuine monster.”

‘How does she know my name? I don’t think I’ve introduced myself before!’ Elliot struggled within his mind.’

“A monster? I’ve seen people with unparalleled talent before! I believe that with this-” Elliot shouted out.

“Child, you don’t know what monsters are. The unparalleled talents you know of are complete nobodies. Word of advice, use this and catch up. You’ll see what I mean in a few moments, here they come.”

“Master! Show my friend here what you just made!” Harry was dragging Cain who was holding the finally finished masterpiece in his hand. “See! Elliot, I’m not lying at all!”

Elliot trembled as he looked at the completely divine Lower Rank 10 sword he just received completely overshadowed by a Higher Rank 12 sword. His very sense of common sense was breaking at this very moment.

I understand what you mean, Lady Helena. The public peak is Peak Rank 7… I thought that a Lower Rank 10 was absurd enough, even getting another Lower Rank 10 was already mind-shattering. For there to even be an even more unreasonable weapon to appear like this Higher Rank 12 sword, I don’t understand anymore! Elliot couldn’t handle the mental shock of how unreasonable the world truly was.

“Haha, I told her so.” Helena giggled.