"It's almost been a week since you've climbed the Tower," Matt commented, reclining back on his chair, with his feet kept on the reception desk before him. "Have you finally given up on it?"

"Well, his dagger consumed the majority of my time here," Justin mumbled while he meticulously brushed off the freshly forged blades and armour suspended along the walls.

A man stepped into the well-lit, mostly customer-less store with a soft smile on his handsome face.

He wore a black tuxedo along with a black shirt, with a few of its top buttons unbuttoned. An almost discrete ring with a small gemstone had been slid onto his finger, the kind that would be invisible to the unaware eye.

"I received your message," the man said, closing the door to the store behind him.

"Indeed," Justin replied, "I was kind of surprised when I came to know that you bought a teleball so early in your climb. But then again, I expect nothing less from the man Moon chose as his master."

"You should learn from him, Justin," called out Matt in a jolly tone. "I was the one who bought that thing for you."

Just as the tanned man was about to say something in refutation, the middle-aged man got up, headed into the smithy attached to the store, and said, "I'll fetch his blade."

"Thanks," the black haired man shouted, removing the blacksmith's apron he wore and placing it atop the reception desk.

Under it, he wore a white t-shirt along with grey cargo pants, with enough pockets to store everything the Tower had to offer.

"Did you climb?" he inquired, combing his hair with his fingers and using one of the shiny metal swords on the wall as a mirror.

"I did," Nox replied, looking eagerly at the door leading to the smithy.

"That's good," said Justin, turning towards him, "I know I shouldn't ask this... But, just how did you manage to break Moon to such an extent?"

Not taken aback by the sudden question, the pony-tailed man replied with a straight face, "I lost my way and ended up in a bad place."

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At this, the young blacksmith softly chuckled but thought it best not to inquire any further.

"Master!" yelled the hoarse voice of what seemed like a teenager.

Wide-eyed, Nox turned towards the smithy's entrance, with a white-haired boy in his mid-teenage years standing in front of it.

His smooth and silky, ear-length hair partially covered his dazzling golden eyes, which looked at the man wearing the tuxedo with great anticipation and excitement.

He was almost as handsome as Nox, even though he looked quite younger than him. His wide smile and large eyes elevated his charm to a much higher realm.

A simple white shirt, along with a pair of white pants and shoes, covered his lean and pale-white body.

"Moon?" blurted out the man wearing the black suit, confused by the sudden change in his dagger's egoic form.

"I guess you can see the ego already," Matt said, handing him an unopened wooden box.

Inside the box was the shining black and silver dagger, which had been with him ever since he first started climbing the Tower.

Although the dagger had regained most of its previous charm and shape, a long brown crack ran through its centre, branching out at certain parts.

"Initially, I tried to remove whatever that is," informed Justin, making his way beside Nox, "but it's almost impossible. That's why I used that thing to solidify the dagger more."

"You have done much more than I could have imagined. I'm grateful," replied Nox, "But how did Moon grow so fast? I know that egos usually grow in age with respect to their prowess, but isn't this a bit too sudden?"

"You already answered yourself," said Justin, slightly smiling, "He has become much stronger than you can imagine."

Nox was about to say something, but the dagger's status screen suddenly popped up before his eyes.

**********

Moon Dagger (A)

A dagger made by a novice blacksmith who has incredible potential.

This dagger is part of the 'sun and moon' set. When used together, a secret effect is unlocked.

The grade and power of this weapon increase with the power of its user.

The dagger will provide the skill: 'Shadow Morph', to its user.

The dagger's attack power is doubled in darkness.

The dagger doubles the arcane recovery rate in darkness.

The dagger improves the user's arcane flow.

Once a link has been established with the dagger, it cannot be broken, unless the dagger or the user perishes.

A parasite has recognised the dagger as its abode.

The parasite's skill *Decay (S)* has a 0.1% probability of activating during combat.

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'What!!!'