Author's Note: Another day another chapter! “But Rainbows, it's been fucking weeks!” Meh, details. It took a long time not because of this chapter, but because I had rewrote chapters 40 through 45. You'll probably appreciate the uptick in quality, so reread it if you want. 

I'm thinking of rewriting my earlier chapters too. If I were to do that, it would take me from one week to several decades to get it all done. If 100 years have passed and my chapters still haven't been rewritten, it's safe to say I probably won't be rewriting them.

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Seeing Null's display of power, the people there start taking Null seriously. The archers produce a steady hail of arrows, launching them at Damina, the wind mage, and Null.

Thanks to the wind mage, most of the arrows aimed at them are blocked by a invisible twister surrounding them. Anybody found trying to directly charge at them is met with resistance by Damina, whose pickax slams into the ground attacking the opposing side with various minerals. Some of the minerals in question were very valuable.  

Despite all of this, Null along with the others realize that they are losing ground, because if nothing changes, they will lose. They are steadily being pushed back. The enemy is too many while they are too few.

Seeing how things are turning out, Null puts on his old gauntlets, hoping to turn the tide of battle. Null aims his arm and fires his needle launchers. The effect is less than what he hoped for. For the archers, the needles are easily dodged. The warriors don't even bother dodging as the needles just bounce off their armor. 

Seeing as how the needle launchers weren't working, Null then unravels his crossbow. Since he can only fire one arrow at a time, he aims his arrow at the earth mage who seems to be the leader. He then fires his crossbow. While the arrow travels, multiple golems quickly grow out of the ground. The arrow pierces through two golems before stopping at the third golem. 

'This guy can manipulate golems and even make them from the very surroundings. What a pain in the ass.' Null thinks. 'It looks like my weapons are completely ineffective at this level of power. I was right in deciding to create a new armor.'   

Null then hears rumbling from under his feet. 

'Shit!' Null thinks frantic clenching his teeth. 

Null then rolls out of the way just in time as a giant golem hand comes out from where he was just standing. The golem arm turns its hand into a fist, barely missing grabbing Null. 

When Null stops rolling, an arrow lands next to him and explodes, shattering a lot of debris close to him. Null shields his eyes from the scattering debris.  A golem rises from the ground behind Null. He notices the golem too late. The golem swings his arm, making Null collide into the cave wall.

An archer on the other side loads more arrows. The wind mage tries to block the arrow, but he already has his hands full trying to block all the other arrows from the other arches, and this archers arrows look to be more powerful than the others. The arrow plunges through the wind the wind mage generated, only losing a small amount of its momentum. 

However, thanks to the wind mage's interference, the arrows aimed at Null miss. The missed arrows explode as they hit the cave wall. Null tries to throw his bombs at the archer, but he shoots down Null's bombs in midair. Null jumps into the air, throwing a multitude of bombs above where the wind mage was generating his twister shield. 

This time, the archer loads multiple arrows. He shoots at Null while he is in midair. When it looks that Null was about to be hit, Damina slams his pickax in the ground, making gold nuggets rise which collide with the arrows. 

'To slam his pickax into the ground and make gold collide with the arrows that were aimed at me. His advanced mining skill isn't for show. Only this person would actually fling gold like it's nothing. This guy did the attack equivalent of shitting gold bricks. Fuck this guy.' Null thinks in envy.

While this is happening, the earth mage starts releasing a lot of energy into the ground. Earth starts rising from the ground. A amount of earth far larger than the other golems rises from the earth. The risen earth then starts to condense until it forms into about the size of a man. 

The compressed earth then starts transforming into a human-like shape. When the transformation is complete, the rock changes texture to look like skin and clothes. Other than the black eyes with red irises, it looks exactly like a human. There's a red gem in the center of his forehead. 

The earth mage kneels down and starts to pant. It looks as if summoning what he did took a lot out of him. 

'Yeah, I've watched enough shows to know that the human-like monsters are the most powerful of whatever version a force is fighting. I'm barely fighting evenly against the golems as is. I should leave for now.' Null thinks.

“Grrrr...” The man-like golem groans. 

“That's an arch golem!” Damina says surprised. “Although golems in general are stupid and have no brains, arch golems are golems that have lived and grown stronger for thousands of years and had transcended golems! They have a high amount of intelligence, usually being high ranking demons! How did he manage to get a hold of this guy?” Damina says smirking with sweat dripping down his forhead. 

“Attack the masked man and the wind mage!” The earth mage says commanding the arch golem. 

The arch golem clinches his teeth. 

“Blow it out your ass.” The arch golem tells the earth mage in condemnation. 

The earth mage then holds out his hand. The red gem in between that golem's head starts to glow. Red tattoos start coming from where the gem is placed.

“Gaaaah!” 

The arch golem clutches his head. He looks to be in pain.

“I said attack!” The earth mage commands. 

“When I get out of this I'll...”

The earth mage amps the power on whatever is hurting the arch golem.

He falls to the ground, rolling and clutching his head in pain. The glow from the crystal then stops.

“If you attack, then all that pain will go away.” The earth mage says to him.

“Tch.”

He gets up and dusts himself off. He then turns towards Null. Null readies himself, having his needle launchers aimed at the arch golem. The arch golem then sprints towards Null. 

'It might not do much, but I can at least slow him down.' Null thinks.  

He fires his needle launchers. The arch golem hardens his skin to stone, making the needles bounce off his skin. 

'Okay, so I now know his composition. He feels a need to harden his skin, so it looks like he's has a flesh and blood body beneath that stone skin. I'll aim my crossbow at his heart. It should be enough to penetrate that thin stone skin.' Null thinks. 

Null pulls a string, and the crossbow unravels. He aims his bow at the moving arch mage and fires. The arch golem then sinks inside the ground, moving through it like water. The arrow flies loose, and goes through the cavewall. Null loads another arrow in, looking around carefully.

He spreads out his mana, not wanting another surprise attack like before. Suddenly, Damina slams his pickax into the ground, making rubies come out the ground as projectiles aimed at Null. Null is surprised, but he catches on. He moves out the way just as the arch golem was coming out the ground. The arch golem is hit. Cracks start showing on the arch golem's skin. 

Null did not come out unscaved, as he was also hit with Damina's attack. Null used this opportunity to hit the arch golem with his crossbow.

'Your stone skin won't stop this attack. Game over.' Null thinks.

While the arch golem was disoriented from Damina's last attack, the arrow was unleashed. The arch golem then did something that surprised everyone on Null's side. His skin had changed into a complete different, harder material. The arrow didn't even make the arch golem budge. 

'Well, I'm all out of ideas.' Null thinks.

“Damn. I feel so unmanly right now.” Damina says.

The wind mage was still deflecting arrows, seeing the situation turn for the worse. Just when situation was about to turn really bad, arrows come and aim at the enemies. Many dwarfs and humans in clothes similar to the wind mage come in. The mages were in flowing robes. The human warriors had armor that looked similar to Roman Armor.  

“Guys!” Damina says in excitement to his fellow dwarves.

They all smirk given Damina's a thumbs up. The wind mage just nods at the people from the Ostana Republic. 

“People from the Goldcrest Empire. If you continue your actions, we, the Ostana Republic, will declare war. This is your final warning.” The wind mage says to them.

The air was tense. Both sides' archers had their arrows nocked. No one wanted to be the first to move. Seeing the situation, the earth mage frowns.

“Stand down.” The earth mage says to his people.

The archers from both sides take their arrows off their bows and put them down. The warriors put down their weapons. 

“Let's go.” The earth mage says. The people from the Goldcrest Empire all start walking out.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Wait a minute you bastards!” Damina yells at them. “I want my family back!”

The earth mage smiles. “Oh, that's simply done. All you have to do is join us.”

“In your dreams!”

“Then I guess you'll never see them again.”

They all walk off.

“Just you wait bastards! I'll get you back for this! We'll rescue my family!” 

The wind mage says to Damina, “I'm afraid that we cannot rescue your family at this time. We were only ordered to prevent any forces from forcibly taking you. That is all.”

Damina grabs the wind mage by the collar and yells out, “So you assholes are just gonna let them keep my family?!”

A strong gust blows, knocking Damina on his butt. The wind mage fixes his collar while saying, “Do not forget that we are here helping you without asking for anything in return. Would you rather us leave?” 

“Tch. Useless. The bunch of ya.” Damina says vexed while leaving. 

Only the wind mage followed Damina. The dwarves went back to their kingdom while the Ostana Republic went back to a hidden area. Damina's bad mood had quickly passed while they were walking.

“Man Null. Here I thought you were just some wimp. Those gadgets you had were amazing even if they didn't do any good. Who made them?”

“I did.”

Damina whistles impressed with Null.

“Man there's just someone you have to meet.”

David frowns under his mask. 

“He's a blacksmith interested in these kinds of things. You've just gotta show him your stuff!”

“Where are we going?” Null asks. 

“Where else? To the most technologically advanced place in the world!”

“You mean...”

“That's right! The Dwarven Kingdom!”

“...Oh.” Null says relieved. 

They walk through the mountains for a long time. Null found that Damina was surprisingly more nimble than he appears, as Null found it hard to keep up with him. 

“Almost there!”

'You've kept saying the same thing the past few hours.' Null thinks annoyed. 

They soon make it through a wide valley. It was covered in holes. On the top of one side of the valley, a huge aqueduct could be seen. Water from the aqueduct seemed to be flowing into the valley walls. Null and Damina walked to one of the entrance holes.  Two giant, well made statues of dwarves could be seen next to that hole. Two dwarven guards wielding spears were standing guard.

“Sir!” The guards say to Damina respectfully. 

Damina smirks and punches one of the guard in the shoulder. 

“No need to be so stiff! Keep up the manly work!”

“SIR!” The guard says with enthusiasm. 

Null, Damina, and the wind mage then proceed through the tunnels. There was tunnel after tunnel that they walked through. They were kept well lit, and were well maintained. They then enter an underground town. There was a giant hole in the ceiling where this town was located. 

Damina entered a tavern to drink. The wind mage also entered as to protect Damina. He did not drink. As Null was too young, he had waited outside sitting on an empty barrel.

When Damina was finished, they left the town and continued to travel. Town after town they entered. The way the Dwarven Kingdom was set up reminded Null of how ant hills were set up. There were various interconnecting tunnels with some bubbles where things were stored or towns were built, just like ant hills. 

After around a week of walking, they finally make it to the Dwarven capital. The city looks huge compared to the towns Null had visited before. There were many tall buildings. The hole above the city that led to the surface was even wider than the hole above the other towns. 

In the very center of this city lied a huge palace. Many smith shops could be seen throughout the area. There were people of all races walking around. Most of the people here were dressed in merchant clothes. 

“Welcome to Narbuldor, the most advanced city on Earth!”

Null looks around unimpressed. 

“...Huh.” Null says.

“What's with that reaction!? Your blood should be pumping!” Damina yells out while flexing.

“It is.” Null says apathetic.

In actuality, the most advanced city Null had ever seen is Gnosia. As most people don't know of its existence, it's understandable that Damina doesn't know. 

They both soon make it to a big blacksmith shop. When they make it to the door, Null is surprised by Damina kicking in the door.

“Who's the big balled bastard who kicked my door in?!” An angry voice yelled out from inside.

“It was I, you tiny testicled toddler!” Damina yells back.  

“Damina, I'll kill ya for wreckin' my door!” The shop owner yells out in a rage.

“As if your unmanly self could do anything!” Damina yells out angry.

They both start yelling out, charging towards each other. Just when they look they're about to come to blows, they both give each other bear hugs and start to smile.

“I never see your dumbass anymore. You've gotten too good for us now that you've gotten advanced mastery huh?” The blacksmith asks.

“Ha! Don't be ridiculous! It's those assholes from the empires that keep getting in my way!” Damina yells out. 

“Who're the people next to ya?” The blacksmith asks.

“The tall one in the robes is a wind mage from the Ostana Republic. I honestly don't even know his name.” Damina says. 

The wind mage just stands there, ignoring their conversation.

“The masked guy in the assassin clothes is called Null. He's the reason I came to see you.”

“Hey.” Null says apathetic. 

“This guy looks like a wimp.” The blacksmith says.

Null looks at the blacksmith deadpanned. 

“Don't let looks deceive ya. This guy might be a wimp, but he's a formidable wimp.” Damina says. “Null, show him your weapons.” 

The blacksmith sees the effective spread of the needle launchers and the penetrative power of the crossbow.  The blacksmith looks on sort of impressed. 

“Where did you get these?” The blacksmith wonders. 

“I made them.” Null says. 

“These are pretty interesting. It would be even more impressive, if you could minimize these needles with the same amount of firing power so they could penetrate deeper into enemies.”

“This is the limit on how small I can make the needles.” Null says.

“Oh, that's right. You don't have Miniature Smithing as a technique. It's usually limited to Dwarf blacksmiths. That's our signature ability.”

“Miniature Smithing?” Null asks. 

“It enables someone to smith the small. The higher the mastery, the smaller you can smith, and the more detailed your creations become.” The blacksmith says.

'I had no idea a technique like that existed.' Null thinks. 

“Since I like your gizmos, and since Damina likes you, I'll give you a chance to learn it.” 

Null shakes briefly. 

“Now, don't get too excited yet. Miniature Smithing is a trade mark for Dwarven blacksmiths. It shouldn't be too cheap to learn it.” The blacksmith tells Null. 

“How about my weapons?” Null asks. 

“Ha! Not even close!” The blacksmith tells Null.

Null frowns under his mask. 'I'll just think about this later.'

Null thanks the man and they soon leave the shop. 

“Well, he was the only person I wanted you to see.” Damina tells Null.

Damina's face then shows anger. He takes out his pickax and puts it in his hands.

“Now, I'm going to go rescue my family!” Damina tells both Null and the wind mage.  

Damina prepares to run off.

“Please wait.” Null says.

“What?”

“Your family isn't in any danger. It wouldn't do them any good to cause them harm if they are trying to recruit you. Let's wait until I complete my armor before we rescue your family.” 

“Wait!? Who would do an unmanly thing like waiting!? I'll rescue my wife right here, right now!” Damina then starts running off.  

'Oh geez.' Null then sighs.

The wind mage tells Null, “Do not worry. I will not allow any harm to befall Damina.”

Null nods. The wind mage then flies and chases after Damina. 

Null walks until me makes it to the nearest exit from the Dwarven Kingdom. He decides to go on his own from here on. Null knows where Damina's hideout is located, so he can go there when he needs to buy his ores. 

'Now the question is how do I make the money to buy Damina's ores? Where would I sell the items I make? If I were to sell in the game and make a lot of money, I would get a lot of attention. That would completely defeat my purpose for playing New Reality.

Ugh! I have a headache. I should just listen around in school. Lots of people play New Reality, so they should have some useful information.'

Null stays in New Reality smelting iron ores until it was time for school. When the buzzard for school starts, he logs off.  

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Author's Note: As with most problems in life, they are caused by not having enough money.