When the light faded for once, I didn’t appear in some hostile place, with freezing temperatures ready to turn me into a human popsicle. Rather than cold, I found myself surrounded by a sudden influx of heat. It wasn’t just the simple heat of the desert region either; the heat sweltering and clinging to me far more than was ordinary.
Where the hell did I- huh?
I’d expected to appear near Rosalina, but during the teleportation, something went astray, perhaps the vast distance interfering with the overall accuracy.
Which was to say, rather than appearing near Rosalina, I was standing in the middle of a suffocating forge. Glancing around, I grimaced, recognizing my surroundings.
“Oy, who the hell do you think you are, barging into my forge… Zero?”
I turned around, facing the master of the forge, Samgen Olkfreig, who was staring at me with slack-jawed shock.
“Err, hello, Samgen.”
“No.” The man shook his head before squinting at me as if attempting to see through a cunning disguise. “You can’t be. It’s been years, after all. The last I heard about you was the aftermath of that quest you went on; you were one of the few survivors but then up and disappeared.”
“A lot happened.” I shrugged, mildly uncomfortable with being forced to make small talk.
“Well, I’ll be damned. It’s good to see you again, boy! Though, you’ve done a bit of growing up. I remember you as a gangly teenager barely entering adulthood, and now look at you!”
“I don’t think I was ever that gangly.” I cracked a smile at last, rubbing at the thick stubble upon my face. “It’s been over four years; I’m not nineteen anymore.”
“Hah! Be that the case, it’s good to see you. What have you been up to over the last few years? And what brings you back here to these parts? Are you returning to adventuring? I’d heard a rumor you were spotted in Akadia of all places, but I was certain that was nothing more than a tall tale.”
News does travel fast.
I hadn’t been surprised when the guild master had found out; after all, the man had contacts everywhere, but if stories of it had spread to the more common crowd, it wouldn’t be long until some began connecting the dots with my former identity and my current alias.
I’ll have Scyla help me develop a cover story, but that’s a problem for later.
“I was in Akadia,” I admitted, as there was no point in denying the fact. “A contact of mine cashed in a rather large favor, so I stood in as a representative for a duel.”
“A duel, you say?” The thick eyebrows of the stocky man jumped up as he shot me a toothy grin. “From what I heard, you fought in some big ole event against a former nizeium adventurer. Not just that, I heard you even won.”
“I will neither confirm nor deny anything.” I chuckled.
“Seems you haven’t gotten rusty over the last few years of laying low. So what, you’ve returned now that you’ve got that accomplishment under your belt?”
“Not quite. I’m just here to visit. I’ve left behind the life of an adventurer.”
“Huh, never expected to hear that from you. Most kids who become adventurers at a young age tend to stick with it, having no other skills to take advantage of.”
“You make me sound like I was hired muscle.”
“Would I be wrong?”
“Fair,” I admitted.
Letting the moment of silence hang, I noticed the eyes of the burly smith trailing over me, searching.
“I notice you don’t have your swords with you. Not sure how wise leaving behind your tools of the trade would tend to be.”
“If only that were the case.” I sighed. “They’re broken, long gone.”
“They’re what!?” The smith shouted, hopping in surprise. “Those were mana-tempered silver. How do you manage to break not one or two but three of them?”
“A lot happened.” That was all I said.
“By the gods above, those were some of my best work too. The only swords you could get your hands on of finer craft would have been those of nizeium or ornnax.”
“I apologize, but they did serve me well at the very least, and I am saddened that I no longer have the honor of carrying them at my side.”
“Hmm.” The smith grunted, scratching his chin. “Your appearance isn’t all that’s changed. You talk funny now.”
“I… talk funny?”
“Yeah. You sound like one of ‘em rich merchants or the ilk who come here looking to buy an expensive piece to show off, playing at being hardened warriors. Oye, is that it? When you disappeared, you probably got a gig working as the bodyguard of some noble’s brat.”
Hah, if only he knew.
“Something along those lines.” I laughed. “But it’s a more stable life.”
“I bet.” The smith agreed. “If you didn’t return to Dunehold to once again take up the mantle of an adventurer, then I suppose the purpose of this visit is your sister?”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Rosalina, waves of nervous energy radiating through me at the thought.
“Bingo.” The Samgen nodded, noticing my expression. “I’m sure she will have quite a few things to say about that.”
“Have you seen her?”
“Have I?” The man roared out with laughter. “I think she spends more time here than I do.”
“She does?”
“Bit of a fanatic, I’ll tell you that. After you disappeared, well, this probably isn’t my place to talk about it. If you’re looking for her, she’ll either be at her place, though I can’t say I know where that is, or she’ll be at the rings.”
“The rings?”
“Oh, you weren’t here for those; I forgot.” The smith added, his vocal inflection suggesting to Rook that the man had forgotten something that obvious. “After you disappeared, the guild bought the nearby properties, clearing them out and turning them into a training ground for registered adventurers and affiliated members.”
“Affiliated members?”
“Some scheme they concocted; I’m not much for the details. All I know is that they’re sort of adventurers, except they never travel far. Also, unlike proper adventurers, they don’t take a cut of the commissions, as they’re paid by the hour.”
I frowned, the new addition to the inner workings of the guild alarming me.
Why?
From what I knew of Dion, he wasn’t one to frivolously make decisions; everything had some deeper meaning.
What could it be?
“Why haven’t I heard of this in any other city?”
“Because it’s only recently been implemented and only for the headquarters as of now.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled, lost in thought.
“That aside, if you’re going to head to the rings, you best have something on hand, and I have just the perfect idea.”
“You do?” I raised an eyebrow at the man.
“I do! In fact, your timing couldn’t have been more perfect.” Turning around, the smith jogged off to the storage room, where I heard clanging metal and annoyed grunts before the smith reappeared.
“Here, take this.”
In his hands, held up to me, was an elongated case.
“What is it?”
“Open it up and find out for yourself.”
Curious, I removed the lid from the case, revealing a sword encased in an oiled black leather sheath.
“May I?” I asked politely.
“Boy, if you don’t take the damned thing already, I will beat you with a hammer.”
Stifling an amused snort, I pulled the sheath from the case before drawing the sword free of its protective shell.
“What the hell?” I gasped as I stared at the blade.
“I call it colorite. Impressive, isn’t it?”
The blade was unlike any I’d seen before. The metal shined with a steel gleam, but within the folds of the metal, depending on how the light bounced against its edges, the color seemed to ripple and shift between green, purple, orange, and red hues.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“What is it? How’d you make it?”
“It’s something I’ve been experimenting with for the last two years, a pet project that I’ve had thought up for even longer. I won’t bore you with the details, but the short of it is that it takes the concept behind mana-tempering and combines it with Damascus folding. Each metal deposit mixed into the process is tempered with its own distinct mana, meaning you get a material that takes the toughness of folded metal and combines it with folded mana!”
“I thought you said you’d spare me the details?”
“Bah.” The smith flipped me off, annoyed. “The point is this material here will take the world by storm. Or, in theory, it should.”
“In theory?”
“I haven’t found a good opportunity to show it off, and the process for creating it is rather extensive, but given more time, it will be something the best adventurers from around the country will flock here to get.”
“And you’re just giving it to me?”
“No, I’m loaning it to you. I expect you to return it before you leave, you hear me? Or I swear on the souls of the three swords you wasted, I will haunt you.”
“It feels more like you’re using me to advertise them.”
“Hah. Don’t overthink it. Once you get to the rings, you’ll thank me.”
“Whatever you say.” I waved at the smith before turning around. “I’ll make sure to return it before I leave.”
“Good. And if you see Rosalina at the rings, tell her she better not break any more of my tools.”
I felt my curiosity piqued, but I didn’t question what he meant by that, instead leaving from the front of the forge, entering the shop proper before exiting through the front doors.
“Dunehold,” I whispered as the desert sun beat down on me, a familiar feeling.
The city looked much like I remembered, constructed primarily of sandstone structures reinforced with hardened clay terracotta. Taking a deep breath, the warm air filled my lungs, not nearly as scorching as the furnace heat of the forge, as I stretched my arms far overhead.
Wait a second!
I glanced around me, searching for the familiar black coat of my demon cat. Panic began to swell as I found myself unable to find her until, from the shadows of a nearby house, a pair of eyes peeked out at me.
“Oh, there you are.”
Relieved, I approached the shadow blossom, who looked at me with irritated eyes.
“Oh, that’s the problem, isn’t it? An unfamiliar city with too many people wandering around, smack in the middle of the day.”
Ever so slightly, I saw her head move up and down, a movement that looked alarmingly like a nod.
“Well, if that’s the case, you can stay hidden. Just don’t wander too far from me, okay?”
Once more, with a head movement that looked uncannily like a nod, the shadow blossom appeared to vanish within the darkness of the shadows like, well, a shadow.
Near the guild, eh?
Setting off leisurely, I began to meander through the once-familiar city with false bravado as I made my way toward the one person I suddenly didn’t want to see.
I get the feeling she won’t be happy with me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Well, I understand why they call it the ‘rings’ now,” I muttered as I stood outside the training field behind the guild headquarters.
Nearly an entire city block had been purchased and flattened, replaced with a training field dotted with large circular rings, inside which adventurers sparred with varying intensity levels. Some of the fights were clearly tin, or copper-ranked adventurers, awkwardly flailing about as they attempted to emulate the more frenzied pace some pairs engaged in. I kept my head low, recognizing a few faces here and there, steel, silver, and even some gold-level adventurers.
I guess it’s a good way for them to polish their skills without being forced to risk life and limb or officially putting their reputation on the line with duels.
I wasn’t sure why Rosalina would be here, of all places. Still, I continued searching until, with a sigh, I realized there was an easier way to find her.
I should just search for her mana signature. Not like anyone else here is going to have dragon mana.
Opening my mana sense wide, it surprised me just how out there all their mana signatures were, almost slovenly, making it beyond easy to perceive.
This is the first time I’ve been around this many people capable of magic since I was an adventurer. Was it always this bad?
Even my students had tighter control of their mana, well contained compared to the rank-and-file adventurers.
That was, except for a single person toward the opposite end of the training grounds, her mana was contained so tightly that I doubted anyone, save for myself, could have sensed the difference in her mana compared to the rest of the rabble.
It’s her. And more importantly, where did she learn that?
Last I’d seen Rosalina, she hadn’t been a magic practitioner. She only knew the simple instructions and drills I’d given her to help hide her mana. At the time, given that she kept herself apart from the world of magic, even weak efforts to mask her mana was more than enough to conceal it.
Which means she started practicing over the last few years.
If that observation was a shock, the bigger surprise was when my eyes physically found her, locking onto her.
Pips?
The girl I remembered, no more than sixteen years old when I left, was no longer the same girl I’d last seen. Height-wise, she’d hardly grown since then, but what had changed was the demeanor she carried herself with, raw, unwavering strength.
A strength I saw firsthand as she grabbed the arm of the foe she was currently locked in battle against, slamming them so hard onto the ground I winced in sympathy.
What the hell happened?
Enhancing my sight, I examined her from across the field. Her hair, which had once only fallen to just below her jawline, was now tied behind her in a long ponytail, strands of ashen grey and burnt orange intermixed within her normal sandy hair. Her usual smirk was replaced with a deep scowl as she looked about, annoyed about something. Her eyes were a deep crimson, the same brilliance as shining rubies; at least, that hadn’t changed about her. What had changed was the slight striations just below her eyes, thin enough that most would overlook them, yet they reminded me eerily of the scales of a snake.
Or, perhaps, a dragon.
She continued searching about, her opponent unmoving on the ground. Far away as I was, she shouldn’t have been able to pick me out from the crowd, but as her gaze scanned past where I stood, I noticed as she seemed to freeze before looking back toward where I stood.
Uh oh.
Her scarlet eyes widened, frozen in place for a moment longer before she began jogging toward me, speeding up until she almost crashed into me.
“R-Rook?”
“Uh, hey, Pips,” I said, feeling awkward.
Probably not the best thing to start with after years apart.
I saw something flicker through her eyes as the girl, now a young woman, stepped forward to embrace me.
Or so I mistakenly assumed. Closing the distance, it wasn’t a hug that I was met with, but a wicked right hook that cracked across my jaw, sending me spiraling to the ground.
Ouch? When the hell did she get that strong?
That wasn’t the sort of strength an average human had. There was a force behind that punch that I expected from the likes of monsters, not nineteen-year-old girls.
Or grown men, for that matter.
“You absolute asshole! You just up and vanished, leaving me behind! And you think a stupid fucking letter is enough! You asshole!”
Furious, the girl went to kick me in the ribs, but I was ready for it this time, rolling out of the way and popping back to my feet.
“Alright, I admit, I deserved that.” I rubbed my jaw. “And I’m sorry that-”
“You’re sorry? That’s it? You abandoned me!”
I get the feeling she is upset with me.
Throwing another punch at me, I side-stepped it, taken aback that I had to rely on mana to augment myself to avoid the strike.
Seriously, what the hell has happened?
As if my dodges only made her more furious, I saw anger knotting the muscles in her shoulders as she tensed up, ready to attack. It wasn’t the violent intent radiating from my sister that worried me. I sensed another presence, a killing intent growing, not directed at myself but at my sister.
Yeah, better put this to a stop.
Raising my hands, I stepped forward, giving my sister pause.
And more importantly, the shadow blossom that had been growing increasingly defensive of me, my sister’s assault on me almost setting my cat into attack mode from where she was hidden.
“Look, I get you’re angry, and if you want to take it out on me, fine, but shouldn’t we take it to one of the rings if that’s the case?”
For the first time, Rosalina glanced around, noticing as nearby adventurers had stopped what they were doing, watching us instead.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms and marched across the field with me in tow. Reaching the ring she’d been in before, she rolled the still-unconscious man she’d been fighting out of the ring.
“How are we doing this?” I asked, somewhat against fighting my sister, even if it was technically my idea.
“Armed.’
“I’d rather not hurt you.” I winced.
“Hah.” She snorted as she reached for a bag on the ground, pulling something out. “Already did.”
I winced, the verbal jab inflicting more lasting damage than any physical attack would.
Still watching my sister, she began to pull what looked like two gauntlets onto her arms, strapping them securely. Rather than classic chainmail, the gauntlets seemed to be made of interlocking scales; the fingers were tipped with savage-looking claws that looked like they could rend flesh from a rock.
“Never felt comfortable with a sword.” She answered my unspoken question, perhaps the first thing she’d said to me that hadn’t sounded hostile.
Drawing the sword Samgen lent me, I saw her eyes widen before narrowing a moment later.
“Oh, so you visited Samgen before me. Nice to see I still don’t top the list of your concerns.”
Lords and gods above, I can do no right, can I?
Raising my sword in a salute, I waited until Rosalina finished strapping on her clawed gauntlets, giving me a short, curt nod that she was ready.
Here we go- shit!
Like an enraged bear, Rosalina charged me, her claws tearing through the air after me. Rather than retaliate, I kept my sword close, using it to redirect her attacks, each impact with her armored fists sending a jarring reverberation through me.
“Just.. fight… back!” She snarled. With an agile spin, the end of her braided ponytail smacked me in the face, used as dexterously as if it were a tail.
I understand the long hair now.
Thrown off balance by the braid smacking me in the face, Rosalina slammed a heavy uppercut into my ribs, tossing me into the air before I fell onto the hard ground.
Ow. Think she fractured a rib.
She wasn’t done either, bringing a fist down toward me that I avoided with another roll. Bouncing back to my feet, I heard a slight pop as the rib she’d injured righted itself, dipping into my mana reserves.
Jeez.
Where I had just been lying was now a crater where her fist had smashed through the ground
Physically speaking, my sister was my equal, if not stronger than I. It was baffling, her strength far beyond normal.
Or what should have been normal, at least from a person with a regular human heart. Unlike Tez, whose dragon heart was created artificially, my efforts to save her life years ago had caused her heart to adapt and change; Rosalina had an au-naturel, bonafide dragon heart from the day she was born.
A dragon heart she was putting to good use.
Her physical strength alone could put her as a match for a gold-ranked adventurer.
Rosalina came at me again, but I was already beginning to see through her movements. She fought not with the well-trained discipline of a duelist but the overwhelming power of a brawler, a bear in human skin. As much as I didn’t want to hurt her, with strength like that, letting her pummel me would potentially be dangerous.
Fine, have it your way.
Beating her wasn’t enough. I needed to make her understand that this was pointless. Drawing on flow, I accelerated, tearing apart her posture as my sword continuously smacked her armored hands to the side, leaving her completely exposed. Rather than take advantage of the openings, I continued to push her back, her eyes growing wide in response.
Good.
It was a bit cheap to use flow when no other magic was being used, but in my defense, having a dragon heart made her magical as a baseline; it was only fair to be able to use my own methods of augmenting my strength.
Beating her aside for several more seconds, long enough that I felt the point was driven home, I darted into her exposed guard, hooking a foot behind her as I gave her a shove, tripping her as she fell to the ground.
I saw tension building in her face, wanting to resume the fight, but she stopped, sword point held just before her eyes.
“Yield.”
A look of disbelief flashed through her eyes like she was entirely perplexed at the reality of her defeat.
I know that feeling, that expression.
I’d once worn a similar expression upon losing in a duel against Iris Steel Haze.
Sheathing the sword, I reached a hand toward my sister, speaking more softly.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you like I did.”
Her face became a tangled mess of emotions, hurt, anger, indignation, and remorse, before turning to something gentler.
Cautious relief.
Reaching up, she grabbed my forearm firmly as I pulled her to her feet.
“Fine.” She muttered, unable to meet my gaze for several seconds.
I remained silent, giving her the time she needed, before she finally looked back at me, now wearing the familiar teasing smirk I’d grown to love and expect.
“But you owe me dinner.”