When the next morning came, Arwin found that he’d mustered enough self-control to keep himself from showing anyone else the abilities of his bow. [Arsenal]’s powers returned and he dismissed the weapon. Letting Lillia see it had given him all the dopamine he needed for the time being.

Instead of showing the others a half-finished weapon, he decided to get his hands on a string and an arrow. Then he’d be able to show it off as an entire piece rather than taking away from the final reveal.

Arwin headed out into the common room, clad in his greaves. It wasn’t like he had a choice. It was wear it or carry it around until he reached the next rank – which, all things considered, he suspected likely wouldn’t be too far away.

Reya and Rodrick were both eating breakfast when he stepped out. They were dressed for the road and their faces told the stories of a pair that were preparing to set out.

“What’s going on?” Arwin asked.

“I was thinking it would be a good idea to check up on the forest,” Rodrick said. “We don’t know how long it’ll be until that Wyrm horde pops up, assuming it actually will. Looking into it a bit more would do a world of good.”

“And also be incredibly dangerous,” Arwin said with a worried frown. “What if the Wyrm sees you? Or if the horde is already there and just waiting?”

“It would be a bit too fast for the horde to already have matured,” Lillia said as she walked out from the kitchen behind Arwin. “But I agree that it might be dangerous. Why go alone?”

“We’re going together,” Reya said. “That’s the point.”

“We aren’t actually going into the forest,” Rodrick added. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small metal tube. It rested in his palm, roughly the size of a cylindrical apple. “I’ve got this.”

“To throw at monsters?” Arwin asked.

A laugh slipped out of the warrior’s mouth. He thumbed the front of the tube and gave it a small flick. The tube expanded out with a series of clicks until it was about a foot long. “It’s a looking glass. Lets you see stuff from far away. Close one eye and stick the other one up to this.”

I know what a looking glass is.

Rodrick held it up so Arwin could peer into it. He rolled his eyes and peered into it. Arwin was rewarded with a very, very zoomed in view of Rodrick’s nose. He pulled back with a laugh.

“So you’re just going to walk up near the forest and then squint into it in hopes of seeing something?”

“Pretty much,” Rodrick said. “But a lot of our research is actually going to be talking to people. News travels. It’s not like nobody has been to the forest since us, and I’m sure most people didn’t run into the Wyrm.”

“The ones that did probably didn’t make it back to report,” Lillia said.

“Probably,” Rodrick agreed. “But a lack of information is still information. If we poke around a bit in town and then take a quick look from a safe distance, we should be able to put together some information. It certainly can’t hurt.”

That was a good point. Information was always useful. Even if it wasn’t much, anything that Rodrick and Reya could gather would go a long way.

“Bring one of my imps with you,” Lillia said. “They’re not exactly the most dangerous fighters, but people are scared of demons. If anything goes wrong, it’ll buy you some time. They can ride around in your shadow so nobody picks up on them.”

“We’ll do that,” Rodrick said with an appreciative nod. He finished the rest of the food on his plate and pushed back from his chair to drop to his feet. “Thanks.”

Lillia nodded and flicked a hand. The inn was so dark that Arwin could barely even make out the streak of shadow that passed from her hand and flew over to his feet. Rodrick glanced at the ground, then back to her.

“That’s pretty neat.”

“Can I have one too?” Reya asked.

Lillia shrugged and flicked her hand again, sending a second shadow over to Reya. “I suppose it can’t hurt. Extra backup is always good. Just make sure nobody overzealous sees your shadows. They’re bigger than they should be, and anyone that’s fought monsters with dark elements is going to notice something might be wrong. They won’t immediately know what’s hiding in there, but nobody with an abnormally large shadow is up to anything savory.”

“Appreciate the warning. Let’s get to it, Reya. We won’t be gone long – expect us back by the end of the day,” Rodrick said. “Should we look into trying to do another dungeon soon? I’d like to try to push to the next level in my Tier before the horde, and I think Reya would benefit a lot from that as well.”

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“We all would,” Arwin said. “The dungeon we’ve been going to isn’t going to be ready yet, though. It hasn’t been long enough to recover from a full wipe. We could take out some of the newest monsters that moved in, but I doubt there were a lot just sitting around and waiting. There’s another dungeon somewhere nearby according to Olive. Maybe we can convince her to show us where it is.”

“If she’s going to it, it’ll be an open one,” Rodrick said. “Be prepared to pay for entry – and to deal with others.”

“That’s fine,” Arwin said. He did some mental math in his head, then pressed his lips together. There just weren’t enough hours in the day. He wanted to make money crafting items to sell at the market. He needed to upgrade his equipment and that of his guild. He needed to figure out how his Sets worked and get his hands on a bowstring and an arrow for his bow. He also needed to work on his own advancement, though he could do that and crafting at the same time. “Damn. I feel like the tasks keep piling up. These Wyrms can stuff it. They have horrible timing.”

“Tell me about it,” Rodrick said with a grin. “My dad used to always say separate the urgent from the important. Not sure how much that’ll help, but giving advice always makes me feel smart.”

“Thanks. Be careful. Don’t take any risks. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Don’t worry.” Rodrick’s smile fell away and his features turned dead serious. “I know how to get around without drawing the wrong kind of attention, and Reya is one slippery little brat.”

“I take offense to that,” Reya said.

“Good,” Rodrick said. “It doesn’t change anything, though. Let’s get to it.”

He and Reya waved and headed out the doorway. Arwin watched them leave, a twist of trepidation knotting his stomach, but it fell away. Rodrick and Reya could both handle themselves.

“Back to working on the bow?” Lillia asked.

“No,” Arwin said reluctantly. “I want to, but I don’t know where I’ll get the string. Buying one might end up being my best option. We need money either way, so I’m going to make some armor to sell instead. I’d like to learn how to make boots and gauntlets, but I don’t know if I’ll have time to figure it out before the horde. I might get a helm made for Rodrick and you, though.”

“Just Rodrick,” Lillia said with a shake of her head. “The armor you got me is already more than enough. I’m not going to be on the front line like he will be. Might as well get him a good set of armor that actually manages to survive one of his fights.”

“Given his current track record, that doesn’t seem likely,” Arwin said with a chuckle. Making Rodrick more greaves was definitely at the top of his priority list. The previous set had perished beneath the Crystalline Bonehemoth’s fist. “I’ll be in my little smithy. I assume you’ll just be upgrading the inn?”

Lillia nodded. “I should have some people coming today with pieces I had Reya buy yesterday. I need to get more boons from the Mesh, and the only way I can do that is upgrading the inn or cooking food to advance my tier.”

“Do you get more magical energy for making meals from more exotic ingredients?” Arwin asked, a thought suddenly striking him.

“Yeah,” Lillia said. “Why wouldn’t I? There’s a reason I haven’t been just trying to get stuff from inside the city every time. It’s no different than any other crafting class. Weirder ingredients, more challenge. More challenge, more reward.”

“I suppose I should have been able to tell that on my own.”

Lillia shrugged in response. “Sometimes the obvious answers are the ones we look right over. See you tonight?”

“Tonight,” Arwin agreed with a nod.

He headed out of the tavern. Ridley was already hard at work outside, standing beside the plot of the smithy. The mason had made good time and was well along in his construction. It looked like Arwin was going to need the money sooner rather than later, but he wasn’t concerned about not being able to make gear fast enough. Basic breastplates weren’t all that difficult to craft anymore.

The hearth waited expectantly for Arwin when he stepped into the building. He greeted it with a ball of [Soul Flame] before taking inventory of what he had left to work with. There was still some of the Brightsteel – enough to make a breastplate and a helmet if he was judging it correctly.

I think I start with a basic set of stuff to sell, then use that money to get more metal and make Rodrick some greaves.

That was as good a strategy as any. He could then build up excess money and pay off Ridley. When Olive got back, he’d ask her to show them the dungeon she was running and he could look for materials or money to make the rest of his bow there.

It was the plan that relied on the least amount of ‘if’ statements that Arwin could come up with. He would have preferred to finish the bow today, but that wasn’t how life worked. Arwin shrugged to himself as he set about putting metal into the hearth to heat.

Something shifted behind him. Arwin suppressed a sigh. He hadn’t seen who it was yet. There was no need to. There was only one person he’d met in recent time that had a penchant for showing up out of nowhere without making a single noise.

“Do you ever announce your arrivals like a normal person?” Arwin asked as he turned.

The drunkard leaned against the wall and took a sip from his mug. “No.”

“Have I done something to make you feel like I enjoy company while I’m trying to work?”

“Not particularly, no.”

“Then why are you here?”

“There really isn’t much else to do on this street. You’re a decent source of entertainment. It’s better than sitting around and waiting for something to happen.”

“Is that what you normally do?” Arwin asked. “You could just… find a different street.”

“I don’t particularly want to. This one is nice,” the drunkard replied with a shrug that somehow didn’t spill his drink everywhere. “And it’s nice to find someone to feel superior to.”

Arwin arched an eyebrow but didn’t even bother gracing that with a response. He couldn’t see a single thing that the drunkard could hold superior to him. Even if there was, it didn’t matter. There was no need to waste words when he had work to do.

“You really think that’s going to be enough?” the drunkard asked as Arwin took the heated metal from the hearth over to the anvil.

“Enough?” Arwin glanced up. “What do you mean?”

There was no response. The door swung askew and the drunkard was gone. He heaved a sigh and shook his head, summoning Verdant Blaze getting back to work. The day was young, but time was a scarce resource that couldn’t be wasted on men that liked the sound of their voice a little too much.