Hard, chilly stone pressed against Arwin’s side and there was a nasty crick in his neck. He probably would have been considerably colder if there hadn’t been a familiar warm weight on top of his chest and against his arm.

His eyes fluttered open and he blinked the sleep away. There was a layer of darkness covering everything but he could still vaguely make out his surroundings. He was still in his smithy, in the exact spot where he’d flopped to the ground the previous night.

He probably would have been a bit more comfortable if it wasn’t for just one problem. A violent burning pain had Arwin’s stomach in a vice grip. It felt like he’d swallowed a ball of hot lead.

Arwin’s hand shot down to his pocket and he yanked out one of his last bracelets.

Metal Bracelet: Average Quality

[Brittle]: This item has a chance of shattering on every blow. Upon shattering, the magical power stored within the weapon will be released in an instant, causing a minor magical explosion.

[Watery]: The memory of a flowing river runs in the flame that heated this metal, infusing it. This item can allow its wielder to move through the water at a slightly increased pace at the cost of magical energy.

Arwin shoved it into his mouth as fast as he could. Metal turned to magic and rushed down into his stomach, which heated as [The Hungering Maw] consumed the detrimental effect. Arwin got a whiff of strong saltwater and rancid seaweed as the magic flowed through his body. He blew out a sigh as the pain abated enough for him to think properly again.

It wasn’t that long ago that I ate magic. It hasn’t been 5 days yet. Did crafting a magical item that used so much energy end up triggering [The Hungering Maw] early? That’s concerning, but I’ve bought myself at least an hour or two. I can make another bracelet after I get up.

There was just one small thing stopping him from doing just that. Lillia laid on top of him. Her face was peaceful in sleep and she’d tucked her tail between them to keep it warm. She must have stayed with him after he’d fallen asleep, and it looked like he’d somehow managed to avoid waking —

A yawn slipped out of her mouth and she lifted a hand to rub her eyes.

Oops.

Lillia looked up at him, then gave him a small smile. “I can’t say I love your new choice of a bedroom, but it didn’t really go all that differently for me. It’s certainly a bit brighter.”

Arwin groaned and sat up, holding Lillia in his lap so he didn’t end up dumping her onto the floor. “Trust me. It wasn’t voluntary. Thanks for showing up yesterday. I’m pretty sure you saved me from completely butchering Anna’s armor — and my own head.”

“You’re welcome. I figured something was probably wrong when you didn’t show up about halfway through the night after you promised that you would. I watched you work for like an hour before you almost fell over.”

“Sorry,” Arwin said sheepishly.

“Sorry? I was having fun. I’m not going to complain about watching you swing a hammer.” Lillia flashed him a grin and leaned her head against his chest. “Just don’t push yourself too hard, Arwin. There’s only so much one person can wring out of themselves before there’s nothing left to give.”

Arwin’s arms tightened around Lillia and he blew out a slow sigh. “I know. I didn’t really think this would drain me so badly. I’ve just never tried making such a large piece of armor in the new style. It worked really well, but it was brutal. It drew so much more power than I thought it would.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do to make your load easier? I’m often caught up advancing the tavern, but the others aren’t all busy and I know they’d love to help.”

“I don’t think so. Class advancement is a singular thing, after all.”

Lillia craned her neck back to look up at him, a flicker of confusion passing over her features. “What do you mean? It doesn’t have to be.”

It was Arwin’s turn to look confused. “I’m not sure I follow. There’s nothing you can do to help me advance my own class, is there? I’m crafting. That’s a pretty solitary activity and the Mesh isn’t going to give you credit for helping. Are demon classes different?”

“No, they’re not different, but all the demon crafters I knew worked together to lighten each other’s loads wherever they could. Even if they didn’t get benefit from doing work for the other, we’ve found that shouldering the load together lightens it for everyone. Is that not what humans do?”

“Not really. We generally do everything other than fighting on our own,” Arwin said with a thoughtful frown. “Do demons have a very strong sense of community?”

Lillia nodded. “We live and die as a whole. That’s why most of our armies are generally referred to by familial words. I wasn’t joking about the group leaders often being called Mothers.”

“Are demons a matriarchal society?”

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“I’m not sure I’d say that. It’s pretty equal. Mothers don’t have to be female, though they often are. It’s more about their job. Mothers guide and protect their groups.”

“Does that mean there are Fathers as well?” Arwin asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Yes. There are a lot less of them, and their job is to protect the interests of the demon tribe as a whole. While Mothers focus on making sure each member within their group is safe and properly taken care of, Fathers only care about the overall tribe. If anything stands in its way — even a member within it — they handle the situation.”

“Demon culture is fascinating,” Arwin said. “We don’t have such defined roles for anyone beyond public offices and titled roles like the Hero. I mean, guild leaders exist, but they don’t really have such a clear purpose. They just run the guild.”

“One day, I’ll take you to a demon tribe or a monster city so you can see it for yourself. You might have to keep your armor on the whole time, though.” A grin played across Lillia’s lips. “You can see the moss while we’re at it. I still miss it.”

“I’ll look forward to that,” Arwin said, and he meant it. He knew a lot about the experiences that Lillia had gone through — but at the same time, there was so much he didn’t really understand about her or monsters as a whole.

He rose to his feet, bringing Lillia with him, then lowered her to the ground. They both turned to look at the chestpiece he’d made the previous night. Even though the [Soul Flame] had vanished from the hearth, likely when Arwin had completely ran out of energy, the black armor glistened in the dim light.

“You really outdid yourself this time,” Lillia said, her tone laden with disbelief. “An Epic item. That’s your first one, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Arwin nodded. A faint pang throbbed deep in his stomach, reminding him that [The Hungering Maw] still hadn’t been fully sated. A grimace played across his lips and Lillia caught the expression before he could wipe it clean.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m being told that I need to eat magic again soon. I think I used so much power that I pissed my own body off and it’s hungry again.”

“How soon?” Lillia asked, taking a step back and shooting a look at the anvil. “Why are you just standing around here? Get to it! Or do you already have something you can eat?”

“I’ll make a bracelet. Give me a second,” Arwin said. His eyes landed on the pieces of chitin in the corner and he headed over, snapping a part off. He’d made a Chitinous Band before and it had turned out quite well, so there was no reason to change what worked.

There was enough scrap Brightsteel left over from previous projects for Arwin to get to work immediately. He tossed a ball of [Soul Flame] into the hearth and got to work heating the metal and working it into a band around the piece of chitin.

Fortunately, his magic had regenerated over the night and he was able to make the bracelet without too much difficulty. About thirty minutes of work later, magic rushed into the band of metal as the Mesh recognized it.

[Chitinous Band: Rare Quality] has been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Chitinous Band: Rare Quality

[Chitinskin]: Activating this item will turn its wearer’s body to chitin and greatly reduce their range of movement at the continuous cost of magical energy.

[Chittering]: While this item is active, its wearer’s movements will make loud clicking noises.

A grin split Arwin’s lips as he looked over his newly made item. It was exactly the same as the last Chitinous Band he’d made. His new smithing strategy was working exactly how he hoped it would. There was always the chance there would be more variation in complex pieces, but he could replicate traits he’d made before. He raised it to his nose and took a whiff. His nostrils were greeted by the scent of earth and cooked meat, which was a strange but not entirely unwelcome smell.

Not bad. I think that means [The Hungering Maw] feels like the magic in this is worth its time and it should fill me up properly.

Arwin popped the band into his mouth. His skin rippled and hardened as chitin covered it and his body stiffened. A line of warmth ran down his throat and into his stomach, which heated to counteract the detrimental trait of the band.

A short while later, the effects of the band faded away and he let out a relieved sigh. The pain was gone. His band had worked exactly how he’d hoped it would.

“All good?” Lillia asked in concern.

“Yeah. Thanks for waiting. I’m fine now. It looks like I might have to prepare some extra food before I get really invested into any major projects in the future.” Arwin looked back to the armor resting on his anvil. “It was worth it, though.”

“I can’t disagree there,” Lillia admitted. “If it’s as light as that description says it is, she’s going to be absolutely thrilled. I, for one, can’t wait to see what she looks like decked out in all black armor.”

“Agreed,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “Let’s go show her in a second. I reached the next level in my Tier after making that, so I want to see if I’ve gotten anything from it first.”

“Congratulations,” Lillia said. Arwin nodded in appreciation and mentally reached out to the Mesh, summoning the golden letters that made up his status.

Name: Arwin Tyrr

Class: Living Forge (Unique) (Tier: Apprentice 6)

New Skill Choice Available.

[You can’t do that] has been consumed.

[Rarer than Rare] has been consumed.

[Giantsbane] has been consumed.

Three of your Skill options have been upgraded.

You may select one of the following skills.

[UPGRADED] [Dragon’s Greed] – Your hunger for magical power has begun to manifest itself in the physical world. Extend your senses to search the area around you for magical items at the cost of significant magical energy. The range of this effect scales with the amount of magical energy used.

[UPGRADED] [Quench] – Even the greatest of fires must meet their end. Draw the heat out of a nonliving target, rapidly cooling it with magical energy.

[UPGRADED] [Groundshaker] - Your body is as much magic as it is flesh. Channel the power within you and drive it out through a single point, sending a powerful vibration through the ground with enough intensity to shatter most nonmagical materials. This effect can be sent in a chosen direction and extended by spending more magical energy.

[UPGRADED][Shieldwall]: Your desire to protect your allies has proven itself time and time again. Grant it even more strength. When a creature you view as an ally is under attack, magic will infuse your muscles and accelerate your speed when moving in their direction. Furthermore, by spending increased magical energy, your skin will harden and absorb the damage from a physical blow. The amount of damage absorbed scales with the amount of magical energy used.