Dirk's schedule was gradually consumed by two things: Tobasden's forging lessons and runic tracing.

Every morning after a breakfast with Ava, Dirk would head to Forge 8 and undergo a strenuous but productive forging session with the dwarf. These sessions lasted around 6 hours and covered all kinds of topics that stressed Dirk's magical and even physical skills, teaching him myriads of techniques that not only helped his forging ability, but his overall magical comprehension.

On top of that, Dirk discovered an unexpected benefit after several days. His body was filled to the brim with fire mana, and his second mana heart of fire was actually taking on form.

Dirk hadn't cultivated his mana heart much, but he didn't totally neglect it either. Yet, despite his lack of continuous cultivating and condensing, the mana heart didn't dissipate. Normally the mana heart would lose its concentration as mana was pulled into the blood or naturally released. But because Dirk was inside Forge 8 all day, a room with so much fire mana and heat that Dirk sweat despite his strong body and fire resistance, the fire mana in his body reached surprisingly dense levels. This kept his mana heart from thinning and actually thickened it.

After discovering this, Dirk made it a habit to condense his heart before and after entering the forge. Like that, he was able to utilize this fire mana to its fullest. He didn't even need the Magic Pyramid and its dense mana rooms. Forge 8 was plenty.

Besides forging though, Dirk's concentration was almost entirely focused on runic tracing.

After getting into a cyclical schedule, Dirk began waking up earlier and staying up late. Every morning he would wake before Ava and trace runes for a few hours before beginning his day. And in the evening, he would trace even more until the dead of night. This gave him nearly 10 hours to trace runes despite being in the forge for 6 hours a day. While sitting around for 10 hours each day with his nose in a book was boring and tedious, Dirk didn't hesitate to deal with it.

The books he had his hands on were too valuable to not trace. His anima and mana techniques were a given. That knowledge would lay the foundation for his rise to power. But then there were the other five from his teachers. Four of them were stolen but valuable goods that contained magic theory, powerful spells, and profound techniques. The other was from Tobasden and held techniques that would help his forging and elemental control.

Dirk was almost too obsessed with tracing these books, but he didn't care. Sure he would have access to his techniques and Tobasden's book for however long he wanted, but he wouldn't have his hands on the stolen goods forever. Thus, those became his top priority. Besides, Dirk would rather have those books stored in his AI anyway. That would ensure he would never lose the knowledge. Dirk liked such assurances.

So for three weeks, this obsessive and cyclical routine continued. And it paid off greatly.

Dirk became much more proficient in forging. After so many days under Tobasden's direct tutelage, he went through hundreds of pounds of metal and forged dozens of items from weapons to even armor. Most of them were crappy failures, but some of them came out nice. Dirk was especially proud of a knife he made using Infernia. With that knife, he could use fire attacks in conjunction with his stabs. It became his new daily carry weapon that was hidden on his person.

Tobasden was especially pleased with Dirk's progress. While Dirk had only just begun to embark on the road of a forgemaster, it was amazing that he could take those first few steps in such a short amount of time. Techincally, with a bit more experience, Dirk could open his own low level forging shop in some town if he wanted. While such a thing was far from his true potential, Dirk was still only 13 and a half years old. What would become of him in 5 or 10 years as he grew as a mage and a forgemaster? Tobasden was excited to see it, and during the lessons he gave he was constantly laughing and cheering for Dirk in joy.

Dirk was also proud of himself. He quickly discovered this, but he absolutely loved forging and making things with his own hands and strength. While he was still a beginner in the many techniques Tobasden taught him, he knew he would make progress over time. And his labor bore fruit as he got better and better. His blades became sharper, his arms stronger, his mana more precise, and his products more powerful. Every time he succeeded, he smiled in approval and felt motivated to do more.

He didn't only make progress in forging either. After nearly 200 hours of runic tracing across three weeks of time, Dirk made fantastic progress.

It wasn't anywhere close to tracing the deepest runic pages of his books, but Dirk was able to completely trace the beginning and some of the intermediate parts of each book. Dirk estimated that he had only attained knowledge at about the Tier 4 and 5 level. But that was more than enough for him. He was barely at the Tier 3 realm, and that was only for his earth element. He had a long way to go until he reached Tier 5.

Still, Dirk couldn't help but sigh. 200 hours was a lot, and he had invested so much of his focus. Yet, across his mana and anima techniques, the stolen spellbooks, and Tobasden's forging book, he was still only able to trace intermediate information. It wasn't even half of all the runic pages. He realized that there was so much more to magic than he initially thought, as if he were a frog taking a peek out of a well.

And he suspected that he wouldn't be able to gain much more even if he invested another 200 hours. The difficulty rose dramatically as he got deeper in. He couldn't even look at the later pages, let alone trace them. In fact, he tried to force himself to attempt to trace the most complex pages out of curiosity. The result was him crying tears of blood after getting sharp pains in his head. That little incident had startled Ava, and she forced him to shut the books for the rest of that day.

Regardless, the end conclusion was that he needed to stop tracing and start comprehending. So at the end of the third week, Dirk stopped tracing pages for 10 hours each day, instead simply reading the books how they were supposed to be read.

This made his days pass by quite a bit easier. There was one thing that lingered on his mind though.

'I never completed the enchantment that teacher gave me.'

Dirk recalled his enchanting class. His return to that class was met with the stuck up asshole of a teacher handing him a challenge. He was supposed to enchant an item within two weeks by himself, and if he didn't do so, he was better off not coming back. The challenge wasn't actually a problem for Dirk. But after he began lessons with Tobasden, he realized that he didn't want to and wouldn't put up with such a sorry excuse for a teacher.

It was unfortunate that he wouldn't receive guidance in enchanting, but Dirk didn't care. He enjoyed forging too much, or perhaps more than that, he enjoyed forging under Tobasden's tutelage.

So Dirk just never went back. He was already well past the deadline for his challenge, and the teacher surely wouldn't welcome Dirk back even if he walked in there with the completed product. So Dirk never thought about it again, just focusing on what was in front of him.

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Like that, Dirk's life became peaceful and enjoyable. Every day he would forge with Tobasden and study his books, constantly deepening his comprehensions. Dirk always smiled when he would emerge from Forge 8 with a sweaty body only to be graced with a cool breeze outside the Hall of Artisans. And after cleaning up at home, he would lay back with a book until Ava got home. He would end his nights with dinner and time spent with Ava.

The two gradually became closer and closer. Ava always had a story to tell after a long day of alchemy and socializing. After the two ate dinner, Dirk would recline on the couch with his book, and Ava would recline within his arms. As he read his book from over her shoulder, she would go on about her nemesis, the things she learned during alchemy class, or whatever gossip she heard from her friends. In this way, Dirk had become fantastic at multitasking, being able to analyze runes while also listening to her stories. While he didn't bother to remember every detail, he could pick up on the gist and agree with her conclusions that her nemesis was an arrogant, prissy princess. He also realized that Ava was showing real passion for alchemy. She always spoke with great wonder about the various techniques and ingredients she used in concoctions.

While Dirk obviously wasn't as social as Ava, not so much as making a single other friend outside of her and Alec, she didn't mind his reclusive nature. For Ava, her day was filled with drama and stressful study for alchemy. While she spent a lot of time with her friends outside of alchemy doing who knows what, at the end of the day, she always returned to the quiet household where her favorite person was. Dirk was that warm blanket that comforted her after an emotionally draining day. Sometimes, the two wouldn't even speak to each other, just being in each other's presence. Sometimes that was enough.

And perhaps it was their lack of training, but the dynamic of their relationship had changed. Before, Dirk was always the strict man who would train alongside Ava, him acting as her mentor that pushed her to be the strong girl she wanted to be through body numbing exercise. But they never trained anymore. Dirk was too busy with his forging and studying while Ava was busy with alchemy and her own magical studies. They had taken to their own, separate responsibilities. Dirk was no longer the stoic trainer who dished out bruises with martial arts lessons.

Now, he was just the boy that she could laugh with and talk to. They had been brought close after their encounters during the dungeon dives, both of them realizing that they could rely on the other. Dirk could rely on Ava during battles with monsters, and Ava could rely on Dirk to take care of things she shouldn't yet be faced with. For Dirk, it was the first time he had a partner to lean on and trust, and perhaps unconsciously he realized that he no longer had to be the sole source of support.

Ava could take care of herself. Both of them were pursuing their newfound passions despite any difficulties that arose. The two could just enjoy each other. Of course, Ava was the one who was more forward with their relationship, but it was a dynamic that seemed to work for them.

Like that, both of their lives took turns for the better. Unbeknownst to either of the two oblivious birds though, dark schemes were brewing in the background, and there was one event that set these dark plans into action.

........

It was close to a month since Dirk had returned from his dungeon dive and began his new schedule filled with forging and runic analysis. Late in the noon, Dirk emerged from the Hall of Artisans. His sweaty body was graced by the cooling air of the evening, and he took a deep breath as had become habit for him.

Raising his hand, he pinched the ends of a few strands of hair, putting out a tiny flame. His hair occasionally caught on fire or got singed, so he had to put it out or risk going bald like Tobasden. Luckily his hair remained healthy and luscious, a perk from his skin destruction.

With that, Dirk began his walk home. He walked away from the busy areas of the school and crossed into the residential areas. His body was on autopilot as he walked down the street between rows of houses, but when he was nearing his house, something caught his eye.

A rather handsome man dressed in a dark blue suit was sitting atop the roof of a house. In his one hand was an instrument similar to a guitar, and he strummed it with a sorrowful voice.

"Oh Deliha, how your eyes shone like the majestic twinkling stars! Oh Deliha, how I am empty without your vibrant, joyful smile!"

"What the hell?"

Dirk stopped in his tracks as he saw this man strum a sad tune. Hearing the voice though, his eye suddenly twitched.

"Garel?"

"Oh Deliha! How I miss you so! Oh my Deliha, how I would give the world just for you!"

"Garel!"

"Oh my Dirk?"

"No, don't add me to your song."

Dirk stopped Garel before he could sing something about him. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead.

"Gare- no, teacher. What's going on?"

"Oh Dirk, there's no need to call me teacher. A failed romantic such as myself could not possibly impart wisdom in the field I love so dearly! Please, address me by my name. Our friendship runs deep, after all."

"..."

Dirk was silent, unsure of what to say. Since when did they have a deep friendship? Even if they did, it was exceedingly one-sided.

Dirk didn't think much before just going along with it.

"Alright then. Garel. What happened?"

"I've been abandoned, my friend. My love has moved on without me, a beautiful stallion that ran off without the rider that is I. Ah! The depths of my sorrows! Oh Deliha!"

"Stop!"

Dirk waved his hands as Garel strummed another tune, preventing him from singing another song.

'So he was dumped. I guess that sucks.'

After realizing what happened, Dirk felt a bit bad. Although he could totally understand the girl, it remained that Garel cared enough to be hurt by this failed attempt at love.

At first Dirk thought about just walking away and staying out of this mess. But feeling a little empathetic, he decided to be a decent person. It would be heartless of him to just abandon another man in his time of need.

Question was though, what was Dirk to do with this hopeless romantic?

"Uh, Garel? I don't know why I'm doing this, but would you like to stop at my house for a dri-"

"Yes! I will happily accompany you, my friend!"

Flipping a switch, Garel immediately jumped off the roof of the house with a bright smile. Dirk's mouth twitched a bit with a strained smile.

"Alright then. Follow me."

"Of course! Say, I recently spoke with those unsavory but useful friends of mine. They've expressed great interest in the school's magical formations! Of course, because they were so kind to help me previously, I didn't mind helping them in return. Favors must be repaid! Only then will you sow good fortune for the future."

Garel spoke as they walked to Dirk's house. Upon arrival, Dirk invited Garel inside. It was then that he finally stopped talking, looking around at the house.

"Wow. It's a boring house, but it has its own charm. I say it perfectly suits you!"

"...Does that mean I'm boring?"

Dirk mumbled to himself as he grabbed a bottle of juice. He didn't have wine or anything of the sort, but he was sure Garel wouldn't mind.

Sure enough, after pouring a couple of cups, Garel happily drank what was offered.

"Ah! Delicious! It has been a while since I've had regular juice like this. Here, I shall trade for this drink."

Saying that, Garel took out a bottle. It was the wine bottle that Garel was 'gifted' from Master Sheng. Only, the bottle was opened. Dirk titled his head.

"Didn't you drink that during your date?"

"Ah, indeed I did. There's only a cup left inside. I suppose you could say this represents the dwindling fire of love between Deliha and I. Oh Deliha!"

*Strum!*

Taking out his guitar, Garel suddenly flicked the strings in sorrow. Dirk facepalmed as he began another song.

Meanwhile, the door to the house suddenly opened.

"Dirk?"

Ava walked in cautiously when she heard some odd noises. When she saw Dirk in the kitchen with a mysterious musician, she tilted her head. Dirk walked over to her, leaving Garel to his whiskey blues.

She whispered to him.

"What's going on? Who is that?"

"That's my dark element teacher. His name is Garel."

"Wait, the one who almost killed you with that potion?"

"Yep."

"Why is he here?"

"He recently got dumped by a girl he liked."

"...That sucks, I guess. But again. Why is he here?"

Ava asked more specifically. Wasn't this man a teacher? It was a bit unprofessional to go to a student with personal matters. And what was with that song he was singing? She couldn't understand the situation.

Dirk sighed.

"He's... Well, using his words, our friendship 'runs deep', and I felt bad enough to invite him for a drink after pulling him off a roof. Then he started singing after becoming sad again."

"...Alright then."

Ava wasn't sure what to do except nod. She was confused, but she had heard about this teacher of Dirk's and knew he was an eccentric man. She just decided to go with the flow.

With that, the two turned back to the depressed musician, pondering what they could do to help.