!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Tembulon who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them ^^!!!
EDIT: Please check out the information doc on the drive i have for sr :) it has been improved by Askard Please rep him to he has an important job!
as some of you noticed sr for the past few chs has had its quality shift in and out with spelling/grammar this is by all means no ones fault this is mainly because i have been testing prs aswell as seeing how you guys would react to the quality. im fairly satisfied with this ch allthough it is only 70% pred i belive with 2 prs its quality is still fairly good. and who complains with an early release?.
this is also because witcher 3 comes out tommorow and i uh...need to play it for *cough* ....writer...material?...yes thats it....writing material...
jokes aside releases may be slow for a little while i have been waiting for this game for ages and i want to enjoy myself a bit :(
this chapter has been influenced by ES in how it brings some excitement to the table enjoy :)
Please Rate/Follow/Favourite.
P.S i would say please tell me how the prs did but you guys would watch like hawks and pick up even the smallest mistakes XD so atleast tell me if this ch is worse or significantly better then its counterparts. there have been a couple of wierd sentences but i assure you reread it and it will make sense.
P.S.S this ch is nearly 1k longer then usual i hope you guys appreciate it :(
also for people who find issues please when you post check the thread as i will often reply back to your post.
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Eitri was currently frowning as he and Avrin were making their way inside a mine the dwarf had rights to. Avrin, who was walking behind him, pushed a mine cart across some old rusting rails and had a somewhat annoyed look “Master, I apologize. I didn't know imbuing my energy with an ingot would cause your furnace to explode…”
Eitri, who knelt down to examine some rocks on the floor, replied “Ahh it's not that. That was my fault for rushing things. I'm disappointed because it didn't work. Also, stop calling me master. I'm only 39 years old dammit! I'm still young”
Avrin shook his head in response to Eitri’s words. He whispered softly “Young with a beard longer than that of a 70 year old…” Eitri heard Avrin’s faint whisper but thought nothing of it. “Come, look closer. Here, this is a good spot.”
Avrin walked beside him, gazing at the wall face of the mine that stood only a couple meters high. “It doesn't look special. But I'm sure a dwarf blacksmith has some tricks?” Avrin spoke, not doubting this being’s expertise. “I do. You see it's common knowledge among us dwarfs that we are the best crafters when it comes to anything related to earthen material. We are born with an innate sense that becomes stronger the more we use it. “
Ooo... Avrin was somewhat interested. He had only thought that dwarfs were just good at their trades, but to have an ability to make obtaining minerals easier seemed to make more sense. “-I'm learning quite a bit. I'm sure when I meet up with Gregson I'll have learned quite a bit. That will prove valuable-”
Eitri pulled out a long black rod before pressing a button like feature on the side. “Swish!” A sound echoed before two large flat blades extended to shape a pickaxe, only showing how amazing dwarven craftsmanship was.
Without waiting, Eitri began to mine against the wall while Avrin gazed. “The ore I'm after is Earth Silver. It's silver that has a copper color, but you can see lines of energy like veins going across it. It's pretty rare, but from what I know this is the only mine that has it. So don't just stand there, get digging! Use one of the pickaxes in the cart”
“-Such a boring task-” Avrin thought to himself. This dwarf clearly was young with his mindset. But Avrin didn't argue and took a pickaxe out before he hit it downwards towards the rocky wall. “Crack!” The hilt of the pickaxe broke, and the wall face shook before a portion of the wall crumbled down.
“Whoa! By Fafnir's fire… That's some hand you got there boy “Eitri chuckled as he began to go through the debris “Where is it... I'm sure I sensed it…” Avrin also looked around. He didn't show much excitement at the small event he had caused. He knew the pickaxe wouldn't be able to handle his strength.
“Bingo!” Eitri pulled out a large clump of earth silver that had streams of slightly brown energy coursing through it. “This one's a beauty. Around 25 kilos, ho ho! What a find. This would fetch around 600 gold if we sold it. Maybe 700. But that's not what we need it for”
Avrin looked around “What is it that you need it for? After the furnace exploded, you told me to quickly prepare to head to this mine…” Eitri placed the ore in a large sack that was glowing blue. Most likely an enchanted sack of high quality meant for ores.
“We need a stronger furnace. When you were imbuing your energy into the iron, it wasn't that it wasn't incompatible; it was because the energy was too much for the furnace to contain. Think of it as pouring water in a filter. When you pour a thicker substance and a faster rate, not only will the filter not be able to filter it, but it will overburden it as well”
Avrin figured as much After his explanation. dark matter was a very mysterious thing. Humanity for thousands of years was only able to grasp basic uses for it such as lighting, energy and weaponry when its potential was much more significant.
“You're strength just now has given me an idea. You up for a little trip deeper into the mine? I can't guarantee it will be safe, but you seem to be able to hold your own” Blinking a few times, Avrin tilted his head “What could this place have that is dangerous?”
Eitri lead Avrin down the tunnel before pointing at a narrow entrance that was covered with planks “A few years back, I felt a weird energy in there. Of course, when I explored it, I spotted the scariest shit you will ever see“Eitri laughed nervously.
He then continued on as he was removing the planks “Goblins that had reflective skin and glowing eyes like demons...Rats with fur like spikes and teeth that can break large rocks like nothing...And orcs that carried maces glowing red. In all the books I have read, never have I heard of such creatures. I’ve been meaning to hire a few adventurers to help me clear it, but I'm sure they would take whatever it is in there for themselves and leave me with scraps.”
Avrin emitted his own sense as he scanned deep inside the narrow tunnel, thinking Eitri may be imagining things “-He isn't lying. I can feel a several creatures with a weird energy-” Avrin’s eyes widened with excitement “-Could they be protecting something valuable? Maybe it's….No it couldn't be...-”
Seeing Eitri struggling with the last couple of planks, Avrin went over and ripped them off with ease “What do you think is down there?” Eitri pulled out a silver short sword that emitted a flame and had an exquisite design of a double dragon “Whatever it is, if it's in a mine I can only hope something I can forge“He began to laugh as they walked in.
“Not only did you manage to get a mine with rare Earth Silver, but also one with... I guess a dungeon?” Avrin joked but was still a bit surprised. “I got lucky boy. This entire area, as you saw outside, has a few crags and small mountains. I just followed my instinct”
Traversing deeper, they reached the other side. Both of them peeked out. There were several large creatures, as well as small creatures minding their own business, with rats eating away at stray rocks and orcs and goblins sitting and eating what seemed to be ores.
“I've never heard of creatures that eat ores before. Let alone goblins and orcs...” Eitri whispered softly. “Hmmm, why are we hiding?” Avrin realized before stepping out of the tunnel, ignoring Eitri’s gaze of surprise.
In near moments, all the nearby creatures focused on the cloaked figure before them. Silence overcame the large open space with few torches scattered on the walls. The silence was replaced by cries of bloodlust and frenzy as the creatures all charged at Avrin.
“Perfect…” Avrin hadn't been able to fight for quite a long while and over his travels he had synthesized a large scythe using his energy. The scythe itself was purple and glowing. Other than that it had no real special details. Avrin’s true purpose was that he didn't want to reveal Astaroth and wanted to train with a scythe to prepare for it.
An extra large orc, whose mouth frothed and eyes were glowing red, raised a large club that was glowing a fiery red. “E...Enchanted weapon?” Eitri spoke before telling Avrin to dodge. Avrin gave a look of joy before he made a quick movement. It was all he needed.
With the scythe head meeting the club, a cutting wind blew across the orc as well as the few creatures that had reached behind. Several moments later, the enchanted club the orc was wielding and a few of the rats and goblins behind where cleanly cut in two as their blood oozed out from their bodies and seeped into the ground.
“They had surprisingly resilient and tough skin…” Eitri gave a shocked look before jumping and swearing “Yeah, take that ya damn bastards!!” Avrin readied his weapon before the smell of the corpses got around. The creatures that had been charging at them now converged on the corpses of their allies as they began to feast on them.
With one goblin chewing down on the guts of an orc, and a rat gnawing on the head of a goblin, it was a sight that would make anyone sick. “Well...this solves matters” With the creatures no longer caring that they were there, Avrin found it easier to kill them all.
Several dark waves and the air in the room scattering was the signal of his attack. The remaining creatures were all torn to shreds. The location they were at made it much easier to the point where their corpses formed a small pile.
Eitri came out as he looked around the corpse pile, not deterred by the dead. He grabbed some of the intact weaponry they carried. “This is amazing. I have never seen anyone enchant a stone club before. Usually only metals are great conduits for mana, but to think this is possible too.”
Avrin was a little confused. “What do you mean? When I came to the central continent, I saw that ships were made from enchanted materials such as wood. Surely enchanting stone is easier. “
Eitri was storing some of the weapons in a separate sack as he looked up at Avrin.
“You don't understand boy. Materials can be enchanted as long as they have some affinity with mana. This stone, although made from mana particles, has no real affinity to it. The materials used for ships is probably from a tree that has a relation to mana such as Earth Oak or Sky Redwood”
This was beginning to become more interesting to Avrin, who took the time to think. “-Enchanting seems to be an interesting process-” No longer wasting time here, as they knew the corpses would attract more creatures, the two decided to travel down into the cleanly made tunnel that was quite suspicious.
“This is obviously not a proper formation...It's like something melted the walls as it passed through...” Eitri cautiously spoke. Avrin could also feel a faint energy lingering on the melted walls. It was not anything familiar, so he ruled out the possibility of Sky Metal.
With the two traveling down, they made stops when Eitri had discovered a rich vein of Earth Silver. The look on his face was one of enough joy to nearly give him a heart attack. And with Avrin’s strength and Eitri’s precision, it didn't take long before they had accumulated nearly a ton of the metal over the course of an hour.
“That enchanted sack is interesting. Isn't it heavy at all?” Avrin spoke curiously. Eitri shook his head. “Ha! Let those human mages tell you their limits. We dwarves needed something to help us carry things easier and more efficiently. With the great dragon Fafnir's help, we were able to develop a sort of gravity magic that nullified the weight of everything in an enchanted sack. With this one I can carry at least 5 tons of materials. This sack would cost 5,000 gold at least“
Avrin was quite impressed by such a thing. At the very least, that sack would rank Unique. This was confirmed by Eitri. “During the coming of age, each dwarf has a chance at getting one. As for this...It belonged to my father, the greatest smith I have ever seen” Eitri spoke proudly.
Avrin saw a tinge of sadness in his eyes, so he figured something bad had happened. But the feeling was cut short as he stopped and looked ahead into the entrance of the open area they had reached. In the distance a red glowing object was emitting pulses of energy. Although there was light, it didn't show up in the darkness. In fact, whenever it pulsed out, a pulse would form that would seem to draw light in, as if it devoured light.
Eitri’s eyes focused on the jewel like object in the distance. To a dwarf, finding new ores and ingots was their lifelong dream. Something they were all dreaming of. He took a few steps forward as he gave a hungry look “B...Beautiful…”
Avrin grabbed his shoulder “Wait…” Eitri glared and turned back “Huh?!” The dwarves clearly had a 1 track mind, Avrin thought. He spoke “Have you forgotten that we are in a dangerous area...Look at the signs around you...A pitch black room where light cannot pass….Not only that, look at the ground. There are old tiles near the entrance. This screams trap to me”
Eitri blinked as he laughed “Ahh my bad. I guess the greed of my race is strong in me… Hmm, you're right about these tiles though... They are not a design I'm familiar with. I haven't seen anything like it before. At the very least the design is something closely divine. It's quite old too...Very old in fact“
Eitri spoke with a cautious joy as he thought while eyeing the jewel in the distance. He gulped “So what's the plan apprentice, hah...” He looked at Avrin and folded his arms. “Well I have an idea”
Avrin raised his hand as he formed a wide angle flashlight. It had taken a little more time to create the thorium batteries as it was a new energy source, but after a bit of time he managed to complete it.
Eitri’s face was pale as he looked quietly at Avrin’s alien device. “Creating something from thin air…That's a scary enigmatic ability boy, but the uses are limitless!” Ideas began to crawl through his head before Avrin spoke.
“Sorry, but I can't create much. Only certain things” He replied, not wanting to tell the whole truth yet. Turning on the light and pointing it at the room, Avrin frowned. Every time the energy pulse reached the light, it would distort and devour it. Not giving it a chance to completely light the room.
“Guess it's the old fashioned way. “ Avrin sighed before turning the light off. He reformed the energy scythe into his hand. “I think it's best if you remain here. I’m not confident I can protect you if something happens” Eitri nodded “True. We dwarves are crafters, not much of us are fighters. I'll wait here. And you better not run off with that object or I'll hunt you for the rest of your life!”
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Avrin softly laughed before entering the pitch black room. It gave a feeling that made him shiver. The area felt light. The reason he was more cautious was because his divine sense as well as augmented vision wasn't working, as if something was nullifying it.
Several mechanical sounds echoed, causing him to freeze as he looked around, unable to even use his near night vision to see in this darkness. “Not good…” He had an itching feeling. As the sounds stopped, it was as if the calm before the storm surged.
Several moments later, a large magical rune appeared under him that then activated. A large pillar of blue light shot up at the ceiling, where another rune had lit up. In a few moments, Avrin had been trapped in a magical prison.
“Are you kidding me?...” Memories began to surge through his head of being trapped in a magical prison before. This one was unique though. The runes began to shrink, causing the shield to slowly close in. Eventually it would crush Avrin, giving him only a minute at most.
“Hey, those runes!! I know their design. They’re draconic by origin!! They’re similar to the ones the dragon Fafnir uses!!!” Eitri called out in frustration and fear. But Avrin now knew what he was dealing with to a degree.
Raising his scythe, he used his strength to attack the shield, causing it to ripple faintly and distort slightly before the runes began to glow even more and strengthen the shield. “What the hell is powering this…?”
Avrin had two choices. One was to die horribly, and the other was to use Astaroth. Of course his decision was obvious. Releasing the energy that held the dark matter scythe together, he whispered “Astaroth….” The weapon, as if hearing its master's call, immediately appeared in his hand after a swirl of energy.
Avrin knew the strength of a dragon was intense. He also had many scenarios where he witnessed the power of a Sigil weapon. Using those memories as a form of weighing what he needed, he limited Astaroth's strength as closely as he could.
He jumped up and slashed the weapon downwards, causing a red wave of energy to distort the blade’s trajectory as it passed through. The force of the slash, as well as the weapons power, shattered the rune underneath, and sliced through the earth as if it were butter.
The shield immediately collapsed, but it seems the slash had done more than he had hoped for. The entire mountain began to shake. Avrin felt a similar feeling to his attack on the open seas. Using God's advice, he willed the attack to stop and dissipate. Several moments later, the mountain settled.
Avrin gracefully landed on his feet, holding Astaroth as he looked around cautiously. Eitri, whose eyes were nearly popping out, didn't make a sound. He hadn't expected Avrin was so powerful. “-J...Just who is that young lad…-”
Avrin could see the darkness didn't dissipate, so he immediately approached the glowing object. He cautiously walked up the steps. He gazed at the object which appeared to be 13 inches tall and 6 inches wide. It appeared to be an ore of sort, but it was weird.
Avrin frowned. “Not Sky Metal…” Immediately lifting the ore, he found that it was quite heavy. Although Avrin was strong, it was as if he where lifting a car “Urgh...” Although it didn't slow Avrin down by much, he carried the surprisingly heavy ore over. That was before he stopped after several other runes a meter in length appeared on the floor, shooting beams of light at their counterpart rune on the ceiling. That wasn't the scariest part.
The runes began to move around. As if sentient, they began to close in on Avrin, who laughed at his misfortune “This thing is definitely something good...So I'll be taking it“Using his training and agility, he managed to avoid most of the runes. But for each one avoided, several more would appear, until it became the scene of him back flipping and jumping all over the place.
Several moments later, as well as dozens of more of the runes appearing, Avrin managed to reach near the entrance. Just as he jumped forward, he released his guard for a moment
A line of runes appeared and shot up like a gate. Eitri, who was overjoyed at Avrin’s return, and Avrin, who was relieved, their faces turned to looks of surprise. “Shit...” Avrin barely managed to get a majority of his body over, but one of the pillars of energy hit his left arm, completely turning it to ash.
With a surge of pain and look of agony, Avrin fell to the ground “Ah….Damn that...hurts!!!” His internal energy was quick to close the wound. It had been burnt so quickly and cleanly it cauterized itself to the extent not even a drop of blood fell. “Being hit by one of those is near instant death” Eitri whispered as he tried to help Avrin up, who held the ore like object in his right hand.
“I don't want to carry this thing anymore…” Avrin nearly roared out in pain as he shoved it inside Eitri’s ore sack. As they began to leave, the room began to shake violently before a flash of light engulfed the ore, blinding them both.
When the light vanished, they both looked to see that the room was replaced with a rocky wall. “I...don't believe it….Dimensional magic? It can't be…” Eitri went over as he began to hit his pickaxe against the wall softly “I'll tell you now boy...Only the gods and dragons are capable of dimensional magic. But this was on a small scale, so I'm sure the culprit is a dragon…”
Avrin, who was left with one arm as the other was being slowly regenerated, shook his head slightly “If I ever meet the culprit, I'll rip off one of its limbs…” He whispered before Eitri laughed at his misfortune.
Both of them would love nothing more than to leave this weird cavern, and it took a good hour of them traversing upwards and killing the new creatures that appeared from the other entrances.
As they appeared on the surface, Avrin gazed at the mine cart and a question popped into his head. “If you have an enchanted sack, what was the point of me bringing this here?”
Eitri was quiet as he whistled proudly. He was excited and couldn't wait to go examine the ore he had obtained. “Oh that?... Well that's for destroying my furnace” He began to laugh while Avrin gave a straight look of frustration.
Making their way back since they had spent several hours in total outside the city, Avrin had gotten to view more surrounding villages as well as several large mansion like buildings. Despite the area being highly populated, he didn't see any creatures other than small wolves and critters.
The human empire most likely disposed of them years ago to tidy up the land as well as make it safe. They seemed to care heavily for their people, or didn't want anything disrupting future plans. Having entered, they made their way back to the forge.
There were several people around some could be heard clearly as well as whispering. A man calling out spoke “Here me citizens of this fine city. The grand master blacksmith Brokkr has forged a weapon of high quality!! The Weapon is enchanted by the Archmage himself! Forged from 3 incredibly rare metals that several thousand soldiers have died trying to obtain! The Earth Metal Tyrium!! The Nature Metal Vinirite!! And the Earth Metal Mountanite!! Hear me citizens!! This weapon is classified to be Unique of status!
And will be gifted to our mighty king Leo’s son, Prince Cale Zircus in honor of his 18th birthday!! Hear me citizens! The mighty Unique class Long sword shall be known as Earth Cleaver!”
Eitri shook his head, a little dissatisfied, and Avrin even seemed to ignore the pain to ask. “Ah, so he is able to forge Unique weapons. To make such a show out of something so insignificant…”
Eitri laughed and spoke “Why are you worrying about that dumb thing? If Brokkr couldn't do that, he would be a loser dwarven master. Who cares about that, what about your arm? “Eitri seemed to show a look of disappointment in himself.
“Guess I'm not much of a master to let my apprentice lose an arm on his first day“He spouted in regret. Avrin raised a brow “Hahahaha “he couldn't help but laugh. “Don't worry, it will grow back. It's part of my enigmatic skill. “
He spoke as they entered Eitri’s area, ignoring the people who were cheering and clapping their hands in celebration of the young prince’s weapon. “Oh, grow back? Ha, I don't believe-”
At that moment Avrin revealed his left arm, showing that it was not only perfectly healed but it was fully clothed in his attire as if nothing had happened. “You need to teach me that boy…”
Avrin shook his head “Sorry, it's not something that can be taught.” Eitri frowned. He got over his disappointment quickly as he immediately emptied the entire sack onto the large heavy table. The Earth Silver fell in a neat pile, but at that moment the large mystery red ore fell, not only crushing some Earth Silver fragments and making a large crashing sound, but it also broke the table leaving Eitri nearly in tears “W...What..?..That heavy, and you could lift it with 1 arm? You're a monster “
Walking over, Avrin picked up the mystery ore and set it down on the ground. It wasn't pulsing out, but gave a beautiful fiery radiant look as it sparkled. Eitri, who tidied up the Earth Silver near the arcane wash, approached.
He reached into a different sack and pulled out a large book several inches thick that seemed to be quite old. “If this ore has been found before...I'm sure this ore codex will have it”
Avrin’s eyes lit up as he looked at the codex, immediately asking questions. Eitri, who was overwhelmed, spoke “Whoa, one at a time… Yes this codex has a list of all the known ores that dwarves have ever found... Each dwarf smith should have one, but they are all magically attuned to the dragon Fafnir. The way it works is like this.
We dwarves, who always seek new ores, can never be sure if someone is lying or not. So to fix this, our elders discussed the issue with Fafnir, who came up with this codex that all dwarves, adventurers or not, have found.
If a new ore is discovered, the dwarf who discovered it will be able to record it into this codex, or find it by taking a sample and allowing to codex to absorb that sample. By doing so, using the draconic magic, all the codexes will light up and show the new ore discovered and who discovered it.
This allows the finder to experience the pride and honor he deserves. “Avrin spoke “Such a fair method, it sounds like a competition with a scoreboard...” Eitri laughed and nodded “Yeah, but we dwarves are high on that.”
Avrin spoke again “What happens if a Unique or higher ore is discovered again?” Eitri then replied “Well, because the ore is so rare, it will glow a different color to signify that someone has found a piece of a very…very rare ore. They will still receive great pride and honor, as Unique and higher ores all require great effort to achieve. Sure it may not be as good as discovering one, but finding a rare ore is still something.
Avrin gazed at the open codex as Eitri began to try and chip a sample off the mystery ore. He saw the pages edges were color coded. Some ranging from white all the way to red “Those red pages?” There wasn't many, and Avrin could only count 3. As he approached, Eitri spoke.
“Each page is color coded to mark the rarity of the ore found. The red ones are the pride of our dwarven race. Those mark Legendary ores discovered. Although only 3 have been found and each one takes a page” He spoke with pride.
After 2 hours, Eitri threw his hammer and chisel onto the ground “Dammit to hell...This ore is tough, I can't even scratch it with Azure Iron tools….”
Eitri than blinked and looked at Avrin “Hey, come lend me you're monster strength!” He called out to Avrin, who was reading the codex from the beginning with a look of joy on his face that was cut short as he heard Eitri’s voice.
“I don't think I will fare better using the same tools.” Avrin said. Eitri spoke “Nonsense! Use the weapon you used to destroy the dragon magic. I also want to see that weapon.”
Avrin froze a bit before glaring at Eitri “I will help get the sample, but examining my weapon is out of the question. It's an artifact from my clan“He lied. Eitri then laughed “Relax, I'm just joking. I can tell it's important “
Avrin used his divine sense to see if anyone was nearby, before he limited Astaroth completely, leaving only the weapon’s durability with no magical ability whatsoever. The weapon was so frightening in design, it made Eitri pale and step back several spaces in worry. He felt that weapon was ominous, despite it being limited.
Avrin softly brought the tip of the scythe to the fragment on the edge that stuck out like a chip Eitri had no luck getting. Avrin then dragged it down like a hook, causing a few sparks. It took several seconds and some pressure before the chip broke off and fell onto the ground.
Eitri immediately rushed over with joy as he clasped the small fragment with both hands as Avrin dissipated Astaroth. Eitri then carefully went over and opened the very end of the book’s cover where a small circular rune was glowing.
He then placed the fragment on the center of the rune. A small energy encircled it before it disappeared. The entire codex shook for a moment before a new page began to form, energy circling all the pages like roulette as Eitri looked “Please let it be something good…” He spoke to himself.
The light engulfed a page, but its position caused Eitri to fall to his knees with his jaw opened as if he were about to cry. Even Avrin showed amazement as the page began to turn a color not in the codex.
The color had begun to shape itself until it turned from white all the way to orange, which alone caused Eitri great joy. But it hadn't stopped there. It went one more above the page’s layout, turning red. Marking that an ore of legendary quality had been discovered on Seleria. This had just become the 4th legendary quality ore to ever be discovered in all of Seleria’s history.
Eitri’s face began to shake with slight nervousness “N...Not good….....If they want it…how can I decline…”
((A.N Remember that Spectral is a story that takes its time but has an abundance of content this is a story i love dearly which is why i dont tend to rush things quickly i like to take my time and explore and introduce things such as ore aswell as information about the dwarfs and ore.
i hope you guys liked the codex considering dwarfs are ore/smith fanatics i figured it would be a nice unique touch for blacksmithing aswell as a competetive touch for such a race))
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