CHAPTER 26: DAWNBREAKER

After struggling multiple times to make his way through the labyrinth of hallways, Hermes was able to reach Section A as intended. His objective was to find the storage room and obtain his military uniform.

Because of his injuries, he was left unconscious for 8 hours, leading him to miss the window where all the cadets would receive them. Due to his fight against Ming, his clothes were also completely destroyed. When he woke up in Arthur's office, he found himself wearing a normal tracksuit with a white T-shirt underneath the jacket. He was apprehensive about the fact that Angelica had probably changed his clothing without permission, but he knew there was nothing he could realistically say to her regarding it.

To the left of the hallway he was walking forward in, a door presented itself. A sign was hung on it for all passersby to see.

[Cadet Storage Room]

Hermes knocked on the door several times and received no answer. Losing his patience, he decided to enter inside. Fluorescent light entered his retina as a large service desk appeared before him.

With her arms folded on the desk and her head snuggled inside, a girl with brunette curly hair appeared to be lying down for a nap.

"Kaum."

"Eek!"

Hermes placed his fist in front of his mouth and coughed, startling the young woman out of her slumber.

In her mid-teens, she possessed a crown of brown hair that cascaded downwards in a curly fashion, framing her flustered face with endearing softness. Her eyes, an alluring shade of greyish-brown drifted with a hint of droopiness towards the intruder. Calming herself down, she puffed her cheeks into a pout that blossomed with a gentle rosy hue.

"You! How can you startle me like that!"

Hermes' smiled back at her and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You were sleeping on the job, weren't you?"

"..."

Silence permeated the room. The young lady crossed her arms, her pout deepened as she shifted her face to the side.

"Hmph! S-so what. A-all the cadets a-already got their uniforms... I-I already finished most of the work I was supposed t-to do today a-anyways..."

'Pfff... I gotta calm down, I can't let my laugh be heard...'

Straightening the collar of the jacket that he received from Angelica during his slumber, Hermes decided to change the topic.

"Apologies for disturbing your sleep, My name is Hermes Wilson. I am a newly enlisted Guardian Cadet. Due to certain circumstances, I couldn't come to receive my uniform with the rest."

Her eyes shifted back towards the cadet who had introduced himself. With her gaze shifting up and down his body, a look of scrutiny appeared on her face.

"A Guardian? You look like a nerd..."

Hermes squinted his eyes at her comment. 'Stay cool, Hermes ... You can't argue with someone this young...' Pushing up his 'nerd' glasses, Hermes reasserted his identity.

"Haha... You can view me however you would like, but I am a Guardian. Now that I think about it, I haven't received your name yet?"

The young girl's lips curled up into an infectious smile. "My name is Sophia Cooper. Auxiliary Cadet of the 1st Battalion, Elephant Company."

"Nice to meet you, Sophia. As I stated earlier, how do I get my uniform?"

Sophia's eyes shifted towards the monitor screen on her left. After typing Hermes' name, a profile appeared outlining his information.

"Hm... You really are a Guardian. Okay, wait here."

Standing up from her desk, she walked towards the screen door positioned behind her station and entered inside. Hermes stood in his spot patiently awaiting Sophia's return.

It did not take long for her to reappear in Hermes' vision with a small cardboard box in her delicate hands.

"Here you go. This is the uniform you'll be wearing from now on. If it ever gets damaged, bring it here and we will repair it for you. Of course, if you do not have a good reason for why the damage occurred, the repair costs will be deducted from your salary."

"Hm? That's it? Don't you need to take measurements?"

Sophia tilted her head to the side as puzzlement clouded her gentle expression.

"Measurements? Your exam results in the Physique portion should already have measured everything..."

Hermes frowned at the answer. He had completely forgotten the health checkup portion of the exam which measured all his biological information. Scratching the back of his head out of embarrassment, Hermes nodded at the young girl before him and reached out to pick up the box.

"Thank you very much, Miss Sophia."

Sophia nodded swiftly as her smile radiated across the room. The military dress she was wearing was grey in color, indicating the regiment she belonged to.

"No problem! A senior must take care of her juniors! I-ill be returning back to w-working now."

Her eyes shifted around her desk as she tried her very best to make herself look busy. Seeing this, Hermes did his utmost to hold back his laughter as he turned around to face the exit.

'If I leave the room and return a few minutes later, I wonder If I'll catch her asleep again?'

Shaking the devilish idea from his mind, Hermes walked out and headed for building C to pick up his newly repaired gunblade. During the walk, Hermes' thoughts drifted to the fight he had with Ming Xue.

'I wonder what kind of style I should incorporate to wield my gunblade optimally... Arthur had already told me that no sword art exists for it. If I want to unleash the potential the gunblade has, I will need to create my own.'

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'Although it is difficult, [Augmented-Comprehension] allows me to simulate situations in my head. If I pair it with [Martial-Study], I might be able to come up with something. This needs to be tested properly, however...'

After stumbling around the corridors once more and receiving guidance from officers who routinely pass by, he was able to make his way to Section A and enter the forge.

The moment he opened the door, a gale of hot air infiltrated his pores. The darkness inside withdrew from the light emanating from a large oven flame.

Ting. Ting. Ting.

Sounds of hammers slamming against metal sheets reverberated in his bones, forming an unknown symphony.

'So this is the forge...'

In front of him was a wooden service desk, but no attendant in sight. Walking up to it, he pressed the bell to alert someone that a guest had appeared, but no one answered his call.

"Hello? Is anyone present?"

His shout reached the far back of the room where the sounds of hammers molding steel originated from. Suddenly, the rhythm of metal clashing against metal stopped.

Stepping out from behind a curtain, a black-bearded man appeared. Ash and sweat covered his body, and the brown apron he was wearing was weathered and filled with pockets of all shapes and sizes; each of which was filled with all kinds of tools. The scent of iron and sweat mixed into an unsavory potion and flew into Hermes' nostrils.

In his right arm was a large double-sided hammer. Its dark-bluish steel gleamed and reflected the light emanating from the nearby oven. Stroking his beard with his left hand, his lustrous blue eyes peered at the young man before him.

"You. State your purpose. Hurry up."

Hermes decided it was best not to get on the wrong side of the blacksmith in front of him. "My name is Hermes Wilson, I am here to pick up the gunblade that was stated to have been repaired here."

His eyes widened when the weapon's name was mentioned. Placing the hammer on the desk, the man in his mid-40s crossed his muscular arms and began scrutinizing Hermes' figure.

"So you're the one that chose to use Dawnbreaker..."

Hermes pushed up the glasses on his face. "It had a name?"

The old man's brows furrowed as a hint of anger clouded his vision. "Of course it does, you dolt! What smith creates a weapon and doesn't give it a name!"

Hermes lowered his head and spoke solemnly. "I apologize for my ignorance. I assumed it was just a regular training weapon since It was found in the cadet armory."

The old man let out a deep sigh and looked at the wooden desk before him.

"Before I hand it back to you, answer this question of mine. What made you choose a gunblade over all the other conventional weapons available to you at the time?"

Hermes stayed silent for a whole minute before opening his mouth to speak.

"It... It was a gut feeling. I felt like it was the best weapon for me."

The man stroked his beard more swiftly, a hint of melancholy appeared in his eyes.

"The Dawnbreaker. It was created by my great-grandfather about 80 years ago. Many have tried to wield it, but its unconventional weight and its extreme recoil caused many to shun away after only a week or so of usage. Eventually, it was placed in the cadet armory where it continued to gather dust for the past 30 years."

With eyes undeterred even when facing a typhoon he gazed at the young man before him.

"I recommend you put it down and choose something else. With no martial manual to follow, you will never be able to completely master it. Your reputation will plummet if you perform badly with it in the upcoming cadet ranking tournament."

'Cadet ranking tournament? What's that…'

Hermes sighed and reaffirmed his resolve. "I don't plan to ever let go of the gunblade. As for the martial manual, I will create my own."

The old man's eyes widened at the proclamation. "You... You have guts, I'll give you that."

A smile appeared on Hermes' face. Before he could thank the man for his compliment, the sound of the entrance opening was heard. Tilting his neck to what's behind him, a man in golden chainmail armor and a head covered in blonde hair came into view. A hint of arrogance was present within his lustrous blue eyes.

Staring back at the man who was already present in the room, Charles's eyes shifted into a look of disgust. As soon as Hermes recognized the towering man behind him, he too had an annoyed expression masking his face.

'It's the manchild again... Sigh, couldn't he have appeared a few more minutes later?'

Hermes decided to turn his face back to the blacksmith in front of him and not even bother greeting him. It was best to just ignore him completely. Charles on the other hand did not get the hint and grinned arrogantly at Hermes' figure.

"So it's the savage from outside the city. You even have the gall to ignore me just because you are a Stage 1 Celestial? Hmph, no wonder you scored so highly on every test, you were just cheating."

"..."

Hermes continued to ignore him. He had only one goal in mind, and that was receiving his repaired Dawnbreaker. Replying to the man behind him would only weaken his brain cells.

Charles continued. "Oh well, It's much better being labeled a cheater than some monster wearing human skin, right? I bet you were happy that you managed to convince all the top brass to not see you as any threat."

"..." In response, Hermes continued to give him the silent treatment. Seeing this, Charles' fury began to brew. How can he let a peasant ignore him? In his anger, he decided to reach out for Hermes' shoulder.

"Hey you bas-"

"Shut up."

A cold voice filled with malice radiated into his bones. Its origins were the black-bearded old man standing behind the service desk. With his joints shivering in fear, Charles stood there frozen, unable to move an inch.

"Y-you! H-how can you do this t-to me. I a-am from the V-Verdier family!"

The chill in the air became even more frigid as daggers in the form of sound waves shot forth toward the frozen young man.

"I told you, shut up. Not even your old man would disrupt the sanctity of my smithy. If you have anything to request, do it quickly, or else." Every word caused pain to seethe into his skin.

Hermes who was standing near the carnage received none of the treatment Charles was feeling, however, he could still sense the aura permeating the air.

'This... This feels similar to Ming Xue's aura, but weaker... He should be around Stage 5 or 6... But I could also be entirely wrong...'

Turning to face Hermes who was left in ponderance, the old man spoke sternly.

"Alright kid, I'll bring the Dawnbreaker to you, wait here." He then shifted his eyes back to Charles who was covered in sweat. "And you, if you cause any more trouble, I'll make sure to throw you into the oven."

Turning around and leaving the room, the air once again turned hot as the sinister aura receded, giving Charles freedom over his motion once more. He didn't dare to speak a single word as he stood there gasping for air. Fear and humiliation ran marathons across his body.

Hermes gazed at his pitiful expression and smiled deeply. 'Ahhh, that felt so refreshing. One hundred percent deserved. I hope I can get front-row seats again the next time someone humiliates him... Maybe I can try learning Dimensional Suppression myself, it seems kinda fun...'

The wait didn't last long. In the old man's hands was the familiar gun handle attached to a steel frame that smoothly ran passed the obsidian black revolver cylinder and onto the seamless, shimmering blade's edge. The gun barrel was engraved into the blade with grooves meticulously etched to rechannel the explosive power of its shells. An artistic masterpiece of both execution and form.

Picking up the Dawnbreaker, Hermes' face was plastered with a deep smile. He had finally reunited with his partner once more. Hermes looked up at the bearded man before him and nodded his head in acceptance.

"Thank you very much for your repairs. I will make sure to take good care of it."

The man stroked his beard once more and nodded. "The Dawnbreaker is not just a regular weapon, it is a Stellar Artifact in the Ecliptic tier. The fact that you managed to damage it that much is fairly impressive."

Charles' eyes widened, and a single word burst out of his mouth: "What!"

The old man's eyes quickly shifted towards him, causing his hair to stand up. He quickly put his head down, afraid of what the man may do to him if he continued to get on his nerves.

With a glimmer of confusion, Hermes voiced his concerns openly. "Ecliptic tier? What does that mean..."

The old man continued to stroke his rigid beard as he lectured Hermes. "Just like how Celestials have stages, Stellar Artifacts have tiers to symbolize their strength, status, and rank."

"Stellar Artifacts in the Celestial Stages are labeled from weakest to strongest like so: Common tier, Enigmatic tier, Brilliant tier, Nimbus tier, Ecliptic tier, Aurelian tier, Mythic tier, Ethereal tier, and Halcyon tier."

"Each tier represents a rank in dimensionality. Since Dawnbreaker is Ecliptic tier, one must be a Stage 5 Celestial and also a 5-dimensional being to wield it properly. Because of this, you are only able to use its basic functions for now."

Hermes' jaw dropped to the floor. He had finally understood why Charles reacted this way. He had been ignorantly swinging a piece of treasure around this whole time.

"W-why is such a precious item allocated to a mere cadet armory for anyone to pick it up? Wouldn't it be easy to steal that way?"

The old man sighed deeply. Hints of regret and sorrow permeated across his face.

"... it's because it's almost useless without its cartridges..."

End of Chapter