The next morning, Maria sat in Hargrim’s cabin.

It was about as small on the inside as it was on the outside. The single room was comprised of everything he would need, a small fireplace, a kitchen table with a counter, and a bed nearby. Another door led out to the backyard, where Maria had found an outhouse and an awning for outdoor cooking.

“Enchanting isn’t easy,” Hargrim said with an obvious tone. He sat on the edge of a stone fire pit. “Not only does it require the skill from birth, but it requires practice and patience. Your mind must be focused on nothing but what you’re enchanting, and you must never break that concentration.”

Maria was quiet for a moment. “I was about to say it sounds simple enough, but I imagine it isn’t.”

“Not at all,” Hargrim chuckled. “Believe me. In many ways enchanting is no different in that regard to brewing a potion or forging a weapon. You just need the right materials. Through my many years, I have documented and discovered thousands of possible combinations of ingredients to enchant weapons, armor, and clothing, all to fit whatever I needed. If you ever need a pair of boots that will let you walk on walls, there are ingredients for that formula. Just remember that the bigger the item, the harder it is to enchant. Have you used an enchanted item before?”

“Uh… sort of. I have a sword that turns into a whip and a staff that gives me a boost for fire damage. I can never remember to use it though.”

“So you’re at least familiar with enchanted items.”

“Oh! I do have one more enchanted item, I believe,” Maria said and pulled the Thieves Brotherhood Jacket. Hargrim took it from her and looked over it’s stats.

“Yes, this is enchanted. It’s quite well done I must say. Invisibility is a hard thing to enchant onto clothing.”

Maria shrugged. “It’s not the best, I nearly got caught with it, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Regardless, enchanting invisibility is a very advanced skill, it takes years to learn it. Even I struggle from time to time with it. Whoever enchanted this… if they’re still alive, they have some serious damn talent. Then again, seeing their diligence, I wouldn’t ever want to meet them.”

“Neither would I.”

“I’ll start you off with something simple. I have a few spare ingredients rotting in the box under my bed.” Hargrim pulled out a small dagger, as well as a single phoenix feather, and a Demons Scale. He set them out on the table in front of Maria. “I want you to use these ingredients to enchant this dagger with fire aspect.”

Maria pursed her lips and nodded. “Alright.”

“Just take hold of the dagger, and visualize what you want from it. Think of your two ingredients, and imagine combining them. You’ll feel some resistance, but you have to fight it, and keep the energy pouring through your body.”

Maria took up the dagger and held it with both her hands. She closed her eyes and did as she was instructed. She pictured the dagger before her, before the blank void of her mind. The phoenix feather hovered on it’s left, and the Demons Scale on it’s right. All she had to do was think of infusing them together. As the ingredients flew closer in her mind, they started to repel each other, like magnets were glued to them, actively pushing each other away. Maria thought as hard as she could, but nothing was happening. When she opened her eyes, the golden light from her palm faded.

“So…” she said, “Second times the charm?”

Hargrim chuckled with a deep, grave voice. “More like the thousandth.”

“Oh… wonderful,” Maria sighed and closed her eyes again.

For a week she sat before the ingredients, crossleged, and her back aching from being hunched over every day. Attempt after attempt would go by, with little to no result. She would hold the small dagger in both her hands, a warm golden light emitting from her palms, but nothing ever seemed to happen.

“What was he like?” Maria asked one day as Hargrim watched over her.

“Who?”

“My father. You mentioned before you were teaching him to enchant. What was he like?”

Hargrim pondered quietly for a moment, sitting there with an expression reading that he was disappointed. “He wasn’t always the demon king. When he came to me he was a young lad, like yourself. He had aspirations and wanted to kill the demon king of his time, and he needed my help to do it. Since he could enchant me, I took him under my wing and taught him what he needed to know. He was a good kid… at first.”

Maria bobbed her head slowly. “It’s at least comforting knowing he wasn’t always pure evil.”

“He was kind at first, even fell for a girl while he was training under me. She was attending the academy in Mathh Aethel, where my old workshop was. He would sneak out every night to go see her. I don’t think he ever found out that I knew.”

“I used to do something like that. I met someone at my school, and I would sneak out to go see him some nights.”

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Hargrim said.

Maria sighed. In a small way, this was the closest she had ever felt to her father. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but being mentored by the very man who mentored him held some value in that bond. She wished she could have met him before he was the demon king. A part of her also wished he never became the demon king. Sure, she may have never been born if her mother never met him, her whole mission being to kill him in the first place, but she would be happy knowing that so much death could have been prevented.

For another week, Maria sat around and practiced, from dusk till dawn. Chariot and Tanalia in the meanwhile, were out doing their own thing. For a few days, Maria didn’t see either of them. Chariot had apparently gone down to the lake where they were holding a fishing festival, where a competition was held to see who could catch the biggest fish. Chariot didn’t win, but she did bring back fish to cook for dinner a few nights ago. Tanalia on the other hand spent most of her time on the village outskirts, scouring the nearby forests for monsters and game.

“Ugh,” Maria groaned and looked at the honey-glazed ham that Chariot had made for her. “It’s not fair,” she grumbled.

“What isn’t?” Chariot asked. The trio sat around the outdoor kitchen, the scent of ham still wafting from the spit over the crackling firepit.

“That you two can go out and do things to level up while I’m here.”

“It was your idea to come here and do this,” Tanalia said.

“I know, I know. It’s hard though, a break once in awhile would be nice.”

“Are you making any more progress?” Chariot asked.

“Sorta. I’m getting close, I can feel it. I just… need to keep practicing.”

“Why not just take a break from it and go take a dip in the lake?” Tanalia said. “I did a few days ago, the water’s nice and cold.”

Maria scoffed. “I’ve never been the biggest fan of ice cold water but… maybe. I don’t know, I just want to succeed at this.”

Tanalia shrugged. “Your loss.”

“A break wouldn’t hurt,” Chariot said. “Don’t overwork yourself or you won’t get anything done.”

“Right,” Maria said. Later on in the day, she sat before the dagger, with it’s two ingredients. She held the weapon, and closed her eyes, concentrating. Light shine from her palm, and the phoenix feather and Demons Scale both hovered from the table. They too emanate a soft, angelic glow, but it quickly faded, and they both fell back to the table.

“God damn it!” Maria yelled and stabbed the knife into the table.

Hargrim, who had been sitting across from her, chuckled. “Took you long enough.”

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“What?”

“For you to lose your temper.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your father got agitated much quicker than you did. If I remember correctly, he only made it a few days before getting fed up. You have some determination.”

“Thanks?” Maria said awkwardly. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong though.”

“Nothing. It just takes a lot of practice. Hell, even I didn’t master it in two weeks. You’re mostly training your mind and body to handle the strain of enchanting. It becomes easier as you build tolerance and focus.”

Maria frowned. “Don’t feel like it.”

“It will. Just give it time.”

Another week passed, and then another. Maria found herself again sitting out back behind Hargrim’s cabin. She sat again with the dagger, phoenix feather, and Demons Scale. The ingredients hovered closer to the dagger, before dissolving into an explosion of pixels and polygons. Hargrim sat up, his eyes growing wide as the pixels and polygons flew into the dagger. A lustful shimmer seemed to gleam from the blade before Maria gasped, and dropped it. The dagger was suddenly hot to the touch, and smoking.

“What the hell?” she groaned, shaking her hands as her palms sizzled.

Hargrim leaned forward in his chair and took the dagger in his hand as if it weren’t boiling hot. “Well, I’ll be damned. You did it.”

“I what?” Maria looked back at him.

“You enchanted the weapon, look.” He handed the dagger back to her. This time, it was much cooler.

Steel Dagger >> Dagger of Flames

Damage: 5 >> 15

Perk Acquired>> Blade can ignite fire.

“Woah,” Maria said. “I… I did do it.”

Hargrim chuckled softly. “Well I’ll be damned, you did it!”

Maria couldn’t help but crack a smile as she held the weapon. She had done it! She enchanted a weapon!

“Go on ahead and hold onto that,” Hargrim said. “Your first enchanted weapon is always the most special.”

Maria didn’t even say anything back to him. She couldn’t look away from the weapon. After a month of failed attempt after failed attempt, she had finally succeeded in enchanting a weapon.

“You still there?” Hargrim said, waving his hand in front of Maria.

“Oh! Y- Yeah! Sorry… I just…”

“I get it, I get it. Enjoy the moment. The real work starts now.”

“Real work?” Maria raised her eyebrow.

“You bet. The bigger the item, the harder it is to enchant, remember.”

“Oh… right…”

When Chariot and Tanalia returned later that night, Maria proudly showed off her accomplishment.

“Congratulations,” Chariot said, giving Maria a small clap, though even Maria could see she wasn’t carrying the same enthusiasm she used to.

“About damn time,” Tanalia groaned. “I thought I would have to start living here.”

“So was I,” Hargrim chuckled. “Now, I’m glad the two of you are here because I have a job for you.”

Both Chariot and Tanalia looked at each other, then back at Hargrim.

“Now that Maria’s got the hang of what she’s doing, I’m going to have her practice with some larger weapons. In the meantime, I need you two to get some things for me.”

“Such as?” Tanalia crossed her arms.

“Gear. New gear, specifically. Your rags are fine, don’t get me wrong, but if you’re going up against The Ringleader, some new gear wouldn’t hurt. Go find some swords, armor, anything you can, and bring it back here. Once Maria is done practicing, she can start enchanting your gear.”

“Is there a dungeon around?” Chariot asked.

“That there is, a tower dungeon. You might have seen it on your way into the village.”

“I’ve been there a few times,” Tanalia said. “I never went inside, I just walked up to the base of the tower to explore it. It is the one behind the mountains, correct?”

“That would be it.”

“Then I know the way.”

“Watch your asses in there. The tower dungeon isn’t like other dungeons I’ve been in. Each floor changes with each new party that ventures into it. I can’t tell you what to expect in there, just be prepared for a fight… lots of them.”

Later on the next morning, Maria pulled the pair aside before they were set to depart for the tower. “So… good luck in there.”

“Like I need luck,” Tanalia said.

“I could use a little,” Chariot sighed.

“I just…” Maria stared back at them. “Can you two try working together?”

“What do you mean?” Tanalia asked.

“Remember when I said we don’t work as a team? I want you two to try working together, please. We need to get into the habit of it, you two especially. You both get in each other's way a lot. Just remember the plan I had. Chariot, you can focus on defense, and Tanalia, you can focus on offense.”

They both stared silently back at Maria, neither looking particularly pleased with the idea

“Please?”

“Alright, fine,” Tanalia said.

Chariot didn’t respond.

“Thank you,” Maria said. “Good luck… again.” She watched them off, staring down from the fence overlooking Lakeside Village. When the time came to get back to work, she met with the enchanter back behind his cabin. Despite what Hargrim had told her, enchanting larger weapons didn’t feel so difficult. She managed to enchant both a long sword and a halberd in one night. The following morning, however, Hargrim surprised her with something.

“You’ve been doing well. I think it’s time you learn something new.”

“Huh?”

“Your weapons, give them to me.”

Maria stared at the enchanter awkwardly and pulled both her Serpant’s Blade and her Scorching Scepter from her inventory. Hargrim took them and placed them on the table outside.

“Sometimes, you may come across a weapon that you might not use. Sometimes that weapon might have a decent enchantment. I’ve discovered, that if you sacrifice gold, you can take the enchantment of one item, and place it onto another.”

“Seriously?” Maria’s eyes went wide. “What if there’s already an enchantment on it?”

“Then it will not work. I’ve found a piece of equipment can have more than one enchantment, at the cost of there being too many, you could risk shattering the weapon beyond repair. Your father had that issue once. He put too many enchantments into a single sword, and it broke after one swing.”

Maria looked back down at her two weapons and frowned. “Oh… I see where this is going.”

“Good. Which of these do you use the most?”

“Uhh… the sword. I only used the staff once and I got my ass kicked by The Ringleader when he took it from me.”

“Then, I want you to pull the enchantment from your staff, and place it into your sword. The only downside is that once you pull an enchantment from a weapon, it will break.”

“Again, it’s all about focusing your mind on what you want to do.”

Maria took hold of both her weapons and closed her eyes. As she thought about transferring the enchantment of her staff to her sword, a rigid sensation shot up her arms. She strained, her grip only growing tighter as the sensation turned painful, like pins and needles. Maria let go, and stepped back, shaking her arms off.

“Try again,” Hargrim said.

Long into the night, Maria sat out there. When the moons pale light reflected off her Serpant’s Blade, she finally grew too tired to continue. Hargrim had gone in to rest a little over an hour ago, and she took some time to walk around the grounds, and clear her head. Even in the dark of night, she found some comfort in standing alone. Distant crickets and hoots from owls gave the midnight air a soft melody.

Maria sighed as she looked over the large lake from the enchanter’s front yard. Just beyond it, she could faintly see the torch light emanating from the tower Chariot and Tanalia were sent to. It seemed so close, and yet so far away, nearly a days walk at the least considering how high up the mountain it was. She wondered how they were doing, or if they had set up camp with the intention of tackling it in the morning. It’s where she would like to be, doing something fun. Despite all the progress she was making, the constant repetition of it day in and day out was really starting to hammer her down. She had to get this down though before they returned from the dungeon.

Maria marched back to the backyard, and sat beside the weapons. She tried again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

By the early morning, she was on the brink of passing out. Finally, though, she held the weapons in both her hands, and a sharp pain shot up her arm. Light traveled up her arm, and across her shoulders. She strained, sweating profusley as her body heated up, like she were roasting in a microwave. Maria started hyperventilating, but a sudden, loud crashing noise shook her out of it. She jumped from her seat.

The Scorching Scepter had shattered into thousands of fragments like fine glass. Maria’s Serpant’s Blade was all that remained.

Serpent’s Blade >> Infernal Serpent’s Blade

Damage: 50 >> 80

Perk: Duel Weapon - Whip

Perk: Can summons a trail of etherial swords to attack foe.

Enchantment Aquired - Fire Aspect

“Woah,” Maria muttered quietly to herself. There was a glossy, red aura that seemed to emanate from the blade itself, not quite a reflection, but something she couldn’t describe. She took up the weapon, and stepped away from the table. Swinging it through the air, nothing seemed to happen. She then glanced over to the firepit that had long been extinguished. She switched the blade to a whip, and struck the stone foundation, causing an eruption of flames to burst up from where the stone was struck.

Maria jumped, chuckling as the wave of heat blew back at her. She swung the weapon again, this time with the intention of summoning the trail of ethereal swords. Maria had completely forgotten that the scepter even had this ability. When she swung her weapon, the ethereal trail of swords burst forth from the ground, before shattering into glass after a brief moment, just as they had when the Banished Knight used the weapon against her. It didn’t seem to cost her any mana. It could be a useful perk to have.

Enchanting was pretty cool.

She was starting to get the hang of it… at least that’s what she told herself. Maria tried to ignore how tired it was making her feel. She was damp in sweat, her clothes feeling moist like she had just taken a walk through a dense swamp. Returning the weapon to her inventory, she sighed, and leaned against the wall of the cabin, trying to catch her breath while she fanned her shirt.

Maybe a cool dip in the lake was well deserved.