Maria was resting in the shade of Hargrim’s front yard.

She sat against a thick oak tree and took the time to smell the sweet, morning air. She had barely slept the night prior, practicing her enchanting and all. It was coming more naturally, though it was no less straining on her energy. She knew that when Chariot and Tanalia eventually returned she would have to get back to work, and the thought of having to start enchanting all their gear haunted her.

But, she had some time before they got back.

“Hey!” Tanalia’s voice echoed.

Damn it.

Maria sat up and looked towards the pathway leading into the front yard. The knight and Tanalia stumbled up it, their hair disheveled, and bodies swaying from side to side as they walked. “Hey guys,” Maria said. “You two look like shit.”

“I couldn’t tell,” Chariot said tiredly.

“It didn’t go well I take it?”

“No, it did. I’ll tell you about it some other time. We got everything Hargrim wanted though.”

“Great. I’m getting better at enchanting so… after a short rest I can get right to work on enchanting our stuff.”

“Before we do that, I want to talk,” Chariot said. She sat across from Maria, as did Tanalia. Maria sat there, waiting for Chariot to speak, but the woman only sat there, catching her breath for a good long while. “Actually, give me a minute,” she wheezed.

“Are you two that tired?”

“After the tower dungeon, yes,” Tanalia said. “We camped out last night, and walked back here all of yesterday.”

“If you’re burnt out then you must have really been exhausted—”

“Alright,” Chariot interrupted and looked Maria in the eyes. “I want to rest, but I’m getting this off my chest first. I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“I know I’ve been acting distant, and a little apprehensive towards you. It was because I still had some doubts about you, even after you spoke to us. Learning your secret was hard, but Tanalia and I talked for a bit, and I agreed with her. I don’t think you're a bad person, even if you’re Moldark’s daughter. It’s just taken me some time to accept that. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about that—”

“But I am. Even if we haven’t known each other for that long, I feel like I’ve gotten to know you well enough. You don’t seem like the kind of person who would just turn on us, or someone who’s just in this for power to take control like the demon king would. You have a good heart, and now that I know your secret, I respect you more for it. It’s just taken me some time.”

Maria was quiet at first. She glanced between Chariot and Tanalia before letting a small smile pull her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“Now, let’s get down to the fun stuff,” Tanalia said. “We leveled up quite a bit back in the tower—”

“I know, I could watch your guy’s HP increasing through my menu.”

“Mhm, and I know you haven’t been leveling up because you’ve been too busy here rubbing your hands together or whatever it is you do. But, lucky for you, the final boss was generous enough to drop us these,” Tanalia handed over the five potions of XP.

“Do these do what I think?”

“Yes. Each bottle you drink will give you one whole level of XP. They’re rare, and I’ve seen them being sold by some people for millions. It’s not worth buying them, but I think you should have them.”

“Oh… thank you,” Maria said and took the bottles as Tanalia handed them over one by one. Maria inspected the first bottle and uncorked it. A sparkly mist puffed out the rim of the jar, and she gulped it down. It tasted no different than sparkling water, but as the potion took it’s course on her body, she shuddered. It was like every nerve in her body had frozen numb for just a second before thawing. A little ding chimed in her ear as she went up one whole level. Maria gulped down the other four bottles.

Name: Maria Marigold

Lvl: 21 >> 26

HP: 1336 >> 1644

MP: 258 >> 317

Total Defense: 83

Total Attack: 45.8

“Oh, these are fantastic,” Maria chuckled.

“Hopefully that helps you a little bit,” Chariot said. “It’s not the only gift we have for you though.” She retrieved the Demons Fury tome from her inventory and passed it to Maria. “We found this as well.”

“What is it?”

“A tome. By reading it you can unlock a unique spell. Normally these aren’t a part of any skill tree, and sometimes tomes might give you a new branch of spells altogether.”

“Seriously?” Maria opened the book and skimmed the pages. To her surprise, it was illegible. The words were nothing but scribbles and symbols that she could barely make out. The further she looked through the tomb, however, the pages began flipping on their own. Rapidly they flipped front to back and back to front, with a soft glow slowly starting to emanate from the heart of the book, growing in intensity. The light engulfed Maria for a brief second, before the book burst into polygons, and disappeared.

Spell Learned!

Demons Fury - Hurl a flaming skull that seeks out targets.

Lvl: 1

Cost: 60

Base damage: 100

25% chance to give burn status effect.

“What just happened?” Maria asked.

“Spell tomes only have a one-time use. Once you read them, they disappear.”

“Oh... alright. Well, thank you. I’ll have to try out this spell another time.”

“You haven’t unlocked it yet,” Chariot explained. “Once you read a tome, you learn the spell, but to unlock it you still need to use a skill point.”

“Test it out on the Ringleader,” Tanalia said.

“That’s the plan.” Maria chuckled and slowly rose to her feet with the other two.

“Now come on,” Chariot said. “Let’s show you what else we got.”

***

Both Chariot and Tanalia started emptying their inventory into the center of Hargrim’s home. The pile grew fairly quickly, with armor pieces, weapons, and monster drops.

“I will say, I’m quite impressed you were able to bring back everything,” Hargrim said as he looked over the ingredients. “Some of these I didn’t expect you to acquire.”

“What you’re saying is we exceeded your expectations?” Tanalia asked smugly.

“Don’t gloat about it, but yes, you did. You three might stand a better chance against the Ringleader than I thought.” Hargrim poked through the loot pile and picked up a rusted old piece of armor. “Some of this isn’t quite as useful as others, but they’ll do for now. I admire your bravery and determination. You three have worked hard in preparing for your coming battle with the Ringleader. So, I’ll give the three of you a gift.”

The trio exchanged curious glances.

“I’m retired, but I have enough spark in me to enchant a couple of things. So, for each of you, I will enchant one item of your choosing.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Seriously?” Chariot yelled, practically jumping with excitement.

“Yes, yes, but only one. It’s up to Maria to handle the rest. Hargrim looked to Chariot. “We can start with you.”

“Oh, yes, please,” she said excitedly. “So, tell me, lass, what is it you truly desire to do with your life?”

Chariot paused for a moment. “What do I desire to do with my life?”

“Aye. What drove you to be the adventurer you are today? What gets you up in the morning?”

For a long while, Chariot stood in contemplative silence. “Well, I wanted to stand up for the people who couldn’t stand up for themselves. I wanted to protect them and ensure no one had to suffer through the same fate I had gone through when my parents were murdered. That’s why I want to go after The Ringleader. He’s an immoral and cruel person who will only bring pain and suffering to others. He already has, but if he finds the demon king's treasure, who knows what he’ll do.”

“I see.” Hargrim slowly stroked his beard. Slowly, he glanced down towards the pile of loot in the middle of his floor. “Is there a shield somewhere in there?”

“Oh, no, but I did find a shield in the tower.” Chariot held out her arm, and the Guardians Shield materialized in her hand. Hargrim took it and looked it over.

“This is mighty impressive already.” The dwarf looked around curiously and walked over to his bed. He knelt beside it and pulled out an old wooden crate. The dust had finely layered it, turning the otherwise brown wood beneath it starkly gray. He blew the dust away and opened the lid before fishing around inside. From it, he removed the claw of a creature Maria wasn’t quite sure it belonged to. Once he scooped up a demon scale from the pile, he placed the two ingredients side by side on the shield on his bed. “You seek to defend others from things that they otherwise could not defend themselves from. For that, I will shape you a tool to assist you.”

Both Maria and Chariot got a little closer to watch, coming around to the other side of the bed while Tanalia stayed where she was. The enchanter closed his eyes and held his hands out. A bright, blinding light emanates from his palms. Maria had to glance away and shield her eyes. It was bright enough to burn, but as she stepped back, the light dimmed. Before them on the bed was the heater shield, but it’s base had been transformed into what looked like pure obsidian. The trimmings and embroidery, now etched celtic knot, were golden, and polished to such a sickening degree Maria could see her own reflection in it.

Chariot was speechless, staring longingly at the shield as the enchanter picked it up, and graciously handed it back to her. It looked like it took the old dwarf no effort at all. There was not an ounce of sweat on his skin, nor a strain in his muscles. Maria couldn’t help but die a little inside seeing just how easily and quickly he could enchant an item.

“Holy shit!” Chariot’s voice cracked. She pulled up the shields stat menu to show the others.

Guardians Shield >> Shield of the Valiant Knight

Defense: 200 >> 500

Perk Upgraded: Absorbs 50% of damage per hit to store for redistribution.

Perk Unlocked: User can cast protection spell to negate all damage for one hit. Only one person can be under this spells effect at a time. 5 minute cooldown.

Damage Storage limit: 200 >> 10,000

Tanalia nearly choked, catching herself before she did, and pounding her chest. “What the fuck?”

Maria was left speechless. All she could do was let out an excited chuckle, but it was nothing compared to what Chariot was doing. The girl could barely contain her excitement, almost jumping up and down as she gripped the shield tight.

“Oh my god… thank you so much,” she said to Hargrim.

“You are very welcome my dear. Wear that shield proudly, and use it righteously. I expect you to uphold your values, and keep the land safe from monsters like the Ringleader.”

“You can count on me!” Chariot said excitedly and equipped the shield.

The enchanter simply nodded, then turned slowly towards Tanalia. “Now, it’s your turn.”

Tanalia’s eyes were still wide from staring at Chariot’s shield. It took her a moment to look back at the dwarf and snap out of it. “My turn?”

“Aye. I’ll ask the same question I did her. What is it you truly desire to do with your life?”

Tanalia stared back at the dwarf, then nervously at her two other party members.

“You know, I’m curious about this myself,” Chariot said.

“Me too,” Maria added.

Tanalia scoffed. “I mean… to have fun?”

“That’s not the reason,” the dwarf said, and approached her. He poked her chest. “It needs to come from within here. What is it you truly desire to do with your life?”

Tanalia blushed and after again looking around at her party, sighed in defeat. “Alright. I… I want to travel to Mytharia. I want to live my life not knowing what tomorrow will bring. I want to be free from the shackles of life in Mathh Aethel, go where I want, see who I want, and do what I want. I just want to… live. I was enjoying myself just fine until the Ringleader came along. He nearly killed me, and nearly killed Maria’s master. I figured I would go after him and kill him before he hurts anyone else.”

“Hmmm,” the dwarf stroked his beard. “Most elves I’ve spoken to prefer to live their lives peacefully. Some may adventure to help others, but as they grow older they tend to envision settling down.”

“I can’t see myself doing that. Staying home for so many years… I just wanted to get away from it.” Tanalia’s voice drifted for a moment before she pulled out her elven dagger. “What about this? Can you enchant it?”

“A simple elven dagger, eh?”

A blush rose on Tanalia’s cheeks. “It was a gift from my father before I left. Even if he and my mother didn’t agree with me leaving, he gifted it to me so that he could watch over me in spirit.”

Chariot raised an eyebrow. “That’s why you didn’t want to switch it with the Dagger of Ag'drorath?”

Tanalia nodded quietly.

“The Dagger of Ag'drorath…” Hargrim said curiously. “You have it on you?”

Tanalia handed over the demonic dagger. The enchanter looked it over, before bringing it to the bed with her elven dagger.

“C- Can you not change how it looks,” Tanalia said, hurrying after the dwarf.

“That I can,” he said confidently and cracked his knuckles. After withdrawing two different types of feathers from the same crate he had retrieved the claw, he layed out everything on the bed and got to work.

Again, Maria shielded her eyes from the bright glow of Hargrim’s hands, but when it faded, all that was left on the bed was a singular elven dagger. It was slightly more polished than before, much like Chariot’s shield, giving off an almost glimmering aura of light. Before Tanalia could step forward to grab it, Hargrim snatched it up and tossed it into the air. The elven dagger flew upwards and came to a stop as if it had frozen in midair. It spun on its axis and flew forward, rapidly soaring around the room, and lapping circles around the three women.

Chariot held up her new shield to defend herself, but the dagger came nowhere near close enough to hurt her. Finally, it soared into Tanalia’s hands.

Elven Dagger >> Watchful Edge

Damage: 25 >> 90

Enchantment Acquired>> Sentient Manipulation: The weapon can float independently of the user, and be commanded by the user's thoughts.

“With that enchantment, you can use another weapon primarily, and fight with your dagger like it were a companion,” Hargrim explained. “May your father keep you safe, always.”

Tanalia held the dagger in her hands. She didn’t speak, not first at least. She simply clutched the weapon and held it for a good long while. “Thank you,” she finally said quietly.

“Don’t mention it. Just try to keep out of trouble with it,” the dwarf chuckled. “Though I wouldn’t be opposed to a little mischief at times. Now… as for you,” Hargrim said, slowly turning to look at Maria.

“Let me guess. What do I truly desire to do with my life?”

“No. I already know the answer to that question. What I really want to know is why are you doing this with your life. Why are you really out here looking for your father's treasure? Why do you do the things you do?”

Maria stared back at the enchanter and pursed her lips. “Well… it’s not the best answer, but, because I like doing it. I like helping people. My mother always taught me that helping people is the nicest thing another human can do. It’s as simple as helping someone short reach something on the top shelf, and seeing their smile. Knowing you helped them just fills me with… well, joy. I love it. When I heard about everything my father had done to this world, it hurt. I want to make things right and make things better for people. His subordinates… my siblings… they’re out there hurting people, they’re already hurting people I’m close to, and I won’t stand for it. I’ve never saved anyone before, not really. But when I first arrived here I came to a village being attacked by some of the Ringleaders Shadow Jesters. There was this little girl and I just ran in to save her. It felt good like I had done something truly remarkable. That’s why I do what I do. I love helping people. Always have, always will.”

Hargrim smiled softly. “You sound just like your mother.” The dwarf held out his hand. “Hand me your ring.”

Maria glanced down at the silver ring on her finger. “It… was my mothers.”

“I know it was, I made it. Your father came to me one day and asked me to forge a ring for Alexandría. I’m surprised she kept it all these years, even after she disappeared.”

Maria slid the ring slowly off her finger and handed it to the dwarf. He took it in his palm, and gently rolled it around. He brought the ring over to the bed and reached inside his box to retrieve another dissimilar ring. Maria stood at the bedside and watched as the enchanter's hands began to illuminate again. This time, however, it didn’t seem as bright. In a matter of seconds, it was over, and the silver ring was left alone on the bed.

“Here, try it on,” Hargrim said.

Maria slid the ring back on and rubbed against it with her thumb.

Silver Ring >> Enchanted Silver Ring

Defense: 0 >> 5

Skill Unlocked: Mothers Love - So long as other party members are within range of the wearer, they can be buffed by either speed, physical attack, or defense. Only one buff may be active at a time. Buff will last 5 minutes. 3 Minute cooldown is required before another buff may be cast.

Speed Buff: +50%

Physical Attack Buff: +50%

Defense Buff: +50%

With only a single thought, Maria was able to pull up a new menu. It hovered in her open palm and simply consisted of three buttons she could press, each one reminiscent of one of the optional buffs. She activated the speed buff, and both Chariot and Tanalia yelped.

“What did you just do?” Chariot asked, looking down at herself.

“I… gave you two a speed buff?” Maria shrugged.

Tanalia started walking, and to Maria’s surprise, Tanalia was moving twice as fast as she normally was. It was so fast, that she had to open the door and move outside just to see how fast she could truly run. Tanalia only got so far before she fell outside the radius in which she needed to remain. It was a fairly wide radiance, so as long as they stuck together, there should be nothing to worry about.

“With this, you can always help out your party members,” Hargrim said. “Sure, you have spells and potions to buff you, but nothing is going to compare to this. Pick and choose what buff fits which situation, and you’ll be making your party all the stronger. You’ll be helping them, just as they can help you with their new abilities.”

“This is… perfect. Thank you.”

Hargrim nodded as Tanalia returned from the outside.

“That’s a good buff,” she chuckled.

“I hope the three of you use my gifts responsibly. I have absolute faith in you that you can take down The Ringleader for me. Now, there’s the other matter we must attend to.”

Maria paused and sighed. “Yeah…”