Vivi resummoned her runesword. Ether flowed through her, left hand growing claws.

The smithy lit up in blue by the glow of Andre’s blade. Einord backed into a corner, terrified. Even a regular person could feel the terrifying power of Andre’s weapon.

A spirit blade. The theoretically perfect weapon, consisting of nothing but pure ether. Ythar’s spirit blades skipped the need for physical matter entirely. A spirit could concentrate all of its power into one solid object, forming a weapon that utilized a hundred percent of the wielder’s ether. A spirit blade was ether.

Faced with the aura of such a weapon, Vivi understood why spirit blades were praised. The spirit’s presence was overwhelming—comparable to an ether surge spawning from below. Traditional runeswords could never come close to the sheer power of spirit blades.

“Goodbye,” Andre said. He swung wide and with force, hitting Vivi’s runesword head-on. The intent of his attack was clear; he wished to crush Vivi and her weapon to the ground.

The two blades made contact, and a misty aura of ether enveloped Andre’s spirit blade. Vivi’s hair flared out from impact. Her footing barely held. Andre’s spirit was maxed out with ether, and his swings carried a lot more force.

But Vivi’s runesword held. Andre lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

The spirit blades were theoretically perfect. Theoretically. In practice, the spirit blades had one fatal flaw.

They leaked ether. No spirit in the world could shape such an insane current of ether into the shape of a sword for long. Andre’s sword was intimidating and powerful, but it wasn’t omnipotent.

It was Vivi’s turn for a counter-attack.

With their swords in a bind, Vivi threw a sneaky attack with Lucius’s claws. Andre grimaced. His spirit blade reformed, turning into the shape of a shield. He blocked the claw attack. Another advantage of spirits—they could take whatever shape they wished.

Vivi swung at the shield with her runesword.

She felt her ether reacting with her sword’s runes. A storm of sheer pressure flowed within the veins. The sword was like an extended limb. Just by holding it, Vivi felt ascended, as if the metal was a part of her. Her sword did not leak ether. With each blow, the metal was strengthened further.

Her sword hit Andre’s spirit shield with explosive force. Cracks formed on the shield. Andre was blasted backwards, hitting the door. He burst through the door, destroying its hinges. He flew into the next room, where a group of demons paused in shock.

“What’s with this sword!” Lucius gushed. “It’s… It’s as if the sword is glaring at me!”

It’s a runesword, Lucius, Vivi thought. Made with fifteen years of practice.

Andre recovered quickly. His eyes no longer shone with ether, and his spirit blade was nowhere to be seen. He called off his powers, appearing like a normal human again. He stood calmly and patted his clothes of dirt. Passing demons of his gang watched in confusion.

“Not here,” Andre said to Vivi without translation magic. “These demons are not trustworthy. If we fight here, our powers will be revealed to the Stewards. Call off your sword. I will let you go.”

You don’t trust your own men? Vivi thought.

She, however, called off Lucius’s claws and sheathed her runesword. Andre did have a point. She didn’t want to show off her runesword or Lucius’s abilities any more than necessary.

“The experiment was a failure,” Andre said to his men, speaking Fimian. “An explosion was set off. No need for alarm.”

The demons stood still, confused. Andre’s calm demeanor stopped a panic from happening. He patted himself down and stretched. “We’ll try again later. You’re free to go, Vivian.”

Vivi glared at him. Andre didn’t react, standing tall.

“A coward,” Lucius said. “He’s a total weakling.”

No, he’s dangerous, Vivi thought. He still has tricks. We can’t let our guard down. For now, we need to get out of here.

“You were right, Vivi,” Lucius said. “Runeswords have a future. My claws wouldn't have done a thing. Your sword nearly destroyed his shield.”

Vivi didn’t have time to boast. She looked at the biggest demon in the crowd. “You. Lead me out of here.”

The man glanced around himself in concern before eventually nodding. He bowed and said, “This way, please.”

Vivi followed him up toward the path they’d come. Andre didn’t follow, thank the gods. Vivi wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. She walked confidently but without a weapon. The blue cloaks wouldn’t have recognized her blade as a runesword. Inside-carved blades looked too different from the guards’ weapons. But holding it out in the open was still risky. She remained on guard as the escort led her up, ready to summon her powers if necessary.

“Your sword was on even ground with Andre’s, Vivi!” Lucius said. “Even though we have less ether!”

If we got into a serious duel, my lack of experience would have lost me the fight, Vivi thought. My weapons are more powerful, but Andre is more skilled. He only lost because he underestimated me.

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“But your sword combined with my claws is powerful,” Lucius said. “We saw it there. When your swords were in a bind, you had him for a second.”

Yes, Vivi thought. We might have a new strategy on our hands.

“What about Einord and Andre?” Lucius asked. “They saw your runesmithing. They know exactly how you made this weapon.”

Vivi frowned. I am upset about that. Einord now knows the theory behind inside carving. He knows that the method is possible and that it’s powerful. But Einord will not become a problem for us. Do you know how long Grandpa and I had to practice before crafting our first runeswords?

“A few months?” Lucius asked.

Grandpa took five years, Vivi said. After the idea came to his head, he required five years to craft the first functional runesword. Inside carving is far from easy even if you know how it works. I completed my first sword at nine years old after seven years of practice. Einord knowing theory doesn’t matter in the slightest. It will take him at least a year before he can shape veins, and another to carve runes. During the process, he will need to waste hundreds of expensive ether roots on practice attempts.

“Ah,” Lucius said. “We’re ahead by more than a year, then?”

Yes, Vivi thought. It’s annoying that Grandpa’s methods are in their hands, but ultimately, I still have more than enough time to make runesmithing known to the right people.

Vivi passed the fortifications on the upper levels of Andre’s territory. Her escort lowered his head at the exit.

“Thank you,” Vivi said. She stepped out alive and in one piece, having smithed herself a runesword. All in all, the trip was a success.

Vivi’s heart was still racing when she exited Andre’s lair, but the nervous pressure slowly evolved into a less oppressive feeling. Vivi couldn’t quite describe it. All she could think of was the presence of her third limb. The feeling of a runesword on her hands.

Grandpa had claimed that holding a runesword was euphoric. When he felt bad, he often simply hung out with his favourite runeswords, passing ether through their blades and performing practice swings. Sometimes, he looked like a longing old warrior who wished to head back to battle. He never did; Grandpa was far too soft to kill even a rabbit, but he loved cutting logs, sometimes slashing holes into boulders.

Vivi understood why he’d felt so attached to his swords now. Her sword felt seriously powerful, as if an intense ether storm had gone off in her consciousness.

“Ivwi!” Eem called. The fiend ran over and hopped onto Vivi’s arms, hugging her.

Vivi was surprised for a second. Then she let out a laugh. She returned the hug, holding Eem tight.

Around her, demons scowled at her as if she were some weirdo monster. Vivi and Eem both had bounties. Every nimrod around them wanted them dead.

Vivi couldn’t have cared less. “Eem, you smell like wet grass,” she said. “What have you been doing?”

Eem chuckled. She held out her arms, showcasing another glowing egg-shaped ether root.

It was a white obsidian ether root. A far more common ether root compared to adamantite, but a great root nonetheless. Grandpa commonly bought them in batches for Vivi to work on. Vivi’s eyes lit up. “You got this for me?”

Eem nodded three times.

“Thank you, Eem,” Vivi said. “Where do you keep getting these?”

Eem laughed excitedly.

Vivi couldn’t help but smile. This little idiot. She’d have to catch a lot of fish for Eem.

“You need more ether roots to add more runes into a sword, right?” Lucius asked. “Let’s gather ten! Upgrade our sword to a ten-runed runesword!”

It doesn’t work like that, Vivi thought. A ten-runed sword would need ten ether roots, yes, but fitting ten runes is impossible. Even Grandpa can only fit five, and efficiency is lost after the fourth. I can only fit three. For now, we’ll make good use of our single-runed sword.

Lucius appeared disappointed, but only for a second. “The fang tanker,” he said. “Let’s destroy it.”

Yes, Vivi thought. She lifted Eem on her shoulders and asked. “Want to lead us back home, Eem?”

Eem thought for a bit. She seemed to understand where Vivi wanted to go. Back to the hidden dungeon. Eem gave her signature three nods, then pointed Vivi out of the dungeon, back to the hub.

The daylight gems were dim outside. Vivi had no idea what time it was. Spending hours at the forge usually made her lose track. The hub, however, seemed calmer than usual. A quiet evening or an early morning, Vivi presumed. She didn’t feel like sleeping just yet.

Eem led Vivi into a quiet part of the hub near the southern hardstone wall. They walked past a five-storied, box-shaped storehouse—a shop where nimrods could rent space to store their items. The only time Vivi had seen a customer enter was when a scrawny demon rented a safe to store gemstones and transfer orbs, presumably so he wouldn’t be robbed. Right now, the place seemed to be closed. Almost no demons wandered this area of the hub.

Eem pointed behind the storehouse. Between the storehouse and the wall was an alley-sized opening, covered entirely in shadows. Vivi entered curiously. The area felt claustrophobic; Vivi barely had space to hold her arms out between the hardstone wall and the storehouse’s undecorated stone.

Eem hopped off of Vivi’s back. She climbed onto the hardstone wall, somehow gripping the wall. Vivi raised her eyebrows. It took her a moment to see what Eem was grabbing onto. Tiny holes had been carved into the wall. Even when squinting at them, they were hard to see.

Of course, Eem climbed like it was second nature. She ascended the hardstone wall, until suddenly, she disappeared inside the wall.

No way, Vivi thought. She grabbed the tiny holes, attempting to climb. It was uncomfortable, and finding the next spot to insert her fingers took a while. Without Lucius’s ether, she wouldn’t have had the strength to climb. Eventually, however, she made it to the spot where Eem had disappeared.

There was a hole in the hardstone wall. Rough black curtains covered the hole. Vivi pushed through and met Eem’s excited eyes on the other side. She entered the wall itself, finding it hollow.

The inside of the wall was even more cramped than the opening between the storehouse. Even with ether-enhanced eyesight, Vivi had to squint to see the bottom. Still, there was enough room for a person to fit through.

“Well…” Vivi said. “Looks like the wall isn’t as secure as we thought it was.”

“This wall just contains the hub,” Lucius said. “The facility is still protected by another wall. But this is still a big discovery.”

“Wonder who made it?” Vivi asked.

“Aaannn!” Eem said, sounding excited. She descended inside the wall with more tiny holes.

Vivi figured just dropping down would be easier. She waited for Eem to reach the bottom, then she followed by falling.

At the bottom, another trap door led to a crawl space that, after twists and turns, led directly to the hidden dungeon.