Ray

"What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"The recipe is something I discovered years ago. The Emperor teleported to me minutes after I registered it. The potion was sealed as a banned recipe, but really it's been used by the Emperor to boost his most loyal followers all this time.

Now you and your little rebellion can have it. The recipe is Tier 15, so you'll need someone at that Tier to make it, but if the rebellion is even half as powerful as I think it is, then it should be a walk in the park for you." the Dean said.

Ray just stared at him, shocked. The offer was, indeed, unexpected. But not exactly unwelcome. Was he surprised that the Emperor had reserved some special thing to help keep ahead? Not really. In fact, he’d expected things like this to exist.

What did surprise him was that the Dean was offering it to him? But he wasn't about to doubt this one. The potion was too valuable.

"I cannot arrange a meeting with the Scholar for you." Ray said, it was true. Ma meeting the dean was just too dangerous. Ray had seen the Treasury, what were the chances that something in there could help the Dean identify her? In Ray’s opinion, too high to risk it. Why did he want to see her anyway?

"Well, can you at least help me ask her a question? I do need help with a matter.” the Dean said. "But if you cannot, then it is alright, the Treasury thing will be enough for me."

Now Ray was suspicious. The money-grubbing Dean taking a step back? Ha! The offer was far too suspicious now.

"What do you want?" Ray asked.

"What do you mean? I just told you what I want." the Dean asked, acting confused.

"No, you could have given anything else for the Treasury thing. I would have taken it too, you know that, I know that, so what is up? The recipe is a bit much." Ray asked.

The Dean took a deep breath, "I see that you still don't trust me. A pity. As for the rest, the recipe isn't as good as you think. The materials are rare, not so rare that the Emperor will notice if someone starts buying them, but they aren't things you can just buy off the local market." the Dean said.

"And yet the question remains. The value may now be in doubt, but you could have easily given anything else. A sword from the treasury. A few books from that library. But no, you gave the recipe. And even with the rare ingredients, the recipe is extremely precious. " Ray noted.

"And you're underestimating the value of what you are giving. The artifacts have been mysteries to me for decades, unusable despite their power. And you are the only person that can do it for me. Not to mention your help in the Treasury.

I felt that it earned some help from my side." the Dean said. Wait, what? The Dean had a gentle side? No, there had to be something up. And hadn’t the Dean acted like knowing what the artifacts were unimportant to him?

"Why the recipe?" Ray insisted.

"I wanted to be sure that you would accept my proposal, and you overestimate its value. The potion would be more valuable if it could be mass-produced, but as it is, it's a valuable commodity to make sure overprivileged children remain overprivileged. And I wanted to extend, what did the old ones call it, an olive branch." the Dean said.

Ray had to grudgingly accept that if the Dean wanted to make friends, giving this was a good way to go about it.

"The fact that you are giving me a recipe the Emperor reserved is more suspicious to me than its value. But I will see what I can do about the Scholar. Perhaps you could give me the question you wanted to ask?" Ray asked.

The Dean looked at Ray hesitantly, "Perhaps later, I have work to do now. Here, your vest and necklace. I hope you know that the necklace is one mana-intensive artifact, you won't be able to support it with your current mana."

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Ray took them, the vest awkward in his hands. "Yes, it's, uh, not for me. And I will have to get back to you on the deal after talking with people. I have to see how useful it is.to us."

"Well, your sister is coming in the evening to choose her sword. I was going to give her something from the College Armory, but if you want, I could instead give her something from the Treasury here, as long as you can choose it.

Though I expect you'll have to codify the swords while you are at it." the Dean said. A leopard beast didn't change its stripes after all, but the offer was, once again, suspiciously generous.

"I actually have something in my mind." Ray answered. The swords had only held his attention for a short while, but one had still been in his mind. After all, it was misfiled. The sword was some kind of hidden weapon.

On the surface, it was a normal Tier 13 weapon, but below the surface...Ray had heard the sounds of thunder, dust storms, and screams. The sword had something to do with calamities, Ray was sure of it.

"Oh?" the Dean asked, now curious. "I don't suppose you could show me?" the Dean said, teleporting them back into the treasury. Ray felt the Fae illusion stone connect with him once more, but this time it was something he could detect. And it gave him another curious piece of information.

"The stone, it hides this place from the Emperor, doesn't it?" Ray asked.

"Yes, the Empire thinks my treasures are all in the Armory in the College. I like it that way, there is just too much of a chance of the Emperor wanting the things stored here. Not to mention that the Xnarthan frown on foreign artifacts." the Dean said. "A Tier 30 artifact like the stone works well to shield it. Now, what sword is it that interested you."

Ray turned to the wall, his eyes glowing red, silver and pink as he absorbed information. The sword shown bright. But Ray had been wrong, the sword was not about calamity, it was about what you used a calamity for. The sword spoke of things after, of things coming. And it brought a smile to his face. Anita was going to love it. Ray picked it off the wall, giving it to the Dean.

"Could you give this to Anita?" Ray asked.

"What is it?" the Dean asked, sounding curious.

"A sword that brings about a new beginning." Ray said, smiling at the memory it brought. "A new beginning. Now hope."

SC

Anita

Anita was excited, good swords were hard to come by. And swords as rare as the ones the College Dean had? Well, she hadn't expected to get one for decades. The College Dean led her to the Armory, the main Armory of the Alchemic College. A place of wonders. The largest and best collection of Human-made artifacts on this continent. Anita was very excited.

The door opened to reveal a plethora of weapons. The racks were filled with them. The room smelled of them. And right there, in front of Anita, they stood. A multitude of swords. Just which should she choose? The brown one that curved unexpectedly? The green one that looked like it had been dipped in goblin blood? Or maybe the super-thin silver one! Anita couldn't choose. The mana in the air, the smell of new swords...ooh! Anita could spend days here.

"Do you like what you see?" the Dean asked.

"Yes! Do you have any suggestions? The green one? Or the silver one?" Anita asked, barely able to keep her excitement.

"Not really no, but your brother did." the Dean said, removing a sword from his spacial tool.

Anita took the sword, looking at it. The sword didn't feel special on the first try, but Anita had a hunch. A trickle of her mana seeped into the sword as it lit up. The sword was simple-looking, unadorned except for a wavy curve that ran up the blade.

Anita's mana traveled up the wave and as it did so, it told her what the sword was all about. A thunderstorm rushed the countryside, wreaking havoc across the plain. And leaving behind farmlands with renewed fertility.

A flood seeped into a town, destroying livelihoods. But it also washed away the grime and dirt that was causing a virulent disease. A dust storm destroyed a monster in the making, a landslide cleared a road.

The message was clear. And so was why Ray had given her the sword. The idiot had remembered. A sword that brought hope, but not the gentle kind of hope. No, that was Ray's hope. Anita had a different hope. The forceful kind. The conversation they’d had that day… Anita had thought he’d forgotten it. But he hadn’t, not at all.

The sword agreed with her.

"Now hope!" she yelled, laughing as she pointed the sword at air, mimicking the pose she’d demonstrated to Ray back when they were still twelve-year olds wondering what they would be in life. And her mana reached the tip as she did so.

The sword, Now hope, has bonded with you. + 100,000 mana. The sword will grow along with you, and bring great rewards as it does so. But be warned, the loss shall be great should it fall.

But Anita was too far gone to care. Was there such a thing as love at first sight with a sword? Well, if there was, Anita just had it.