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“The Scales of a Demonic Dragon, S Rank?!”

“The Feathers of Angels?! S Rank too!”

“The Blood, Claws, and Bones of the S-Rank Demon Dragon too…!”

“T-The exoskeleton and mandibles of the Insect Queen, S Rank as well!”

“Woah… Just what is this sword?! O-Oblivion?! Such a masterpiece refined by gods!”

“And this sword... GRAM?! It is the sword of Sigurd, right? Right?!”

“Leviathan’s Embodiment Claws and Leather Skin…!”

“A bunch of corrupted dark crystals! They’re all so high quality too!”

“What are these stones? From a golem? They’re so good quality!”

“T-The demonic core of an Archdemon Embodiment?! T-The Rank is… SSS?! I’ve never seen such a high-ranking item! Is this the first in the entire world?!”

“I don’t know if you should be grabbing that so carelessly."

I had just shown Hilda the items, and she went completely insane. I was concerned she would get negatively affected by grabbing some of the more dangerous, demonic items which I’ve only stored for now because of how dangerous they were to use.

Well, I was completely wrong, though; she wasn’t even affected by them as much as she grabbed them. Not even the corrupted Gram seemed to be harming her.

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about my safety!” She giggled. “Thanks to my [Divine Smith Hands] Skill, I don’t get affected by any negative effect that any material could ever have whenever I hold them, shape them, and transform them into other items. Thanks to this, no corrosive or toxic item affects me either."

So she has full immunity to negative status effects and all of that?! Isn’t that a bit too excessive for a blacksmith, Hephaestus?!

Wait, well, she did say that it only works when she’s handling items around; maybe if she gets attacked by a monster, it’s a different story.

“Well, I shouldn’t have expected anything less from someone near S rank." I sighed in relief. “Anyways, there’s also these over here." I showed her most of my worn-down equipment. “This shield here is also about to break, and Gram too. I wonder if it is possible to increase their durability.”

“Of course I can! But I’ll need a lot of Magic Crystals from monsters.” She said. “With my [Masterful Repair] there is no item I can’t repair for its durability! However, the stronger they are, the more magic power I need, so Magic Crystals are the way. I can repair them for free as long as you provide me with them.”

Gosh, isn’t she way too awesome?! I feel like she just fell out of the sky! I never thought the rude and loud hunter who lectured Heckert and Dimitri would be so nice to me. What is this called? A Fateful Encounter? And I didn’t even try to get into her good side...

Hephaestus did most of it for me; she really just follows everything he says. That by itself is a bit dangerous, but for now, let’s trust her. My senses, as a Nephilim, would already tell me something if she had bad intentions.

“Sure thing. I’ve got tons of those.” I opened my inventory, throwing a pile of Magic Crystals in there.

Because I can’t absorb them due to my system working by level-ups instead of Magic Crystal absorption like other Hunters, I usually just hoard them and sell them in batches or gift them to Dan Baihe or Annabelle. Though most of these don’t work on them anymore, every type of Magic Crystal has a limit to how many times it can be absorbed for stats or new skills.

Usually, the limit is from five to ten of twenty of each; the stronger they are, the smaller the limit is. Annabelle and Dan Baihe got all the stats and skill level-ups they could get out of these Magic Crystals we farmed outside, Kevin too, so I don’t have much use for these other than to do Alchemy or Crafting with them.

But it is much better if I leave it in the hands of an expert. Hilda instantly started drooling the moment she saw the pile of crystals.

“T-There are like a thousand of them here?! And they’re all from B Rank to S Rank?! H-How?!” She asked. “They’re so shiny too- Actually, I’ve noticed all your items are always in perfect condition!”

“Ah well… It is because of a Gathering Skill, that the items I gather with them become better. Yeah, let’s leave it at that. I don’t want to disclose more information until we know each other better.” I said.

“I-I see! Don’t worry, Anna.” She nodded. “I know very well that a hunter must always conceal their Skills!”

She says that, but she told me about two skills she already has. She’s quite careless and a bit of an airheaded woman, but I can’t help but feel like her heart is honest.

Well, as they say, sometimes stupid people are the most trustworthy because they aren’t smart enough to betray you or plot against you.

And with the contract we made, I should relax at least a little bit more. However, I also want to learn a bit about her background.

“Alright then! I’ll start repairing this right away. What do you want me to repair first?” She wondered.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“For tomorrow, it would be nice to get the shield repaired, and Gram... Also, Gram can become purified and corrupted; could it be possible for you to modify him so it can switch between both modes?” I wondered.

“Hmm… What’s the trigger for the transformation?” She asked.

“Dragon blood seems to be able to purify him, and demonic energy, or miasma, brings him back to his demonic, corrupted form. Both are strong and have their strengths and weaknesses.” I explained.

“I have never worked with such a Legendary Relic before, but… I think I can do something about that, at least! If I use this and that, oh yeah, it can be done!” She said, grabbing around dragon blood, dragon scales, and then Leviathan’s manifestation core. “I think I should get started; if you need anything, I’ll be on my forge!”

“Okay, sure!” I nodded happily as a portal suddenly opened in front of me.

[Character: Hilda Hamelin] has activated her [Hephaestus Divine Forge] Skill!]

[A Portal leading to the Divine Forge of Hephaestus has been opened.]

Wait, what?

FLASH!

The portal led to a huge temple that looked old and covered in dust. Hilda walked inside with the items and then brought them to a large forge.

The flames flickered and then transformed into an enormous man-shaped flame. Is that a Fire Spirit?!

“Ah, so you’re back at long last, my pitiful master, now- Huh?! Are those… So many high-quality materials! And is that Gram?!” The Fire Spirit was instantly happy.

“HUH?!” I couldn’t help but be taken aback completely! “W-What is this? You can do this?”

Not even once in the novel did I read about such an ability. If Hilda has such amazing skills, how was she never chosen to be Hephaestus's incarnation?

Unless the incarnation that appears in the future gets rid of her and the other potential candidates, even if he has less talent than the others,?

It is a possibility.

“Oh? Ahahaha! This is my forge. Sometimes I come here to sleep too; it is like my own house at this point…” She laughed. “Maybe that’s why I forgot to get a room in here when I came…”

“This is amazing... This entire smithy... It has tons of equipment of divine level too.” I said, wandering around.

“Oi brat! You- Ungh?! T-That aura… A Nephilim? In this world?!” The Fire Spirit was surprised. “You’ve gotten yourself an amazing client this time, my pitiful master.”

“Nephilim?” Hilda didn’t know what that was.

“She’s a half-angel and half-human, probably the only one in your entire world.” The Fire Spirit explained it eloquently. “Well, that’s all I know other than that they bring miracles and are often seen as the hope of humans.”

“Amazing! She must be my guardian angel, then, because she brought me so many opportunities! Hehehe.” Hilda giggled while suddenly patting my head. “Anyways, Anna, you wanna see? I’m going to start. I got a hit of inspiration!”

“Alright, we’re starting then? Nephilim, be careful not to be burned by these flames. After all, they’re the divine flames that my creator Hephaestus uses to forge the weapons of the gods.” The Fire Spirit smiled cockily. “A burn with these flames will leave an ugly scar for all your life! Heheheh!”

“Uhh, okay. I’ll step back.” I gulped saliva, stepping back as much as I could, as I watched Hilda work.

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

FLUOSH!

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

Her movements were amazingly precise and intricate. Her ability to mold materials to her own will was incredible. And she wielded the divine hammer she had amazingly efficiently.

The Fire Spirit was actually the Divine Forging Flames of Hephaestus, or a part of them, which worked in tandem with Hilda’s every movement incredibly well.

“It’s going to take a while, so if you have something else to do, you can leave me alone! Don’t worry, according to the contract, I can’t run away or something, so I’ll get back to you once I’m done.” Hilda said it with a smile. “I’ll leave the forge gate open, so you don’t think I’ll escape somewhere.”

“Alright!” I nodded.

Ugh, the heat was killing me; I was sweating all over. I’ll have to take another bath now.

As I walked outside, I told my brother about my new contract with Hilda. At first, he was hesitating, but once I told him he could also benefit from it, and once Fenrir said that having Hephaestus's future incarnation with us would help us win many battles with her creations, he agreed to let her stay.

“You’re quite a crazy little sister; I never thought you would do such a thing.” He sighed while looking at the city as we sat down on the terrace.

It was already midnight; Dan Baihe and Annabelle were sleeping because they were exhausted, as were my three other familiars.

“Sorry, I just had to take the opportunity when it arose.” I sighed. “Hilda seems like someone great... I hope I’m not wrong.”

“We’ll see.” My brother sighed. "Though I feel like you’ve changed quite a lot... Since you woke up, you’ve become much more... I don’t know, decisive? And you’ve already done so many feats I never thought you would do... Ah, sorry, maybe that sounded rude.”

“I know…” I laughed. “I just remember I dreamed a lot, almost as if I lived another life in those dreams. Maybe that has affected my psyche a bit. Though I’m still the same as always, I just want to support you and not be just a dead weight.”

“I… Yeah.” My brother looked into the distance. “I’m sorry for... everything, Anna.”

“Eh? For everything? What are you talking about?” I asked.

“That you fell into a coma, and that our parents are no longer with us…” He sighed. “If only I was stronger… If only I…”

Ah, so that’s what worries him…

“Don’t worry, none of us would have predicted what happened back then,” I said. “That’s… how life is. Though it sometimes makes us wish we could know what’ll happen in the future, right? Or at least, know who or what will get in our way in the future…”

“Anna…” Jack sighed.

“Big brother I…” I muttered. “You know already, right? Sometimes, the constellations let me see the future. It isn’t just a few times... I can see a lot of things that might happen and a lot of bad people that’ll get in our way. And also, about what the terrible future awaits us…”

“Huh?” My brother was shocked, glancing at me.

“Would you believe me if I told you that it felt like I’ve lived all of this once, through your eyes?” I asked him, feeling stupid for even asking such a thing.

“Anna…” Jack was taken aback. “I… don’t know what to say, but your predictions... they’ve been correct most of the time. I… of course, no matter what, I’ll trust you.”

“You’re perhaps the only person I can tell all these things…” I sighed, as he suddenly hugged me. “I’ll tell you a bit more about what’s to come, so we can be better prepared, okay?”

“Alright.” Jack nodded, smiling—a rare sight for such a gloomy, expressionless face. “At first… I was only obsessed with protecting you, but now... I’ve realized we’ve become equals. Let’s work together.”

“Geez, you’re getting all corny now." I sighed.

I feel like I’ve changed him down to a, perhaps, better path.

Maybe if I had been like Anna in the novel, my brother would have only become worse.

He would have only continued to be tormented by his traumas and his own thoughts.

By his own actions and by his own frustration for not being able to change the future.

But I won’t let that ever happen again.

That said, lone Jack...

That man who was always desperately asking for someone to understand him, for someone who could listen to him...

I want a better future for my brother.

The reason why the novel I read was called “Solo Player” was because he was always alone...

I don’t want that to ever happen again.

Maybe it was seen as “cool” and “awesome” to be lonely and edgy, but now that everything is realistic, when everything is real, right here and now... I just can’t simply allow it to happen again.

“But yeah, let’s work together, big bro.” I smiled.

“Yeah… Let’s do it.” My brother nodded.

For a brighter future.

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