All in all, he was satisfied. He was thankful Mikella was okay with him being a bleeding heart again for Cru, knowing full well that just because it was his kindness that caused her contract to be canceled doesn’t mean he had to take responsibility for it.
Still, the two understood Cru’s situation and decided to help her out, and in return, Cru would willingly craft their weapons and gear for free, all while enjoying her own near-permanent source of enchanting magic to use.
The sword and bow worked perfectly well for Mikella, proving just how incredible they were back during the quest they’ve been on. He knew her having weapons of similar quality for all of her mastery skills would only make her more ferocious in combat.
But what really made Zeke enjoy the moment were the girls giddily talking with one another, Clara joining in to ask as many questions as possible for Cru who, despite being asked incessantly, seemed joyful to talk about enchanting with the young girl a few years before initialization.
“Mmh… Should I pick being a Runist, or be an Enchanter and help out Bobo and Sissy…?”
“Kid, don’t bother being a Class that others find useful. It’s better to stand on your own two feet and pick a class for yourself.”
“Yeah, Clara,” Mikella played off Cru’s words, looking over at her little sister. “Remember what the dogman says. Better to go with your gut than what other people want you to do.”
“Yeah, but I really want to be an Enchanter and a Runist! I don’t know which one!”
“Oh, in that case, that’s your own problem.”
“Sissy!”
Zeke chuckled, glad to just witness the scene then join in. He was also ensuring that the Generator was working properly, and so far, Cru was able to use the Generator successfully three times after the sword.
Each time, she created different effects, with the second time being a complete opposite of the flaming sword, a spear that can cast ice magic and launch icicle shards at an enemy. She then created a defensive enchantment with the torso of a plate armor, adding in the aspect of pure steel that counters any kind of corrosive strikes that would normally be the death of such armor.
Finally, she created a dagger with a mixed-aspected enchantment. She created a dagger that can speed up the attack of the wearer, but not directly using the Dexterity stat of the owner. This meant that in the hands of someone who has low Dexterity but high Strength and Endurance can use this dagger as deftly as a Rogue would with Dagger Mastery. This would normally cost her an arm and a leg in terms of the monsters materials needed to create this effect, but now she can easily create impressive works such as the Dagger.
Unfortunately, none of them came any higher than the Epic rarity, and apparently that was by luck as all three other creations were just Rare instead. Zeke wondered whether the difference of rarity for equipment was even worth it, considering that the dagger one was pretty incredible.
But then he learned that the dagger had incredible requirements, such as the dagger can only be used when having your overall stats higher than 600, with at least Dagger Mastery skill on hand.
That’s around the range of most high-tiered Experts, with Journeymen easily capable of using it with some levels under their belts. Though for someone who doesn’t have access to Attribute fruits, that might be harder to get.
“Hey Zeke, why not ask something for yourself?”
Zeke’s eyes turned to Mikella after studying the dagger some more, seeing that both her and Cru were looking at him with expectant eyes.
“Me?” Zeke asked. “What do I need?”
He wasn’t being arrogant about it. As a mage and a Runist, he already has everything he needs. With his gear, along with his glasses, he had all the mana he could use for his unarmed combat and spells. His pens also made an incredible point on his journey as a Runist, so he really has no idea what else he could get.
“Well, why not ask for some gauntlets or something?” Mikella pointed at his hands. “Don’t you hurt your hands too much when you fight? Also, those gloves aren’t gonna last very long if you keep fighting with them like that.”
Zeke’s eyes widened when he looked at his hands, as though only now recognizing his old Gloves of Sanctuary.
These were the gloves that helped him use his barrier to the maximum, as well as his Recovery which has now turned into Restoration. These gloves were, if he was honest, the stepping stone to become everything he is now.
Seeing them, the gloves did look a bit tattered. There were some hard-to-clean marks and small holes that were scattered across the leather. The durability was strong, but Mikella was right–they were close to giving up.
A wave of depression hit him when he realized that while he wasn’t thinking about his gloves anymore, they were practically a part of his body now. If he replaced them, he felt there would be a hole left behind. It wasn’t just the helpful skills, but just them being there at his time of need.
He pulled up the gloves’ information, as though seeing them for the last time.
Gloves of Sanctuary (Uncommon):
Gloves created with the sense of safety behind them. Pushes the ideal that protection comes first before anything.
Enchantments:
Lesser Support Aid
Lesser Support Proficiency
They were so simplistic, yet they were the cornerstone of what Zeke became today.
“Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” Zeke eventually said, looking up to see the girls watching him in concern. “Sorry, I just realized how long I had these gloves and how much they helped me up to now. Maybe it’s time to get something new.”
“Totally,” Mikella walked up to him, and held his hands in hers. “But that doesn’t mean you should get rid of the gloves. Hey, Cru–you think you can give these an upgrade?”
“An upgrade?” Zeke’s eyes widened. Now that wasn’t something he expected to hear.
Cru came over to Mikella’s side, seeing the gloves for herself. Zeke wanted to ask if he should take them off for her to watch, but she quickly held the two up and stared at them as though seeing beyond what Identify showed. He felt a little awkward having his hands held in such a way by Cru, but eventually she gave a single nod.
“Oh, definitely. These babies looked like they were used to their fullest. They won’t last much longer. But I can definitely replace these enchantments for something way better. Let me know what kind you want.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“What kind… wow, I don’t…” Zeke stammered, shaking his head. “I mean, if possible, I’d like gauntlets, but I also want to have these gloves for everyday kind of things, you know?”
“So gloves to replace these ones, and gauntlets for combat, right? Got it.”
“Wait, hold up–” Zeke opened his hands, still held by Cru which she eventually let go as he asked. “Can I wear my gloves and gauntlets at the same time?”
“As long as they don’t intervene with each other, it should be fine. The gauntlets, I’m guessing, is for combat, right? It’s no different than carrying a weapon.”
“A weapon… huh,” Zeke shook his head. “How come I never thought of that?”
“It’s actually pretty kickass that you kept fighting with your bare hands… now that I think about it, why the hell is a Runist fighting bare-handed anyways?”
A lofty explanation of Zeke’s carved runes, and Cru’s expression shifting from shock to horror, ensued before Cru shook her head.
“You’re nuts. You’re both nuts. I like it.”
“Glad you see it that way,” Mikella grinned. “But damn, I should’ve asked Adam if he had stuff like that for Zeke. We had a whole year and we didn’t even talk about getting weapons for you.”
“Probably because we’ve been going crazy with training, and we were pretty poor,” Zeke answered easily enough.”
“Huh, who’s this Adam?” Cru asked, unable to keep in her curiosity when the otherworlders started conversing.
“Oh, it’s this blacksmith we have where we came from,” Mikella answered with a smile. “He’s always helping us out.”
“And always complaining that she keeps breaking his weapons,” Zeke added in as though it was a conspiracy, pointing his thumb over at the now glaring dragon girl.
Cru laughed aloud, “Huh, that’s weird. I couldn’t help it. See, Adam is my dad’s name too. Weird how he’s also a blacksmith.”
“Really?” Mikella’s eyes widened. “Where is he now, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Oh, that’s nothing,” Cru waved it off. “We kinda… err, not exactly had a fight, but more like a falling out? Anyways, I went against his wishes to focus on enchanting as a side business and moved here. Granted, that was before figuring out how misogynistic this place was, but them’s the breaks. Anyways, we still keep in contact. Last I checked, he lives in some special village or town somewhere in the outside world… I think it was called ‘Eve Glade’ or something…”
The three otherworlders widened their eyes in slow realization. The name ‘Eve Glade’ hit it home, and all of a sudden, Zeke could see some strange resemblances that made a lot of sense.
The black hair, the crude way she’s speaking, the accent she uses… all of them came from her dad, the blacksmith from Eve Glade.
“We know your dad!”
Mikella suddenly shouted, getting everyone to get alarmed by that. She instantly covered her mouth as though she didn’t mean to shout out loud like that.
Meanwhile, Cru only had her eyes on the pair, not understanding what she was saying. “What? What do you mean…?”
“We, uhh…” Zeke slowly said, turning to the still covered Mikella and Clara who watched in awe at the realization. “We actually came from Eve Glade. We know your dad because he is the blacksmith there.”
…..
Hearing everything about their journey from Eve Glade to here, without actually going into detail such as their venture into another world, they actually had a blast talking to the daughter of Adam, the blacksmith that often helped them out in their advancement to Journeyman.
Cru had a smile on her face that was different from her usual. It was filled with genuine affection when she talked about her father, the memories they had together before eventually going their separate ways. Thankfully, they weren’t on bad terms, and they still spoke to each other via letter, which can sometimes take a while thanks to the extreme distance between themselves, with Cru being in another dimensional plane and all.
“So that’s what he meant when he said someone ‘healed his forge’. Should’ve known you’d be crazy enough to pull that off,” Cru laughed out loud, slamming Zeke’s back with her well-intended pats.
Thankfully Zeke was tough enough to handle them, but they were pretty strong, which made sense thanks to her being a blacksmith.
“Man, to think Dad knew you two. Feels like a small world here! You think you can tell me a bit more about Eve Glade? I know you helped me a lot as it is, but sometimes letters just aren’t enough, you know?”
“I totally get that,” Mikella nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know everything.”
Zeke wanted to agree, but it was just about to get dark outside. The people outside started to settle into their homes, readying for the next day as the studded star slowly dimmed out.
“It’s getting pretty dark,” Zeke said, turning back to the girls. “If you want, you can stay here and I’ll get Clara back home.”
“So soon…?” Clara groaned. “But it was getting to the good part…”
“Clara, you’re still young. You need sleep. Plus, you still got some training, right?”
“Ooh… right,” Clara nodded in understanding, getting Zeke to smile back.
“Alright, then I’ll stay here for a bit,” Mikella said, waving at Zeke. “Take care of yourselves, alright?”
“I promise to get your gloves and gauntlets the love and care they need. Thanks for everything, Zeke!”
“No problem,” Zeke smiled as he waved at them. “See you later.”
Zeke and Clara headed off, waving to Cru and Mikella. Zeke wondered at how incredible Mikella was at making friends, already talking to Cru like she was a long-lost sister. Smiling to himself, he kept Clara by his side as they walked home.
The walk back to Ali’s home was a silent stroll through the streets of the city. There were various glowing lamp posts shining with a fluorescent blue color that was dazzling to look at, but despite their color, the surroundings seemed nearly as bright as the daylight on the street. He knew that when the night proceeded, the lights would dim a little bit more to allow the people at the surrounding buildings to sleep more peacefully.
Looking up, he saw that the dark sky above was filled with stars as usual, despite that this was an entirely different dimension compared to the world they just came from.
“Can we see our old world up there?”
That question took Zeke by surprise, looking down at Clara who was also staring at the sky like him. She was desperately searching, trying to find the very planet they came from.
Unfortunately, even with Zeke’s high senses, he couldn’t spot a single planet overhead–not that it was possible in this pocket dimension. He patted Clara’s head, a tinge of sadness echoing through.
“I don’t think so… do you miss it?”
Surprisingly, Clara shook her head. Though she remained quiet for a little bit longer.
“Well… a little,” Clara explained. “I miss Mommy–I mean, my mom…” Her cheeks blushed, realizing that using ‘mommy’ may now be too childish even for her. Zeke doesn’t care as she kept explaining. “I miss her, even when things didn’t go well when we last left her. Dad, though…and then the other Dad…”
Zeke wouldn’t pry any further. He heard tidbits here and there, but he always made sure to steer clear of that family drama. He knew that Mikella didn’t see her parents fondly, particularly about Clara being a child from an affair. So whenever Clara brings up her father, she mentions two, which only makes more confusion than clarity.
“But I got Sissy, and now I got you!” Clara beamed, warming Zeke’s cold heart from reality. “But I’d like it if Mom got here instead of staying over there. Even if Sissy doesn’t like it.”
“I get it.”
“So…” Clara drawled out the word, sounding it out as she viewed Zeke like she was hiding some gossip. “What do you think about her?”
“About your mom?” Zeke asked, curious. “I don’t know. I have to meet her.”
“Not her, dingus!” Clara puffed her cheeks. “I mean Sissy! What do you think about her? Do you like her?”
Zeke paused, his eyes widening. Immediately gaining his composure, he answered as cooly as he could.
“Of course I like her. She’s the greatest partner I could ever ask for, and a good friend besides all that.”
Clara rolled her eyes before growling an exaggerated breath. “I mean, do you love her? Like, actually wanna marry her for real instead of pretending?”
“That’s complicated,” Zeke answered quickly, becoming more of a default answer for him whenever Clara comes up with difficult questions. They were honest answers, at least.
“No, it isn’t!” She rebuked. “Tell me the truth! I promise I won’t tell! Do you love her or not?”
“That’s…”
But before he could explain in some detail about the complexity of their relationship–his shoulders tensed all of a sudden.
A sudden flare of his senses warned him of something dangerous. Something that, due to his time spent on leveling and surviving, told him that his life was in danger.
“Watch out!”
Zeke yelled and grabbed Clara forcefully into an embrace before ducking to the ground on his back. He felt something sting at the back of his neck, before a loud clunk echoed behind him.
Clara was stunned into silence as Zeke noticed that the thing that made the impact was a knife that plunged straight into a nearby building’s wall, and a droplet of warm liquid soon brimmed over his neck and into his shoulder blades.
Noticing that it was blood, it was obvious–someone’s attacking them.