Second pre-chapter author's note:

  After reading some comments, and rereading Chapter 44, I felt like it didn't make much sense for Rylan to just quickly pick a silly name for the spiritgear of his dreams, and I wanted something more meaningful, so I've renamed Stan to Arphin! ^^

  I've also done a little retcon of Chapter 44, which is now like a 1000 words longer, so be sure to check it out if you want to know the origin of his new name! ^^

  The flaps of the tent opened, and everyone turned to watch as Holly came out, auburn hairs that had escaped from her bun plastered across her sweaty forehead, the heavy bags under her eyes lending extra weight to the grim look on her face.

  Behind her, Rylan caught a glimpse of her shivering, ailing husband, his blotchy skin having taken on a bluish-grey tint.

  Holly straightened up, and the flaps closed behind her again. She didn’t appear surprised to see them all gathered there as she started to speak. “The infection is poisoning his blood. I need to amputate his right arm, though I fear I’ve already waited too long.” She let out a sigh, slumping a little. “It’s his dominant arm, too. He’s going to be devastated...”

  “Better devastated than dead,” the captain replied, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Do it. We’ll get him the nicest prosthetic money can buy.”

  Isai harrumphed. “Don’t insult me; I’ll build him one myself! A custom piece, suited to his needs. Fog, I’ll incorporate cooking utensils if he wants them.”

  Holly smiled at the professor, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Then she took a deep breath and—to his surprise—turned to Rylan. “Milord, this is a difficult thing to ask, but... can I borrow some of your knives?”

  “Of course,” Rylan managed to bring out after a moment, startled by her formality but immediately fumbling out of his bandolier and stepping forward to present it to her. “Take whatever you need.”

  She didn’t take the whole thing like he expected, instead looking them over, then honing in on his chef’s knife and, after a moment’s hesitation, his cleaver.

  Right. She’ll need that for... for the bone.

  Swallowing some bile, Rylan withdrew his bandolier again.

  With a straight spine and two razor-sharp knives, Holly turned to face the captain. “He’s too weak to lose a lot of blood. I’ll need to heat them, both to sterilise the blades and to cauterise the cuts as I make them. Will you help me?”

  The captain nodded. “Halloth, Soren; help me carry the stove. I want it right next to the tent.”

  “I’ll get my heat-resistant gloves for you, Holly,” the professor said, pushing off the side of the ship he’d been leaning against. “You’ll need them.”

  They burst into action, but all Rylan could do was step back to let them pass. Even after contributing his knives, he felt restless, helpless. While he hadn’t spoken with Ezra much—the man’s lucid moments mostly monopolised by his wife—the few times they’d interacted, the greying, red-haired chef had been nothing but kind and complimentary.

  He wanted to do something, anything, to help. At the same time... he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stomach hearing the man suffer, let alone being in the tent while Holly worked.

  He startled when Nazyr clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go prepare dinner, shall we?” the former pirate said gruffly. “He’ll need his strength after this.”

  Relieved, Rylan agreed, pulling his bandolier back over his head. Two of his knives—plus the stove—would be occupied for a while, but he still had plenty of cutting tools left, and there was much to be done.

  “You comin’ too, lass?” Nazyr asked Tamina. The normally stoic bodyguard looked a little pale as she glanced up, but her face stayed blank as she nodded mutely and followed after them.

  She could probably use a distraction too.

  Getting to work seemed to do the trick, thankfully. Though the mood remained tense, Rylan was soon able to lose himself in the rhythm of the kitchen.

  After a while, Tamina and Nazyr even struck up some idle conversation, and while Rylan wasn’t in the mood to participate, he found himself listening in as Nazyr complained about how gross it felt to handle the slippery innards of the mussels he was helping Rylan shuck.

  “Maybe you should grind some of it into a paste and offer it to Yuel as a hair-care product,” Tamina suggested. “If I have to hear that man with his perfect fogging locks complain about his imaginary split-ends one more time...”

  Nazyr snorted. “Ah, Yuel just likes to complain like that. Don’t humour him if he says something like ‘I’m losing my tan down here!’ and pouts at ye. He knows he’s gorgeous, he’s just fishin’ for compliments.”

  Tamina glanced up at the man slyly. “So you think he’s gorgeous, then?”

  “I did not say that,” Nazyr protested, a flush working its way up his neck to his cheeks. “I said he thinks he’s gorgeous.”

  “No, you said he knows he’s gorgeous, which implies—”

  “Well he is, isn’t he! I may only have the one eye, but I’m not blind, am I?!”

  The smile that had crept onto Rylan’s face quickly disappeared at the sound of a muffled scream. His paring knife slipped off the mussel he was shucking, and onto his thumb. Unlike last time that happened, however, his digit was spared by the flare of his Mana Shell.

  [Woah, she’s really going at it!] Arphin commented suddenly, causing Rylan to frown and glance over at Tamina, only to catch her staring at the door with a clenched fist, the mushrooms she’d been cutting abandoned for the moment. [Cleavers are awesome! I mean, they’re no throwing knives, of course...]

  Oh, that’s right, Arphin can sense stuff through walls...

  The sentient blade could clearly still make out plenty of detail, despite the surgery occurring at least eighty feet from where they were cooking.

  ‘What’s happening in the tent?’ Rylan couldn’t help but send, despite his earlier request for silence. ‘Has Holly succeeded yet?’

  [Hmm? Oh! Well, it’s kind of a disappointing amount of blood—though I guess that’s a good thing; you like this guy, don’tcha Boss? Anyway, she just split the bone, and now she’s grabbing the other knife, which has been reheated, and she’s cutting... cutting... she’s through!]

  Rylan let out a breath. It was done.

  [Hey Boss, you think we could try heating me like that sometime? It looks interesting!]

  ‘I’m not sure, Arphin; I’d rather not risk damaging you,’ Rylan replied absentmindedly as he resumed shucking. The skymetal could probably handle the heat, but he wasn’t sure about the silvery mana-conducting alloy that filled the spiritgear’s runes.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  [Aww, Boss, that’s—that’s actually really sweet. Thank you.]

  ‘You’re welcome. Let me know if anything interesting happens out there, would you?’

  [You got it, Boss!]

  As the chatty knife fell silent, Rylan made a mental note to put him on the lookout for stuff more often. The spirit blade’s senses were clearly quite useful, and moreover, it had the added benefit of keeping Arphin occupied and therefore reasonably quiet.

  Despite the occasional update he thus received, Rylan remained tense until Yuel stuck his head into the kitchen and delivered the verdict.

  “He survived the operation,” the blonde former pirate said, uncharacteristically serious. “Holly says he appears stable. Whether he makes it through the night, however, is in the hands of the spirits now.”

  Dinner was a relatively muted affair. Halloth delivered bowls with portions for Holly and Ezra straight to the tent, and stayed there. Yuel initially pulled some faces at the mussels, but upon Nazyr’s pestering, reluctantly agreed that the broth Rylan had made with them wasn’t bad.

  Afterwards, two bloodied knives somehow made it into the pile of dishes, and Rylan was glad he didn’t have to concern himself with those.

  His relief was quickly forgotten when Soren sank down on the cot next to him and Tamina with a sigh. “I can’t believe you had your first time without me! And with Tammi no less...”

  “W-what?” Rylan started to sputter, before inhaling some spit and ending up coughing.

  Soren amicably thumped his back a few times, shaking his head. “You know, your first D! I so wanted to be there...”

  Tamina rolled her eyes. “You’re a real class act, aren’t you? Milord.”

  Despite her cool tone, Rylan couldn’t help but notice some red creeping up her neck.

  “Come on, Ryles,” Soren continued, leaning in with a twinkle in his eyes. “What was it like? I want to hear all the details.”

  Yuel, who’d apparently been listening, laughed heartily as he came up to them. “Oh, Thar Rylan was quite nervous, to tell you the truth of it. However, milady Tamina spoke to him with gentle encouragement until he finally dared to enter. It was truly a most heartwarming scene.”

  Rylan could feel his face start to burn as Soren’s grin threatened to split his face.

  “You know, Soren,” Tamina stated slowly. “I have yet to tell anyone how exactly I marked the path to the Dungeons. And before you say another word, Yuel, remember that we’re still going out into the fog to hunt tomorrow.”

  “What’s that? You need my help, Nazyr?” Yuel spoke, theatrically holding a hand up to his ear as he pretended to look at something. “Coming!”

  As Yuel slipped away, Soren quickly schooled his face into fake contriteness. “Forgive my impertinence, milady. I jest, of course! Have I mentioned how awesome your new shield is yet?”

  [Pssh,] Arphin muttered at Rylan. [That old lump of metal? Pssh!]

  “I’d have to agree,” Isai said as he came sauntering over. “It looks like quite the marvel. Either of you figured out what your new runegear does yet?”

  Rylan shook his head, keeping his lips firmly together lest he say something stupid like, ‘Mainly, he talks my ears off.’

  “We haven’t had time to try them out yet,” Tamina replied.

  The professor nodded. “Would you care to join me in my workshop, then? I’d love to take a gander.”

  Rylan shifted from foot to foot as he waited for Isai to finish studying Tamina’s Obsidium shield on a hastily cleared workbench. The metal contraption on the professor’s headband was extended, suspending a lens in front of his eye that Rylan assumed helped him see more detail.

  Meanwhile, Soren had been tasked with feeding mana into his glowband, and shining at the shield from the side. Not that the shimmering colours seemed to have much of an effect on its darkmetal surface.

  Nevertheless, the professor continued his inspection, letting out only the occasional little noise of confusion or interest.

  Rylan clearly wasn’t the only one getting impatient, as after several minutes of this, Tamina suddenly spoke up. “And? Learnt anything yet, professor?”

  Isai hummed once more, then finally opened his mouth. “Well, this appears to be a bit of an experimental C-grade piece, though clearly crafted by a true master. It really is a shame how much of the art of runeforging has been lost with the fall of the Hermeans...”

  “Professor, I couldn’t help but notice that the runes glow a different colour from your creations. Is that also because of lost knowledge?” Rylan asked interestedly, receiving a glare from Tamina for his troubles.

  “It is,” the professor confirmed, leaning back to stretch out his back. “As of yet, we have been unable to identify or reproduce the mana-conducting alloy the Hermeans used in their runeforging. It’s a real pity too; the stuff they used not only has excellent mana-conductivity, it’s also highly heat and wear-resistant. Of course, that doesn’t make it any easier to study, not to mention how difficult it is to get permission to take any Hermean runegear apart in the first place—even broken pieces are often clung onto as family heirlooms.”

  Rylan opened his mouth again, but Tamina covered it with her hand and spoke up instead. “You were saying something about my shield, professor?”

  “Ah right,” the professor replied as Rylan licked the palm of her hand, causing her to let go with a playful shove. “Well, the main function of Obsidium—or darkmetal, as laymen are wont to call it—is to absorb and nullify energy. This is most obvious by how it reacts to light, but it’s not limited to light. From what I can tell, the runes etched into this piece have primed the Obsidium to primarily absorb something else.”

  “Maybe it’ll help you absorb blows,” Soren joked.

  Isai nodded. “That seems likely, yes.”

  Soren’s brows shot up. “Wait, really?”

  “Well, not literally,” Isai replied, dismissively waving a hand. “That’s a figure of speech, and I doubt even the Hermeans could make Obsidium perform a metaphorical absorption. However, it does seem likely the shield is meant to drain something akin to momentum or kinetic energy. Actually, I might have something to test that...”

  Rylan had to quickly step aside as the professor dashed past him towards a small cabinet and started rummaging through cluttered drawers, the white-haired man once again proving awfully spry for his age.

  “Aha!” Isai said a moment later, lifting a small brown clump of some unknown material. “This ought to do it.”

  Rylan frowned at the slightly misshapen, roundish clump, not sure what he was looking at. He glanced at Soren for help, but the usually knowledgeable young noble looked just as stumped as he was.

  “Professor, what is that?” Soren asked.

  “It’s called rubber!” Isai replied. “It’s a product from up north, made from tree sap, if you can believe it. Bought it off a friend a while back. Here watch this!”

  He walked over to a steel plate lying nearby on the bamboo floor, and flung the ball of rubber at it. It hit the steel with a thwack, and then, to Rylan’s surprise, bounced back up really high, enough so that the professor was able to catch it.

  “Nifty right?” he asked with a grin. “Makes for a great toy. I imagine they’ll be all the rage among nobles’ children in a year or two. Now, hold up your shield please, dear.”

  Tamina did as asked, and the professor cocked back his arm, then threw the little ball of rubber. It curved through the air neatly and hit the shield, but there was no thwack like last time. Instead, it just stopped dead, then fell to the bamboo floor where it bounced away under a seemingly random angle.

  The professor nodded. “As expected. It’s quite an interesting effect; not one I’ve seen before. Most Hermean runegear shields I’ve seen either make use of the mass-enhancing effect of Petrium to improve their stopping power, or just have some supporting effect like from Aurorium used to blind foes with a sudden flash of light.”

  “So, can it just stop any moving object?” Soren asked excitedly.

  Isai shrugged. “We’ll have to run some tests. To be honest, it probably can’t stop much more than that amount of mass without additional mana, and I’m not sure how it would fare against something charged with mana or covered in a Mana Shell. Either way, it's a good thing your prosthetic comes equipped with mana channels for your Skill. You’d be hard-pressed to make effective use of it without those.”

  Tamina nodded, apparently aware of this fact, though Rylan hadn’t been.

  “If I may give you one more piece of advice,” Isai continued seriously. “Don’t limit yourself by thinking this runework simply has a passive effect. Instead, work hard to gain control over your runegear’s functions. For starters, you should definitely learn how to strengthen and weaken the effect at will. Remember: a runegear is only as powerful as its wielder.”

  “Thank you, professor,” Tamina replied with a small bow. “I will take your words to heart.”

  Seemingly satisfied, the professor turned to Rylan, holding out a hand. “So, shall I take a look at your prize now?”

  Rylan hesitated for only a moment, a little worried that Arphin might start talking to the professor once handed over. He’s speaking directly into my spirit though, through the connection forged by Ethereon... it should be fine.

  As he took the sheath of his belt and presented it, however, Arphin spoke up. [Woah, hey, what’s happening here, Boss? W-Why are you handing me to this guy?]

  ‘He’s just going to take a look at you, Arphin,’ Rylan sent back as the professor grasped the white leather-wrapped handle and drew the blade.

  [Oh eww, his hands are all stained and wrinkly!] Arphin complained. [And his nails are so gross! Oh forge, I’m going to be sick...]

  The professor was turning Arphin over in his hands, frowning at it and muttering to himself, but froze when a tremor went through the blade.

  Rylan’s eyes widened, before he quickly schooled his features. ‘Just—just hang in there, buddy, you’ll be back before you know it. Just don’t give away—’

  [Nope! Nope nope nope, I can’t take it, Boss, I’m sorry!]

  The vibrating grew worse, the white glow from the runes intensifying before, with a slight pop, Arphin suddenly disappeared from Isai’s hands.

  At approximately the same time, Rylan reflexively clasped his fingers around the familiar handle that had appeared in his right hand.

  Click here to go The Cloudfarers! ^^

  Want to read ahead? Check out my !

  Want more of my writing? I've published a completed six-book LitRPG series!

  The Whispering Crystals is available on KU, Audible, and in print:

  : Unnatural Laws

  : Unusual Enemies

  : Unimagined Adventures

  : Unchained Potential

  : Untamed Spirit

  : Undivided Worlds

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