Nilons led the three to the backside of the building, there was no need for them to put their hoods back on. A large stone wall separated the lot from the rest of the town. In front of them was a burly dwarf with greyish white hair and a long beard of the same color. He had many scars on his thick arms and was missing his left eye.

  “So, I overhear that you want te take some of my weapons te fight that blasted goddess, hm?” he asked. “Then you ‘ave to prove that you know your weapon, that you wield it as if it were an extension of your own body. If ye cannot do that, then our business here will be done.”

  It was hidden well, but Ardonis could feel the hidden power and strength the dwarf had. This was not just some ordinary dwarf, blacksmith, or no. Nilons tossed a basic iron sword to him, and he caught it effortlessly. He looked around the wide grassy yard, getting an idea of how to make this work.

  “Hey Viana, it should be okay if I use only the most basic of spells, right? Such as self-enhancements and maybe an aura type or two?”

  She shrugged, “As long as you keep your main mana flow hidden, it should be fine. It isn’t like we are the only magic users or anything,” She said as he continued to scan the area. “It’s just our mana signature and presence we have to hide. Which is required to be used for most of our arsenal. But you already know all of this, so why ask me?”

  “Just for some confirmation…” he trailed off as he spun the sword around in his hand. He made sure to deliberately move a bit slower so that the dwarf would catch every detail. He remembered all of his father’s intense training in a blink and began his show.

  Swinging the sword with expert precision and finesse, flowing from one form to another seamlessly. Almost as if he were doing a ritualistic sword dance. He then decided to change things up a bit and apply some of his mana. It was extremely hard even for him to bring out only a little without any more leaking through. Without stopping, he applied a self-enhancement speed and strength spell.

  A few moments later, as he removed the self-enhancements, he applied an aura to the sword. Making a magical double appear right above it that followed the exact same movements. He then thrust the sword forward, and a small beam shot out from the tip of it. Piercing a small hole through the wall on the far side of the yard.

  He deactivated the spells and made one more respectful swing with the sword before relaxing. “How was that?” he asked as he looked over at the dwarf inquisitive dwarf.

  “Fer a magic user, ye sure know how to wield a blade, I’ll give ya that. If I didn’t know any better, I would say ye are a master swordsman. Tell ye what, you promise to fight that goddess and bring an end to her reign, and I’ll craft ye the greatest blade this world has ever seen. I have just the right materials that I’ve been saving as well. Consider this carefully, I don’t take promises lightly, lad.”

  Ardonis smiled, “Then I say we have a deal, master blacksmith.”

  “That’s Grandmaster to you, young godling. Shocked that I know your real secret?” he asked with a smirk as Ardonis nodded. “Well, other than the lass there not bothering to hide it, some of your own divine presence poked through during your showing. You aren’t the first gods I’ve met, lad. Though you are the youngest, based on your souls, I would say ye haven’t even reached your second century yet.”

  “I’m sorry, based on our souls?” Lucy asked. “You can peer into our souls, but that should be impossible for-”

  “For a mortal, yes, it should,” he interrupted, “However, there is a certain stage of power where you are no longer considered mortal. You don’t reach the title of grandmaster without blurring the line between mortality and immortality. Besides, I would say surviving the direct attack of a goddess for being a heretic changes one on a fundamental level.”

  “Soulstruck…” Viana trailed off in almost a whisper.

  He nodded, “Aye, and you are the only one whose soul I cannot see into, lass. But judging from the look you are giving me, that is for the best. I doubt I need to evaluate your combat skills. Though I only have enough materials to make a mythical artifact for the lad. So your weapon, though of much higher quality than most, will not top that masterpiece.”

  She laughed, “That is perfectly fine by me, dwarf, the only reason I need a weapon at the moment is because my own is currently unavailable. But a mythic grade artifact? Are you sure there are even materials that exist on this planet to do such a thing?”

  He grinned impishly, “’Ave ye ever come across a few relics from the mythical age from over fifty thousand years ago? I can reforge them into my greatest masterwork yet. Creating a sword befit for a god that will stay with even him for eternity.”

  “How long would it take to craft such a sword?” Ardonis asked. “We are on a bit of a time limit for personal reasons and can’t just stop our journey for this.”

  “Two months for me to craft it and put all the finishing touches that I need. If you truly cannot stay around for that long, then I will give you a temporary one for now. But I saw how much you were struggling to control your power without it leaking. I personally recommend you stay here until the sword is finished and gain mastery over that before heading out.”

  Ardonis looked over at Lucy, “You know him best, think he can last for two more months?”

  She shrugged, “That idiot may be an asshole, but he isn’t stupid and knows how to survive. I would say it isn’t that bad of an idea to stick around for your sword. Who knows, maybe he’ll have found his own allies and such by then. As much of a womanizer as he is, I cannot doubt his ability to socialize and make friends. And he isn’t stupid enough to get caught by the goddess for doing something to provoke her wrath.”

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  “If I may,” Nilons said, “As Master said, some of your magic did leak out during your performance. If you want to continue hiding from the goddess while being able to use your magic like that, there is more you can do than simply practice. A friend of the geezer who lives in and runs a church is his equal opposite in magic. A true master at using magic undetected by others. And for someone like her… that in of itself is very impressive.”

  “Not to sound arrogant, but would a mortal really know more about that than a god of magic?” Ardonis asked.

  Grandmaster laughed, “Maybe not to a god who is a few million years old and has far more vast magical knowledge and power than any mortal advancement ever could. But a young fledgling like you? You’d have a lot to learn from someone like that boy.”

  “I myself am curious as well,” Viana said. “If I knew how to do that fifty thousand years ago, things might not have turned out as they did. But has magic truly come so far since then?”

  “You’re from the age of myth?” Nilons asked incredulously. “But if you are, then how are you-”

  Grandmaster sighed, cutting him off, “It is quite clear that she is a genie lad. Well, maybe not to someone who has never encountered their magic before. I assume you were sealed away since back then, yes, miss?”

  She nodded, “I was confined to that damn lamp until this dashing man somehow managed to undo the seals placed upon it. Releasing me from my confines and freeing me once more as I was fifty thousand years ago.”

  “I see…” he trailed off, “To answer your question, it is both, some magic I doubt compares to what we refer to as the age of myth. But other areas, such as this, have made vast advancements in that time. Now granted, using your mana undetected is something a very few can do even now. But it is also a more recent result of all of the research put into it over the millennia.”

  “So if we train with this friend of yours and successfully learn how to cast magic and use our mana undetected…” Ardonis trailed off as he went into thought. A few moments later, he smirked, “That would be invaluable, I still doubt we could pull off any big spells without alerting her. But just enough for me to be a proper Spellsword would be an achievement in of itself.”

  He looked over at Grandmaster, “It seems we will be staying here for the next couple of months. But are you sure you don’t want me to pay you for your work? I mean, I doubt we even have enough for the value of your work, but…”

  Grandmaster grinned, “No need to worry yourself over that lad, if you gain enough power, slaughtering that bitch of a goddess will be payment enough. Besides, call it a personal experiment. I want to see if I truly can craft a weapon fit for a god. And having you here for te process will be all the better, if you’d be willing, we could forge your mana into it.”

  “That would attract the goddess’s attention, no?” Lucy asked.

  “If he were to use the mana, perhaps, but having it glow externally? Doubtful, that is assuming, of course, you can physically manifest it like that.”

  “That would permanently decrease his mana pool and make him weaker,” Viana said. “Ardonis, I don’t believe that is a very wise decision.”

  Ardonis went into thought for a few moments, “How much mana would you need? My normal and divine mana are mixed together, making it more powerful; are you sure your materials can handle it?”

  Grandmaster’s eyes widened before he burst into laughter, “Lad, if you truly managed to succeed in doing that, a few drops is all I would need. Two percent of your mana is all I would need at most. And I can assure you, the materials can handle it, if tempered correctly by a grandmaster. And because you will be adding your own mana, it will forever be bound to you and your soul. Increasing in power as you do by default, which is another reason I wish for you to add your mana to it. You will also be able to add more over your mana if you ever wish to do so of your own accord.”

  Ardonis looked at the other two, who had slightly worried expressions, before he turned back to the dwarf and nodded. “Then I will gladly help in the forging of this sword. It will be a true sword worthy to be wielded by me for the eons to come.”

  The grandmaster seemed more excited than any of the three had seen him thus far, and he practically disappeared from their sight. “Nilons, escort them to Liv’s home while I get started on that sword. No doubt she already knows what transpired here, that blasted priestess.”

  Nilons sighed, “As you command, sir,” he chuckled, “That is the first time I have ever seen him that happy about a project before. Then again, I suppose he hasn’t been able to forge any great weapons since the war with the demons three hundred years ago.”

  “There was a war with the demons?” Lucy asked.

  “Now that you mention it…” Viana trailed off, “I think I remember someone coming to me about such a thing.” She gasped and snapped her fingers, “That’s right, there was a mage, a priest, a warrior, a hunter, and a blacksmith. The first wish was used to grant the warrior a powerful ring, the second a special forge for the blacksmith. And the third, a mana amulet for the priest.”

  “You mean that dwarf’s forge is-”

  Viana cackled, “This world is a small place after all, isn’t it? I never actually met any of them except the warrior, so the thought didn’t even cross my mind. He was certainly enthusiastic about telling me his grand goal of winning the war and defeating the demon king. And by the fact that two of the members are alive, I’d say he made it a reality. Lead on Nilons, I think it is time we met te priestess for ourselves.”

  “Wait, is she a priestess of the goddess?” Ardonis asked.

  Nilons nodded, “She is, although there is a reason for her title as “The Wild Priestess”. She sort of made her own version of the religion, which doesn’t break faith, of course. And the goddess clearly allowed it to happen, but the main church has declared her a heretic. Not that they could actually do anything to her, even if they wanted to, even back then, she was too powerful to control. Or so I have heard from the old man.”

  “Right…” Viana said, “I remember the warrior bringing up a story like that, I personally found it very entertaining. That bitch was most likely furious, but couldn’t do anything about it. The thought gave me a good laugh. Despite what you may think, divine punishment is not something that a god can do on a whim. You see, as long as the core doctrine of following the goddesses will is not broken, nothing can happen in that sense.”

  “Every mortal has different beliefs, even within the same religion, but as long as they are following her will, it doesn’t matter how they go about believing. And since this one is too much of a stuck up bitch, she’s lost the ability to commune with her priests. And one that has a title like that, you best believe the goddess doesn’t want anything to do with her. However, if this priestess believes she is following the goddess’s will, and her faith remains strong…”

  “Then she won’t have broken doctrine even if she creates her own sect basically,” Ardonis said.

  “Precisely, take notes and remember that for the future, Ardonis, Lucy. This will be important for the two of you once you find yourself with mortal followers.”