We divide raw materials into three categories, basic metals, mana-infused metals, and elemental metals. Most mines produce basic, non-magical metals, mana-infused metals come from ore excavated from manarium mines, where a vein of metal intersects with a manarium vein. While of little value for a blacksmith, they are the most expensive and very highly sought materials, used by alchemists and scribes.

  Finally, our point of interest are elemental metals, which often start as basic ores a ninth or tenth realm saurian had made their home near, or a vein near the grave of one such beast. After centuries of exposure, the metal’s nature changes to match its surroundings.

  — Excerpt from the Introduction to Blacksmithing

  Day 103, 1:30 AM

  My chest felt tight as blue screens kept popping up before me even as I dismissed them, trying to wrap my head around the shock I just experienced.

  [Repelled unauthorized influence]

  [Repelled unauthorized influence]

  [Repelled unauthorized influence]

  [Repelled unauthorized influence]

  The man from the vision clearly tried to do something multiple times, but failed. Then, the messages grew more understandable.

  [An eldritch being has affected your body from beyond time and space. Your Inferior Heartcore improves in grade to Common Heartcore.]

  [An eldritch being has affected your body from beyond time and space. Your Common Heartcore improves in grade to Advanced Heartcore.]

  [An eldritch being has affected your body from beyond time and space. Your Advanced Heartcore improves in grade to Superior Heartcore.]

  [An eldritch being has affected your body from beyond time and space. Your Superior Heartcore improves in grade to Flawless Heartcore.]

  I checked my abilities, and my heartcore really had advanced from interior to flawless. I sat down on the cool, damp grass. It was night, and I was about to finish leveling herbalist.

  What do I do? Why did that boy kill me? Unlike reality, the vision was more or less clear. In a distant future, the boy with some allies, mostly saurians, would fight against entirely human forces, trying to seal the breach in reality.

  Why such a division had happened and why humans helped the outer gods remained unknown, but the winner was clear. As was the brotherly love I felt from the man in the vision. While there was no way to refuse, I still accepted the gift with gratitude. The only thing left was seeing how to turn the angry, drunken boy into the living star from my vision.

  He mentioned something about a mother. I can only hope the idiot whose body I took didn’t touch the mother of a man who would one day single-handedly restrain three outer gods or their avatars.

  Sorely lacking information, I headed for the one place which had it - the rumor-house.

  I sat down to face their broker.

  “Good evening,” the man said, and I repeated the greeting.

  “I need information on a young man. He has auburn hair, blue eyes, aged between fifteen and twenty, awakened, and he is close to Hailstown. He is pale and extremely thin, as if he was starved or imprisoned. Lastly, I need that information within twelve days. How much would that cost?”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  The broker did the mage eye thing. “Fifteen third realm manarium down-payment. Further bonuses depending on danger level and the person’s background.”

  I counted fifteen crystals and placed them on the desk. The price was ridiculous, but so was the request. They will probably send out half a dozen third realm awakened to Hailstown in search of information.

  “Anything else?” I consider it and nod.

  “I need a safe place where I can wait for your news, fully equipped for an apothecary to practice their craft, cages with a hundred scuttlers…”

  I left another second realm crystal to the jackals as payment and waited for the good news. Six days later, before I even reached the fifth level of apothecary, I got a message that the broker wished to speak with me.

  “Yes?”

  “There won’t be any additional payments. The person you inquired about is Newstar Salamandra, from the Salamandra noble household, whose domain is right next to the Summersweald, two hundred and forty-seven miles from Hailstown on the slopes of a sleeping volcano called Dragonsrest. He is a sixteen-year-old mageknight of a second layer of the second realm. His uncle staged a dubious coup three years ago in the aftermath of which his parents were sold to you as slaves while the boy himself was thrown into a mine. He awakened as a mageknight during the season of fire, freed himself, and killed his uncle to retake his birthright.”

  The man arranged the blurred papers before continuing. “Currently he is in Hailstown, staying at an inn called the Raptor’s Crest, looking for you.”

  “Does he intend to kill me?” I asked, and the broker stared at me for a moment.

  “Nothing indicates the boy is suicidal.”

  All right, that was something. “What would be the price of getting information about his parents?”

  The mage rolled his eyes again. “Fifty third realm manarium as down-payment. We guarantee nothing, including deadlines. They might be outside our sphere of influence, but if you were willing to spend fifth realm manarium, we might be able to find something. The odds of us still failing to find relevant information are around one in ten.”

  All right, I’m not helping him with that, not because of the expense, but because there is no guarantee how long they would take to find the information.

  “Other than parents, is he in need of anything else?” Man, what a cruel thing to say.

  “Everything.” The broker either ignored the question’s distastefulness, or saw it for what it was a practical inquiry of the boy’s needs. “His clan is destitute by awakened standards, their abilities are outdated, their mine exhausted, and the only thing they tried in the recent years was to start a lumber business, which is doing fine for a mortal endeavor, but it would take ages to produce a first realm manarium piece.”

  I nodded. So, anything I did could help him, but the first thing I had to clear up was the misunderstanding regarding his mother. If they are awakened slaves, Dandelion doing anything against her will would have invalidated the contract.

  I thanked the broker for their service and left the rumor-house with half a plan formed. Since the boy couldn’t confront me, and I knew where he temporarily resided, the ball was in my proverbial court.

  I had eight more days to kill before redoing, since I sure as hell wasn’t paying the rumor-house all those manarium pieces. My options were to speak with the boy, to visit his home and understand his circumstances better, or to do nothing.

  Because of the vision and on account of Newstar already having killed me once, I chose to visit his family’s estate rather than confront him directly. I traveled most of the afternoon and through the night until I reached my destination an hour after sunrise.

  I washed up in a mountain stream before crossing the final dozen miles or so and reaching the castle itself. The majestic structure was built atop a cliff, two-thirds of its wall surrounded by air, and the final third forming a massive line of defense against saurian outbreaks.

  The walls were whitewashed for some reason with flowery vines slowly invading them. The plantlife made for an odd, but tasteful contrast with the bastions, towers, and the sharp, angular architecture, indicating a gentle nature of warriors who had built the castle. The warrior in me appreciated the humane touch before focusing on the open gate, flanked by a pair of guards, an old man and a boy.

  “Good day,” I said after stopping a dozen yards away. “I am Dandelion, townlord of Hailstown, and I have come to discuss some matters with your acting leader. May I come in?”

  “Go get Lord Stronggrow,” the older guard muttered to the youth, who ran, before turning to me. “Please follow me, Townlord.”

  He led me to the castle’s main keep and into the audience chamber. Again, most of the walls were painted white, but the audience chamber itself was a masterpiece of interconnected murals showing various heroics. Whether it was myth or family feats, I couldn’t tell.

  While I admired the artistry, an old man walked in. His eyes flickered, much slower than Ruby’s, as he took stock of me.

  “Good day, Sir Stronggrow,” I smiled at the man. “I would like to discuss the matter of Newstar with you.”

  The man paled. “He didn’t cause trouble, did he?”

  My smile turned more predatory. Stronggrow gave me the impression of a man who yielded to threats, direct and implied. “No, not yet. Come, let us sit and discuss what he wishes to achieve and the purpose of his unannounced visit.”

  The old man started by explaining how everything was just a misunderstanding, even if he had no clue as to what had happened, nor whether anything had happened at all. Newstar was apparently a good boy, his heart in the right place. He faced more difficulty than a child should in the past three years, and I should be lenient.

  “Wait, stop.” I said after I couldn’t take it any longer. “What does he hope to achieve? Your clan doesn’t have enough resources to purchase information on his parents, let alone buy their freedom.”

  Stronggrow cleared his throat. “Newstar intends to earn some resources for the clan, and show that going out into the world is a good thing. Better than staying secluded in our domain.”

  Sensible, if a bit lacking as far as his preparation goes. Just going out in the world, saying. “I want to be rich,” won’t make it happen. But he did show initiative.

  “Got it, thanks. Anything else you would like to tell me before I go back and talk to him?”

  “Please be lenient and understanding…” Stronggrow pleaded, unleashing a stream of useless words. Like I would be hard on someone who improved my core by four tiers and made my plan to awaken as a mageknight that much easier.