Perfecting the axes wasn’t just about shaping weapons—it was about unlocking the full potential of Elorium. Grillo was astonished when he examined the finished axes. At first, I didn’t understand his reaction. “What’s so special?” I asked, watching him turn the gleaming weapons over in his hands.
“This isn’t normal Elorium,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “It’s pure. Mana-saturated. Stronger than mithril, tougher than adamantium.”
Elorium, he explained, was already a remarkable metal. But its impurities often made it brittle and difficult to work with, and forging it in a traditional furnace only weakened it further. By using earth magic to shape the material and infusing it with mana during the process, I had unintentionally created something new. Grillo called it “perfected Elorium.”
The possibilities were staggering. Grillo suggested selling it, imagining the wealth we could accumulate. But I shook my head. “If we sell it, we lose the advantage. Imagine what our enemies could do with it.”
He hesitated, then grinned as I added, “Now imagine Rune Armor made entirely of perfected Elorium.”
That settled the matter. Grillo agreed to keep the secret, and we began laying the groundwork to quietly acquire as much raw Elorium as possible. I also introduced Grillo to the concept of concrete, drawing on knowledge from my past life. Together, we created a prototype using coal ash from his forge. The resulting material was strong enough to bind massive chunks of Elorium, and the possibilities it presented were immense. Walls, fortresses, and even Rune Armor could benefit from this breakthrough.
Grillo’s excitement was infectious. “With this,” he said, “we could build something no one’s ever seen before.”
By the time I turned fourteen, I had grown into my role as both a warrior and a mage. My axes were extensions of myself now, their weight and balance as familiar as my own limbs. Years of practice with my father had sharpened my skills, and my dual-wielding reached level 11. My ax-throwing, however, was another story. The first time I tried it, the ax missed its target entirely, ricocheted off a tree, and tore through someone’s tent.
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The elf whose tent I’d ruined gave me an earful, while Emma laughed until tears streamed down her face. Even years later, she still brought it up whenever she wanted to remind me I wasn’t perfect. Emma herself had grown significantly. Despite being only twelve, she looked like a young adult, her emerald-green skin shimmering in the sunlight. She often teased me about the prophecy, insisting we were destined to be together.
“You know this is harassment, right?” I told her one day as she clung to my arm.
She smirked. “It’s only harassment if you don’t like it.”
During those years, I also deepened my understanding of magic. Grillo managed to acquire two magic books for me. One detailed a dwarven fire spell used to heat forges, while the other contained spirit summoning magic. While I had no use for summoning without personal effects of the deceased, the fire spell intrigued me. It was slow and inefficient—typical for spellcasting in this world—but it gave me an idea.
Using elemental weaving, I replicated the spell’s rune pattern and combined it with life force. The result was a reactive fire trap, a magical circle that remained dormant until triggered by a living being. When tested, the trap activated with a burst of flame so intense it incinerated a small insect in an instant.
A prompt appeared, confirming my success:
New Magic Learned: [Spell Traps]
Current Traps: Reactive Fire Trap (Cost: 7000 MP)
The potential was enormous. These traps could serve as defenses for the village or tools for ambushes, adding a new layer of strategy to my growing arsenal.
Not all my time was spent on magic and crafting. Emma remained a constant presence, often dragging me away from my work to “play.” Her idea of playing usually involved mock sparring, where she demonstrated her rapidly increasing strength. Her stats were growing at an alarming rate, thanks to her unique traits, and she never hesitated to remind me of it.
“You’ll have to try harder if you want to beat me,” she teased after disarming me for the third time in a row one afternoon.
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve got dragon blood, Emma. Of course, you’re stronger.”
Despite her teasing, Emma was fiercely protective of me, often stepping in to fend off unwanted attention or challenges. Her unwavering loyalty was both endearing and intimidating, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful to have her on my side.
The decade of growth and discovery had prepared me for the challenges ahead, but I knew the journey was far from over. Between the secrets of perfected Elorium, the possibilities of Rune Armor, and my expanding magical knowledge, I was building a future for my people—one step at a time.
Yet with each step forward, the stakes grew higher. The more powerful I became, the more enemies I was likely to attract. All I could do was keep moving forward, forging my path through fire, steel, and the unknown.
That's jailbait if I ever have seen it! I told myself.
It must be intent and design when using darkness then, I thought. Grillo had only been able to acquire two magic books. One was a spirit summoning magic that could summon a ghost if I had something personal of theirs from when they were living. It also normally required another kind of magic to communicate with them as these ghosts would be new to their form and most would have never needed to speak to the living. I didn't need this as I had [soul speak]. I didn't have anyone dead's personal effects though so I left the spell alone for the time being.