“Chieftain! A minute please?” Goran caught up to Horn making rounds with Grom.

“Sure. Grom, great work so far. As we spoke, I need two teams to start working on valley pass fortifications. We need them up and working within a week. Arrange that.”

“Whimsy pup,” The builder muttered but then added louder, “Yea, the boys will be excited to work on thousand-year-old pieces of crumbling shit. It’ll be done.”

“Good man!” Horn said with a genuine smile, he had already gotten used to grumbling architect. If he ignored the snarky comments and curses, the man was a true artist in his craft. “Oh, and meet me at the forge in an hour. I have something to show to you.”

As Grom took off, Goran said, “Chieftain, I have a favor to ask about the dungeon.”

Horn waited for the dwarf to continue, but nothing happened, “Yes?”

“I wouldn’t ask if this wasn’t important,” Goran continued,

Horn again expected him to continue, only to hear silence. “Just shoot it out. I won’t bite.”

Goran’s expression was painful to watch. The dwarf was struggling with asking about something. Horn was starting to worry, but then the champion finally said, “It's about my spot in the run. I want to pass it to someone else. She needs it, I know how important this run is to the clan, but it’s the only opportunity she’ll have. Please, Chieftain. Give her this chance.”

“Err, who is she?” Horn asked. The request felt strange. Goran wasn’t a man to back down from a challenge, nor take pity on someone. However, his voice almost broke when he pleaded.

“Andria, my daughter,” Goran whispered, lowering his head.

Horn stopped in his tracks, turning toward Goran. He asked, “Wait, what? Your daughter is here?”

“Yes, Chieftain,” The champion replied, “She arrived with the rest of the families.”

“And you didn’t say a thing until now? What about your wi-?” Horn inquired, but seeing the pained expression of his friend, he changed the subject, “Let’s meet her! It’s wonderful news! And I sent you away for a hunt just a few days after reuniting with her? Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“The clan comes first,” The warrior replied, “She should be training with the warriors right now.”

“Oh, stop being an ass! It's your daughter you thought long lost! Let’s go!” Horn exclaimed, almost dragging his champion behind. As they walked, he asked, “So what’s the deal with the dungeon?”

“Its perso-“ Goran began but quickly corrected himself, “Andria is on her class evolution quest. One of the objectives is to be at the first clear of a dungeon.”

“I see, and what’s her class? I know that’s private, but if we’re taking her with us, I need to know.”

“She’s a -” Goran gulped loudly, “ a bard. Trying to achieve Skald class.”

“A bard? Never pictured you as a musical type, Goran. Probably she took after her mother.” Horn chuckled, but seeing the painful expression again, he understood his blunder. Changing the subject quickly, he said, “I have a free spot in the dungeon. I was going to add Rockbitter to the group, but we’ll take Andria with us.”

Goran face changed at a moment's notice. A warm smile appeared on his lips, “Thank you, Chieftain. My girl will finally make it!”

“I guess first runs were difficult back then?”

“Yes, new dungeons were rarely found, and the competition for places in the first party was always high.”

“Good that we live in a new world. There’ll be a lot more of them these days.”

They arrived at the impro training grounds. A large arena cleared of debris where twenty warriors trained under Rockbitter’s eye. The dwarves either didn’t see them or were too engaged in their duels to care about their Chieftain arriving. Horn observed his fighters with pride, wooden axes and hammers smashed, sending splinters flying. He heard grunts of both pain and determination as he observed the fights. He was about to ask, which one was Goran’s daughter, as seven women were fighting in the ring, but he noticed one whistling a lively tune.

She was against a bulky dwarf with a shield and large hammer. He was at least twice her size, with muscles bulging from the leather tunic. Andria was his opposite. Based on human standards, she was also muscular and bulky, but as a dwarf, she was almost anorectic. However, he could clearly see she compensated that with speed. She was almost as fast as Sigrid with two hand axes flying back and forth, keeping her opponent focused entirely on the defense.

Horn watched, mesmerized as the petite woman danced around the bulky warrior. Her wooden axes flashed, scoring dozen of hits, suppressing any thoughts of a counterattack. While doing that, she was whistling. He even found himself humming the lively tune. Around them, other warriors stopped, joining the observing crowd, more and more dwarves joined in a murmur of the song, and with each of them, Horn could swear the woman sped up with each second. Her opponent, already not able to keep up, threw his weapon to the ground, “I yield!”

Andria stopped her attacks, bowed elegantly, and replied, “Thank you for the lesson.”

Claps sounded around the impromptu ring. The warriors acknowledged the show of superiority. Andria bowed once again, then spotting her father walked towards them.

Even walking, she was full of grace, like Sigrid, while showing her full abilities. Horn nodded approvingly and poked an elbow at embarrassed Goran. “I have no idea why you were hiding her.”

“Chieftain, I wa-“ The dwarf started replying, but a clear soprano interrupted,

“Father! You’ve come!” The bard hugged the old veteran.

Horn was having a blast, seeing Goran’s face turn from red to purple. The champion was standing there like a training dummy, not sure what to do with his hands. His daughter didn’t have any reservations, squeezing the dwarf with all her strength.

“Andria, I presume,” Horn said,

“Oi!” the girl squirmed, but then seeing who was talking, added, “Indeed, esteemed Chieftain!”

“Just Horn, your father and I went through a lot in the past few weeks. I’m glad he found you or seeing the dynamics that you found him.”

“Daddy is a big brute, but he’s lost without me. I need to keep an eye on him all the time. Did you know he didn’t wash once while serving you?”

“Didn’t he? That explains why the monsters avoid us when we travel. I thought it was something our boars ate,” Horn replied, chuckling, “Impressive display out there, like father, like daughter.”

“Thank you, Horn. He trained me since I remember,” She replied,

“And what about that song?”

“Ah, mother taught it to me. It’s Victoria’s Charge.”

“Can its effects be replicated?”

“Yes, within the party I’m in, I know several others, each with a distinctive tone,” Andria replied with pride.

“Wonderful! Goran tells me you want to join us on a dungeon dive?”

The girl was flabbergasted, her mouth opened in an O. She pivoted her eyes between the two of them, but then gathering herself, she said, “Chie- Horn, I’d be honored to!”

“Good, we’ll dive in the morning, get ready. Goran will explain the rest.” Horn took a peek at his champion’s petrified figure. The old dwarf was still changing colors but remaining quiet otherwise. Horn was enjoying the show, but sadly there was too much to do. Turning away, he shot the last remark, “You have a lovely daughter Goran. I’m glad someone is taking care of you.”

A few dwarves in the crowd around chuckled, but it finally woke Goran from his stupor. The dwarf took a look around, silencing the jests. “Are you done with your training? Get your asses back on the field! And you? I’ve raised you better than that! It’s a fight, not a dance!”

Hearing the outburst, it was Horn’s turn to laugh.

Horn approached the forge with a light step. The encounter with Andria put him in a good mood. He saw Grom already waiting at the entrance, and banging of metal welcomed him. The forge wasn’t a large building, barely able to hold three of his smiths at a time. They had to rotate the craftsman the whole day to keep it running. The first arms were already being produced, and the miners brought in enough ore to start building a stockpile. A large mound was stacked outside the building, rising with each passing hour. The main bottleneck to start mass production was the size of the forge, and Horn was about to fix that.

“There you are!” Horn welcomed the architect, “I’ve heard you time and time again muttering about hoomish architecture, but what about divine one?”

“Divine? Pfm, you wouldn’t recognize it any different from dwarvish! Only that our is sturdier!” Grom exclaimed.

“Oh, is it? Let’s see.”

“See? I don’t see any divine buildings around here. Why are you wasting my time, boy?”

Instead of replying, Horn produced a reward from the crafting challenge. A cubic-shaped piece of obsidian, with glowing runes covering each inch of the surface.

Divine Workshop Hearthstone – Mythical – Divine – An artifact of an old era, created by Gods for the crafters. The stone, combined with an appropriate building, will create a legendary workshop for that craft. These buildings were the reasons for many wars in the past. Destroying such a workshop will revert the stone to its current form, ready to be used again. Thread carefully.

“WHAT!?” The architect shouted, gathering the attention of nearby dwarves, “Where did you get it?!”

“Heh, wouldn’t you like to know?” Horn replied. He shouted into the building, “Everyone get out, right now!”

There was some grumbling, but five dwarves appeared a moment later. Behind him, a small crowd had already gathered.

“Boy! Don’t waste the stone on the forge! We could build a builder’s hut in a day. It’d sped up our efforts to rebuild!” Grom almost shouted, grabbing Horn’s arm.

“Not going to happen, boy.” He replied and smirked, seeing the architect recoiling back like struck.

Horn touched the forge, and a massive wave of prompts appeared,

You’re about to use Divine Workshop Hearthstone on a Tier 2 Forge. It will upgrade the building to a Tier 9 Legendary status. The forge belongs to the Lightforge clan. The choice is irreversible until someone conquers the clan.

Following options of building evolution are available, only one can be chosen. The choice is final.

Forge of Radiant Anvil – The clan led by a holy man brings the radiance into the Nexus. The building is a mirror of its leader, bringing light into the darkness. Weapons forged in such forge will glow with holy light, empowering their owners as long as their hearts are pure. An armor crafted in such a place will protect from the encroaching darkness. The hymns of the chosen will be praised into the skies.

Grants a base enchantment to all arms: Holy - Doubles the damage against undead, demonic, and corrupt creatures, halves damage against the followers of the same deity as the creator (Currently: N/A - deity not chosen). All weapons glow with a distinctive shine while wielded by followers of the creator’s deity.

Grants a base enchantment to all armor: Holy- Grant moderate resistance to Shadow, Death, Corruption, Unholy magic. Increase healing taken by 25%, while worn by a follower of creator’s deity the armor shines with golden hue.

Forge of Relentless Conviction – Through fire, sweat, and blood, the creator of this forge ventured. Their toil left a mark on the building. Weapons forged in such a place won’t shatter, won’t fail when needed. Armor made in such a place will protect their wearer until the bitter end.

Grants a base enchantment to all arms: Unyielding – Even if damaged, the weapon won’t break while its owner is in combat, held together through the sheer will of the fighter.

Grants a base enchantment to all armor: Fortified – Increase the armor’s defensive rating by 50%.

Forge of Undeath Bane – Faced against innumerable odds, the clan survived the onslaught of the undead scourge. The hatred for the abominations seeped through their bodies, empowering this building. Every weapon forged will inherit this hatred, and every armor created in this place will protect against death’s cohorts.

Grants a base enchantment to all arms: Undeath Bane – Triple damage against undead creatures, the weapons will be able to hurt ethereal beings.

Grants a base enchantment to all armor: Life’s Guard – While in the proximity of the undead, the armor will shine with a golden hue. The armor will withstand ethereal beings. The armor will grant a major resistance against spells of Unholy and Death magic.

Forge of Dusk and Dawn – (Requires additional ingredients – Shadow Heart, Soul Crystal) – Day and night, life and death, light and shadow the unending cycles. The creator of this building knew both. Surviving against darkness and being burned by the light. Maintaining the cycle is the sacrosanct duty. This forge will guard this duty, bringing death and life to the world.

Grants a base enchantment to all arms: Bane – Creature struck with this weapon will suffer from Might, Reflex, and Endurance drain until properly healed. The effect stacks three times.

Grants a base enchantment to all armor: Sanctuary – When the wearer suffers critical damage, the armor will disintegrate, creating a cocoon of light protecting the life inside for ten seconds.

Forge of Reversing Fortunes – (Requires additional ingredient – Gray Steel heather shield of Reflection) – The creator fought mages and used their own weapons against them. The arms and armor created in this forge will be specifically deadly to any magic-user.

Grants a base enchantment to all arms: Mana Burn – Attacks made with this weapon will injure ethereal creatures. Attacks made with this weapon will inflict extra damage based on the amount of mana in the hit creature.

Grants a base enchantment to all armor: Minor Reversal – Grants a 10% chance to reverse any harmful spell effect cast on the wearer. Increase magical resistance to all spells by 15%.

“Well shit,” Horn muttered, the option in front of him was so tempting, each and every one of them, but he could only choose one.

He went through the list, quickly crossing out Undead Bane. It was powerful, but only against a few types of enemies. Horn hoped he wouldn’t face another horde of undead anytime soon. A second later, Radiant Forge was similarly crossed out. Relentless Conviction at first glance was interesting, providing amazing armor and reliable weapons. However, Horn realized he had a dwarven clan that specialized in powerful armor and reliable weapons. It would be double downing on the same qualities, which he already expected from his smiths.

The choice remained between Dusk and Dawn and Reversing Fortunes. Both were incredible, he was surprised at the additional requirements, especially the Soul crystal and Shadow heart, but as he focused on the item, he felt a warm feeling from his pouch. Opening it, he saw both things in there. The heart was a trinket taken from Goblin shaman in the tutorial, and the crystal was the remainder of the one he used in front of castle gates as he sallied out to save Goran. It was much smaller than the original, and the light inside much dimmer, but it was still intact. In the whole ordeal with the challenge and then on Nexus itself, Horn just forgot about it.

Horn went back over the two options. The first one was focused against melee combatants with the addition of an emergency shield, however, at the cost of the armor. The second one was a dedicated mage killer. So far, he encountered only a few of them, but each of them could chew through his troops with ease. The magic was a powerful stalemate breaker, but it was short-lived due to the high cost of mana. His dwarves already had some minor resistance against magic. Doubling down on that seemed a good idea. They also had an emergency heal from the trait he picked up from the challenge. He pondered on the options and finally chose.

The explosion of light blinded him as he recoiled from the forge.