(Zack)

My team has been training on their own the last couple of days, and they've each made some progress in different areas. Braden has done more Skill Leveling, while Gavin has focused on his Levels. Max has been training his body, while Luca has been training…

Well, I won't mention what he's been doing.

And now, it's the evening before the Greed Lord will appear. I already know where it will be, thanks to a Clover Slime I came across earlier. I'm thinking about sending all of my team into the fields to hunt the slimes, since there are quite a few of them and will stop spawning after tomorrow. So far, only Gavin's really trained against them, resulting in him currently having nearly three gold, though I know he earned closer to four.

Braden went into the forest anyway, though I know he took someone with him, one of Samantha's students, to act as backup. They have Heal and Cure Poison, so everything was good.

So between fighting goblins and splitting loot with the other rogue, Braden didn't earn all that much, and Max earned nothing, since he never actually left Maelnor. He did leave a few people scratching their heads, though, since he was on the walls.

On top of them. Running laps, and sometimes racing Gold.

For now, though, I'm waiting for Luca to fall asleep. The healer's been helping at the temple a little to earn some money and Level his Skills and Class, and today was an exhausting day for him. There are all sorts of afflictions which can affect recovery, and there are plenty of Adventurers getting hurt.

It would be better for him to train with the team or in a temple deeper in, but things are as they are.

Once Luca falls asleep, the last member of my team to do so, I leave the property and make my way down to Jackson's forge. I was told this morning to do this once my team was asleep. It seems I'm finally being told what the special project is.

When I reach the forge, I'm ushered in by one of the other Master Blacksmiths, a woman who looks around forty but is around a hundred and ten. She leads me into the back, where the group of Master Blacksmiths have gathered, armor in my size and style on a table, along with a sword.

They are black with white trim, and I recognize the sword immediately, as it's unsheathed. It's the sword from my visions.

"Zack," Jackson gestures. "This isn't the other set of gear I was making for you, but your patron asked us to commission this, and even went so far as to shield the forge from the other Crystals."

I frown, approaching, and use Appraisal. As I read the message, I realize that this is definitely a set of equipment which requires Level 10 Appraisal, which I only finally received during my training at the Trading Post yesterday.

Noruva Sword of the End This powerful sword was forged by a joint effort of several Master Blacksmiths using End Ore. Its edge will never dull, it will never rust, and can cut through nigh anything. Nearly nothing can damage it. This sword can kill mortals and immortals alike, and those slain by it remain dead. When cutting something with an elemental weakness, this sword acts as its weakness, granting extra damage. Wounds inflicted by this sword do not heal and have a Bleed equal to ten percent of its damage per second.

"What kind of material was this forged of?" I ask. "End Ore?"

"A mixture," Jackson informs me. "Of Essence of Life and Essence of Death, with a touch of Primordial Essence, and the armor has Temporal Essence added in."

"But Nathan didn't return until this morning," I say, then feel my eyes widen as I realize what happened. "This is the project that Big Flame had running, isn't it?"

"Yes," Jackson nods. "It appears that the Dark Order has built up a hidden cache of the three resources, enough to forge you this set."

I kept it a secret from the others, even, Big Flame says. I had them remove it from their Inventories as soon as they appeared, and then sealed in a secret vault for the day they would be truly needed.

I examine the gear. Complete immunity to nearly all damage.

"It is paid for by the Dark Order," Jackson tells me. "Big Flame had money stored up for that payment as well."

"How much?" I ask.

Tens of thousands of platinum, Big Flame responds. Forging such a material as a joint effort, as I knew it would be, is not a cheap thing. Each of them had to drop all other projects to work on this.

"Thanks," I run my fingers along the blade of the sword, then pick it up and test the weight.

Perfectly balanced.

I remove my armor and tunic and pull on this set. Lightweight, and as it's the same style I prefer, it's easy for me to move around it. I doubt I'll wear it often, though. This gear might actually hinder my ability to gain Levels, it's so much far beyond my other gear.

"Thank you," I say again. "I'm going to go do something with this on."

"Be careful," Jackson tells me. "You are the only person who can wear that gear right now who can actually use it properly."

"I will," I smile at him. "I'm not doing anything absurd, I promise. It's just always good to test out new gear, yeah?"

He laughs, then wishes me luck and tells me that they'll resume working on everything else, and that my other gear should be ready sometime in the next few weeks. I thank the Master Blacksmiths again, then leave.

Rather than going home, I make my way out of Maelnor and head deep into the forest. When I'm sure I'm alone, I test it out a bit, swinging at imaginary foes. Then, I rest, before closing my eyes and focusing inwards.

A moment later, I appear in Big S's Sacred Chamber, startling the dragon, which was picking at its tail.

"Issues?" I ask.

"Boredom," Big S answers. "What are you doing in here?"

"Am I able to fight the first one?" I ask. "Or would you rather I gained the next hundred and fifty Levels first?"

"Your Second Ascension," he says. "Is only to guarantee absolute victory. Even as you are now, you can handle him. Your patron was sneaky with that ore, too. I didn't even realize what was going on until a couple of days ago. I suppose it makes sense that Chaos would plan for something like this.

"If you really want to go now," he says. "I can send you now. I would rather you wait until you can just stomp him flat, though."

"I'd like to handle the weakest now," I tell Big S. "And after I kill him, keep an eye on the hordes."

"Why?" He tilts his head a little to the side in confusion.

"Because if there's a change in their movements," I say. "That means my suspicions about Alexander's stasis not being complete is true."

"What do you mean?"

"I think," I admit. "That he may still be keeping an eye on things."

Big S thinks for a few moments, then nods.

"I have been suspecting that as well," he admits to me. "So you are trying to provoke him? That would decrease the amount of time left before the battle."

"I know," I grit my teeth. "But let's face it – if the battle comes in two weeks or two months, it won't make that much of a difference. The only people it would benefit would be on my team. Everyone else who will be participating may earn only one or two Levels, and the smiths are already keeping up with the work in preparation."

Big S sighs.

"You're right," he says. "It really wouldn't make a difference for anyone but your team, Zack. Alright, I'll send you in. But Zack: be warned, he doesn't have a visible System for you to access, and you won't gain any Experience or progress in the fight."

"That's fine," I answer. "There are still a few Experience farms for me to tackle, you know."

He laughs, shaking his head, then tells me to prepare. I nod, and a few moments later, all of his crystals glow brightly.

Then I find myself in a similar chamber, its platform one hundred feet on each side, with only the gates to adorn it. Standing in the center, startled, is a man who looks around eighteen or nineteen, with black hair and silver eyes. He's dressed in blues and reds, a sword on his hip.

When I appear, he jumps back a few steps, his right hand going to his sword as his right reaches out. The moment he registers me, a white-hot fireball appears in his hand and shoots at me.

I draw my newest weapon and cut through the spell, which fizzles out immediately. Oh, this is awesome!

"Demon Form!" I trigger it, feeling the transformation and addition of new body parts.

I lunge forward, and he draws his own sword, which appears to be some sort of steel weapon. Our swords clash, and the edge of mine cuts right through his. Fucking. Awesome!

He clicks his tongue as he jumps back again, tossing his sword to the side, and I charge forward, able to keep up with him as he hurls fireball after fireball at me, a sword of pure magic forming in one hand. When it connects with the edge of my own sword, I still cut through it, my new sword canceling the spell.

The battle actually ends rather quickly, as none of his attacks do anything when they hit my armor or sword other than die, and the few times he struck my body, the wounds weren't bad enough to hinder me much.

The fight ends when I finally put my sword through his chest. Just to be sure, I slice upwards, cutting his upper body and head in two. I slash my sword to the side quick enough to ensure his blood and stuff slides off faster, then after a quick inspection, I sheathe my sword.

Only a moment later, I'm back in Big S's chamber.

"My math was off," he says. "That was actually rather anticlimatic, you killed him so fast and so easily. By your Second Ascension, you might be able to kill all three."

"And Alexander?"

"No," he shakes his head. "His power is far, far stronger, his body far, far more resilient. That sword can kill immortals and cut through nigh anything, but he would still require you to be at least in your Fifth Ascension, maybe higher."

"I see," I say. "Well, this gear is fun! I'm sure the Greed Lord will be a bundle of joy to deal with, too."

"The Greed Lord is far, far stronger than the man you just fought."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes," he answers. "He was a little weaker than A'Lutar. A lot weaker than A'Lutar. The next one is about as powerful as A'Lutar, and the third will be about as powerful as a King Monster."

"I see," I remove my armor and pull on a tunic, switching back into my regular gear, but keeping the Sword of the End on my hip. "I'll gain some more Levels before we should do that again. I don't like taking damage."

"You literally hurt yourself regularly just so you can increase your Vitality."

"That's because I need a lot of Health for certain things," I point out. "I don't like taking damage in battle. Unless I need to. And when I do, I need to take a lot of damage, so a high Health is necessary."

"Alright, alright," he chuckles. "I'll send you back now, Zack, but I'm returning you to your house. Max is awake and worried about you."

"Yeah, yeah," I roll my eyes. "See you again. Eventually."

"Get some sleep," he says. "Seriously, tonight, Zack. You need it for the fight."