“I’ll escort you back outside,” the curate said after counting to three.

Dallion couldn’t tell whether it was the epitome of efficiency or of extreme mercantilism. Either way, there was no point arguing, especially since he had already gotten what he had paid for… or rather, he had gotten what Falkner had paid for.

“How did it go?” the boy asked, walking alongside Dallion.

“Okay, I think. I’ve yet to understand some of the things that happened.” Dallion remained deliberately vague. After all, the punishment the being in glowing red armor had warned about was no joke. “When will you be having your trial?”

“When I turn sixteen. Father insists.” Falkner sighed. However, there was no way of telling whether he did so because it was too soon or too far away. “So, what now?”

“Now I need to get to work, or Hannah will kill me.”

In fact, he was already cutting it short. Even running was likely going to get him to the Gremlin’s Timepiece a few minutes later than expected. There was always the option to come up with some excuse that made sense, but Dallion preferred to resort to that when he really needed it.

“Can I come along?” Falkner asked.

Normally the answer would be a resounding no. Dallion tended not to like people who were overly clingy, at least until he got to know them better. However, considering the favor the boy had done just now, he could only smile.

“Sure. You can even eat there if you want. The food is good enough for awakened. Trust me.”

“Okay…” Falkner didn’t sound at all convinced.

“Great. Only thing is we’ll have to run to get there.” Before that, though…

Item Awakening

The library emerged around Dallion.

“Nil,” he said.

Strangely enough, for the first time, the echo wasn’t immediately visible. It took a few moments for him to appear from behind one of the distant isles of tomes. As he approached, Dallion saw that the echo was carrying what looked like a small leather suitcase—medieval style.

“Nil, what’s that?” Dallion pointed.

“It’s a tome case,” the echo replied. “Perfect for carrying essential tomes from one place to another.”

“I know what it is. I meant why are you carrying it.”

“I thought it would be obvious.” A smile flashed on Nil’s face. “And congratulations are in order. I know I don’t say this lightly, but I am extremely pleased that you managed to break through the second gate even with your recent… adventures, which I hope you’ll never repeat.”

“Yeah, thanks…” At this point Dallion was already confused. For one thing, he wasn’t sure whether the echo was criticizing or praising him. For another, he still had no idea what exactly was going on. That was until a few seconds later when his mind made the connection. “You want to crash in my awakening room, don’t you?” Dallion crossed his arms.

“I admit I would miss being in this place, but I think it would be most convenient for both of us. Since you have constructed no echoes of your own, someone must be there to protect your internal domain. Also, you have a library room, which would be suitable for a connection point.”

“You know what you’re asking me, right?”

“What I’m asking you is to help protect you. Just because you have passed the trial, doesn’t mean you have any idea what’s going on.” The echo gave Dallion a stern look. “Look, it’s not that difficult. All you have to do is link this place to your awakening room. I’ll still be able to go here, but you get the added benefit of asking me for advice anytime, including while in an awakened realm.”

Great, another chatty voice in my life, Dallion thought. The dryad shield was already taking up most of his bandwidth.

“And also, I will tell you if intruders ever try invading your room.”

So many things were wrong with this. Dallion could probably come up with a convincing argument on why it was a terrible idea. For one thing, he didn’t want another echo messing with his head. Although, if he were in constant touch with Nil, he’d get answers to questions much faster.

“I own the library, right?” he asked.

“Yes, my original gave the ring and everything in it—myself included—as a gift. And no, I cannot tell him anything about you. As you should know, the connection works the other way around. I know what he is thinking. For example, right now the captain is worried about the Nerosal guild celebration that’s taking place in close to two months from now.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do, but before that, I need some detailed scrolls on forging.”

“Forging?” The echo arched a brow. “You actually got forging?

“Yes?”

“With the exception of the three hidden skill groups, and music which you already have, forging is the rarest skill there is. Having it would put you on a lot of maps, so much so that recruiters would try to snatch you away, especially if you’re good.” The echo put his tome case on the floor and carefully looked over Dallion, as if searching for any changes. “You’ll have to spend a lot of time learning it. Forging skills aren’t as simple as they sound. Actually, I think apprenticing under the gorgon might be a good idea for once… considering the circumstances.”

“Okay, just stop!” Dallion snapped.

This had gone far enough. When he had come here, he had two simple questions, and instead they had spoken about several other things, and apparently Dallion had agreed to let the echo live in his awakened room, and also to start learning forging from Eury.

Taking a deep breath, Dallion counted to find, then exhaled. He had no idea if this actually made him more relaxed, but it seemed to act reassuring to others.

“I might link you to my room at some point, but it won’t now. All I came here to ask is information on how to use forging skills adequately, and also whether I’m in good enough shape to complete the selection trial alone.”

“I shall fetch you something to give you an idea.” The echo turned around and went to one of the nearby shelves of books. “As for your other questionؙ—definitely not. Passing the trial is the easy part. It was pretty much expected that you’d be able to succeed there. You’re nowhere near the level to pull it off. The good news is you have time, and now at least you can start increasing your skills stats again.”

That was a definite plus. At least now Dallion looked forward to going on jobs rather than having to do it just for the money. Now he could finally start improving again. Still… maybe he had to take the step he was afraid to take.

Music, he thought. There didn’t seem to be any malice in the echo’s being. If anything, there was a lot of hidden joy, more than Dallion would have imagined looking at him. There was also a large amount of pride.

Okay, old man, you better not let me down on this.

Personal Awakening

A doorway formed on one of the nearby walls. Almost instantly, Nox rushed out from it, making its way to Dallion’s shoulder.

“Yeah, Nox,” Dallion laughed. “It’s me again, and you have a new place to roam. Just don’t destroy anything here, okay? I’ll be needing it.”

“Meow,” the crackling responded. Hopefully that was more a yes than a maybe.

“Happy now, Nil?”

“For the moment. Just don’t consider this your graduation. It’s more like the admittance to school.”

“Good thing I have you to remind me.” Dallion shook his head.

Moments later, Dallion’s surroundings changed to the awakening shrine corridor. He had gotten the two answers he needed, and more important now he had the option to ask questions immediately than having to memorize them for later.

“Nil?” Dallion whispered.

I’m here, there’s no need to check on me, the echo grumbled. And just to let you know, I don’t appreciate sharing a room with a crackling. I’ve no idea where you found it, but having them in your awakening room is never a good idea.

“That’s what you think.”

“Sorry?” Falkner asked. Apparently Dallion had said the last slightly too loud.

“Nothing, just thinking out loud,” Dallion lied. “Anyway, let’s hurry.”

The moment the two got out of the awakening shrine, they rushed to Hannah’s inn. Fortunately for Dallion, he arrived there with two minutes to spare. Unfortunately, the running had caused him to build up a sweat, causing the innkeeper to give him an earful of proper hygiene and send him off to wash up and change, while welcoming Falkner as a VIP customer. That was one of the things Dallion still wasn’t able to figure out—why were people so impressed by the boy. Granted, he was the son of a noble, but by all accounts, he wasn’t that high up in the hierarchy.

Congratulations from us as well, the dryad shield said once Dallion was in his room. I told you that battle gears are serious business. Once you get to dance with the harpsisword properly, you’ll be able to slay giants. Metaphorically speaking. I don’t think there are any giants left in your time. Not in this empire, anyway.

“Aha,” Dallion replied, barely paying attention. His entire focus was to get washed up and in a fresh pair of clothes before the lunch crowd started arriving. “Thank her for me.”

She can hear you, and I think that’s something you should do yourself, when you have a bit more time to spare.

“Sure, I’ll—”

Not now, the shield interrupted. Leave it when you’re done with work and don’t have other things on your mind.

The suggestion made Dallion pause for a moment. For once it was actually good and serious advice and not to pick up advances. Without question, the harpsisword had directly helped him in the fight against the bladicorn, and deserved at least a proper thank you. In the process Dallion was also going to link her realm to his awakening room. Not the shield, though. At least not until it became officially his.

“How do I look?” Dallion asked after he changed into his spare set of clothes.

I’ve seen better, the dryad replied. Good enough for work, I’d say. Also remember that compliments go a long way. If you want Hannah to have a better opinion of you, make a friendly observation now and again.

“That’s really inappropriate.”

I’m not telling you to flirt unless you want to. Just take the time to mention that you think she’s doing a good job. You’ll be amazed at the results.

As much as Dallion wanted to believe that, his mind wouldn’t let him. A minute later, he was down again, doing his job.

Falkner seemed mildly fascinated. The boy probably had never eaten in a tavern and it showed. The amount of attention he gave to everyone was way beyond that of a common customer. That didn’t even include the amount of money he spent on food and tips. No one seemed to mind, least of all Hannah, who always had a keen eye for profit.

Not a word was mentioned about Dallion’s advancement. Neither Hannah nor Jiroh open the topic, and Dallion didn’t volunteer any information either. Even so, his new skills remained always on his mind. Not so much the end of the level cap, but his future forging skills. From what Dallion had read in the past, they allowed him to make items both in the awakened realms and in the real world. The only things he needed to improve were enough materials for practice and a mentor. As Nil had said, Euryale sounded like the obvious choice. The only question was how would that affect Vade. Given both their standards and expectations of him, having one mentor was going to be difficult enough. Having two at the same time, though… that might well turn into an outright disaster.