The entrance to the hidden realm was visible as an outline on the metal wall. Dallion was able to see it clearly, but even so he was impressed that Gleam was able to sense the protector beyond. The shimmer was the same as the one was visible in the real world. Whoever had created the weapon had specifically hidden something in one of those segments, likely to make it more difficult for people to find. In that regard, Dallion still had a nagging feeling that things were too easy.

It had been explained that only seers had the ability to see hidden realms, however, even so Dallion found that he was finding them faster than anyone else. The first time he had found a hidden realm within a guild ring, he had been excited. Later—when he had a moment to think about it—he found it highly suspicious. The Icepicker guild had a lot of seers, yet none of them had chosen to buy or even explore the item. Nil assured Dallion that it had to do with him being an otherworlder. Apparently, not all seers were able to “see” but rather sense things. Or, in some cases, they had to be really close to the hidden realm to see the opening leading to it. That was all good and well, but it still didn’t explain why no one saw them on the items themselves.

“Well?” the shardfly urged. “Aren’t you going to open it?”

The question pointed out a potential problem: how does one create an opening in an unbreakable wall?

Dallion stepped to the outline and slide his fingers along the metal surface. There was a noticeable difference in texture—the outline felt warm. Summoning his Nox Dagger, Dallion slowly pressed the tip against one of the lines. The wall gave in.

Quite peculiar, Nil said. I must admit, I’ve never seen this happen.

The knife continued down until it reached the floor. From there he kept on slicing sideways, then up again. As he did, Dallion could almost hear Euryale criticizing him that the correct way to slice a wall was to start from the bottom and then move up.

“Any idea how strong the thing will be?” Dallion asked as he finished “unzipping” the opening.

“A lot,” the shardly replied. “Stronger than all the spiders so far.”

That wasn’t a particularly high bar. Excluding their invulnerability, the blade spiders were pretty weak. If this were a computer game, it would the equivalent of a first world boss that required a few tries to get the pattern, but was elementary afterwards. Of course, without Lux, the situation would have been quite different.

“Better get ready, then.” Dallion unsummoned the dagger. “Nox, Lux, be careful.”

The metal piece blocking the opening disintegrated the moment Dallion pushed it. Beyond, a path continued along a triangular corridor. As a teen, Dallion would probably have found this impressive. Now, he was more worried about how limiting it was when it came to fighting. If something charged Dallion there wasn’t a lot of room to do anything about it, not even use the armadil shield to cocoon himself. The only positive thing was that the section continued to be well lit.

After a few hundred feet, the tunnel ended in a large garden. Plants of various sizes and colors continued as far as the eye could see in stark contrast to the rest of the sword’s realm. A path of sky silver cobblestones continued on to a golden dais with what looked like an altar.

What’s the significance of dais? Dallion asked.

Probably a fashion statement. They are abundant in artifacts of the period. I suspect if we had the knowledge to create hidden realms today, they would be more in the style of present-day architecture.

Does that mean the protector will be the same?

Your guess is as good as mine.

That wasn’t the answer Dallion was hoping for.

“Gleam, any idea where it is?” Dallion summoned his harpsisword.

“Somewhere in the garden.”

Last time, the protector had only emerged when Dallion had gone towards the dais. Suspecting that it would be the same here, he cautiously continued forward. Every step was made by five instances, and each time it didn’t matter. Halfway there, Dallion stopped. This was the invisible threshold. He had a feeling that if anything happened, it would be now.

“I know you’re watching,” Dallion said. Then, after taking a deep breath, he took a step forward.

The moment he did, a figure appeared in front of the dais, just as he had expected.

WHIP BLADE PROTECTOR

Species: Nymph

Class: Shadow

Statistics: ???

Skills: ???

Weak spot: ???

It was always unnerving when so much of an enemy remain covered. As much as he wanted to deny it, Dallion had become somewhat reliant on the rectangles. They gave a clear advantage in the awakened realms, however, they also created a weakness in the real world.

The nymph was female, clad in full armor made entirely of a non-metallic material. If Dallion was to venture a guess, he’d say that it was water. No weapons were visible, but as Dallion had seen, nymphs had the power to transform water into any object. The shardfly probably shaded a similar concern, for she fluttered closer to Dallion than before.

“Hello,” Dallion said, adding a note of calm. “I take it that you’re the protector of this hidden realm?”

The nymph smiled.

“Yes,” she replied, her own voice filled with music. Within seconds Dallion felt a huge weight on his shoulders. There was no doubt that the nymph had been following his fights with the blade spiders. “And you’re the challenger that has come to claim the sword.” The weight was lifted.

“I wouldn’t call myself a challenger,” Dallion replied, making sure not to use his music skill anymore. “I just want to see the changes that will occur when I fulfil the sword’s destiny.”

For several seconds, the nymph stared at him, then she started laughing.

“That’s your take?” she asked. ”I don’t know what I expected after all this time. Clearly, too much. Of course, you’re a challenger. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Err, well. You see, some time has passed since this realm was created. If—"

“Arrogant, but with potential,” the protector interrupted. “Just because I’ve been locked away for millennia doesn’t mean that I’ve no idea what’s going on in the real world. Your guardians might humor you, but I won’t. I know far more than you can imagine. For one thing, it’s clear you’re an otherworlder. Probably arrived here less than a few years ago.”

The unexpected response made Dallion take a step back. If she had identified him, that meant that the protector also came from another world.

“Your level is low, though your stats are decent for what that’s worth. You have a lot of familiars, each far stronger than yourself. If you ever get them to your level, you’ll probably be made a commander.” The nymph glanced at Dallion’s harpsisword, only to look away shortly after. “You’re also a challenger. Everyone who enters this sword is a challenger. Frankly, I thought you’d be defeated at the first guardian. Thanks to your firebird, you weren’t.”

“It was a combined effort,” Dallion said, feeling somewhat hurt by the remark.

“Hey, I don’t judge. The realm does. The fact that you made it here is proof enough. Not that anyone else had a chance.”

“I’m the first one to make it this far?”

“You’re the first remotely qualified. All the rest were two-bit robbers and merchants who only wanted to clear the sword in order to fetch a better price. At least you want the sword for the sword itself.”

That was the nicest thing the protector had said so far, but it also posed a lot of questions.

Harp, do you know her? Dallion asked.

Not this one, the reply came. She’s skilled. If it comes to a fight, you won’t be able to win. I’ll have to face her myself.

“How many tried?” Dallion cotinued playing for time, while in his mind he was hectically going through potential combat scenarios. If the protector was as strong as Harp, his optimal course of action was to snatch the item at the dais and run… as he had last time.

“Eleven,” the nymph replied. “All quit the moment they found the spider was invulnerable. No one even bothered to try anything beyond the obvious. Compared to them you’re adequate.”

“Thanks.”

“So, go ahead and claim your prize.”

There was no way Dallion could delay the fight any longer. Attack markers emerged, providing him with options. Chosing a few of them, Dallion split into seven instances.

“Hey!” the nymph said loudly, causing all of Dallion’s instances of collapse. “What are you doing?”

Dallion froze. He hadn’t expected his attack attempt to be neutralized with such ease. When Vend had taught this aspect of combat splitting, Dallion had been left with the impression that it was relatively rare. Apparently, not so much.

“I guess a draw is out of the question?” Dallion said out of habit.

“Draw?” the nymph frowned. “What do you mean?”

The surprise seemed genuine, as was the complete lack of hostility. It would have been better if Dallion could split to try a few different questions. Circumstances forced him to try and find out using the old-fashioned way.

“Don’t I have to challenge you for the reward?” Dallion probed.

“No. You get this for free. That’s the entire point. You don’t even know what this realm is, do you?”

“Apparently not.” Dallion forced a smile.

“This is a crafting masterpiece. I thought that’s why you agreed to enter it. You have the skill to work sky metal, so the requirements were met.”

She thought that I was here because of my forging skills? Dallion wondered.

This is remarkable, Nil said. Do you know what it means?

That I’ll get improve my forging skills?

That hidden realms require certain prerequisites in order to be seen. Maybe there’s more than your nature that allowed you to see them. It also explains how ordinary awakened sometimes find realms that others don’t.

That made sense. During the expedition, there also was metal involved. Maybe the reason that no other guildmember had seen the hidden ring was because it was a small hidden realm that was visible only by people who were both forgers and came from another world. If Euryale had arrived at the city along with Dallion, there was every chance that she would have found it before him.

So far, it was believed that hidden realms were an isolated occurrence. If our hypothesis theory holds, that might not be the case.

“What exactly is the prize?” Dallion asked.

“Knowledge. Come on,” the nymph invited him. “I’ll show you.”

The two continued to the dais itself. The moment they arrived, a chest became visible on the altar. It too was made completely of sky silver.

“Ready?” the protector asked, then without waiting for a response opened the chest. Rows of metal cubes were stacked inside, filling the space to the brim. “You only get to take one,” the nymph warned. “I suggest you don’t get greedy.”

“What’s the difference between them?” Dallion looked at the rows of metal. By rough estimates, there had to be at least several hundred of them, depending on the depth of the chest.

“There’s no difference. This is just to make sure that the next awakened that find the hidden realm get a piece of the knowledge as well.”

All the same… If that were the case, Dallion picked one of the middle cubes—specifically, the fifth cube of the third row. The moment his fingers came into contact with it, a blue rectangle appeared.

WHIP BLADE BLUEPRINT

You have acquired the knowledge to construct a WHIP BLADE of sky silver. To create the item, your forging skills have to be up to the task.

Using other metals to change and improve the design is permitted, as long as you have the necessary skills in the metals in question.