Grillo and I continued working on my two axes. Eloriums great downside is its difficulty in forging. The metal is just as unbreakable as mithril or adamantium but cannot be put into a forge. The more the metal is heated in a forge, the weaker it becomes. This was why the metal was not often used for most things and would not have a high sell value. Fortunately being an elemental worked out in my favor for this as all I had to do was use my earth magic and mentally instruct the material to take the desired shape as I fed it mana. It took days of feeding it mana even with my [Soul Vortex] trait providing me an automatic 25% faster mana regen. The material glowed when I was done, making me suspicious the material had almost a mind of its own, taking advantage of the opportunity to take as much mana as possible from me. Done shaping the one ax I left it to Grillo to polish and sharpen the feisty thing.

I considered going home to read some of the books Grillo had gifted me. Unfortunately, the dwarf did not have any magic books on hand. I would have to wait until Grillo went back to his people and found some to send me. Dwarves didn't have many magic books anyway as most dwarves didn't use magic. Those that did usually specialized in enchantments for rune armor and weapons. I had successfully learned some runes from Grillo. Like the lightning one I mentioned from the prototype rune armor, Grillo had made. I also had learned a strengthening rune that made the material it was used on stronger and a fire rune. The strengthening rune was also used on the prototype as Grillo had made it out of bronze instead of a super rare material. I had gotten a prompt saying that I had learned basic beginner rune enchanting and under skills menu, I could see all the runes I had officially learned. A function that probably acted as a way for someone to not forget they're runes when sketching them. I, however, had a perfect memory and would never really need that function but it was still pretty cool.

The books the dwarf had given were mostly lore based. One had taught me about a man who had actually come here from earth. A predecessor who was brought here by the gods to save the world from a Dragon who had turned evil. The dragon in question had made pacts with demons to gain power and armies — the hero whose name was actually bob. I'm not kidding he came to a world of myth and magic and left his name as Bob. Well, the hero didn't kill the dragon. She is still alive and well. The hero wasn't the only one the gods sent after her. The Gods of scorn and the abyss used a memento of the man she had loved to bring him back as an abomination.

He had been brought back as a being made of mercury. A being made of poison with no memory of her. He was told he was a being sent to slay the demon lord, but when he appeared before her, she knelt to let him kill her. She couldn't fight the man she loved, and she just wanted the pain to stop. Her ex-lover, however, recognized her and it stayed his hand.

"Who are you and how do I know you?" the man had asked.

She had looked him in the eyes replying, "You were Arthur Brenan. The descendant of a knight sworn to protect the last of the dragons of earth from slayers. I was the last dragon trapped on earth, and by luck, I found you, and together we found a portal here."

The book described her face covered in tears at this point. A great silence as she wept before she continued, "I convinced you to come with me... I didn't know the portal had been made poisonous to humans too prevent them from following dragons as they fled the world. When I came to this world, you were dying, and out of fear of the humans of earth, the other dragons refused to help. You died in my arms and rage overtook me."

Arthur listened to her story and remembered his past. With glove covered hands he held her one last time and asked her to set him free. The ring that had been a family heirloom that signified he was a knight of the order protecting the dragons was his possession used to summon and bind his soul. He told her, "I do not belong amongst the living anymore, and I cannot live as a weapon made to kill you. Destroy the ring, and I shall be set free!"

She didn't want to do it, but eventually, she agreed. The action of breaking the ring that had brought them together to banish his soul broke her. Bob had been present for the tearful reunion and had watched silently from afar. The hero refused to kill her and took her somewhere safe for her to live. His action of saving her made an enemy out of the gods that had summoned him. No one knew what happened to the hero, but everyone knew he was dead. Most likely his death related to the gods in question.

He, however, had quite the legacy. During his time the man had become so powerful a swordsman that even without a sword he could cut. The story mentioned once when he was drunk he swung his arm and cut a ravine into the ground that is still called "Bob's Ravine" and is about almost as deep as the grand canyon. Most referred to him in stories as the black swordsman. I had thought this was about what he wore or his sword being black steel but no. He was one of the only black men this world had ever seen. The gods of this world didn't create humans. They abducted humans that should have died in various ways. Exploration was the number one excuse used by the gods. No wonder early human's thought that you could fall off the earth or the woods are super dangerous with supernatural monsters in them. They abducted their victims when people had obvious reasons to assume they were dead and most explorers were historically white.

All the other beings of this world were created based on human myths and beliefs of the time. No wonder all the species were familiar, I thought. Bob must have exploited the fact he was exotic because he supposedly bedded an unfathomable number of women. The book said his love of elven women alone created the subspecies known as "dark elf." He also created dark dwarves because he sometimes liked more "meat" on his women. I couldn't fathom sleeping with enough partners to make a whole new race of people. I wouldn't think it possible but I remembered Ghengis Khan from earth's history.

After I read about that, I started to wonder with my future good looks I might be even more popular. I felt an ice-cold shiver go down my spine as Emma gave me the glare of death. She had been reading the book with me as she was the chair I was currently sitting on. She saw the expression on my face after I read about all the women my predecessor had been within the book. She knew what that expression of desire meant and the next few minutes were silent, but I think more words hadn't been spoken in all my lifetimes. I gave an apologetic expression because the one she used was a threat to "burn down the only tree in my forest if I ever!". I don't think any greater threats have ever been made and that was why today I was reluctant to read again.