Someone suddenly laughed. Angor looked up and saw someone else besides Nausica in the room. A big male had been leaning against the wall on one side. Angor failed to notice him because of all the smoke obstructing his view.
The man had short, gray shock hair and was wearing a short sweater combined with buckskin pants. A giant sword was placed against the wall near him.
Before Angor could reply to the laughter, Nausica glanced at the man and spoke first, “Ebony? Shut your trap, if you will.”
“Okay, okay! I will,” said Ebony. He raised his hands in the air and surrendered. “Satisfied?”
It was Ebony, Nausica’s previous subordinate.
Then, Nausica turned around and looked at Angor. “It’s you. What brought you to my place?”
Angor glanced at Ebony. Apart from orally offending him on the cloud whale at one point, the man never showed his presence much. Thus, Angor never paid much attention to him. Besides, Ebony appeared to be always looking down at him, so Angor preferred not to mind this man too much.
“Nothing in particular. Just checking you out,” said Angor as he sat on a chair in front of the desk. “I didn’t see the desk and chairs the last time I came. Now your room looks more… alive.”
“You mean I was dead before?” Nausica put down her pen, crossed her arms, and joined Angor.
“Uh, I mean, the room is now more suitable to live in,” Angor explained.
Nausica only smiled. She knew what Angor wanted to say, but she just loved teasing this young boy. Pity, Angor tended to take everything too seriously.
After some other random topics, Nausica realized Angor did not talk about what he really came for, and squinted her eyes.
“Getting a bit hungry. It’s pretty rare for Angor to come, so maybe we should get Sailum and have dinner together?” Before Angor could reply, Nausica spoke quickly, “Hey Ebony, go to the cave restaurant and order three servings to be delivered, alright?”
Ebony instantly understood that Nausica was simply asking for some privacy. The man curled his lips, picked up his greatsword, and left the room. But he quickly stopped in his tracks. Three deliveries? So Nausica wanted to eat with Angor and Sailum, which meant… he was left out?
When Ebony walked away, Nausica picked up her pipe. She breathed out some smoke rings and asked, “Come on, what’s on your mind? There’s no way you came here to chat. I don’t believe it.”
Angor chuckled. Instead of talking about his gift, he tried to ask for some other information. “What’s Ebony doing here? I would never notice him sitting in a corner if he didn’t make a sound.”
Nausica shrugged. “Sailum, I, and Ebony have been accepting quests from the questing hall. Life is so hard without enough merit points. We went to ask you to join us last time, remember?”
Now that she mentioned, Angor recalled that when he was busy studying alchemy last month, Nausica did come with Sailum. They were saying something about earning merit points but he refused.
“Well… I’m kinda short on points too,” said Angor as he sighed. After buying his alchemy tools from Dave, he only had 50 points left.
“Will you join us on a quest together?”
Angor shook his head. “Not now. I can still manage. When I go challenge Sky Tower several days later, I’ll start earning points.”
“You’re going to the tower now?”
“Yeah, preparation’s almost done. Which level are you on now?”
Nausica released some smoke. “I haven’t been there for two weeks, so I’m still at the third level. I want to get some merit points and buy magic scrolls before going further.”
Nausica picked up some papers on her desk. “I’m studying Runecraft too. But I always forget what I just read. You said last time that you’re going to use alchemy weapons in the tower. So did you make them?” Nausica wondered. “I heard someone saying that alchemy is extremely hard to learn. There’s only one elementary alchemist in the entire Brute Cavern.”
Angor shook head. “No. I don’t have my weapon yet.”
Nausica tried to comfort Angor.
“But I made one for you,” said Angor. He smiled and took out an object wrapped in white cloth from his pocket. “An alchemy weapon just for you. Thank you for keeping me safe on the leaf back then. Otherwise, I’d have kicked the bucket for sure.”
Nausica revealed a doubtful look. “You actually learned alchemy? You aren’t pulling my leg right?”
Angor nodded. “I’m an elementary apprentice alchemist for now. The weakest sort.”
“… Were they lying to me? Is alchemy actually easy?” Nausica mumbled.
Angor handed the wrapped object to Nausica. Nausica glimpsed at it. “I don’t want payment for helping you. I have my own weapon anyway. It’s not supernatural, but it feels good on me.”
“But I want to thank you. It’s just a cheap, low-level alchemy item. Just consider it a gift from a friend,” said Angor. He winked at her. “It a new invention created by a future master alchemist. Take it, okay? Who knows, maybe it will value a lot more in several decades when I became more famous.”
Nausica put down her pipe and picked up the wrapped item. “Alright. Let’s see what kind of treasure is made by the hands of Angor the Great Alchemist.”
She slowly unwrapped the object.
Her hands stopped midway when she saw the silver bear claw blade.
The small arm had a shape she never saw before. She was unsure of how sharp it was, but she already took a liking to the beautiful design.
As a former pirate who dominated the sea, she had seen a lot of works of art, and she was confident that the short blade in her hand could be considered a well-made piece. The carvings on it were not a masterpiece, but the design combining weapon and art already felt like the innovation of a promising artist.
“Niiiice. Butterfly on flower blossoms, and a shining silver edge. It doesn’t look powerful, but I’ll keep it in my collection,” Nausica exclaimed. “My oh my, Angor, I never know you’re so good at engraving. Maybe you really will become a master when you hit 30, or even earlier.”
Angor blushed a little at Nausica’s compliment. He only copied the work of a master sculptor from Earth.
“The shape is so strange. What is it called?” Nausica held up the bear claw knife and asked a question.
When she tried to feel the blade with her hand, a painful chill suddenly came from her finger. Nausica’s expression shifted drastically when she realized something. She quickly stroked the edge of the blade.
A single drop of blood fell from her fingertip, which soon turned into ice.
Her finger only connected with the blade gently without applying much force, and it was already sliced open. At the same time, a freezing sense invaded her body.
“This is a supernatural weapon?!” Nausica was astonished.