Dorian threw up his hands.
"Volcaris!? Are you crazy!?"
"The planet is known for its harsh environment, deadly creatures and above all DRAGONS!!"
'So noisy.'
"That planet's a death trap, and you're not even Champion tier yet!"
My gaze dropped. I couldn't argue with that.
"I've heard of these tiers before," Elara said, her tone thoughtful. "They're how you rank yourselves here on Earth, right?"
"But… what are all of them?"
'Makes sense. She wouldn't know much about our system.'
"There are six tiers for humans," I explained. "Initiate, Adept, Vanguard, Champion, Grandmaster, and Archon. Each one's split into low, mid, and high ranks."
"Terrors are different. So far, we've only recorded four tiers—Wisp, Feral, Fell, and Abyssal. Same rank structure, though: low, mid, high."
"You, for example, would be a low-rank Champion."
"Oh? And how do you know that?"
I raised a hand, pointing at her horns.
"A Drakonid who can't control the visibility of their horns can't be above Champion tier."
Elara's eyes widened, she hadn't expected me to know that.
I waved her off. "It was in the briefing for my contract. You know, when I kidnapped you."
"WHAT!? You kidnapped her!?"
"HOW!?"
"She let me win. And she's not kidnapped anymore."
Dorian stared at Elara. "You let him win?"
"No," she said, folding her arms. "I lost. Fair and square."
"Whatever."
"So, what tier are you, then?"
"I'm a mid-rank Vanguard."
"Ha! You wish. You fluctuate between low and mid," Dorian said.
"Your strength is purely circumstantial."
"If you fought a Drakonid head-on without substantial prep, you'd die."
"I know."
"No. You don't know."
Elara cut in, her gaze sharp and unflinching.
"I assumed as much. But now I know for sure."
"You wish to visit Volcaris… to fight."
"You will die."
"And why do you think that?"
"You said I would be a low-rank Champion. But that's incorrect."
"I am a high-rank Champion."
Dorian, Jaime, and I all stared at her, stunned.
"You can't be serious," Jaime said, deadpan. "We just fought. I already gauged your strength."
"Yes and no."
"What you saw was only sixty-five percent of my true capabilities."
'What?'
I stared at her. Sixty-five percent?
"Explain yourself," I said, tone dead serious.
Elara tilted her head, thinking. "Hmm… I guess it won't matter whether I tell you or not."
"We Drakonids, depending on our growth stage, are at least twenty percent weaker when offworld."
We all froze. That was huge. Just knowing this gave us a massive tactical edge. This kind of intel could sell for millions.
'That's why she can't transform.'
"Isn't that classified information?" Dorian asked, blinking.
"I guess," Elara shrugged. "But I owe Griffin one anyway, so it's fine."
Dorian and Jaime both turned toward me with curious eyes. I pretended not to notice.
"Wait," I said, frowning. "That means you can't access twenty percent of your true power. But earlier you said you only used sixty-five percent in your fight with Jaime."
"What about the other fifteen?"
Elara smirked. "I won't use it on this planet unless it's absolutely necessary. And that's all you're getting out of me."
'She's becoming too much like me. I don't like it.'
"Seems like a little bit of Griffin is rubbing off on you," Jaime said.
"I don't like it."
'Did he read my mind or what?'
"That's even more reason not to go," Dorian added. "You'll get squashed. It's not worth it."
He turned to Jaime. "Talk some sense into him."
"I'm going with him."
"WHAT!?"
"Stop that," we all said in unison.
Dorian gave us all a weird look before facepalming.
"What did I expect from you, anyway? I forgot that you and Griffin move in pairs."
"Well, I'm not gonna help you guys kill yourselves. Especially you, Griffin."
I was disappointed, but I wasn't surprised. Going to Volcaris is definitely suicide. Even so, I still have to do it.
"So, apart from that, what else do you ne—?"
Dorian's sentence was cut short, sweat beading on his forehead like he'd just seen a ghost.
"What's wrong with him?" Elara asked.
"I'm not sure."
"SHIT!!"
"I got a quest… to help you guys."
'Oh? Nice timing.'
"What an interesting system," Elara remarked.
"So, what're the details of the quest?" Jaime asked.
"Ugh. It says I should create a… greatsword."
He looked at me and said, "For you, Griffin."
"And the reward?"
"Unknown for now."
"Guess going to Volcaris is gonna be beneficial for you too, Dorian," Jaime said, smiling.
"Did you get a quest too?"
"Nope."
"Of course you didn't."
"What're the penalties if you fail?"
Dorian looked at Jaime, clearly irritated, and said, "I'll lose 10 intelligence stats."
"Pfft. Hahahahaha!!"
Jaime burst out laughing like a madman.
"You mean to tell me. That if you say no or can't complete the quest you'll get dumber?"
"Hahahaha!!"
He was laughing so loud that I thought Elara would get irritated, but contrary to my belief she was snickering. Trying her best to keep from laughing as well.
Unknowingly, a small smirk was present on my face too.
'Well, it is pretty funny.'
"Shut up!"
Dorian's eye twitched. He reached for his belt like he actually had a grenade, then muttered something under his breath and dropped his hands with a sigh.
"I'll make the frickin' greatsword."
Elara's shoulders settled slightly as she tilted her head. "You're an engineer, aren't you? Why are you doing a blacksmith's job?"
Jaime and I groaned in unison, facepalming.
'Here we go again.'
"Please. I'm not just any engineer," Dorian declared, puffing out his chest. "I'm the best damn engineer in all of Bladepoint!"
"Not true," Jaime muttered.
"Among my peers! You never let me finish, damn it!"
"He's an arcane engineer." I said.
"A hybrid."
Dorian looked at me with unenthusiastic eyes and said, "That's the boring way to explain it but yes."
"I can do everything a blacksmith can. But it comes with its own shortcomings."
"I would have to master both professions before I could reach my full potential and that would take…"
"Well, you get the picture."
Elara nodded knowingly, almost like she sympathized with Dorian.
Dorian ducked under the counter, rummaged for a moment, then slammed a rolled-up map onto the table. It unfurled with a loud snap, stretching out like a second landscape.
Major cities. Scattered towns. Villages. Terror wombs. Hostile adapter camps circled in red.
"Alright," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's map out your death march."
He pointed to the far west. "Volcaris is here. In Virelith. About two thousand miles out. That's a month on foot, if you don't stop or get killed."
"Wait."
Elara planted her hand firmly on the map. "Who said we're walking?"
She turned to me, eyes expectant, like I was supposed to chime in and agree with her.
I met her gaze briefly, then looked away and gestured for Dorian to keep going.
"Anyway," Dorian said, tapping the map, "you'll have to pass through one major city before hitting Virelith—Moonveil."
"That's where the Nyxari are, right?" Jaime asked.
"Yep. And lucky for you, it's the friendliest city on the planet."
"If things go well, they might even portal you straight to Virelith. If not…" He trailed off, tracing a line between the two cities. "You'll be marching through a nasty adapter camp in the dead zone between them."
"Oh, I know those guys," Elara said offhandedly.
All of us turned to stare at her.
"You what?"
She shrugged. "Fought them a while back. Tough guys. Good fight."
'Why am I not surprised.'
"I see," Dorian muttered, folding the map and heading back to the counter.
"Well, that covers how you'll get to Virelith. But how exactly do you plan on reaching Volcaris?" He leaned against the edge, arms crossed. "It's not like the Arches stay open twenty-four-seven."
I rose to my feet, a sly grin tugging at my lips.
"We'll go in through a storm."
"WHAT!?"
The word exploded from all three of them at once — Elara nearly knocked over her chair, Dorian dropped something behind the counter, and Jaime just stared at me like I'd grown a second head.