Khibu and the Flagrant Roar traded blows, their figures practically flying around the ruined buildings as they threw their limbs at each other.

It was ridiculous to think that he achieved this level of fighting ability without his Guardian powers, through pure might alone. With no help other than the two weapons in his arms, he was enough as the lionhead’s match.

I thought I was alone in my disbelief, but similar looks of awe and wonder were plastered on the faces of the seven Li Shaen that struggled against the challenger before.

The abandoned buildings began to crumble and fall as they sustained the shockwaves from their powerful attacks.

“KC, over here!” I heard a voice from the group further ahead.

“Get to cover!” It was Eretham, beckoning me to safety as fragments and structures crashed heavily around us.

Feeling a little regret at handing the shield to Khibu, I started running with an arm above my head, a reflex gesture to block any piece of debris my Hazard Shield would have deflected anyway.

Looking back, I saw a figure of stone standing still, indifferent to the situation around it.

That’s right!

“Golem, cover me!” I shouted.

The construct made from Assaudy’s invention ran in large, bellowing strides, lumbering towards me.

Suddenly, a volley of fireballs assaulted the ground around us, causing me to dive for cover away from the resulting explosions.

I saw the same thing happening to the fighters as they tried to retreat from the battlefield.

Looking back above, I could see the figures of Khibu and the lionhead lifeform soar from building to building, swinging at each other’s throats relentlessly.

It seems like the challenger tried to attack us again in the middle of the fight, but with Khibu on its tail the fireballs weren’t as intense or accurate as before.

Uninjured from the strike, I got up just in time for the golem of stone to use its arms as cover.

Without hesitating, I ran over the holes littered all over the streets, joining up with Eretham and the rest.

“Where is Timayther and Dawon?” Taran asked, seeing my face among the group.

I brought up the chat window I had with her and asked her the question.

Reading the reply,

“They’re safe in a basement pub not far from here. The store is fully abandoned but the interior is mostly intact.” I answered him. “Dawon will recover before long.”

“Wise decision.” Eretham’s brother nodded, “Tell them to stay there anyway, the battle will be over soon.”

“Really?” I asked. He affirmed in response.

I relayed his message to them.

It was indeed sensible of them to choose an underground location to hide. Dug out of the ground instead of in an erected building, there was less risk of it caving in from the fight.

Now that the Flagrant Roar was too busy to summon more of its underlings, there were no longer any lynxes around to cause trouble; staying put in cover is the best decision when you’re not allowed to engage the main enemy.

I followed the main fighting team as we navigated through the run-down roads, moving away from the scene of the fight.

“Are you sure you don’t need to help Khibu fight that thing?” I asked Eretham.

“If it’s Khibu, we’ll only get in the way. All the challenger can hope for now is for him to show some mercy.” The acoustic player of Cindercoy told me, a heavy assault rifle in his hand instead of the instrument he played.

Wow, was he really that strong?

I would have doubted his words any other day, but the fierce way Khibu fought ingrained itself into my mind and convinced me entirely.

We finally reached outside the perimeter of the invasion, to a part of town untouched by the destruction. The buildings were abandoned, but otherwise untouched.

I headed straight for an apartment and opened the door, intending to go up to the highest floor.

“What are you doing, Mr KC?” Taran called out to me.

“It’s fine, Taran.” The leader of the fighting team told him. Then, turning around to face me,

“Make sure not to touch or steal anything, Human. You’ll have to answer to us for any misconduct you do.”

“…Got it.” I responded.

I didn’t have any intention to steal from their people, but his threat of prosecution rang severe in my mind.

The inside of the apartment had no remarkable difference from the ones I see in real life, apart from the speakers installed in the corner of the corridors. They must be for the emergency broadcast, in case a disaster like this happens.

Running up the stairs, I reached the roof of the apartment and lowered my body immediately.

In the distance, I could see the figures of Khibu and the lionhead lifeform still in battle. Not risking another attack thrown at me by the challenger, I hid myself behind the rooftop fences.

Stable on the floor, I continued to observe the fight between the two.

As expected, Khibu pressed on his attacks and continued to overwhelm the Flagrant Roar through brute force alone.

It fired a beam through roaring and shot supernova blasts from its arms, but the monster of a Li Shaen kept being a little too quick for its moves. Desperate to regain its foothold in battle, the challenger began to launch a series of brutal punches and kicks towards the warrior, not caring about the injuries it would sustain from those attacks.

Unable to evade the blows in midair, Khibu could only block them with the weapons in his hands. The broadsword he brought with him stood unmoving in the face of the continued strikes, but the Everest Bracer I gave him wasn’t as strong.

After a flurry of ferocious blows, it finally broke through my shield, tearing away at the joints where the charged lines lay.

I could see the internal mechanics of the Bracer show as its claws bore into the cells.

However, what happened next was something I didn’t expect.

A blast of energy exploded from the shield, throwing the Flagrant Roar off of it.

Without a moment’s delay, Khibu ran along and jumped off a ruined building, projecting himself towards the falling lionhead lifeform.

Before it could clear the flash from its eyes and realize what was going on, the beastly Li Shaen swung his broadsword and the Bracer, in its battle axe form, towards it.

A dreadful crunch resounded as the weapons collided with their target, and the resulting explosion was a darker shade of red and brown than any other I’ve seen.

Rumbling followed the aftermath of that impact, and after that; silence.

Was it over? I thought.

“Let’s go, KC.” Eretham’s voice could be heard from the streets.

Looks like the battle has finally ended.

---

You: Eretham’s calling out to me. I think the battle is finally over.

Dawon: Has it?

You: Yeah, I’m not hearing anything anymore from the battlefield.

Dawon: Alright. See you there.

I came down from the roof and left the apartment, joining up with the seven Li Shaen fighters once again. It seemed like they were tending to their injuries and checking their weapons while I was watching the fight.

The golem I made stood still with them, awaiting my next orders.

Taking it along, we moved in the direction of the last explosion. I messaged Dawon again to look for the rising smoke so that we wouldn’t miss each other.

After going through several blocks of ruined buildings and roads, we eventually arrived to where Khibu was.

The elderly Li Shaen stood in the middle of a crater, holding under his foot the neck of the lionhead challenger.

“Nhabar, you’re here.”

He turned to us.

“Yes.” The leader of the main fighting team answered. “Is the challenge over?”

Khibu nodded.

Then, recounting the incident,

“Including this one, three Flagrant Roars, one Empress Incandescent, and ten Babutu Seprents invaded Mavacena around 13:52 local time, on the ninth day of Late Rising.”

“I rushed over as soon as the situation in the other thirteen places was under control.”

“It was unfortunate that our part of town didn’t have many suitable weapons against the threat this time, so not many of our people were armed.” Nhabar commented.

I whispered to Eretham,

“Then what about the Bitter Howl? You could have given it to another Li Shaen.”

“It’s not effective in the main engagement.” He replied. “And the other Li Shaen had already evacuated with the rest of the people.”

“The Flagrant Roar was particularly fierce this time around.” Nhabar continued, “Perhaps,”

Turning to look at me,

“Its pride was trampled by the volunteers who foiled its plans?”

I didn’t say anything in return; Nhabar didn’t tell any lies.

The lionhead lifeform let out a quiet growl, still pinned on the ground.

“Still, it was them who dealt with the underlings, relieving us of the duty to minimize possible casualties during the invasion.”

“I could see that.” Khibu added. “The Amber Lynxes aren’t strong, but their agility and pack behaviour is difficult to deal with if you’re distracted by the main engagement.”

At this time, the shadows of a human woman and cyan fluid lifeform came into view, appearing from the corner of a building running towards us.

Khibu and Nhabar looked at them for a few seconds, then resumed their discussion.

“Miss Dawon, Mr Timayther.” Taran called out to the newcomers.

“We’re here,” Dawon responded. “Anything we can help with?”

Hmm, Eretham pondered.

“Not unless you can stay in Mavacena for weeks, if not a month or two.” He shook his head. “Rebuilding isn’t difficult, but it’ll take time.”

“Oh,” She turned to look at me, and I shrugged in response.

We were already close to the end of the [Morning] phase: that was one-fourth of the day done already. With less than two days of play time left, spending the rest of it helping around in Mavacena would not move its restoration far long, nor would it be the best use of our time.

“Don’t worry.” Someone else in the main fighting team reassured us.

It was the spear user who saved me from falling off the building back then.

“Small settlements like ours get wrecked all the time in these challenges.” She smiled. “The destruction was a bit more widespread this time around, but it’s not something we can’t manage.”

“That’s right.” Another Li Shaen added. He was the gunner with Eretham and Dawon from before. “You’re still guests in our town. You don’t need to concern yourselves too much with us.”

I could only nod to their words. Out of the blue, I made eye contact with Timayther, checking the case of the instrument he carried. He had a smug expression on his face, as if saying:

What did I tell you?

Shaen matters, huh. I still have much to learn.

After a few minutes of discussion, Khibu nodded to Nhabar, then began to approach me and my two companions.

In his place, Nhabar restrained the Flagrant Roar with his weapon.

I held my breath, waiting for him to speak.

Taking out the Bracer I gave him, in battle axe form, he spoke.

“It was the materials of the charged shield that saved your weapon, Human. The power cells held it back from showing its full might, and they were also the component that broke first.”

The plated weapon he held out to me was scarred all over from the previous fight. As I took it off his hands, I saw that the metal was dented and bent in a few spots.

However, it was the power channels that suffered the most damage, even more than the internal joints that gave the shield its morphing ability. The charge lines were completely frayed and could no longer hold any usable amount of power.

Still, with a bit of force, I could transform the metal plates back into the shield form, still very much usable without the charge function.

“The considerations you took in making the Bracer helped, too.” He chuckled. “Not bad, Human. Your Bracer was no Everest, but it had the force to stand up to a mountain.”

Done with our conversation, Khibu then turned to Timayther.

“Mun Shaen, I hear that you are a Nadeum musician.” The burly Li Shaen spoke.

“Yes, I am.”

Timayther responded, no trace of apprehension towards Udepra and its people remaining.

“Are you able to temper the madness of this challenger?”

Shooting a glance towards the Flagrant Roar, Khibu posed his question.

“Temper…?” Tim was confused for a while, but quickly understood.

Taking out his instrument from the case,

“I’ll try.”

He approached the lionhead lifeform carrying the string modular in both hands.

The restrained challenger shrunk back from him, afraid of the cold energy in the Mun Shaen’s body.

“This will be over soon.” Tim responded to its gaze. Turning towards his musical partner, “Is Sunset Flower alright?”

“Hmm, how about the second track we worked on instead?” Dawon responded with a suggestion of her own. “It’s slower, after all.”

“Alright.”

The scene of their discussion still fascinated me, even now. Timayther may be a rookie producer, but the fact that Dawon could provide her input on how a literal alien should play his music was something I couldn’t quite get used to. I also recalled how he helped me ward off the hellcat in the previous fight, and…

This wasn’t a quest or mission.

I found all of this out because I decided, on my own accord, to go to Nadeum and take the two of them to Udepra.

The degree of emergent behaviour that came from my own actions as a player was staggering.

Following Dawon’s advice, the Mun Shaen checked the tuning of the hypnoteal, then began playing.

The song he performed closely resembled an instrumental ballad, apart from the strings and synths unique to the string modular he used.

Thinking about how Dawon contributed to the arrangement of the track, once again I could appreciate how sound her musical senses were.

As the song progressed, I began to feel drowsy and sat down with my back to a wall, unable to hold myself up.

Dawon and the Li Shaen couldn’t escape the influence of his music either. I could see them struggle to keep standing while listening to the performance.

Khibu and Nhabar had plugged their ears earlier, so they weren’t as affected by the song.

The track finally ended, and the lionhead lifeform held down by Nhabar finally calmed down.

---

After a while, more people appeared and came over to us. Most of them were Li Shaen, in dirtied uniforms and weapons, but there were three or four individuals from other races as well.

They must be volunteers too.

Several of the Li escorted the Flagrant Roar away on a large cargo transporter, while another stopped in front of us and opened its doors.

“We’ll handle things here,” The spear user from our team said to their leader. “Complete your report and hurry back.”

“Will do.” Nhabar replied, getting on the transporter after Khibu.

However, the vehicle didn’t leave after both of them were inside. The two Li Shaen looked at us with confused expressions,

“Well, are you coming with us or not?”

I belatedly realized that they were waiting for us.

“Wait,” I stuttered, “The three of us?”

Nhabar nodded.

Dawon, Tim and I looked at one another, then boarded the transporter without saying anything.

I looked back to see a figure of stone standing still in the middle of the ruined street, faithfully awaiting my orders.

The golem wasn’t going to be of much use for now, and time was running out for it to work.

“Help the people here with their things, Golem.” I gave out my last command. Then, turning to the rest of the main fighting team,

“Let this guy do some work, Eretham. He’ll crumble away after some time, so might as well put him to good use until then.”

“Got it.” He nodded.

Then,

“…You’re not coming back, aren’t you, KC?”

The fight was over, and there weren’t many good reasons to stay in a town still recovering from a disaster.

“Yeah.” I replied.

“Alright then.” Eretham and Taran sent us off. “See you around.”

“You too.”

The spacious rover zoomed away from the scene of the fight, travelling north of where we were.

“We would usually beat the defeated invaders until they couldn’t fight back, then banish them to the depths of the Udepran earth.”

Khibu began, seated in front next to the driver.

“It was cruel and violent, but it was the only way to get the message across to the challengers that they had lost the fight.”

Turning to look at Timayther,

“If we had Mun Shaen like you around, we wouldn’t have had to be so hard on them. I can finally see that that was indeed the case.”

Without ceremony or notice, the burly Li Shaen slightly bowed his head towards the Nadeum musician.

Nhabar and the driver had surprised looks on their face, as if this was a significant gesture for him to make.

“Thank you.”

“No, no!” Tim could only hold up his hands and shake his head at Khibu’s gesture. “It was my pleasure and honor to help.”

“The invaders are inhumane beasts that hurt and kill innocent people, and we have taken many of their lives in return.”

The person next to the driver continued,

“The way of life in this world is blood for blood. That is why we do not slaughter those yet to spill that of our people first.”

Dawon and I remained quiet, listening to their exchange. I was not familiar with any of this, so I didn’t dare join in the conversation.

This time, it was Tim’s turn to speak.

“I thought about the idea of the role of Shaen musicians in these challenges for a while.”

The two Li Shaen listened, saying nothing.

“If you didn’t already know, challengers on Nadeum tend to be gargantuan, with watery, slippery bodies. Many of our settlements were flooded when they breached the watertight perimeters.”

He went on.

“When we defeated them and calmed them down with our songs, they didn’t have the energy to leave the cities they entered. Our upbeat music only drove them mad once again.”

Making eye contact with Nhabar and Khibu,

“I’m sure the musicians of Udepra with their physically energizing effect could help us greatly in this case.” He concluded.

“…I see.” The elderly Li Shaen nodded. “The synergy between our two races expresses itself here, too.”

“It seems like it.” Timayther embarrassedly agreed, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

The transporter had six seats in three rows of two. It was Khibu and the driver in front, Nhabar and Dawon in the middle, and me with Tim at the back.

“Ow.”

That was why Tim’s elbow hit my face when he moved his hand behind his head,

“Oh, sorry, Mr. KC.” He apologized.

Khibu let out a chuckle and turned back to the road.

“It’s fine, Tim.” I reassured him. Then,

“…Say, your entire body is made out of this liquid, material thing, right?” I asked.

“Yeah?” He looked straight at me with that answer.

“Then why do you have to be in a humanoid shape all the time? I could even feel something as hard as bone when you hit my face just now.”

He was silent for a few seconds.

“…I don’t know why, either.” The Mun Shaen finally responded. “It was natural to be like this, I guess?”

“The exact reasons are still unknown,”

Nhabar joined in the discussion,

“But the popular theory is that the Shaen adapted to this form so that we could use technology developed by the Gray and Humans. They’ve been around in the Shalim system for a long time, after all.”

“Huh.” I muttered.

Humans have been exploring space long enough for the Shaen to adapt to their shape? Hyperspace Frontier must be really far into the future, then.

“Restrained under strict laws, sealed away from our Guardian abilities, conditioned to take the shape of our biped neighbours: You’d think the Shaen would be greatly diminished as a race with these restrictions, right?”

Khibu mentioned.

“Aren’t you?” Dawon replied.

“Our race has never prospered as much as after we agreed to these conditions.” He answered. “Cities thrived, people learned, the Shaen as a whole progressed greatly as a sentient species. Even our challenges were won much more quickly after our contact with the other races.”

His statement took me and her aback, while Tim quietly nodded along.

“We always tell our young this about the laws we follow:”

The burly Li Shaen said his last words, grinning at us.

“What we lost with power, we gained with understanding.”

---

“Mavacena Town Hall.”

The driver announced, as the transporter we were in drove up to the entrance of a large building, similar to a castle or a garrison in shape.

We got out of the vehicle and went inside the hall, led by Khibu. Inside, a few people were waiting for us.

“Khibu,” One Li Shaen said. The others repeated his name.

By this time, I already had an idea of what kind of position he held in this town.

Our group breezed through the corridors, going straight past the open space where a few dozen people rested.

It looked like they were temporarily sheltered in the hall, having lost their homes in the invasion. I could also hear some of the residents talking to the staff working there, asking about the rebuilding plan and how basic needs could be obtained during that period.

Luckily, no one was really hurt in the incident.

Someone approached Nhabar, reporting something to him. After a brief discussion, the leader of the main fighting team approached us.

“It was the correct decision on your part to tell the remaining civilian family near Susan Square to stay inside the building.” He said.

“Some of the breaches during the invasion may have endangered the evacuation routes, and the lynxes will easily chase down civilians with no means of defending themselves.”

“Guess we got lucky, KC.” Dawon turned to me.

“Yeah, better safe than sorry.” I agreed.

The three of us spent around twenty minutes waiting for Khibu and Nhabar to finish their work in the town hall, helping the staff take care of the civilians that were sick or disabled sheltered here.

As I talked to them and recounted my experience with the fight, I found out a lot about who the monstrous, old Li Shaen with us was.

Khibu Macedi Tumurta, the mayor of Mavacena.

He earned the name of Khibu, meaning ‘Steadfast’, from his innumerable contributions to the Li Shaen’s society: Participating in an incredible number of challenges, mediating many of their internal conflicts, and helping implement many of the interstellar rules of law into Li policy, among others.

He chose to manage a small town away from the major cities as a way to divert attention from himself coming from possibly malicious parties, given the name he’s made for himself all this while.

The overbearing attitude he had finally made sense.

From talking with Timayther and some of the other Li Shaen, Dawon and I also made ourselves familiar with the races’ naming system.

The first name of the Shaen was given by their parents, while the second was chosen by themselves when they come of age. The third name, which went before the first, is only given to highly accomplished individuals by the community as a whole in recognition for their merits.

In retrospect, the three names were read in order of their relationship to society:

• Khibu, the name given by the people;
• Macedi, the name he received at birth; and,
• Tumurta, the name he chose for himself.

“Why did you choose the name ‘Gerrinie’, Tim?” I asked. “You know, just curious.”

The cyan liquid person hesitated a little, then explained.

“One of the people who contributed to the musical history of Nadeum was a keyboard performer from a minor race, a lepidopteran Feran named Laviato Gerrini.” He answered, a little embarrassed. “I wanted her name to watch over my own aspirations, I guess?”

I stared at him speechless for a second or two. Then, unable to hide my grin, I was chased around the hall by the Mun Shaen for laughing at the origins of his second name.

Afraid to trip or collide with people doing serious work, I ceased running after some time and let his squishy fists pummel me to a soft, mushy pulp.

“Human and Mun.”

Khibu’s hardened voice brought both of us back to our senses.

“KC and Timayther, am I right?”

The two of us looked towards the door to the open space, where the giant Li Shaen stood. Dawon was talking with Nhabar, behind him.

We went over to him, waiting for him to continue.

“Your friend here told me that you are able to summon your ships from anywhere in the current system, is that right?” He asked.

“Yes… Sir.” I answered. I found out about the function back in Day 1, after the sandstorm incident.

I have addressed the mayor of Mavacena with ‘Sir’ well before I found out who he was. Maybe it was just my survival instincts talking.

“Come with me.”

---

Khibu brought us out to an open space, outside and away from the town hall.

Nhabar stayed back to deal with the present situation, so he didn’t come with us.

It was another plaza in the middle of the town, larger than the one in Susan Square. Most of the rubble from the ruined buildings was cleared out, leaving plenty of space.

In one corner of the area was a personal spacecraft, the red of its paint faded in places. Unlike our ships, there was no rooms in this one, only a pilot seat with some room for the pilot’s limbs to move.

I felt a pat on my back. It was the Li Shaen, who saw me curiously looking at the ship.

“You can take a closer look.” He said.

I approached the spacecraft and examined it. A window showing its basic stats and details appeared in front of me.

Ventstreamer.

It looked like a ship you’d use for short trips, rather than full-scale excursions.

“It’s the first ship I had.” He explained, “Served we well to this day.”

I looked back to see Dawon fiddling with her system, bringing out a few windows to interact with. Tim stood to the side, as puzzled as I was.

“Bring your spaceship here, KC. Once you’re in flight, follow me to Daptel.” Khibu requested.

“Got it.” I browsed to the ship call function and initiated the process to summon the Wandering 14, setting its landing point next to the one Dawon chose.

Khibu entered his own craft and fired up the engine. Without waiting for ours to come, he took the Venstreamer off the ground and flew into the air.

The ships we called arrived not long after, so we boarded them immediately and departed from Mavacena.

Like before, Timayther went on my ship and sat in place in the weaponry room.

As we went past the clouds, I heard a notification on my transmission channel. Examining the prompt, it looked like a connection request from the Ventsreamer.

I accepted it without delay.

“Thank you. Looks like the two of you are here?”

Khibu’s voice could be heard through the channel.

“I am.” Dawon’s voice was also there.

“Me too.” I answered.

“You should see me circling around the town. We’ll meet up, then set off for Daptel together.” He explained.

Looking at my ship navigation, a mark appeared on the map, corresponding to a red ship in the distance flying in a gentle arc around the buildings.

I also saw the extent of destruction the invasion of the challengers caused to the settlement. Craters and fissures were clustered around the town, and several dozens of buildings were destroyed in the fight. Entire blocks were even razed to the ground, smoke still rising into the sky.

From what I can see, around three-fifths of Mavacena was affected by the battle.

Yeah, rebuilding will take some time.

As soon as our three ships convened, Khibu took off to the north-west, leading us to Daptel.

The journey would take a little under ten minutes to complete at our current cruising speed. I set the automatic guidance to follow Khibu’s ship, but didn’t leave the pilot’s seat in case anything happens.

After a period of silence,

“Is Timayther there? Can he hear me?”

Khibu asked.

The transmission was loud enough to be heard throughout the ship, so Tim directly responded to him.

“Good,” He continued.

“I heard about your rumours from Taran and Eretham. How Udepra was supposedly not welcoming to Nadeum musicians, to the extent of boycotting and sabotaging their efforts to perform on this planet.”

The Mun Shaen listened to him intently. I stayed quiet as well, allowing him to continue.

“While I can suspect that the person who spread those rumours had done so with malicious intents, it is indeed true that no Nadean musician has ever made it on Udepra, to my knowledge.”

After a few moments of silence,

“No Udepran musician has yet to succeed in Nadeum either, am I right?”

“Yes.” Tim answered.

“Is that because the Mun Shaen hate them?”

“I… don’t know.” The Nadeum musician shook his head, uncertain of his answer. “I’ve always thought that they didn’t bother to come and live on Nadeum in the first place, being completely underwater and all.”

“Mm,”

Hearing his words, Khibu went on.

“The Ne-Dangsa Pact should seem like a past long gone to your people, KC and Dawon. To us, however, the signing of the treaty was officiated only five of our generations ago.”

“In the days of our godhood, before the Pact, the Li and Mun faced and respected each other as eternal rivals, one forever vying to prevail over the other that was equal and opposite to them.”

“As a society, however, the Shaen are young. Still very much in the early stages of development, a lot left to learn and understand.”

“The transition of the Shaen races’ bond from a battle-borne oath of kinship to a formal, diplomatic relation has been slow, with innumerable rites of etiquette and tradition to revise.”

“Thus, the considerations for one race of Shaen to tap into the society of the other’s homeland have yet to be detailed in its entirety, to say nothing of their finalization.”

He finally concluded,

“The time when the Li and Mun Shaen can live and work freely on Nadeum and Udepra will come, sooner or later.”

“Thank you.” Hearing Khibu reassure him, Timayther showed a sincere smile. “I’ll be ready for when that happens.”

Phew.

Seeing Tim finally lay his worries to rest, I felt a weight come off my shoulders.

Looks like we finally achieved what we came for.

The two of them talked for a while longer while I opened up my chat window.

You: Guess that’s that for Tim’s matter.

Dawon: Yeah, I’m glad the rumours turned out to be false.

You: One hell of a trip, though 😂 who would have thought we’d be caught up in a battle so suddenly?

Dawon: Our clothes are all ruined 😭 I hope I can get new ones on Daptel.

You: Sounds good.

You: I have extra clothes around, but it won’t hurt to do some window shopping.

I closed the window and turned to look at the person behind me, who had just finished talking to Khibu.

“Hope you’re not too old to perform by the time the regulations pass, Tim!” I joked.

However, the Mun Shaen only looked at me with strange eyes.

“What do you mean, Mr KC?” He asked, “It’s only going to be a century and a half at most until then.”

…Only a century and a half?

“If you don’t mind me asking, Tim,” I began.

“Yeah?”

“How long do you Shaen live?”

“Um, about 400 to 500 years these days?”

“Five hundred!?”

“Yeah. Our ancestors used to have lifespans of millennia, but we can’t live that long…”

Tim trailed off before he realized,

“Oh, sorry, Mr KC! I forgot that your people couldn’t really live much longer than a century. I apologize for my mistake.”

I stared at him, speechless. After several moments,

“Tim, how old are you?”

I asked him the burning question.

“115 years. It hasn’t been long since I came of age.”

I felt a headache come on, before the Astronaut physique took care of it.

---

[Day 2, Noon]

­­­­­­­­­­The city of Daptel came into view while I was thinking about the perception of time among people and animals.

Situated on a river delta running along the base of a giant volcano, I could see the channels of lava and water flowing through the infrastructure of the bustling civilization in sturdy, regulated networks.

The synergy of the elements of fire and water, utilized in tandem by the industrial arms of the metropolitan settlement, was spectacular to behold.

Daptel was many times larger than Mavacena, with rouge skyscrapers in scattered bunches reaching above the warm-coloured sky.

“We’ll land in the main airport, Humans. That’s the fastest way we’ll get to Isket’s place.”

Khibu’s voice reached me through the transmission.

Soon after, the Ventstreamer altered its course and headed in the direction of what looked like a giant stadium.

“Let’s meet up down there.” I added.

Khibu let out an affirmation and closed the channel.

I followed after him and saw the Steadfast 07 close in next to me.

“I wonder what he wants us here for.” I opened another transmission, this time connecting to Dawon’s ship alone.

“I heard him talking to Nhabar about compensation, but didn’t get any more detail.” She responded. “Looks like we’ll have to find out what it is for ourselves.”

“Yeah.” I agreed.

As we approached the stadium-like building, I saw that the opening in its centre of the extended deep into the earth. Underground floors layered on top of one another, lit up in white.

The Ventstreamer was already inside the opening, slowed down by several of what looked like energy nets, holding it in place.

A notification popped up on my HUD.

‘Welcome to Daptel, Alchemy Capital of Udepra’

Alchemy!

Before I could speak, a request from flight control to connect to my transmission arrived.

“Vertical Tunnel ready for entry, Wandering 14. Please approach the shaft in a straight line.”

“Straight line?” I asked.

“Do not fly into the shaft from an angle; aim the front of your ship perpendicular to the ground.” The flight controller explained. “Our tractor beams will guide your smooth entry into the hangars.”

“…I’ll try.”

I pulled up and flew high above where the opening was.

“KC?” Dawon asked.

The tunnel was several times as large as our ships, but wouldn’t be able to accommodate frigate-class vessels and above, from what I could see.

“We’re landing like this.” I replied, “Giving myself the distance, just in case.”

Well above the airport, I turned my ship and pointed downwards, straight into the opening of the building, trusting the flight controller’s instructions.

My ship’s systems sent out a status window, displaying a diagram of what looked like the inside of the tunnel. Highlighted in red on the image were four of what looked like gun turrets, all pointing in my direction.

As soon as the Wandering 14 came into the range of their fire, the red highlights turned green. Simultaneously, the four turrets shot out the same blueish-white energy nets that slowed down Khibu’s ship.

The nets dramatically slowed down my ship all the way to a standstill, suspended inside the tunnel.

Soon after, one of the underground floors lit up in an orange colour, and the tractor beams coordinated between themselves to orient my ship level and bring it into the open hangar. From here, I could see almost a hundred ships parked per floor inside the tunnel, moved and sorted around by smaller turrets placed around each layer.

Compared to other places I’ve set down on in Hyperspace Frontier, the landing process here was in a class of its own.

The beams from the smaller turrets aligned my ship and set it down on its designated landing spot, before letting go.

“That was a crazy way to land, Mr KC.”

Timayther’s voice called out to me as I finished powering down the engine.

“How do you usually do it on Nadeum, then?” I asked him. “With the Depth Paint and all.”

“The same way you do with the overwater hangars, except with a few more airlocks involved.” He responded.

“I see.” I nodded.

Bringing out the window again,

You: Are you landing on the same floor?

Dawon: I don’t think so, from the looks of it.

You: Oh.

You: We’ll meet in the terminal, then.

Dawon: Sure, see you there.

The plan settled, I finally stood up from the pilot seat, stretching my body to get rid of the numbness.

At this time, I realized that I was still in my ruined clothes from Mavacena.

“Whoops, almost forgot.”

I walked over to the crew quarters and took out the spacesuit from the washing machine. It was a bit stale, but dry enough to wear.

“Good idea, Mr KC.” Tim commented. “You look like a fire survivor in that state.”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

I looked at him for a few seconds, then undressed to change into the cleaned suit. I figured that other races or species wouldn’t really be concerned with human modesty, so I didn’t bother going into the bathroom to change.

As expected, the Mun Shaen didn’t really react in any particular way as I changed into new inners and put on the orange suit.

Finished, I took one last look around the room and opened the inventory to see if nothing was missing.

Opening the exit hatch of the ship, I set down onto the hangar floor of Daptel’s main airport, Tim trailing behind me.

The air was warm and humid, not much different from the one on Mavacena. However, being underground and in a ship landing spot, there was the characteristic feeling of pressure and the smell of fuel and smoke around.

It’s the main airport for personal crafts, I guess.

The port for bigger ships must be somewhere else.

Following the arrows painted on the walls and columns around the hangar, we passed by several other parked ships and entered the elevator area.

The wait for a lift didn’t take long, and we were brought up to the ground floor of the airport before long.

On the way up, I felt a little hungry, so I looked into the inventory to see what I could snack on. Settling for a Xetune caramel ration bar, I munched on the mix in the elevator. The other passengers on the carriage didn’t mind, but Tim looked at me eating the bar intently.

I passed him a cranberry flavoured bar, which he hesitantly accepted. Tim wasn’t really good at hiding his expressions, it seems.

The doors opened to the immigration area, and the procedures for our entry into Daptel completed smoothly. There were some raised eyebrows at the custom-made Bracer I brought with me, but I explained that I was an explorer and they let me through.

Walking out into the terminal, we were immediately approached by a walking metal twig, the bottom end split into seven or eight legs that scuttled along the stainless-steel finished floor.

“Mr KC, Mr Timayther?” It asked me in a synthesized voice.

“Yes.” I replied. Tim nodded along.

“Mr Khibu is waiting for you in the lounge area. I shall you there after Miss Dawon arrives.”

“Alright.”

We sat down on the nearby seats and finished the rest of our snacks, just in time for her to come out of immigration.

Changed into her spacesuit with her hair in a ponytail, she looked like a proper explorer setting foot on a foreign place.

I waved at her, and she walked over as soon as she saw us.

“Have you eaten, Miss Dawon?” Tim asked her.

“Not yet, Tim.” She answered. “Maybe we should get something soon.”

“Good idea.” I agreed. My eyes narrowed on Tim’s face, the crumbs of the bar I gave him still around the area on his fluid body where he lodged it in. There were even bits of the ration still undigested underneath the membrane.

This guy can be pretty shameless sometimes.

Now that all three of us were here, we left to meet up with Khibu, led by the guide who received us.

---

The lounge was located on the right end of the terminal, hidden behind an inconspicuous door that looked like one belonging to a janitor’s storage.

With such a plain entrance, I figured that the place focused on privacy rather than luxury. Even for us, it felt jarring to go through the door while people were looking.

‘Insufficient Clearance to Enter Location’

‘Clearance Requirement Waived – Relationship to Prominent Individual’

However, the notifications I received told me all I needed to know about what kind of place it was.

On the inside, the stairs up that greeted us were wooden, an aged brown lit up by warm lights on the walls either side of them.

Walking up the staircase, we reached the lounge itself, where two or three people were seated.

The room itself was furnished vintage, with bookshelves lined up opposite the couches full of books. The lighting used the present technology, but they gave the lounge an ambience that fit its theme.

The metal twig walked over to a table in the corner and beckoned us over. Even from the entrance to the lounge, I could see Khibu’s oversized body there, drinking from a mug of what looked like coffee.

“Just in time.” He said, seeing us approach him. “The person they sent should already be here.”

The Li Shaen finished his cup of coffee and stood up, nodding to the receptionist before walking out another door by the back of the lounge.

“There is an exclusive pickup point down the stairs out of that door, where your chauffeur will meet you.”

Our guide motioned for us to follow after Khibu.

We did as it said, leaving the lounge and going down to a lower level, which opened to the side of a tunneled road.

Parked close to us was a vehicle that closely resembled a limousine; sleek and private, with hover exhausts in place of wheels quietly suspending the black tinted vehicle above the road.

Khibu finished talking to the driver standing outside, next to the limo by the time we arrived. He shot a glance at us before entering the carriage.

Timayther and I were frozen, still not used to the premium facilities that accompanied the status someone like Khibu had.

However, Dawon went over to the same person, spoke a few words to him, then entered the vehicle without delay.

“Hurry up and get on.” She called us over before disappearing into the car.

“…What kind of person is Miss Dawon, Mr KC?” After a few seconds, Tim slowly turned to me and asked.

“…You can say that she has a reputation where I’m from, I guess.” I answered.

It made sense, if you think about it: Going to award shows as WJSN all this while, these things would have been business as usual for an artist like her.

We followed after them and boarded the limousine at the same time as the chauffeur, who didn’t waste any more time to take us onto the road.

The road trip took about half an hour, mostly due to the traffic at certain parts of the city slowing us down.

Stopped at one junction, I looked out of the window to see the multitude of cars and buses packed up in the lanes next to ours, the different sentient races driving them all weary from the delay in movement.

A few transporters whizzed above our heads and circled the traffic holdup in the air, while most of the others passed on by, going about their own business.

The network of roads we drove on crisscrossed the city’s buildings in a particular manner, travelling alongside or above the lava and water channels often.

While wondering about the safety countermeasures installed in the roads, I heard Dawon say something to Tim.

In the vehicle, the two of them sat on one side of the carriage, while I was with Khibu on the other.

“Does caffeine not affect you at all?” She asked.

“Unfortunately, no, it doesn’t really do anything to us, unlike the other races.” Her partner replied. “I do like the taste of coffee, though.”

“What do you do to keep yourself awake, then?”

“We take in pure oxygen from pressurized containers. Shaen need oxygen to move, so the extra shot gives us the energy spike we need.”

“That much would poison our bodies.” I chimed in on their conversation, telling Tim the little I knew about oxygen toxicity.

“Huh.” He responded. “Life is about balance after all, Mr KC.”

“Yep.” I nodded.

While we continued to talk, Khibu rested with his eyes closed, saying nothing.

Other than the bronze-red colour scheme of the skyscrapers and the channels of water and lava running side by side, Daptel looked like any other city built on the technology of Hyperspace Frontier’s era.

We branched off from the main road, approaching what looked like a citadel isolated away from the rest of the city.

Seeing our limousine arrive, one of the guards stationed by the gate well outside the building spoke into its receiver, and the gate opened before long.

The vehicle drove up to the back entrance of the building, then opened its doors.

“We have arrived, Sir Khibu.” The chauffeur announced.

To his words, the Li Shaen opened his eyes and moved to leave the car.

Outside, a bald person with porcelain skin and a gold plate across their face walked outside the entrance to receive him.

“Welcome, Mr Khibu.” They began, their voice gentle and enchanting. “Your appointment came at a short notice, so I was the only one that could meet you.”

The moment I looked at them, a notification appeared in front of me.

‘Insufficient Prestige to Access Individual’

Who is this person?

“I don’t care for formalities.” Khibu waved their apology off. “Isket should be at work, I presume?”

The attendant nodded.

“Master is operating the Counsel Forge as usual, Mr Khibu. She has always been generous to share her talents with the disciples of the Grand Apothecary thus far.”

“She should take some time off, that crafting maniac.”

“Master seems well, but I agree that her enthusiasm for the cast can… precede, someone of her standing, sometimes.”

The three of us got off the limousine and joined up with Khibu.

“Who are we going to meet, Mr Khibu?” Timayther asked.

I was curious as well. The person in front of us, who I couldn’t even speak to with my current Prestige level, was calling her ‘master’, after all.

“A friend of mine.”

The Li Shaen dusted away his burly figure.

“Perhaps you can learn from her ways, Human.”

He brought something out of his side pocket, handing it to the attendant.

“The Grand Apothecary appreciates your continued support, Mr Khibu.” Taking the card-like thing from him, the gold-plated person smiled, then began leading us into the building.

Walking behind them, the three of us couldn’t help being curious about the citadel and what was inside it.

---

The back entrance of the Grand Apothecary was nowhere near as grand as the front, but it still led to the main lobby area on the ground floor of the citadel. The hall had a dignified, almost regal, atmosphere to it, embellished by the intricate yet domineering machinery components encased in glass cases. Set on stone pedestals, they represented the achievements and contributions to the forging industry held by the institution.

We passed by the exhibits and approached the elevators, at which point the attendant held out the identification card hung from their neck for the sensor to scan.

Recognizing their identity, the doors to one elevator opened.

The five of us rode the carriage up well above the ground floor. I had no idea which button the gold-plated person pressed, but keeping track of the time we spent in the lift, it was probably somewhere in the thirties’ levels.

Arriving at our destination, the elevator doors opened up to a simple, undecorated corridor, with simple white doors and frosted windows that peeked into rooms where several large pieces of machinery were operating.

Apart from buzzing sounds and the occasional sizzle, the entire floor was quiet with little chatter to be heard.

“The Counsel Forge should be at the right end of this floor, Mr Khibu.”

The attendant gave him a bow.

“If you require anything else, I will be in this section of the workshops.”

Greeting us farewell, the gold-plated person opened the door not far where we were, and disappeared into one of the rooms.

“Busy as always,” Khibu mentioned. Turning to us, “Let’s go. Isket should still be there.”

The Li Shaen walked forward down the corridor, the three of us following after him.

“I don’t know whether to call this a workshop or a laboratory, Tim.” I whispered.

“From the equipment I can see, this should be a full-functioning alchemy workshop, Mr KC.” He replied. “Specialist, of course, so mass production would be out of the question.”

I nodded at his words and looked across to Dawon, beside him. As we made eye contact, I saw an expression of curiosity mixed in with a little bit of wonder on her face.

I feel the same way too.

Recalling the way Hyperspace Frontier plays, you’d only be able to enter places like this after gaining Clearance from a ton of Prestige or, as I’ve heard, a qualification that excuses you from that requirement.

Seeing the Clearance waive back in the lounge…

Knowing the right people, huh?

We definitely got lucky that Khibu chose to bring us with him.

A door like the others greeted us at the end of the corridor.

Without knocking, Khibu pushed it open and entered the workshop the attendant called the Counsel Forge.

We quietly followed him into the room, larger than the others with much more equipment in them.

‘Insufficient Clearance to Enter Location’

‘Clearance Requirement Waived – Relationship to Prominent Individual’

The notifications arrived once again, telling me how significant this place was to the setting of the world.

In the centre of the wall right of the door was where the workshop’s defining instrument was: A giant furnace with countless modules and measurement sensors installed on either side of the chamber. The bronze-coloured stone lining the inside of the furnace glowed slightly red, and I could feel an intense heat radiating from the opening.

By contrast, the apparatuses placed by the wall furthest from where we were looked more like a traditional workbench. Some of the tools were admittedly foreign, but the more familiar cutters and welding machines were also there.

By the bench stood another Li Shaen, wearing a lab coat that barely fit her body, brawny like Khibu’s was.

As soon as my eyes laid on her,

‘An anomalous meeting has occurred’

‘Insufficient Prestige to Access Individual’

‘Insufficient Prestige to Utilize Services’

‘Insufficient Prestige to be recognized as Client or Second Party’

‘Insufficient Prestige to Initiate Negotiations’

‘Insufficient Prestige to Provide Materials and Blueprints’

‘Insufficient Prestige to…”

Countless warnings popped up on windows in front of me. I could even see them appearing before Dawon’s face, showing that she was receiving the same prompts.

However,

‘Prestige Requirement Bypassed – Commendation by Prominent Individual’

‘An unprecedented opportunity has arisen’

After the last two prompts showed up, all other windows disappeared.

“Still leaving the furnace open, I see!” Khibu boomed, catching us off guard. Even that person shook a bit hearing his roar.

The person in charge of the Counsel Forge quickly turned to face him.

“Khibu Macedi Tumurta!” She beamed with a hearty voice that didn’t lose to his own. “Back from his little town after so long!”

“Isket Burell Anila, my dear and esteemed comrade.”

The Li Shaen with us made an exaggerated bow, only to be wrapped in a bear hug by the other.

“I trust that you have been well?” She asked.

“Never been better” He responded. “Mavacena has been good to me.”

I didn’t miss the bit of information they let slip in their conversation.

Another third name!

"That is fortunate." Isket answered him.

Letting go of her friend, she walked over to the Counsel Forge and closed the furnace door.

“You seem just as passionate as ever, Isket! Even your apprentices can’t keep up with you.” Khibu chuckled.

“That is their matter, Khibu.” She shrugged. “The Counsel Forge and its auxiliary furnaces will be wasted on anyone that can’t appreciate their beauty!”

From her words, I could guess that the rooms on this floor were very important to the Grand Apothecary, especially this one.

Isket, on the other hand, believed that only someone like her could unleash the Counsel Forge’s full potential.

"I have heard of the invasion on Mavacena today, Khibu." Isket turned back to us. "...Did we lose any of our people to the challengers?"

Khibu silently shook his head,

"Thankfully not."

His eyes looking at Dawon and me,

"The volunteers here were roughed the hell up, but even these kids managed to bounce back from the crisis."

I could only nod along.

Indeed, there was little on me from the battle with the lionhead lifeform and its lynxes earlier today. Even the charred skin was gone from Dawon's arms, looking no different from usual.

"I see." Isket sized the three of us up. "A pair of Humans and a Mun Shaen, eh?"

Her eyes stared right at Dawon and I.

"Are you two together?"

"Wha—" I blurted out at her remark.

Dawon recoiled at her question as well.

"—No, we're not... Ms Isket." I explained. "She's an artist and I'm a fan of her."

Tim looked at me, doubtful of what I meant by those words.

"Oh," The Li Shaen alchemist realized what she said and chuckled. "I didn't mean it that way, sorry about that. That you two did know each other and weren't strangers is what I wanted to know."

"Ah, yes, we are." I regained my composure. Motioning to the blue liquid person behind me, "Tim's also with us."

Isket nodded and turned to her old friend.

“That should make things simpler, then.”

Khibu only folded his arms in response.

The alchemist Li Shaen moved to stand in front of us and introduced herself.

“My name is Isket Burell Anila, Master Alchemist of the Grand Apothecary and former Armament Meister of the Blazing Trails. Isket carries the meaning of ‘Brilliant’, chosen by the people in acknowledgement for the advances I led in Li Shaen alchemy.”

Gesturing to her friend,

“The Blazing Trails is the -oh so legendary- challenge response party Khibu here led in our glory days.”

“And glorious those days were.” He added.

“And reckless, too!”

She continued.

“I am currently in charge of designing and forging the Li Shaen’s ceremonial artifacts, both for rites that take place among ourselves as well as those that recognize the contributions made by the foreign races.”

“If this guy would meet me after so long only to have me look at you three, he must have seen something in yourselves.”

Turning to Khibu,

“But the invasion was a Class 3 Medium at best, right?” Isket asked.

“Barely, and they only faced a Flagrant Roar the entire battle.” He responded. “The humans handled the scattered Amber Lynxes, though, and suffered a full-power hit each from the Roar.”

She took note of his explanation and shifted her gaze back to us.

“Then I can only give you the minimum level of recognition, as per Shaen ceremony.”

There was a look of helplessness on her face.

“…That’s okay, Ms Isket.” I reassured her, “Getting any form of recognition should be enough for us.”

Beside me, Dawon nodded along.

From the ridiculous amount of Prestige restrictions HF put on us towards her, she must be a person really significant to the game.

Having struck the jackpot is an understatement!

“Surviving the invasion is a reward of its own, Human.” She smiled. “Be grateful for each and every day you get to live in this crazy world.”

Isket approached Timayther first.

“The transitionary relationship between our races means that I can’t really give you anything dangerous, Mun Shaen.” She began, opening a window in front of her.

The screen had a different design, but I could tell from the contents that she was reaching into an inventory of her own.

“I’m not a fighter, Ms Isket. That’s fine with me.” Tim said.

The alchemist brought out a bronze ring from her inventory and handed it to him.

“The Heartbeat Link.” She explained, “You should be able to hear the murmurs of the earth below your feet if you connect it to a sound output.”

Tim nodded as he received her recognition.

“As for you,”

Next, Isket moved towards Dawon.

“The Radiant Symphony.”

She pulled out an ivory spear from her storage. The weapon had a pair of finely-made spearheads on each end of the white shaft, which spun as she swung it around.

“A ceremonial version of the Whirring Symphony. It’s not meant to be used in battle, but the tips and the energy charges they fire should fare well against monsters like the cats you fought before.”

Dawon made a slight bow and took the spear off her hands, respecting its significance as an artifact.

“She was using the Whirring Symphony during the invasion.” Khibu commented, “Broke it blocking the Flagrant Roar’s fireball, though.”

Isket’s obsidian eyes widened a little at his words.

“The Li Shaen that gave her the weapon must have great senses, then. The Symphony goes very well with her.”

I was the one left to receive her recognition, and she walked over to stand before me.

“How about you, Human? Which weapon did you use?”

At this moment, Khibu chuckled and intruded in the conversation before I could speak.

“This one’s greatest contribution may well be in the assembly of the charged shield I used to take down the Flagrant Roar, Isket.”

She looked at me with impressed eyes.

“Your weapon dealt the final blow to the Roar, Human? Impressive.” She nodded. “Are you a person of the crafting trade?”

“Not really,” I let out a reply. “I just wanted to replace the shield the lionhead lifeform broke, that’s all.”

She pondered while browsing her inventory, taking a look at my body in between.

Finally,

“The Precession Crest.”

She took out a platinum-coloured shield from her storage, rotating it once in her right hand. The shield was smaller and seemed lighter, more like a knight’s shield than the fortification-like cover of the Everest Bracer.

“This charged shield should match your stature, having the protection of a reliable shield and the quick, fluid movements of a longsword.”

Holding the artifact before me,

“A ceremonial item, like the Radiant Symphony, but it should hold its own.”

I examined the detailed work put into the assembly and decoration of the shield. The patterns on the surface of the shield were intricately crafted, exuding a regal appearance for the weapon. Lined around them, the energy channels glowed a dim white.

This was a ceremonial item, it’s not like it’ll replace the Bracer,

I thought.

There’s no loss in taking it.

Even so,

“…You seem unsure, Human.” Isket noticed my hesitation. “Decorative as it seems, this artifact is still significant to our people, you know?”

“I…”

I didn’t know how to answer, so I shook it off and tried to reach for the Crest in her hands.

However, the Master Alchemist put it away before I could act.

“…I see.”

She seemed to understand the reason behind my uncertainty before I myself could.

“The charged shield you made helped Khibu take down an invader,”

Isket stated,

“And now, a revered Armament Meister stands before yourself, a legacy of her own greatness behind her.”

She closed her inventory window and went back to the workbench she was working at before.

Clearing the tools and arranging the components in a corner of the space,

“Tell me your names, the three of you.”

Timayther, Dawon and I looked at each other. I signaled to Dawon telling her that I wouldn’t be using my real name, and she agreed.

Tim has only known me by my nickname, after all.

“It’s KC, Ms Isket,” I began.

“My name is Dawon,” She continued.

Tim heard us and also followed along.

“Mine is Timayther.”

Her eyes still on the workbench, Isket nodded.

“I’ll take a look at your weapon, KC.” She finally offered. “In place of your recognition; a fair exchange, I gather?”

A feeling of joy gushed out of my heart.

“…Yes, Ms Isket, please do!”

---

I carefully took out the Everest Bracer, making sure not to cause the broken energy channels to spark by accident. Walking over to the Li Shaen alchemist, I placed the charged shield on the workbench next to her.

Flat on the table, it barely fit the available space it had, its width jutting out a little towards us.

“A full-body shield and a heavy machete axe,” She looked over the assembly of my weapon. “No wonder you were so hesitant to take the Precession Crest.”

Watching her operate the joints of the plated metal with care,

“I made the Everest Bracer with might and weight in mind.”

I explained the motif behind my shield.

“So a fighting style like mine, Human.”

Khibu laughed.

“Dominating strength and power; that alone is enough deter the hearts of the weak!”

I nodded at his words in embarrassment.

After what happened this morning and on Day 1, I needed the strength to protect myself and the people with me.

“…This alloy.”

Isket suddenly stopped tinkering with my weapon and turned to me.

“Nysertium is easy to obtain and work with,”

She looked at me sternly.

“But not Magna composites, KC.”

Her voice was low and quiet.

“…Where did you get them?”

The tone of her question was heavy, as were her eyes.

I realized what she was trying to find out, so I strongly waved my hands.

“Guinness offered his body to me, Ms Isket!” I tried to explain. “It was in return for fulfilling his last wish. Really!”

I didn’t have the Magna warrior’s core on me, having given it to Chengxiao last time.

Without it, I didn’t know how else to prove myself.

The Master Alchemist continued to stare at me in silence for a few moments. Then, with a sigh,

“Whichever it is, it’s to the Magna themselves you’ll have to answer to.”

She returned to her work on my shield.

“Still, with Nysertium and Magna components intertwined into your craft, it’s no surprise that your Bracer could match up against the Flagrant Roar’s attacks.”

Finally done with her inspection,

“I’ll fix up your weapon, KC.” She offered, “Following your architecture fully, though, so don’t expect any major upgrades to the performance.”

Isket carried the Everest Bracer with one hand and brought it over to the Counsel Forge, opening the furnace door with the other.

With her build, it wasn’t a surprise that she could bear the weight of the shield on a single arm.

She placed the weapon on a plate inside the furnace, which was surprisingly as deep as it was wide, allowing it to fit inside with room to spare.

Isket was going to use the Counsel Forge to repair my shield.

I remembered what Uzzu said back on Nillon: Nysertium will react differently depending on the method of crafting done on it. One way or another, Isket will modify the characteristics of my shield with her alchemy.

I began to look forward to the result from her work.

However, before she could close the door, the former leader of the Blazing Trails walked over to her and did something none of us could expect.

Khibu held out his left arm and it into the Counsel Forge.

“What!?”

“Mr Khibu!”

“Ah!”

The three of us shouted by reflex, hearing his arm sizzle inside the furnace.

“You would do this for a minor recognition, Khibu?”

Isket was calmer, but she didn’t expect her friend to do such a thing, either.

“It’s fine, Isket.”

He waved her question off.

“A weapon of this grade won’t be able to take more than a few drops of my lifeforce.”

The smile he showed her was confident and smug, as if it was no big deal to him.

“…If you say so.” Isket sighed.

After Khibu pulled his arm back out, she closed the door of the Counsel Forge and turned to look at me,

“The blood of a great Li Shaen now runs in your shield, KC. I hope that what he sees in you isn’t a mistake.”

I remained speechless at their words,

Khibu’s blood? What he sees in me?

I didn’t understand what was going on.

“I don’t really see anything in this Human, Isket.” He grunted.

Showing me a conceited grin,

“I just want to see how large of a mountain this weapon will move.”

“A mountain, huh.” I mumbled to myself.

Well, it wasn’t like I did anything deserving of his praise back on Mavacena, apart from lending him the weapon.

This outcome was natural, so I didn’t dwell on his words.

Isket spent several minutes controlling the process with the switches and buttons next to the furnace.

The first part of the repair completed, and she took out the red-hot charged shield from the Forge and showed it to me.

“This was the original shape, right?”

I looked closer at the heated metal plates and checked the joints that connected them.

The description of the shield appeared and I saw the name inscribed on it. This was a name generated by the game’s system in response to Isket’s work, modified from the name I chose from it.

“Everest Accolade.”

I unconsciously read it aloud.

“Accolade, I see!” Khibu smirked. “Truly a name worthy of Udepra’s glory!”

Before I could finish my inspection and let Isket proceed with the restoration, another person came up beside me.

“…Timayther?” I looked at the Mun Shaen. “What’s wrong?”

He stared intently at the shield, still glowing from the heat.

“It’s only a bit of lifeforce, right?”

He timidly asked.

“Wait,” I grasped his intentions, “Are you saying…”

“Do you need me to bring it back to the Counsel Forge, Ms Isket?” He asked the Li Shaen holding the Accolade.

“…Another fool who’ll give his powers to an outsider.”

She sighed.

“Just place your hand in the middle until I tell you to take it off.”

Tim nodded and, without warning, pressed his right palm on the shield. I saw with my own eyes, up close, the metal plates causing his hand to scald and boil.

Bearing the pain, Tim showed me a weak smile.

You really are bad at hiding your expressions, Timayther.

“I didn’t remember being so close to you, Tim.”

I asked him.

“Why would you do this?”

The Mun Shaen shook his head.

“This is for finding out the truth of Nadean musicians on Udepra, Mr KC.”

His eyes looked straight into mine.

“For taking my worries away.”

I didn’t know what sort of expression I faced him with. My lips trembled.

“That’s enough.” Isket’s voice interjected between us.

Tim pulled his hand away from the shield, and she brought it away to finish the repair process.

Going back to Dawon’s side,

“I’ll bleed a little for you, Mr KC,” He grinned. “But something like my music’s royalties is an entirely different story.”

I helplessly shrugged at him.

“I have plenty of money, Tim.”

The Mun Shaen said nothing more.

---

The completely repaired shield looked familiar to me, but at the same time it gave off a feeling different from before.

Upon closer examination, I saw the additional lines that flowed across the surface of the shield, alongside the power channels that gave it its charge.

Red and blue, I felt the heat and cold of both lines clash against each other.

“Everest Accolade (fused)”

That was the name of the completed weapon.

Switching into an axe form, I felt the Accolade to be heavier, more intimidating than its previous iteration.

“Hopefully it won’t break anytime soon, KC.” Dawon joked as I showed her the shield.

Tim peered over the plated metal as well, looking at the channels where his lifeforce flowed alongside Khibu’s.

“Your Everest Accolade holds the blood of the two Shaen and the vessel of a Magna, KC.”

Isket explained.

“The value of the Radiant Symphony lies within its status: a ceremonial artifact of the Li Shaen, representing the relationship you have with our people and homeland.”

“Used wisely, it will allow many things to go your way. The Li Shaen are not a race people want to offend.”

Seeing Dawon understand, the Li Shaen turned to me and continued.

“The Everest Accolade, being a custom-made shield, will not be as easily recognized. However, anyone familiar with the blood of the Shaen and the body of the Magna will understand just how significant the weapon is.”

After a pause,

“Do you understand, KC?”

She asked me.

“…Yes, Ms Isket.”

With a sigh,

“Looks like my repair service turned out to be something much more than that, hasn’t it?”

The Master Alchemist loosened her shoulders.

“A commission of this level would usually cost my clients several tens of millions of credits, you know.”

“…What.”

My jaw dropped. Shock could be seen on the faces of my companions as well.

“That, and an incredibly long waiting list.” Khibu added, standing up from his seat. “The last in line won’t get their request for another year, will they, Isket?”

“Designing and balancing the armament to fit their specifications just takes that long.” Isket affirmed. “The Accolade was a special case because I simply followed your structure, KC. It wasn’t difficult to understand what you were going for.”

The price detail alone was enough to make me see the shield my hands held in a new light.

As I put it away, Khibu and Isket exchanged a few more words. Before long, we were ready to leave.

What the alchemist told me next, however, would send me on a journey of sorts towards its own ending.

“Look for a Carthena on Nadeum’s Mara Artemis, KC. She will align the channels of Timayther’s lifeforce to be in tune with Khibu’s, completing the Accolade’s full form.”

Also,

“If your relationship with the Magna is as sound as you claim, journey to Kamag and ask a skilled assembler to fulfill its potential. Shaen alchemy alone cannot unleash the weapon’s true power.”

---

Back inside the limousine, the chauffeur was driving us back to Daptel’s main airport.

I considered looking around the city, but the fatigue from today was beginning to catch up to me.

“So what are you going to do now, KC?”

Dawon asked.

“I haven’t thought about it, Dawon.”

I was curious to see what the Accolade’s full form was, but I didn’t know if I was ready to meet Carthena or the Magna at this state.

Was it even possible to meet the former? Tim wasn’t familiar with her name, and I didn’t know any other Mun Shaen that well.

On the other hand, there were still WJSN members I’ve yet to meet in Hyperspace Frontier.

Losing time that I could spend with the girls on upgrading a single weapon didn’t seem like a worthy tradeoff.

I haven’t even touched the group chat for a while now, being so busy with the matter in front of me.

Before I could do so, a bell like sound rang throughout the carriage of the limousine.

What was that?

As if realizing something, Dawon brought up her window.

The screen was ringing, the notice showing the words: ‘Incoming Call’.

Answering it,

“Dawon, are you done?”

I could hear Luda’s voice, and her face appeared on Dawon’s window. She was video calling her through the holographic screen.

“For the most part, yes.” She responded. “What’s up, Luda?”

“The company gave us a bit of time off as the cosmic storm goes through the plant.”

The girl in the screen explained.

“It’s not the safest time to be there for the rest of today, so I’m leaving Kaxam now.”

“Kaxam?” Dawon asked.

“A dwarf planet on Mimak Belt. It’s in Turi-Nur.”

I leaned closer towards Dawon, peering into the window.

“I’m here too, Luda.”

“Oh, KC. How’s it going?” She saw my face come into view and greeted.

“Not much, other than just getting off defending a town from an invasion together with Dawon and her producer.”

“Sounds cool.”

“Is that your friend, Mr KC, Miss Dawon?”

This time, it was Tim who shoved his head in front of the window. I moved out of the way so that we don’t sandwich Dawon between us.

“Oh, is this him, Dawon?” Luda asked. “Hello~”

“Hi.” He answered, staring into the hologram.

I didn’t know what he would find interesting in human girls, so I held myself back from jumping to conclusions.

“It’s nice to you, um,”

“It’s Timayther, Miss Luda.”

The three of them continued their conversation while I went back to my seat.

“You look down, Human.”

Khibu said, seeing my state.

“I guess.”

While they were busy, I decided to open the group chat and find out what everyone else was up to.

Xuanyi: I should be there in a few minutes, Bona 🚀

Bona: Sure.

Exy: Don’t try anything dangerous, girls.

Xuanyi: Leave it to me, Exy-ssi 💪

Exy: I’m talking about you, you know 🙄

You: xuanyi pls

Bona: You’re finally back on, KC.

Bona: I haven’t heard a lot from you and Dawon in a while.

Eunseo: Enjoying the date with her, probably 😂

You: 🙄

You: You should take a look at the Mun Shaen going crazy chatting with Luda right now.

You: His starstruck eyes 🤥

I ended up jumping to conclusions anyway.

Eunseo: 🤣🤣

Seola: Is anyone in the Solar System right now?

Seola: Yeonjung?

Chengxiao: She’s with Dayoung and Yeoreum, unnie. Don’t you remember?

Soobin: Should we wait, unnie?

Seola: I’m not sure.

Bona: The three of them haven’t been responding a lot, either.

You: What’s up, the two of you?

Seola: Oh, KC.

Soobin: I think we should look around for help, unnie.

Meiqi: Are you in trouble, Soobin unnie?

You: Help?

You: Soobin?

You: Seola? Hello?

Exy: They’re gone again.

Exy: Everyone’s going through their own things, aren’t they?

I closed the chat window, seeing as no one was typing anything anymore.

I realized that Tim and Dawon was no longer in the call with Luda, resting in their own seats quietly.

It didn’t take long before our limousine arrived at the airport, driving up the side of the tunneled road connected to the private lounge from before.

---

“I’ll be going back to Mavacena.” Khibu told us as we got off the car. “The town’s in no state to receive guests, so we’ll have to part here.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant by those words.

“I look forward to the next time our paths cross, the three of you.”

With nothing more than a grin, the Mayor of Mavacena left us.

I thought about the people we met in that town. Pari, Maishi, Eretham and Taran, Nhabar and the team…

It’ll take some time to meet them again, even if I want to.

I saw the chauffeur get out of the limousine, and decided to call out to him,

“Do you know if we can use the lounge by ourselves?”

He thought for a little bit, then nodded his head.

“It should be fine. The reception knows your faces.”

“Shall we?” I looked at Dawon and Tim.

The three of us went back up the stairs and entered the lounge, once again.

Sat on one of the couches, I thought about my next plan of action.

Reviewing the event from start to finish: We’ve let Tim perform on Udepra, survived an invasion on Mavacena by a couple of challengers, met Khibu who led us here on Daptel, and received a minor recognition from Isket.

The only loose end was the ‘incomplete’ Everest Accolade that Isket told me to finish making. With Carthena and the Magna involved, it looks like an entire journey all on its own.

At the same time, the things I’ve heard from WJSN’s group chat interest me as well. I wonder what kind of adventure they’re having?

A ringing sound brought be back into reality. This time, it was my system which rang with an incoming call.

I answered it, and went face-to-face once again with Luda.

“What’s up?” I whispered to her, lowering the speaker’s volume as to not disturb the silence in the lounge.

“I heard about what you went through from Dawon and your friend Tim, KC.” She replied,

“Mmm.”

“You’re done with everything, right? Other than that shield or something.”

“Yeah.” I answered. “Should we meet up?”

The girl in my window nodded her head.

“So it’ll be you, me, and Dawon.” I settled on the plan.

However,

“No, just the two of us.” Luda denied my assumption.

Hmm?

“I talked with her just now. It looks like Dawon’s going back to Nadeum right away.”

I looked up from the call and looked at the person sat on the couch opposite mine.

“Why aren’t you joining us, Dawon?” I asked, “You were great back when we were in battle.”

After a few seconds, she responded.

“I was well underequipped for battle throughout the fight, with only the blaster I repaired at the beginning of the game, and the spear given to me by Eretham and his friend.”

Motioning towards her system window,

“Even the Radiant Symphony from Isket won’t give me much more fighting power.”

“…I see.” I understood her explanation.

Going back to my video call with Luda,

“So, do you have an idea where we should meet?” She asked.

“Hmm…” I thought about it for a little, but couldn’t come up with an answer on the spot.

In the end, I only told her that I’d text her the location once I’m settled on it.

The two of us finished the video call, and I sank back onto the couch, thinking about my next plans.

My mind went back to Dawon’s words.

Underequipped, huh.

Even with the few weapons I had, I still felt underpowered in today’s fight. The challenger could have easily killed me had it intended to.

I belatedly realized just how much Dawon was risking herself by participating in the resistance with me.

However,

“I think I can join you on Day 3, maybe. I’ll stock up on equipment sometime today, if I have time.” Seeing my slumped figure, Dawon made her own offer.

“You don’t have to force yourself,” I shook my head, listening to her compromise.

“I’m sure the Artistice route has many more secrets to unravel, and you’re probably the only one among us on that path.”

“Don’t you remember what Tim said, KC?” She tilted her head.

Beside me, Tim looked at her, confused. His eyes looked like they were asking her: What did I say?

“The Mun Shaen on Nadeum deal with their own challenges as well, right?” Dawon continued.

“Ah.” The two of us understood the message she was trying to get across.

“So it’s worth investing in offensive and defensive tech, even if I’m staying on Nadeum.” She concluded.

“So you’ll take Tim back to Meritus Selatan?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Dawon answered. “He’ll board the Steadfast 07 on the way back.”

Tim looked at me, and I nodded back in return.

“How about you, KC?”

This time, she was the one who asked me.

---

I recalled what Isket had mentioned to me, as well as the girls’ chat messages I read back in the limousine.

Even if I was tired, it’s not like I’d rather spend the rest of the day moping around in an airport lounge.

Looks like I’ll have to make my decision sooner or later.

A) Pursue the path to the Everest Accolade’s full form.
B) Meet up with Bona and Xuanyi in the forest.
C) Look for Seola and Soobin in the Solar System.
D) See what the Icy Four are up to.