The battle was over.Breathing heavily, I lowered my axe, looking over at Elise. She was slumped against the stone wall, her shield still raised, but her exhaustion was evident. We had done it.I gnced around at the carnage. The goblins were dead, their bodies scattered around us like broken toys. The fight had been brutal, but it was ours."Elise," I panted, "You good?"She nodded, her breath ragged. "Yeah, just… give me a second."I took a few steps back, sheathing my axes. I felt the weight of the battle in my bones, but I also felt a strange sense of satisfaction. This was why I had come here.

  ---

  The market district was quiet as the st light of day faded behind the towering buildings. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of freshly baked bread and iron from the nearby smithies.

  Bear Paw Shop stood at the corner, its sign hanging loosely with the word CLOSED boldly dispyed for all to see. Inside, the glow of the forge dimmed as Orm sat, a heavy cigar dangling from his lips, his calloused hands working on a piece of armor, the rhythmic scrape-scrape of metal against stone filling the otherwise silent room.As he worked, his thoughts were elsewhere, his mind occupied with the weight of the weapon he was forging—an order from the mysterious leader.

  Orm's patience was thin tonight, his brow furrowed in irritation. Another kid... he thought bitterly. Why is it always the damn kids who end up in this mess?The door creaked open suddenly, interrupting his solitude. Orm didn't even look up, his voice low and irritated. "The shop is closed, read the damn sign."But the voice that responded wasn't one Orm expected.

  It was smooth, cloaked in an unnerving calmness. "Did you give it to the boy?"Orm froze, his hand halting mid-polish, cigar smoke curling zily from his lips. The voice—deep and ominous—belonged to a figure that appeared from the shadows of the doorway, a cloaked figure whose presence made the room feel colder."Not yet," Orm muttered, his irritation repced by a hint of unease. "He's not ready."The cloaked figure took a step forward, the faint rustling of fabric punctuating the air.

  "Sure he is. You haven't seen it yet, but that boy can progress faster than you can strike your hammer to a mithril golem."Orm's eyebrows shot up, a rare hint of surprise crossing his face.

  He set down the armor piece, giving the stranger a skeptical look. "How so?"The cloaked figure stepped closer, his eyes gleaming faintly from beneath the hood.

  "We've tested him multiple times. He can remember anything after seeing it just once as if he's remembering a picture."Orm's grip on the armor tightened as he processed the words.

  "Perfect memory, huh?"

  He chuckled, but it cked humor.

  "That's impressive. But what's that got to do with anything?""Everything," the cloaked figure replied.

  "The leader pnted a picture book in the library—dual weapon arts, and close-combat defensive techniques. The boy doesn't know it yet, but his memory is fwless. He just needs someone to teach him how to use it well."Orm's thoughts churned. A boy who could memorize anything. Hell, sounds like a blessing… or a curse. He rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the cloaked figure in silence.After a moment, Orm grimaced.

  "If what you're saying is true, his body won't hold up if he tries to use that memory with that current body. He needs training, a lot of it. His body needs to keep up with that mind of his, or it'll break him."The cloaked figure gave a cold chuckle.

  "That's the problem. The leader wants you to find the Fool and get them acquainted. That's the only way. You know how stubborn the boy can be, and his parents might catch on otherwise."Orm was taken aback. "That damn person's crazy," he muttered under his breath.

  "You want me to find someone, teach this kid how to fight with two weapons, how to use all that information he's hoarding, and he might break doing it?"The cloaked figure didn't flinch at Orm's harsh tone. "It's not your concern, Orm. Finish the weapon as ordered by the leader. We'll deal with the boy's limits ter."Orm stared at the figure for a long moment, the silence thick between them. He wasn't happy about this.

  He wasn't happy about the leader's pn, nor about how the kid would handle all this pressure. But it wasn't like he had much of a choice."Tsk, fine," Orm grumbled, grabbing a freshly forged piece of metal from the anvil and inspecting it closely.

  "I'll find the Fool and rey the message, but you better not come back to me crying when that boy cracks under the weight of his own mind."The cloaked figure said nothing, but Orm felt its cold gaze on him for a moment longer than was comfortable.

  Then, without another word, the figure turned and left, disappearing into the shadows.As the door closed behind the cloaked figure, Orm let out a long sigh. He gnced at the weapon on his workbench, his hands instinctively returning to it.

  “Don't overwork yourself, d,” He muttered softly, almost to himself as he looked where the dungeons were located.He picked up his cigar again, lighting it with the faint flicker of a nearby fme. The smoke curled up into the air, filling the small room with a pungent scent.

  Orm's eyes narrowed as he stared into the glowing embers of the forge, his mind heavy with the knowledge of what y ahead.

  ‘I need to contact Sui.’’

  There was no turning back now.

  ---

  As we finished collecting the loot from the fallen goblins, the dungeon's eerie silence hung in the air, broken only by the faint rustling of our movements.

  I bent down, my fingers brushing over the smooth surface of a gem, feeling the coolness of the blue crystal against my skin.

  The dim light of the dungeon gave the gems an ethereal glow, making them almost seem alive.

  A few more moments passed in silence, both of us picking through the remains of the battle, organizing our spoils.Then, Elise's voice cut through the quiet. "You're new, non-magical, and not an academy graduate," she said, her tone thoughtful.

  "Yet, you fight like you've trained for years. You handle yourself like you've done this kind of thing multiple times before."I paused, unsure how to answer at first. Her question caught me off guard. I scratched my head, pondering her words.

  "Me?"

  I chuckled awkwardly, the weight of the axes on my back a reminder of how I had fought through the entire ordeal.

  "Well, I'm a smart one, you see. I used to work at the public library, so no magic or fancy training for me.

  But I've read plenty of books on combat tactics, you know, simple stuff like—when an opponent dashes at you, guards up, strikes them before they reach you.

  That way, you stop their momentum and stagger them to create an opening.

  Plus, since I was a kid, I've been chopping wood, so swinging these axes... well, it's pretty easy for me."Elise seemed to mull over my words, her expression thoughtful as if she wasn't entirely convinced.

  "Was it really that easy?" she seemed to wonder to herself, though she didn't voice it.

  Her brow furrowed, but she didn't say anything further.