Legend of the Empyrean Blacksmith

GENEROSITY

Erkhaan stared dubiously at Lino wondering just how had he lost the duel to this man . After all, he now looked like a child throwing tantrum rather than an expert capable of running him over like a boulder . Had his Master not intervened in the end Erkhaan knew he would have most-likely died there and then . Yet, despite it all, he still couldn’t help but admit he couldn’t hold a candle to an Empyrean .

"Congratulations on winning the duel . " Erkhaan spoke out as he saw that Lino calmed down and stood up .

"Eh? You’re really persistent about the whole duel business," Lino replied similarly confused by Erkhaan’s behavior . "Are you a Knight or something?"

"No . " Erkhaan shook his head .

"Oh . So you’re just insane . Got it . "

"Calling the kettle black . . . "

"Hey, at least I’m not denying I’m insane . " Lino shrugged .

"You should . " Erkhaan added .

"Why? Insanity is beautiful . "

"It really is not . "

"Whatever you say, lunatic . "

"Are we really going to start calling each other names?" Erkhaan asked, frowning .

"What do you mean, oh the crazy one?"

"Are you a child?"

"You’re a child . An insane child that is . "

" . . . . "

"I’m just messing with you dude," Lino rolled his eyes at him and sighed, wondering why do people take him so seriously so often . It’s definitely my godly acting . . . "Anyway, could you like scram from here so I can get that fragment or whatever?"

" . . . " Erkhaan’s eyebrows twitched at how casually Lino asked him to pretty much move out of his home . "I will, don’t worry . Before that, as a winner of a duel you can ask one thing of me . So long as it’s within my power I’ll do it . "

" . . . " Lino truly felt there was something wrong with this man’s head; however, Lino was never the one to shy away from extorting others, especially when they offered so freely . "Alright . Give me ten billion gold coins . "

" . . . I-I don’t have them . . . " Erkhaan spoke through gnashed teeth .

"Eh? So you’re pretty poor, huh? Alright, whatever . Give me an Origin-tier Martial Art . "

"WHY?! YOU CAN’T EVEN LEARN IT!!"

"But I can sell it for ten billion gold coins . " Lino shrugged .

"Y-YOU WOULD S-SELL O-ORIGIN-TIER . . . FOR . . . FOR . . . " unable to scream anymore, Erkhaan plummeted onto his knees, realizing he had much to learn .

" . . . " I-is it my face? My voice? Why is he still taking me so seriously?!! "Dude, hey, dude . Are you alright?"

" . . . . "

"So I’m guessing you don’t have Origin-tier Martial Art," Lino ignored the sobbing Erkhaan and continued his shenanigans . "Can you give me a Kingdom--no an Empire then?"

" . . . you can stop messing with him . " the Writ’s voice echoed out inside of Lino’s head; it seemed that even the immortal being had enough of it . "He has a pet . Ask him for it . It will be helpful to you . "

" . . . " Lino grinned oddly before coughing for a moment . "Uh, can you give me your pet?"

" . . . y-you want Andy?" Erkhaan’s eyes grew twice their size as he stared at Lino .

" . . . you named your pet Andy? Hell no . I’d rather eat my own shit . "

"How dare you insult Andy?! I challenge you to a duel!"

" . . . " Lino was tired . Truly, truly tired . "This is enough, isn’t it?" he mumbled as he looked at the sky, his ego being fed like a fattening goose . "Just give me your pet . "

" . . . f-fine . " Erkhaan mumbled through his teeth on the verge of tears, taking out a small, leather-pouch and carefully handing it over to Lino with shaking hands . "Y-you have to promise, alright, promise? You got it? No, you have to swear on your honor--on your everything-- you will treat her well?! Swear!!"

" . . . " Lino took the pouch and playfully tossed it around for a moment while looking at Erkhaan’s reaction . "You were saying?"

" . . . you’re a disgrace to the name of an Empyrean . " Erkhaan spoke out .

"Oh, thank you!! That was my intention!" Lino exclaimed, smiling .

" . . . you’ve no honor, have you?" Erkhaan asked as he finally managed to calm himself down, realizing that Lino was merely having fun .

"Honor? What do I need honor for?" Lino asked with a slight grin as he put away the pouch into his void world, deciding to check out this ’pet that would help him’ later on . "The only people who have honor are those who can afford to lose it . Tell me, then, can I ever be a part of that group?" Lino asked back seriously .

" . . . even if you succeed through some miracle in the end," Erkhaan said . "You would have won nothing but the right to be an empty shell for all eternity . "

"Nothing is eternal," Lino said lowly as he looked away from Erkhaan . "And if it is, there’s no point to it . Part of the reason why we fight and strive for all the things we do is because we know we have limited time . If someone told you tomorrow you could never die no matter what, that you would live forever as the strongest existence, there would be nothing left . If I do one day become that," Lino’s eyes veered back onto Erkhaan whose image of Lino shifted somewhat . "I may as well die right here and now . "

" . . . then what do you fight for?" Erkhaan asked after a short silence . "It’s clearly not for personal honor and glory, and it certainly is not because you respect the calling of an Empyrean . I highly doubt you are so noble as to desire to save the world from the eternal war . Is it simply for riches?"

" . . . you’re selling me short there," Lino said, smiling faintly . "Even I have people I care for, you know?"

"I suppose you do . " Erkhaan sighed .

" . . . why do you fight?" Lino asked .

"For my Master . " Erkhaan replied without hesitation .

" . . . " Lino’s eyes shifted for a moment, a trace of disappointment within them . Erkhaan didn’t miss it, causing a frown to emerge on his face .

"What?! Are you now going to disrespect my Master?"

" . . . no . " Lino shook his head . "I’m well aware of how great a figure your Master is . "

"Then what’s with the gaze?"

"I’m just disappointed . " Lino said . "That your dreams orbit another . Suddenly . . . winning against you doesn’t seem as grand an achievement . "

" . . . we all fight for what we believe . " Erkhaan replied, smiling faintly . "Perhaps you have never believed in someone or something so much that you’d devote yourself to it, but most of us have . You’ll eventually come to realize that believing in something grants you more strength than you can even imagine . Perhaps you should simply look around . There are those who believe in you -- not as an Empyrean, but as you -- which is why they fight . "

" . . . I’m well aware of it . " Lino replied, his shoulders sinking somewhat . "I don’t like that either . "

"What? You can’t shoulder a faith of a few of your friends? Are you really that weak?"

" . . . I’m not the sort they should put their faith in . " Lino said .

"That’s not for you to decide," Erkhaan smiled yet again . "The least you can do is let them know their faith wasn’t for naught, no?"

" . . . "

"My business here is finished," Erkhaan said, stretching yet immediately groaning out in pain, forcing him to halt his movements for a second . "You really did a number on me . It will take a couple of years to recover to my peak . Oh well . I’m not sure whether we’ll see each other again in the future, but I’ll wish you best of luck nonetheless . You aren’t as bad as you’re letting others see . Take good care of Andy, though . You hear?! If you do so much as--"

"Dude, just get out . "

" . . . "

Within a blink of an eye, Lino found himself back on the meadow, a small, spherically-shaped object dyed entirely black with bolts of gray lightning flickering around floating in front of his eyes . He stretched his arm out and casually picked it, his hand immediately assailed with trickling feeling that he barely managed to ignore .

[Fragment of a Dimension -- Unique]

Level: N/A

Components: 1/100

Void Familiarity: +0,0001%

Special Effect [1]: ???

Special Effect [2]: ???

Note: A special fragment of a collapsed Dimensional Pocket . Gathering enough components can be used to forge a completely new Dimensional Pocket .

Lino didn’t pay too much attention to it as all this was still far off into the future for him . He merely glanced at the stats and stuffed the fragment into the void world; after all, according to the Writ, he would be using it simply to cross over from one realm to another . He neither had intention nor the reason to ruggedly run around and collect 99 other fragments to create his own Dimensional Pocket . He simply deemed it a waste of time .

He also decided to quickly check the ’Andy’ . The Writ wouldn’t have told him the creature would be helpful without a reason, after all . Taking out the pouch from the world, he decided to check its stats as well before summoning out the pet .

[Pet Dimensional Pouch -- Void Artifact]

Level: 2800

Storage: 1/15

Special Effect [1] -- Can be used to store living creatures for prolonged periods of time .

Special Effect [2] -- The pouch can store limited amount of things regardless of their size .

Note: A naturally-made Dimensional Pouch that was refined by Void Refiner in order to allow living creatures to be stored .

Lino paused and nearly fell on his butt . After all, this was the highest-level item he had seen in his life -- even higher than the spear depicted in the blueprint he found within the ruins of Oreb Kingdom . Level 2800 was such an astronomical number that Lino didn’t even dare comprehend it properly . What’s perhaps even more astonishing was that the pouch was a Void Artifact -- meaning it has been built at the very least in the Skyhaven Era .

While its effects might seem underwhelming, Lino knew better; after all, even Eggor stood absolutely no chance of creating a Void Item that could store living things even for a breath, let alone for prolonged period of time . Rather, according to everything Lino learned, there is not a single person in the entire world at the moment with ability to craft a Void Item that can store a living thing .

He immediately realized, however, that the difference lay in fact that the pouch wasn’t technically a Void Item -- it was a Dimensional Pocket in and of itself, simply refined to such a degree that it turned into an item with the capacity of storing living things . Lino sucked in cold breath but chose against testing it on himself . If he accidentally got stuck inside the pouch, wouldn’t that be the greatest tragedy ever?

"D-did . . . did he know?" Lino mumbled faintly as he felt his hands shaking while holding the pouch .

" . . . what do you think?" he could almost imagine the Writ rolling his eyes at the dumb question . In Lino’s heart Erkhaan’s position suddenly skyrocketed; he now loved him almost as much as he loved himself, which was an achievement he firmly believed nobody could ever match up to .

"Aaagh!!" he screamed out in frustration . "If I knew that bastard was this generous, I would have asked him to stay in contact . . . fuck, I would have even faked my entire personality to match up his standard!! Aaah, what a miss . . . "