Chapter 290: New lessons
"So… tell me again why you crawled into that smelly thing?" Greldo said, his voice warped and muted as he pinched his nose and kept backing away from Irwin.
"Because of this," Irwin said, waving the small, surprisingly heavy bit of Aurorium around. "Now stop acting like a baby, or I'll come over there and hug you!"
Greldo's eyes widened, and he vanished from his spot to reappear on the other side of the deck. "Try me! Also, you mean you are happy that you found metal that can absorb soulforce and destroy worlds?"
"This isn't even enough to drain my soulforce," Irwin said as he waved it around. "But yes, I'm happy. Because now I have an idea where to get more of it."
As he said that, he hesitated. Knowing where to get it didn't help much if it meant he'd have to somehow get rid of Oculithar, which was much bigger than this one. He thought about the massive one he'd seen that attacked the corridor he'd gone through and shivered. That thing had been enormous, dwarfing most harbor cities he'd seen. As proud as he was of his final card, it wouldn't even scratch such a demon.
"What are you going to do with the Aurorium?" Dahlia asked.
Irwin shrugged. "Nothing. It's too small. I'll probably just bring it along."
"Don't bring it into your soulscape! I've heard a story about someone who did that, and he never woke up again," Dahlia said quickly.
Irwin looked at the other smith and nodded absently. Dahlia had been acting differently for a while now, no longer as calm and collected as she'd been when he had picked her up. Ever since she had arrived at Eluathar, she'd talked more and opened up a bit. At the same time, the slightly self-assured look she'd had while they were traveling was gone. If he had to guess, she was feeling disillusioned. From what he knew of her, she'd always been treated as one of the best.
It can't be easy to find a world with so many potential great smiths, Irwin thought.
"I… Sorry, I'm sure you wouldn't do that," Dahlia muttered.
Irwin blinked, realizing he'd been staring at her while he thought, and he quickly shook his head.