A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"That's impossible!" Eira exclaimed. "You can't be a third-tier runesmith! You're only a second-ranker!"

"It's hardly impossible," Erik shrugged with a sly grin, enjoying her astonishment, "just uncommon. But such is the benefit of hard work, talent, and a capable teacher."

Back on Söl, Erik had spent one entire year learning to smith from an old man in a remote village that he and Elora had traveled through once.

The man himself wasn't anything particularly interesting, being just a third-rank Arcanist and a third-tier runesmith, which was far from an uncommon sight on a world like Söl that had awakened long ago.

Yet, Erik had enjoyed smithing even before he came to Söl, as he had helped his father operate the forge in the basement of their house in Frostvik, and he wanted to continue to learn.

While this man had not been the first smith Erik had seen on Söl, this was just after he had become a second-ranker and Elora had suggested he let his advancement settle a little to form a stronger foundation. Thus, he had taken the chance to see if he had any talent for the more fantastical version of blacksmithing they practiced in Söl: runesmithing.

The old man was a harsh teacher and Erik never actually learned his name, only ever calling him old man, but that year was one of the best he had spent on Söl. It was a time in which he managed to put many of the things from his past behind him. Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l'e-NovelFire

In the end, they ended up staying there far longer than they originally intended, but Erik left with a new passion for forging, and a skill level that exceeded what someone of the second rank should be capable of.

With the current situation bringing back memories of that time, fondness and a bit of melancholy slipped into his gaze, as he promised himself to visit that village again, when he returned to Söl.

Eira looked at him with some skepticism, but also a burgeoning sliver of hope. "E— Even if that's true, what about the sigil expert? I refuse to believe you're both!"

"I'm not, don't worry," Erik chuckled. "But one of my companions is. We also have an advanced forge right here, plus I saw plenty of materials lying around there. Lastly, any knowledge we might be missing to accomplish all this is sure to be found in that extensive library."

"So you see," he continued as he watched a softly trembling Eira purge her expression form sorrow and hopelessness, "we have everything we need to put you into a new medium. All we need now is your consent and cooperation."

"You— You're not deceiving me are you?" she asked with trembling voice. It seemed her naivety only went so far, and after today's emotional roller coaster, she had learned a little skepticism.

Erik smiled softly at her suspicion. "We wont disconnect you until the new medium is created, and after that… while you can't be absolutely sure we'll actually put you into it, what point would there be in not doing so? Besides, this is where trust starts, with someone taking the first step."

A slight smile appeared on Eira's face, and she began floating back and forth, seemingly somewhat excited again. "T— That's true! O— Okay, so— so what medium do you plan to make for me? Can— Can I choose?"

"Well…" Erik began as he stood up from the sofa and slowly approached Eira. "I did have an idea that I think you'll like, at least based on the short time I've known you."

He stopped in front of her, and bend over to whisper his idea into her ear.

Eira's eyes went wide when she heard his idea, and when he pulled back, she looked at him with shock. "You… You'd trust me with that? Despite not trusting me with this place?"

Erik smiled slightly and nodded. "Trust is a two way street, right? Just because I'm asking you to take the first step, doesn't mean I'm unwilling to take any myself."

"Besides," he shrugged. "If you betrayed me in your current form that would create a massive problem, but in your new form it would be a setback at worst."

Her new form would still be a slight risk to him, but he decided it was worth it. Not because he liked her a little, as that was far from enough to put himself and his loved ones at risk, but because a solid form sigil construct was a powerful asset that neither he nor Elora wanted to give up on.

Excitement and happiness sparkled in Eira's eyes, all previous despair forgotten as Erik had essentially just promised to make her dreams come alive. "Can— Can I help in the design?!" she asked while nearly jumping up and down in excitement.

"Sure," Erik chuckled and stuck out his hand, "but the final say lies with me, deal?"

Eira ignored his hand and tackled him into a hug instead. "Deal! Thank you, thank you! It'll be strange living in a new medium, but I'm excited! I've always wanted to leave and see new places!"

Erik chuckled as he hugged her back. No matter what else, he did enjoy seeing Eira happy far more than seeing her sad.

He also enjoyed that there was no armor between him and her large breasts this time. Just because she was a sigil construct didn't make them any less soft, squishy, and yet firm.

Eira separated herself from him again and floated up while smiling brightly and eagerly. "So when do we begin?!"

"We'll need to start with doing some more research in that library," Erik chuckled at her enthusiasm. "We could use your help, however, as I'm sure you have at least some idea of whats in there."

"Yes, yes! Absolutely!" she quickly nodded, before starting to pull on Erik's arm in an effort to get started straight away.

To her dismay, however, Erik resisted and stayed in place, while his expression took on a more serious tone.

"However, there is one more thing I need from you," he said solemnly.

"Real trust between us will come, but it's not here yet. It's going to take at least a week to create this thing, and if we're going to stay in this place for that long, I need you to disable any sigils that might be used against us, and remove any shielding against omnisense. In return, I will also give you a show of trust."

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM