I took a seat on the couch in the smithy, since it looked like Grid was finally making progress on his class quest. Torva sat next to me, and Fenrir slept on my lap while I petted him.
Grid stood in front of a giant waterfall at the end of the canyon. I wondered what he was going to do there, until he started ranting to himself about some ghost lying to him. I guess his quest giver was a ghost.
After a while, he jumped into the waterfall. With a heavy heart, I had my cameagle sneak in at the same moment and hoped he wouldn't notice. Somehow he didn't notice the two cameagles that came in with him. Dear lord, his perception and awareness are terrible.
When Torva and I saw the cave behind the waterfall, the first thing we saw was a mural of Pagma. It showed him performing swordsmanship. Torva stood up immediately and started mimicking it.
In the first hour, she made little progress. In the second hour, while she was aiming at some dummies in the target practice area, something unexpected happened.
"Pagma's Swordsmanship: Wave!"
[Because the golem Torva has achieved something before a current legend of a higher-tier class, she can now learn this class's skills without the user 'Grid' learning them first. Skills can still be learned from the user 'Grid'. Requirements for her class upgrade have been cut in half.]
[Pagma's Swordsmanship has been acquired.]
[Pagma's Swordsmanship]
Lv. 1
This skill upgrades each time the class upgrades, up to Legendary rating.
While deactivated: Torva can become one with the sword at any time. Physical attack +10%, critical hit rate +6%.
Only applies while a sword is equipped.Consumes no mana.
While activated: Become one with the sword. Wave, Restraint, Link, Kill, Transcend: five sword techniques can be unleashed.
The deactivated effect is lost.Activating costs 20 mana.Once deactivated, it can't be reactivated for 10 seconds. Deactivating costs 10 mana.
[Wave] A violent sword dance like a high wave. Deals 90% of your attack power to all enemies within 1 m and reduces their speed. Requires a sword. Mana: 150. Cooldown: 160 s.
[Restraint] A restrained, underestimated sword dance that overwhelms the surroundings. No one can reach you for three seconds. Does not apply to undead or golems. Requires a sword. Mana: 500. Cooldown: 450 s.
[Link] A dazzling sword dance like the wings of a butterfly. Deals 300% of your attack power to a single target. Requires a sword. Mana: 350. Cooldown: 60 s.
[Kill] A killing sword that expresses hatred. Deals 1,000% of your attack power to a single target, with bleeding and desperation effects. Requires a sword. Mana: 1,500. Cooldown: 700 s.
[Transcend] A sword dance that transcends imagination. Attack power doubles, and basic attacks become ranged attacks. Requires a sword. Mana: 2,200. Duration: 30 s. Cooldown: 4,000 s.
I thought I was going blind. I stared at the skills, blinking several times. I was so stunned that I'd been unconsciously patting Torva's head the whole time.
The only downside was that Torva would need to invest more in intelligence. She could put points there instead of vitality for a while. Good thing she gains stats every time she makes a rare or better item. She could also make gear that raises intelligence, but that would be a waste, since she'd replace it later anyway.
According to Torva, the mural showed more techniques she hadn't unlocked yet. Once I heard that, I set her a schedule: half the day blacksmithing, a quarter hunting, and the rest training with Fenrir, since he has Advanced Sword Mastery. Nothing said she couldn't learn sword mastery too.
Before she started her new schedule, though, Grid was finally about to meet Piaro.
I gathered all my golems in the main hall. Fenrir was still on my lap as I sat on the throne Torva and the blacksmiths had made. Everyone was either watching or listening to other golems narrate.
Piaro walked up to Grid with the cameagles and Duke in tow. He looked a little better, since Duke had shaved some of his beard, but he still looked like a beggar. I'd never let his looks fool me, though. I watch him fight almost every day.
Then they started talking.
"I have a favor to ask of you," Piaro said.
"....Ah, damn," said Grid.
Did Grid just... complain? Can't he observe Piaro and see who he is? It's not like Piaro is wearing anything to hide his status. Unless Grid simply can't.
Damn. Piaro went on a whole tangent describing his quest, and Grid just ignored him. It makes me feel sorry for Piaro, having to pick Grid. I mean, a beggar-looking guy with an amazing sword at his side and a flock of eagles circling him. How does that not scream 'quest here'?
"Can't you hear me?"
"I heard you."
"Then why aren't you answering?"
"Why would I reply to a beggar?"
I think I heard a few swords unsheathe in the hall. I had to stop all my swordsmen, Gladius included, from running to the canyon to kill Grid. Piaro was technically their teacher, so it made sense they'd be upset. I told them to calm down and wait.
"What? Beggar? You called me a beggar?"
"You aren't one? You look exactly like a beggar."
If Grid had thought about literally anything for one second, he'd have realized no actual beggar could survive in that damn canyon.
Piaro started laughing up a storm. After a bit, some mermen appeared, and Grid tried to calm Piaro down, still thinking he was a beggar. Then Piaro drew his sword and killed the mermen in seconds. Grid finally realized Piaro was an NPC.
"You are the type of person who would sacrifice innocent people to survive," Piaro said. "The type of person I hate the most in this world."
"I-I'm sorry..."
After that, it looked like Grid was given the quest. I couldn't see what it was, but I assumed it was extremely difficult. At least Grid knew his limits and tried to decline. My swordsmen finally sheathed their swords.
Piaro was persistent, though, and even offered up his sword. Grid refused two more times. Piaro made a good argument: not just anyone can kill canyon lizards, lizardmen, spiders, birds, crocodiles, wolves and six mermen at the same time. I must not have been watching when he did that.
Still, Grid can't take on the empire yet. The Red Knights are too powerful for him right now.
.....Did Grid just call Piaro a dirty bastard and hint that he was gay?
Thankfully, Piaro actually attacked him. Otherwise I'd have let my swordsmen go and kill Grid myself. Piaro let Grid go in the end. My swordsman golems were still furious with him, but not enough to go out and kill him, which was good. I'd rather not kill him for no reason.
After that, I sent everyone back to their regular schedules.
I went back to making golems, and started investing more time in each one. Three days passed like that, and I made two more unique golems.
The first came out of a bad night. I'd been making archers with materials from the Frostlight Orc hunts: blue-white crystals that grew on the orcs' armor and never quite warmed up, even in the forge. I was irritated about Grid and pressing too hard on the sculpting. The frame I ended up with was taller than my usual archers, with long fingers and a narrow, sharp face.
I put one of the crystals in her chest by accident, instead of the ego core. By the time I realized, the ego had already settled around it.
When she woke, frost spread across the table from her hands.
[A unique-rated golem with the unique class 'Frozen Archer' has been produced.]
[Unique golems created: 2/15. Growth types among them: 1/6.]
"You made a mistake," she said, looking at her hands. Her voice was low and very calm.
"I did."
"It worked out." She flexed her fingers, and a bow of ice formed in them and dissolved again. "I'll forgive you."
I named her Purah. She took over the archer teams that same week, and nobody argued about it.
The second was even less planned. I was making a warrior golem, a perfectly ordinary one, when something about the ego went sideways. I was thinking about the 30 players who'd looked at my golems like that, and the vial boiled over in my hand. I almost dropped it.
The golem that woke up roared, punched the table in half, and then immediately looked horrified at himself.
"SORRY!" he shouted. "SORRY. That was... I don't know why I did that. Hi! Hello! Sorry!"
[A unique-rated golem with the unique class 'Berserker' has been produced.]
[Unique golems created: 3/15. Growth types among them: 1/6.]
I didn't even have to find someone with the class. It happened by mistake. I named him Izarail. He has never stopped being loud, and he has never stopped apologizing for it.
I also learned the Yatan church was making another move near Grid. They'd put Winston's administrator under their influence to get him to make a shield. The administrator gave Grid a shield production method, but I tuned out from there.
Right now there was a target I seriously wanted a cameagle near: Kraugel. I still hadn't found where he was, but I'm sure I will soon. I'll also see if I can find any different classes among the seven guilds.