Kael and Riven walked through the gates of Skyreach, the floating town buzzing with twilight energy. Airships docked on tethered platforms, runecrafters peddled glowing sigils, and elemental familiars zipped between rooftops.
They made their way back to Grumm's forge, the Arcshine they'd earned from the Drifter hunt flickering in their menus.
Grumm was hammering away at a glowing blade when he looked up and grinned. "Well look who survived their first flutter-beast. Got the taste for it, huh?"
Kael opened his inventory menu, flipping past the fresh loot… and then paused. In one of the slots sat an item he hadn't touched since the mine:
[Molten Core Shard – Epic]
Dropped by: Lava Golem
Value: Extremely High
Trade Tag: Blacksmiths / Rune Crafters / Energy Dealers
Riven blinked. "Wait. Is that from the wooden golem back in the mine?"
Kael nodded slowly. "We didn't even realize it dropped this."
Riven checked his own menu and whistled. "I've got a Void Crystal Fragment from the second beast too. These aren't common tier."
Grumm leaned in, eyes wide. "You boys didn't tell me you picked a fight with guardian-class monsters. These pieces alone could get you your own forge, maybe a sky-pod condo with a gravity garden."
Kael raised a brow. "Enough for a place to live?"
"Oh yeah. Easily." Grumm glanced at their faces. "But you didn't get one, did you?"
Riven smirked. "Nah. Doesn't feel like the right time to settle down."
Grumm chuckled. "That's the spirit. Spend it on gear, not furniture. There's always time to sleep after you've saved—or doomed—the world."
Kael turned back to the quest board. More contracts had appeared:
[NEW QUESTS AVAILABLE]
– Scout: Thunderblight Fields – Tier II
– Escort: Soul Trader Caravan to Emberpoint – Tier II
– Hunt: Rift Serpent Nest – Tier III
– Investigate: Dragon King Sighting – Tier ??? (Red Status)
He stared at the last one. No level listed. Just ?? and a red warning.
"How strong do you think we need to be to face him?" Kael asked quietly.
Grumm didn't look up from his forge. "Dragon King's not just a beast. He's a being of corrupted system code and ancient magic. No one even knows his level. Anyone who's tried to scan it? System shuts them down. You'll need more than stats to take him down."
Riven folded his arms. "And how many towns or cities are even out there in this world?"
Grumm shrugged. "Hard to say. Floating continents drift. Cities appear, disappear. Some are fixed, like Skyreach. Others come and go. You'll need to explore, map, ask. The System won't just hand you answers. That's part of the adventure."
Kael looked at Riven. "We pick another quest. Gear up. Get stronger. One tier at a time."
Riven smiled. "Dragon King doesn't even know what's coming.