Chapter 38: The Fourth Guardian (1)

I stood in front of a brightly glowing stone tablet.

「Level 37 confirmed.」

「The Fourth Guardian, <Forge Master High Elf>, awakens from a long slumber.」

A Forge Master usually refers to an exceptional blacksmith.

‘But… what is this?’

A High Elf?

A High Elf is a blacksmith?

As I wondered, a slender silhouette emerged from the golden light.

Thud!

“I greet my Master. I am the Forge Master, Vellerin.”

The figure knelt respectfully on one knee before me.

She looked like a young girl, probably around 15 to 17 years old in appearance, with a delicate and youthful face.

Her clear eyes briefly met mine before she slightly lowered her gaze.

Long silver hair flowed down over her shoulders.

Her slender hands rested neatly on her knee, as she displayed a small but resolute posture of reverence.

And then,

The most distinguishing feature of the girl:

‘Her ears…’

They were pointed.

An Elf.

The very symbol of Elves that I’d only heard about.

“Vellerin.”

“Yes, Master.”

At my words, Vellerin slightly raised her head to look up at me.

Her voice, which matched her youthful appearance, was soft and pure, like a clear stream.

It had a faint, trembling lilt to it that was charming.

“They called you a Forge Master. Is blacksmithing your specialty, by any chance?”

I still wasn’t fully convinced.

Could someone with such a delicate and adorable appearance really be a blacksmith?

But her answer came clearly.

“Yes, that is correct.”

Huh.

This little elf in front of me was really a blacksmith.

‘Hmm…’

I couldn’t help but feel a disconnect between Vellerin’s appearance and her role.

How could someone with such a fragile build be a blacksmith?

And not just that,

‘Aren’t elves usually known for being spirit mages or archers?’

Well, in any case.

I took a deep breath and reached my hand out to her.

“Welcome back from your slumber, Vellerin.”

“I am deeply honored, Master.”

Vellerin took my hand and rose to her feet.

‘Then…’

When I first heard she was a blacksmith, one thought immediately came to mind.

If Vellerin is a skilled blacksmith, maybe she could fix Arkeron’s <Core>?

I always felt bad watching Arkeron barely running on a temporary energy circuit powered by the Fruit of Guidance.

Maybe this time we could finally break that cycle.

The issue is,

‘I’m not sure if her blacksmithing skills are truly on par with a dwarf’s.’

For now, I’ll take her outside and see for myself.

“Let’s go outside. I’ll introduce you to the others.”

Just as I was about to lead her out,

A message popped up in front of my eyes.

「You have summoned four Guardians.」

「Achievement unlocked.」

「Trait <Dragon’s Oath (EX)> is resonating.」

「You can now view your familiars’ ranks.」

‘Huh?’

Ranks? What does that mean?

***

At that very moment,

The auction for White Sun Herb and Lunadria, submitted by the Archmage, was racing toward its finale.

Time remaining until bidding ends: 3 hours.

Current prices:

• 5 Lunadrias – 2,531,700 Coin
• 5 White Sun Herb – 10,529,880 Coin

They were breaking all-time records.

……….

[RoseTteokbokki]: Whoa, I’ve never seen Lunadria go for over 500k Coin each before;

[ChalSundae]: What about White Sun Herb going for over 2 million per flower?

[AssortedFritter]: Seriously; why are these being sold for so much?

……….

At a glance, the prices seemed overheated.

However, those seeking to purchase the magic-tier Lunadria and White Sun Herb didn’t consider them expensive at all.

“The magic-tier White Sun Herb and Lunadria not only greatly increase mana when consumed, but can also boost one’s level. For those facing a wall, if they have enough potential, they can even break through their limit.”

Anyone willing to pay that kind of price wasn’t an average Superhuman.

They had to either be top-tier Superhuman or high-level organizations like elite clans, entities with the capability to afford such sums.

Which means?

Their intelligence networks were on another level.

Through Hong Seolhwa and Aleksei, they had already picked up that the spiritual herbs and elixirs being sold by the Magus were extraordinary.

And then came the release of Lunadria and White Sun Herb.

From that, they realized it wasn’t just effective for overcoming the huge level 80 barrier.

It also had significant effects at lower thresholds, like when mid-to-high-tier Superhuman tried to push past levels 50, 60, or 70.

That’s why.

Demand exploded, and the prices skyrocketed like that.

There was another reason, too.

……….

[SpicyChicken]: Irregular monsters have been showing up in dungeons a lot lately. Could that be the reason?

[OneBowlOfJjajang]: That might be it.

……….

Lately, dungeon activity had been abnormal.

Irregular monsters appeared more frequently, and irregular dungeons and portals had also started showing up more often.

In addition, analyses showed that even standard monsters were growing stronger on average.

Because of that,

Everyone was obsessed with enhancing their combat power.

Not just spiritual herbs and elixirs.

But all sorts of weapons and gear.

Anything that could boost combat power was surging in value.

And so,

In the remaining 3 hours,

The prices of Lunadria and White Sun Herb continued to flare up and soar.

***

A sidelong glance.

I checked the level and information floating above Vellerin’s head.

[Lv 255]

[Vellerin]

★★★✩✩

Level 255.

The second Guardian to reach the 200s after Arkeron.

And currently, the Guardian with the highest level in this place had made an appearance.

“As expected, you can’t judge anyone here by appearances.”

Who would believe that such a delicate-looking little girl was level 200?

She might specialize in blacksmithing, but at that level, her base combat power had to be unimaginably high.

“Are those stars her rank?”

Below Vellerin’s name floated five stars.

Three were filled in with color, while the remaining two were empty.

“What could that mean?”

“Does it mean Vellerin is a 3-star?”

“Is there something you wish to say to me…?”

Ah!

I must’ve been staring too intently.

“No, never mind. Let’s head outside first.”

I shook my head at Vellerin’s question and stepped outside.

After introducing Vellerin to the others, I’d figure out what that was all about.

『Seojun! You’re here!』

“Popo!”

“Chuchu!”

As I came out, three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned toward me.

“Say hello. This is Dania, Popo, and Chuchu—one by one.”

“Ah! I greet the Master.”

As soon as Vellerin saw Dania, she immediately knelt on one knee just like when she first saw me.

『New friend! Nice to meet you!』

Flap flap!

Dania flapped its wings and flew right into Vellerin’s arms, nestling into her chest.

“Ah!”

Vellerin, caught off-guard, held Dania awkwardly in her arms, looking completely flustered and overwhelmed.

A mixture of embarrassment and awe showed on her face.

『Mmm~ So soft and warm!』

Dania clearly loved being in Vellerin’s arms, rubbing its head against her and smiling happily.

“Ah… Thank you, Master.”

I wasn’t sure what she was thanking me for, but Vellerin gently hugged Dania close.

For a moment, I thought it might be hard for her to hold Dania, who was bigger than her upper body since Vellerin wasn’t all that tall.

But then again, how rude of me to think that about someone who’s Level 255.

She’s Level 255, for crying out loud.

There’s no guessing how high her strength stat is.

Trying to judge someone based on appearance alone?

Maybe it’s because I’ve only recently become a SuperNet user, but moments like these still give me a bit of cognitive dissonance.

“Popo!”

“Chuchu!”

While I’d gotten lost in thought, Popo and Chuchu had come over and were now looking up at Vellerin.

“It’s truly an honor to meet you both as well.”

“Popo!”

“Chuchu!!”

Still holding Dania, Vellerin offered them a greeting, and Popo responded with its signature ^_^ eye smile, hopping up and down.

A clear sign of welcome.

Chuchu also gave her a ^_^ eye smile and waved both arms wide in a welcoming gesture.

“Such a warm welcome… I don’t know what to say.”

The scene must have moved Vellerin deeply.

With a slightly emotional expression, she looked down at Dania, Popo, and Chuchu in turn.

“They’ll get along just fine.”

Watching Vellerin, I felt confident there wouldn’t be any issues with her fitting into our group.

“But…”

As the four of them exchanged greetings, I took a closer look at Popo and Chuchu.

‘Lv 110,’

‘Popo’

★★✩

Was the information floating above Popo’s head.

Two out of three stars were filled in.

‘Lv 148,’

‘ChuChu’

★★✩✩

And next was Chuchu.

Two stars were filled out of four.

“Don’t tell me…”

Could the number of stars represent their maximum growth potential or innate talent?

The stars that were colored in did that mean their growth or potential had been partially achieved?

That thought only grew more certain as I looked at Dania.

Lv 119,

「Dania」

★✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Dania.

It truly had an overwhelming number of stars.

A whopping ten stars.

Only one of them was filled in, but if my theory was right—that these stars represented growth or potential.

Then Dania held tremendous potential.

‘Considering Popo and Chuchu each have two colored-in stars, it doesn’t seem like the stars get filled just by leveling up.’

Lastly, Arkeron.

‘Lv 251,

「Arkeron」

★★★★✩✩

Despite being a lower level than Vellerin,

Arkeron had four filled-in stars.

And a total of six stars in all.

‘Arkeron had that much potential all along?’

Whoa.

Because it had been in such a poor state from the start, I never realized its true value.

But now that I could see rankings, things looked different.

‘If that really is potential, then is it possible Dania’s power could increase the number of stars someone has?’

One thing was certain—Dania’s horn had boosted my potential.

I didn’t know how many stars I had, but if everything I was guessing was correct, there might be a way to increase someone’s stars through Dania.

Just then—

“I… am… Ar…keron. I… congratulate… you… on awakening…”

Creak, creak.

Arkeron slowly stepped forward and offered greetings to Vellerin.

“Ah! Greetings to you as well.”

Vellerin returned the greeting to the belatedly approaching Arkeron.

But then his expression subtly changed.

“Guardian… You don’t look to be in very good condition.”

“Arkeron… temporary… energy core… in operation. Because of… this form… I ask… for your understanding…”

“Ah!”

Vellerin looked flustered at Arkeron’s words.

Seeing him so anxious, I asked,

“Vellerin, what’s wrong?”

“Well… I don’t think Guardian Arkeron’s body is in normal condition. If it’s alright, may I take a look?”

“Of course. I was going to ask you anyway. Arkeron’s energy core is currently damaged. Can you check it out?”

“Yes!”

“Hand Dania to me for a moment.”

Mmm… I wanna stay in Vellerin’s arms a bit longer…

Oh dear.

Looks like Dania really took a liking to Vellerin.

That’s a bit disappointing.

Not long ago, it was clinging to me like I was its favorite person in the world!

“Dania, Vellerin’s going to try and fix Arkeron. Just come here for a bit.”

「Alright.」

Still, our Dania listens so well.

Once I took Dania into my arms, Vellerin began inspecting Arkeron.

“Um… hmm… ah…”

He looked it over carefully from all angles, then examined the energy core area closely, his expression growing more serious.

“……”

“Poooo…”

At that, not just me, but even Chuchu and Popo held their breath and looked to Vellerin.

They could feel it too, this was the critical moment that would determine Arkeron’s fate.

“This is…”

After a long pause, Vellerin finally opened his mouth.