Chapter 18: Aspirations

On a road near Malt village, Ray is sitting in a carriage traveling to the capital city of the Camen Empire. Next to him are the members of his party, Alexandra the priest and Eleanor the mage. After he returned alive from the dragon's cave with all their equipment, they reported their failure to the emperor. A few days later they were summoned back to the capital, with no further information given. 'I've almost reached the pinnacle of human capabilities with a sword,' Ray thought to himself, 'Training will not improve my capabilities in the short term, I need another way to boost my strength. The only ways I can think of doing that is either getting better equipment or teammates. I don't know anyone better than Ellie and Lex, so that is not an option. The empire might not have any better equipment than what they already gave me, and even if they do, they probably won't give me any as I have lost a piece. I could get something forged, but there are no forgers that could produce something better than I already have, and I would have to gather materials. So all that's left is me finding a relic. Relics are items created by various famous figures throughout history that have been lost, or never even found in the first place. For example, it was said that the 'Miracle Smith' Hephaestus had a secret storeroom where he kept his greatest works. However, this storeroom was never found. These unknown items have been labeled relics. But, obviously, many people have searched for these relics and have not found them. Finding clues to a relic that actually exists and then finding that relic largely depending on luck. Ray wracked his brain trying to remember anything that could lead him to a relic as the carriage rode on into the night.