A month had passed since Rigel devoured the town with flames, and he had been staying low in the village. He took his time to craft and forge his armor piece with the Lindworm's scales. He was far from finishing them, he was done crafting the breastplate and the pauldrons. He was still working on the gauntlets and the vambraces, and next was the fauld piece. He estimated the time to finish all of them would take him another 2 months.
"Are you staying up all night here?" A muscular man with tanned skin because he worked in front of the forge every day. His name was Beal, a family man with two children in his early 30s. "Have you eaten? Do you want me to bring something to eat?" He asked.
"No, I'm fine. I can go buy something in the market and cook something," Rigel answered as he observed the glowing red hot steel in his hand.
Beal still couldn't get used to Rigel holding the glowing red-hot steel with his bare hand. He knew Rigel had strong fire resistance and that he didn't break a sweat by standing near the forging. He also knew that Rigel was a Non-Player because a lot of the villagers were Non-Players as well.
Everyone lived in harmony, living a life without conflict, and worked together for each other's happiness. Rigel didn't know how it was possible and how the Player Association didn't know about it. Rigel thought there must be an insider who worked for the Resistance and at the same time held a high position in the Player Association.
"Can I have a look?" Beal looked at the vembrace at the table.
"Sure, I need you to check it anyway," Rigel nodded as he kept staring at the processed steel.
Beal was so excited to check out the vembrace because the breastplate that Rigel made was a masterpiece. He could learn from just observing the finished work, but he wasn't confident that he could copy it.
Rigel and Beal worked until evening without anyone disturbing them. After that, Beal went back home first since his work was to make new shovels and forks. He used to make weapons and armor for Players, but he couldn't compete with other blacksmiths who were better and offered a better price than him.
"Good enough..." Rigel looked at the base of the gauntlet. He then looked outside and realized it was nighttime already.
He decided to visit the pub to ask for any information about the 2nd floor and maybe about the 3rd floor as well. He knew that up to the 9th floor, there were no cities like Alma City because the Player Association made it that way. Since the Player Association held the power over the tower, the Players couldn't do anything.
The pub was so lively because there was a bard that came to visit, playing music for everyone. The music was pleasant to the ears and easy to listen to, and he spoke in between melodies, a story or a tale that he heard from Players. It was entertaining and the most important part was sharing the knowledge he knew with everyone.
"What can I get you?" A man in his mid-20s with a scar on his forearm looked at Rigel from behind the counter.
"Get me a rose wine," Rigel answered as he sat down.
"Would you prefer the old ones or the freshly made ones?" The man asked again.
Rigel could understand from that question alone whether he wanted to hear old news or recent news. It was so easy to understand, and yet nobody would suspect it was a hidden message.
"The fresh one would be nice," Rigel answered as he nodded.
"This one was made last week, and the merchant said it was made in Selin Town where the tower is," The man put the bottle in front of Rigel. "Now that I remembered, the winery that made this rose wine had a big problem because of the pest," he added.
"Pest?" Rigel didn't understand what that was supposed to mean.
"Yes, they can come and go as they please. It's everywhere in the tower," the man nodded as he looked at Rigel. "But this one isn't just a normal pest, it's the one that controls all the pests," he added.
Rigel furrowed his eyebrows and seemed to understand what the man was trying to say. He believed the pest that the man meant was Players and the one that the man meant by the one that controlled all the pests was Players from the Association.
"Is the pest spreading?" Rigel asked.
"I heard they're here for the person who has been exterminating the pests from the 1st floor. But the pest won't be checking this place, so there's nothing to be worried about," the man answered and assured Rigel that he should be fine in the village.
"How so?" Rigel looked at the man.
"We have pest repellent," the man smiled at Rigel. "The village's chief. You'll understand when you see it with your own eyes," he added.
Rigel furrowed and wondered how the village's chief could prevent the Association from going into the village. He heard a lot about the chief, and a few of them were the chief was sick and old, but during his prime, he used to be a Ranker, someone who tried to climb the tower's highest floor and compete with other Players.
"I see, what about the 3rd floor? Is the situation the same there?" Rigel asked.
"It's the same up to the 9th floor. You don't want to get near them," The man answered. "Maybe we will be fine from the past now, but it won't be long until they're going to make their way in. So, it would be better if you prepare yourself," he pointed out.
"I'll leave as soon as I'm done here, don't worry," Rigel responded and nodded with understanding. "Thanks for the wine," he gave a gold coin and left the pub to continue working on his armor.
3 months had passed, and Rigel had finished his armor that he worked from nothing. He looked at it and was satisfied with the result, especially how it fits perfectly on his body. It was hard to turn scales into powders because they were extremely resistant to fire. The armor had a very dark red color, and it shone when it was exposed to light.
"That armor would be priceless because of how amazing it is. Do you know what kind of stat it gives?" Beal looked at Rigel. "Right, you're a Non-Player, you can't see the effect of the armor," he realized.
"It doesn't matter. It's not like I'm doing it for the stat," Rigel responded as he removed the armor from his body. "Thank you, for letting me borrow your workshop, Beal."
"No, it should be me thanking you because I learned a lot from you. It was a pleasure to have you here, and because of you, I think I got my passion back and will try to become a blacksmith again," Beal said and he looked inspired.
Rigel was about to put the armor on the table, but then he heard the neighing of horses on the other side of the street. He took a peek and saw people riding horses, waiting in front of a house that belonged to the village chief. People were talking with those people on horses, and they seemed a bit annoyed by their presence.
"You should leave. I'll try to distract them if they come here," Beal said as he looked at the people on the horses. "Use the back door, you know where to go. You can take my horse, so go now," he looked at Rigel.
Rigel was about to leave, but horses were running past the workshop, panicking without Players riding them. He was curious and checked what was going on, and when he looked at the crowd, he noticed someone was standing in front of the building. A man who barely could stand on his own feet, leaning his body forward as he stared at the Players that came to the village.
Those Players were trembling in fear as they were on their backs, lying on the ground. Rigel was confused about why those Players were in that state, and why the horses ran away because of an old and fragile man.
"Who's that?" Rigel asked Beal.
"That's our village chief, Hondo," Beal answered.
Hondo looked at the group of Players in their high-quality armor, and there was an emblem on their capes. The emblem of a black crown and it was the first time Rigel saw it, but not for Hondo because he was familiar with that emblem.
"You came to my village, demanding to do a thorough search?" Hondo asked and looked at them with his silver pupils that almost blended with his eyes. His gray ponytail hair was long enough to reach the back of his thighs, and his long beard looked like silk. "If you can stand up, you may do whatever you want here. But if none of you can, you have to leave or I'll make you leave this world," he warned and threatened them.
None of the Players could even get their knees on the ground because of the pressure. It was weird that only they felt that way because the villagers didn't feel anything as they watched from the sides.
"What do you think?" Beal asked Rigel. "Isn't our chief great? He can put those arrogant Players down like that with just a stare," he said and he sounded so proud of the chief.
"Who are those people? Someone from a Guild?" Rigel asked and dismissed Beal's words because he already heard a lot about Hondo's past.
"Ah, you're new to the tower so you don't know them. They're from the Association," Beal answered as he kept watching those Players try their best to stand on all four. "The Black Crown was the main power of the Player Association, and that was the Guild before it turned into the Player Association. Those people aren't small fries, they're elites among elites," he explained.
Rigel looked at Hondo and that was when he realized how amazing Hondo was. Whatever that Hondo possessed, it could bring strong Players to their knees and powerless in his presence. He wondered what kind of skill that allowed Hondo to possess such power.
"Scram!" Hondo shouted and those Players fell on their backs again, and then they started running away.
Hondo looked at the villagers around him and noticed they were terrified of him but at the same time admired him. He then looked to his left and saw Beal and Rigel in the distance, watching him. His eyes met with Rigel's for a moment and then went back inside his house slowly.
Rigel who felt it thought that Hondo was inviting him, so he walked to Hondo's house, ignoring Beal's question. When he stood in front of Hondo's house, he felt the remnants of the pressure that those Players felt earlier. He walked to Hondo's porch and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Hondo's voice was weak after he shouted that loudly earlier.
Rigel came in and saw Hondo sitting at the table with a glass of water on it. He then felt his heart skipped a beat so suddenly, and he almost fainted, but he managed to recover from it. He heard Hondo scoff and saw Hondo point his hand at the chair across the table.
"You must be the one that Aria mentioned. It's our first time meeting and I'm sorry that I had to test you earlier," Hondo said as soon as Rigel sat at the table with him. "You must have heard a lot about me, but it wouldn't be appropriate if I didn't introduce myself. My name is Hondo Eklan," he offered his hand for a handshake.
"Rigel Eclair DeMargt," Rigel shook Hondo's hand.
When Rigel wanted to remove his hand from Hondo's hand, but Hondo prevented him from doing so. He looked at Hondo's eyes which were barely open, and he could tell something was coming. As soon as he thought about that, Hondo clenched his hand. Rigel's hand got crushed so easily even though he was prepared for it.
"I was right that you haven't mastered it," Hondo said as he removed his hand and looked at Rigel's hand. "But you're going to be fine since you have the Dragon's blood in you. You must have known by now that your body has incredible recovery speed," he added.
Rigel tried to move his fingers and it made cracking sounds because the bones inside his hand got dislocated. He used the fire healing ability and it felt better immediately, but that didn't mean his hand healed completely.
"How do you know?" Rigel looked at Hondo with a confused expression.
"Because you didn't faint earlier by my aura. Non-Players won't be able to withstand it no matter how strong they are. Even Players with unbendable will would fall just like back there, so the only answer to that is because you possess it, just like me," Hondo explained as he looked at Rigel's hand which had recovered faster than he thought. "You must have possessed something else that makes you able to recover even faster. You're indeed an extraordinary one that I haven't seen in decades," he added.
"You possessed a Dragon's blood?" Rigel furrowed and looked at Hondo.
"Dragon's Aura, that's the skill that Players get from killing a Dragon kin, it's an achievement that the System gave me," Hondo answered. "Which means, you have killed one, and I believe you killed one back in your original world which is something that is impossible to achieve," he continued.
Rigel remembered the Dragon Core that he absorbed and didn't give him anything. He had been wondering about that, and what it gave him because it didn't affect his physical strength. Now that he knew, he realized the Dragon gave him an unbelievably strong mind which could be the reason why he barely had any fear inside him.
"How can I work on this?" Rigel asked as he tried to fix the bones that hadn't been in their right place in his hand.
"I would love to teach you, but I don't think I have the time for that because soon there will be someone who will come here. Someone that I know closely," Hondo answered as he looked out the window. "All I can do is guide you to open the Dragon's power inside your body and turn it into a Dragon's Vein. You have to find it and once you find it, you should be able to connect it to yours. When you do so, you will feel the power surge within you," he explained.
Rigel put his right hand on his chest and he never thought the Dragon's power was still sealed. Although the power was still sealed, he had already received a lot of benefits from it. He wondered what would happen once he unsealed the power and connected it to his body.
"Come, we don't have much time," Hondo stood up weakly and then went to the back.
Rigel followed him and found himself in the backyard where he saw chickens and a small farm that Hondo had planted himself. There was a small pool of water and Hondo was standing in front of it, staring down at it.
"Sit down over here in front of the pool," Hondo looked at Rigel.
Rigel sat down and stared down at his reflection, and then Hondo stood behind him and he felt Hondo's hands on his shoulders. He felt the chill on his shoulders that soon became freezing cold that it was uncomfortable and his shoulders became numb.
"I'm searching for the Dragon's power within your body, so bear with it. Once I found it, you should immediately try to cover that area with Mana and crack it open," Hondo explained.
Hondo tried to use his Dragon's power to resonate with the Dragon's power within Rigel's body. A Dragon would react to another Dragon, and when it reacted, Rigel could easily unseal the power within his body.
"I found it," Hondo said with his eyes closed. "It's..." he paused and he was unsure about something. "What kind of dragon that you killed back there?" he asked and he looked confused.
"A black one, it was so big that its sharp tooth was taller than my body," Rigel answered.
"What?!" Hondo removed his hands from Rigel's shoulders and looked at Rigel with a shocked expression. "You killed an Elder Dragon and you absorbed its power?!" His eyes were wide open in disbelief.
"Yes," Rigel answered and nodded.
"It seems that we have to work really hard to open it because my power is no match to the power inside your body. It feeds on my Mana, and if we don't do it carefully, both of us might die because if we make a single mistake, it won't only drain our Mana, it will also drain our life," Hondo explained.
"I'm fine with that, but what about you? You're too old for this, aren't you?" Rigel asked.
"Don't mess with me. I have lived my life to the fullest, and most of them have turned into regrets. If I can redeem myself, this is the time," Hondo answered without hesitation. "Are you ready, kid?" he asked.
"I'm ready," Rigel nodded.