The celebratory feast was of epic proportions. It was the guildmaster’s rule that after a mission of major significance, including rescuing guild members, the entire guild would transform into a giant party house of sorts. Every guild member was invited to join the feast, regardless if they participated in the mission or not; only those that did would get paid, though.

Sitting in the quietest spot he could find, Dallion stirred what was left of his drink with a fork.

That’s a really disgusting habit, the dryad shield said. Not to mention you can take your eye out if you’re not careful.

Dallion stirred for a bit more, then put the fork on the empty plate that was on the ground next to him. Still, he didn’t finish the drink, looking at the swirling crimson liquid inside. Grunt had smuggled a bottle of what looked like wine—a rather expensive one at that, judging by the way he did so—from the inside of the guildhall and given it to Dallion. The flavor was quite nice, but Dallion didn’t feel like drinking. If it weren’t for the cravings of his stomach, he probably wouldn’t have eaten either.

You’re still thinking about the chainlings, aren’t you?

“I was part of a hunt,” Dallion mumbled. It was thanks to that hunt that he’d received the dartbow—the weapon without which he wouldn’t ever have reached the city. Was it worth it, though? Maybe it would have been better if he had remained in Dherma. The village chief would have probably passed in a decade. If Dallion had endured, maybe things would have gotten better?

No, that wasn’t it either. If he had done nothing, Veil would have taken over and without the experience of the hunt, he likely would have become rotten to the core. Objectively things had changed for the better, and that only made the whole situation more difficult to accept.

You want to talk about it? The shield offered. You’re not the first I’ve seen to have an issue. Granted, in most cases I’ve had to console my owners because of unrequited love. There’ve been quite a few times I’ve talked about battle trauma. People lost friends, people killed for the first time…

“Did you face any chainlings?”

That was after my time. There were a lot of other nasty creatures, though. The story is always the same. Sometimes you can help them, some are beyond salvation. Then again, they say that the Seven Moons can save anyone.

The Seven Moons. Maybe Dallion could ask more on the topic of the Crippled Star when he went to their shrine. Thanks to the mission, Dallion had earned enough to pay for his awakening attempt. Officially he was supposed to earn two golds, like everyone else. Because of his actions, though, Vend had shared they would be paying him double. Of course, the request was that he didn’t share the information too much.

All I can say is that this is one of those moments. You have a choice to make. Can you put up with it or not? Personally, I think it would be a waste if you gave up, although it’s an option. There are a lot of places that would like to hire an awakened. From what I saw, even working at a tavern pays well. Or you can marry into wealth. A lot of rich people are okay with marrying their daughters to awakened. It’s said that it increases the chances of your children becoming awakened as well.

“Does it?” Dallion couldn’t help but ask.

Who knows? The dryad laughed. It’s one of those things. Enough people believe it does, so maybe? It definitely gave me a huge advantage, I can tell you that. Honestly, though, I don’t think it does.

“So, genetics aren’t what you said they are,” Dallion whispered, thinking about the conversations with his grandfather. Or maybe it was only valid for people who came from Earth.

What’s that?

“Nothing. I was thinking out loud.” Dallion took a sip from his mug. “In your time, was there something called soul loss? Or soul confusion?”

Hmm. Can’t say it’s familiar. A few terms have changed. Honestly, I’m lucky that the language is still the same. Why? Is it something that’s bothering you?

“No, it’s nothing important.” Apparently, Nil was the one to ask. Right now, though, Dallion didn’t feel like it. All he wanted to do was get his money and return to the tavern. “Thanks, Dian.” He put his cup on the ground, then stood up.

You’re very welcome. That’s what I’m for. Also, don’t hesitate to come visit when you feel like it. As the saying goes, guardians don’t sleep.

“Sure.” There was no chance of that happening.

Quietly, Dallion sneaked into the street. Most of the guild members were too busy celebrating to notice, or if they did, they didn’t care. As far as they were concerned, Dallion was just another participant in the rescue operation. Given what had happened, it was better this way.

Looking at the sky, it was still morning, although in Dallion’s mind it felt as if weeks had passed. It wasn’t only the time difference that made him feel this way, it was the atmosphere. All the time he had spent walking through the sphere item’s levels had made him so accustomed to the awakened realm, that Nerosal seemed foreign.

Hey, the shield said. Are you alright?

“Just tired,” Dallion lied. “I’ll get some sleep and it’ll be okay.”

That better be real sleep. Awakened sleep might not be the best idea right now.

The Gremlin’s Timepiece was almost empty when Dallion walked in. The moment she saw him, Hannah knew that something hadn’t gone well. Dallion could tell she was about to say something, so he decided not to give her the chance.

“Hey, Hannah,” he said preemptively. “I’ll go have a talk with the harpsisword.” If memory served, the last conversation they had was about him neglecting his weapons. “I’ll be down for the lunch crowd.”

There was a moment of hesitation on the woman’s side. She could tell he was coming up with excuses to avoid the real issue, yet at the same time she didn’t want to openly ask him about it either. In the end, she just nodded and watched him head for the stairs.

That was a bit cold, the shield said again. She’s not the one who caused your problems.

“She’s dealt with worse,” Dallion replied without thinking. “She’ll have forgotten it by lunch.”

People don’t forget things. They just pretend they have.

Entering the room, Dallion took off his shield, then threw his pouch on the bed. Four gold coins were inside. For the moment he didn’t care, though.

Normally this was the point at which he would flop on the bed and get a few hours of sleep. However, he didn’t feel tired enough to sleep right now. Instead, he sat on the bed and stared at the floor for a few seconds.

Thoughts went through his mind, opposing each other in pairs, until one rather peculiar one popped up. From everything Dallion knew so far, music skills had the power to affect creatures and objects alike. If so, was it possible for them to affect him as well?

Without a word, Dallion took the harpsisword from beneath the bed. He then removed the fabric around it and held it as he did in the awakened realms. Taking a deep breath, he then played a chord.

There was no way for Dallion to see what emotions passed through him, but he knew one emotion to be lacking—joy.

The chord turned to two, then three, then four. Unlike in the awakened world, there wasn’t even a hint of headaches. In contrast the pain on the tips of his fingers was quite noticeable. It was as if he were learning to play a guitar all over again. To Dallion’s surprise, the music that came from the weapon was just as good as if he were using a musical instrument. Furthermore, it seemed to have the effect he wanted it to have.

Thinking about it, music also made him feel better back on Earth. Maybe there was something about music triggering emotions and he just couldn’t see it.

Catchy, the shield said. One day you’ll make someone very happy. And by that, I mean you’ll create the emotion in them. After you pass your trial, I’d recommend investing in a musical instrument. People love bards, especially awakened ones. You’d be able to earn a lot more than mending cups.

“You’ve become mercantile all of a sudden.” Dallion allowed himself a slight smile.

Just egoistic. The more money you have, the longer you’ll be able to rent me.

“Who says I’ll keep renting you? Maybe I’ll win you outright.”

That would be great, but we both know you won’t. Clearing that cane won’t be an easy task. Besides, you wouldn’t want a companion shield once you get a feel of the real thing.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I’m defensive. Not all shields are. The battle shields have the means to attack just as well as defend. They are far more practical for someone who wants to level up fast.

“I was told that only a weak person complains about his gear,” Dallion recited one of Nil’s words of wisdom.

And only a fool uses something that doesn’t provide an advantage, the shield countered. Anyway, let me not ruin the mood now that you’re smiling for once. It’ll be a while until you save enough for that, anyway. Also, the innkeeper was right.

“She usually is. In what way, though?”

You’ve been neglecting your sword, and women don’t like being neglected.

Women? Dallion missed his final chord. All this time he had assumed the sword to have a male guardian—mostly because he considered it a reflection of himself. However, there was nothing that guaranteed it.

“You can tell?”

When I said I’d been having conversations with the rest of the general’s collection, what did you think I meant? We can talk to each other just as we can see each other. Maybe you’ll learn more about that one day, but for now trust me. Your harpsisword is a she.

“Is she another dryad?”

I think you should ask her that yourself.

Dallion could hear the shield’s smirk in his voice. Then again, he had a point. Talking about someone standing there was considered rude when it came to people; should it be any different when it came to items?

“Sorry,” Dallion whispered.

Item Awakening

The realm was very different from what Dallion expected. It wasn’t in the usual grey as the other weapons he’d been in, it wasn’t closed either. He found himself on the balcony of a golden tower overseeing a beautiful sunset over the sea. Even the water was a warm golden orange, as was part of the sky.

You are in a vast golden domain.

Defeat the guardian to change the HARPSISWORD’s destiny.

There was little chance of that.

“Hello?” Dallion shouted, his voice echoing throughout the realm. “Hello, where are you?” he asked again.

A golden staircase extended outside the tower, continuing to the top. Clearly that was the only place to go. Passing his hand through his hair, Dallion started the climb.

The higher up he went, a larger part of the world became visible. As it turned out, the tower was on a small island in the middle of an endless sea. Golden trees surrounded the base of the tower, some of their branches reaching up to the top of the tower itself.

“Are you up there?” Dallion continued climbing.

Looking below, he could tell that he had passed over a hundred steps, but even so he didn’t feel tired in any single way. If anything, he felt light as air, and the smell of the faint ocean breeze created a sense of exotic familiarity. Maybe he should have taken the bottle of wine from the guild celebration to enjoy here.

“Harpsisword?” Dallion was a few steps from the top of the tower now. From this distance he could tell it was forming one giant terrace. “Sorry about taking so long to come here. My bad entirely. I really—” he froze still, barely able to believe his eyes.

HARPSISWORD GUARDIAN

Species: Nymph

Class: Shadow

Statistics: 100% Health

Skills:

- Wind slash

- Emotion slash

- Sound entangle

Weak spots: none