"Dragons...? That's right, I'd completely forgotten about them." Nicole muttered in a confusion, "I'm ready. Now I can fight them for sure!"
Wain smiled, "Well, you may be right, but I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. If a Dragon turns out to be stronger than you like that Emerald Golem, you won't be able to defeat it just by increasing the amount of energy you use."
"Why...?" Nicole tilted her head.
"Hahaha, that girl can actually be pretty damn stupid sometimes." Abyss Artist chuckled mockingly which made Nicole frown, "Look, there are no Dragons on the God Stage that have less energy than you, it's just against all the rules."
"Then how do I beat them?" Nicole asked as she raised an eyebrow.
Wain shook his head, "Damn, I sometimes feel like we're from different worlds. Energy isn't the only source of your power. Use everything you've got, especially your new partner." Wain pointed at Erder.
Eder nodded slightly, "I agree. Nicole, don't forget that even though you are on the Demigod Stage, my energy is on the God Stage. In any other situation, I'd have to downgrade so you could use me, but you're good enough at absorbing energy, so there's no point in me doing that."
Nicole nodded.
"Fine, in that case, let's get out of here. Even though it hasn't been long enough in the real world, I think even that was enough to make Ceozi tired of waiting for us." Wain said as Abyss Artist snapped his fingers.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Space shattered into tiny shards and everyone returned to their own minds. Wain and Abyss Artist went in one direction while Nicole and Erder went in the other.
"Damn... He got the job done, but he always does it so eccentrically... I'm sure there was another way..." Wain muttered, slowly standing up and holding his head like he had a hangover. Moving into other minds for long periods of time was always problematic.
"Ogh... Are you awake?" Ceozi said looking at Wain and the waking Nicole, "Did you make it?"
"Hah, wasn't it clear from my complaints?" Wain smirked, "Yeah, now Nicole has her weapon, but not just that. Her weapon has a mind at once, she's really lucky."
"A weapon has a mind...?" Ceozi muttered with wide eyes, "Wain... By the way, I wanted to ask you. Is it possible to create a weapon that would immediately have a mind?"
Wain shook his head, "It's unlikely you could create something like that. Maybe if you're working with a material that already has the remnants of some creature's mind in it, you have a chance, but it's just impossible to create a new mind with a hammer and anvil."
Ceozi remained silent before nodding meaningfully. She hoped she could learn how to create such a weapon, it would be a miracle, but the reality was not as simple as she would have liked.
"Nicole, stop sleeping, the Dragons are coming here soon." Wain said as he tugged on her shoulder.
"Yeah... I know... I just feel kind of weird." Nicole whispered, clutching the scythe tightly in her hand. It looked like before, but now it wasn't trying to resist, Erder's energy was completely in sync with Nicole's one.
"Don't worry. You'll feel much better soon. Come on, let's go wait for the Dragons. They won't come here in the best of spirits, so we have to make it worse." Wain smirked, patted Nicole on the head, and headed for the exit.
Ceozi approached them and with a serious look asked, "Do you need my help? I may be a blacksmith, but I can fight, even if it's Dragons."
"Nah, don't bother. We came here and ripped the fang out of the Dragon's skull, so we have to deal with the consequences. You can enjoy the show, it's not every day you get a chance to see a human along with a monster fight against Dragons." Wain shrugged as he left the forge.
Nicole glanced at Ceozi and hurriedly followed Wain. She was a little worried about how her fight against the Dragons would go since she had never fought against such strong opponents before, but even more, she wanted to test her new strength.
'To see how Nameless King fights against the Dragons...? Ceozi said to herself, feeling the fire inside her light up, 'Hah, there's no way I could miss such a sight, is there?
Ceozi put out the bright red flames of the forge and followed them. Her main passion was blacksmithing, but like everyone else, she wanted to get stronger. If she saw those far superior to her fight, she could learn a lot.
...
Normally everything in Dragon Ridge was covered in mist, but now the area in front of the mountain that held the dragon skull was completely empty as if someone had cleared it on purpose. The fog held a few hundred meters away from where Wain and Nicole were.
Nicole was looking intently around, trying to notice every detail, while Wain with an indifferent face stared at one point. The upcoming battle with the Dragons did not interest him at all since he was doing it more for Nicole so that she could discover her new strength and become even stronger.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The magic circle, set up by the Blind Sorcerer, began to tremble, cracking as it cracked and the bright white light grew dimmer. On the other side came the muffled sounds of blows, as if someone was trying to break through such a sturdy defense.
'Damn, it looks like they resented us more than you thought. They're trying to destroy my magic circle as fast as they can...' Blind Sorcerer muttered, but there was no concern in his voice, he was just curious about what would happen next.
"Well, I'm afraid they don't even know what's waiting for them here." Wain muttered looking at the three figures whose silhouettes he could see even through the bright light from the magic circle.