July 2034

"Are you sure she's good?"

"Positive. She made my «Dark Repulsor» and it's been keeping up with my main one."

"First of all: Edgy. Second of all: How can I be sure this isn't some kinda revenge plot of yours for breaking your «Anneal Blade»?"

"Look, Y/N, you've been picky about choosing a blacksmith for over two months. Why not give her a shot?"

"Fine, fine..."

Y/N's conversation with Kirito the day before played out in his head as he walked through the streets of the 48th floor's town, Lindarth. It is modeled after a medieval village, with paved stone roads and numerous trees planted around the area. Due to the many waterways and canals running beside houses and under the roads, most buildings had a waterwheel connected to it, making it the perfect place for bakers, tailors, an —most importantly for Y/N—blacksmiths. 

Y/N opened the door to the blacksmith and stepped inside, the jingling of the door's bell alerting the owner of a new customer.

"Coming!" A chirpy voice came from the back room and Y/N took the opportunity to inspect the weapons on display. Not too soon after, the door leading to the back opened and out stepped a young woman with short pink hair.

"Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop! Just call me Liz. How may I help you?" Liz asked, her peppy smile faltering slightly when Y/N waved her off and continued glancing at the wares.

"You mind calling the blacksmith? I need a custom weapon made."

"I am the blacksmith."

Y/N paused and finally turned around to take a good look at the young woman. His eyes analyzed her head to toe before he asked, "...What's with the dress and white apron?"

"Is there an issue?" Liz dropped the act, her eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Won't it get dirty?"

"I'm careful."

"That's not going to stop it from getting dirty."

"I'm very careful."

"Wouldn't it be better to wear overalls and a black apron so your nice clothes don't get stained while you're working?"

"It's not like blacksmithing in real life, okay?! I only have to press a button, put the ore inside the furnace, take it out after it finishes smelting, press another button to select the weapon type, and then hit it a lot of times until it's done!" She finally hit her breaking point—in record time, no less. "It's not like you're wearing anything better! You're a fighter, aren't you? So, why are you wearing that?!" She pointed out a similar contradiction in her customer's outfit.

"Hm? Oh..." Y/N looked down and remembered he was wearing a white haori over his tight-fitting black shirt, white baggy training pants with a black belt weaved through the waist, a black scarf, and black martial arts slippers. Instead of apologizing, he shrugged and turned his back to her to continue browsing. "I'm a different case."

"Grr...." The blacksmith growled and could feel a vein in her head throbbing in anger. Before it burst, she quickly made sure to take a few (a lot) of deep breaths to calm her blood pressure. "Dear customer," She forced a shaky smile, clearly wanting to call Y/N something else, "what type of weapon are you looking for?"

"Hm... Probably a light and fast two-handed sword."

"Pretty standard, even a novice blacksmith can make—"

"Actually, no. I'm plenty fast already. Maybe, a powerful dagger might be better."

...crack..

"Uh... That also sounds doable. I'll need a Strength-Type metal before—"

"Hold on, now that I think about it, a mace is more useful since most monsters in the higher levels have armored skin and I don't have «Armor Pierce»."

...crack...

"Okay," Liz took a deep breath. "I have plenty of experience making maces, so—"

"Wait, wait, no. I just remembered that I don't have an available skill slot for the «One-handed Mace» skill too. Kinda useless then."

CRACK!

Something inside the blacksmith finally snapped.

"Dear customer, please think it over completely before you place an order. As for now," With a sweet smile, Liz opened her menu and pressed a few buttons. Right when she placed her finger on the "evict" button, she scowled viciously and watched an invisible force throw Y/N outside. "HAVE A NICE DAY!!!"

"Is this how you treat all your customers?!"

"ONLY INDECISIVE MORONS WHO HOLD UP THE LINE!!" She shouted from inside her shop.

Y/N sat up on the grass with a groan and shook his head. "What line? It's not like you have that many customers anyways—" He looked up to see a hammer fly out of the shop like a bullet and nail him in the forehead.

Bonk!

"COME BACK WHEN YOU MADE UP YOUR MIND!!"

Inside the shop, Liz felt a wave of satisfaction when she heard him crumple to the floor and returned to her workstation in the back room, patting herself on the back. Her footsteps tapped methodically on the stone floor as she made her way back to the sword patiently waiting on the wooden table.

"Sorry about that. Let's see... The order was to improve the Sharpness and Quickness. I should be able to get to +2 for both and—"

Ding!

The door bell rang.

Liz cursed and placed the sword down, putting on a smile. "Coming!"

The pink-haired girl hurried to the door and...immediately wished she hadn't.

"Can you make a two-handed sword that can handle extreme heat without melting?" Y/N was waiting, a sizeable knot on his forehead from where her hammer struck him.

"Lemme get this straight... You want a weapon that can what? Withstand swimming in lava?"

"Yeah, something like that. And while you're at it, can you make it be able to transform into a two-handed sword and change shape?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Why don't I get right on that? Just a sword that won't be melted after falling into freaking lava! Oh, and it also can transform into a different weapon class! Real simple!"

"Awesome! How long will it take?"

"......."

* * * * *

"..." Y/N laid down on the grass outside of Liz's shop and stared at the night sky, with yet another bump on his forehead. "Something tells me I'm not getting that greatsword anytime soon."

* * * * *

Liz woke up, feeling energized. 

The sun today wasn't as harsh as yesterday and instead gently woke her with a kindly warmth reminisce of the summer season she still remembered from the real world. Not to mention, when she opened her eyes, she didn't feel a single ounce of drowsiness in her eyes or body—even after each step she took around her house as she got ready for the day.

The weather today was also rather pleasant. The wind was favorable, blowing a light breeze through the town, and the light blue skies were clear of any white puffy clouds—perfect conditions for traveling.

Liz felt like nothing could ruin this day. After all, it was difficult to be upset when the view of the town was this damn beautiful to gander at.

Then, she reached her shop.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Liz muttered when presented with the sight of Y/N napping on the front steps of her shop.

Shaking her head, she used her legs to nudge him out of the way and cringed when he fell over onto his side. But before she had the chance to make sure he was fine, a box popped up in front of her face, startling her.

Would you like to enable auto-lock for Lisbeth's Smith Shop? Yesterday, there were 9 break-in attempts.

"WHAAAAAAT?!" Liz shrieked and barged into her shop with a fearful expression. She ran around the store and inspected every nook and cranny of her beloved shop, from the display cases in the front to the hidden storage units in the back—even going as far as to count the dust on the counter.

Thankfully for her mental state, nothing seemed to be missing.

"Thank god..." Liz let out a sigh of relief and slumped onto a chair, wiping the sweat from her brow, "But, I don't get it. Why would they break in if they weren't going to steal anything?" Then, she remembered the male sleeping at the doorstep. "Don't tell me..."

Liz pursed her lips and stared at the ceiling. Eventually, she stood up and grabbed a blanket from the back before walking outside to place it over Y/N's sleeping figure and went back inside.

It was well into the afternoon when the sound of metal hammering and the roaring of the shop's forge woke Y/N from his slumber as he slowly sat up and yawned.

"It's morning already?" The young man took a glance around while rubbing his eyes before he then heard the noises coming from inside the shop. "It sounds like Liz is here." He noted as he went to stretch his arms, and soon noticed the blanket covering him. "Did she..."

Y/N cracked his neck and stood up, carrying the blanket behind him as he entered the blacksmith shop. The bell tied to the door rang, signaling to the owner of a customer entering the store.

"Coming!" The door was kicked open and Liz stepped through, patting down her apron.

"Nah, it's just me." Y/N smiled and tossed the blanket towards her.

"...Oh." Liz caught the blanket with a frown and left to put it away, returning a few seconds later. "...Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"You were here all night, weren't you? I forgot to lock up and some people tried to break in."

"Oh... That." Y/N shrugged. "It's nothing. don't sweat it. Anyways, I was up all night thinking about what I wanted to make and..."

"...And?" Liz raised an eyebrow, unsure as to why he trailed off.

"Ah, well... It's a little embarrassing to say out loud."

"Just spit it out!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, not much of a morning person, are you?" Y/N cleared his throat while Liz's left eye twitched. "As I was saying, I was doing a lot of thinking last night and then that's when I realized," He smiled. "I don't have the ore that I wanted you to use!" 

"......"  Liz sighed. Then, she blinked three times. After that, she pinched herself. Finally, she slapped her face. "Oh, so I'm not trapped in a nightmare."

"Why would you think you're in a nightmare?"

"No reason. So, what exactly did you have in mind for the ore?"

"I was just getting to that. Have you heard of the Forge God before?" Y/N asked. His question surprised Liz and the fatigue in her expression vanished along with her annoyance, replaced with genuine curiosity.

"The Forge God?" Liz repeated, the name sounding foreign coming from her mouth.

"Yeah, it's a unique boss locked behind a quest on the 73th floor. I figured it'd be perfect for you to use its drops when you smith my weapon."

"H-Hold on, did you say the 73th floor? Are you freaking insane?! We're gonna die without a proper party!"

"...Nah, we'll succeed. C'mon, let's go!" Without warning, Y/N grabbed her, lifted her over his shoulder, and walked out the front door.

"HEY, WAIT! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TAKING ME?!"

"To the 73th floor, duh."

"I NEVER SAID I WOULD GO! LET ME DOWN!!!" Liz thrashed but Y/N maintained an iron grip on her.

"Come on. Going outside would do you wonders, instead of holing up inside that stuffy shop of yours."

Liz stopped thrashing with a frown. "I'll have you know that I made sure my shop had proper ventilation when I was building it!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you did. You and Kirito remind me of each other—the type to never go outside and appreciate the touch of grass."

"How dare... Huh?" The anger in her voice melted away as she looked behind her. "You... You know Kirito?"

"He's the one who recommended you to me, so yeah."

"And...what is your relationship with him?"

"Does that really matter at the moment? Whatever. We're good friends and we team up whenever we're on the frontlines. Why do you ask?"

"...Alright, fine. I'll help you out. You can put me down."

"Really? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Consider it a favor for Kirito." Liz said as she was let down and she crossed her arms. "That's the only reason why I'm doing this. You better use the weapon I make to protect him with your life, got it?"

"Alright, I get it. Jeez..."

"Besides," Liz placed her hands on her hips with a confident smirk. "Compared to the last time I was in the field with Kirito, I have way more experience. I'll be ready to handle anything this time!"

* * * * *

"So, you ready to do this?" Y/N asked Liz while they stood on a ridge overlooking the coastline of the 73th floor.

The weather here wasn't as pleasant as 48th's. Instead of the gentle breeze carrying the smell of home baked goods of bakeries and the clear blue skies of summer, the 73th floor reeked of both soot and sulfur, and the already darkened skies was blotted out by columns of smoke from the seas. In the distance, they could hear underwater volcanoes erupting and causing an explosion of seawater to pierce through the black clouds.

"Wh...Wh-What?" Liz's voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper.

"What's wrong? Do you need a minute to get ready? That's cool, I can wait." Y/N casually told her as he sat down on a nearby rock and gazed towards the ocean.

"A minute?! Yeah, no. How about...oh, I don't know—a 100 years?!"

"What's the problem now?" Y/N sighed.

"What's the—Are you hearing yourself right now?! Look at what we're supposed to be fighting!" Liz pointed out to the ocean where a massive black molten dragon waded through the sea, lava dripping from the cannons that it called wings.

"THAT'S THE DEVIL RIGHT THERE!!!" Liz grabbed Y/N by the ear and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Technically, it's a god—or, at least, that's what the NPCs call it."

"Again—ARE YOU HEARING YOURSELF RIGHT NOW?! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KILL THAT?!"

"...By reducing its HP to 0?"

"Oh my god... We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're gonna die." Liz muttered to herself over and over again like a depressing mantra.

"Sheesh, you're so pessimistic. I don't think Sachi was this bad." Y/N double-checked his equipment, making sure his armor was tightly secured.

"That's because she has actual survival instincts like me!" Liz turned to scold Y/N but stopped when she noticed him walking towards the cliff. "Hey, where are you going?!"

"Shh..." He gestured her to join him and after weighing her options of not listening or being dragged by the legs towards the cliff, Liz decided to save herself the trouble and complied. "Look down there."

Liz followed his gaze and her eyes came across a group of warriors, fully equipped head-to-toe in eccentric armor, charging down the beach.

"Hey, wait! You shouldn't—" She tried to call out to them, but was stopped by Y/N who placed a hand on her mouth.

"Don't worry. They're just NPCs locked to the story quest. They always respawn at dawn when the quest resets." Returning his watchful (E/C) eyes towards the shore, Y/N's analytical expression made the words forming on Liz's tongue get stuck in her throat and she decided against saying anything.

Instead, Liz watched the band of warriors split off to different areas of the beach, where she could see dilapidated ruins, and waiting for each of them was either a cannon or an arrow-shooting ballista.

"VILE BLACK DRAGON!" A leader, or rather who she presumed to be the leader of the group based on the banner in his hand, screamed out into the ocean while banging the wooden pole against the ground. "I hereby—you will rue this day! Behold, the ghosts of your past arisen! And I, Sapphire, will the one to tear the wings from your back and rip your heart from your chest! Solid of scale you might be, vile dragon, but we shall riddle with holes your rotten hide and crumbling scales! With a hail of cannon fire! With a storm of arrows! With the steel of our weapons and the fire in our hearts! Your day of reckoning has arrived and let there be no escape for a creature as vicious as you!"

In the distance, the massive creature let out a roar of acknowledgement and began to swim towards the beach.

"U-Uwah..." Liz fell back and crawled backward. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until now, too absorbed in the intense atmosphere weaved by the leader's words and the sight of the boss getting closer and closer to them.

"Pretty intense, huh?" Y/N placed a hand on her shoulder and chuckled. "You ready to take the Forge God down?"

"Y-Yeah..." Liz's eyes widened and her face paled. "Wait, no! I just meant it was intense! I am NOT going down there! Nopenopenopenopenope!" She crossed her arms in an "X" formation towards him to really hammer home how terrified she was.

"It's alright, I wasn't expecting you to risk your life or anything," Y/N laughed. "Just stay here, okay?"

"Wait, you aren't seriously going to fight that... that... monster, right?!"

"Why else would we be here?" asked Y/N politely, yet, his question only served to irritate her further.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe, you know," She leaned up into his face, "Scouting for a future raid?!"

"Do we really need more than three parties? I was able to take it down to its second to last health bar with just them." Y/N pointed to the NPCs who began to prep the cannons and ballistas.

'Huh? Is he lying to me? No, he wouldn't have a reason to lie. So, is he telling the truth? If so, then,' She watched Y/N as he returned his confident gaze to the Forge God. 'Who is he?'

"Alright, I'm heading off now."

"Wait! If you're not kidding about getting it down 2 health bars, then why did you bring me along? I'm no fighter and there's no way I'm gonna last more than a minute down there without fainting!"

"And, that's perfectly fine." Y/N reassured him. He pointed behind her, to where she could make out more five cannons lining the edge of the cliffs along with two ballistas sandwiching them. "When the boss drops to its 3rd health bar, it'll destroy the cannons and ballistas on the beach, which leaves the ones up here. I'll need someone to aim and fire the cannons when the Forge God opens its mouth and ballistas to restrain the boss after I use a Sword Skill. Without you here, then we'll be missing out on a ton of DPS time and support."

"I...sorta get it, but why me specifically? Couldn't you ask your friends?"

"That's a good question." Y/N thought it over while the battling NPCs bombarded the Forge God with cannon balls and arrows as it continued its swim towards the beach. 'Kirito's too busy helping Sachi catch up to us in terms of level and battle experience... Agil and Asuna are too busy with their responsibilities... If I asked Klein, he would invite his friends and I can't afford to babysit all of them... I doubt Silica is ready for anything of this level. Plus, her dagger wouldn't do much in this situation. Ms. Black Swan isn't really a fighter... All that really left was Bosenmori, but I already asked her and she didn't sound too interested...'

Flashback, Last Night

The darkness of Acheron's inn room engulfed her like a warm blanket, and with the addition of her actual warm blanket covering her avatar, she could feel herself slipping away into a deep slumber.

Then, she was awoken by the 'bling!' sound effect of a new message.

Acheron's eyes slowly opened and immediately shut from the blinding white text box. Seriously, where was the damn dark mode, Kayaba?! Regardless, her eyes eventually adjusted to the bright light and she smiled when she saw the name of the sender.

P/N: Heeeeey, you awake?

Acheron: You almost missed me. Did you need something?

P/N: Yeah, just wondering if you were available tmr. I need help with a boss. It'll just be the two of us! *smile emoji*

Acheron's eyes widened and she sat up in her bed, her heart beating faster at the implications of his message.

"Is he..."

Shaking her head, the purple-haired woman hastily opened her inventory and pulled a book titled, "Dating for Dummies V3." She used the light from the textbox to scan one of the pages she had stuffed a bookmark into.

'If someone begins a conversation by asking you if you want to hang out and it'll just be the two of you, then it's most definitely them asking you out on a date. However, under no circumstances should you accept so easily—you do not want to come across as desperate! Try to play hard to get.' Acheron read out in her head, a frown forming on her lips soon after. "This doesn't sound right...but, I'm not the expert."

Acheron: What makes you think I want to do that?

P/N: Oh.

Acheron felt her heart sink when she read such a simple message. Even through the text box, she could practically feel the disappointment in his words.

P/N: Nvm then. I'll ask someone else!

"Wai—"

P/N: Good night, Bosenmori. *thumbs-up emoji*

"..." Acheron remained still as a statue before falling backward on the mattress and staring at the ceiling, the darkness no longer looking so comforting now.

Flashback Over

Y/N stared at Liz before his face broke out into a wide smile. "You were the last option!"

"Don't say it so happily!" Liz shouted and was about to yell at him some more when the ground suddenly shook underneath them, and she swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw the Forge God slowly rise out of the water and destroy the ruins along with the artillery stationed there with a swing of its tail. "I-I-I-I-I... IT'S HUGE!!!"

"Oh, looks like we're already down to 3 health bars!" Y/N grinned and clapped a hand on Liz's shoulder. "Time to begin! Let's get those cannons loaded!" He pulled her towards the cannons on the ridge next to them.

Liz's brain had malfunctioned the moment she saw the humongous molten dragon step onto the reach, easily towering over any bosses she ever heard about. The only thing keeping her sanity in check was that its head didn't reach where they stood or else she might have died of a heart attack. 

Thankfully her body was on auto-pilot and helped Y/N transport cannon balls from the cluster of standby ammunition. The round gunpowder-filled balls were quite heavy, but she was used to lifting heavy ore and this was not too different. 

In her mind, she knew it didn't make any sense for there to be a storage for cannon balls to be so close, but Liz learned to stop questioning the insanity of the moment.

"Okay, cannon balls are loaded! Binding shots are ready!" Y/N placed both hands on her shoulder. "I'm gonna head down there and help them out! Remember, there's only enough for one volley from each cannon and one binding shot for a ballista! It's external scales are too hard for the cannons to do any meaningful damage. Wait until it opens its mouth before you fire. Oh, and also when the boss drops to its 2nd health bar, it will start shooting meteors that will destroy the ridge, so you better start running when that happens!"

"It starts doing WHAT?!"

"Good! I'm counting on you!" Y/N patted her and she nearly fainted when he leapt off the ridge.

"Oh, goddamn it! I knew I shouldn't have followed him! Stupid Kirito, this is all his fault!" Liz complained and although she was a whining mess, she still stayed by the cannons.

Meanwhile, Y/N slid down the extremely upright slanted side of the cliff and safely landed on the soft sand of the beach before breaking into a sprint. The Forge God bellowed and opened its mouth as magma began to build up in its throat.

"Liz!"

"Got it!" Liz shouted as she pushed the barrel of the cannon into the cannon itself and five explosions followed shortly after, launching the cannon balls into the soft interior of the Forge God's mouth. 

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

The dragon roared and fell over in pain while Liz smiled at seeing its 2rd health bar dropping by 20% and falling to 76%.

"Not gonna lie, I thought you would miss!" Y/N shouted up to her.

"Screw you, jerk!" Liz couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. For reasons she couldn't explain even years later, there was something in the air that made her feel thrilled to be here. Was it the adrenaline of watching the seemingly unstoppable beast topple over? Was it the intense atmosphere of the battle between a god and humans getting to her heard? Or, was she going insane from the knowledge that she could die any moment if she wasn't careful?

A mix of all the three, if she had to choose.

"You!" The leader called out to Y/N. He recalled his name was Sapphire or something along those lines. "Who are you?! State your name and business!"

"My name is P/N! I've traveled far to slay the Forge God and to avenge my fallen father and brother! That foul beast must pay for the innocent lives it has taken and the destruction it has caused to the world!" Y/N internally cringed at his overdramatic dialogue but the NPC ate it up without blinking.

"Hmph! Well met, fellow warrior. My brethren and I seek the demise of the almighty Forge God. Can I trust you to assist our cause?"

"Of course! My friend is on the ridge, ready to fire when I give her the command." Y/N pointed upward.

Sapphire glanced up to the top of the cliff, and although he could not see Liz, he nodded regardless and turned back to the Forge God who was beginning to stand up once more.

"We thank you and your friend for your bravery. This is no small task to thrust upon you. Allow the ghosts of the dead to celebrate your valor as we slay a god!" Sapphire roared and brandished his steel spear, charging forward and towards the Forge God as it stood up on its hind legs.

"Slaying a god, eh? This opportunity is quite hard to come by." Y/N's lips widened into a big excited grin and he followed Sapphire into battle.

The Forge God shook its large draconic head, shaking off several bathtubs worth of lava that fell onto the beach and forced everyone near its feet to jump away to avoid being melted alive. It scanned the top of the ridge overlooking the bridge for the cannons that had knocked it down while Y/N nimbly dodged the puddles of lava on his way to the boss.

"Down here, big guy!" Y/N's fists glowed with a faint (F/C) light as he smashed his fists into the Forge God's right leg repeatedly until he slammed his right fist once last time and heard a loud crack. He jumped away to avoid the magma squirting from the open wound on the Forge God's broken leg. "Ow, ow, ow..." He blew on his knuckles that burned in agony, not only due to him punching the boss until his hand throbbed in pain but also because of the hot temperature of the Forge God's scales.

Speaking of whom, the Forge God roared in pain and wobbled back and forth on its hind legs, trying to stay balanced while the NPCs swarmed his legs, stabbing and slashing at its newly formed weak spot.

"I can't get a good shot!"

"Hang in there! Gotta wait until the «Post-Motion» is over!" Y/N shouted, his entire body freezing up after he unleashed that lightning-fast barrage of heavy blows to the boss's leg and broke the hard outer shell. His eyes widened when he saw the boss's legs tense up, about to leap into the air and perform a devastating jump-slam attack. "Liz! You might wanna shoot that binding shot!"

No response. 

"Liz? Any day now!" Y/N's uneasy voice rose in volume as the Forge God dug its toes into the sand, his body refusing to listen to him.

Still no response.

"Liz!" Y/N shouted in desperation as he could visibly see the muscles of the Forge God tighten and, yet, his body still didn't budge.

"Got it!"

Out of the corner of his vision, Y/N could see a white streak shoot across the sky, towards the Forge God, and nailed it in the chest. The ballista arrow glowed white before combusting into threads of white silk that tightly wrapped around the Forge God, effectively keeping it in place. By some miracle, the binding ropes didn't burn upon contact and held firm even as the boss struggled to break free from the binds.

"Must be that video game logic, huh..." Y/N thought. Right when he was about to be crushed by one of the Forge God's feet, he regained control of his body and jumped out of the way. He looked up to see the boss's third health bar was down to 71%. "Liz! Get ready to fire two more cannon volleys! They won't be of much use soon!"

"I can't get a good shot! It's moving around too much!" Liz wasn't lying about that. The Forge God was thrashing wildly, trying to desperately free itself while also balancing on its good leg, its large imposing tail swatted aside the NPCs like they were flies. "S-Should I fire anyways?!"

"No! Hang on, let me think..." Y/N's eyes darted around the battlefield as he tried to formulate a plan and his gaze eventually landed on the destroyed seashore ruins. "I got it!" He bolted away, sliding down to his knees in order to rummage through the crumbled architecture. After a few minutes spent digging through the rubble, he pulled out the string of the ballista's binding shot. "This is gonna be risky, but if I can get it to work, then Liz can get two clean shots in."

Y/N stood up and stared out into the battlefield, looking for a specific person and he soon locked eyes with them. "Sapphire!" He ran up to the leader of the warriors. "I need your help!" Hastily, Y/N began to explain his plan to the NPC and the more he spoke, the more he realized how insane it sounded.

Thankfully, the NPC in front of him wasn't programmed to ask too many questions.

"I see. Understood." Sapphire nodded and dropped his spear, the steel tip smoking and losing its razor-sharp edge from constantly stabbing the Forge God hot body. "You'd best get ready."

"Yeah!" Y/N handed him the binding shot arrow and the warrior balanced it in his hands, taking note of its weight and shape that wasn't too different from a javelin, in both regards. "Liz, get ready to empty as many cannons you can!" He shouted as he ran across the beach, the hot sands burning his bare feet because of his odd fascination of wearing anything but shoes, no matter the situation.

"G-Got it! But, what are you planning?!"

"Just trust me!" Y/N shouted back as he reached the Forge God's tail and jumped up the boss's back, leaping off every safe spot he could, ignoring the burning sensation in his feet. 

When he reached the top of the massive monster's head, Y/N looked around until he found what he needed and gestured to Sapphire who nodded as the javelin-shaped ballista arrow in his hand shone bright blue and the binding shot sailed through the air towards Y/N. 

"This one is," The (H/C)-haired male leapt up, grabbed onto the makeshift spear, and spun in the air before stabbing the binding shot into a weak spot on the Forge God's snout. "On the house!"

A white light flashed, forcing everyone to stop and close their eyes. When the bright flash died down, they opened their eyes to watch in awe and slight horror as hundreds of silk bands wrapped around the Forge God's upper jaw, the ends grabbed onto by Y/N as the young man pulled and tugged the boss into keeping its mouth wide open.

Now, this is where the tricky part came to view. This plan of Y/N's was far from a perfect one and even an optimistic person like him couldn't force himself to believe everything would work exactly how he envisioned.

The first step was already done, but it was the second and last step that worried him. After all, this boss was a beast and thought like one too, which made its movement predictable, and Y/N expected two outcomes: 1. It would fall to the side and put itself in a position where the cannons couldn't reach it; or 2. It would obey its primal instincts in fighting against the silk binds and try to wrestle back control.

Thankfully, unlike the author and Sunday's banner, Y/N won the 50/50.

"Liz!" Y/N stomped his foot on the Forge God's head and pulled with all his might to keep the boss from closing its maws. Lava began to drip from the Forge God's mouth as it readied a magma breath attack.

"You're freaking insane, you know that, Y/N?" Liz muttered to herself and aligned the cannons. "You better not die, got it?!"

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

《Forge God's 2rd HP Bar: 51% HP》

"Gotta..." Y/N grunted and tightened his grip on the silk binds wrapped around the beast's upper jaw.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

《Forge God's 2rd HP Bar: 31% HP》

"...hold out until..."

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

《Forge God's 2rd HP Bar: 11% HP》

"...the cannons are empty!"

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

《Forge God's 3rd HP Bar: 91% HP》

"Now!" Y/N let go of the silk binds as the Forge God's body started overheating and burnt through the ivory restraints. He rolled when he hit the ground and activated his «Sprint» skill and ran away as far as he could within 5 seconds.

Y/N looked back in time to see an explosion of magma release from the Forge God's body, covering the beach in the molten liquid and killing off a few NPCs before it fell onto its stomach, killing even more.

"No! Curse you, vile god..." Sapphire growled, watching his comrades crumble into shards of data.

"Liz! You gotta get out of there!"

"But, there's still one more ballist—"

BOOOM BOOOM

A series of loud booms interrupted the girl and she watched in shock as the wings on the Forge God's fired large boulders into the skies that soon rained down like meteors towards where she was standing.

"Liz!" Y/N shouted her name as the meteor hit the ridge, covering it in a large cloud of smoke. 

Falling out of the smoke was rock chunks of the cliffside and the destroyed parts of the cannons and ballistas, but amidst the rubble was Liz who had somehow managed to equip a shield at the very last moment and whose HP was somewhere in the yellow range.

Without a second of hesitation, Y/N sprinted and jumped off the falling rocks to caught her before leaping to safety.

"Don't worry, Liz. I got you." He calmly reassured her and opened a health potion for her to drink to which she gladly accepted as her shield cracked and disintegrated.

"Not too bad, huh?" She watched the shards float into the sea. "That shield cost me so much, and just one hit was enough to..."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but we can mourn it later." Y/N gently helped her to her feet and asked, "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so..."

"Good. Cause—"

'Please don't say that was the easy part...' Liz silently begged.

"—that was the easy part." Y/N was too busy watching the Forge God swipe aside a few of the warriors to notice the pink-haired girl's tired expression. "Luckily, we were able to get a 9% head start thanks to you and used all the cannon balls up on the ridge. Don't worry, you've done more than enough." He picked her up and ran towards the edge of the beach, and gently placed her outside of the zone. "Leave the rest to me, alright? You might has well get started on the blueprint for my weapon."

The infectious smile on Y/N's face infected Liz and she nodded, watching him run back to the battlefield.

"Is he who you were talking about, Kirito?" Liz mumbled to herself, her mind rewinding back to when she, Kirito, and Sachi were trapped in a monster's nest on the 55th floor.

"Oh, by the way, I should warn you about someone you might starting seeing frequently." Kirito said out of the blue, one hand behind his head while the other held Sachi closer as they slept in the same sleeping bag in the bottom of a pit.

Liz could hear the male's voice as she watched Y/N kick the Forge God in the face, drawing its attention, before dancing around it and avoiding its swipe attacks. The warriors took the opportunity to hack away at the exposed bit on its leg while those with hammers and maces struck at any tough scales they could find.

"What are you talking? Is there someone going around harassing other players?"

"Nonono. Nothing of that sort. A friend of mine has been looking for a blacksmith that can make a...dream weapon of his. If there's anyone that can do that, I think it's you." Kirito smiled at Liz and she looked away to hide the blush creeping up on her face.

"You r-really think so? I-I mean, what kind of person if he?"

Liz cringed at how her past self acted there while she continued to watch Y/N style all over the crawling god by waiting until the last moment to flip over its swipe attacks and kick it right in the jaw. Despite how far away she was, she could still hear the bellowing anger of the boss as it spewed fresh lava in the form of a breath attack in his direction, only for the young man to effortlessly roll out of the way and lead it away from the rest of the group.

Even as Y/N no doubt felt the heat of the lava singe off the hairs on his body and the wind howling in his ear every time he dodged the Forge God's devastating physical attacks, never once did Liz ever see the smile on his face shrink.

"He's...definitely not normal—in a good way, I think. People like us, we're too caught up in following other people's ideals of what is right or wrong, fun or boring, safe or dangerous, what we should be doing or what we should be thinking, and so on. It gets to the point where we start to forget that we're supposed to live and enjoy our lives to the fullest because we listen to every little rule others placed on us." 

Magma started to build up in the Forge God's mouth but right when it was about to open its jaws, Y/N landed on top of its head with a powerful stomp that shut it closed. His hands glowed (F/C) and shone as he relentlessly hammered the rough magma scales while laughing until it began to crack, and he was thrown off.

"He's the only person I've ever met to be truly 'free' from those shackles and be true to himself without any concern about how others view him. Now, that isn't to say he's heartless or doesn't care about others, no, far from that." 

Growing tired of the "insects" that swarmed it while it was distracted by the nimble man, the Forge God fire a magma breath attack that forced everyone to run away, except for one who tripped and fell on his back. Just when he was about to be swallowed whole by the sea of lava, Y/N landed next to him and carried him away from agonizingly slow magma flow.

"When you first meet him, he might come across as overly excited or brash, but there's a good man underneath that exotic exterior that cares about his friends and will do his absolute best to help them. That's why he's one of the few people I trust to watch my back, although..."

"Although, what?"

"He's been busy as of late and we haven't been able to talk... He has never done that before and I'm starting to get worried..." Kirito looked up at the sky with a sad expression.

"...You know, if you didn't have a girl in your arms right now, I would think you swung the other way." Liz commented and stared at the night sky while ignoring Kirito's protests and splutters. "I wonder what type of person he is..." She mumbled quietly.

In the present, Liz was mesmerized from watching Y/N evade the Forge God's attempts to swipe him aside and jump over the headbutts to deliver a sucker punch to one of its eyes. 

"I can see why you trust him to watch your back..."

Liz lost track of time the longer she observed Y/N in his element, like how movie goers get super invested in the film and didn't realize they were reaching the end of the movie until the credits started playing. 

Eventually, much like the movie goers, she was snapped out of her trance when the loud thundering roar of the Forge God shook the ground. 

Taken aback by the sudden dramatic shift in the atmosphere, she looked up and saw the skies turning dark red as the clouds swirled violently overhead. 

《Forge God's 4th HP Bar: 50%》

"I'm starting to get Illfang flashbacks..." Y/N muttered and picked himself off the ground after the shockwave of the Forge God's roar sent everyone flying back a fair distance. 

Everyone else also got up in time to see the Forge God dig its right hand into the earth and tear out a chunk of the ground, lifting it high in the air before slamming it down. It raised its left hand and began to hammer the chunk of rocks while spewing lava onto it until it started to change shape.

"It's making a weapon...?" Liz muttered in shock. "I've never heard of a monster doing that before!"

When the Forge God was finished, it held up a sword made of molten rock, magma, and lava with the length of its tail and the heaviness of its body. The sharp side of the weapon shone with a metallic gleam despite the abnormal curves that haunted every blacksmith when hammering a new weapon while the flat side was much more unrefined with the juts of rocks sticking out of it.

"Yeah, that ain't good." Y/N sighed and had to jump out of the way when he noticed the boss bring its sword down towards him. A small explosion of magma blew everyone near the sword's vicinity away and he shut his eyes when he heard the screams of the NPCs as their armor were melting off their body.

"No way..." Liz muttered as she watched the Forge God raise its sword and bring it back down, creating another explosion that was twice as big as the previous one. Then it raised the sword into the air again and slammed it back down for the third time, and the ensuing explosion covered the entire beach—even going as far as to reach where the edge of the zone where she was standing, forcing her to crawl away from the sizzling puddles of lava.

However, Liz didn't have time to worry about that and scanned the entire beach. Her eyes watered from the fumes and the heat blanketing the beach, but she forced them open to see that Sapphire was still alive, although severely injured, and the legions of warriors that rallied under him had been reduced to only a small handful, about 14 or 15.

"Where is he?!" Liz panicked when she didn't see Y/N and she swore she scanned the beach about a hundred times over until she noticed someone in the air and looked to see that he had jumped high into the air to avoid the aftermath of the series of earth-rumbling strikes.

"I'm glad that I maxed out my «Acrobatics» skill..." The young man looked down at the destruction left in the Forge God's attack and soon his body resumed abiding by the gravity's command. What he didn't account for, however, was the speed of the Forge God increasing dramatically. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Y/N saw movement and barely had enough time to raise his hand to block the Forge God's attack as it used the flat end of its newly created blade to swat him to the side of the cliff.

"Y/N!" Now, it was Liz's turn to be concerned after watching the young man be buried under a pile of rocks and, much like last time, her worries were for nothing as Y/N pushed a rock out of his way and stepped out without much damage.

"And, I'm so glad Kirito told me about mods..." He said after watching his HP dip below 30% and into the red zone before shooting back up to 70% and returning to the color chosen by Mother Nature.

《Emergency Healing Activated!》

《Cooldown: 72 Hours》

"Say, Liz. Whaddaya say to making me a weapon like that?" Y/N cheekily asked her.

"Are you kidding me? I would rather die than make something that savagely put together! Blacksmithing is so much more than banging your hammer against ore until it changes shape! You have to think about the client's feelings. You have to think about their needs, wants, desires, and their dreams before you start hammering! I don't accept that... that... that thing as a 'forge god!'"

"...Heh. Then, you promise me that you'll make a weapon a hundred times better than that hunk of molten rock?"

"A thousand times better!" Liz vowed with resounding intensity that Y/N couldn't help but smirk at.

"Alright, then you better get ready..." Y/N kicked off his slippers and began to stretch his legs. "We'll finish off this fake forge god together, alright? Trust me."

"T-Together? How do you expect me to—" Liz stopped when she noticed something shining in the corner of her eye and looked up to see that one of the two ballistas on the ridge had survived the meteor attack earlier. They shared a brief glance and she felt like a thousand words were spoken in that brief moment. "Got it!" Liz ran off without another word and, most importantly, without a single trace of fear.

Y/N smiled as he watched her leave before he returned his attention to the Forge God that was beating down Sapphire and the rest with its noticeable increase in speed. 

"The sword's explosion effect didn't activate when it hit me earlier... It must only activate when it connects with the ground." Y/N deduced and slowly walked towards the Forge God as the large imposing boss noticed him and roared in defiance at his subtle challenge. "I know you just got your new toy, but I'm gonna have to borrow it for a little bit."

The Forge God roared once more and raised its weapon above its head, the metallic property of the sword shining as it was brought down at Y/N who didn't make an attempt to move and instead stood his ground.

"Y/N!" Liz shouted to him, but he didn't budge.

Y/N slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his mind wandering backward in time to roughly a month ago.

Flashback, One Month Ago

June 2034

"Gah!" Y/N cried out in pain as a loud thud echoed across the dark forest, followed by the sounds of hundreds of birds flapping their wings to get away from the source of the noise. "Ow, ow, ow..." The young man pulled his face away from the hard tree trunk he accidentally fell face-first into, leaving a sizeable bump on his forehead. "This isn't going too well..."

Y/N let out a tired sigh and fell on his back, into the soft grass, and gazed longingly at the stars of the night sky. His (E/C) eyes glazed over as he began to wonder what his mother and sister were up to—a common practice he indulged in every night before bed.

Our protagonist knew both of them were strong enough to handle themselves but, that didn't stop him from being more worried about his mother, knowing full well how emotional she could get when it came to the safety of her two precious "babies," and could only hope that Mei had postponed her return flight to watch over their mother.

"Are you alright there?" A man's voice made Y/N jump to his feet and turn to face the unexpected visitor. "At ease. I am not here to fight you. I am only here to find the source of the noise complaints." The man reassured him.

"That symbol... What is a «KotB» member doing here?" asked Y/N.

"You're on the 55th floor... home to our main base." The man raised an eyebrow. "You are aware of where you are, aren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up." Y/N rolled his eyes and fell back to the floor. "I was just making sure you weren't...an annoying gremlin girl."

"I am quite confident in my gender." The man chuckled and approached Y/N, taking a look around the vicinity to see scorch marks in the grass and countless broken tree branches ripped of their respective trees. "May I ask what you're doing out here? Perhaps, I could help you?"

"Nah, I don't think it'd be a good idea to ask you to help me. Even if I did, I doubt I can keep myself from injuring you greatly."

"...Interesting. Perhaps, we should put that to the test?" The man offered to which Y/N frowned and sat up, returning his gaze to the stranger.

"...Who are you exactly?"

"My guildmates and other players call me by many titles, none of which I have a preference towards. However, if you must know," He leaned forward and extended a hand to Y/N. "I go by the name of Heathcliff."

"Heathcliff?" Instead of the shocked expression he was expecting, Heathcliff was surprised and a little amused by the nonchalant look Y/N gave him. "That's even more reason to not ask you for help. I'm gonna be challenging you soon for your title of the strongest real soon, and I can't be giving out information for free."

Heathcliff chuckled again, this time sounding less forced and more genuine. There was something about the lack of respect in the way Y/N spoke to him that amused him to no ends. "I understand. However, is your pride worth endangering your friends? Can you say with confidence you will be able to sleep well at night knowing your choices affect their safety?" He asked and was only met with silence from Y/N. "I apologize for overstepping. I shall leave you be—"

"Hang on," Y/N stopped him. "Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that one day I found an unknown skill in my skills list without any explanation and not even my informant friend can trace its origins. And, hypothetically, if I were to find someone who knew how it works, what do you think they would tell me?"

"I think they would try to explain the skill to you, but you would only pretend to listen. Unless, you believe otherwise?"

"..." Y/N sighed in defeat, scratching his head. "Just spit it out already."

"Very well. The «Sol Dynasty» skill is a tricky one to master—particularly because it goes against everything you know about skills. To you, skills are nothing more than tools to help defeat monsters and get stronger, but the «Sol Dynasty» requires a more...empathetic approach. It's a part of you no more than you are a part of it. Think of it like a companion rather than a skill."

"So, I have to, what? Talk to it? Give it a treat?"

"I cannot say for sure. The skill was created with the owner's likeliness in mind. Perhaps, it wants to be coddle. Perhaps, it wishes for you to prove your strength. I cannot say for sure. However, what I can do is wish you luck on your journey." Heathcliff bid him farewell and turned away, his white cape flowing behind him as he left, taking with him the air of gravitas that always followed him no matter where he went.

Y/N silently watched the «KotB» commander leave, his (E/C) eyes narrowing at the retreating figure. 

"I never told you the skill name." He muttered.

Eventually, Y/N stood up, shaking his head and looked at his hands before directing his gaze to his feet.

"The owner's likeliness, huh..." Y/N repeated to himself and clenched his hands tightly.

Flashback Over

The Forge God's slash connected with Y/N as a massive shockwave followed shortly after and kicked up a cloud of dust that blanketed the entire beach, pushing away Liz, Sapphire, and the rest of the NPCs.

"Eeeek!" Liz shrieked and fell backward from the powerful gust of wind pushing her back. She grabbed the grass under her to keep herself from flying away. 

When the tremors stopped, the shaken blacksmith slowly stood up and looked over the cliff to see the entire beach destroyed, covered in lakes of lava and steam from where the magma and ocean met. 

"Y/N? Hey, don't tell me..." Liz shook her head and quickly smacked herself. She pushed through the fear ensnaring her entire body in thorns of doubt and continued running towards the ballista. "No, he told me to trust him. He's placed his trust in me and it's time for me to do the same!"

The Forge God let out a victorious roar, bellowing loudly with happiness at not only coming out on top of this battle but also for defeating a strong foe. It went to lift its sword, only to feel something resisting its pull and keeping the weapon locked in place.

The dust settled to reveal Y/N standing underneath the Forge God's weapon, his hands clamped tightly around the blade.

Standing on his left and right shoulders respectively was a small phoenix with golden-colored feathers, a brown beak, and red plumes, and a dragon that had a lengthy serpent-like body adorned with golden scales, brown antler horns, a red soft underside, and long whiskers. Both shared the trait of having two ruby-like eyes.

"Lóng, let's do this." Y/N said with a smirk as the dragon nodded and flew into his chest.

A golden fiery light shrouded Y/N's body and started to change into different shapes, taking after the ancient kings of legends and soon Y/N resembled those fantastical creatures. The skin of his arms, legs, and sides of his face were covered in a thin layer of golden fiery scales while the light around his hands started to turn into sharp claws and protruding upward from his forehead were two matching spiraling horns. From his back sprouted a pair of fiery golden wings that didn't seem to affect his clothes, and below them, a dragon's tail.

"Sorry if I'm a little too rough in this form. I haven't fully mastered it yet." Y/N politely smiled at the Forge God who merely stared at him in confusion until he launched its weapon sky high with a single kick.

"Fènghuáng. It'd be best for you to fly on your own for now, little one." The young man lifted a finger to his phoenix companion who hopped on it, tilted her head at him, and flew away.

Crouching down, Y/N's legs pushed upward and propelled him into the air where he caught up to and grabbed the Forge God's weapon by the hilt, covering the blade in a brilliant flash of golden flames.

"You ready for this?" Y/N asked the boss who didn't reply with words and instead opened its jaws to prepare a magma breath attack. Y/N, however, simply smiled as gravity began to take ahold of him and the weapon, and they started to descend towards the massive boss.

Right when the Forge God was about to fire its attack, a bolt struck its lower jaw. In a normal scenario, it probably wouldn't have noticed it, but when you suddenly felt hundreds of magical silk threads wrap around your mouth and shut it closed, you would definitely notice it then.

"Finish it!" Liz shouted to Y/N who looked over to see her standing on the ridge, waving at him, and smiled.

"Yeah!" Y/N shouted back and tightened his grip on the Forge God's sword, and brought it down on the Forge God's chest, stabbing through the boss's armor as its pained roars were muffled by the makeshift muzzle Liz put on him.

The Forge God tried its best to shake the weapon and Y/N off, but it was far too late as the blade was embedded in its scales.

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" Y/N yelled and drove the sword down the Forge God's chest. He could feel spurts of magma hit his face and body, hurting him like hell, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain, slashing through the boss's entire body until he reached the bottom.

Y/N looked up at the beast that was more than a thousand times his height and he could see the red shards of data meant to substitute blood fluttering away from the massive gash he left on it like butterflies heading out to the ocean.

Y/N sighed and tossed away the colossal weapon aside. The golden aura surrounding him vanished as Lóng left his body and wrapped around his neck like a loose necklace while he lifted a hand to allow Fènghuáng to perch upon it—just as the Forge God finally shattered into millions of shards.

《Boss Defeated!》

《+3,000,000 EXP》

《+3,000,000 Cor》

《Item(s) Received: «Forge God's Regrets»》

Y/N smiled and dismissed the popup window before turning his attention to the sky.

The dark red skies vanished and the swirling scarlet clouds above dissipated, replaced by a light orange ocean and tranquil masses of white fluff respectively. The stormy waves crashing against the shores quieted down and the lava littered around the beach disappeared with the only traces of them existing being the cluster of stone lining the tide.

"I'm sorry you weren't able to shine today, but I'm sure next time will be better situation and I promise I'll use you then." Y/N gently rubbed under his phoenix companion's beak and the bird cawed as if to say "You better!"

"Y/N!"

At the sound of Liz's voice, Y/N turned around to see the pink-haired blacksmith running across the beach towards him. She stopped in front of them before they excitedly smacked their hands together with the sunset behind them, grinning like preschoolers who just found out they were having a surprise pizza party.

"WE DID IT!!!"

"Yeah, of course we did! Did you ever doubt us?"

"I mean, yeah! When I saw the boss hit you with that last attack, I thought it was all over! How'd you even survive that?!" Liz laughed and wanted to punch him in the shoulder until she noticed the two familiars watching her closely. "Oh? Who are these two?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. This little dude is Lóng and this sassy gal is Fènghuáng. I guess you can say they're my familiars."

"Aww, look at them. They're so cute!" Liz laughed and tried to pet the golden dragon. She quickly retracted her hand when he tried to bite her. "Hey! Watch it, buster!"

"Sorry about that... They don't like strangers. It took me a month to get them to like me."

"Hmph. Whatever. It's not like I wanted to pet them anyways." Liz huffed and turned away while Y/N, Lóng, and Fènghuáng exchanged unconvinced glances.

"So... It's finally over..."

Y/N and Liz looked to their right to see Sapphire holding his left arm. Standing behind him were the remaining survivors of his army which had been reduced from over a hundred men to a staggering four.

"Sapphire... We—" Liz stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's over. The Forge God has been slain." Y/N stepped forward and extended a hand. "You and your men may rest forever now."

"I... see..." Under his helm, Y/N and Liz could see the perpetual frown on his lips slightly curl upward into a smile before he shook Y/N's hand. "Then, the ghosts of the dead can finally rest in peace..." He muttered as the men behind him cheered and, to both Y/N and Liz's shock, started to fade away into ashes.

"You're all..." Liz couldn't finish her thought and gasped, covering her mouth.

"We all have long since been dead. It was only because of the Forge God's lifeforce that we were able to maintain our physical form, but with the Forge God slain, that is now impossible." Sapphire looked to the sunset as the final man in his group crumbled, his ashes flying into the ocean. "You. Girl. You are a blacksmith, are you not?" 

"Y-Yes."

"Hmph. When I first saw you on the ridge, I thought you were no more than a spectator, but I can see now that I was wrong. You remind me of someone."

"I... I do?"

"Yes, one of the men under my command wished to become a warrior just like the rest of us. Unfortunately, he lacked the talent to become a great warrior and so he decided to spend his time making sure our equipment was up to par."

"You mean, he was a blacksmith?" Liz asked.

"Yes, only in title, however. Despite being a skilled blacksmith, he still aspired to become a great warrior. Unfortunately, after an accident that took away one of his legs, he fell into a depression and resigned himself to a life of forging. My men didn't see any problem in it, but it pained me to see him like that..." There was a hint of sadness in Sapphire's normally stoic voice.

"But... you said it yourself. He didn't have any talent and was a skilled blacksmith! Isn't that a good thing for you and your men?"

"Yes, as cruel as it sounds... As a warrior and leader, I was glad that he gave up on his dreams and focus on fixing our equipment. But," Sapphire reached up and took off his helmet to reveal the scar on his lips that ran diagonally across his right eye. But, the more shocking part to Y/N and Liz was to realize that Sapphire was actually woman. "As his wife, how can I admit such a thing?"

"Sapphire... You..."

"I'm a woman? Are you surprised?" Sapphire chuckled in a bittersweet manner. "Yes, as you can see I am a woman. I had to push myself ten times harder than the rest to get stronger and put in twenty times the effort to gain the respect of my men. That's why I thought my husband could do it. I thought he could become a great warrior too and pushed him to his absolute limits. Alas, fate decided otherwise and helped him walk down a path of no return. For the years that followed, he locked himself away in his forge and refused to speak with anyone, myself included, until... until he was no longer himself. My only wish is that I could properly say my goodbyes to him."

There was a moment of silence as Sapphire collected herself and Liz kept her gaze on the sandy beach.

"Ms. Sapphire," Y/N joined the conversation. "What if I told you there was a way for you to say goodbye?"

"What?"

"Y/N...?" Liz muttered in an uneasy voice but Y/N ignored her and opened his inventory to take out the «Forge God's Regrets» which took the form of a colorless black orb.

"Your husband, he is the Forge God, isn't he?" Y/N asked Sapphire who hastily looked away.

"Wh-What?!" Liz shouted in surprise.

"Yes, he is...was. When my men and I first saw his new form burst from the forge, they thought it to be a monster sent by the gods to punish them, but upon first glance I knew who it was and was ultimately powerless to save him from the pain."

"Then, please. Take it." Y/N offered the cold sphere to Sapphire who quickly took a step back, away from it.

"No! I... I cannot! I lost the right to call myself his wife. He... He hates me."

"Sapphire, a life filled with regret is the cruelest hell someone could be put through. You tried your best to help your husband live without regrets even if it didn't work out in the end. Maybe I'm overstepping but I believe your husband never hated you. In fact, I think he was grateful to you for never giving up on him when everyone else did." Y/N took a step closer. "If you truly love him, then you should face him and hear what he has to say."

Sapphire hesitated and there was a flash of fear in the warrior's eyes as she stared at the black orb. Beads of sweat ran down her face and her breathing turned more ragged with each exhale until...she took a deep breath.

"...Fine." Sapphire relented and carefully took the sphere into her hand. The moment she touched the item, a large crack formed on the ebony glass that soon expanded across the entire surface.

《«Forge God's Regrets» has been destroyed.》

Y/N didn't have time to look at the message as flames geysered through the cracks and soon took the form of a man.

"D-Dear? Is that you...?" Sapphire whispered softly and stepped closer towards the featureless entity.

"Sapphire, my beloved... It pains me to be so far away from you for this long and to hear your anguish. It is as the boy says, I have never held hatred in my heart for you or anyone for that matter—only myself." The man confessed, earning a quiet gasp from his lover, "I despised my body's fragility, my lack of talent, and my ambitionless heart. I thought if I could forge myself a new body that was free of these three weakness, I could become someone you wouldn't be ashamed to love."

"Oh, you stubborn fool... When did I ever care about such things?" Sapphire laughed, the tears building up in her eyes finally streaming down the side of her face. 

"Then... Will you join me as I depart from the world of the living?" The man asked and quickly received his answer in the form of Sapphire pressing her lips against where the figure's mouth would be. His body stiffened but he soon leaned deeper into the kiss as their bodies started to ignite. Even after they separated, they remained connected by a tight hug that kept them close together and the man took the sphere out of Sapphire's hands as it soon shone brightly, transforming into a ball of molten rock. "Brave warrior. I thank you for freeing me from my insanity and mortal shell."

"Huh?" Y/N snapped out of his trance when the flame figure held out the item to him and he graciously accepted the gift whose appearance betrayed how warm and comforting it felt in the palm of his hands, prompting Lóng and Fènghuáng to also inspect it as he held it up for them to take a gander at.

"I believe you will find what you desire from this."

《«Forge God's Gratitude» has been obtained.》

"Thank you for the gift." Y/N bowed his head gratefully and put his item into his inventory.

"Passionate blacksmith," The Forge God turned to Liz who flinched at the unexpected attention. "I heard your words earlier and you are correct. Blacksmithing is so much more than banging a hammer against metal until it bends to your will. There are certain emotions that must be poured into every strike like love, gratitude, hope, and, most importantly, our dreams. That is why I am certain you will make good use of this." He squeezed his hand and opened it to reveal a black hammer with orange markings tracing around the edges that floated over to the pink-haired woman.

《«Forge God's Hope» has been obtained.》

"Th-Thank you..." Liz sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Now, allow us to depart this world together, my beloved Sapphire." The flaming figure said to which his lover nodded and, together while holding hands, they walked off into the ocean, disappearing into shards of data and reminding the two players of who they were.

"...Hey. Do you think there's a heaven in this game?" Liz asked Y/N.

"I don't know... But, I doubt they'll care where they end up, so long as they have each other."

"Yeah, you're right..." Liz giggled as the four of them continued to admire the sunset in pleasant silence and enjoy the fleeting moment of respite after the intense battle. "Hey, Y/N?" She turned to him with a beaming smile that outshone the brilliant golden star dipping into the horizon. "I'm glad you brought me here."

* * * * *

"Hm? That's odd."

"What's wrong?"

Liz and Y/N were standing in the backroom of the former's shop, next to the table used for the final step of the weapon forging process. Lóng was in his usual spot, loosely wrapped around Y/N's neck and sleeping, while Fènghuáng dozed peacefully on top of his (H/C) hair, using it as a nest.

"Usually, I have a choice on what weapon to make, but there's only one weapon I can make with the «Forge God's Gratitude» you gave me." Liz mumbled before she shook her head and raised her «Forge God's Hope» in the air, the hammer reflecting the dangling light, and began to hammer the rock. She thought back to the first time she met Y/N, the arguments they shared in their first meeting, the moment they laid eyes on the Forge God, the heated life-or-death battle that followed, and the emotional departure of Sapphire and the true Forge God.

After one last strike, a bright orange light engulfed the rock and it began to expand until the light died down to reveal the new weapon [See #4 in the image below].

"W-Wow... I think I outdid myself here." Liz nervously laughed and checked the weapon's stats. "Woah! The stats are gnarly!"

"....You did not just say gnar—"

"Shut up. Try out your new weapon already!"

"Alright, alright!" Y/N grabbed the claymore's hilt with both hands and lifted it. "Woah! It's a lot heavier than I thought!" He announced and swung the weapon at an appropriate speed for its size and weight.

"Well, yeah. It has a weight of 450. What else did you expect?"

"That's fair... What's its name?"

"It says..." Liz's eyes widened and her expression turned bittersweet. "It's called «Forge God's Eternal Dream»..."

"That's the perfect name for it..." Y/N smiled fondly at the black greatsword. Neither of them spoke as he continued to swing the massive weapon around until he opened his menu window.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Y/N lied as he poured his leftover stat points into STR until it reached 150. When he tried again, he had a far more easier time lifting and swinging his new claymore that cut through the air almost as fast as a normal sword.

"I-Impossible... What level are you?! What are your stats?!"

"I used to use a katana, so I was pouring most of my stat points into AGL, but now it looks like I'll have to break some old habits. I'm only couple levels away from 100, but I think I can reach it before we get to the 75th floor."

"Y-You're almost at Lv. 100?! No wonder... If anyone else did the things you did yesterday, then they would be dead."

"Aww, stop it. I'm gonna blush." Y/N balanced the weapon on his hands. "Lóng." He called to the sleeping dragon that soon yawned and opened his eyes, looking around the room. It soon glanced at his owner before noticing the giant metal greatsword and immediately understood what to do as it helped Y/N transformed into his draconic form again, prompting Fènghuáng to also wake up and examine the room.

"Wow... I thought I was imagining things, but you actually have a transformation?"

"Technically, I have two. This is my «Dragon Mode» which greatly boosts my STR stat, which will make using this greatsword even easier, and I also have a «Phoenix Mode» that greatly boosts my AGL stat instead—both at the cost of 6% of my max HP every 12 seconds."

"That's dangerous! Just a minute and you're already down almost a third of your HP bar?"

"But, it makes sense. I haven't even gotten it past Lv. 100 yet, so there's a chance there will be mods to decrease the HP costs. What I'm more interested in is..." Y/N grabbed the «Forge God's Eternal Dream» with both hands and poured golden flames into the black circle in the center. The two-handed greatsword soon cracked, shocking Liz who began to panic and tell him to stop until the weapon also transformed into an upgraded form with the same markings as her hammer [See #3 in the image above].

After a minute of not receiving any flames, it reverted to its original state.

"I guess I know which weapon to use with my «Dragon Mode»." Y/N smiled and de-transform as Lóng returned to him. "Now, I just need something for the other one." He placed the black greatsword on his back as said "other one" began pecking his head. "Ow!"

"Something else...? Oh, that's right. I almost forgot." Liz perked up when she remembered something and approached the table, opening her inventory. She pressed a button and another weapon landed on the table.

"A katana?" Y/N lifted the katana and weighed it in his hands. "Where did you get the material to make it?"

"You remember that meteor that almost killed me? I managed to shave off a few chunks before it disappeared and had enough to make you another weapon. Whaddaya think? It's called the «Meteoric Katana»! Am I the best, or what?"

"Hell yeah you are!" Y/N and Liz laughed. "I never thought I would be using a katana again, but I won't complain." The former smiled and opened his menu to pull out two glass perfume bottles.

"What's that?"

"Hm? Oh, this? It's a «Crystal Bottle of Kales'Oh». Usually, when you remove a skill, all the progress you made with that skill resets to 0, but with this, you can 'store' an unused skill and keep the level. Apparently, Kirito and Asuna found it a long time ago from mob drop, and they told me where to find it..." Y/N frowned, confusing Liz.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing... It's just... for some reason, Asuna was acting weird back then." Y/N stared at the ceiling as he recalled the events of that day.

Flashback, Two Months Ago

May 2034

"My name is Kizmel. A proud member of the Lyusula Royal Guard and more specifically, the Pagoda Knights Brigade." The dark elf in front of Y/N proudly introduced herself. "I hear that you are friends with Sir Kirito and Lady Asuna." The beautiful NPC smiled at him. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I have high hopes for you, Sir P/N."

"...Yes, mommy." Y/N said in awe and with a faint blush on his face before pain shot through his body after Asuna stomped on his foot. 

They soon began to argue all the while the Kizmel person watched on with a confused expression.

Flashback Over

"It was probably just her having an Asuna moment." Y/N shrugged and returned his gaze to the two bottles in his hands, one with a red light and the other with a green light. "Let's see.. I think the green one has my «Light Metal Armor» skill, so..." He put the green one away and tapped a few buttons before twisting open the red bottle and swapping his current «One-Handed Sword» skill for his stored-away «Katana» skill.

"Kind of a weird process..."

"Yeah, I agree. Anyways," Y/N carefully put away the bottle holding his «One-Handed Sword» skill and jumped up to the backdoor. "I gotta head out now and back to grinding! Let's keep in touch, okay?"

"Hey, wait!" Liz screamed, causing Y/N to pause. "Don't you want me to upgrade your weapons?"

"Oh... Yeah, that sounds good." Y/N leapt down and placed his «Forge God's Eternal Dream» on the table. "So... How exactly does this work?" He awkwardly asked to which Liz sighed deeply and began to explain the process to the clueless boy.

《Chapter End》

Y/N — Level 98

Stats:

HP — 19,800

STR — 20(+130) [150]

AGL — 20(+160) [180]

1 Remaining Stat Points

Skill Slots:

Skill 1 — Sprint Lv. 1000

▪ Increase Passive Running Speed V

▪ Shorten Sprint Cooldown IV

▪ Steady Footsteps Mod

Skill 2 — Searching Lv. 1000

▪ Increase Simultaneously Detected Enemies III

▪ Increase Detection Range V

▪ Tracking Mod

▪ Illusory Deciphering Mod

Skill 3 — Katana Lv. 862

▪ Increase Critical Hit Chance XII

▪ Shorten Sword Skill Cooldown Time V

Skill 4 — Martial Arts Lv. 1000

▪ Increase Enemy Stagger Time X

▪ Shorten Sword Skill Cooldown Time VIII

▪ Heavy Blows Mod

▪ Concussive Blows Bonus

Skill 5 — Parry Lv. 758

▪ Increase Parry Window VI

▪ Successful Parry Bonus

Skill 6 — Battle Healing Lv. 1000

▪ Increase Regeneration Amount V

▪ Increase Regeneration Rate III

▪ Emergency Healing Mod

▪ Additional Max HP% Scaling Mod

Skill 7 — Extended Weight Limit Lv. 966

▪ Increase Weight Limit VII

▪ Weightless Items Mod

▪ Halved Equipment Weight Mod

Skill 8 — Acrobatics Lv. 1000

▪ Increase Evasion Window VI

▪ Increase Jump Height III

▪ Untouchable Bonus

Skill 9 — Rallying Spirit Lv. 1000

▪ Increase Ally Support VII

▪ Increase Ally Support Range III

Skill 10 — Meditation Lv. 389

Skill 11 — Sol Dynasty Lv. 98 [Unique Skill]

Skill 12 — Two-Handed Sword Lv. 1 

====================================

Stored Skill 1 — One-Handed Sword Lv. 502

Stored Skill 2 — Light Metal Armor Lv. 676

Weapons:

Forge God's Eternal Dream +15 (5 Toughness, 10 Quickness)

[Rank S - Requires 150 STR, 100 AGL, and «Two-Handed Sword» Skill]

Range: Far

Attack: 1100-1200

Weight: 450

Type: Slash/Blunt

Durability: 9000

Meteoric Katana +35 (20 Sharpness, 5 Accuracy, 10 Durability)

[Rank A - Requires 60 STR, 120 AGL, and «Katana» Skill]

Range: Medium

Attack: 690-700

Weight: 180

Type: Slash

Durability: 1800