The Blades of Fulgrim whipped through the air with terrifying speed, slicing, smashing, and obliterating everything in their path.
Stones that served as practice dummies toppled from the base of the tree trunks embedded in the forest clearing. Sometimes the trunks groaned under Adamās relentless attacks, while others shattered entirely.
Sitting on the branch of a tree outside the clearing, Merene watched Adamās dance of chains and blades as he transformed the forest clearing into a storm of metal. His movement was unpredictable, yet eerily beautiful.
What fascinated her the most, however, was that despite losing his eyesight, Adam was able to accurately pinpoint the targets and deal with them. It was a beautiful dance of madness and mayhem.
In the blink of an eye, the storm of chains dissipated, and the Blades of Fulgrim returned to Adamās hands. He inhaled deeply as he extended his Sphere of Resonance. He noticed that out of the dozen targets, he had only managed to hit eight of them. Though the rest were destroyed, so were the tree trunks beneath them.
This caused a frown to appear on his ghastly face, and he couldnāt help but mutter, "Not good enough."
What the white-robed Adam had said to him the other day still stuck with him, and he wouldnāt be satisfied until he was able to take out all dozen targets with unnerving precision.
Suddenly, Mereneās melodious voice drifted into his ears:
"Arenāt you blind?"
Adam turned to the source of the voice and scoffed, "Are you making fun of me?"
Merene shook her head, taking a bite of the apple in her hand. "Iām serious. How can you hit your targets when you canāt even see?"
Adam remained silent for a few moments, then answered:
"...There are other ways to see."
Merene looked at him like he was some madman. It was besides the point that he was truly a madman. She sighed helplessly, shaking her head. She took another bite of the apple, then asked:
"By the way, where did you get those blades? And the cloak and the boots? I wonāt lie, I was very tempted to take them off your corpse... after I killed you, of course."
Adam was flabbergasted. "How can you say those things so casually? Are you crazy?!"
"No." The elf shook her head. "But you are..."
Adam was even more taken aback. Could this elf truly be crazier than him? That couldnāt be possible... right?
With a suspicious look on his face, he asked, "Then why didnāt you kill me? Surely, these artifacts are more valuable than the life of a complete stranger."
Merene turned her head and glanced at the blue sky. Her gaze settled on a distant cloud, the only cloud in her sight. A long time later, she answered, her voice soft and tinged with a bit of loneliness:
"Sometimes fellowship can be more valuable than treasures..."
Hearing her response, Adam slipped into silence. A faint smile found its way to his charred lips, and he whispered, "Yeah..."
Merene couldnāt help but smile as well. She turned to Adam, but the next moment, her smile froze.
"Adam, please donāt smile. Itās ugly. And scary."
"You little..." Adam gritted his teeth but gave up in the end. "Fine, whatever. Itās not like I can help it."
He dropped the blades, then lay down on the ground. Still, he couldnāt stop smiling. He had been feeling the dreadful weight of loneliness for the past year.
It was true that the whispers of the Laughing God were driving him to the edge of madness, but so was loneliness. That was why he was so immensely happy to find someone else on this island.
"I found these artifacts in Ivory City, by the way," he said at last.
Merene frowned. "Ivory City? Thereās no place like that on this land. Did you make up that word?"
Adam snorted. "All words are made up, fool."
Mereneās frown deepened further, and she whispered, "Crazy bastard..."
"I can hear you!" Adam yelled. His lips curled into an unnatural grin, and he couldnāt help but break into a fit of mad laughter.
And so, he laughed and laughed and laughed.
Hearing his deranged laughter, Merene felt her skin crawl, and she found herself involuntarily hugging herself. Her eyes flashed with hints of dread even.
Adamās laughter came to an abrupt halt, and he said, "Itās the city that was ruled by the elven Artificer."
"Elven Artificer..." Merene murmured, her brows knitting into a frown. But then, her eyes gradually widened in shock. "Do you mean Magus Luro?!
That
Artificer?!"
"Luro?" Adam arched a brow. "I donāt know his name, but that city is close to the edge of this continent. To be more precise, itās towards the northern edge. All the ruined structures seemed to be made of marble, hence the name Ivory City."
"Yes, that is Magus Luro!" Mereneās eyes widened in shock.
"He was a renowned artificer from five thousand years ago! But more importantly, those ruins are swarming with magical beasts, and itās said a powerful golem guards Luroās workshop itself! How in the world did you get past all of that?!"
Adamās lips curled into a wide grin, and he leapt to his feet in a graceful arc. "Oh, that steel golem with strength equivalent to a Mana Core Magus?" He asked, radiating comical smugness.
"Yeah, I just compelled all the beasts in the city to fight the golem for me. And while they were tearing each other apart, I slipped into the armory and stole these artifacts. It was glorious, really. You should have seen it."
"Compelled the beasts?" Merene frowned. "What are you? An Enchanter?"
Adam placed his hand on his chest and gave a slight bow. "Iām just a humble Herbalist."
"...So is the golem dead?" Merene asked, her tone dubious.
"Of course, not!" Adam scoffed. "Do you think a Mana Core-level entity is so easy to kill?"
The next moment, he puffed out his chest and added with a smirk, "Although I have helped kill a Mana Core Magus before, and
also
directly killed a Mana Seed Magus, I might add. In fact, Iāve even survived an encounter with a Transcendent entityā"
Merene suddenly interrupted him, her voice filled with disbelief. "You... how do you know about those arcane titles?! Didnāt you say you were a human from Ulier? Or perhaps... did you find an inheritance left behind by those who journeyed to the Greater Universe?"
Adam froze. He turned towards the elf and asked in a low voice, "How do you know about the Greater Universe?"
Merene answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We are in Mabi. There are ruins filled with lost knowledge about the Greater Universe here. Whatās more surprising is... how do
you
know about them?"
"Ruins... filled with... lost knowledge?" Adamās breathing turned heavy. "Can you take me there?!"
Merene was taken aback by the youthās sudden reaction. But soon, her lips curled into a smirk. "Ah, who knows? Maybe?"
"Quit playing with me, woman!" Adam stomped towards the tree. "Will you take me there or not?"
Merene chuckled slyly. "Oh, I wonder, I wonder..."
Meanwhile, the mimic was utterly dumbfounded as it stood at the edge of the clearing, listening in on the conversation. It had never been more confused than it was at the moment.
"Gege..."