Fragment of the void

Samael was now regretting going back for his sword. Right now he was being dragged by the duke of the Starlight Kingdom, Mikhael. 

Samael was avoiding eye contact with the blacksmith, Ignacio, who was sitting across from them. The esteemed grandmaster blacksmith was looking at Samael with a "What the hell did you get into this time?" face. 

"Uhh, I can explain—" Samael suddenly spoke. 

"No, you shut your trap," Ignacio said. 

Ignacio suddenly bowed to the duke and spoke with an apologetic tone. "I'm very sorry for whatever this brat did." 

The duke had a surprised look in his face as he watched the famous Ignacio bow to him. This only piqued the interest of the duke in the situation even further. 

"Hoh? Do you perhaps know this person, sir Ignacio?" The duke said it in a curious tone.

"Yes, Duke, this kid is my sole disciple that I have been training for the upcoming blacksmith exam." Ignacio said as he stood up. 

The duke started forming a maniacal grin as he listened more. The Duke's interest was only piqued earlier, but now they have his attention. 

The siblings all had shocked faces. They couldn't believe what they just heard! This was big news! The great grandmaster blacksmith Ignacio finally acquired himself a disciple!

But what shocked them most was the fact that the grandmaster blacksmith lowered his pride and apologized to the duke just for his disciple. Ignacio didn't even bow to the king when they met. 

Right now the siblings are making all sorts of plans to get close to Samael and make a good first impression. Samael had a bright future ahead, and they didn't intend to miss it. 

The opportunity was right in front of them, and they just had to seize it. But while thinking, they suddenly remembered the demonic aura earlier. If it weren't for their father, they'd also be crippled like the mage earlier. 

They shuddered as they remembered the suffocating and destructive aura Samael displayed. And the fact that Samael only showed it for mere moments and had already caused that much damage was already terrifying. It appeared that this was going to be harder than they expected. 

All of a sudden, the room was filled with heartfelt laughter. Where did it come from? of course, the duke. The duke was laughing again! 

The siblings showed an even more surprised expression. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was the first time in a long time they'd seen their father laugh twice in a day! 

It was indeed a very rare occasion. First, they feel a demonic-like aura that comes from someone they don't even know. And now their father is showing unusual behavior. 

"Hahahaha! Don't worry about it; Samael didn't really bother me. I just found him quite interesting, so I dragged him along." Mikhael said. 

"I see. If that's the case, then what are you doing here?" Ignacio said.

"I've come here to ask for a personal commission." Mikhael spoke in a serious and formal tone. 

"Commission?" Ignacio asked. 

"Yes, I would like for you to create weapons and armor for my children." Mikhael said as he looked beside him towards his sons and daughters. 

Apparently, the girl with long purple hair was his eldest daughter, and her name was Silvy. The next oldest was the dude with a scar on his lip. His name was Oscar. On the other hand, the guy with long hair was the middle child named Rekton and was followed by the dude with a piercing called Severyn. The youngest was the small girl with two ponytails; her name was Chichi.

Mikhael wanted Ignacio to make them custom weapons and armor. He wanted the best for his children, and Ignacio understood that. 

But despite this, Ignacio shook his head and declined the request. Mikhael, who thought that Ignacio would accept this, was shocked by this and couldn't help but ask why. 

"It's simple; this fella right here is my disciple, and I've decided that he will fulfill your requests as his final test." Ignacio said. 

Samael, who was watching from the side, had a dumbfounded look on his face as he looked at the smirking dwarf. 

The siblings, except the youngest, also had shocked expressions plastered on their faces. The duke started laughing even more after hearing Ignacio's declaration. 

"It seems there's no changing your mind. If that's what you will, then we cannot do anything but accept." The duke laughed. 

The siblings finally snapped back into reality and started retaliating one by one. Samael also started complaining to Ignacio, adding to the chaos inside the meeting room. 

"Father, you cannot approve this! We've only met this man once, and we're already entrusting him with a quest of such importance?" Silvy said. 

"I agree with Silvy Father; we do not know the extent of his capabilities. This is too risky, and I suggest you rethink this through." Oscar added.

Samael also chimed in and said, "Ignac—I mean master! Isn't it foolish to entrust such a task to me? I'm not even a master smith yet!" 

"ENOUGH!" Mikhael said he was accompanied by an overbearing aura. 

"My decision is final, and it will not be changed! Whether you like it or not, we will respect master Ignacio's wishes!" Mikhael said. 

The siblings were about to retaliate more but chose to keep quiet rather than risk angering their father. They had no choice but to accept that Samael was in charge of their gear. 

"As the duke said, my decision is final as well. You, boy, will be the one making their gear as your final test." Ignacio added. 

Samael sighed before giving a nod. He didn't dare to argue with the stingy dwarf, knowing that he probably wouldn't win.

"Fine, but I want to receive a favor from you." Samael said. 

"A favor? Aren't I doing you already a favor by teaching you?" Ignacio responded. 

"But fine. I'll owe you one favor if you successfully finish the task with flying colors." Ignacio added. 

Samael nodded before receiving a notification. 

<Ignacio's impression of you has increased!>

Samael was about to leave the place but it seemed that it wasn't over yet. Mikhael blocked his way yet again and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey now, don't leave now that things got interesting. I want to spend some time and get to know the disciple of the esteemed blacksmith, Ignacio." Mikhael said before dragging him away again. 

...

They left the shop shortly after the meeting was dismissed, and Samael was "willingly" dragged away by Mikhael. They visited a lot of places like restaurants, clothing shops, and jewelry shops. 

While Samael didn't like getting dragged everywhere, he did enjoy the exploring part. Ever since he was reborn, he hasn't had the time to explore and have fun. The most fun he had was finding the tower of Eden. 

His life was in such constant danger that it was unusual for him to be so peaceful. Samael pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on what was happening. 

Right now, they were inside a shop. It wasn't specified what type of shop it was, as there were a lot of random things inside. Ranging from clothes to ancient-looking swords

Samael scanned some, and to his surprise, they were ancient relics. However, they were but mere fragments of their former glory. Still, Samael took them to his cart and looked around more. 

The shop was full of wonders and interesting things. The owner was already old, and he said that the shop was given to him by his father. 

While looking around, something caught Samael's attention. It was a huge black cube located on the far side of the shop. The cube was so dark that even light couldn't seem to pass through.

For some reason, Samael was highly attracted to the cube. Something about it felt very familiar to him. So he did what anyone would do—he approached it. 

The cube was at least as big as him, and he wasn't short either. The cube was shiny but showed no reflection whatsoever. except when Samael looked at it. 

He saw a man with black hair, black eyes, and a muscular build. It was him. Samael was curious as to why he could see his reflection when others couldn't. 

'System scan this for me,' Samael asked. 

<Scanning... Scanning..>

<Scan complete.>

<The cube is a fragment of the void core.>

'Void core?' Samael asked again. 

<...>

'Please let me know. I bore the same responsibility when I accepted to be the void heir.' Samael said to the system.

<If you say so..>

For a second, Samael saw a hint of emotion in the system. He always thought that the system was never alive but merely a formation made by the void to make his voyage easier. It appeared he was mistaken. 

<Every being has a core.>

<At the start of time, many primordial creatures came to life. They held powers no human could comprehend.>

<They held absolute laws.>

<Each of them had a single absolute law.>

<But in the real beginning, there were four lawbreakers who first stemmed from nothing.>

<That "nothing" was the void.>

<In the beginning, there was nothing but endless darkness. This endless darkness was the one and only void.>

<But.. due to circumstances that I cannot say right now. The core of the void was smashed into multiple pieces.>

<This cube is only a piece. There are seven more.>

<If the host manages to obtain all the pieces, he will be able to restore the core of the Void and bring it back to its former glory. You will be able to unlock its full potential and remove the limiter.>

<Only then will you learn the absolute truth.>

<After the series of messages, the system went dark. Samael summoned it again, but it wasn't the same as earlier. This system felt more lifeless compared to earlier. >

Samael felt that his head was hurting from all the information he had received. All this talk about primordial beings and some sort of absolute law was making his head hurt. 

He decided to think about it another day. He took the cube inside his storage ring and explored a bit more. 

In the end, he bought multiple relic fragments to study, and he also found some interesting things, like a stone with runes on it. He wanted to learn about runes too, so the stone would be useful.

After leaving the shop, they went to a library as per the request of the youngest child, Chichi. The duke paid for all of them, and once inside, they went their own ways. 

Samael went to the rune and alchemy section. But he focused mostly on runes, as he needed to learn them in order to infuse his sword with special effects. 

Runes were a huge part of making weapons or armor. Runes offered amazing effects such as resistance to physical or magical attack and even elemental infusion on swords. 

While the runes can't compare to magic swordsmen, they are still a big upgrade for normal swordsmen. That's the reason why a sword with runes on it is twice as expensive as a normal one. 

Right now he was speeding through the books about rune making. However, it seemed that in order to excel at rune making, you needed to have a sufficient understanding of magic. 

The rune-making process consumes the user's stamina and mana. If he lacks at least one of the two, he'll never succeed. 

Runemaking also required you to be precise, but he already had 2 skills that would take care of that part, so he wasn't worried much.

Fortunately for Samael, he already had all he needed in order to start making runes. He just needed a rune brush to actually craft one. 

He left the place shortly after reading everything about rune-making. The siblings were even shocked to see Samael be done so quickly. They even started doubting if he actually read anything. 

After the duke came back with Chichi, they left the place. The next destination was an auction shop. Apparently, Silvy and Oscar needed to buy something that was being auctioned there. 

The entrance ticket alone was expensive, but for the Duke of Starlight Kingdom, it was mere pocket change. They even got VVIP seats above the auction house. 

Samael looked around and saw a few more VVIP rooms occupied. It looks like they weren't the only ones rich in this place. What could be for sale for these powerful people to gather?

Soon the auction started as the venue filled up. The first few items were rare, but nothing too interesting for the VVIP. 

When the auction finally reached the middle phase, the items being offered started getting rarer. They even presented things like epic-tier potions and some mythical weapons created by renowned blacksmiths. 

The bidding was intense, as some people would even bid 5 million gold coins for the potions. Still, none of these seemed to interest the real powerhouses. 

After a while, Samael was getting bored, but an item suddenly caught his attention. A rune-making pen was being presented right now on the stage. 

Some people bid for it, but it was extremely low compared to the other items. Samael smiled as he found a diamond in the rough. 

It appeared that the host doesn't know the real value of the pen, as they probably couldn't measure it. However, that cannot be said in Samuel's case. 

That pen was no doubt a cursed rank item. It was an item so rare that a small auction house like this can't measure it because they lack the machines. 

Samael decided it was time to bid. He raised his hand and said, "100,000 gold coins."

The nearby bidders that tried to get the pen had shocked faces, as the previous bid was barely 50,000 gold coins. It seemed that they don't have the chance to get the pen anymore. 

Soon the host announced his win, and a victorious smile formed on his lips. He had hit the jackpot.