After spending what felt like hours in the void, the group was finally able to exit the portal. Damien's mana capacity wasn't completely dry, but this was only because he already had some connection to Apeiron.
He didn't know when this connection began to strengthen, but it was second only to earth, much stronger than those he had with the random celestial bodies floating through the void.
Claire looked around with awe as she witnessed the sight of a new world. They had teleported directly into Damien's house within Aurora, so she was able to get a clear view of the city and the area beyond it.
The bustling atmosphere that filled the city, and its sheer size were enough to amaze her, yet this was only the tip of the iceberg. When Claire looked around, she was able to see the majestic castle that occupied the center of the city, being larger than some towns on earth.
Her body seemed to rejoice at the mana density of the area, being at least ten times denser than that of earth. And with the enhanced eyesight of someone with her stats, she was able to make out the scenery in the distance past the city.
The titanous mountains that stood tall in the background and the lush green plains helped her realize she was truly in another world.
The entire experience calmed her, as a peaceful atmosphere pervaded the very air she breathed.
"Welcome to Apeiron!" Rose said with a smile on her face.
Claire could only nod her head absentmindedly as she stayed dazed by the sights. It was only around 10 minutes later that she snapped back to reality.
"This place is breathtaking." Claire sighed with praise. She wondered if earth would become like this after a prolonged period of time, but she knew she wouldn't be alive to witness it. After all, that was tens of thousands of years!
"Mom, I'll give you some time to accustom yourself to this house and the surrounding city," Damien said as he pulled out a spatial ring.
"This ring is filled with as much gold and silver as you'll ever need, and this house belongs solely to me. So you can do as you please. Also, this city is one of the safest places you could possibly be, even considering how peaceful this world is.
"I'm going to take Elena somewhere to get a new sword, and after we return, we can go meet Rose's father."
Claire nodded as she looked at the house. It was much bigger than the one she previously lived in, and she couldn't imagine living in it alone. Without another word, she went inside to explore.
As she turned away, her expression hardened. The dreams she had seen even the day before they left earth had gotten much worse than what she saw previously.
She had seen a maniacal scene of seas of blood and endless slaughter.
Walking through the house she would be living in for the foreseeable future, Claire only had a single thought in her head.
'I must adapt to the new world and become strong. As long as I'm strong, I won't be a burden to anyone for even a single second longer.'
She wasn't just thinking about Damien. The figure of a certain man popped into her head as she gazed at the bright blue sky.
Meanwhile, Damien turned to Elena whose excitement had almost reached the point of manifesting physically.
"Why don't we fly there so you can enjoy the sights of this world a bit?" Damien suggested.
He was greeted with a quick refusal before Elena immediately nodded.
"So, which is it? Yes or no?" Damien teased.
"Yes!" Elena responded. She was admittedly filled with too much anticipation to even listen to what he was saying.
Damien wryly shook his head as he called Zara out of his shadow. Then, the three of them mounted her and took off.
'Well, let's go visit an old friend then, shall we?'
It only took an hour for the group to reach Archdale with Zara's improved speed, and Damien looked at the city with a smile.
"It hasn't changed at all since the last time I came here."
It had only been 2 years since he last stepped into the city, so the line was a bit cliche, but he said it anyway. It brought a slight smile to Rose's face so he felt it was worth it.
Zara returned to Damien's shadow, once again adopting her previous behavior now that they were back around crowds, and Damien led the group to a familiar old building that smelled like melting metals.
Without suspense, they entered the shop. Elena's eyes were immediately drawn to the lines of weapons that occupied it.
There was still nobody at the desk, but sounds of metal clanging could be heard from the back room. Damien simply stood as he watched Elena browse the weapons like a child in the toy section.
It was the first time Elena had seen weapons so pristine. Not only their design and sharpness but also the aura they gave off. If she had to compare her old sword, it was like trash in front of a pile of gold.
As she looked through the sword section, Elena was surprised by the many different designs. There were spiral swords, broadswords, and even things that looked oddly similar to katanas.
Some of the swords were shaped in ways she had never seen before, but that made sense since they were no longer on earth.
"Damien, I want this one!" Elena said as she tugged on his sleeve, pointing to a specific katana.
He hadn't seen her drop all pretenses like this in a long time. It seemed her love for swords was on a whole different level.
Looking at the sword she wanted, Damien saw a sleek katana whose blade was almost translucent. But no matter how fragile it looked, its power couldn't be underestimated.
Damien nodded his head, understanding her choice. As someone who specialized in the light element, her greatest strength was her speed. A heavy sword would only be detrimental to her.
"Alright, just give me a second," Damien said as he hopped over the counter. He pushed open the thick metal door to the back room and directly entered.
"Yo, old man! You in here?" Damien's entire manner of speaking seemed to relax to a new level when he entered the backroom.
"Oi, who the hell is comin' in 'ere without knockin'?!" A grumpy voice shouted.
Vormec grabbed his hammer and waddled to the door, wanting to pound the head of the fool who interrupted him. However, when he got there, he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar man.
Although it had only been 2 years since their last meeting, Damien had grown up a lot. The silver streaks in his hair had become more prevalent, his height had grown slightly, and his overall look had become more mature.
Not to mention the expensive clothing he was wearing, a complete turn from the sweatpants and shirt he wore when they first met.
"Eh? What're ya doin' 'ere boy? Don't tell me ya already broke the sword I made ya!" Vormec chastised, yet the smile on his face wasn't hard to spot.
Damien smiled as well, "what, you won't believe me if I said I just missed you?"
Vormec rolled his eyes but got straight to business. "Alright alright, let me get a look at your sword and start fixin' it."
"Nah, I'm actually not here for myself today. I brought a friend whose weapon I want you to craft."
Still, Damien pulled out his sword. "But, you can consider this as your payment. Trust me, you'll be interested in what happened to it."
Vormec raised his brow in clear interest as he grabbed the sword. Just from a glance, it was clear how the sword had changed.
Its blade had elongated to be around 1 meter long, and its edge had considerably sharpened. Its entirely black surface gained a more glossy finish and the purple lines that patterned it was now conjoined with a pristine gold.
"Hm?"
It was only when he took a deeper look that he realized the significance of these changes.
"Boy, who reforged this sword for ya?" Vormec asked. It was sheer curiosity, not even caring that Damien broke their contract. Whoever reforged the sword was clearly better than him.
"Nobody did, old man. The sword did that to itself."
Damien then proceeded to explain the process where the sword devoured an SSS rank artifact in the legacy tomb and evolved to the same rank.
Vormec's eyes widened, but as he continued inspecting he realized the truth in Damien's words. There were no signs of tampering as if the blade had evolved rather than being reforged.
And as Vormec did before, he saw every change within the blade, using it to improve his own understanding of his profession. He saw the records of the countless battles the blade had gone through, leaving him excited at the prospects.
After around half an hour, Vormec finally spoke. "Alright boy, this was definitely a great payment. Bring ya friend back 'ere so I can get the specs they want."
