The strongest being in the world had awakened the two mightiest elements—Light and Flames.

Allen was that person. With those unmatched powers, strong weapons, and the help of his loyal friends, he managed to defeat the fallen God in the end.

People envied him. Many felt his "cheat awakening" made him too powerful from the start, leaving no room for real struggle or growth.

But if Allen was considered overpowered… what could anyone say about the person Adrian was assessing right now?

Someone who had an affinity with every element—except Light.

Adrian sat frozen for a while, unable to process it fully. The power level was too much to take in. That's when the other person spoke.

[Valor: If it's too much, you can take a few weeks.]

"N-No, it's okay. I'll do it." He quickly picked up his pencil and began writing.

This being had a connection to all the parent elements. But the strength of that connection—its frequency—varied. He had a high affinity with water and air, which made Adrian pause for a moment.

He asked the person, "Do you want me to engrave runes for all elements? Won't they clash with each other?"

Water and flames didn't mix well. Earth and air were also opposites. It made Adrian wonder if it was even a good idea to place all the elements into one weapon.

[Valor: I've faced this issue before too, but I always managed somehow. Still, do you think I should only stick to the elements that are more compatible with each other?]

His question made Adrian think.

"What about the previous Runesmiths who worked on your weapon?" he asked.

[Valor: My last Runesmith engraved all the runes. You, on the other hand, only gave me one before.]

Adrian frowned slightly. That strange sense of familiarity again… like they had met before. But he didn't press it. Instead, he shifted his focus back to the task at hand.

"Tell me—what element do you usually use? And will anything bad happen if you can't use all of them?"

There was a short pause before the reply came.

[Valor: I don't need every element right now. The battle I'm preparing for will mostly require a few large-scale attacks. As for the element—I prefer flames the most.]

Adrian's eyes drifted toward the flame rune. The flame affinity on the insignia was so faint, it looked like it was barely hanging on.

But Adrian didn't bring it up. He gave no advice, no doubts. Instead, he simply said:

"Then I'll tune it for flame and earth. Is that alright?"

[Valor: You're the boss. Go ahead.]

The blind trust in those words… it unsettled Adrian more than he expected.

Regardless, he pressed the bridge of his glasses and began to work.

Since he had a low affinity with flames, Adrian used the Whisper Dialect, and because of his balanced connection with Earth, the Core Dialect was utilized.

It didn't take long before Adrian voiced, "Done with the first thread. Should I continue or do you want to check the weapon?"

[No, it's okay. I trust you, XXXX.]

Adrian sighed and picked up the training doll in his arms.

While he placed the training doll on the ground he asked the system, 'Will there be any disconnection of mana pores since I am looking at the person through the training doll?'

System responded,

[There could be, host.]

Adrian grumbled, 'My reputation is at stake...can't you send the person here or let me go to them?'

[For now, the Host is not permitted to use the <Transfer> feature of the dimensional chat group.]

So there was indeed a feature. But the question was, 'When will I be able to unlock it?'

[Upon learning the fourth thread.]

"..." Why didn't he not expect this? Whenever Adrian asked something significant from the system, it always told him to learn a thread. Just great.

'What about my EXP? I should be close to unlocking the Shop, no?'

[EXP: 4892/5000]

'So, binding the second Thread should be enough to fulfill the requirement?' He asked, almost requested.

[Yes, host.]

Adrian heaved a sigh of relief and sat down before the training doll.

Removing his gloves, he touched the doll, and instantly, many mana nodes appeared before him.

'Woah...' He was baffled...there were more than thirty mana nodes. And the training doll was basically restricting more than a few, so this was not the full capacity of the man.

But then again, as mentioned earlier, dual awakeners normally have higher mana levels compared to an average. And here, this dude has awakened five times.

He didn't make Valor wait for long and got to work.

He couldn't use the technique of third thread or he would have used the same technique over which Ruby has been working for a few years now.

He had to just tie the thirty-five nodes to the five runes he had built on the blade, connecting them efficiently and without making any errors.

It took ten minutes and unwavering focus from the man before all the thirty-five nodes were connected to the runes, making the blade glow with energy.

Adrian gave a final check before saying, "It's done. You can inspect it."

The blade gave a faint glow before it disappeared.

There was no message for the next one minute.

Adrian checked the list to see who was online... and of course, Idiot was still there.

Why is she always so free, even though she's the strongest Warden?

It still hadn't fully sunk in—that the person who always waited for his messages was none other than Annabelle.

She was infamous across the world. Just her presence on the battlefield was enough to make enemies drop their weapons and surrender.

Her bond with her homeland had once shaken the balance of power so badly, she had no choice but to sever all ties and become a wanderer.

Now, she doesn't belong to any clan or nation. She never officially took the title of Warden, and yet, whenever a crisis broke out and hundreds of lives were at risk, she appeared—like a ghost answering a silent call.

If anyone could be said to have a connection with her, it was the fourth-ranked Warden—Ruby Vermillion.

Adrian thought for a moment before asking, "Do you not have work to do?"

Idiot: [Me? I finished all my work. Promise. Now I just want to see you talk.]

He couldn't see her but he felt she was smiling.

Adrian didn't know how many people were there who knew that Annabelle possessed this side, too. Maybe not more than one more person.

People call her with many names, she is infamous all around the world. She is an entity with no nation want to trifle with unless there is a real national emergency.

He was about to say something when suddenly, Valor's message popped up,

[I'm honestly in awe. The way you breathe life into a weapon... it's nothing short of beautiful.]

Adrian smiled, "I am glad you like it."

After a brief pause, Valor asked,

[So, what do you demand in exchange? Ah, just so you know, there are various talented blacksmiths and engineers around me.]

Adrian hummed...thinking for a bit before he asked,

"Can you..."

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.