Liam and Lydia were sitting across from Don Rouch’s desk.
The man hadn’t stopped smiling since they had entered his office.
Every time he spoke, his gold veneers gleamed beneath the light of the lamps, giving him an appearance that Lydia found rather intimidating.
’He looks like a gangster...’
Lydia tried not to stare too much at the tattoos covering part of the man’s face. Even his clothing, with several gold chains around his neck and rings on nearly every finger, made the slime woman feel as though they were sitting across from someone who could pull a machine gun out from underneath the desk at any moment.
Liam, on the other hand, was completely calm.
The man was a vice-captain of the guild.
If James trusted him enough to bring them to his office, then there was no reason to worry.
Several of the gems they had collected from the F-rank dungeon were scattered across the desk.
Don Rouch picked one up between his fingers and brought a small magnifying glass to his eye.
He slowly turned it, examining it from different angles.
Then he picked up another.
And another.
"These are definitely high quality."
Evan, who was sitting beside the desk, picked up one of the gems and compared it to a much larger one he had brought with him.
That gem had been used to craft the new arrowheads for his arrows.
"These are the ones you gave me for the arrowheads."
Evan pointed at the gem.
"They came from a B-rank dungeon. This kind of material is already beginning to appear with some frequency in those dungeons."
Then he picked up one of Liam’s gems.
"But theirs..."
Evan raised an eyebrow.
"They’re different."
Don Rouch smiled.
"Much rarer."
Liam glanced at his wife.
Lydia was still looking at Don Rouch with some tension. Her shoulders were stiff, and her hands remained clasped together on her lap.
Liam took one of her hands.
She looked at him, and he slowly leaned toward her neck and whispered:
"Relax, sweetheart. He’s a trustworthy man. And if he isn’t, you can always shoot him with your laser."
He then gave her a small kiss on the neck.
Lydia let out a little giggle.
She wasn’t sure whether it was because of her husband’s joke or the ticklish sensation of his lips against that spot.
"Silly..."
Liam smiled and turned his attention back to the jeweler.
Don Rouch was still examining the gems.
"So?"
Liam pointed toward the pile of materials.
"Can you make anything interesting with them?"
Don Rouch’s smile grew even wider.
"Boy, you brought me some good stuff."
Lydia blinked.
’Stuff?’
Don Rouch placed the gem back on the desk.
"Of course we can make something interesting. The real question is what you want to make with them."
Liam thought for a few seconds.
"For now, I was thinking about making bullets."
Evan raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Bullets?"
"Yes. But I’d also like to make a knife."
Don Rouch let out a small laugh.
"I like where you’re going with this."
Liam looked at the gems again.
"But there’s something I don’t understand. How exactly does your Awakening work?"
Don Rouch rested his elbows on the desk.
"That’s something I can show you much better than I could explain it."
He extended a hand.
"Give me a bullet."
Liam looked at Lydia, and she immediately understood.
Her body began turning green and gelatinous.
A small pocket appeared in one of her arms.
Liam’s black briefcase emerged from it.
Don Rouch’s eyes widened.
"What the hell...?"
Liam burst out laughing.
"We’re used to it by now."
Lydia returned to her human form and smiled.
"It’s pretty useful."
"That it is."
Liam opened the briefcase and took out several bullets.
He took six and handed them to the jeweler.
Don Rouch accepted them.
Then he picked up one of the gems with his other hand.
Liam watched closely.
The jeweler clenched both fists.
A strange energy began flowing through his arms.
It was a sort of golden glow that concentrated around his hands.
The gem began to deform.
The surface of the stone seemed to melt without actually becoming liquid.
It stretched, compressed, and changed shape.
The jeweler applied a little more pressure.
A few seconds later, he stopped.
"Done."
He turned one of his hands, and when he opened his palm, six perfectly formed bullets were resting on it.
Then he opened his other hand, revealing the six ordinary bullets Liam had given him.
The difference was obvious.
The first ones had a faint glow and a slightly crystalline surface.
The others were completely ordinary.
Don Rouch smiled.
"It’s always better to show than to explain."
Liam took the gem bullets and held them up in front of his eyes.
Lydia took one as well.
"They’re beautiful..."
Evan leaned closer to examine them.
"And he only used a small amount."
Don Rouch pointed toward the remaining gems.
"With everything you brought, I can make a whole lot more ammunition."
Liam stared at the pile.
’So we really found something good.’
He thought about Eve, Lucas, Harper, and the others.
They had all participated in the dungeon.
If those gems were worth as much as they seemed, selling them could mean a considerable amount of money for the entire group.
"And what kind of power are you going to imbue them with?"
Don Rouch’s question made Liam raise his head.
"What?"
The jeweler looked at him.
"What power do you want them to have?"
Liam blinked.
"Power?"
Evan looked at him as well.
Don Rouch stopped smiling for a moment.
"Yes."
"Aren’t they just bullets made from a special gem?"
Don Rouch looked at Evan.
Evan looked at Don Rouch.
Then they both looked back at Liam.
"You brought the gems without knowing what they were used for?"
They asked at the same time.
Liam fell silent.
Lydia looked at him.
Liam looked at Lydia, and the two of them began laughing.
"Yes."
Don Rouch put a hand over his forehead.
"I can’t believe this."
Evan burst out laughing.
Liam raised his hands.
"We just found the gems, and we were told to bring them to the guild’s jeweler. We thought we could use them to make weapons."
"That’s not a bad idea."
Don Rouch picked up one of the gem bullets.
"But these gems have a special property."
Liam paid close attention.
"What is it?"
The jeweler placed the bullet on the table.
"They absorb and store energy."
Lydia tilted her head.
"Like a battery?"
Don Rouch smiled.
"Something like that. But much more versatile."
He pointed at the gem.
"Depending on the type of energy infused into them and how they’re processed, they can acquire different properties."
Evan picked up one of the arrowheads he had brought.
"That’s why I use them for my arrows."
Don Rouch nodded.
"In your case, the energy you channel can reinforce the impact and allow your arrows to maintain their special properties for longer."
Liam looked at the six bullets.
"So..."
His eyes lit up.
"Can we make these bullets have abilities?"
Don Rouch smiled.
"Now we’re talking."
Lydia looked at the bullets.
"And what ability would be good for Liam?"
Liam thought about his training.
About the dungeons.
About the creatures they had faced.
"I’m not sure."
Don Rouch leaned back in his chair.
"Don’t worry. That’s what experiments are for."
Liam looked at the remaining gems.
They had found something very important.
A material capable of turning his weapons into something completely different.
And as Liam stared at those small crystalline bullets, an idea began to take shape in his mind.
’If we can figure out how they work...’
He smiled.
’Maybe I can create a weapon that will actually let me protect Lydia.’
Lydia watched him in silence.
And judging by her husband’s smile, she knew he was already thinking up some new crazy idea.