A mithril blade. That was worth a small fortune. Matthew thought of keeping it to himself. Stop using Belial’s sword since He didn’t want anything to do with the demon king. But the thought of antagonizing them filled him with dread."Sarah. Do you want this?" Matthew asked.
"What?" Sarah was surprised.
"This sword. It’s made of Mithril. I’ll have someone make a handle and a guard for it and you can use it." Matthew offered.
"No. Using a Mithril sword at my level? Isn’t that too much?" Sarah said nervously.
"Not at all. There’s no need to limit yourself just because of your level." Matthew stored the blade in his Inventory. "I’ll ask Lynn for a good smith to make you the guard."
"Alright." Sarah smiled.
She only used two long daggers as melee weapons. Using a sword was going to be new, but perhaps the best for her.
"I leveled up again." Sebastian said, changing the topic. "It doesn’t seem right."
"Oh! Me too." Sarah said, remembering to look at her stat screen. "But all we did was to shoot it from cover."
"The Mana knows." Matthew smiled at them. "Don’t waste time questioning it. Just accept it."
They nodded and picked their classes.
They walked a bit longer and found only weaker opponents that Matthew and Ffyr dealt with easily.
That’s when Sarah felt something odd. Her Sense Secret Doors skill was pointing out that something was hidden nearby.
"Matt." She called him. "I feel something close by."
"Where?" Matthew asked.
"Over there." She pointed east. "There’s something hidden there."
Matthew prowled up front with the others following closely behind.
They found a small pond surrounded by daisies, but instead of white petals, they were blue. Red and purple frogs croaked loudly while eating fireflies that flew around shining in orange and yellow tones.
"This is so weird." Sebastian commented walking forward with care to not disturb the flowers.
"It’s beautiful." Sarah said.
"Looks like home." Ffyr smiled, gently hovering over the waters.
"Where’s the thing you were feeling?" Matthew asked after taking a look around and being sure no monster was nearby.
"There’s a door hidden inside the pond?" Sarah was confused about what she was feeling.
"I don’t see anything." Ffyr said, putting her face inside the water. "There’s nothing inside the pond." She said after pulling out.
"There must be something around. Let’s search. Anything odd that grabs your attention." Matthew concluded.
They spent the next half hour looking at the trees and animals up close. Trying to pull vines and twist branches as if they hid secret buttons or levers. They turned stones, picked up frogs. But nothing helped.
"Can’t find anything." Sarah said with a sad tone.
Sebastian sat with her near the pond.
"There’s nothing." He lamented.
"But if Sarah is feeling it, there must be something hidden inside." Ffyr said.
"Other than digging inside the water, I don’t see what else we can do." Matthew said.
"We could try calling for the lady of the lake?" Sebastian joked.
"Lady of the lake?" Sarah questioned him.
"Yeah. From the Arthurian myths? The one who gives him Excalibur?" Sebastian explained.
"And how does one call for the lady?" Matthew asked.
"I don’t know. I just watched some movies about it." Sebastian explained. "But they do throw Excalibur in the lake and the lady catches it in one of the movies."
Hearing that, Sarah pulled out Sebastian’s sword and threw it in the pond, making a splash sound when the sword pierced its waters.
Ffyr laughed loudly while Sebastian protested.
"Well, that’s the end of that theory." Sarah chuckled.
But, when Sebastian got up to go grab his sword, a short girl got out of the lake. She had long bright blonde hair and a bluish gray skin that resembled those of dolphins. Her eyes were all black and bulged out of her face, which made her look a bit like a seal. She was wearing a long sleeveless white dress. Her head had a circlet of the same blue flowers that surrounded the pond.
In her hands she held two swords, identical to the sword that was thrown in the lake. But one was silver and the other was gold.
"Did you drop one of these in my pond?" She asked Sebastian.
Sebastian looked at the swords. He felt eager to ask for one of them, even though none of them were his, but he knew one of those would be able to solve a lot of financial problems his family had.
"None of them." Sarah said, "Neither of those are his." She added.
Sebastian looked at her a bit angry. But then he took a deep breath. She was right. That was the right thing to do. He shouldn’t give in to his avarice.
"Neither of those are mine." He added.
The girl smiled and dove back in the water and brought his sword for him.
"You can keep all of them. For your honesty." She said with a gentle voice.
"Really?" Sebastian’s face turned into a huge smile.
"Sure. Here you are." The girl said.
Sebastian took the blades and stored the silver and the gold ones in his Inventory while sheathing his real sword.
"A different tale, but it worked." Sarah smiled.
"Different tale?" Sebastian questioned her.
"You didn’t know this one? About the lumberjack that lost his axe in a river?" Sarah questioned him.
"No." Sebastian was confused.
The girl in the lake giggled.
"I wouldn’t have given him the option if he knew, silly!" She told Sarah.
"You’ve grown so much, Matil." Ffyr suddenly flew in and hugged the girl.
"You too!" Matil hugged Ffyr back. "You look like a human now!"
"I still have my gorgeous wings!" Ffyr showed off to the nixie in the water. "Matt! You remember her, don’t you?"
"How could I forget? I’d be dead if it weren’t for her." Matthew said, getting in the water and patting her head. "How are you girl?"
"I’m great!" Matil smiled and closed her eyes while feeling Matthew’s hand on her hair.
"You know her?" Sarah asked.
"She helped us conquer Enkidu’s Labyrinth back then." Matthew explained.
"Sorry we couldn’t come see you sooner." Ffyr said.
"I know. Titania told me that you two were in Violentia." Matil said with a somber tone.
"But now we’re back!" Ffyr hugged her again and was hugged back.
"You were watching us all the time, weren’t you?" Matthew laughed.
"I was." Matil gave him a mischievous smile. "It was so fun watching you struggle to find a way inside my house."
"Was the sword in the water the answer?" Sarah asked.
"No! Silly. I just did it to have fun with the boy." Matil showed her tongue to Sarah. "You have to ask the froggies!" She said as if it was obvious.
"But come inside! Let’s play a little!" Matil said and dove in the shallow waters disappearing in the process.
Matthew, Sarah and Sebastian looked at each other. The water was no deeper than a foot. It was impossible to dive in it.
Ffyr, however, didn’t hesitate. She just jumped inside the water like she was diving in the Olympics and also disappeared.
Matthew was next. He let his body hit the water and also disappeared.
Sarah and Sebastian did the same.
They saw themselves inside a cozy cottage made of large logs. It had a stone fireplace, a large bed and two couches. The place was decorated with pink curtains and heaps of stuffed animals. Out the window there was a meadow with hundreds of different types of flowers.
"Where are we?" Sarah questioned looking around. Her clothes, as everybody else’s were dry as if she never went inside the water.
"My house, silly!" Matil said, moving her hand and conjuring a big tea pot, some cups and hundreds of biscuits over the table in a corner of the cottage.
"I know." Sarah protested. "I meant... Are we still in the dungeon?"
"No... It’s my house." Matil insisted.
"Is this the Fae?" Sebastian asked.
"No! It’s my house!" Matil exclaimed and pouted.
"I think it’s a pocket dimension created by her." Matthew pondered and patted Matil’s head.
"Yes! I made all of this!" She said proudly. "Come! Come! Let’s eat! I made cookies!"
They all sat around the table while Matil served them tea and biscuits.
Slowly it crept in Sebastian’s and Sarah’s mind. That little girl could create a whole dimension of her own. She could create matter from thin air. They already studied the basics of mana theory in Laufgraan school. That amount of power meant that she was a lesser god.
They suddenly felt very aware of themselves. They went silent and still. Scared of that little girl that with a huge smile pushed a plate of cupcakes towards them.
"Eat! Drink!" Matil said happily, but Sarah and Sebastian obeyed like it was an order.
Sarah ate the cupcake with pink frosting first. She didn’t realize, but her hand was shaking. She could barely feel the taste from how nervous she was.
She then looked at her brother when Matil used his lap as a chair. He had a smile on his face and treated the girl the same way he treated Katia.
"What is going on?" Sarah thought.