"Where are you going to go?" A deep voice spoke, "We have given you everything these last few years, and this is how you repay us. Just leaving?" the man was dark-skinned and skinny; his deep voice didn''t match his features.


    "So you adopting me means that I am in debt to you?" a voice responded, "That doesn''t sound like adoption but slavery."


    "Slavery?! Why be so dramatic, Oscar-Blane? Do you think that you are a slave? Did we make you work, did we starve you? Did we force you into a house outside of our own? Did we treat you any differently?" The man was growing angry.


    "No, yes, you did, no, you didn''t, and yes, I live in the shed literally outside of your house, and of course, you treated me differently. Why do you think I worked so hard to prove myself to you all? No matter what I did, it was never enough; I was always not your child. This is the final reminder of that." Oscar gathered his bags and began to walk out.


    "If that is how it is, you best give us all the stuff we bought for you." The man screamed.


    "It is all in the shed." Without so much a glance back in the direction of the man, he said, "Thanks for loaning it all to me. See you later, Blaise."


    "Rot in hell, Oscar, you better not show your face to us again. I wish we never adopted you!"


    Charming, he might regret saying that, Oscar thought to himself as he walked away from the place that was his home.


    <hr>


    Another dream? That was a rough one. Damn. Ob woke up after that dream to see Abigail kneeling over him. She smelt like evergreen trees; it was pleasant and comforting. She was chanting something in her mother tongue and holding Ob''s side. She saw his eyes open, and she smiled brightly at him. "Glad to see you are awake. You have been out for a couple of hours. Take your time; your rib is nearly healed. It will be another hour or so."


    "What happened there, big guy?" Vincent asked, sitting up next to the fire and roasting some meat.


    "I uhhh was attacked by a golem. I was training my light bolt, and using my scythe, the giant thing snuck up on me," Ob said with a croaky voice. "Smashed me in the side with the hammer, smashing my rib."


    "Did you beat it?" Abigail asked, eyes looking worried.


    "I did, level 24."


    "WHAT?! You did what? How on the gods did you manage something almost silver?" amazement in her eyes as she spoke.


    "It took a big chunk out of me, so struggle bus," he responded.


    "Ob, that is nearly 20 levels higher than you; it should have killed you with that first strike. Yet here you are, alive, and there it is, dead. You have to tell us everything."


    Ob retold his friends about how he was training with VON; things were going exceptionally well with the training until the golem showed up. He hadn''t heard or felt the golem appear; it just did. The swing from the hammer impacted his side and sent him flying. He told them the tactics he used to defeat the enemy; he didn''t embellish, nor did he hide moments where he could have fought smarter.


    Abigail looked at Ob with awe; this man had just defeated a monster much higher level than him; his strategy was sound, and his judgment was sharp. He wouldn''t have been able to escape. A golem creates an arena that traps its opponents. That is why he couldn''t sense its presence. It hid it from him; he blocked him.


    The trio decided that was enough of the training for the day, and they should head back to town. Ob needed to stop by Reginald''s tailor shop; it was time for his armor to be picked up.


    Stumbling into the shop, Ob opened the door and approached Reginald, holding his ribs. "Hey there Reginald."


    "Ahh, Sir Ob, looking a little rough for wear there," Reginald said, greeting his customer. "I assume you are here for your new armor and attire?" Ob nodded, not fully replying. "Very well, right this way, sir."


    Reginald led Ob to a back room where three black bags were hanging on the wall. "First," he said, "we have your newly renovated dragon tunic, I took the liberty of adding your personal scheme to it," Reginald held up an all-black tunic that shimmered orange and red, much like Eclipse''s body. The body was form-fitting and felt loose. "The tunic itself provides significant aura and manna boosts. It has the normal dragon set bonuses that it provides. It is self-repairing too, this my good sir was not easy to add, with the magic of the dragon already infused. I took the liberty as well to add a sheath for your weapon there, you can add it to your back with ease. When you place your scythe''s staff to your back, the sheath will clamp down."


    "Next, we have your former attire." Reginald held up an all-white suit with a diamond blue vest and tie. The suit had dark brown shoes and a dark brown belt to match. The suit jacket itself had 6 buttons, two columns of 3 buttons. It had a long tail end at the back. "This is your suit to wear at formal events, balls, galas, or meeting royalty. Your dragon tunic can be worn under it in case things go south quickly. This suit can be dissolved with your soul projection and recede if you do need to attack. This is a bondable item; they all are."


    The last one we have is your additional armor," Reginald continued; he held up armor that did not look like armor. It was slender and looked like it was made from snakeskin. It did not provide any kind of protection whatsoever. "This is made from the monolith snake. It has the property to protect against soul and aura attacks. It does nothing for magic or physical damage. Not sure when you would need it, but I felt as if it was something you could use." Reginald concluded, looking up at his customer with beaming eyes.


    Ob stood speechless. "This is amazing Reginald, I could not have asked for better quality. Sincerely, here is a tip." Ob collected his things and put the armor in his inventory. Then he handed Reginald a bag full of gold pieces.


    "Sir. This is far too much, this is more than your attire." Reginald stood aghast as he looked at the 5000 gold piece tip that Ob gave him.


    "You have done right by me, Reginald, and that is not something that I can pay. You took time to do this, and for that, I am grateful. Thank you," Ob said, bowing his head and shaking the tailor''s hand.


    Reginald was speechless. He shook Ob''s hand and watched him walk out.


    Back at the apartment, the crew had sent food to the room. Ob was spent. He hated how potions tasted, he hated how long his manna took to recharge, and his head was pounding. "There has got to be a way to make these things taste better," Ob complained while holding a manna potion in his hand.


    "There is," Vincent spoke, looking up from cleaning his bow, "Cooking and brewing is the way to do that. You can find recipes and grow the skill. I am pretty sure that it could turn into an ability if you practice hard enough."


    "That is correct." Abigail said, "But we have plenty of potions, no reason to spend the time."


    "I beg to differ, I love cooking! These potions taste like I licked the inside of a pole in a men''s bathroom." Ob responded with a disgusted face.


    "Why do you know what that tastes like?" Abigail asked slowly.


    "Hey, it''s time for Eclipse to wake up," Ob said, changing the subject. A portal opened up, and Eclipse walked out.


    "You are beat up; what happened?" She asked right away, staring at Ob.


    "A sapphire golem, but we got some great spoils!" Ob responded with excitement to hide the evident pain he was in. Eclipse stared at Ob and then said nothing. Eclipse has known Ob long enough through the soul-link to understand how he works. He uses excitement and humor to mask the pain he feels; she understands that Ob feels embarrassed for getting ambushed and not sensing it; the broken ribs serve as a reminder that he was not good enough.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Item: Golem''s Hammer


    Weapon


    Rare


    The hammer of a gem golem. Indestructible when being used as a forge hammer, powerful when being used as a weapon against earth, stone, or gem-based enemies. Very heavy, level requirement Silver. Insufficient level to wield.


    Item: Sapphire Gems


    Craftable item


    Uncommon


    A gemstone made of blue crystal can be used to craft jewelry to imbue additional magic into those pieces of jewelry.


    Item: Golem Charm


    Soul-Link


    Rare


    The charm grants the power to create a soul-link with a golem. The golem must be of equal or lower level or age, whichever is lower. The golem has the right to refuse the link; if this happens, the charm will become inactive for 7 days. After that, the charm may be attempted again on a different dragon. Soul-link, you gain a buddy for life. You and the being you are soul-linked, too, will travel together and explore the world. An extremely unique bond is that those who are soul-linked have an intrinsic understanding of each other''s feelings, thoughts, auras, and souls. The two grow stronger as they work together, becoming an unbreakable unit.


    Item: Molten Gemstones - Sapphire


    Bondable Item


    Legendary


    Use this item on a soul-linked partner to add sapphire to their genetic makeup.


    "Molten gemstones," Ob said out loud slowly, "that sounds like an insane item to have."


    "It is," Abigail responded, walking over and giving Eclipse a quick pat hello, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by anyone, "It is exceptional for golems, although you can add them to any other kind of being to give them some bonus to sapphire. I would not use it on Eclipse!"


    "Wasn''t thinking about it; I got this Golem charm; I definitely don''t want a Golem as a soul-link; I move quick and disappear quickly; Golems are not that quick," Ob responded, giving Eclipse a firm nod.


    "I''d save it," Vincent said, "None of us really move that slow; maybe we''ll find someone in our party who could benefit if you don''t want to sell it, of course."


    "Nah, not gonna, don''t need the gold right now. That is a good idea tho, yeah I''ll save it for a new friend." Ob paused as he let the wave of pain wash over him, "Hey Abigail, can you do that healing magic water thing?"


    She looked as if she was going to correct him, but she just nodded, looking at her very beaten friend. She walked into his room and began chanting over the water. Her eyes glowed that same teal blue color that it always does when she is spell casting, a mark of an enchantress. If it weren''t for Vincent, she would be even more disappointed in her eyes than she already was. When performing magic, the glowing of the eyes happens to a few people; priests, warlocks, and enchantresses. Their eyes either change color to match their deity or their aura. Abigail had always expected her aura to be forest green, like her kingdom''s colors. Finding it was not; that was hard for her; she felt like she was going against everything her kingdom was.


    She freed herself from this trail of deep thoughts, placed her hands into the water, and continued her chanting to add healing magic to the water. Once done, she walked back out to the group in their shared living space and told Ob it was completed and he could go heal.


    Eclipse followed Ob into his room so they could catch up on all that happened. Got into the bath and asked Eclipse to make it hot with her dragon''s breath, one part training, one part very relaxing. As he was relaxing, he shared with Eclipse the story of the sapphire golem attacking him and all their encounters. Eclipse''s thoughts were stuck on the woman that Ob had mentioned, Maeva; she had a feeling that they had not seen the last of her. She was curious if her instincts were telling her to be cautious or if she would be an excellent addition to the team. "Did you level up?" Eclipse asked, already knowing the answer; she could feel how much stronger he had gotten.


    "No, too many notifications, I had to just mute them for the time being. A lot of them were probably telling me that I was going to die, honestly," he responded softly.


    Ob Jones


    Level up - Skill: Dragon''s Hide


    Dragon’s Hide  is now level 8


    Level up - Skill: Dragon''s Breath


    Dragon’s Breath is now level 17


    Level up - Power: Draconian Ally


    Draconian Ally is now level 12


    Level up - Skill: Stalker


    Stalker is now level 9


    Level up - Skill: Light Bolt


    Light Bolt is now level 10


    Level up-Power: Slayer


    Slayer is now level 8


    Ob Jones is now level 6


    Status: Ob  Jones.


    Race: human subset, earthling. Progress to Celestine: 75%


    Level: Bronze Tier - Lvl 6Natural Power - Draconian Ally lvl. 12


    Skill: Dragon''s Breath lvl. 17


    Skill: Dragon''s Hide lvl. 8


    Nurtured Power - Slayer lvl. 8


    Skill: Stalker lvl. 9


    Skill: Light Bolt lvl. 10


    Federation Power - Undecided lvl. 0


    Skill: Empty


    Skill: Empty


    Aura manipulation lvl. 3


    Soul manipulation lvl. 4


    75%, whoa, Ob thought. What have I done to even grow this much? I don''t feel different, but I do know each of my dreams has been very negative memories related to his home world. My world wasn''t all bad; I definitely had some good memories, he thought. He felt as if this world, his dreams, were trying to convince him that his old world was evil and this world was good. Ob didn''t think in black or white; he thought in gray. He didn''t want to be convinced that one was all bad or one was all good, he loved this world, and he loved his old life; yeah, these things suck, but things suck here. He was a man who liked to make his own decisions and was not someone who was afraid to be wrong or change his mind.


    Ob, realizing he had just been staring at the water for too long without saying a word, came back from his thoughts.


    "Damn," Ob exclaimed, "How is Light Bolt already level 10?!"


    "Was that an attack you used frequently on the golem?" Eclipse asked,


    "Yes, but not any big damage was done…"


    "Correct, it was level one, but your first hit most likely leveled up the attack. The golem was at a higher level than you, so any successful hit would produce significant experience. I am shocked that it did not go much higher."


    "I am pretty sure that once I get that federation, then my level will skyrocket because right now, I have a solid 0 in that average."


    "Yes, perhaps, although you were successful. Do not continue to attempt to kill 20 levels higher than you all the time."


    "I know, I know. Did you think that I wanted this Eclipse? My ribs are broken; I was training. I got blindsided. You don''t think I know to not go after anything that much higher. I got jumped!" Ob''s frustration bubbled over, and he breathed a huge fire breath.


    Eclipse looked ashamed of herself. She knew that he was feeling remorseful already, but why had she felt the need to press him. Why was she so hell bent on being a mother figure or a mentor or something. For whatever reason, maybe her dragon pride, she felt his superior. She understood that if she kept pushing him, he would not be as accommodating to her as he had been. She understood all of this, yet she couldn''t help but feel his superior. It was clear he had a good understanding of this world and had clearly accepted magic. He was growing stronger every day; he was learning faster than she had ever seen any being learn. He was her superior, and she had a tough time accepting this simple fact. She was a princess, after all, the next in line to be the Queen of the clan, but she had left the crown to explore the world. Did she miss the crown? Did she miss her home? Whatever it was or whatever it is she needed to figure it out. She wanted to be better for him, and she didn''t want to keep pissing him off.