Chapter 100: Mindset


    "Out of everything, I just can''t wrap my head around this naming sense of yours. Why call the appearance of magic an apocalypse? To be fair, it''s slightly problematic for me to imagine a world without magic in the first ce, so my opinion might be biased but"


    Stopping mid-sentence, Ayda clearly hesitated how to wrap her feelings in proper words. After all, what for her was akin to an important story, was an actual part of life for me. Even though from the very beginning of our rtionship when we asionally met in the shop Ayda didn''t appear as a considerate person at all, the better I got to know her, the more her initial image continued to change in my head.


    "For our world, it was the apocalypse. You see, no matter whether you have magic, mystical arts, technology or anything else, ultimately the society you live in is a result of all the work that previous generations did to create it in the first ce, right?"


    Raising up on the bed and sitting on the edge, I stared thoughtfully at the window. Even though it was a slow process, the first rays of the sun gradually started to shine upon the face of this. In this dim, mystical art, my mood changed a bit.


    "Civilisationse and go, but even those that fall, they leave a mark for the future generations. While you might find it puzzling, my homeworld developed to the point when we started seriously looking back at our history, trying to preserve the roots that gave birth to all forms of civilisational order that we lived by. But with the appearance of magic, allplex social structures dissolved. Not because magic appeared. Because its appearance put a wrench into the guts of what we considered as an established and unbreakable order."


    Standing up from the bed, I approached the window. Before long, Ayda followed my example, wrapping herself around me from the side of my back. Resting her chin on my shoulder, she attempted to spot what I was looking at. The problem was, I wasn''t looking at anything in particr.


    "So that''s why But still, don''t you think it might warp your way of thinking about it?"


    Suddenly whispering this strange conclusion to my eyes, Ayda sessfully managed to pull me out of my nostalgic phase.


    "What do you mean?"


    Genuinely puzzled, I turned my head to the side, only to be met with the vast ocean of Ayda''s intensely blue pupils.


    "You see, if you keep calling the appearance of magic an apocalypse, then you are bound to perceive anything rted to it as a threat rather than an opportunity. While I don''t know how your world looks or works if you can obtain already charged stones just by going to that ce you described, isn''t this a great opportunity to get rich? Even if there are some risks associated with that"


    Suddenly detaching herself from my back, Ayda shook her head before dropping back on the bed. It seemed that the umon awakening that I served her, severed her sleep before she could properly rest. The way in which her eyelids continued to lose their fight against gravity only served as proof of that.


    "You might be right To think about it as an opportunity rather than a threat"


    Now that Ayda made me think about it from another perspective, I had no other choice but to admit that she was in the right. As soon as I learned about the appearances of the dungeons, I felt as if the entire world would crumble around me.


    What if monsters will starting out of them? What if the riches one could obtain inside the dungeon would quickly degrade the value of even the most precious stones that I could carve? What if this, what if that Instead of looking at the picture with a fresh and open head, I instantlybed up within the shell made up of worries and hesitations. If not for Pavlo''s urgent call for the meeting, I would likely just hole up in Ayda''s embrace to calm myself down before going to said meeting!


    "You know what, let''s do"


    Just as I attempted to put my hesitations behind and focus on the tasks before me, the doors to the room suddenly mmed open. Instantly ring up, I lunged to the side, putting myself between the doors and Ayda. Even if I were to sustain an injury from the attack, there was a huge chance I would be able to live through it to see another day. On the other hand, not reacting and not risking my life at the risk of losing Ayda


    "LISTEN UP!"


    Not bothered by themotion that she stirred up at all, Huskarl forced her way into the room while dragging a sizeable bag behind her. Without even a shred of hesitation, she pulled the bag up, only to m it on the table, pouring the content of the back on the wooden furniture.


    "I have no idea where did you get those stones, but I worked through the night to get you some of the most popr ones. Starting with two small and onerge barrier"


    Standing there, half-naked, staring at the girl passionately exining what kinds of tools she made, I was stunned beyond recognition. While it was true that I expected Huskarl to react to the appearance of so many charged stones in some funny way, never in the world could I predict her otherwise pretty reserved and wrathful personality would change so much!


    "Hey, are you even listening to me? With this one, you need to be as careful as you possibly can. It''s simply too expensive to throw it away, but my hand slipped as I carved it out and now the activation mechanism is pretty weak. Drop it on the ground and it will unleash a fireball that even you won''t be able to guard against!"


    Noticing how detached I was from her lecture, Huskarl simply scolded me before returning to her previous task of orgasming over the results of her work. Looking at the clear passion and joy seeping out of her eyes, I involuntarily turned my head around to take a peek at Ayda''s face. With our eyes meeting, we could remain calm only for a second, before the two of us exploded in weingughter at the same time.


    "Wait, what are youughing at? Me?! How dare you!"


    Clearly not satisfied with the way in which we reacted to the revtions that she brought to us, Huskarlunched herself at me, only to end up mming her small fists against my chest.


    "It''s not that we are making fun of you. Just seeing how enthusiastic you was about this matter You won''t understand, but it helped me a lot already. And what''s more"


    Pushing the girl gently away, I felt all the strength leaving my body. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I took a moment to calm down before raising my head and looking straight in Huskarl eyes.


    "Listen. I will need your help with understanding everything there is to know about carving the stones. I don''t need practice as I won''t be the one carving them. But there is one thing that I need to tell you upfront."


    Standing up from the bed I just sat at, I rested both of my hands on Huskarl''s shoulders while changing my expression to a serious one.


    "Once I will get started with this business, there will be no point for you to ever bother carving the stones out, outside of doing it for the sake of a hobby. But this also means"


    Leaning my head to the back, I cast a quick nce apanied with a gentle smile to Ayda.


    "... that the day where I can fulfil my promise to you is getting closer."