Chapter 99: Auris New Look

"I can’t level my stats, but I can certainly leverage my wealth," Leon noted. He had the Blade of the Dragon God, and his draconic garb provided excellent defense, but Auris was a massive, unprotected target in the sky. "Auris, bank south. I saw a settlement marker on the map Vaelen gave me, it’s near the eastern crags. It registered as a Dwarven outpost."

The dragon turned smoothly, diving away from the golden boundary.

They flew for twenty minutes before the landscape shifted into rugged, heavy stone canyons. Nestled deep within a massive crater was a sprawling, industrial village. Thick plumes of black smoke and bright orange sparks erupted from massive open-air forges. The sound of thousands of hammers striking anvils echoed through the canyon like a constant, rhythmic heartbeat.

Auris landed gracefully on the outer landing pad of the settlement, drawing immediate attention.

Dwarves, short, incredibly broad figures covered in soot and thick beards, stopped their hammering. The moment Leon stepped down from the Glacial Sovereign, the mood in the outpost instantly shifted. They didn’t see just a Steadfast ranked player; the system’s underlying code projected his Mythic title.

"By the World-Forge..." one of the elder dwarves gasped, dropping his heavy tongs. "The Vanguard of Humanity."

The entire courtyard of dwarves immediately ceased their labor, dropping to one knee in a display of absolute, unquestioning respect. The Vanguard title commanded reverence across all allied NPC factions.

"Stand up," Leon said firmly, approaching the elder dwarf. "I am not here for pleasantries. I have a commission."

The elder dwarf scrambled to his feet, wiping his soot-stained hands on his leather apron. "Master Vanguard! I am Thorek, Master Smith of the Iron-Vein Crater. What does the savior of the realms require? A blade to cut the sky? A shield to break the earth?"

"I already possess a Mythic blade," Leon stated. "I am in an Adept region; you cannot forge a weapon stronger than what I carry. But I have a dragon. And he requires armor."

Thorek’s eyes widened, looking past Leon to the towering, darkened sapphire bulk of Auris. Forging armor for a High-Dragon was the absolute pinnacle of a smith’s career in sector 12.

"It will take an astronomical amount of high-tier ore, Master Vanguard," Thorek stammered, calculating the logistics. "The materials alone would bankrupt any village."

Leon swiped his hand through the air, accessing his inventory. He materialized a localized spatial bag and dropped it heavily onto Thorek’s anvil. The bag burst open, spilling tens of thousands of Eternal Coins, gleaming with raw magical density.

"Money is a trivial concept to me," Leon said coldly. "Use the finest steel you possess. Line it with thermal-kinetic dampeners. I want plating that can withstand a localized meteor strike without restricting his wingspan. Can you do it?"

Thorek stared at the mountain of wealth, a wide, feral grin splitting his soot-covered beard. "For the Vanguard? We will forge it if it kills us."

For the next several hours, Leon remained in the outpost. He did not rush the scenes. He watched with genuine appreciation as hundreds of master dwarves coordinated with absolute precision. They scaled Auris’s massive frame using specialized ladders, taking meticulous measurements of his wings, his joints, and his chest cavity.

Thorek consulted with Leon on the alloy mixtures, and Leon provided several of the Hollow Cores he had looted from the Abyssal Fracture to infuse the metal with weight-reduction properties, ensuring the massive plates wouldn’t hinder Auris’s Agility.

When the armor was finally complete, the sun in Sector 12 was beginning to set, casting long, dramatic shadows across the canyon.

Auris stood in the center of the forge, looking like a mechanized god of war. The dark, heavily articulated steel plating covered his chest, his neck, and the leading edges of his wings. It locked perfectly into his crystalline scales, providing catastrophic physical defense without compromising his aerodynamic profile.

"Flawless work, Thorek," Leon praised, transferring the remaining millions of coins to the outpost’s treasury.

"It was an honor, Vanguard," the dwarf bowed deeply.

Leon mounted the heavily armored dragon, feeling the cold, dense metal beneath his boots. He directed Auris back into the sky, charting a course back toward the Dragonkin village. The flight was smooth, the new armor completely silent in the wind.

They were halfway over the crystalline forests when Leon’s mind violently spiked.

It wasn’t a monster’s mana signature. It was a localized, explosive compression of kinetic energy originating from the forest floor directly beneath them.

Before Leon could even issue a command, a blur of white and silver shot vertically into the sky, moving at a speed that completely defied gravity.

A massive, ornate silver buster sword, nearly as large as a human, sheared through the air directly in Auris’s flight path.

Auris reacted with absolute, terrifying instinct. The dragon didn’t try to block it; he aggressively banked, performing a violent barrel roll that sent the massive buster sword missing his armored underbelly by mere inches. The sheer wind pressure from the missed strike was enough to visibly distort the air around them.

Auris steadied his flight, hovering mid-air, letting out a low, warning growl.

Leon looked down, his heterochromia narrowing with cold fury. "Who just tried to attack me? Is that another player???"

He commanded Auris to descend rapidly, landing heavily in a clearing within the crystalline forest.

Leon stepped down from the dragon, drawing the Blade of the Dragon God, the golden flames instantly roaring to life. He prepared to completely dismantle whatever foolish assassin had just attempted an ambush.

The dust in the clearing settled.

The other player stepped out of the shadow of the massive trees, casually resting the heavy silver buster sword on her shoulder.

Leon paused, his mind momentarily stalling as he took in her appearance. She was striking, possessing an almost ethereal, winter-themed aesthetic. She had long, flowing white hair that cascaded down her back, framing a face with sharp, delicate features and piercing, crystalline blue eyes.

She wore a heavy, white fur-lined coat left open to reveal a black crop top that exposed her toned midriff. Her lower half consisted of tight black shorts secured with complex leather thigh garters and draped heavily with silver cross chains that matched the intricate cross-guard of her massive sword. She wore sleek black gloves, her grip on the impossibly large weapon completely relaxed.

[Player Detected]

[Role: Combat]

[Role Talent: True Weapon Forger (SS)]