"W-wait, why are you keeping that sword so close to you!? Are you an idiot!? Thatâs a cursed weapon! Just being close to it creates disturbance in the very fabric of reality!!"
Kifridâs grandpa threw away his beer and hurriedly created a protective barrier around him and Kifrid with his mana.
Rioâs eyes widened in shock when he noticed that Kifridâs grandpa was in fact an awakener.
Until now, Rio hadnât noticed this fact.
Rio, whoâs even able to see peopleâs soul fluctuations as long as they are in the same rank as him or below, didnât even notice anything amiss in that old dwarfâs body.
Which only meant one thing.
"A Demi-god!?"
Rio almost had the thought of running away, but then he felt confused and didnât run.
"W-wait, you know my father? His name was Kevin Flash..."
"By the way, you donât need to be that cautious; I can keep this sword in check. Ever since I made a bond with it, itâs been with me..."
Kifridâs grandpa was so shocked by Rioâs words that his jaw almost fell on the ground.
"What the f*ck are you talking about kid!? The âlawâ of âabsolute destructionâ has manifested in that weapon! That thingâs not something a random kid can control!"
"No wait... You are an S-ranker!? This energy... this is âSword Intentâ!!"
"To think that I will get to see âSword Intentâ so strong in my life once again... itâs unbelievable!"
His words made Rio even more confused.
"Wait, you have seen someone else with âsword intentâ as strong as mine? Bullsh*t!"
Kifrid who was getting annoyed by the two of them arguing, jumped out of his grandpaâs shield and shouted,
"Calm down, you two!! Donât fight! Mom says that all troubles can be solved without needing to argue!"
Kifridâs shout snapped Rio and his grandfather back to their senses, and they both stopped arguing.
Kifridâs grandpa took a deep breath, patted his grandsonâs head, and calmed down.
"My bad, I guess my age is getting to my head; I lost my cool the moment I saw that source of disaster come so close to me..."
Rio also nodded his head and put his sword into his space ring to de-escalate the situation and show that he didnât have any bad intentions either.
"I was in the wrong too; I came barging in out of nowhere..."
At Rioâs apology, Kifridâs grandfather nodded his head and went over to grab another big mug of beer to calm down his tense nerves.
After taking the beer, he waved his hand to the two kids and said,
"Sigh, follow me, you two; letâs settle down and talk things out properly..."
Rio also nodded, took Kifridâs little hand, and walked towards the living room of the small house.
There was a fireplace inside, and the room was warm and comfy.
Kifrid and Rio sat down on a sofa, while the old dwarf sat down on a big comfy chair beside the fireplace.
"Sigh... That little grandson of mine is really an odd kid; heâs brought me such a surprise today. How did he end up befriending you out of nowhere?"
"I must say, itâs quite rare to see humans in the dwarf nation. what brings you here kid... You are quite young, and such a young S-ranker like you wonât be wandering in other nationsâ territory just for fun, right?"
Rio could only sigh and reply honestly,
"Actually, a close friend of mine got lost in the spirit realm. I am on my way to the entrance to the spirit realm..."
"I stopped by this town to take a brief rest, by sheer coincidence... No, it would be better to call it a meeting arranged by fate. I met Kifrid..."
Kifridâs grandpa was surprised by Rioâs words.
"You want to go to the spirit realm!? You must be joking, right!?"
"If your friend is lost in the spirit realm, it might be a better option to just consider him dead actually... itâs impossible to find him in such a place..."
"By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Kehrid, a blacksmith by profession..."
Rio didnât take Kehridâs words to his heart and replied in his usual emotionless tone,
"Even if it sounds ridiculous I still have to try and find him... Wait! You said your name was âKehridâ!?"
"Are you Kehrid the âMaster Smithâ!?"
Rio knew the name Kehrid from the original novel and from the documents that Ashtel had given him.
In the original novel, it was mentioned that the world greatest blacksmith was called âKehrid,â and his title was âMaster Smith.â
He was never described in detail in the original novel, so Rio didnât know much about him or where he lived. Rio didnât even know that he was a dwarf.
Only when Rio read the documents given by Ashtel did he realize that the âartifactâ that he was looking for was actually made by a dwarf called Kehrid.
"Err.. so you know my previous title? Thatâs odd; I remember asking those b*stards to erase the records of my existence after I retired..."
Kehrid didnât deny Rioâs words and acknowledged the fact that he was actually the blacksmith who was once close to King Allen Von Reinhart!
"So you have been living for 2000 years!?"
Kehrid immediately shook his head at Rioâs question.
"No way, I was born very late... I was born around the time when demon extinction war was already in its last stages..."
"I only met that weird human when I was 100 years old or something; at that time I was quite young actually..."
Kehrid stroked his long beard as he felt nostalgic while thinking about the long-gone past.
"To tell you the truth, that human had a very weird personality; he was sometimes warm, sometimes cold like an iceberg..."
"By the way, when I said that I had seen sword intent as powerful as your before, I was referring to him..."
Rio was shocked by Kehridâs words.
"Wasnât King Allen a martial artist? Why did he have âSword Intentâ?"
Kehrid smiled at Rioâs words and said,
"Who said you canât have âSword Intentâ if you are a martial artist... In fact, that weirdo had âDao Rhythmâ and âSword Intentâ both at the same time!"
That answer nearly blew Rioâs mind and shattered his worldview.
Rio had never even thought that it was possible to wield two completely different types of âlegendary skillsâ at the same time.
âSword Intentâ is a purely offensive type of skill, while âDao Rhythmâ focuses more on physique, defense, and balance.
Having both of them at the same time is like equipping your game character with cheat codes, making him invincible while still having insane damage at the same time.
"No wonder heâs the only person in the world whoâs been given the title âKingâ... regular SS-rankers donât even come close to him..."
Kehrid smirked at Rioâs words and replied in a proud tone,
"I myself am a peak SS-ranker you know, but even I, who has already lived for over a millennium, canât fathom how much stronger that guy was..."
Kehrid glanced into Rioâs eyes as he said,
"I recognized âVinashâ instantly because it was none other than me who created that âweaponâ of âmass destructionâ!"
Rio felt a chill run down his spine after hearing those words.
Finally, Rio understood why âfateâ brought him here.
âNo wonder my intuition was telling me to go to the dwarf kingdom over and over... it was all because my sword wanted me to meet its creator...â