The Dragon Fang team had ventured into the forest on an adventure, but things quickly turned dire when they encountered a massive monster. During the fight, Golov was struck in the head and injured. He cried out to Marvelous, asking her to heal him quickly. She struggled, replying, “I’m trying, but my power isn’t what it used to be.” As the monster attacked again, Golov barely managed to block its strike.
Amid the chaos, the new adventurer in the group asked Golov, “Can you use fire? You told me you could.” Bandana, watching the situation unfold, muttered to herself, “I think this party is already done for.”
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, we moved to Crow’s home where he was with Ulia. Crow was stunned to learn that they wanted to appoint him as the manager of the royal research lab and offer him a noble title. Ulia confirmed it was true. Crow asked her how it had come to this, and she explained that the person she had asked to appraise the crystals turned out to be a royal court magician—doing the role more or less as a hobby.
Crow was skeptical and asked, “Are you sure about this? Could your friend be tricking you?” Ulia admitted it sounded hard to believe but asked, “What do you think?” Crow sighed and told her to decline the offer, despite knowing how good it sounded. Deep down, he thought to himself that he couldn’t accept a position that would place him above others. Part of him also longed to return to the Dragon Fang team, though he told Ulia that his only focus now was on his current work.
Ulia was shocked by his decision. Crow then asked her if selling the crystals had helped pay off her debts. She confirmed that it had, saying she’d sold them at a fair price. She had taken a single gold coin as a broker fee and deposited the rest in his account. Crow told her not to worry about him, but Ulia insisted—knowing she couldn’t have kept the money without guilt overwhelming her.
She then encouraged him to keep mining, to which Crow replied he had already found a good mineral vein the day before. Ulia was impressed and noted that he hadn’t even taken a break. Crow admitted he had rested for only six hours, prompting her to recall that he’d also built the house and chopped firewood.
Crow, thinking back on his time with the Dragon Fang team, remembered he used to get just four hours of sleep. As the one in charge of daily tasks, he was always the last to sleep and the first to rise. He even apologized to Ulia for “sleeping too much” now.
They walked together to the new mining site. Ulia asked if he was sure about the location, as she hadn’t noticed anything unusual. Crow pointed to the shape of the mountain terrain and explained that there were ore deposits underneath, warning not to dig deeper than 50 meters. He then told her he would be digging elsewhere—the site where they’d found crystals the previous day. Ulia let him go.
She ended up finding a gemstone called topaz and noted it could fetch three gold coins. She thought about asking Crow to convert it into a magic crystal for free, realizing that would fulfill her financial goal. But then she scolded herself, saying she shouldn’t take advantage of him again.
Wondering what Crow might be doing, she guessed from experience that he was probably building a tunnel. When she arrived, she was stunned by the tunnel’s sheer size. “I didn’t think it would be this big,” she said in awe.
Crow emerged and said he was just on his way to find her. Ulia asked if he’d found anything of value, and he replied that he’d only discovered some worthless ore fragments, which he stored in a box. She examined the stones and found them strangely beautiful. Crow told her the ore was called Myithil and said he could extract a lot of it.
Ulia was astonished and asked if he knew what it was. In his village, Crow explained, they considered it useless and just threw it away. Ulia was stunned—Myithil was worth more than gold or platinum, and yet he was discarding it. Crow asked, “So it’s important? Is it hard to get in your city?”
Ulia then asked what ore he was really searching for, and Crow answered, “Oral.” She was surprised, saying she didn’t believe that ore could even be found in these mountains. Crow insisted it could be found anywhere, if you dig deep enough—about 7 kilometers down.
Shocked, Ulia asked if he had really dug that far already. He confirmed it, and she said, “Just as I suspected.” Then she asked about the shaft. Crow casually explained he had already filled it back in because it was too dangerous to leave open.
“You filled in a 7-kilometer shaft in just eight hours?” Ulia said, stunned again. “Nothing can surprise me anymore.” She looked to the end of the tunnel and noted that Crow had dug directly toward the mountain. She realized the tunnel could be extremely useful.
When Crow asked if he should fill it in, Ulia told him not to—it would be better left open.
Later, they traveled to Samila City. Crow mentioned that the tunnel he dug would connect Simila City to Prince Tyon City. Ulia, seeing an opportunity, allowed merchants to use the tunnel for a small maintenance fee, calculating that it would be enough to cover her taxes.
Just then, Bandana arrived and greeted Crow. He was surprised to see her and asked if Golov was with her. She shook her head and said she was no longer part of the Dragon Fang team—that too much had happened.
She mentioned that Golov had destroyed a restaurant where they were eating. Curious, she had gone to ask him how the food was in such a modest place. Golov, clearly annoyed, barked that they still had smoked meat that Crow had prepared—so she should go fetch it instead.
Bandana explained to Golov that there was no smoked meat left because he had eaten it all. In response, Golov raised his sword and ordered her to fetch Crow to make more. If Crow refused, Golov demanded that Bandana force him to cooperate. Bandana agreed and took his teleportation crystal, promising to handle it herself.
On her way, she noticed some guards and figured Golov might get arrested for his recent actions. She also mentioned that Marvelous was probably fortunate to have been summoned by the church, and in her view, the Dragon Fang team was as good as finished. Since she had been kicked out, she didn’t want Crow—her current target of observation—getting dragged into any of their mess.
When Bandana told Crow she had been expelled from the team, he was shocked. He also said he had no plans to return to Dragon Fang. When she asked why he was so hung up on that team, Crow explained that he respected Golov and felt indebted to him. She then asked if he was currently seeking work, and Crow confirmed he was headed toward a new job.
Bandana told him about a struggling artisan workshop that needed help. She said only about 15 artisans held official state licenses, and they needed assistance. Crow doubted his usefulness, but Bandana reassured him that she trusted him, and he should too. He agreed to help and took a map from her before rushing off. Bandana quietly noted how hard it was to become a sage-in-training.
Crow soon arrived at the workshop, which specialized in magical swords. It was led by a licensed master craftsman who was authorized to both develop and distribute them. When he knocked on the door, a girl answered—an elf named Michelle. She introduced herself as the master’s assistant and was happy to see help had finally arrived. She brought Crow inside and asked him to clean the kitchen, which she wasn’t good at. Then she went to assist the master.
Crow changed clothes and thoroughly cleaned the kitchen. Unsure of what to do next, he followed the path Michelle had taken and ended up in a room where he found a girl afflicted by a terrible curse. After examining her, Crow concluded that the curse had engulfed her entire body and said he would prepare food to help her regain strength.
Back in the kitchen, Crow made porridge, but the lingering thoughts of the curse made him collapse from mental strain.
Meanwhile, Ulishia was negotiating the sale of the rare ore Myithil with Mimiko. Mimiko estimated its value at 50,000 gold coins. Ulishia wondered what would happen if news about the ore—and Crow—spread. Mimiko warned that Crow would either be kidnapped or assassinated, shocked at how someone so powerful had managed to stay hidden.
Ulishia revealed that Crow had been kicked out of Dragon Fang. Mimiko speculated that their leader was likely a wanted man. When asked what Ulishia planned for Crow, she said she wanted to help him become a licensed master craftsman and give him a stable purpose. Her plan was to eventually have him hire her as his bodyguard, though she admitted convincing him would be hard since he constantly undervalued himself.
Back at the workshop, Crow had just finished cooking. Michelle and Oilia (the actual master craftsman) walked in. Crow apologized for using the kitchen, but Oilia said it was fine and asked what he had made. He explained it was porridge for the cursed girl. Oilia was surprised he had met her and warned him not to talk about her to anyone. He promised to keep the secret. Oilia thanked him for the day’s work, paid him, and asked him to return the next day. Crow agreed.
After he left, Oilia couldn’t believe she had allowed the cursed girl to interact with a stranger. Though she only did it to slow the curse’s progress, she knew she had to stay cautious.
In the girl’s room, Oilia reminded her to keep the curtains closed and offered to fix her clothes. She wanted to test the porridge for safety, but the girl said she trusted the man who made it. The girl revealed that she had spent her life suspicious of everyone, but today she wanted to believe someone. Oilia let her try the food.
Suddenly, the girl collapsed in pain. Oilia panicked and reached for an antidote, but the girl stopped her, saying she felt fine. Miraculously, the curse had vanished. Oilia was stunned—strong curses like this normally took a long time to dissipate.
Elsewhere, two people who had cast the curse on the girl—revealed to be Princess Liza—were planning to place another curse on her. One soldier apologized to his superior and promised to carry it out.
Back at the workshop, Oilia and Liza went to see Mimiko and Ulishia. Oilia introduced herself and explained the gravity of the situation. Liza was the daughter of the king and Princess Frano of the North, making her a symbol of peace between the two lands. Someone had cursed her to reignite conflict between their nations.
Ulishia realized the curse was politically motivated, and Mimiko embraced the princess, grateful she was safe. Liza confirmed that she had come to find out who had cursed her. Mimiko pledged her full service and asked how the curse had been broken. When Liza said it was thanks to a man named Crow, both Mimiko and Ulishia were stunned.
Leave a Reply