The moment the pair entered the village, their bodies swayed for a moment, the feeling of nausea causing their stomachs to turn for a few moments before they restored their balance, leaning against each other; there were some chuckles from the people watching from the sides, it was always amusing to see the newbies returning from their first few quests.

Although it was highly dangerous, the first few were safe for people below stage 2. Thus newbies were those who quested in Stage 0 and 1 zones.

"Hey... I feel so horrible... Alex, make it go away!"

Stella's face looked sad, her body resting against him as she looked upwards, those azure eyes sparkling like a puppy seeking comfort and warmth.

"Ah..." He just nodded slightly, not sure how to comfort her properly. Instead, he began to brush her head gently with his hand, stroking across her silky hair, sometimes feeling the slight dampness from where she was sweating earlier, but he wouldn't mention it; he didn't want to incur the lady's wrath after she started to trust him a little.

"Shall we go look for another quest, or is there something you want to do? We only have about 30 minutes before everyone else can enter here." Alex whispered, enjoying the warmth of Stella's body as she cuddled up to him, her lips making cute noises as she enjoyed his pampering touch.

'That means after this, my alone time with Stella will be cut short... to think only a few hours have passed, I feel like I've spent weeks with her...' He thought, looking down at the red-haired succubus.

"Let's see the old man; your sword might be finished?"

Alex patted her hair, pretty sure that it would take longer. Still, it might be the smartest idea as McAlister might be extremely busy once the other's started to enter, thus holding Stella's hand, he walked towards the blacksmith, a feeling of confidence growing in his chest after gaining his occupation and the improvements to his combat style, thanks to fighting Rikala.

Soon they approached the workshop entrance, seeing people waiting anxiously, hoping their weapons and armour would be completed before their respective parties were made to travel to their first destination.

"And he said mine should arrive today... and now this!" A small male exclaimed, seemingly distressed as the two quickly ran over. "Gather round, ladies. It looks like Mr McAlister won't be able to complete our items; his shop will need some repairs to continue work tonight..."

"I wonder whose sword that was.... it was so domineering and almost destroyed his entire smithy!" A powerful warrior holding a huge axe said, looking at the crater outside the former blacksmith area, where McAlister scolded Alex to take care of Stella.

Stella began to flutter her wings, flying around the blacksmith looking for the old man, her alluring figure hidden tightly behind her black mantle; still, only Alex could see her right now; it seemed she became rather cute as time passed on.

While Alex tried to see the sword the big guy mentioned, the two gave him curious glances before giving him a tired look towards Alex.

"Haha, I hate to see what happens to the guy whose sword it is; McAlister is very strict about his store; look how ruined it is, gyahaha!"

"True... do you remember when we said he used the wrote ore to suit our weapons as newbies?"

"Gyahaha, then he removed just that ore, and our weapons crumbled to pieces after fighting a few goblins, and we almost died!"

The group of adventures seemed to enjoy their pastime. At the same time, Alex knew that he might be in for some punishment because the only sword in the workshop still in one piece was his nodachi, now the blade was a little thicker, with a dull black colour, small silver dots that sparkled inside the metal making the blade of Eien look like a starry sky, the handle was tighter. It seemed the ideal shape for his hands, which was confusing for Alex, 'how does the old man know my ideal grip? Before, it was a little too thick and caused it to slip when I put too much force into the blade...'

On the other side of the blacksmith, the old man's face was full of soot and dirt, but his face wasn't angry or sad. Instead, he looked like a child that found a new toy or discovered the toy he lost when younger and began to parade it around excitedly.

When he noticed Stella's fat ass sitting on his anvil, his whiskers moved, "Oh, Lassie! Where is the boy!? Let's have him test the new weapon... This was the most wonderful blade I'd enjoyed tinkering with in many years! I could feel the emotions and feelings of the woman that likely crafted this weapon! Even better than the most talented enchanters! Although the workings were amateur, the love, affection and reckless obsession... second to none!

Stella tilted her head, feeling a little mumbled in her chest; what did it mean for a blade to be made with those feelings? Was it Alex's blade, or did he find it somewhere...? For some reason, Stella needed to know; she must know! The old man began to walk away, approaching Alex as she used her shadow mantle to vanish completely, now barely visible, as she wanted to hear what they said together.

At Alex's question, a smirk formed on McAlister's bearded face as if he had been planning this whole situation since it happened, even though his workshop was nearly demolished. He wore his usual cheerful grin when he stood next to the giant Alex, as his arms went behind Alex's head before slapping him several times.

McAlister initially hated Alex a little, his thug-like face and extremely attractive features; normally, those types were super arrogant and expected McAlister to grovel at their feet and complete weapons for them. "Aye, laddie.... why do you insist on taking the harsh road? What kind of woman did you entice to make that sword for ye?" He chuckled darkly, making Stella tilt her head while she remained hiding inside her cloak.

Alex raised his arms behind his head before looking into the sky, a strange and sad look; "to be honest, the girl who made it was my first love, yet by the time I realised those feelings, it was already a little too late, how did you know a female made the sword? I was sure she had an expert in her family, Zen Wiseman craft it?"

Mcalister gave a wry smile before patting the boy on the shoulder, his face with a shit-eating grin. "Listen, laddie, that sword might have looked amazing; it's likely the blade and other parts were touched up and perfected by that Wiseguy, but a woman and a novice at that created the core of your sword... Why else would it have the words "I love you, Alexander" written repeatedly, engraved into the core of the sword, the wood of the hilt... how did you never notice the slight bumps from your fingers holding it?"historical

'Eh!?' Stella gasped, before scuttling back inside the blacksmith, her little heart racing while she darted away, not stopping until she found herself in the church pews, "why did I run away... I am so stupid..." Her little body curled in a ball as she wiped her eyes, she knew that there were women in his life already, but she just couldn't control herself; a feeling like needles stabbing her chest assailed her before a gentle hand touched her shoulder.

"Is there something the matter, lost lamb?" Fei'lan asked gently, her white habit contrasting with her beautiful dark skin.

Her voice charming and serene like the moons tender light, "would you like to tell me about it?"

Meanwhile, outside the golden bubble, a mass of people had begun to show; Mildred stood on the furthest side, taking the higher ground where the steps looked down on the church, her groups of archers ready to attack should any of the people try something funny, Laura was stood at the front, her body toned and tight, thanks to her being a half-elf, she was born with a basic occupation, but would only gain a new one in the city, behind her all the close combat vesta stood in silence, their bodies covered in blood and gore from the various zombies they slaughtered.

Sarah, Mary and the other vesta began chatting quietly, excited as they knew they would soon meet their master.

Claire stood beside Samantha; the two seemed to have hit it off, both using a spear as Claire had been teaching Samantha basic spear arts since they met, which caused that annoying Chen Fan to become jealous as he watched the girls all getting along. Still, everyone rejected him; thus, he was with his three girlfriends and standing with random people, all waiting for the barrier to open.

The tension was crackling as the golden barrier seemed thinner each moment.

"Remember, Laura, don't enter first; we are not in a rush to enter. We will wait for Alex to come out, don't let any of the girls rush inside, or I will shoot them down." Mildred's voice was cold, her feelings of losing favour causing her to become stern and try to teach the women to be more strict and disciplined.

"Don't worry; I will cut them down if they ignore our current chain of command." Laura's soft blue hair swayed, the high ponytail shimmering in the rising sun.

Crack!

Finally the barrier began to break, as the humans on the outside began to rush forward, unaware there was still a test....

Ten Zombie Ghast's began to crawl from the broken church graveyard, as blood and bodies shot out of the area faster than they could dash towards the distant vilalge.