It would take time to get everything ready. The Paganish Realm is relatively difficult place to reach, there are no trains that go there, there are no defined roads or paths, and apparently, the landscape is constantly shifting  in a way that when you enter in one place you can enter the lands one place, but exit in someplace else on the continent. Also, according to the testimonies of the few people to ever go there, the inside of the realm is actually bigger than the territory recorded on official maps due to the abundance of magic shifting the space inside the boarders of the realm.

It's been about 1 week since me and Rana... 'unified' that night. The next day, Louis met with us and the others at the Snoozing Guard and informed Lost Fang about our plans to go find his old colleague in the Nevermist region of the Paganish Realm, which is apparently the most undocumented, and treacherous places in the world. Louis explained that navigating the realm was difficult, but it was manageable with a special compass. He showed us his compass, but explained that it needs a special ore that allows it to function in dense magic areas. Good news, he knows where it is; bad news, it is incredibly rare and located in the city dungeon; meaning, if we want it, we needed to find it in the dungeon or have incredible luck and find someone with it.

Because of the low probability of someone else finding it, me, Rana , and Louis agreed that if we were going to get the ore, then me and Lost Fang would venture into the dungeon to find it. According to Louis, the ore is most likely on the 15th floor of the dungeon, but it would take going with the subjugation expedition scheduled in a week. To prepare, Lost Fang invested the money I paid them and bought better weapons and gear.

For the last week, I've been taking classes through the guild to improve my combat and magic capabilities. With additional lessons from Cavadier and instructors at the guild, I've learned the basics of swordsmanship and sharpened my other skills as well. Also, I've improved my magic capabilities to where I'm as proficient with Fire and Wind magic as a novice mage, and I've even managed to use Light magic 'Heal' and 'Purify', but only at their most basic level.

Today, me and Rana are out shopping for new adventuring equipment. Rana, as an expert battle-axe user, insisted she'd join me in the dungeon, so we needed to get the best equipment possible.

"Do you think we have enough money?" I asked her. "Cavadier told me he spent nearly everything of his just to get a slightly improved robe."

"I'm sure we have enough money, what we should be concerned about is availability." Rana explained. "With the subjection so close, a lot of good equipment is either reserved or sold out. The best option is probably to go to a manufacturer instead of the store."

"How would that be better?" I asked, curious.

"Stores that sell equipment purchase them from established craftsmen, but those artisans usually have apprentices who work on their own projects will learning. Young artisans are always excited to sell their work to mercenaries because it helps them become more recognized." Rana led me to the industrial district.

Asking around, we learned that there is weaponsmith whose workshop has three apprentices who are looking to sell their work. Making our way to the workshop, we opened the door and saw a thin, aged man wearing a blacksmith apron.

"Greetings, welcome to my workshop?" He greeted. "How can I help you?"

"Hello, me and my wife are here to talk about buying any available weapons or armor you might have."

"Hmmm." He pondered. "I'm afraid all my finished products are reserved for the dungeon subjugation."

"No problem, may we talk to your apprentice about buying any of their work?" Rana asked.

"Oh, that is also a problem, Randy and Deji are out of town on an errand for me... however, I do have another apprentice, but he can be... temperamental about his work." The blacksmith explained.

"Is he good at what he does?" I asked, interested about the craftsmanship.

"He is a brilliant blacksmith, but his problem is that he refuses to sell anything to people he thinks aren't 'worthy' of his creations."

"That is understandable." Rana added her opinion. "I've worked with many artisans as a merchant, and a common philosophy is that their work is an extension of their skill as a craftsman, and as the bond between them and the buyer. If a blacksmith were to sell shoddy work, it would be an insult to the customer; similar if a customer bought a work of art and carelessly broke it."

"Very well, if you want to me with Bennett, he's in the back room where he keeps his work. Follow me." The blacksmith guided us to another room in the back were storage is kept. "Bennett! You have potential customers."

The door crept open, revealing an ape beastman with a human face but covered in hair, monkey arms and legs, and chimp teeth. He looked to be a little older than us, maybe five years, and wore a similar apron to the head blacksmith.

"What do you want, old man?" Bennett grumbled.

"It's Sir, Bennett. These two would like to buy your work." He gestured to me and Rana. "Good luck." I couldn't tell if that remark was for us or the apprentice, but the older man left.

Bennett walked over to a stool by the wall near his forge at sat down, propping his head on his hand. "What can I do for you?" This guy was clearly pissed.

"We would like to buy some weapons, and armor if you have any." I answered.

He got up, annoyed. "The wall over there has all my stuff, if you see anything interesting, we'll talk price."

We walked over, he had a wide assortment of weapons, Rana picked up a double edge battleaxe; it was pretty big, sharp, and looked to be very well made. "I'll go with this one." She walked over to Bennett.

He looked at her. "Let me see your hands." He checked her palms, then knuckles and wrists. "Calluses on your palms indicating at least five years of training, wrists have clear muscle definition from use, and your knuckles show signs of proper form. Very well, I'll sell you the axe for... 15 silver coins."

"15?" Rana questioned. "The craftsmanship is excellent, but this is at best 7 in a store."

"True, but there is this thing called, 'Supply and Demand', the dungeon subjugation is led to increase demand but limited supply. I promise, if you bought this exact same weapon from a store, they would charge twice what I'm asking. However, you are clearly a skilled user, so I'll go down to say... 13."

Rana understood negotiations. "8."

"I'm barely making a profit from that. 11, and not a cent more." He insisted.

Rana stood firm. "10, and you throw in some leather armor as well."

Bennett exhaled, exhausted. "Deal." Rana paid him and brought out a set of leather armor that would cover her chest, but leave her arms and legs exposed. Luckily, the armor also came with a helmet. "And you?" He spoke to me.

"They all look nice, but I'm not sure if they're strong enough." I tried to explain. "They look well made, but I don't know if what you see is strong enough to handle the recoil of my attacks."

"My husband is very strong." Rana bragged, gleefully. "He was the one to kill the Desert Dragon last week."

"Oh, it was nothing special, I..." I began, but Bennett interrupted.

"Exactly, it was nothing special." He griped. "You either killed it as a fluke or it was weakened." 

"Sir, that is very rude!" Rana defended me. "My husband fought it bravely, even after his armor and weapon were damaged beyond repair."

"Is that so." He looked at me. "Tell me, how many serious battles have you fought with that weapon?"

I was mad, but thinking about my battle experiences, I soon became depressed. "Two... but actually, I lost it the first time, so once."

"You fought one creature, and completely destroyed your weapon and your armor." He sneered at me. "Get out of here, I would never do business with such a child."

"Fuck you." I told him off, getting closure. "That dragon killed at least two people, if I didn't use my spear to kill it, it may have killed the rest of mercenaries and the civilians!"

"Exactly!" He stood up, and screamed to my face. "Let me guess, you at your final moments, and knew if you didn't stop it in one attack, it was all over, correct?"

"Actually... I didn't really think I could kill it."

He sneered. "I've met boys like you before, young dumbasses who think their invincible and will do all number of crazy shit to prove it. You might have killed a dragon, but tell me, what if your attack failed, what would have happened." He left the room quiet for a moment. "I'll answered, you, your team, and everyone around you would have been killed because you pissed off a dragon with your half-witted jackassery. A weapon is more than a tool to kill..." He looked philosophical. "It is an extension of the wielder. It is their life, their resolve, if a wielder used their weapon so irresponsibly to break it after one battle, it's clear they have no place to be in combat." He sat down. "In my childhood, I saw many a good hearted, yet foolish people throw away their lives and the lives of their loved ones because they were naïve enough to fight a guaranteed loss. Call me a bastard if you wish, but remember, in a battle, dungeon or man, their is always a challenge you don't see, a sneak attack ready to pounce, if your skills aren't to the point you can finish one battle with your weapon intact, then never pick it up."

What he said had truth, it was luck I survived the dragon and casualties were so low. Maybe I was unworthy to fight, but I will never stop fighting for my cause.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time." I bowed in apology. "What you said is true, I am foolish jackass... but I will dive into Hell itself if I can save the people I love and be joined with them again." I was about to walk out.

"Wait!" He looked as grumpy as ever. "You are no soldier, and a mercenary in name only, however... you may be a warrior. Wait here." He bent down and removed two floorboards. Removing a long box from below the floor, the blacksmith placed it on the table between him and us.

"What is this?" I asked.

He blew the dust off the box and removed the lid. "This is something special." Inside the box was a lustrous, metallic rod with a ruby like jewel in it.

"Is that a magic weapon?" Rana asked. "It looks blunt."

"This is a special magic weapon."  Bennett explained. "This is my most special projects. It's a rod of pure, divine steel, a rare metal only bestowed by divine beings, with an infant Behemoth magic core. Default form, it's just a rod but when imprinted onto a worthy wielder, it has the potential for great power. If used by a true warrior, it can become a weapon unlike any other. Basically, this is a weapon that grows with and improves by the will of its wielder."

Something about this weapon reminded me of the spear 'God' gave me. "How does it tell if a wielder is worthy?" I got reminded of Green Lantern rings.

"The stone gives it a semi-sentience that looks for the best qualities of a wielder as it sees fit." Bennett looked at me. "I want you grab it, if you are worthy it will imprint itself onto your spiritual wavelength, if not it just rejects you. You may have potential, but this will verify if you are a warrior or a kid who got lucky."

Curious, I wanted to see if everything was luck or if I did have the strength to achieve my goals. Attentively, I slowly reached for the rod and lifted it in my hand. Then, heat formed in my hand until I saw the magic stone glow; amazingly, the metal pool liquified and began moving around on its own, forming a brilliant claymore sword with the jewel in the rain-guard.

"It chose me." I muttered to myself. "How much?"

Strangely, Bennett smiled. "Despite the quality of the sword, selling it has been all but impossible. I'll sell it for 2 gold coins."

"Deal, now what do I do for a scabbard?" I handed over two gold coins.

"That leads me to another function. A sword maybe the default form, but it changes shape to suit your needs. Try to imagine any object and it will alter itself to recreate it."

Needing an easy way to carry it, I chose a bracelet, and in an instant it changed into a bracelet around my right wrist.

"Good work, now that your main weapon is secured, let's move on to armor and other supplies." Bennett continued our transaction.

By the end of our shopping, we got Rana's equipment along with a shield for me, some sturdy armor with enough flexibility for my style of fighting, a few recovery potions for both of us, and some basic supplies. 

"Thank you, I hope we can do business in the future." I thanked him.

Rana agreed. "You have been very helpful, thank you."

"Consider it my pleasure, rarely do I find people who can be as interesting as you two." Bennett walked us out. "Please come again."

Walking back home, me and Rana continued doing work on accommodations for our next voyage into the Paganish Realm. In the afternoon, we had lunch after practicing with our new weapons then did some paperwork. By the end of the day, we got ready for bed and made passionate love until the middle of the night.

"One week left, then you go on your first dungeon raid." Rana spoke, head nuzzled against my shoulder, restful from the afterglow. "Are you scared?"

"I might have to redefine my concept of scared." I joked, holding her. "I'm fine. I've just been thinking a lot about the Paganish Realm. I'm worried we might never find the scientist if we don't get the ore."

"Are you scared you might have to stay with me forever." She teased me warmheartedly. "I'm worried too, but we just need faith in each other." She kissed me, then looked at me with the smile she had falling. "If we do get you home, would you still want to be with me."

I hugged her closely. "I promise you, my parents will be thrilled to meet you. The moment you meet them, they'll be barking off your ear about how we met, where you're from, how many kids we'll have." I giggled.

For the rest of the night, we held each other close as we fell asleep. It was moments like these that I wasn't scared of being here, but also sad that I might refuse to be reunited with my family. Then I realize, that Rana is now my family, and her brother, her tribe, and my friends from Tunu clan, they are every part of my family as the one I'm trying to return to. If I never return, I may be hurt, but I also won't still have happiness. It is a conflicted feeling.