The first thing he heard was the clanging. The Plaza was alive with it—each of the forges lining the square boomed with the sounds of hammering, steel crushing steel. Smoke churned from their chimneys in thick rivers. Everywhere you looked you saw well-muscled folk banging up palms and breastplates—some were marked the silvers and greens of the World Tree, with tree emblems on top. Others were the blacks and purples of the Deep Earth Hall, emblazoned with gemstones.
Steelheart disciples carved in runes with what looked like giant glass needles. There was stress-testing going on not far off—breastplates were being lined up one by one, and disciples took turns throwing javelins at them, which pinged off in clouds of sparks. Some blasted with flamethrowers that vomited Corruption energy, like a Monster attack.
Zane doubted they'd be making much gear for their own use. Steelheart folk relied on their physiques.
At the World Tree, Reina was getting all kinds of orders from other Factions; it seemed it was the same way here. The more Zane got around the more he got the sense each Faction played some role in the community of the galaxy.
The Steelheart Conclave was readying itself as the armorer of Dragonspire.
There was other commotion too—
"Hup-hup!"
Huddles of Steelheart Minor Gods in war paint were marching in formation side by side, making a wall of muscle and steel. They held gauntlets and hammers and a few flails, all studded with Sacred Bone and gemstones. He imagined it'd make for a pretty formidable sight bearing down on a Monster horde.
It wasn't long before someone noticed him.
"It's Zane!" came a shout.
"He's back to go get his Sacred Bone!"
Then a wave of fist-pumps and raucous cheers.
"Hey there," said Zane. He gave a little wave.
He ambled on through the Plaza, heading for the teleporters on the far end, and got many a hearty back-slap along the way.
"Champ! Champ! Champ!"
"Stay strong! Make us proud!"
"You've got this, lad!"
Along the way he saw Orin Thunderfist in one of those warrior huddles. One of the lenses on his spectacles was cracked, slightly tainted with Corruption. But he still seemed in good spirits. He gave Zane a little salute.
He'd gained 10 Levels since they'd last met, mostly from bashing in monster heads, he told Zane cheerfully. He and his crew headed off to take down the nearest breakout.
***
One teleport later, and Zane stood on the Barbarian Sage's home planet.
He was greeted by a flood of howls, and screeches, and roars—all manner of horrible beasts that called the place their home. Red eyes peered from misty valleys between bare mountain peaks.
It made him feel a bit nostalgic.
A few leaps later he was on the highest peak.
There sat the Barbarian Sage, squinting at a leg of bloody raw meat as big as his head. It had a bit of green fuzz on it. He seemed to debate for a few seconds. Then he shrugged and took a bite out of it.
Then he noticed Zane.
He perked up and leaped to his feet. "He's back!" roared the Sage.
A blink later Zane found himself buried in a crushing hug. The Sage ruffled him on the head—"What took you so long, lad? I was rusting out here!"
He was pleased to see the Sage too. "It's good to be back."
"I was just thinking—"
The Sage paused.
The stones began to jump at their feet.
The whole mountain had begun to shake.
A second later, a several-hundred-foot-long eldritch horror reared overhead, blotting out the sun. She shrieked.
Then she lunged, jaw unhinging, and gave Zane a big ol' lick.
"Fluffy missed you!" chuckled the Barbarian Sage.
Fluffy wound around Zane a few times, not unlike the way a python might choke an animal to death, rubbing razor-sharp scales against him affectionately. It might've been enough to shred most Minor Gods to bloody chunks, but it only threw up showers of sparks against his skin. It wasn't enough to hurt him—and he knew she didn't mean any harm. She was just happy to see him.
Then she shrieked again and went off to do a few little laps underground, leaping a few hundred miles over the ground like a very big dolphin, before disappearing again.
"Alright, alright," said the Sage, rubbing his hands. "Now you've got all that Fire Law tomfoolery out the way, it's time for the good stuff. Time to get you your Sacred Bone. Can't hardly wait!"
He nodded, inspecting Zane head-to-toe before patting him on the shoulders. "You're ready. But first—how's dinner sound?"
He shrugged. "I could eat."
They sat down around the campfire. The Sage tossed him the raw leg of some beast. It tasted like chicken, only saltier.
The Sage took a big swallow. "I've been busy since you've been gone. I got in touch with the Eastern Wilderness' Titan Rhino tribe. They're ready to take us. Right—that's the Rhino Tribe in our local Wilderness."
He wagged a bone as big as a baseball bat at Zane.
"There's two Desolate Wildernesses. Bit like the North and South poles of a planet—except the Wildernesses sit at the East and West of the Dragonspire Galaxy. There's two Titan Rhino tribes too, one in each Wilderness! The Eastern one—the one we're heading to—it's a good deal smaller, but it's older. It's been around since the origin of all Titan Rhinos. And I know the Chief—old Nog's got a big heart. He'll take good care of us."
Zane nodded.
"Before we go, though. We've got to take a look at that newfangled body of yours."
He tapped a swirling bloody streak on Zane's bicep. "I've never seen a Titan's body evolution like it… I wonder. Mind pulling up the Levels on that thing?"
"Sure." Zane did.
𝔸𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕒 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕟'𝕤 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪, 𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕍
It'd been maxed out before the evolution. But when he'd evolved, the levels converted to fit the higher tier.
"Thought so," said the Barbarian Sage, scratching his chin. "Well—that just means the ceiling for your First Form's been raised even higher! We've got to hit it, though, before we can get you that Sacred Bone. You can only take in a Sacred Bone with a maxed-out First Form. That's what gets you to the second form, actually. After that it's about leveling the Bone."
"So I've got to train some more," said Zane.
"That's right. Just means you've got to take in more real high-grade steel too." The Sage nodded. "Good thing I went and looted a few dungeons while you were gone, eh? I've put together a big ol' stockpile."
He tapped his Interspatial Ring, brought out a stained old knapsack. Then he reached in, rummaging around, and started tossing stuff out.
As far as Zane could tell, most of them seemed to be legendary treasures. Things rare even in the Inner Faction of a Great Faction.
𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕞 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕖 [ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟 (𝔽)]
𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟 [ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟 (𝔼)]
ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕧𝕒𝕝 𝔹𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 [ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟 (𝔽)]
Mixed in were a few trinkets—a cracked crystal ball, a horn that gushed holy water, some very high-grade rainbow mushroom with dubious effects.
"I stuff anything neat I find in here," explained the Sage. "Had it for a few millennia—the thing's got the highest storage of anything I've got! Sometimes I surprise myself with what I find in there."
"Anyway." He rummaged some more and seemed to hit on something. He brought out a gorgeous golden helm with a silver feather on top.
𝕊𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕞 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕩 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 [ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟 (𝔻)]
"There you go!"
He tossed it at Zane, who inspected it. Then took a bite out of it.
After his new Titan's Body, all metals tasted like chocolate? The better stuff tasted like quite good chocolate, actually.
"You eat to your heart's content, you hear?"
Zane nodded. "I will."
The Barbarian Sage laid back, looking to the stars, and sighed. "Next morning we're off to the Eastern Desolate Wilderness. The birthplace of all beasts in Dragonspire… it's a real special place, I tell you. I could go on about it for a damned century!"
He showed Zane his forearm, where there were bands of thick white scars. "Don't even heal from Level-ups. That's how deep it got me, and I got it from there," he said. "The Wilderness is where I had my fiercest fights. Where you'll find the rawest kinds of life, where everything that breathes is both hunter and prey, even the Godbeasts. But everything there—from the glacier spring waters to the damned grass—it's all a treasure unto itself. There's not a beast there that's weak—can't afford to be! Trust me, lad. It's the place for you."
It did feel like a while since Zane had stretched his legs that way. Ragnos was one thing. But there was something special about a battle where death was on the line, he felt. It got that little bit extra out of him.
He was also quite looking forward to what his new Concept could do.
***
The next morning, just as they were about to head off, a flash of flame bloomed above them.
Zane recognized it as some kind of Stormfire—just with all the bite taken out of it. When it faded, it left only a letter fluttering to the ground.
He blinked.
He hadn't known you could use Stormfire like that.
He had a pretty good guess who it was from.
The Barbarian Sage frowned, picked it up, and read it.
"Huh," said the Sage, and pocketed it.
"What did it say?"
"Eh. It's some warning—I'll take care of it. You just focus on your training."
He nodded.
They said goodbye to Fluffy. Zane gave her a scratch behind each of her thirteen ears.
They packed light—each with just an Interspatial Ring carrying just the essentials, and that knapsack full of treasures. The Sage said the Plains had all they needed.
After they had breakfast—a Thunder Eagle egg, and a mythical breastplate for Zane—he noticed a heaviness in his gut.
"Eh?" said the Barbarian Sage.
The steel was digesting quite slowly. It'd barely digested at all.
He got the feeling it needed some more heat.
"Let me try something," he told the Sage.
He headed out to Planet Press and did a few reps on the 32p planet. Nothing strenuous—just a warm-up, something to get the blood pumping. His Asura Body activated a little.
Sure enough—once his body started heating up, once his runes started burning, the digesting went much faster.
A set in, and he felt about a solid fifth of the way to a Level. He had a feeling if he got his body to heat up even more, it'd go even faster.
Planet Press was a start. But that meant the best way to do it was still a good old-fashioned fight.
"Lucky thing, then, eh?" chuckled the Sage.
***
With that, they were off.