Darius Supreme

As for Darla, the woman was a bit slower to recover and on the uptake, but she too managed to barely grasp the situation as she gazed at Darius with fear.

She shakily pointed at him. "Y-you killed me…"

Darius smiled playfully, not hiding the truth. "I did."

Darla's lips trembled. "You killed me… but I'm alive… how?"

Darius sighed. "That is beyond your level of clearance. To put it simply, you don't have the right to know how I revive you due to how weak and inconsequential you are."

Darla's outstretched finger began to droop slowly. "But… my Luck…"

"Isn't omnipotent." Darius shook his head. "You should already know that, though. If it could allow you to survive anything, no matter what, you wouldn't have needed to flee all those years ago."

"Don't overly rely on something as obscure as Luck to decide every aspect of your life. Sure, it might work most of the time as the majority of people are caught in its web, but there are those like me who can operate outside its range as well."

Darla didn't exactly understand what he meant, but also understood the general gist of it. She could only think deeply about what she would do after this, but when she focused on Darius once more, she noticed he was not even looking their way.

Darla couldn't help but have a weird feeling that Darius even putting his attention on them was due to something interesting he had discovered, and not that he considered them worthwhile beings to interact with.

Strangely, Darla had a bad premonition… that being the object of Darius' attention was something she should avoid at all costs.

Maximo came down from his revelation as his eyes cleared up. When he gazed at Darius, the earlier casual interest was gone, replaced by solemnity and graveness.

Maximo jumped over his counter and landed deftly, kneeling before Darius respectfully.

"If you would have me, I'm willing to work for you, Master Darius."

Darius chuckled and raised Maximo up, much to the surprise of the dwarf. "I didn't do all that to make you a subordinate. What I want from you is a partner I can trust. Does that sound fine?"

'Does that sound fine?' Maximo looked at Darius as if the other was a unique and exotic beast whose existence defied common sense. He would be lucky to be Darius' slave, much less servant, much less subordinate, much less partner!

Partner! This would mean that their relationship would be that of equals! This was a huge undertaking from Darius to trust a random Dwarf like him without even knowing his full capabilities.

As such, Maximo simply had to ask: "Why?"

Darius smiled. "Because you have what other Dwarves lack, ambition, and wisdom. You know when to advance and when to retreat. You're aware of how to plan for the future, and your past has taught you what to expect from sapient races."

"Also, you have the drive to become better, to want to become the best, not just for survival, but because you genuinely want to."

Darius wagged a finger at the Dwarf. "That makes you special. It makes you unique. It makes you stand out, Maximo. Most importantly, it makes me see you in a new light."

Darius turned to face Maximo with a soft smile. "I believe in you, Maximo Riverstrike. I believe that as long as you're provided with the resources, you're destined to become the greatest crafter in the history of Dwarves, and be hailed as the number 1 for eons to come."

Maximo's whole body shuddered with disbelief, his eyes misting as he felt emotions he had sealed away come to the fore. This feeling of belief, this feeling of having someone acknowledge him…

Maximo recognized it as the one thing he had been looking for in life. He wanted everyone to be like Darius, looking at him sincerely, satisfied with the work he had done for them, and unable to hold back the truth in their hearts.

'Maximo Riverstrike, may the heavens strike me down if I'm lying, but you are the best crafter I have ever seen!'

Darius saw Maximo's reaction and laughed. "Brother Maximo, let's head to the core area, so I can introduce you to the key members who decide the fate of Safemoon, and we can hash out the specifics of our partnership."

Maximo rubbed his eyes and smiled. "For sure, Brother Darius."

Darius then turned to Darla and Kiran who were silently watching without daring to interject, having understood their place in the world.

"As for you two… hm, take this. Go and show this to Gunner, my General, and tell him I sent you there for training." Darius instructed them, as he tossed a token to each of them, which they caught dexterously.

Darla and Kiran caught it and shared uncertain looks before nodding. They then disappeared from the shop like shadows, heading out to find Gunner, which would be easy given they all had HoloBraces.

Meanwhile, Darius teleported away with Maximo. As for this blacksmith shop, it would be rented out to someone else in order for them to start working on Safemoon's behalf.

..........

Luna Stone traveled the hallways of a luxurious Noble's mansion at the dead of night, very little activity around her as she moved quickly yet stealthily. What would spook any onlooker was when she passed by the huge windows that let in the moonlight, she would still remain invisible like a shadow.

In fact, one could say that in the moonlight, she was even harder to detect than when she was in raw darkness. Luna eventually reached a large door that led to the master bedroom.

Not one to rush, she used her Eyes of Death to analyze the area. She noticed that there were many Master level magical arrays that would trip alarms and roast her to death if she dared to enter this room using magic or physical means without possessing a certain mark.

Luna scoffed as she activated the perfect counter to this, which was her Void Walking skill. Like a ghost, her body phased and became translucent. She was now more visible than before, but one would not be able to touch or hear her because she factually wasn't there.

Luna casually walked through the door without even making a single sound. There was no way to detect someone who was not even in the same space as you, much less not even in the same dimension.

Within the room, Luna saw a well-decorated chamber that was fancy as hell, fitting for the Prime Minister of this kingdom.