Another man got up amidst the laughter and walked to Astaroth.
"Excuse the nasty prank with the ale." He said, trading the mug in Astaroth's hand for another.
"The boys wanted to see you keel over, but you have a good stomach on you. Either that or no taste buds. BAHAHA!" He added, ending in a hearty laugh.
"My name is Chris Pentalogius. It's a mouthful I know, so my friends call me Chrispy. My subordinates call me the Colonel. You can call me whatever you like." The man said, bringing Astaroth to a table and sitting.
Astaroth held a laugh.
"Now, what you did yesterday was nothing short of saving a life. You saved Kloud's life by getting us and then saved another life, with that well-placed arrow."
"The boys wanted to reward you properly, so we got you weapons. Actual weapons. Not those toys you walk around with." Chrispy said, looking down at the training weapons Astaroth was carrying at his belt.
"We commissioned the blacksmith to make you weapons to replace your training weapons. All of them. Unfortunately, you carry a lot of weapons, so they will only be basic weapons, nothing fancy, but they will be better than what you have now." The man continued.
"Captain Kloud also had something he wanted to give you, as a reward for saving him, but he wanted to give it to you himself, and sadly, he is not in a shape to be walking around just yet. So you will have to wait." He then said, taking a swig of his mug.
Astaroth let him finish saying his bit, before taking a sip of ale and looking around. The atmosphere in the barracks was not one of despair or fear of having almost died.
The warriors all acted like it was just another day at work.
'Mind you, for them, it probably is.' He then thought.
"Then I shall graciously accept all of your gifts. I hope we can hunt together in the future and become friends." Astaroth said, smiling slightly.
These men just gave him what he needed most to level up faster. Better weapons!
That meant more damage, so more Exp! He was holding back from hugging all the men one by one.
He simply ignored the fact that Kloud wanted to give him something too. That would wait until he was better, anyway.
He stayed in the barracks for a bit, enjoying his ale and the ambiance, before leaving all the training weapons on the racks in the courtyard, and walking towards the forge.
He could feel the heat of the forge from meters away from the building. He walked into the smoldering building, getting assaulted by the heat once again.
This time though, he didn't get any notifications about overheating. He guessed that his higher stats protected him from the forge's heat better.
Astaroth took the small hammer and tapped on the bell lightly three times and then waited.
*Ding Ding Ding*
After a few minutes, the burly blacksmith walked out from the back. He looked at Astaroth for a second, before smiling.
"Aye, lad. Ye come fer ya weapons, ay reckon. Ay'm almos' done wif 'em. Whay don' ye come back later?" The blacksmith said.
"Oh? you already knew I would come to fetch them?" Astaroth asked.
"Aye. Ay knew dem soldiers wouldn' come fer 'em." The man answered, laughing a bit.
"Ok, well in that case, can I come back to fetch them tomorrow? Would that be alright?" Astaroth requested.
"Aye. That would be better, I reckon. See ye temerrow, wee lad." The blacksmith said, waving him away and walking back into the forge.
Astaroth walked back out of the forge and went to Aberon's house next. The old mage had asked him to come back soon, he still had something for him.
As usual, the door opened up to him before touching it. He walked to the back of the house and found the bookcase open, so he walked down again, making his way to the cave at the end.
Once he got there, he found Aberon sitting on the ground, legs crossed, meditating. Through his mana sense, Astaroth could see the mana around the man getting sucked in at an impressive speed.
'He's probably recuperating from his spells the other day.' He thought.
The old mage opened his eyes once Astaroth was close, sensing his approach. He unfolded his legs and used a little burst of wind to help himself up.
He then turned to Astaroth.
"Sit down, young man. You left after the body cleansing yesterday, but we weren't done. I still have one more thing for you to do." Aberon said, pulling something out from his robes.
It was the clear blue orb from the Alpha's body. He extended his hand to Astaroth, the orb resting on his palm.
"Here, take it." He said.
Astaroth took the item and inspected it.
'Dire Wolf Alpha Soul Core'
Crafting Material.
This item contains the remnants of a powerful monster's soul. Can be used for crafting a multitude of things.
Forging/Sewing: Can be used during forging or sewing to give +5 Agility points to armor.
Alchemy: Can be used in a potion to make 'Agility Potion'. The stats given depend on the potency of the potion.
Scroll Making: Can be used to make 'Scroll of Summoning, Dire Wolf Alpha'. The strength of the summon depends on the scroll maker's talent.
"But. sir, I can't use this yet." Astaroth said. after looking at the descriptions.
"You can." The old man answered flatly.
Astaroth just looked at the man awkwardly. Then, after a minute, it dawned upon him.
Soul core. Soul is another word for spirit.
This orb contained a spirit remnant! His eyes went wide. Aberon saw the change in expression and smiled.
"Seems like you finally understood. Good. Now I will guide you through forming a contract with the spirit. Although I can't do much to help you, I will try my best. But the result will depend entirely on you." He said, pacing around Astaroth again.
"I will do my best, sir!" Astaroth said excitedly.
He was maybe going to have his first contracted spirit! He hoped this would work.
That was possibly his edge over everyone else. He focused his eyes on the orb.
'I will make you mine.' He thought, smiling from ear to ear.