*Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Iron Confederacy*
Demir was looking at the sword he made. It looked nice but every attempt at creating a rune slot was a failure and the sword wasn't giving the vibe of his armors giving.
"Is it the hammer, anvil?" he thought. But time was up and he was gonna go to the latest expedition.
He approached Marco. "Can you take a look at the sword? I think tomorrow's expedition will be launched today. I want to make sure I am ready."
"What do you mean ready? Are you leaving with them?" Marco asked.
"Yeah."
"Are you crazy? We are comfortable here. I mean they are working you like a donkey-bot but when you make twenty more your job will be only maintenance."
"I can't accept that. I have to muster any advantage. Anything to increase my power to topple down this world order."
"Demir, come on now kid. I like you. You saved my life. You can't beat this game with almost every progression system closed. Just live your life in peace here and..."
Demir cut him off. "And wait for Devs to open the gates?"
Marco seemed relaxed by Demir's understanding. "Yeah, exactly."
"It's been four years. They clearly can't open without our involvement. And this peace here is just an illusion. You heard Kazzak. If goblins found ways to abuse, other races will also find them and come for our heads. We should find those things and use them for our safety."
"I can't change your mind. Give me the sword."
Marco took the sword and said, "It is E grade with 10% slashing damage. Nothing good."
"There is not even a single stat bonus."
Demir kicked the curb of the door. "Damn it, I knew it. There were no charged swings making that."
"I am coming with you too," Marco said suddenly.
"What? No? You just gave me a lecture on staying."
"And you convinced me otherwise."
"Beating the game?"
"No, your side is the safe zone. Look at those fiery eyes."
They walked to the meeting hall. Thalia and community leader Roderic Vale were talking about the recent news.
When they entered, they greeted Demir and Marco.
"Demir, good job on these armors. I never get better than this for the past year. Thanks to you. Today's expedition is a little safer," Roderic said.
"I couldn't believe it either when he said he can craft. Huntress Elandra and Healer Neya are now trying to recreate healing potions. And I must say their latest batch didn't make anyone shit their pants," Thalia said and laughed at her joke. She tried to break the tension but couldn't manage it.
"Anyway, today's expedition will be commanded by our leader Commander Vale. I heard you wanted to go."
"Yeah, thank you for the compliments on the armors. I wish I could replicate it with the swords. But I could only make E rank apparently."
"What do you mean E rank? Can you tell the ranks?" Roderic asked.
Demir and Marco panicked for a small moment. They didn't want to give away their possession of glasses that can see game statistics.
"I... I taught him that. Since I was a game tester long time ago, I taught him some marks and strong and weak points to look for determining quality," Marco said.
"Yeah, Marco taught me."
"Excellent. I thought Marco only came here to sleep his ass off. Good job man. You can be our warehouse guy to catalog, assisting Matthis."
"Sure I can do that after the expedition." Marco elbowed Demir like "because of you I got a stupid job."
"You want to go too. I guess your old band is going all together."
She pointed to a small gathering visible from the window of the meeting hall. Sin and Timmy in full gear talking with the hunter woman Marven.
"Really them too?" Marco asked.
"Well, our party is undefeatable," Demir said.
Party of twelve left the safe haven stored in a basin. With horse carriage hoping for good loot. Roderic leading the expedition. There were three other heavy armor wearers thanking Demir again for making them pristine armor sets.
Demir and Marco lagged behind. They saw Timmy leave Sin at the front and come to their side.
"Demir, I am glad you came too. I couldn't make Sin back down from the expedition. So I had to join."
"I guess his anger didn't dim down," Marco observed.
"He has to move on. Life goes on. But don't worry Timmy, I will talk to him."
"Thanks Demir. You are the older brother we never had."
Demir smiled at the compliment but that also made him remember Aris. If he was alive, if he was living, what kind of conditions was he in?
After walking till night, it hit Demir where they were going. With forging and trying to create a sword, he didn't ask questions about that.
Roderic explained catching scouts to the north. And the hunters' navigation skills will lead them to their camp.
"Don't worry Demir, we never lost anyone under my expedition," Roderic assured him.
After two days of walking, Demir tried to talk to Sin about his anger but he deflected the conversations. The burning sensation of revenge was almost visible.
At the second day's night, huntress Marven stated tracks are merging ahead and the smell is making her cautious. All indications of their camp being near.
When they reached a cliff near a hill, they saw a goblin camp in the opening and dwarf-made carriages with dwarves unloading crates of goods.
Roderic's face darkened as he studied the scene below. The goblin camp sprawled across the valley floor, crude tents and fire pits scattered around a central area where the real business was happening. Dwarven merchants in traveling cloaks moved between heavy wagons, their beards braided with silver rings that caught the firelight. Goblins swarmed around them, not as raiders or enemies, but as eager customers.
"Son of a bitch," Marven whispered, her bow already in her hands. "The rumors were true."
Sin pushed forward, his eyes burning with fury. "They're trading with them. The dwarves are actually trading with the bastards who enslaved us."
Marco adjusted his glasses, the magical lenses revealing details invisible to the naked eye. "I count at least eighty goblins down there. And those aren't just any dwarves - look at their equipment. Those are Iron Confederacy merchants."
Demir felt his stomach twist. The betrayal was worse than he'd imagined. Not only were the dwarves trading with goblins, but they were doing it openly, systematically. Crates of weapons and armor were being unloaded from dwarven wagons while goblins handed over sacks of what looked like ore and gems.
"This changes everything," Roderic muttered. "If the Iron Prince is sanctioning this..."
"Then we're not just fighting goblins," Thalia finished. "We're fighting a conspiracy."
Timmy crept up beside his brother, his face pale. "What do we do?"
The question hung in the air like smoke from the fires below. They had come expecting to eliminate goblin scouts. Instead, they had discovered evidence of a trade alliance that could reshape the balance of power in the entire region.
Demir gripped the hilt of his E-rank sword, its imperfect weight suddenly feeling heavier. The weapon he couldn't enhance with runes, the power stone he couldn't properly use - all of it seemed insignificant compared to the political earthquake they were witnessing.
"We watch," Roderic decided. "We learn. And then we decide whether we're strong enough to do anything about it."