It was a new day and Lian felt great. Now that she was eighteen Pops told her he didn’t care if she kept going to school since she was interested in being his full-time apprentice/assistant, yet he was proud when she said that she wanted to see it through for the last few months.

  Still, before she left, he told her there were offers to recruit her. He was confused about some of it since some wanted to recruit her for her affinity, and others wanted to recruit her because of her title.

  Lian blushed and denied knowing about any affinity before leaving. However, it didn’t stop Pops from texting her their contact information. She was surprised to find out that half of the council factions were trying to recruit her because of her affinity.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if her lust affinity was something special. For now, she had school to worry about, so she put such thoughts on the backburner for the time being.

  *

  At her school anyone that had recently unlocked their system was talking about how it turned out. Most mumbled about how they were average while others went on about how they were planning to become hunters.

  Since the job meant fighting to the death against beasts on foreign worlds, space pirates, and other hunters all to level up and gather more resources, most would give up early on.

  Just another reason why Lian wanted to help Pops out instead of following the popular route. She didn’t want to risk her life when she could live decently making equipment.

  Since it wouldn’t hurt to have access to such resources Lian thought it would be stupid to not at least consider the offers she was being given. However, her five seconds of research was interrupted by an all too familiar intrusion.

  “Hey, Lian. Heard you got your system activated. How about we go hunting together?” Austin Krachen was the spoiled son of the mayor. Daddy dearest was also the reason Lian could never get a restraining order on this creep.

  The way he looked at her made Lian want to throw up.

  “I’ll pass.”

  “Oh, come on baby. I’m already level 5. I’ll keep you safe.” This was around the point Austin started getting handsy and knowing what he was about to do she got up and started to leave the classroom instead of continuing to humor him.

  Austin is a perverted man-child who believes Lian belonged to him ever since they first met in middle school and in that time, they both learned a lot from each other. Lian learned to avoid people and Austin learned that if Pops ever saw him then it would be another one-way trip to the ER.

  To be safe Lian stayed hidden for the first three periods before assuming Austin had given up for the day, and in that time, she was able to schedule meetings with Tuatha, Spiritus, Gehenna, and Blood Garden. However, the last two were just to be polite as Lian has no desire to become a demon or an immortal leech.

  She was surprised to hear back from Tuatha so quickly and that they already had someone to talk to on the planet when she wanted.

  After thinking about it for a bit Lian figured it would be better to play hooky for once and meet up with their representative.

  *

  Lian had managed to get the use of one of the meeting rooms in the GAT guild hall for the meeting. This was something she didn’t think she could get but they assured her that the guild hall on this planet mostly just bought local materials to sell elsewhere so they were happy to help any craftsmen.

  She didn’t wait long in the meeting room, when the Tuatha representative showed up.

  He exuded the presence of a handsome athlete, his green suit accentuating rather than concealing his commanding, youthful appearance. His neatly combed blonde hair and fierce blue eyes, reminiscent of a raging sea, added to his formidable aura. Lian noticed with curiosity that he instinctively avoided metal objects, prompting her to ponder which other rumors about the fae might be true. Especially as she noticed the white silver brooch on the left side of his chest.

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  ‘Is it just iron-based metals that affect them?’ She wondered.

  “A pleasure to meet you.” He gently lifted Lian's hand and kissed the back of it as if she was nobility. His every gesture, while calculated, was one of respect.

  “Y-yes.” Lian stuttered as she took her hand back.

  “Thank you for meeting with me Ms. Hughes. You may call me Lugh.” When he introduced himself, she recalled several things about him. He is a great warrior, but what Lian remembered specifically about him was that he was one of the few craftsmen Pops ever praised in passing, or what counted as praise from the old grump.

  He said something about how he makes incredible spears or anything he makes could become a spear. Lian’s memory of this was fuzzy, but she was secretly excited to meet other skilled craftsmen, hoping she could get some insight from him to improve herself.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, you are Lugh the master craftsman right?” Lian asked for confirmation because to her it was just a name and if she was right then the fae don’t, or maybe can’t, lie.

  “Oh, few nowadays know me as such. Warrior sure. Savior… that one is old history that few care about.” He chuckled as he reminisced about his long history.

  Lian was starstruck. There were only a hundred master craftsmen recorded in GAT and only ten grandmaster craftsmen. It is said that the difficulty of the test from journeymen to master made it exceptionally tough to maintain a certain standard and to become a grandmaster you had to redefine your craft.

  “Now where did I put it?” Lugh said as he searched his pockets. When he found what he was looking for he pulled out a letter. Based on what happened next Lian assumed it was a script he was forced to read.

  “Blah blah, magic dances… Ancient knowledge. Titania’s tits who wrote this garbage?” Lugh all but shouted this, which left Lian a little concerned about joining Tuatha itself.

  Lugh burned the paper to ashes with a look of disdain on his face, like he was insulted from simply reading it.

  “I’ll try this my way. Look, Ms. Hughes Tuatha is brimming with resources for a fellow craftsman regardless of whether you join the Seelie or Unseelie courts.” Lugh began but this time Lian felt the sincerity in his words. Lugh had no idea that this change in approach already had her put his words in higher regard.

  “The courts?”

  “Sorry, I sometimes forget that not everyone is familiar with Tuatha’s hierarchy. We fae are divided into several courts that join to make larger courts. I’m a member of the Seelie, but I’m here at the request of the Unseelie since I owed them a favor.”

  His explanation brought up more questions for Lian, but her interest in joining was also fading a bit.

  “Why would the Unseelie want me, and what would I get for joining Tuatha in general if you’re this divided?”

  “Both are good questions. I’m not too sure about the Unseelie’s motives these days, dark fae are unpredictable like that at the best of times. If I had to guess it’s because of your Lust affinity. The affinity to bend desire to ones will align with a great many fae lineages.”

  He stopped to let Lian process what he said so far, which did not please her. Lian did not care about manipulation.

  “If you join Tuatha then you will be turned into a fae. A changeling to be exact.” Lian became worried, if she became fae then wouldn’t she have to give up being a blacksmith? This was non-negotiable for her.

  “I’m sorry but I think I will have to pass on joining Tuatha, if it means I have to give up being a blacksmith.” Lian stuttered as she got up.

  “Who said anything about giving it up? First of all, while it is very rare some fae do have the passive skill Iron Kissed. That skill bypasses our metal weakness. A perfect example would be the dwarves and kobolds.”

  “The dwarves are fae?” Lian was so stunned by this that she stopped in her tracks as the door was halfway open.

  “Former fae. They shed it and became their own race generations ago, like the elves. Though back when the dwarves were fae they were all born with the Iron Kissed skill. No idea how they did it but they did.” Lugh explained with a chuckle.

  While Lian didn’t think that Tuatha was for her, she at least decided to keep an open mind for now.

  After she sat back down the two of them ended up just talking about crafting various equipment and Lian was intrigued by what she learned. He even told her about Tuatha's unique crafting ability that allows them to make growth equipment. He described it as equipment that grows to reflect their wielder's skills and the older the equipment the stronger it was. Meanwhile, Lugh used this to genuinely try to recruit Lian to join the Seelie since he was longing for an apprentice that intrigued him.

  In the end, they both left happy and as a gift, Lugh gave her some sylvanite and ironwood to try his tips later. He also gave her a piece of advice when dealing with the fae.

  “Rember Ms. Hughes, never thank us. All fae have a passive skill for making deals and it even enforces verbal agreements and thanking us is the same as saying you owe us. More importantly words have power, so watch what you say.”

  When Lugh said this Lian was silent for a minute before responding.

  “I appreciate your advice.”

  Lugh smiled as she only proved that she was a fast learner.

  “One last thing. If you wish to join Tuatha. Then speak into this with an offering and whoever, whatever court is interested will appear.” He said as he handed Lian a stone amulet before leaving.