The smith pressed her lips together; the cheeks already ruddy from years at the forge flushed even redder. The anger on her face vanished in an instant.
In that brief moment, it felt to her like ages had passed—she even forgot to breathe.
slurp.
Close one… she almost made a fool of herself.
She snapped back to herself and schooled her features.
Gauss met her eyes—was it his imagination, or were wisps of "smoke" curling off the top of her head?
"H-hello. I'm Sif Albena."
She kept staring at him, which made Gauss feel a touch odd. Why? Because the mismatch between her massive, powerful frame and the shy awkwardness she was showing hit him as intensely contradictory.
Off to the side, Jon's mouth twitched into an "as expected" look. He'd foreseen this. Anyone who knew Albena at all knew her nature: a tough exterior, and a heart that was a complete sucker for a pretty face. And in Jon's opinion, judged on looks alone, Gauss was the best-looking man he'd ever seen—an overwhelming crit to Albena.
"Hi, I'm Gauss. These are my teammates—Alia, Serand—"
He instinctively took half a step back and began the introductions. He'd thought Sena's Rachel was the strongest woman he'd met, but that "title" had just changed hands. Not that Albena outclassed Rachel in power—just in build.
He suspected special blood in her veins; this physique wasn't something an ordinary human could reach on sweat alone. Pure physical prodigy. Standing near her, he felt a rare pressure—a body's warning that the "creature" in front of him could harm him at close range.
"Hehe… hello, Sir Gauss—hello, everyone," Albena said, voice suddenly soft. If not for the little scene with Jon just now, Alia and the others might have taken her for a gentle giant. With that first impression, it all felt… awkward.
"Just call me Gauss," he said. Seeing how stilted she sounded, he hesitated, then added, "Maybe—use your natural voice?"
"This is my natural voice, Sir Gauss," Sif Albena smiled. She caught Jon's hidden smirk; her eyes flashed sharp again. Damn this middle-aged oaf—making a bad first impression on Gauss.
From the first glance, she'd decided: this was the man she was going to follow for life.
Since she said as much, Gauss let it drop. As a teammate, she looked excellent. The fact that she threatened him—felt threatening—was proof enough. Contrast that with the Guildmaster beside him, off whom Gauss felt no danger at all—the difference spoke for itself.
And in terms of role, Albena filled a hole his team had: a pure, front-line tank. Her build radiated safety. With her braced up front, he could relax and be a true back-line caster with the others' support.
But did she have time? No badge—so no easy read on rank—but at least Level 6, and likely punching above it. And she looked busy. Even if her interest in him was clear, when Jon asked her a minute ago about joining the job, she'd refused.
He glanced at the forge behind her. "Albena, I'll be brief," he said.
"Anything, Sir Gauss."
"…We've got a contract involving thousands of monsters. We're recruiting. But your shop looks very busy—if you can't spare the time, we won't impose."
He was a "say it straight" type. Whatever warmth she showed him, business was business.
"Not busy. Not at all," she burst out, shaking her head—completely disowning her answer to Jon moments before.
Alia and the others traded looks. That was… fast.
"Shall we talk somewhere else?"
"Give me a moment." She turned back inside; the hiss of quenching and a clatter sounded. When she came out again, she wore a cold gleam of steel: full plate etched with blue mana tracery, a tower-shield as tall as Gauss with a golden crystal in its boss, and a massive twin-bladed axe—the crescent head wide, the haft thick and leather-wrapped.
Armored, the pressure she gave off doubled. She stood there like a mountain—a mountain with an axe that would come to you.
"Albena—you all talk; let me know when you set off," Guildmaster Jon mumbled, edging away. He was half-afraid she'd split him with that axe.
Gauss hadn't expected her to gear up so fast—but since she had, a field test was in order. "Is there a clear space nearby?"
"There is. This way, Sir Gauss," she said, leading. Her forge sat near the edge of town; a few steps took them to a postern in the wall. A few soldiers leaned with their spears, chatting, when one stiffened like he'd seen a beast.
Thump. Thump. A shadow fell over them.
"Could you open the gate for us?" Albena asked.
"Right away, Ms. Albena," they jumped. They knew her and didn't dare drag their feet.
Outside, the world felt harsher. "Aren't you tired?" Gauss asked. "I've got a storage pouch—I can carry some of that."
Her kit had to weigh in the hundreds of kilos—maybe more. Albena just shook her head—and to demonstrate, flicked the giant axe lightly twice. Wind roared off the blade—"light as a feather" made manifest.
"It's not that heavy."
Gifted really was the word.
She took them to an abandoned yard. Thunk. She pressed the shield down; its edge bit the dirt and stood like a wall.
"Sir Gauss—your job's in the mines, isn't it?" she asked. He hadn't shared details; she'd guessed it anyway.
"Yes. Under the Brennan Mine."
"Figured. Out here, only those abandoned pits raise monsters worth a damn," she said. Then, candid: "You're brave. No disrespect, but most at your level wouldn't touch a contract this dangerous."
Her eyes flicked to their badges. A nest of a thousand wasn't "ten lots of a hundred." Outnumbered, likely with high-tier elites inside. Most "elite" parties couldn't handle that. Even teams of masters would think twice.
It was why she wanted in: she wasn't about to let this kind of man die on a "normal" contract. With her, even if they lost, she was confident she could get these green faces out alive.
"We've got experience killing monsters," Gauss said with a smile. "Albena, what's your class level, if I may?"
"Level… 6, I'd say, Sir Gauss," she blinked.
"You can call me Gauss—you don't need to be so formal," he said, sweating a little. By the feel of it, she wasn't just a six. And she was a smith. In any town, that made her someone people courted.
"Okay, Sir Gauss," she said sweetly. …So much for that. She was strangely stubborn about it; he let it go. It cost him nothing—Serandur still called him "captain," after all.
"Ms. Albena—hello, I'm Alia," Alia said, stepping up—craning her neck to look up, swallowed by Albena's shadow.
"Hello, little Alia," Albena smiled.
"Eh?" Alia blinked. She'd hoped to savor a "Lady Alia" from a master-level powerhouse—but no. So only Gauss got the royal treatment? She shot him a look. Too real, Ms. Albena. And what was with the "little"…?
Shadow and Serandur kept their peace; there'd be time to talk later.
"Sir Gauss—want to see what I can do?"
"If you don't mind—that'd be best," Gauss nodded.
…
About ten minutes later—crash—the empty yard was a ruin. Albena looked on, abashed. She hadn't expected the structures to be that flimsy—or maybe she was just too excited after not moving for so long.
One shield-slam and the packed ground spiderwebbed; walls and sheds collapsed in a heap.
Gauss stood on a jut of stone and wiped sweat from his brow. Albena wasn't just for show—beneath the build was raw, brutal power.
"That was 'Mountain-Quake,' Sir Gauss," Sif Albena said, a little embarrassed, shouldering the shield. "I overdid it. When I drive this Bulwark of Peaks into the ground, it pulses the shock forward and knocks enemies down in a wide arc."
"Excellent control," Gauss nodded. The Bulwark was the shield's name; the axe was Earth-Splitter; her armor—Azure Oath—returned stamina to its wearer mid-fight.
Three purple, exceptional-grade items—fit for a master—on one person, while Gauss's team mostly wore blue and white. Even for a smith, it was… opulent.
He even wondered if he could beat her. In a straight melee—probably not. That was a first. Serandur and Shadow, higher in level when they'd joined, still didn't match him in pure fighting power by design. Dropping a teammate this strong into the mix—temporary or not—put a healthy weight on him.
"Sir Gauss…" Albena asked softly after his brief comment and long silence, "am I… good enough?"