There was only one word for this pickaxe… Utterly MONSTROUS!
"I never thought you guys would make something this monstrously strong for a mere pickaxe." I sighed.
"What? "MERE"?!" Asked Baldur angrily.
"Pickaxes are our pride and joy, they're the very best friend inside a mine. Without them, our entire country wouldn't exist." Said Balladur. "They're the glory of our tribe."
"The two of them wanted to make the best pickaxe they had ever made for you, Lady Maria." Said Darfu. "Although they complained there were not enough materials, they really made something ridiculous with what they had."
"H-How come it has such insane Abilities though?" I wondered.
"It received the Divine Protection of the Goddess of Earth, that's why." Said Baldur.
"Indeed, she blessed this Pickaxe. Can't you tell already? it is named Atlas by her." Balladur added.
"Wait what? So gods can bless items?" I wondered.
"When they're very impressed of our creations, they sometimes bless the items, granting them special effects that make the items utterly stronger than anything before. It is a very rare chance though." Said Darfu.
"Though lately it has been happening a lot…" Said Baldur.
"Yeah, all the weapons we've made for your party, all of them got the Divine Protection of the God of Blacksmiths, and now this one got the one of the Goddess of Earth. Pretty crazy, right?" Laughed Balladur.
"You might think the gods abhor you, but there might be some in your side without you realizing, Maria!" Said Darfu.
"I believe they know you're helping our country, so you guys got a gift from all of them. You better pay back and help us deal with the problems. The whole dungeon thing could potentially be a huge solution to our harvesting issues alone." Sighed Baldur.
"But if you manage to conquer THAT Dungeon… then you would be regarded as National Heroes." Balladur said, while nodding. "We've made our part now, so it is up to you guys to do the rest."
"Right… I suppose you're right. Thanks a lot." I said with a smile.
"Yeah, never thought the grumpy old men that asked for beer back then would become so useful now, you're pillars for a lot of stuff in our village." Said Partner.
"Who are you calling grumpy old men?!" Baldur asked.
"Well, we kind of are!" Laughed Balladur, Baldur laughed right after him.
"I never thought a God would bless a Pickaxe…" Lucifer said. "Well this world is surely filled with wonders."
"Papa! Biiiiggg…" Said Nyx. Since the moment Lucifer transformed into his dragon form, she began saying her newly learned word "big" all the time. She was euphoric over his giant appearance and found him awesome.
"You will one day also become as big as me, Nyx." Lucifer humored her, as she sat down in my lap beginning to bite over the pickaxe I received. I quickly stored it because her sharp fangs could definitely break the pickaxe if she put her mind into it. And instead I gave her
"No, don't bite the godly pickaxe dear." I said, petting her head.
"Grawr! Rar!" She roared cutely, trying to bite my hand.
"You're a cute little dragon already, huh? You want to bite so badly? Oh! Brunhild, lend us your tail for a bit." I said, as Brunhild quickly flinched the moment I grabbed her tail.
Nyx began nibbling at it.
"Sigh…" Brunhild sighed. "She bit my tail this entire morning already…"
"Don't worry, Emeraldine can heal you back." I said.
"I guess I can…" Emeraldine nodded. "It is nice to have a living member to our party now."
"Eh? Ah, I guess I am a member of your "Main Party" now?" Wondered Brunhild.
"Of course! And with Nyx, we are five now." I said. "Those old dwarves don't got a knack for fighting so they stay in the security of the country, but you'll be coming with us in our adventures from now on. don't you want to explore the world after living in isolation for so long?"
"Right… I guess I do want to." Said Brunhild with a smile.
"Oi Maria, don't force my sister to do things she doesn't want to though!" Lucifer reprimanded me. "Brunhild if you don't want to accompany us you're free, don't feel forced, you're quite old and-"
"I might be your older sister, but it doesn't give you the right to call me a grandma now, Lucifer!" Brunhild suddenly changed her often silent and gentle nature, going back to her cocky nature from back then when we first met.
"I-I didn't called you a grandma! Oi, calm down okay?" Lucifer seemed scared of his sister. "O-Ouch! Don't grab my scales! Agh! Don't pull them!"
"Apologize!" Brunhild had some sort of complex over not wanting to be seen as old.
"Okay sorry! I apologize." Sighed Lucifer. "Only because you're my sister, a great dragon such as me doesn't apologize to anybody!"
"Dwagon!" Said Nyx, imitating a new word.
"Yes honey, that's what you are, a dragon." I said to her, as she smiled.
"Dwagon?" She asked, pointing at herself.
"Oooh! Wagooooon!" She said happily, her tiny tail began waving around as if she were a puppy.
Then she started petting her father's scales below.
"Papa, dwagon, big?" She asked, pointing at her father and then at herself.
"Yes you will one day be big like papa." I said with a smile.
"Bwiiig!" Nyx seemed to be excited about becoming big.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your cute little moment, but we are finally here." Said Baldur.
"Ah, the good ol' mountain." Said Balladur.
"Look, if you focus your sight into the sky, you might be able to notice the barrier." Darfu told me.
"Really? Let's see… Oh! You're right." I said with a nod. "I can actually see it! The barrier's right there!"
I was able to see the barrier layer by layer. It was indeed quite a big, massive barrier that spread out across the sky. It looked to be made of many tiny barriers as well, each one reflecting the small sunlight and enhancing it several times, I guess that's how it works… If we can get this back in the village, things would be able to change for the better.