Odyssey of the Blind God

While Phillip was still shocked that someone with Nial's reputation thought that he could become stronger enough to be of any use to humanity, Nial had already returned to his study.

He urged more people to come over so that he could take a look at their condition and create the runic armament they needed to be as strong as other Originals, or even stronger.

Nial was pretty sure that the vast majority of crippled Originals were desperate to change their fate if their life had been only remotely as frustrating as his own.

Living without the ability to see for 15 years and without awakening his Origin clearly told him that the government had to improve a few things. Nial wanted to change the government in this regard and in many other ways as well.

For this he might not need to help other Originals to fix their issues but it would certainly be helpful if he could allow Originals with disadvantages to become even stronger than everyone else.

Several days passed in which Phillip was given the opportunity to show off his strength in ordinary Rookie dungeons. He was doing well, not a single dungeon monster could even touch him which allowed him to conquer the dungeons quickly.

Phillip was giving his best to show off the black runic prosthesis, and it quickly turned into the 'breaking news' of the shelter. Many were curious about the sudden emergence of a prosthesis with runic constellations engraved on it.

Other Originals with similar conditions and Phillip found their way to Nial after they got to know that he had created the prosthesis, and a few clamored around him to join the Onyx Association.

However, Nial didn't accept everyone at one go. He had to see the desperation in their eyes, and the determination to become stronger, otherwise, it would be a waste of time to create a runic prosthesis for them, let alone nourish them.

Some cursed at Nial after he plainly rejected them but that was not something he could be bothered about.

Right now, he was not proficient at creating a prosthesis, especially since they had to be customized with specific runic constellations and different sizes, materials, and so on according to an individual's need.

It would take days to create one product with his proficiency as a blacksmith and to collect all the necessary resources. Thus, Nial couldn't care less if someone begged him for help or cursed at him for sending them away. He didn't have the time nor the ambition to be everybody's savior because he wanted to increase the number of Ancient Origin Rings that revolved around his body in the next few months.

There was only half a year, or possibly a little bit less than that left before Jundra was said to reawaken. Until then, Nial's initial plan had been to advance to the Prometheus rank.

Unfortunately, that was not even feasible if he were to be in Yggdrasil, where he spent 45 days creating one Ancient Origin ring. He had to create four more Ancient Origin rings and merge them to advance to the Prometheus rank.

On Jundra, it would require him at least four months to create another Ancient Origin Ring, maybe three if he spread out enough Origin crystals around him.

That was something Nial wanted to make use of. He wanted to create his 6th Ancient Origin ring before Jundra's planetary mana core would awaken.

Afterward, he would use the higher mana density of Jundra to accelerate his advancement. Until then, he might as well focus on the Onyx Association.

He wanted the news to spread that he was the best Runicier mankind had ever seen through all the shelters to make sure that everyone knew about it. This was also one of the reasons why he helped out the desperate and determined Originals, who needed his help to live a normal life.

Of course, this was only a small reason to create the prosthesis for others, but it was more than enough to attract the attention of various Artisans. Nial didn't want to keep blacksmithing and concocting forever.

It was a time for him to learn something he was not innately talented in. Learning all three Lifestyle occupations was not necessary if he had someone, who could concoct all the runic solutions he needed. The exact same applied to blacksmithing.

Nial knew that he was not a talented blacksmith and that Phillip's arm prosthesis still had room for improvement. Thus, it would be much better if there was a talented blacksmith, who could create the weapons and goods he needed before he would engrave the runic constellations using the runic solutions that had been prepared beforehand as well.

This was one of the reasons why he created the Artisan Guild, called Orion. Both the Onyx Association and the Orion Guild complemented each other because each needed the other.

The Orion Guild would create all kinds of potions and equipment for the Onyx Association would ensure that the Orion Guild would have enough resources to keep creating equipment.

Nial wanted to create a symbiotic relationship between the two organizations, and earn a huge fortune, which he would then use to keep nourishing his people.

That way, they would become stronger and stronger, whether it was in terms of proficiency, knowledge, techniques, or their ranks.

Nial had big plans and the Onyx Association was just the first step to make sure that he would be acknowledged as the best human Runicier all over the shelter.

The Nightshadow Elves and Dark Elves joined his Onyx Association officially as well after a while. Nial created top-notch quality Tier-1 runic weapons and protective garments for them to make sure that they would assist him in reaching everyone's ears. He wanted that publicity.

Being at the Prometheus rank, the three brats of the Nightshadow Elven race were in possession of Tier-2 runic weapons. However, they were not able to use these weapons properly yet.

It was not necessary for them to use them if they couldn't even exhibit the same power with high Tier weapons as they could unleash by wielding top-notch Tier-1 weapons.

Possessing higher-tiered runic armaments may be helpful in the future but it was certainly not something that would be useful while being at the Mirae or Prometheus rank.

In fact, it might decrease their combat power drastically!

Nial spent his time in a rather relaxed manner working on his plan.

He was busy but didn't fight much. It was a calm time that made him feel as if he was on a vacation.

There was not a lot of time for him to spend with his family but he tried his best to be with them as much time as possible.

He asked his sister, Hana, and the Maverick sisters to join his association so that he could improve his reputation in a short amount of time, but that was not possible.

The Heaven's Gates organization prevented them from joining the Onyx Association, which was bothersome but still somewhat fine.

Days passed in which Kristine finished all purchases, including the large piece of land he had wanted. After he got his hands on the land he wanted, Nial hired the biggest construction firm he could find to build everything he needed. The large piece of land which he owned had the size of a small town that could house more than 3000 citizens.

It was interesting for the construction firm to see what Nial had planned, which was also why they accepted Nial's deal immediately.

He provided the necessary funds for them to start working and would pay the rest in installments. The Nightshadow Elves provided the resources required to build and Nial paid the wages by creating a bunch of Tier-1 runic armaments every now and then.

After half a month had passed since Phillip and many others had joined the Onyx association, Nial figured that the number of people who were willing to join him had stagnated.

There were still a few but Nial was not too keen to take them in based on their first impression. Nourishing someone required lots of resources, along with lots of time to maintain someone's runic prosthesis after they'd been created in the first place. Thus, Nial only wanted the best of the best.

His gut feeling was the sole factor he used to decide whether to accept someone in his group or not. If he didn't like them, their behavior, or something about them, Nial would reject them bluntly.

That may be cruel but he had better things to do than care about others' feelings.

There was no room for mistakes and Nial was fully aware of this.

"Is someone here?" A loud and hoarse voice resounded through the huge workshop in Nial's home.

Nial was still working on a runic armament, which was why he didn't answer. He had sensed the newcomer who had tiptoed into the room but didn't bother about greeting him.

And that was even though the young man, who had entered the workshop, was the first Original at the Prometheus rank. Everyone knew the 30ish-year-old man, including Nial.

After all, he had heard quite a bit about Melheim Zorn, one of the ten strongest Originals of mankind.

Melheim Zorn walked through the workshop as if he had been there thousands of times. He found his way to Nial almost instantly, following the quiet sound of the young Original's breathing.

With calm composure, Melheim Zorn listened to the sound of Nial's engraving and a faint smile appeared on his face when he sensed the newcomer.

"I'm sorry but I cannot fix your eyes if that's what you are here for," Nial said almost instantly when he visualized Melheim Zorn's eyes, or what was left of them.

Nial had heard that Melheim Zorn had once fought against an extremely powerful dungeon beast and that its claw had brazenly cut through his eyes. Apparently, the beast had been too fast and Melheim had barely managed to save his life.

However, he had sacrificed his eyes in the process and his nose bridge had cracked into a thousand pieces as well.

The nose was not a big worry and it was reparable to an extent, however, Melheim's eyesight had been lost forever.

Nial could only guess that Melheim Zorn had heard about his capabilities to create arm and leg prostheses, which was why the young man must have approached him.

However, his guess was wrong as Melheim shook his head.

"That's not what I am looking for. If you cannot tend to your own eyesight and restore it, I doubt that you are capable of fixing mine. That was not meant to be rude, by the way," Melheim said calmly and Nial nodded his head.

"My eyes have a different sort of problem but I agree. In the future, I might be able to create runic armaments that can replace your eyesight but that will require lots of research, time, and practice," Nial was similarly calm as Melheim when he spoke to one of the strongest humans of the nine shelters.

"How can I help you?" He added with a faint smile on his lips.

"I know how the government usually treats 'defective' humans. Even I am usually eyed weirdly when everyone thinks that I cannot sense their gazes, but that's wrong," Melheim shared in a sad voice, shaking his head as he didn't understand how the government could be so foolish before he added,

"I like what you do, and I heard that you don't force anyone to do something weird or expect a fortune from them even after they have to stay in your association for a year. You even nourish them, which means that you would make a big loss instead of a win by taking them in."

Melheim released his mana to perceive Nial's stable mana fluctuations. He smiled at this calmness of the young Original, and continued to speak,

So, I wondered what you were doing and I came to the conclusion that you're planning for the future. Everyone you help will need you, or someone capable enough to maintain their prosthesis. If that's not enough, they will realize too late that they have grown dependent on your help and resources, and they cannot go back to living their old life. Of course, they will only realize when they think about leaving you.

I like your way of thinking and the long-term investments you do, probably for both your own sake and to make sure that mankind will be strong enough to endure the future that awaits them!"

Nial began to frown the more he heard Melheim talking. He felt a bit weird because he could already guess Melheim's next words.

However, that was exactly what confused Nial because there was no reason for Melheim to do what he was going to do.

"That being said, I want to join you!" Melheim Zorn declared, proving Nial's prediction correct."

**

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