Michael didn't have anything special planned for his birthday. In fact, he specifically reminded everyone to not have prepared anything lavish or excessive. A simple get-together would have sufficed.
"Of course, Lord Michael. We shall prepare only a small party for you," Sheina replied with a smile.
"..."
He didn't know if he believed that. Knowing Sheina, she definitely had something else planned.
"I'm serious, Sheina. I just want us to focus on the Reborn company. The next few days will be crucial for us because the Golden Road is about to be connected."
Since he had permission from the Duke himself, Michael and the Reborn company finally restarted the Golden Road project. Construction workers were already pouring concrete and flattening the roads just a few kilometers away from the gates.
Once the road was done, then the citizens of Angora City could finally visit Neo Orcus! And once they visited that, they would have to visit the Kings region and the Nation of Reborn as well. The Golden Road was essentially a funnel that drove all commerce to paradise in the Parched Lands!
"Don't worry, Lord Michael. We have the road under control. Planning your birthday party won't take away from everyone's time too much," Sheina said giddily.
"Everyone?"
"Ahem…Well, I better get going!" she said, skipping out of his room and coincidentally avoiding his question.
He took a deep breath and fell back to his bed. He decided to sleep now and recharge his social batteries for when the birthday party started.
But just as he was about to sleep, he suddenly heard a knock on his door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"...It's Butch, sir. The previous leader of the HammerStone company."
Michael got up and opened the door, seeing the well-armored bald man standing in front of him.
After integrating them to the Nation of Reborn, Michael hired a lot of the HammerStone adventurers to become bodyguards for the company. Their strength was definitely needed with the expansion.
"What's the reason for your visit?" he asked, inviting the man in.
Butch walked inside his room and respectfully stood in place.
"When Christian was escorted out by his family out of Angora City, they approached me and told me to give you a message."
"What is it?" he asked, confused as to why the HammerStone family would want to contact him.
"It concerns the HammerStone inventory, sir. They want to give you something as a sign of good will."
Michael raised his eyebrow. Duke Stelmane told him that Christian's father was sorry for his son's actions, and it seemed he was right. This was the man's way to try and reconcile with him, it seems.
"What's the gift?"
"It's contained in Christian's hidden stash, sir. Its…"
Michael sensed a sense of fear from Butch.
"Did you see it?" he asked, and Butch nodded.
The bald man took a second to breath and explained what he saw.
"It's a flaming piece of metal sir. I tried prodding it with a metal stick, and it burned it into ashes. Nothing worked. Everything this flame touched is torn asunder."
Michael's eyes widened. Butch's description seemed very familiar. It was as if he was talking about the flaming ball of fire from the GodForge!
"Take me there," he said, hurriedly.
Butch nodded and did as Michael told. He led Michael to an abandoned mansion near the outskirts of Angora City.
Technically, this land wasn't part of the HammerStone branch so Michael didn't even know this existed in the first place.
"It's over there," Butch said as he jumped over the ledge of a destroyed window that was previously barred with wooden planks.
They walked over to the master bedroom, which seemed to be in tip top shape. There was even a cup of water by the bed.
Butch then opened a hidden hatch on the wooden floor to reveal a rectangular box made out of Damascus Steel.
"This is it, boss. It's his secret safe."
[Magic detected] ChatJK4 informed him. [The metal box is imbued with a 7-star spell called (Contain Magic) that prevents any mana from leaking outside its container.]
Curious, Michael walked over to the box and lifted the lid.
And immediately, a bright light illuminated his face. And if it weren't for the captivating object hidden within the box, Michael would have turned away his eyes in fear of going blind.
But he couldn't. He had to stare at the floating piece of metal in the box.
This metal was like a small shaving from a rounded piece. It was a little bit smaller than his pinky's fingernail and about as thin as paper.
And surrounding this floating piece of metal was a familiar ball of white flame that seemed to emanate a kind of danger that a wild, untamed animal could only produce.
The fire flickered as Michael looked at it, as if warning him to stay away.
And just one look, Michael was sure that this was a piece of the GodForge!
Small, yes, but a part of it nonetheless.
He couldn't believe that such a valuable piece of relic would just be sitting here under the floorboards of an abandoned house without any care at all! This thing was much more valuable than the entire Angora City combined!
He reached for it with his fingers.
Butch warned him about its dangers, but he knew that he could withstand its fire. After all, he withstood the Unity flames of the much bigger GodForge and survived without much problem.
As his finger reached the ball of flames, the metal began to quiver as it tried to burn Michael's entire hand. He didn't know why, but he felt that if this metal had a mouth, it would call him insolent for even daring to try and touch it.
"Sorry, but you're just a piece," he said as a prismatic shield appeared around his hand, clashing with the ball of Unity flames.
His finger slowly pierced through the fire before eventually reaching the quivering piece of GodForge.
As soon as he made contact with it, the piece suddenly stopped quaking. It seemed to recognize the power that was taking a hold of it.
"That's right," he said to the piece. "I can return you to your rightful place."
As soon as he did, the flaming ball of Unity protecting the piece suddenly dissipated, lightening the air significantly and making Butch breathe normally again.
Michael smiled before trying to grab the floating piece.
However, the piece suddenly shot out from the metal box and straight into his chest, causing him to fly straight through the wall and go through the other side.
He ended up on the ground next to the kitchen, with powdered paint and splintered wood all over his hair and face.
He was caught off guard. He looked down at his chest and saw a tear in his leather armor.
He ripped his clothes and saw a hole in his chest. Panicked, he tried to claw the piece out of his body but the 'injury' he sustained immediately healed back up without any warning.
"What the hell?!" he shouted out loud.
ChatJK4, why didn't you protect me?
For all the times when his Unity Defense failed him, it had to be this time.
But suddenly, he heard a ding in his mind as there was a bell inside it.
[GodForge progress: 3%]