Damon nodded. He actually did not know something like this happened behind his back, but seeing that the system had compensated him with a mind-blowing reward, he couldn't care less.

Sylvara lowered her gaze. "Still… it doesn't sit right with me. I should have done more. I tried to do my best here and get some funds up and ready for your use. We have managed to gather about 50 million gold coins by selling the items forged so far. Please let me transfer it immediately to you." She clenched her fists and then opened the system interface and started typing furiously on it.

Damon laughed and then extended his hand to catch her hand. "Wait. Keep the gold coins. You probably need it more than me now. I have a few things I need to talk to you about. Also, don't worry about the war. It's already over, and I know you would have helped if you could have."

Sylvara bitterly smiled. She knew that Damon was simply trying to reassure her, but his words only made her feel even more distant from him. It was as if he never expected anything from her, and that hurt more. Would he be treating her the same way if she were Kate?

Sylvara bit her lips for thinking like this. She quickly composed herself and went back to her icy, indifferent facade. "Let's talk. Do you have something new for me?" She asked in a professional tone.

Damon then sat down and signalled for her to sit as well. He then turned to the side, and to Sylvara's surprise, he was talking to an empty space. "Why don't you reveal yourself now? That would make things easier for me to explain."

The air shimmered faintly, and a cold, crimson mist began to materialize beside Damon. A moment later, the outline of a tall, spectral figure emerged, vague, regal, and burning faintly with ghostly fire.

Sylvara's eyes widened slightly as the form solidified enough to reveal the stern face of an old vampire in ornate armor. His eyes glowed like dying embers, filled with centuries of pride and judgment.

"Who… is that?" Sylvara asked, jolting up from her seated position. The spiritual pressure radiating from him wasn't hostile, but it was ancient, older than anything she had ever felt before.

The ghost's gaze flicked toward her, and he inclined his head slightly. "So this is the woman running your little mortal forge."

Damon sighed. "Sylvara, meet old vampire ghost, also a grand master blacksmith. Old man, meet Sylvara, my friend who is helping me out. So you better treat her properly and not simply order her around."

The ghost snorted.

Damon then started explaining his plans. Sylvara's eyes lit up as she heard more and more. She listened in stunned silence, the pieces clicking into place. "This is brilliant." She gasped in the end. "Everyone would truly thrive under your guidance, Master." She bowed her head in respect. The old ghost nodded in approval.

Damon then gave her a bunch of leads once again. "These quests should give some interesting materials and blueprints for at least epic-grade items, depending on the degree of completion. These guys shouldn't just be holed up in the smithy. Make sure that they get some outside combat experience once in a while."

The old ghost nodded in approval. "You are surprisingly not so dim-witted."

Damon ignored the guy and then continued. "You know Sylvara… you should also take out the other thing."

Sylvara's eyes widened. Damon did not have to tell twice for her to understand what he was talking about. "Are you sure?"

"It's useless hiding in your spatial ring. You might as well bring it out in the open and see if it opens up a few quests. I know its barely been a month or so since the game opened but trust me. We don't have a lot of time. Things are moving fast and people are making big moves and taking their shot. We need to get out shot in too. I don't want to lose anything that could give us an edge."

Sylvara nodded. The old ghost looked curious, wondering what the two of them were talking about. The next second Sylvara took out a scroll from her spatial ring. It was a simple looking scroll. But when Damon rolled it open, the old vampire looked visibly shocked.

"What? How did you two get something like this? This is a powerful cosmic vessel! Only clans with a decent background would have access to something like this. That too only for purchase. To actually have the blueprint… You are truly a lucky woman."

Sylvara only smiled a little. In truth, it was only because of Damon that she had managed to obtain this.

"So what do you think, master? Is this challenging enough for the young bloods to start working on?"

The old ghost chuckled. "Oh, this will do. This will do very well. This can be a good whetstone for shaping my students."

"Alright then. I would like to see some progress the next time I visit you all." Damon bowed slightly to the ghost and then turned to Sylvara. "You don't have to be here the whole time. Now that this old man is here, he will take care of a lot of things. You should focus on your personal growth."

"I… okay. I will." Sylvara tried to be as indifferent as possible but a trace of disappoint flashed across her face.

"Ask me whatever you need. If I am not responding, ask Mark or Kaelthorn. They both will arrange things for you."

Damon did not linger too much and quickly bid farewell to the two of them before leaving the place. He asked the old ghost to slightly modify his appearance so that its not too obvious he was a vampire but Damon was not sure how much the proud ghost would hide his background.

He wouldn't be surprised if the next time he came here, the old man ended up converting everyone to bloodlings. But that was a problem for tomorrow. For now, he had settled some things and he was off to a good start.

The fact that the old man agreed to mentor students without showing any attitude or partiality towards humans was itself a huge victory. Only time would tell how things would evolve from here.

Damon quickly opened up another Blood Gate, one to his blood hall. Now that this was done, it was time to take care of other important matters.

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