Now, decades later, Moon was starting to question her approach. Doubts crept in as she wondered if she might have been more useful to her race by breaking through to the devil rank and becoming a devil merchant. Every demon merchant had the ability to recommend a demons or devils for merchant status every three decades. However, a devil merchant could make one such recommendation every decade.
Looking back, Moon realized that during all these years, she could have helped many devils from her clan become devil merchants. Those new merchants, in turn, could have used their recommendations to help even more Froslings gain status and influence in the Dark Realm. The thought weighed heavily on her, making her regret her decision to delay her breakthrough.
She couldn't help but feel selfish. At the time, she had believed she was making the right choice, but now the consequences of her actions—and inaction—loomed over her, filling her with doubt and guilt.
Realizing her search for a way to modify the Frosell titled demon core method was going nowhere—and that she wasn't helping her race in any meaningful way—Moon was on the verge of giving up. She began preparing to gather the necessary ingredients to break through to the devil rank, hoping to contribute to her race by helping more Frosling devils become devil merchants.
But even as she tried to move forward, she found herself unable to let go of her original resolve. Unable to make peace with her conflicting feelings, she impulsively bought a ticket to a crafting duel at the Chaos Dwarven Forge. The duel, featuring a demon emperor-rank Chaos Dwarf contestant, was meant to offer her a brief escape and maybe even inspire her with new ideas.
In the colosseum, however, Moon's frustration grew. The judges' antics—delaying their entrance and teasing the audience with unnecessary theatrics—irritated her to no end. All she wanted was to immerse herself in crafting, the one thing she was truly passionate about. Instead, the unnecessary delays frayed her nerves. In her growing agitation, her mind abandoned the gentle demeanor her race was known for, and she found herself glaring at the judges with a murderous intensity, as though she could bathe in their blood for wasting her time.
Perhaps it was this visible frustration that made the judges single her out. To her surprise, they asked her to select the species and realm of the corpse puppet the contestants would craft for the duel. Without hesitation, she chose Frosling and Demon Emperor realm. It wasn't a random choice—she wanted to use this opportunity to see if the Chaos Dwarven crafter could offer her new insights about her race or present an innovative take on what was already known.
Most crafters avoided using Froslings for corpse puppets due to their fragile bodies, but Moon was curious to see if the Chaos Dwarf could overcome this challenge in a creative way. She hoped to adapt whatever techniques the dwarf used to craft a powerful Frosling corpse puppet, applying them to her own body if possible before breaking through to the devil rank.
To her disappointment, the Chaos Dwarf turned out to be a complete letdown. However, the other, unknown contestant was a revelation. His skill and ingenuity caught her completely off guard. Watching him work, she felt, for the first time in decades, a spark of hope. His understanding of the Frosling race seemed to beyond even her and elders in her race. If it were him, she thought, perhaps she could finally achieve what she had set out to do for her race.
With a newfound spark of hope in her heart, Moon decided to seek out the unknown contestant. She wanted to learn more about him before approaching him to help her race. Her plan was to gather solid proof of his abilities, something compelling enough to convince her race's elders to pool the entire wealth of their community as payment for his help in modifying the Frosell title demon core method.
However, as the duel progressed, Moon began to worry that her race might not be able to afford his expertise. Despite this, she refused to give up and resolved to make contact with him and negotiate.
Fortunately, when Moon volunteered to become the unknown contestant's champion, he accepted her out of all the audience members who applied. This made Moon wonder if fate itself was at work—was this a sign that the unknown contestant was destined to be her race's savior? Her desperation made her mind race, exaggerating the significance of the events. Recognizing this, she calmed herself and resolved to focus on helping him win the crafting duel. She hoped this would leave a strong first impression, paving the way for more favorable negotiations when she approached him with issue of her race.
As the duel progressed, Moon began to realize just how exceptional the Frosling Corpse puppet created by the unknown contestant truly was. Its artificial will was of a remarkably high level, capable of acting independently and completing tasks with only simple instructions and objectives. It even showed potential to develop into a spirit.
The puppet's artificial will demonstrated extraordinary resilience and recovery when confronted with spiritual interference techniques. It could weaponize the Glacier Plague, even outside the frigid environment of the Winter Valley. What's more, it was capable of crafting SS-rank weapons and armor in mere fractions of a second.
The more Moon used the Frosling Corpse puppet, the more impressed she became—especially with its Glacier Silk skill. To her amazement, the puppet could use Glacier Silk to create artificial soul energy pathways, enabling it to lay down array formations. It had even utilized this skill in the creation of its mechanical armor laying micro array formations in it similar to the ones used in creating golems.
The sheer ingenuity behind crafting such a capable Frosling corpse puppet left Moon in awe. She was now convinced that, when it came to knowledge about her race, this unknown contestant knew more than the entire Frosling race combined. She didn't bother to question how he had acquired such expertise—she already knew she wouldn't like the answer, especially given the painful history of her race in the Dark Realm. Her only focus was to recruit him to help her people, though it was becoming painfully clear that her race could not afford his services.
Adding to her concerns, the contestant's identity was shrouded in mystery. Some speculated he was an heir of the ruler class, while others believed he hailed from the farthest corners of the myriad realms, places unknown to most. Regardless of his origins, Moon resolved to stay close to him for as long as possible, waiting for the perfect moment to ask for his help and negotiate his price.
She stuck to her plan even as the unknown contestant made enemies of the Chaos Dwarven race, particularly the powerful Ironhold family, and as whispers spread that the entire Dark Realm might target him for his unique craft print for creating Frosling corpse puppets. Moon had already decided that her life was insignificant compared to the prosperity of her race. Therefore, she had no problem risk her life sticking to the unknown contestant who making enemies left and right.
Her patience was soon validated when she witnessed how the unknown contestant handled two young Chaos Dwarves who had been disowned by their race for supporting him and standing against their family. Where others might have manipulated or exploited the young dwarves, he chose to guide and help them, despite the immense risk to himself.
The moment that solidified Moon's resolve came when the contestant offered to give up an Orbiumite ore mine for one of the young dwarves after she confessed her family wanted her to betray him to regain their favor. That gesture revealed something crucial: the unknown contestant wasn't short on wealth—he was short on loyal allies.
With this realization, Moon devised the perfect offer to secure his help for her race and decided to act on it.
"Master Crafter, you're right. I can't afford it. But I'm prepared to sell myself to you."
"I promise to willingly be your slave for the rest of my life—to serve you and guard you with my very life—if you'll help me with my request."
"I know the Frosling slaves aren't worth much in the market. Not even a thousandth of what I'm asking from you. But I still hope you'll show mercy on my people."