"Good, with this you will be tall and strong in the future..."
Hearing Rio’s words, Kifrid pouted.
"Hmph! You think I am a little kid who can be easily fooled, right? You only hit me with the flute! I won’t fall for that!"
Rio’s skills worked directly on the soul level, and as he didn’t harm or do anything bad to Kifrid, it was near impossible for Kifrid to even notice anything.
In fact, even SS-rankers might not be able to sense that Rio changed something inside Kifrid’s soul and sea of consciousness.
This is the scariest and most horrific factor of Rio’s power.
Not even the victim would know what happened to them once hit by Rio’s powers.
If these powers were in the hand of some villain, he could have created hell on earth by misusing them.
"Haha, don’t be greedy, kiddo. I already blessed you with such an amazing blessing. what else do you want? I only have some candies left now..."
Hearing the word candy, Kifrid’s eyes shone brightly but he somehow managed to stop himself.
"No, my mom said not to take candies from strangers; I will not fall for that trick!"
Rio could only give a wry smile at those words.
’If it was Riya she might have fallen for that trick though... but well, she’s already so strong, it wouldn’t matter anymore...’
Riya was already capable of blasting demons and monsters to bits when she was just a mere A-ranker, and now that she’s become an S-ranker, her healing skills might be as lethal as Rio’s miasma in combat.
"The sun is setting; you should head home now, kid. it’s quite late-"
Before Rio could finish his words, Kifrid interjected,
"Okay, I have thought about it! If you want to grant me a wish, then help my grandpa!"
"My grandpa is an old man, but he’s been depressed because he can’t find his lost weapons!"
Rio was taken aback by that request and asked,
"Why is your old grandpa looking for weapons? Shouldn’t he be basking in the sun all day and enjoying retirement?"
"Well, I am quite good at finding things, so perhaps I can help him..."
Rio does have a powerful skill to track down people or items. He can just pierce Kifrid’s grandpa with his sword and use soul manipulation to figure out where he lost his weapons.
People usually find it hard to remember many things, but their souls and sea of consciousness never forget any incident in their life; by accessing those two things, it’s possible to read a person’s entire life story.
Rio has experimented on quite a few voluntary test subjects to practice these skills, so he’s skilled enough to say that as long as the other person is an S-ranker or lower level, Rio can safely read their mind.
"Good! Let’s go then! I am sure Grandpa will be very happy! Hehe!"
With that said, Kifrid sheathed his wooden toy sword and placed it beside his small waist.
Then he started walking towards his grandpa’s home, but his legs were too small and he was too slow, so Rio grabbed him and placed him on his shoulders.
Rio walked faster, and the nice wind breeze hit Kifrid’s face while riding on Rio’s shoulders, making him smile and laugh.
"Whooo~ this is nice! I have decided! You are my friend from now on! You are my big bro Rio from now on! Hehe!"
Rio rolled his eyes at those words and spoke.
"Don’t trust strangers too easily, kiddo. What if I was a bad guy?"
Kifrid giggled at Rio’s question and spoke,
"I heard the sweet tune you were playing! It was very nice; only someone who’s a good person can play it!"
Rio was a bit taken aback by that answer.
’Err... this kid, he’s too naïve... well, he’s a little kid; he will mature as he grows up..’
While sighing to himself, Rio carried the little kid on his shoulders as they both made their way to a giant hilltop nearby.
"Oi oi, why is your grandpa living on a hilltop? How is he able to climb such a steep hill in his old age?"
Kifrid giggled at Rio’s words and said,
"He’s always complaining about his back pain, but he refuses to live with us! He’s always sitting in his gloomy small house!"
Rio could only sigh at those words.
Thankfully, the hill was quite far from the town, so Rio did not have to worry about anyone seeing him with Kifrid.
Being a human in this dwarf kingdom will make him stand out too much, and Rio didn’t want that; he was only helping Kifrid because he needed to pay off the debt he owed to this little kiddo.
Kifrid was highly talented, and Rio could intuitively feel that this kid might become a great figure in the future, so it was better to establish a friendly relationship beforehand.
"Grandpa!! I am here~"
When Rio and Kifrid reached the small home, Kifrid shouted excitedly while Rio observed the place.
’This seems like a forge or something? Is his grandpa a blacksmith or something?’
Being a blacksmith, making weapons and artifacts, was a very popular and ancient profession of the dwarf people.
If you chose any random three dwarves, you would likely find at least one blacksmith, even today.
Factories and industries can mass-produce weapons nowadays, but powerful weapons are still handcrafted.
That is what all dwarves pursue.
All of them want to become master blacksmiths capable of crafting S-rank or even more powerful artifacts.
’I don’t feel any mana fluctuation or any change in the environmental phenomena... that means Kifrid’s grandpa is an ordinary person...’
Rio took Kifrid to the front door, and Kifrid jumped down from his shoulders before kicking the door of the forge open.
"I am here grandpa!"
Kifrid’s grandpa was drinking beer while sitting on his worn-out chair placed near the small forge.
"Oh! You are here, my adorable grandson! It’s been a while since I saw you!"
Kifrid and his grandpa hugged each other to greet each other.
Rio also walked in at that time and Kifrid introduced him.
"This is my new friend! Big Bro Rio! You were saying that you had lost some items before; I brought him to find them! He said he’s good at finding things!"
The moment Rio walked inside the forge, Kifrid’s grandpa also raised his eyes to look at Rio.
It was as if this moment was purposely planned by Fate itself; it was as if the entire world had come to a standstill in that moment.
Kifrid’s grandpa’s eyes fell on the Rio flute hanging by his waist, and he almost jumped up from his chair in sheer shock!
"Oh my god!!! Is that ’Vinash’!? That’s ’Vinash,’ isn’t it!? How do you have that sword!?"
Fear and horror appeared on the old man’s face as he hurriedly hid Kifrid behind him in shock and disbelief!
"Wha-what!? Why do you have that cursed weapon on you!? And who are..."
"Wait, you look familiar!! What’s your relation with that b*stard Kevin Flash!??"
Rio was just as shocked by the old man’s words, and he almost tripped due to the sheer shock.
He never expected anyone to recognize his sword so easily, even though it was disguised as a normal steel flute.