In time, the great city built by the Rekenber Corporation was completed. The once wild valley where the city now stood has been completely urbanized. The grassy soil replaced with granite. Where trees once stood there are now buildings five times as tall. The laboratory was left standing in a guarded location, where what little trace of the wildness of the valley was left. Soon people immigrated into the city and the city flourished with activity. The largest building, the headquarters of the Rekenber Corporation, is probably the first building seen by arriving immigrants, for it towered above the rest. Proud Rekenber named the great city Lighthalzen as homage to the great scientist who founded the laboratory. Lighthal seemed not to approve of this. He stayed during the city's construction mostly in hiding but he left after the city was completed and named, claiming never to return.

Rekenber continued all halted research in the Lighthal Laboratory. Many various technological breakthroughs were made like the building of the steam engine, leading to the first airship. The introduction of the airship revolutionized the way people travelled around regions in Rune-Midgard. Lighthalzen thus became the center of technology and commerce in the Schwartzwald Republic.

The advancement of the city did not owe itself to the corporation alone however, for many adventurers had volunteered to help in various tasks around the city. The most notable are the efforts of Seyren the knight, Eremes the assassin, Margaretha the priestess, Howard the blacksmith, Cecil the huntress, and Kathryne the wizard. Ranging from cleanup operations around the city to the discovery of the hidden city of Juperos, this group of adventurers, who had worked for the Rekenber Corporation even before Lighthalzen was built, had indeed lent a hand to the advancement of the city.

At the highest floor of the headquarters of Rekenber Corp., Rekenber was personally thanking this group of adventurers. They were all seated around the table, with Rekenber seated at the end of the table with Eremes and Seyren seated at either side of him. He raised a glass of wine before speaking.

"I know we've been off with a rather shaky start but now the city is complete!" said Rekenber with a smile on his face. He emptied his glass and gave a satisfied gasp. "You have been here for the corporation almost from the get-go so I want to reward you…"

Howard raised his head and gazed excitedly at Rekenber, who immediately noticed and chuckled. "No Alt-Sein, it isn't a party. Your free to throw one yourself after this meeting though." Howard nodded vigorously in an exceedingly childish manner, causing Kathryne who was seated next to him to sigh.

"Anyway, I'm going to let you guys in on a secret. Listen carefully."

The adventurers all leaned closer to listen, with the exception of Eremes, who was leaning against his chair and looking at Rekenber in an almost bored way.

"How long was it? Three years when we began constructing Lighthalzen… Anyway, around halfway through the construction, our scientists finished the prototype steam engine. With that, we built the official first airship, though it was a lot smaller than the public one used today. Me and a couple of business associated used it to travel to Juno, marking the airship as a success. We decided to finish building the city before releasing airship service to the public so there…"

"Get to the point already," interrupted Eremes in a bored tone. He didn't bother to stifle his yawn when Rekenber looked at him in a rather offended way. "I was merely giving out some interesting details… But fine I'll get the point."

"Have you heard of the Heart of Ymir?" asked Rekenber. His gaze swept around the table and caught Kathryne raising her hand. "Kathryne, you're not at the academy anymore so you don't need to raise your hand… but carry on."

Kathryne looked embarrassed for a moment as she lowered her hand but answered confidently. "I heard about the Heart of Ymir… I think it was recently found beneath Juno. It's supposed to be a link to Valhalla right?"

"Well I can't be too sure," replied Rekenber. "But that seems to be the case. The guys who found it couldn't explain it well either… Anyway, they charge a fee for anyone who wants to visit the Heart so uh… Well I want you guys to go check it out. I paid for your admission so just let me know when you want to leave." He looked carefully at Eremes, as though expecting a retort. When he didn't receive any, he turned to Seyren who said in a thoughtful voice, "Sounds interesting. Anyone up to check things out underneath Juno?" Everyone else nodded, leaving Rekenber with a satisfied smile since even Eremes nodded without question. Before he could be sure of himself however, Seyren asked a question.

"How will this little trip underneath Juno help the corporation anyway?"

Rekenber shrugged and replied, "You tell me. It's a risky investment but I'm curious about the secrets of the Heart of Ymir."

"Wait a minute, you said that that is our reward!" exclaimed Howard who stood up as he spoke. "How is another job a reward?"

"Think about it, a trip to Valhalla! If the link is indeed true, many wonders await you," replied Rekenber. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity you know?"

"You know Rekenber, I never pegged you as someone who believed in the gods," said Cecil, finally speaking. Rekenber brushed off her comment, saying, "Regardless of whether or not the Heart's link with Valhalla is true, you all shall be compensated handsomely."

After he was finished talking, he got up and made his way to the door. "I'm going to get something. I'll trust that you'll think about it thoroughly while I'm gone." As he closed the door behind him, everyone else in the room started talking with each other.

Kathryne was excitedly conversing with Cecil who was seated across from her. "I can't believe it… The Heart of Ymir! I heard it's the thing that keeps Juno afloat…" Cecil shrugged and replied, "Like Rekenber said, no one can be too sure. But Valhalla… sounds like a really exciting place to go to."

From across the table, Howard was positively talking Seyren's ear off. "Yeah, we could party all day in Valhalla and never stop eating and drinking! Sounds like the place for me! ...Uh that's what people do in Valhalla right? Actually... what was a Valhalla again...?" Seyren shook his head as he tried to calm Howard down. But across from Seyren, Eremes was quietly thinking.

"Valhalla… Rebirth…?"

Margaretha took notice of Eremes's thoughtful expression and asked him, "Is something the matter?" Eremes shook his head and replied, "Nothing's wrong…" Eremes stood up. "Well I'm going… You guys are going to go right?" he asked.

Seyren nodded and answered, "Yup. So it's settled." He stood up and addressed the others. "We take the first airship to Juno. We can talk about things further there." One by one, the adventurers left the room. Howard was last to leave and in his excitement he left the door open. As the sound of their footsteps faded away from the hallway, Rekenber appeared from behind the door, closed it and leaned against it. He took out a bunch of notes from his pocket and skimmed through it.

"Well what do we have here?" he said suddenly. He pocketed the notes and walked away from the door. "Eremes Guile my friend, there's more to you than meets the eye."