Players’ NPC daddy

"Strangers say that even dogs don't play with blacksmiths."

"Damn stranger!" Although he had never met the stranger before, the dwarf Hawkins had such a low impression of the stranger that he would spit at him when he saw him.

"In the beginning, the strangers were particularly enthusiastic about blacksmiths, but because the dwarves lacked wisdom and could not advance in the profession, they gradually gave up." Marika explained for the strangers. Of course, this was to prevent the dwarf Hawkins from really spitting at the strangers.

A rough man like the dwarf Hawkins who spits at a stranger will surely be hacked to death.

"Love! As long as there is love, it can create powerful weapons like a lottery!"

If the dwarves regard the weapons they forge as their own children, then the dwarf Hawkins is now quite unbearable, shouting that it doesn't matter how many children you give birth to, you will eventually give birth to a powerful one.

But think about it from another perspective. The dwarves don’t really care whether the weapons they forge are powerful or not. They forge weapons everywhere indiscriminately, leaving their skills in the world in the form of weapons and equipment.

It’s a pity that the strangers are pragmatic. If they can’t make powerful weapons for trading, they would rather go fishing.

Marika checked the reliability of the shelter and then got in. Just as she was about to light the bonfire, the dwarf Hawkins spoke.

"If you light that bonfire, you won't be able to return to your own world by dying. You'll be trapped here."

Marika didn't answer, but lit the bonfire.

The moment the orange flames rose up, it meant that Marika gave up the chance to leave here.

"Blaze will come here, and I will wait for him here and clear the obstacles for him." Marika stood up, her eyes reflecting the flames of the surrounding fire.

"Of course, if he's late, I'll go and defeat the Second One-Eye myself."

"Are you kidding? No one can hurt the second-generation One-Eye without the Golden Bough of Life." The dwarf Hawkins's beard twitched a few times, probably in a mocking manner.

"Besides, you can't really kill the Second One-Eye by fighting. He will go straight into Valhalla, and Valhalla is his territory, so he can easily get out."

"This is important information. Does that mean that in order to defeat the second-generation One-Eye, we must first destroy Valhalla?"

When Marika started thinking seriously about it, the dwarf Hawkins found it absurd. If Marika wanted to learn the art of blacksmithing from now on and forge a god-killing weapon under the nose of the second-generation one-eyed man, he would only applaud Marika's courage.

But Marika was thinking about how to kill the gods.

"You are just a dwarf, and blacksmithing is our job." The dwarf Hawkins advised earnestly.

"My job?" These two words caused Marika to pause briefly. Then she asked, "Who decides this?"

"A lot." Dwarf Hawkins spread his hands. "Ancient heritage, bloodline talents and instincts, the world's perspective, and so on. This isn't just a matter of hundreds or thousands of years, but rather the accumulation of [main duties] from the ancient age of the gods all the way to the present day."

"Even if you're a dwarf half-blood, you should be able to detect it from the gazes of those around you."

Skilled in blacksmithing, the adopted parents of metal, and family members of fire, dwarves have many titles.

People only use "natural forging masters" to describe dwarves. This can be said to be a stereotype, but it is also extremely appropriate.

Even if the wisdom of the dwarves is lost, the dwarves are still the most powerful blacksmiths in the world. They only need to swing their hammers a few times to make metal come alive and become extremely powerful weapons.

As the old fairy tale goes.

The short and strong people wielded hammers in the flames. The sharp blades they sharpened could cut dragon scales, the armor they forged could resist death, and the farm tools they crafted could bring life to the barren earth.

Perhaps before the strangers appeared, the only ones who felt pain over the dwarves' loss of wisdom were the dwarves and the forging masters who learned from the dwarves.

That is the pain of not being able to display your talents.

"As a knight and a warrior, you have your limits, and you are completely unable to realize your potential and talents. In contrast, if you become a blacksmith, you will have unlimited possibilities."

The dwarf Hawkins opened his hands, showing bundles of Gungnir behind him.

"The Second One-Eye didn't take my wisdom so I could forge Gungnir for him. I can pass that wisdom on to you and teach you how to craft Gungnir. When that happens, you'll be able to protect more than you can now."

The words of the dwarf Hawkins are very tempting, because dwarves are not a race that is good at speaking. They speak their mind, so what they say is so difficult to refute.

Seeing that Marika remained silent, the dwarf Hawkins struck while the iron was hot.

"Aren't you waiting for your friends to defeat the Second Cyclops together? So, instead of risking being discovered by the Second Cyclops and Valkyrie by exploring Asgard alone, why not refresh your blacksmithing skills here and craft equipment for your friends that's powerful enough to fight the Second Cyclops?"

"You still hold on to the profession of [Blacksmith]. Doesn't that prove that you know you should become a blacksmith?"

The dwarf Hawkins opened his hands towards Marika. In his hands was a special item that could be used to give up his profession.

The meaning of the dwarf Hawkins was very clear. He would give up several professions and then forge weapons in this workshop to gain experience points until he could create the [Golden Branch of Life].

This is an extremely precious set of procedures to become a dwarf forging master, and also give you the opportunity to obtain the secret book of forging Gungnir.

But Marika was reluctant to take the props. To be precise, Marika had no intention of accepting it and was not shaken at all by the words of the dwarf Hawkins.

"I don't want it. I don't want to be seen as a dwarf by others. I keep the [Forger] just to remind myself not to forget that I was once lost."

This is the story of when she was not yet the Red Dragon Marika, but just an ordinary resident of Balkan City.

Chapter 387 A Difficult Journey, the Unwavering Red Dragon

Marika recalled her childhood, when she was still a young girl and almost everyone mistook her for a dwarf because of her red hair.

The word "Dwarf" was incredibly unique, even among the Giens, who had all inherited the power of giants. It was a golden sign, and everyone would associate it with her future.

At that time, even the friendly neighbors would half-jokingly say, "You will definitely become an excellent blacksmith like your mother. When you do, you must make us a magical hoe."

The neighbors had no ill intentions; they simply expressed their goodwill, blessing her and hoping that she would become the ideal dwarf.

A powerful blacksmith, that is the best in their eyes.

In fact, she didn't want to be a Blacksmith. Her dream was to become a knight, but she couldn't say it out loud under everyone's expectant eyes.

On the day she received the blessing, she also obtained the profession of [Blacksmith] under the expectation of her neighbors.

She was scolded by Blaze for this.

That was the first time she faced his scowl, because in his eyes, she was using a hammer to hammer herself into an ideal vessel bit by bit. He would not allow her to do such self-harming behavior, especially in front of him.

That day, he said, "If you really care about their expectations, then I will be the blacksmith."

Obviously, he also dreams of becoming a knight.

Now that I think about it, why did I want to become a blacksmith when I was young?

Because becoming a knight is a dream, a dream that is infinitely close to failure and is accompanied by many difficulties. Becoming a blacksmith, on the other hand, is an ideal that can be achieved, and it is something that can be accomplished very easily.

Isn’t the process of growing up just about shaving off some dreams and turning them into mature ideals?

So she didn't grow up.

"In my opinion, simply responding to expectations is nothing more than an empty shell, just like these Gungnirs, a mass-produced product that fulfills other people's expectations."

"Are you trying to say that the failed prototype in your hand is the good one?" The words mass production and empty shell hurt the dwarf Hawkins deeply. He pointed at the red spear behind Marika, his voice hoarse.

"I made that. It's just a branch, but it gave rise to ridiculous dreams of wanting to burn."

"It wanted to burn, and it burned." Marika took off the spear, and when the red faded, a spear that looked like a branch appeared.

If this spear were thrown into Gungnir, no one would be able to recognize it.

Although the appearance is almost identical, it does not have the ability to cast a fatal shot. This is a wooden spear that wants to burn, and its inner part no longer allows for any expectations.

"Aren't dwarves supposed to forge weapons at will? Why do you call it a failed prototype? Aren't you proud of this miraculous gun?"

"If it was forged at a time when the lives of my people were threatened, full of panic and prayers, and carrying the hopes of my people, I would only hate it." The dwarf Hawkins raised his hands. They were made of bimetal, and he could no longer feel the hands of metal rebirth.

"You are a fallen dwarf like me."

"I gave up on forging a unique life, and you betrayed your own bloodline."

"Bloodline?" Marika tapped her shoulder with her spear, and the warmth of the smile on her face was difficult to match even the flames in the furnace.

“Who I am and the path I take are all determined by me.”

Marika and the dwarf Hawkins parted ways on bad terms. The one who parted was Marika who left the workshop to explore Asgard, while the one who was unhappy was the dwarf Hawkins.

He sat alone in the corner of the workshop, feeling lonely. He knew that he had gone too far, and between the lines there was a hidden accusation against Marika for not choosing to become an excellent blacksmith.

But this is an old problem of dwarves. Dwarves are not good at education at all.

When dwarves forge iron, they can easily change the shape of the iron, casually giving the new metal a variety of properties. Marika, on the other hand, is like a stubborn piece of iron, finding its own shape no matter how hard it is hammered.

He subconsciously wanted to correct it, but it only made his hands numb from the shock.

It is hard to imagine how much this little girl, who inherited the stubbornness of a dwarf and refused to be a dwarf, has experienced to achieve what she has today.

That would certainly be an unimaginable frustration. No matter who it was, they would associate her red hair with dwarves, and thus become confused, questioned, and... proposed a more appropriate option.

Even so, she persisted and grew to the point where no one could associate her red hair with the word dwarf anymore.

"No wonder he can pick up my gun. What a piece of...fine steel."

Dwarf Hawkins looked at the metal in his hand and gave a helpless smile. In the dim workshop, the headless dwarves' bodies pounded the branches stiffly, turning materials full of potential into mass-produced, soulless shells.

Under the hammer of the dwarves, weapons, armor, and even cooking and farming tools should be unique, but these Gungnir are exactly the same from head to toe.

Gungnir is a masterpiece to be proud of, a meteor that answers wishes. But Gungnir is just an empty shell, implanted with a single command, a puppet that uses that command for everything.

Poor, stillborn children.

The dwarf Hawkins instinctively tried to touch the furnace, but the rising flames sent smoke billowing from his metal body. Even if his wisdom hadn't been taken away, he would never have been able to sing in the flames again, celebrating the birth of life.

……

West of Asgard.

Because she had no idea of ​​the direction, Marika arbitrarily planned her location to be west of the city, and carved a huge word "West" on the ground with a spear.

As for why the carving was done to confirm that the current location was the west, if one started from other directions, one would eventually encounter one thing, which was [the next step was to go to the west of the city].

It sounds like going to the west, which means going to die.

This is also one of the cultures brought by foreigners. They often shout that they want to send anyone who angers them to hell. Even a fool can hear that this means they want to kill that person.

Marika was willing to believe in such mysterious things.

After eliminating the most inauspicious direction, the next step was to explore this place. If the Second One-Eye was killed in battle, it would lead to the place called [Hall of Valor] and be resurrected in an immortal state. Therefore, she must first destroy the Hall of Valor.

"A magnificent palace..."

Marika leaped onto the rooftop and looked towards the castle in the middle. That was where the second-generation One-Eye was, and then the palace below, shrouded in gray dust.

The heroic spirit soldiers who had attacked her and transported Gungnir were talking and laughing as they headed towards the palace.

Chapter 388 Limited Tenderness

Einherjar are heroes who died in battle. Their bodies are the fusion of flesh and soul. They can die and be injured, but can be resurrected indefinitely in the Hall of Valor.

They can be said to be an undead army, but the Blessed Ones who can crush soul flames and convert them into experience points are their natural nemesis.

The only question is how many of these Einherjar there are.

Marika had experience hunting regional lords. While they were difficult to deal with, she was always able to win. Far more dangerous than regional lords were the large numbers of enemies.

To put it bluntly, a good dog is no match for a bad dog, not to mention that these heroic warriors are not jealous.

Just as Marika was feeling distressed, she heard a faint cry, and her knightly instinct made her subconsciously look for it. It was a mother and daughter, the mother was young and the girl was younger.

Why are they in Asgard?

The environment of Asgard is completely unsuitable for life. The only residents besides the dwarf Hawkins are the Einherjar, but only those who died in battle can become Einherjar.

It was hard for Marika to imagine that a five or six-year-old child could become a heroic warrior. Not everyone could be like the stranger, whose appearance was inversely proportional to his fighting ability.

Could this be a trap?

Marika thought for a moment and then emerged from her hiding place. She wasn't the leader of the Royal Knights and the lord of the Fast Territory for nothing; she had the ability to judge people.

Of course, the most important thing is that she doesn't want to miss those who need help.

"Hello."

"No, stop hitting us! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

As soon as Marika appeared, her mother hugged her daughter and used her thin body as protection. The young daughter did not cry or make a fuss, but was like a little wolf that could pounce at any time.

Seeing this, Marika immediately put away her weapons and took off her armor, leaving only her black casual clothes.

"I won't hurt you."

The mother stopped shaking, but still didn't dare look at Marika, so Marika had to keep her distance.

She has confirmed the identities of the two people. Both are heroic warriors, but their levels are extremely low. The mother is LV5, while the daughter is only LV2.

There is definitely something unusual here.

Marika waited patiently, she never lacked time to help others.