Star Forge Titan

"The maximum dose that most humans can withstand is probably about that level. Also, the reason why the requirements for the pre-profession types become stricter as you progress through the different sequences is also due to this factor. After the high levels, those who are not pre-professionals of the relevant sequence cannot even withstand the impact of the materials used in the promotion ceremony on the body." As he spoke, the young wizard snapped his fingers and used a low-level trick to raise a small flame at his fingertips.

"It's like a bonfire. If you want it to burn more fiercely, pouring a bottle of kerosene on it will naturally do the trick. But pouring a basin of water on it will obviously have the opposite effect."

This metaphor was very intuitive, so Alvin immediately understood.

"What if a bottle of kerosene is exchanged for a bucket of kerosene?" the black-haired boy said to himself.

"The pyre that supports the bonfire will probably be burned to ashes!" Khayon snapped his fingers to extinguish the flames and said with a double meaning:

"An ordinary pile of firewood can't do it. What if we use ten times the amount of firewood?" As he said this, the corners of Alvin's mouth couldn't help but rise.

"Well, it would probably make for a very, very spectacular bonfire," Khayon replied uncertainly.

"Well, that's what I thought too."

At the same time, Alvin also made a silent decision in his heart.

Looks like we need to speed up the analysis of the ancient documents about the Knight of Embers.

"Okay, what do you think about the previous incident?" Khayon changed the topic.

"Don't tell me you really plan to participate in the competition honestly next time? No way, no way? This is not like your style." The necromancer asked with a strange smile:

"Well, the young alchemist from Genoa certainly wouldn't bother with such troublesome matters." Alvin spread his hands with a very innocent look.

"But a certain masked prince who smuggled into the country can't sit still." Khayang twitched his lips, as if to say 'I guessed it a long time ago'.

"I really don't understand why you want to get involved in such trouble." The necromancer couldn't help but complain:

"Although it is difficult to explain, I must first state one thing: the world will not be peaceful forever." Alvin closed his eyes, revealing a bit of fatigue and melancholy.

"Of course, even though the Human-Demon War has ended for almost a hundred years, war has never completely disappeared." Khayang snorted coldly, with a hint of gloom between his eyes and brows.

When he was a child, he thought he became an orphan simply because of misfortune. But after truly understanding what kind of world this is, he gradually realized that the real cause of so many tragedies is the combined effect of various complex factors.

The so-called misfortune is just an excuse for the weak to comfort themselves.

"I'm not talking about that level of stuff." Alvin shook his head.

"Oh? Elrond's army of arcane monsters is gradually taking shape, and the magic army that emerged after Lind's technological revolution also has the power to flatten the continent. I heard that the distant desert country is also changing, plus those ancient races that have been secluded in the Great Wilderness Forest for thousands of years and have not appeared. I really can't think of anything in the future that is more likely to destroy the world than 'war'." Khayon curled his lips and said in disbelief.

"Maybe not in the material world, but... what about in the sky?" Alvin raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

Kayang's expression changed slightly. He knew that the other party was not talking about the sky.

"Don't talk nonsense. The gods have been silent for many years, and even the temple forces have become more and more low-key. Are you talking about those cultists? Okay, I admit that they did make a big enough noise in Avonmore. But this is a rare low-probability event in more than a hundred years. It is impossible that it just ended there and it happened again in Linde..." After speaking, Khayang stopped talking.

"Angels may not come in pairs, but devils always appear hand in hand." Alvin calmly said a proverb popular among the people of Linde.

"Yes, stinky beasts are like potatoes, they always come in groups." Khayon held his forehead and said an Elrond proverb with the same meaning.

"Are you sure?" The Necromancer rubbed his hair, which had been tangled like a bird's nest, in annoyance. As the hair fell, he couldn't help but lower his voice and asked:

"When it comes to demons, what else is there to guess?" Ivan asked.

"Those things are more obscene than frog piss!" Khayon cursed in an extremely vulgar way.

"But there's no need to worry too much. Since we have already discovered their conspiracy in advance, the next thing is how to make them unlucky." Alvin intertwined his fingers, like a cage trapping something, and his eyes flashed with a bright and sharp light.

"What are your plans?" Khayon asked bluntly:

"Let's not act rashly for now. Let the sheriff of Welsh Field attract their attention first, and then..." Alvin slowly clenched his fists.

"Hit them hard from where they least expect it."

Seeing this, Khayang showed a look of understanding.

"As expected of you, you are really simple and crude." The Necromancer said with a chuckle:

"The simpler the method, the less likely it is to encounter unexpected situations. After all, this is all the information we have right now. We should adapt to the situation." Ignoring the other party's slightly sarcastic comments, Ivan said very pragmatically:

"So, you plan to continue participating in the Youth Magic Car Competition? Isn't that the same as what I said?" Assistant Ka Yang frowned speechlessly.

"Well, competition is also important. Adults, of course, want it all." Ivan said with a smile:

"How greedy." Ka Yang curled his lips.

As he was speaking, Bryant's voice came from outside the door.

"Sir, there's a note for you."

There was the sound of clattering footsteps in the corridor, and a black and white skunk scurried into the living room, a note clutched in its front paws.

Alvin took it and looked at it, then looked unsurprised by its contents.

The note was written by Tang. He had already contacted the dwarf group in Lutetia, but the other party decisively rejected the exaggerated figure of '100 pounds of mithril'.

However, the other party's words were not final. If Alvin went to meet them in person, there might be a chance of turning things around.

The black-haired boy lit the note with words written on it on the gas lamp, and there was still a smile on his face.

"Those dwarves are really hard to deal with."

Chapter 97: Why are you kneeling?

Why am I kneeling?

Looking at the ground so close at hand, what arose in the mind of the rune blacksmith Borok Minsenda was not anger, but a bunch of question marks symbolizing confusion.

As a race known for their indomitable spirit, even with a broken leg, they would never grovel, their knees seemingly unbending. Dwarves display a staggering stubbornness in many ways. Coupled with their ancient family system and traditional master-apprentice education, the willpower of most adult dwarves is strong enough to withstand even psychic magic.

But now, the rune blacksmith, Borok Minsenda, the manager of Kazarim Workshop's Lutetia store in the royal capital of Linde, suddenly knelt down.

The dwarven society has a clear division of labor. After most young dwarves reach adulthood, in addition to choosing to work as ordinary civilians, they often embark on three paths: military service, blacksmithing, and priesthood.

The Runesmith title is an honorary title bestowed by the Dwarven Craftsmen's Guild upon those with over thirty years of experience and a certain level of technical accomplishment. This title also signifies that the holder has mastered traditional Dwarven forging techniques, qualifying for their own workshop and access to leadership positions in Dwarven society.

Afterwards, they can choose to continue their studies and delve into technology, or they can choose to be sent to Kazarim workshops in various places as managers.

Because of the need to come into contact with foreign races, dwarves who choose to be sent abroad and experience a period of time are usually relatively smoother than other dwarves, but their true nature is still as tough or stubborn as rock.

But at this moment, surging emotions like a tide surged in Borok's heart, and he couldn't even suppress the trembling of his whole body.

Standing in front of the dwarf blacksmith was a black-haired young man, with a confused look on his face.

So, why is this...?

Time goes back to one hour ago.

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"Why did you come up like this?" Kayang looked in astonishment at Bryant who was still running up in skunk form.

"Oh, maybe... I'm used to it?" Bryant seemed a little surprised when he heard his question, as if this hairy druid had never thought about this at all.

Transcendents who choose the druid sequence, especially those who have just completed their promotion, often remain in beast form for more than eight hours a day. This allows them to better understand the various abilities of this form, communicate with nature more quickly, and become familiar with other druid skills.

However, this also brought a problem: the occasional rookie druid who stepped on a hunter's trap. Seeing these young people lying innocently at the bottom of a pit or hanging in a net in a strange position, the hunters living in the Great Wild Forest often had no choice but to show helpless expressions and notify their commander to come and collect them.

Bryant was certainly no newcomer, but he was already very accustomed to both beast form and human form.

To put it simply, there's almost no difference in how proficient this guy is at using a knife and fork with his paws versus his hands.

Of course, that only applies to the skunk form. Bryant isn't quite as proficient in the Northern Malamute form yet, and besides, grabbing a knife and fork with a dog's paw is definitely more difficult.

Incidentally, Dominic, the spirited young man who had just delivered the note, was startled to see a skunk cleaning the courtyard upon entering. When he heard the skunk speaking to him in the Common Language with a slight Great Wild Forest accent, he was so startled that he dropped to the ground.

It was not until Bryant revealed his identity as a druid that Dominic showed a half-believing and half-doubting look, and he was obviously still wondering whether this was a magical creature that had escaped from a circus.

Without paying attention to the two comedians' nonsensical conversation, Alvin decided to go there in person after reading the note.

Mithril was expensive, but that wasn't entirely due to the limited supply. It was mainly due to the dwarves' hunger marketing, or the limited quantity they were selling.

Yes, having a bad temper and stubborn nature doesn't mean that these dwarves won't be profiteers. In fact, because of the above two characteristics, dwarven profiteers are more difficult to deal with than ordinary profiteers.

It's not a question of whether they're shameless or not; it's just that they're incredibly difficult to deal with. Ordinary profiteers might cower or at least take a step back when faced with a "stick" wielded by a local authority. But dwarven profiteers, when faced with a "stick," will pull out their axes and fight tooth and nail.

In addition, their smelting technology is indeed better than that of most countries, which means that the Kazarim workshops opened by the dwarves often receive preferential tax treatment and have a relatively special status. Even the large flagship stores in the capitals of various countries also serve as embassies of the Dwarf Kingdom to other countries.

It is precisely because he understands the other party's background and characteristics that Alvin knows that the current price of mithril is actually very inflated.

As early as three years ago, the Dwarf Blacksmiths Guild invented a new type of 'mobile smelter-type' earth vein mining device, which increased the mining volume of various mineral deposits several times.

That huge machine is like a mobile factory that travels between underground mine layers, capable of continuously excavating various ores and completing preliminary smelting on site.

However, this large and beautiful piece of engineering actually uses industrial technology from Linde.

After the introduction of Linde steam engines earlier, the dwarves became so obsessed with this machine that many excellent blacksmiths devoted a lot of energy to it.

Therefore, although they did not develop a magical engineering system like Lind, they also developed dwarven engineering with steam engines as the core.

Even the dwarf society, which originally relied on soldiers, blacksmiths, and priests as its three pillars, has gained a new force: engineers.

Pulling his thoughts back to where they had wandered, Alvin took the Genoa-style lightweight jacket and also picked up a walking stick that was mixed in with the daily necessities that Tang had sent him. The other party was quite thoughtful and had chosen only top-quality items.

This short stick, with a falcon-shaped metal head fixed on one end, is not nominally a weapon and can be brought into various formal occasions. However, in some cases, it is actually no different from weapons such as batons.

"I'm going to the dwarves." After saying hello to the two comedians who were still bickering, Alvin left the alchemy workshop in the suburbs.

"Well, what do you think the boss is planning? I've shopped in dwarven shops before. The human clerks were polite, but those dwarves were as bad-tempered as ever. They're a very difficult bunch to deal with."

"I don't think the other party will easily change their attitude just because they're talking to someone else," Bryant asked puzzledly.

"Ha, maybe it's about spending money. We have enough funds." Ka Yang avoided the question and did not express his real guess.

"With money? Maybe it's possible." Bryant touched his chin. He had seen the workshop manager named Borok, who was indeed a little more tactful and shrewd than the ordinary dwarf.

If you have enough money, you might not be able to buy it with 100 pounds of Mithril, but you will probably be able to buy it with less than 10 pounds.

In fact, the hairy druid didn't know that the method of "buying with money" was actually not feasible.

A large part of the funds in Ivan and Kayon's hands came from the stolen money of the vampire pirate king. Unless the money is laundered through Tang's channels, it cannot flow into the market openly. However, that will take a long time, and there will be a certain proportion of losses in the process.

As a companion who had come to Lind from Elrond by fighting each other and making fun of each other, Khayon guessed some possibilities.

He guessed that a guy who claimed to have learned a bunch of random knowledge from the shamans of the North was planning to obtain sufficient rare resources from the dwarves by exchanging technology.

After all, it is well known that those guys, whose personalities are as stubborn as stone, are eager for various smelting and forging techniques.

Indeed, Alvin planned to use several technologies invented by the dwarves in the future as bargaining chips.

He was still somewhat confident about this. As for exchanging other people's future inventions for things they had now, was this behavior considered getting something for nothing?

This is of course different. I have helped them save a lot of research and development time, and time is priceless!

Even the goblins would say 'Oh my friend, time is money!'.

So, it’s obviously me who is losing money, okay!

With full confidence, Alvin jumped into a rented carriage and passed through the Gate of Heaven to the central street of Lutetia.

He soon found the Kazarim Workshop run by the dwarves in the central business district of the city's most prosperous street, which also had the highest land and store rental prices.

This workshop covers a very large area. Although it is called a workshop, in fact most of the store is used to display a variety of finished goods. Various weapons with exquisite shapes and even inlaid with expensive gems are hung in an orderly manner on specially designed and artistic display shelves and walls on both sides of the store. The area actually responsible for forging is actually only a small part at the back.

Most goods are mass-produced directly by the dwarves in their kingdom of Lonely Mountain, then shipped to stores across the country via commercial routes. The only items that truly require in-house crafting are typically high-priced custom orders for VIP clients, so the forging area naturally doesn't occupy a large area.

When I walked into the store, I was greeted by a beautiful female clerk in a long dress.

"Welcome, Atelier Kazarim Lutetia is at your service. What may I do for you?"

Looking at the shop assistant in front of him who maintained a polite smile, Alvin couldn't help but sigh that these dwarves were actually quite smart.

As for the image in fantasy novels of an old dwarf sitting at his anvil, clanging away, forging iron, ignoring customers who approach, and even humming a little. This has been the stereotype of dwarf workshops for at least thirty years.

At present, the front desk staff of Kazarim Workshop are all young girls with regular features and tall figures hired from the local area, and they are also provided with uniform clothing.

They even hired etiquette teachers to provide short-term on-the-job training, striving to ensure that every customer receives service immediately and never feels neglected.

This is a business reform initiated by the current Dwarf King, King Oriogo, nicknamed 'Goldenbeard'.

Due to the rapid development of human technology, it is difficult for the Dwarf Kingdom to achieve the "buy if you want" policy as in the past by relying solely on its technological advantages.

In order to change this situation and reverse the continuous decline in sales, the young King Oriogo, who had just taken office, decisively launched a business reform. Because the king liked to tie his beard with a gold ring, this reform was also called the Golden Beard Reform.

It was this Dwarf King with advanced ideas who transformed the Kazarim Workshop from a simple blacksmith shop that occasionally served as a Dwarf embassy into the large-scale chain store it is today, and was also responsible for the import and export of various resources of the Dwarf Kingdom.

"I have an appointment with the rune blacksmith Mr. Borok, and it was booked by another gentleman named 'Tang'." As he said this, Alvin took out the appointment letter that was sent by Dominic.

"I understand. Please go to the lounge area and wait for a moment. I will ask someone to notify Mr. Borrock." The female clerk took the appointment letter and bowed to Alvin with a smile.

The appointment letter was handed to another clerk, and the previous female clerk led Alvin to the rest area with a smile on her face.

The rest area is also decorated very luxuriously. Apart from some tacky gold decorations, the sofas for guests to rest are all made of genuine leather, and the materials used are not ordinary cowhide, but more expensive animal skins.

Although it is impossible to tell what kind of magical creature the skin is, it can still be seen that the dwarves have made a lot of money in recent years.