Overwhelming Firepower

The following day, after drinking themselves to sleep, Lucen’s poison resistance skill actually ranked up from Intermediate to Advanced.

Last night, even with his intermediate poison resistance skill that helps with drinking things like ale, Lucen was unable to outdrink Durik.

When he woke up, it was early in the morning. He went down and saw a few people on the ground snoring.

”Good morning, young Thornehart.” Bromdir greeted him. Lucen was a little surprised that even when he woke up earlier, Bromdir was still there. Unaware of the shock he gave Lucen, Bromdir continued. ”The old stump had left a message for you.”

”What is it?” Lucen asked.

”This is what he said, not me, remember that. He told me that when you soft livered lads woke up, meet him in his forge.”

Lucen wasn’t really insulted by the term soft-livered. To a dwarf like Durik, all humans might look soft-livered.

”Thanks,” Lucen then gave a short nod at Bromdir.

He glanced around the tavern again. Empty mugs littered the tables, and several patrons were still sprawled across benches and the floor. Lucen then took a step outside the tavern.

The morning air hit him like a splash of cold water, washing away the last traces of last night’s haze. Smoke rose from chimneys across town, and somewhere nearby, steel rang against steel.

Lucen then saw Sir Thalos doing push-ups with his thumb. Even though he had drunk a lot yesterday, he still woke up earlier than Lucen.

Sir Thalos noticed Lucen had woken up and then used his thumb to push his body upward to the side. Sir Thalos then spun around and gracefully landed in front of Lucen.

Seeing this scene, Lucen had déjà vu. It was like this had happened before.

’Well, now that I think about it. Seeing Sir Thalos train and him noticing me to speak could happen a lot, and those movements of his are something he does normally. I guess I did see this happen before.’

”Good morning, young lord. Care to join me in my morning exercise?”

”Gladly,” Lucen responded without hesitation.

Even though he doesn’t get as much increase in stats as he used to training, when he does it with Sir Thalos, who pushes himself to the limit, he might get a stat increase. Not to mention, there was no downside to exercising.

***

When the sun was a little bit higher in the sky, Lucen and his group headed to Durik’s forge.

By the time they reached Durik’s forge, the sun had climbed high enough to cast long bands of light across the stone street. The heat hit them before they even stepped inside. The furnace was already roaring.

The steel door was slightly open. Lucen moved the door open and was surprised at how heavy it was. Inside the forge, he saw Durik working.

Inside, Durik stood bare-armed beside the anvil, hammer rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Sparks burst outward with every strike, scattering like fireflies before dying against the stone floor.

He didn’t look up as he spoke. ”Took ye long enough,” Durik grunted. ”I was wonderin’ if yer heads were still rattlin’ from last night.”

Lucen smiled faintly. ”Good morning to you too.”

Durik snorted and finally glanced their way, eyes sharp and far too awake for someone who had outdrunk an entire tavern. ”Don’t give me that. You humans, drink like ye’re afraid the ale might bite back.”

Sir Thalos let out a quiet chuckle. He found the humor of the dwarf quite entertaining.

”So... What are you making?” Lucen asked.

”I’m making equipment so that we can sneak around the Khaldruun and mine a few more orichalium.”

”Then even with that monster, you’re not giving up?” Lucen asked.

”Yes, the orichalium I have isn’t enough to make anything. Since you wanted five percent, I was thinking you wanted to make something from that orichalium as well. Besides, we ain’t killing the thing or trying to disturb its slumber, we’ll sneak around and get what we can. So will you join me, lads? If you don’t want to, that’s fine as well. I will still fulfill my end of our deal even without you helping this time.”

When Lucen heard what Durik wanted to do, he stopped to think about it. Orichalium was rare, but the weapons and armor made from it were mid-game level of defense, which was good, but not something to die for.

On the other hand, its ability to absorb mana and aura was the best. There was also its resistance to heat and cold, which was above average even compared to end-game equipment.

’In the game, there was a limited amount of things you could do with orichalium, but here in reality, there are some interesting things I can imagine using them for. Like the arrows and bullets of aura users can’t retain their aura once shot, but if made using orichalium, then it’s a different story... Still, is it enough to risk our lives for?’

If this were still a game, Lucen would have immediately agreed, but in reality, there were no save points. He needed to remind himself of that every now and then.

This was the same reason as to why he didn’t start tossing iron spheres at the Khaldruun when he saw it.

”I think we should do it.” Robert suddenly spoke. ”I can use a spell to help lower our presence. Since the Khaldruun is asleep as long as we don’t actively try to wake it up, it should remain asleep.”

Lucen looked at Robert; he already knew what the other party was thinking. He wanted a few orichalium to do some experiments. Since it was rare ore, this would be the first time he had a chance to actually get to use some.

”I will accept whatever decision the young lord makes.” Sir Thalos also gave his opinion.

”I, too, will follow whatever the leader decides to do.” Even Bram weighed in.

Lucen let out a slow breath. Four pairs of eyes were on him now, Durik’s sharp and expectant, Robert’s gleaming with barely restrained curiosity, Sir Thalos calm and unwavering, and Bram’s steady, wordless resolve.

This wasn’t a democracy; in the end, it was simply his call to make. Lucen couldn’t help but smile as this reminded him of the times when a player needed to make a decision in-game, but back then, there would be a timer.

This also reminded him of a rallying moment in anime; he could pretty much hear the background music as they waited for him to answer.

”Heh,” Lucen did a small chuckle. He then showed a wide grin as he replied with his usual confidence. ”Fine then, since we have gotten this far, let’s get as much as we can.”

Durik had continued working throughout the entire conversation, but suddenly stopped mid-swing.

For a brief moment, the forge was silent except for the low roar of the furnace. Then the dwarf barked out a deep laugh, the sound echoing off stone walls.

”Hah! That’s the spirit,” Durik said, beard twitching with amusement. ”Knew you weren’t the type to turn tail once you smelled profit.”

Despite only knowing Lucen for a day or two, he had noticed a thing or two about the other party.

Like most humans, there was a bit of greed in Lucen’s eyes, but unlike the other humans who turn tail when it becomes difficult, Lucen felt more like the type to do something, somehow to achieve what he wanted.

Once Lucen made that decision, Durik handed them custom-made rune-engraved boots and clothes that would allow them not to make a sound while moving.

”Those also have a rune that gives a similar effect to lion’s heart that those war priests of Varkun use. It will help us when we get near the Khaldruun.”

He also handed the others special pickaxes that would be able to mine the orichalium, similar to the boots and clothes; these pickaxes wouldn’t make a sound or even vibrate upon hitting something.

Durik crossed his arms proudly as they inspected the equipment. The others were surprised by how light they felt while wearing these, but what was even more surprising was that no matter how hard they moved, no sounds were made.

Robert looked at the runes engraved in the equipment and memorized every detail of the items. After testing the equipment a bit, the group felt that they were ready to head to the orichalium vein where the Khaldruun slumbers.

Before they entered the mines, Robert cast a few spells to lower their presence and hide their mana as well as their aura.

The group then entered the mines, and unlike their first attempt, this time they only encountered a few monsters.

”Why didn’t we do this the first time we came here?” Bram couldn’t help but ask.

”I ain’t about to waste material if I don’t need to. Besides, I didn’t know that mage of yours could cast a spell that hides your presence, alongside mana and aura.”

Hearing Durik’s reply, no one said anything more. The group then silently continued their journey deeper into the mines, and they finally arrived at the area where the Khaldruun was slumbering.

The second they got close enough, they were once again encroached by fear, but the runes engraved in their clothing activated, and it gave them a boost in their courage.

Seeing that they were able to move properly now, Durik nodded his head and started making another tunnel leading to the area below without touching the Khaldruun.

It was now the time for them to take as much as they could without waking up the monster that could not just kill them, but the entire town of Gurbundy.