by Zhuang Bifan
The Magic Legion rode lightning down from the sky and conquered the Dark Iron Dwarves overnight; at the same time, they took away their sacred relic, the Mjölnir, that had been passed down for thousands of years.
At the mention of this, Moradin chuckled impudently. "Hehe, it's fine with me. Anyway, I was only a sacred relic with the Dark Iron Dwarves. It was a good thing following Osric; at least I could have more contact with precious magical metals…"
"…" Lin Li rolled his eyes and thought, This fellow has a gift for betrayal.
In the years that followed, Moradin did come into contact with innumerable precious magical metals. With Osric's power and status, he could get almost all the magical metals he wanted, including the Infernal Magic Iron, which Lin Li yearned for.
Then came the construction of the Eternal Furnace. Moradin followed beside Osric and participated almost in the whole construction process. 1,200 years on, there was probably no one who knew more about the Eternal Furnace than Moradin.
Lin Li was not wrong. The Eternal Furnace did adopt the technology of the Sky Castle.The magical crystal of a fire dragon provided the source of power for the Eternal Furnace to operate. The complex mageweaths intertwined, restricting and influencing each other, bringing this purest fire magical element into full play. The whole Eternal Furnace was like a precision machine. Even a hairline mistake might render the whole construction useless.
The technology used in this process had exceeded the limit of human resources. Even the brilliant Osric couldn't do it alone. In order to build an Eternal Furnace, he had used up almost all the manpower and material resources in his hands. In just three years, Osric had squandered enough money to buy the whole Felan Kingdom at present.
"Did you see that corridor in front of you? From there, it takes about 10 minutes to reach the core of the Eternal Furnace. There is a real melting furnace there—no flame, no smoke, only the purest fire magical element directly supplied by the dragon's crystal. The magical metals it produces are almost perfect, and there will never be a trace of impurities in it.
"Look to your right, there's a showroom storing all of Osric's works. To be honest, this bastard was really a genius. The magical equipment he forged were all of the mastery level. Unfortunately, he died too early. If he were to live for a few more years, he could be a Smithing Guru for all one knows."
"So impressive?"
Lin Li gave a start of surprise. He was about to open the door when he was stopped by Moradin. "Don't go; you're out of luck. You came too late, the stuff had been carried away by him 1,200 years ago, including those precious minerals and the mountain of gold."
"…" This time, Lin Li understood.
Lin Li recalled Gerian telling him about it back in Jarrosus. No one knew what happened, but the Highlord had actually built a large tomb for himself in his later years. Lin Li remembered now that Moradin had mentioned it. The things here were probably moved to the tomb. It was not only a human custom to bury valuables with them…
"Otherwise, I could give you two of them." Moradin finally lost his patience as he spoke. "Hey, I say, have you thought it through or not? Can you at least give me a reply—are you going to lend me the Brand Of Dusk? I won't treat you unfairly; you could get two powerful pieces of magical equipment in exchange. You had better think carefully. These were forged by the Dark Iron Dwarves. Don't regret missing this opportunity in the future!"
"It's not a problem lending it to you, but I'm not interested in magical equipment…"
"Then, what are you interested in?"
Lin Li was waiting for this sentence. He chuckled, and finally revealed his purpose. "Hehe, to tell you frankly, I am very interested in the magical crystal of the fire dragon. If you can get it for me, not to mention lending you the Brand Of Dusk, I can even give it to you…"
"That won't do!" Moradin gave up, and firmly rejected Lin Li. "The magical crystal of the fire dragon is not only the source of power for the Eternal Furnace, but also maintains the operation of the entire World of Void. Without it, the World of Void will collapse immediately. By then, not only the Eternal Furnace will disappear, I'm afraid you and I…"
"What World of Void?" Lin Li was confounded.
"Hell…" Moradin cursed, and its tone was not without frustration. "Did you not notice that this is not the original world at all?"
"…" Moradin's words finally reminded Lin Li of a possibility. For a while, his face turned white in horror, and he swallowed his saliva with much difficulty. "You… you mean to say, the location of the Eternal Furnace is actually within a certain dimensional space?"
"Duh…"
"F*ck…" Lin Li almost lost his mind. "Then, how do I get out?"
"Hng, you'll have to depend on me!"
"Depend on you?"
"That's right. Lend me the Brand Of Dusk, and I will have the means to bring you out of here."
"For real or not…" Lin Li glanced at it with some doubt in his eyes.
"I'll tell you the truth, the Brand Of Dusk is the key to the Gates of Ashes. Only by grasping this key can we move freely between the two worlds. Otherwise, you will be burned to ashes right away by the Gates of Ashes."
"Gates of Ashes…" At this, Lin Li recalled the colorful spectrum again, and his face turned pale for a moment. "Is the Gates of Ashes you mentioned a colorful spectrum?"
"Have you seen its power?"
"Indeed…" Lin Li nodded. He did witness the power of the Gates of Ashes. A level-15 magical beast was turned into ashes in an instant—such a power was at least of the Legendary-level.
"Great that you've seen it. Now, you should have thought it through?"
"Yes." Lin Li nodded obediently, and then uttered something that almost angered Moradin to death. "I've decided not to lend."
"F*ck!" Moradin was so angry it almost jumped. "Damn you, lad, you're taking me for a ride?!"
"You can lie to me for half a day, why can't I take you for a ride? You'd better give me a good reason…"
"How did I lie to you?" Although Moradin's tone was strong, there was a hint of guilt in its voice.
"How did you lie?" Lin Li slowly bent down, and took Moradin in his hand again. "Indeed, the Brand Of Dusk is the key to the Gates of Ashes. But you're not simply trying to pass the Gates of Ashes by borrowing the Brand Of Dusk from me, right?"
"I…"
Chapter 194 - Trading Spirit
"Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you something…" Lin Li held the hammer, and smiled as if he was up to no good. "Other than being an incompetent warrior, I am also a blacksmith. You know what is a blacksmith, right? So, I advise you to be more honest. If you were to piss me off, I will throw you into the furnace and see if the legendary Mjölnir can be melted."
After Lin Li finished his sentence, the hammer in his hand stopped struggling. After a while, Lin Li then heard a hoarse voice. "You… What do you want to know?"
"Your origins." Lin Li grinned after speaking, and kindly reminded, "Take note—your true origins, not some damned Mjölnir's. I really don't know what you are thinking… Do you not know how to look in the mirror before pretending to be Mjölnir? Look at yourself, you are so dirty. It's worse than those p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es that have worked for tens of years. You still dare to call yourself a relic of the Dark Iron Dwarves? Do you have no shame?
"…"
"Forget it, enough nonsense. Just be more honest, I am not that patient…"
"You're right, I am not the relic…" After being silent for awhile, the hammer finally spoke, "I am just a trapped soul"
"Mmm." Lin Li nodded, signalling it to continue.
"There is one thing that I need to clarify. With regards to the Brand of Dusk on your hand, I really wanted to borrow it only. I have no ill intentions." This time the hammer started to be honest maybe because it was scared of being thrown into the furnace. Before answering Lin Li's question, it did not forget to justify itself. " My origin is a very long story, and it has nothing much to do with this issue. If you rea
lly want to know, I can tell you one last time. Before this, you can call me Connoris. This was my name before I got killed by Osric."
"Ok then, Connoris. First tell me, what is your goal for wanting this Brand of Dusk?"
"I need it to control the Eternal Furnace."
"It can control the Eternal Furnace?"
"Yes, you should know of the history of the Brand of Dust. It belongs to Highlord Osric. As far as I know, this ring had never left his side when he was alive. Even though it has been 1200 years, it still contains a sliver of Osric's mental strength. In a certain way, it can be said that it is the inheritance of the highlords's mental brand. This is also the reason why you could pass through the Gates of Ashes unscathed.
"That sliver of mental strength is still around?" Lin Li was a little suspicious. He remembered that before the battle with Cromwell, he had fused with a Spiritual Brand, which resulted in understanding the ring's secret. Logically speaking, magical equipment should not have two spiritual brands. Otherwise, there would be complications… just like with a.d.u.l.tery.
"Are you trying to say that you've also left your own spiritual branding on it as well?" Connoris did not answer directly, but instead questioned Lin Li back.
"Yes…"
"This isn't actually contradictious. If I am not mistaken, what you have is just an incomplete Brand Of Dusk, and you only have small part of its strength in your grasp. Osric's spiritual brand is still asleep within the Brand Of Dusk. Otherwise, your strength wouldn't degrade to this state. It is unassuming to say that being able to control the power of the Brand Of Dusk would be equivalent to being another Osric!"
"F*ck, it's that strong?"
With Connoris' words, Lin Li almost bit his tongue. Back then, in the Nightmare Mountains, Lin Li already knew that it was formidable magical equipment, but he dared not imagine that this thing was actually this strong. What was it like to be another Osric? He was a person that could go against seven legendary powerhouses alone and still come out on top. If this power were to be obtained, it would not be a fantasy to make a clean sweep of the Felan Kingdom with just the wave of a hand.
"I know you do not believe it, but the truth is that it really is that strong. Honestly speaking, I died to the power of the Brand Of Dusk 1200 years ago."
"…"
"Forget it, let's not talk about this." Connoris seemed to be feeling down after getting to this point as it probably invoked sad memories. After being silent for awhile, he continued speaking. "Actually, this is also the reason why I want to borrow this Brand Of Dusk from you."
"What is it?"
"It can release me from this damned hammer and also give me a new body at the same time."
"A new body?"
"That's right." Connoris voice felt somewhat pleased. "Let me tell you now, this is a real secret. Other than Osric, only I know about it. After my soul has been trapped for tens of years, I have somewhat seen everything that Osric had done. Furthermore, he was not weary of me. Sometimes, he would even tell me his thoughts, and this secret is what Osric told me himself."
Lin Li subconsciously held his breath. He believed that he was going to hear a world-shaking secret.
"The real Eternal Furnace is not used for forging, but for creating lives…"
"What did you say?" Lin Li almost spat out his saliva.
"How much do you understand about the High Elves?" Connoris still replied with a question.
"High Elves?" Lin Li was questioned till he was baffled. He tried recalling for a long while before he could regurgitate what he had read from the books. He even added on a few of his own points. This discussion lasted for about ten minutes.
"These lunatics, they thought that they are gods." Finally, Lin Li concluded with this sentence.
"That's why the Eternal Furnace came about." Connoris' voice was calm.
Lin Li swallowed his saliva hard. "Are you trying to tell me that the reason for Osric creating the Eternal Furnace is to prove that he is a god?"
"You're correct."
"He's mad…"
"He wasn't crazy." Connoris' voice was resonant, but it was abnormally affirmative. "Indeed, the twilight years of Osric did see many unthinkable things. Killing tens of thousands of humans in a night. Dominating the Dark Iron Dwarves due to a spur in interest and building a gigantic mausoleum for himself. But, I can confidently tell you that Osric was not crazy. It was the opposite—he was more sober than ever during his twilight years. Do you know why he killed those hundreds of thousands of humans?"
"How would I know…" Lin Li rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, I am a normal person, how could I comprehend what a monster like Osric was thinking?
"It was because creating life needed a large sample of souls."
"Monster…"
"You're right, he was indeed a monster," Connoris excitedly scolded, but then he sighed. "But you have to admit that Osric was not a normal freak. Even I thought that creating life was impossible at that point of time. But nobody would have thought that Osric would almost succeed within 10 years…"
Lin Li frowned. "Why was it almost?"
"Because, strictly speaking, the things he created cannot be called Life…"
"What did he create?"
"I am not sure what it was as well…" Connoris' answer was mysterious. "I only know that after failing, Osric had neuroticism. He often experienced an episode of mania mysteriously. Many an important member of the Magic Legion was killed by him during that period. After he cooled down, Osric would kneel down in front of the bodies to repent in regret. When he was in regret, the sentence he said the most was "Sorry, it's not that I want it to be this way. But, but he is returning soon…"
"The 'he' that Osric was referring to, who is it?"
"I don't know, Osric never mentioned it before. I only remember that after failing in creating life, Osric seemed to have changed into a different person, madly plundering the riches of other races and using them to build the enormous mausoleum. You've heard of that mausoleum, right? During the years of building the mausoleum, hundreds of thousands people perished. The books of humans should have the records…
"Yes, I've heard of it."
"So, do you have any interest in that mausoleum?" Connoris was indeed a monster that had lived with Osric for hundreds of years. He had not forgotten to tempt Lin Li. "If you are interested, I can give you some clues in exchange for the Brand Of Dusk. What do you think?"
"No way!" Lin Li angrily replied. This fella made him angry, yet he found it funny. How long had it been, and he had not forgotten to tempt him.
Unfortunately, he chose the wrong person to tempt. Lin Li knew how much he himself was worth. Was the mausoleum of the highlord somewhere that people could just casually enter? Without the power of the Guild of Magic or the Adventurers Guild, there was no need to think about it. All sorts of machines and traps, and maybe countless curses, were waiting…
Furthermore, what could a few clues do? If I want clues, I will go look for Macklin. What's the point in exchanging with you?
"How unfortunate…" Connoris was not dejected after failing in tempting; he just started speaking to himself. "On the day that the mausoleum was built, Osric came to the Eternal Furnace for one last time. I saw with my own eyes that he used the Earth Element Essence, a pile of steel, and a mageweath that was so complicated that it was unparalleled to create something that was close to life."
"What was it?"
"This thing…" Connoris hesitated for a moment. "I am also not sure how to describe it. In short, it is just something weird. It had no thoughts or soul, just pure primitive instincts. It even dared to resist its creator, Osric, when he attacked it!"
"Oh…" Lin nodded, and did not question further.
He had already understood. The essence of earth element, the hardest steel, and a complicated mageweath. Weren't these requirements for creating a soul puppet? Lin Li remembered clearly that a branch of alchemy specialized in creating soul puppets. Accordingly, t
he soul puppets that were created after attaining the Divine Smith level could be compared to the ancient titans.
However, this had nothing to with Lin Li. He had never chosen any branch before. From a certain point of view, he was a traditional metallurgist. He was cultivating the path of the king of the metallurgy skill tree. As to why he made this choice, it was to complement Epigraphy. As a master of complex Epigraphy and Metallurgy, it could only be described as nothing was impossible.
His knowledge about soul puppets was mostly heard from people in the same trade. He was only an amatuer. When it came to something as difficult as creating life, he was not much better than Sean…
"The biggest weakness of these creations was that they do not have their own souls. But for me, this was the biggest advantage because when I was alive, I devoted myself to the research of Souls."
"Devoted to the research of souls?" Lin Li frowned, and doubtfully asked, "You were a Necromancer?"
"No, no, no… How could a low-ranking profession like Necromancer be befitting of my noble status? Let me tell you something: I used to deal with souls. As long as the price was right, you could discuss with me about all sorts of souls. No matter if it was low-ranked, noble, dirty, or pure… Are you interested?"
"F*ck, demon?"
"Wrong, you should call me the Great Soul Trader. Mr Connoris, the philanthropist.
"Pff, demon means demon. What philanthropist or great soul trader. You deserved to be killed by Osric for doing such an wicked business…
"You really do not have sympathy…
"To sympathize with a demon? What kind of joke is this…"
"Look at my current state, can I still be called a demon?"
"You're trying to say that you want to create a soul puppet to transfer your soul into?"
"Yes, yes, yes! So, could you help? I've been waiting for this day for a long while. This damned hammer will be the death of me. I really dream of walking with two legs…"
