Dwarf Fortress Chapter Eighteen

  Every high-intelligence creature has its own unique special magic, such as the Dragon Clan's "Dragon's Breath" and the Earth Bear's "Beast King's Roar". In the Elf Tribe, only the Elf Queen has a unique magic - the Great Seal of Magic. The ordinary Seal of Magic is a 9th-level magic that can render people who are lower in level unable to use magic or internal energy for a certain period of time, but it is ineffective against those with higher magic power or internal energy than oneself. However, those affected can still use magical tools, making it the go-to choice for high-level mages to bully low-level ones. The Great Seal of Magic is even more formidable, creating a domain where no one within it can use magic or internal energy, nor can they use magical tools unless their magic power exceeds that of the Elf Queen - which is almost impossible! Even the Dragon Clan's elder cannot do so! Only the legendary God King and Demon King can! Permanent Solidification refers to carving a magic array on one's body and permanently infusing it with a certain magic. I, the poor Daoist, have mixed feelings upon hearing this news!

  "Your Majesty, I don't want to be tattooed all over my body!"

  "How could I? I'm not that kind of second-rate goods. This spell will only leave a pretty golden pattern on your forehead, very small, and if you don't like it, you can cover it with your hair."

  "Really, that's great! You start!" Such words make me very happy!

  The queen waved her hands, and I felt a surge of powerful energy drilling into my body, finally gathering on my forehead.

  "This spell is mine to cast, so unless you're stronger than me, it's all locked up. However, the driving energy needs to be provided by you, and it requires magical elements from all attributes."

  Only Vina can, unfortunately her level is only up to small fairy, so she can only have a few minutes of time, and the range is only about ten meters in radius. You must remember!" The queen cautioned anxiously.

  After bidding farewell to the Female Emperor, we returned to the palace and introduced Winnie to Mom. Mother was overjoyed, even more so than when she herself had received it. I couldn't help but feel deeply moved. We stayed for another two days.

  I bid farewell and headed home. However, this time we took a detour to the dwarves' territory, as my mother had some materials for them to process and wanted to purchase a high-quality item, while also having some special crossbow arrows made for me.

  The dwarves lived on the edge of the Elven Forest, generally residing in underground caves, planting crops on the surface to sustain themselves. However, most of their income came from ironwork. This time, we visited their largest underground city, Wisul, where my mother left most of our people on the surface and only brought a dozen guards.

  Under the dwarves' guidance, we entered a mountain cave with an entrance over 10 meters high. The path inside was sloping downward, very flat, and after walking for about two hours, we saw a massive space with a height of nearly a thousand meters and a width of several kilometers. In the center was a dwarven castle with walls over five meters high.

  There were several roads leading to deeper underground areas and the surface, with dwarves occasionally passing by pushing carts filled with ore. At the entrance, a group of people were waiting for us. I couldn't tell them apart; they all wore linen clothes, had beards over a foot long, and stood about 1.2 meters tall, with faces full of wrinkles.

  My mother surprisingly knew everyone inside, not calling a single name wrong – I have no idea how she distinguished between them! Under her introduction, I learned that they were the clan leader Mohan and several elders. It seems that my mother's identity as an elven princess was indeed respected!

  After exchanging pleasantries, we entered the city, which was relatively clean without trash or strange smells, but filled with mining residue and iron dust. In a large building, we enjoyed the dwarves' hospitality of ale and roasted meat together. I somehow felt that this ale was just beer – how strange?

  After finishing our meal, everyone began discussing serious matters, sending me and Clan Leader Mohan's son, Hanmo, out. Because I wanted to see some of the dwarven clan's treasured items.

  Hanmo was a lively young fellow, only over 100 years old, equivalent to around ten human years. He enthusiastically introduced me to the dwarves' great craftsmanship while leading me to the warehouse. The warehouse was enormous, with thousands of square meters filled with neatly arranged weapons and armor, most emitting colorful glows – clearly magical items.

  How strange that there were so many? Too much isn't good; it's clear that these things aren't that great!

  "Hanmo! Don't you dwarves have a wizard?" I asked

  "Really?"

  "How did you make magic weapons and armor?"

  "Scrolls, we can use low-level magic scrolls, for high-level magic, please ask the elven mages for help, they often come to us!"

  "Really? So scrolls can be used like this? Why not use a high-level scroll?"

  "My goodness! Young master, a 5th-level high-grade scroll costs 10,000 gold coins already. To make a deputy armor, at least ten scrolls are needed! We can't afford it. By the way, how do you use the scroll? Don't you use it for alchemy?"

  "No need, I usually use it only when fighting!"

  "Oh! Good heavens! Can't you cast third-level magic on your own? Why are you still using wasteful scrolls? Even a first-level one costs ten gold coins!"

  "I rarely use first gear, usually fifth gear and above!"

  "Hmm! I think you might have fought with someone before?"

  "Yeah, it's been a few months since the last time. Last time, eighteen warriors surrounded me and I wasted over ten fifth-level scrolls! But at least there hasn't been a big fight in half a year since then!"

  "Impossible! You must be bragging, we dwarves don't like friends who brag!" Hanmo was very unhappy, I'm clearly telling the truth! Alas, had no choice but to take out a few scrolls from the spatial ring for him to see.

  "'Mega Flame Blast', 'Freezing Storm', 'Thunderbolt Strike', 'Thousand Dance Wind Blade'! All of them are 7th-grade scrolls! Where did you get these from? These can't even be bought!" Han Mo was thoroughly convinced!

  "Go find grandma!" I said calmly

  "That's right, of course! Only Her Majesty the Elf Queen wouldn't care about the scroll! Sorry! I misunderstood you!"

  "It's okay, I like straightforward people! However, the things here seem to be not very good, right? Is this all that the dwarves have collected? It seems like they can't show their true treasures. The poor guy is showing off in front of me, just trying to stir up the kid's pride. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to see the really good stuff!"

  "Of course it's not these!" Han Mo said, and then regretted it, his eyes constantly looking at me.

  "Oh, I see! Hanmo, now I'm curious, how do dwarves make friends?"

  "Alright, follow me!" Hanmo led me to the depths of the warehouse, opened a secret door, and entered a hidden passage. Inside, there were mechanisms everywhere, and Hanmo would trigger a switch every two steps. After walking for over ten minutes, we arrived at a room that was roughly several hundred square meters in size. There were only a few dozen items here, and he casually picked up a sword to show me.

  This sword is a two-handed sword for knights, 1.5 meters long, three fingers wide and one finger thick. There are no magical fluctuations, even the blade is rounded, made entirely of black iron, the body of the sword forged with a hundred folds has no luster, but there is a kind of killing aura that comes from a hundred battles on the battlefield.

  "What a fine sword! This is truly a fine sword. Without superior black iron and ten years of time, even a master craftsman would be unable to forge such a sword!"

  "Little guy, didn't expect you still have a couple of tricks up your sleeve!" An aged voice came over.

  Turning back, it was an old dwarf with a beard that reached his feet, smiling at us!

  "Grandpa Chiwa!" Hanmo said anxiously

  "Is Chivaw Moweis the greatest swordsmith on the mainland?" I asked.

  "Haha, not bad, you still know me!" Turning to Han Mo, "You brought people into the treasure trove privately, the crime is not small!"

  Han Mo was so frightened that he became stupid on the spot and stood there at a loss. I couldn't bear to implicate him.

  "Master, don't blame him! It was I who forced him to come! If you must blame someone, then blame me!"

  "Haha, you're indeed a man of your word. Alright, if you can tell me what's so special about this sword, I'll not only let you and your friends go, but also give you the sword as a gift! What do you say?"

  "Good!" Hehe, I've used swords my whole life, and you're still testing me with this question? Don't know whether to live or die! "The quality of a sword depends on whether it meets the design requirements when in use. This sword is a two-handed knight's sword, its purpose is for close combat with the enemy after losing mobility. At that time, the main action is chopping, and it's likely to chop armor or shields, so a sharp sword can easily become dull. The blade of this sword is round, much thicker than ordinary swords of the same type, can easily cut through leather armor, and if infused with internal energy, even mediocre iron armor can be broken. Its center of gravity is not in the middle like other swords, but closer to the tip, more suitable for chopping, and the Hundred Refining Method makes it even more durable, absolutely a deadly weapon on the battlefield!"

  "Great, not bad! I didn't expect you to have such insight, take it away, he's yours!"

  "Thank you, Master!" No need to be polite, hurry up and put it in the ring!

  "Huh? You're just a little guy and you actually have a spatial ring?"

  "Hehe, occasionally getting it doesn't count for much!"

  "What's the big deal? Our entire clan only has one, and the Elf Clan only has two. And one of them was even given to your mother! You really are generous!"

  "Oh, this..." Hurriedly changing the subject: "Master! I feel that although the things here are not bad, they're all just second-rate goods?"

  "What? Second-rate goods? You're aiming too high, kid. These may not be the best, but they're also our tribe's finest products."

  "Is there something better? Bring it out and let me take a look?"

  "We may have good things, but they're not just for anyone to see! The things here were never meant for you to see!"

  "I'm afraid this is all you're capable of?"

  "Nonsense!" The master first said in anger, then laughed and said: "You're probably seeing this thing for the first time too, right?"

  They say dwarves have many treasures, this time I've come and can't let it go. Ah! I must have contracted the habit of loving treasures when I was with Sun Wukong and Athena as the 'Three Evils'. Hearing that there are treasures, I want to see them, seeing them makes me want to take them. Old guy, you're unlucky, who told you to leak the news? If I couldn't take it away, wouldn't it weaken our reputation as the 'Three Evils'?

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