Chapter 204
"You carry the burden, I lead the horse..."
Garrett humd a tune as he walked along the mountain path. He rode a dwarf horse summoned by his Summon Mount spell, swaying through the lush grass. It was a dwarf horse because they were traversing a mountain path, and Garrett feared he might fall if he summoned a horse of normal height...
He had been dragged into the mage tower in March and released in mid-July. The distant adow had transford from a faint green to a vibrant hue with golden highlights. In the distance, a blue lake reflected the sky, with wisps of white clouds silently drifting over the calm and clear surroundings.
Bernard followed Garrett, carrying his large bone club, stumbling along. The bone club, pointed diagonally towards the sky, brushed aside the tall grass, sotis surpassing Garrett’s head in height.
It wasn’t that Garrett was mistreating his follower. It was just... with his magical abilities, none of the horses he could summon could bear Bernard’s weight...
It was truly a pity.
Perhaps when he reached level 5, the shadowy steed he summoned could carry this barbarian. But according to the docunts Garrett had read, the weight capacity of the shadowy steed was the caster’s weight plus 10 pounds per caster level. No matter how Garrett looked at it, Bernard didn’t seem to weigh just 50 pounds...
He couldn’t even lift that big bone club.
The forge district Garrett was heading to lay on the north side of Igor Peak, nestled in the foothills of Clark Peak. In fact, one could see the gate of the forge district by just peeking down from the peak of Igor...
If any unusual situation arose, the mages could activate their flight spells to descend from the peak for rescue, or simply teleport from the Tower of Heaven, which would take just a few minutes.
Moreover, apart from a few human mages, most of the inhabitants of the forge district were dwarves, making it difficult for infiltrators to blend in. If not for this, Garrett wouldn’t have been allowed to travel alone from the station at the foot of the mountain to the forge district.
Master Kairel hadn’t even sent anyone to accompany him, just advising Garrett before he left to prepare earplugs and a blindfold. Otherwise—"How’s your Sleep spell coming along? Can you use it on yourself?"
Just from that remark, Garrett could imagine how noisy the forge district could get. In fact, as he followed the stream between Igor Peak and Clark Peak, ascending about five to six hundred ters, he already heard clanging, clanging, and rumbling sounds coming from ahead.
They must be close. Garrett’s spirits lifted. Following the sounds, he soon ca across a cluster of ramshackle cabins, painted in various colors, blooming like flowers near the mountain stream. Drawing nearer, the scent of alcohol wafted towards him, and a stout, bearded dwarf shouted loudly:
"*%@#&*..."
It was dwarven.
Garrett didn’t understand.
Quietly, he cast his comprehend languages spell. As a level 2 mage now, the spell could last for 20 minutes each ti, and his daily mana pool could support about 10 to 15 of them...
How would he pass the ti beyond those 6 hours?!
Garrett never imagined that the first challenge of his mission would be the language barrier...
He stood at the tavern entrance, looking around. Soon, he spotted a slightly more normal-looking two-story building with a deep blue hexagram hanging above it. Garrett tentatively knocked on the door, and sure enough, a level 5 mage ca to open it. Seeing Garrett, the mage was imdiately elated and pulled him into the office:
"Finally, soone new has arrived! I was about to go crazy with them—oh, what area are you responsible for? Maintenance of magical instrunts? Inspection of ore ingots? Or bookkeeping? Why did you co so early? You ca at the perfect ti!"
"Um... I’m in charge of researching mithril slting..."
Garrett awkwardly handed over his credentials.
The mage first cast a Detect Magic spell behind the docunt, illuminating the translucent watermark in the center of the page, then waved his hand, causing a magical seal to appear in the bottom right corner. After verifying each mark, he lowered his head and carefully read the docunt:
"We dispatch a level 2 mage, Garrett Nordmark..."
At this point, he couldn’t help but look up, staring at the badge on Garrett’s chest in astonishnt. With a slight "Wow," the level 5 mage scrutinized Garrett for a mont, then continued to read the council’s docunt word by word. Then, his enthusiasm skyrocketed:
"The council has finally sent soone! Fantastic! It’s been almost half a year, and the mithril production hasn’t increased. The dwarves just keep drinking and drinking... and we can’t even scold them! We can’t lower the price of goods received, and we can’t raise the price of grain and alcohol. What else can we do to increase their output?!
The council keeps asking
for solutions! If the production doesn’t increase, they’ll deduct my contribution points! *%@#&*..."
He looked at Garrett with an extrely eager gaze, as if seeing a savior descending from the heavens:
"It’s all yours now! I just reached level 2 this year, and research is so difficult for . I just can’t figure it out! But you’re already a level 4, so you can definitely solve the problem!
What research conditions do you need? Just tell , I can arrange whatever you need imdiately. If I can’t do it, I’ll write a report to the Magic Council!"
Garrett couldn’t bear to disappoint him. Honestly, if the Magic Council wanted steelmaking—open hearth steelmaking, blast furnace steelmaking, or converter steelmaking, with coke slting, oxygen blowing, there would definitely be a suitable thod. Even though he knew nothing about it, he could still provide so ideas.
But slting mithril?
He didn’t even know what mithril was, for crying out loud!
"Um... could you show
first how mithril is made..."
"No problem! Wait for
to arrange it, and I’ll take you in imdiately!"
The level 5 mage sprang into action, tidying up the docunts in his hands and retrieving a thin silver headband, which he handed to Garrett:
"This is a headband enchanted with comprehend languages. It has no other function but to allow you to understand their speech. Every mage working here is lent one by the council, and it must be returned upon leaving. The forge district is very dangerous, so don’t wander around."
The first difficulty was thus resolved... Garrett took the headband gratefully and placed it on his head.
The headband was a bit large, but after adjusting it, it fit snugly above his ears without pressing against his eyes. The sensation on his fingers was a bit greasy, who knew how many people had worn this headband before him, and whether the previous owners had cleaned it.
Garrett silently resolved to wash it thoroughly with soap when he got back, then followed the level 5 mage out of the cabin and to the front
of the tavern:
"Old Hunter! This is a new mage from the council, take us to the mithril area to have a look!"
The tavern was a cacophony of noise, with sounds of arm-wrestling, drinking, and off-key singing pouring out from the windows and doors. The level 5 mage had to shout three tis before an old dwarf stumbled out, his face flushed, and shouted back at him:
"Why are you yelling?! It’s already off duty, if you want to go to the mithril area, co back tomorrow!"
He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of beer. Rich foam spilled over from the edge of his beard, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand, spitting out a thick phlegm. At least he retained so manners and didn’t spit directly at the mages’ feet, but instead onto the steps of the tavern, sparkling and shining, black mixed with gray.
Garrett’s eyes narrowed.
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