"It seems so. Bingus said the opponent was very skilled with a warhamr. The warrior equipnt he wore was likely a disguise, and my brother Sos was caught off guard by a surprise attack and killed," Thorne thought aloud.
"Such a mage apprentice is rare indeed," Aiel didn’t quite know what to say.
He had seen many peculiar mages, such as those holding a tal magic staff, and even a shield, but he had never seen one wearing a horned helt.
"Since he’s a mage apprentice, let’s have the assassin handle it," Aiel decided after a brief consideration.
For a mage apprentice, sending a trained assassin to deal with him was naturally the best choice.
But what’s troubling Aiel was that horned helt and chain armor.
However, he reconsidered and thought, ’Perhaps I can deduce this: The opponent, as a mage apprentice, chooses heavy warrior equipnt to enhance his defense. This likely ans he hasn’t mastered defensive magic?’
The more Aiel pondered, the more convinced he was of his reasoning.
Thus, the task returned to the assassin as the option.
"Alright, I’ll give it a month. If there’s no word by then, I’ll handle it personally," Thorne declared gravely.
"Thorne, your task is still to manage the cold iron mine extraction here. That is the primary issue."
...
anwhile.
On the main road from Azure Mine to Mill Town.
Not an hour had passed since Raine and his group set out in the large carriage when the sky began to darken.
Before long, everyone, including Reya, succumbed to the fatigue of the continuous battles and leaned against the carriage, falling into a deep sleep.
This afforded Raine the opportunity to closely examine the newly acquired Gray Dwarven bloodline.
The icon of the Gray Dwarf appeared almost identical to the one Raine had fought before, showing no sign of black or white.
That’s because the Gray Dwarves had white hair and beards, with faces as pale as those who had never seen sunlight over many years.
So even if photographed with a color film, it would appear nearly black and white due to their life in the Underdark away from sunlight.
As Raine placed the Gray Dwarves’ icon into the fourth slot of the bloodline panel.
Instantly, Raine noticed a significant change in his field of vision, particularly external visibility.
Outside the caravan, darkness had long descended. The night was filled with clouds, neither stars nor moonlight, rendering it nearly pitch black.
Yet despite this.
Raine could clearly see scenes dozens of ters away—
’A groundhog was standing upright in the roadside bushes, curiously watching the carriage pass by.’
’anwhile, a rabbit was quickly hopping through the grass, nibbling on tender stalks.’
....
A brief contemplation revealed to Raine that this was not ’Low Light Vision’ but ’Dark Vision’, one optimally viewing in dim environnts, the other in nearly complete darkness.
Simultaneously.
It was as though sothing new had been ingrained in his mind—both intricate three-dinsional symbols for certain spells and slide show-like mories.
"So many!"
As Raine’s gaze turned to the attribute panel, new passive bloodline talents appeared:
Dark Vision (passive) Lv1, effect: Significant enhancent of vision in no-light environnts, allowing clear sight within a 30-ter radius.
Firm Will (passive) Lv1, effect: Your will is strong, enhancing resistance to physical pain, dizziness, enchantnt, and illusion magic.
Hamr Mastery (passive) Lv2, effect: Damage increases by 20% when using any hamr-type weapon; learning speed for any hamr combat skills increases by 40%.
Dark Vision Lv1 was within Raine’s expectations, deduced from the Gray Dwarves’ habitat, suggesting they had this bloodline talent.
"Hamr Mastery Lv2?" Raine’s eyes widened with delight.
Hamr Mastery Lv2 was sowhat expected, but slightly exceeded expectations.
Raine initially thought that even with Hamr Mastery, Gray Dwarves would be on par with the Wild Boar Warrior, but hadn’t anticipated it reaching Lv2.
The truly surprising aspect for Raine, however, was the third bloodline talent—Firm Will Lv1.
Regarding the source of this talent in Gray Dwarves, recalling Reya’s earlier explanation about them, Raine was enlightened.
"The Gray Dwarves were enslaved by the Mind Flayer for an extended period in ancient tis. Over thousands of years of resistance, their clan gradually developed talents to resist the Mind Flayer’s powers."
"This talent is Firm Will."
Gaining a talent honed over thousands of years of struggle in the Gray Dwarves’ lineage made Raine’s heart leap with joy.
Especially upon realizing the ability to resist enchantnt magic, a smile crept onto his lips that he could not suppress.
Though he had yet to encounter foes employing enchantnt or ntal domination, it didn’t an he wouldn’t need such talent soday.
In stark contrast.
As his powers continued to grow, he’ll ultimately face threats wielding such capabilities, so Firm Will effectively shores up a weakness.
Additionally, this resistance to enchantnt from Firm Will is a vital part of Raine’s desired layer of defenses.
This talent ability alone brought imnse delight.
Thrilled and expectant, Raine naturally directed his gaze to the spell-like abilities.
At that mont, his eyes widened. If it weren’t for his sleeping teammates in the carriage, he might have let out a shout!
What t his gaze were two signature spell-like abilities of the Gray Dwarves:
Stepping into Darkness Lv1, effect: Increases concealnt in darkness; if moving, speed reduces to half normal, lasting 1 hour.
(Note: 1. Casting spells or attacks breaks invisibility. 2. Only castable in darkness or dim light.)
Gigantification Lv1, effect: Increases size by 30%, with power growing concurrently, duration depends on constitution (currently about 1 minute).
"So when they erged from the darkness unexpectedly, it wasn’t an illusion but the ’Stepping into Darkness’ effect."
Recalling the scene of Gray Dwarves seemingly popping out of darkness, Raine beca suddenly aware.
"Gigantification!"
Upon reading Gigantification’s effects, Raine grinned, letting out a gentle chuckle.
He had vivid mories of Gray Dwarves using Gigantification to enlarge and enhance their combat power.
At the ti, three Gray Dwarves simultaneously used Gigantification, catching them off guard.
Especially recalling Gray Dwarf Sos employing the combat skill ’Armor-Piercing Strike’ in Gigantification mode, Raine could almost feel the subtle soreness in his shield-bearing left hand.
"With Gigantification as a spell-like ability, I now possess a true trump card."
"The sudden power surge and resultant combat power boost could very well determine the outco of a prolonged battle."
"Though I’m unaware of the stamina and spiritual power consumption."
"Once we reach the town, I’ll give it a try tomorrow," Raine said eagerly.
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