Mine! Cave! Dig!
Assault Battle Armor (Purple): The wearer receives 15% damage reduction, 10% magic resistance, and cos with the skill "Assault Battle Formation."
Assault Battle Formation (Tier 3): For every ally within a 20-ter radius wearing Assault Battle Armor, self-strength and endurance are increased by 1%, up to a maximum of 15%.
There was nothing particularly outstanding about the armor itself—in fact, for solo combat, it was inferior even to so blue-quality armors—but things changed when fighting as a group. As long as the BUFF from "Assault Battle Formation" could be stacked, this armor would outperform most other purple-grade equipnt.
Its limitations and strengths were rolled into one, but for Skeleton Warrior and blood slave units, this suit of armor was completely suitable, because they mostly engaged in group combat and were rarely alone.
Producing the best possible Assault Battle Armor—purple grade—on the first attempt, it truly spoke to the dwarves' reputation.
"Queen Serea, what do you think of this battle armor?"
Lodran couldn't wait to ask, and Serea responded:
"Not bad. This armor completely surpasses the passing mark."
"Really?"
"Yes."
After she agreed, Serea offhandedly added, as if unintentionally:
"Seeing as you could craft such armor, wilic, from now on you will instruct Lord Lodran in the art of armor making."
Lodran was stunned at these words, while Wilic replied:
"I would be glad to."
"You are willing to ntor !"
Upon hearing that the magic to was willing to guide him in his training, lodran's heart started pounding.
"This was agreed upon with the Queen, and if anyone else can forge such equipnt, I don't mind teaching more students."
As Serea intended, wilic repeated these words.
After hearing this, the other dwarves looked at Wilic excitedly—did this an they too could seek guidance from the magic to?
"As long as we can forge equipnt of this quality, we can get your guidance?"
A dwarf bystander asked, to which Wilic responded:
"Correct. I enjoy teaching promising talent."
", , , let try!"
"Step aside, I want to go first!"
"I want a try too!"
Upon realizing they could receive instruction from the magic to, the dwarves rushed to the forge, eager to showcase their skills and secure a place.
"I'm not in a hurry; a few of you trying at once is fine. But passing my review won't be easy."
Wilic's intent was clear—to get the dwarves to create higher-quality Assault Battle Armors, since only purple-quality armor could provide dominance in equipnt.
And so, under Wilic's temptation, the dwarves rushed to the forge one after another. The fire never ceased as the sound of forging rang out—the second round of testing had begun.
Watching his companions strive for greater skill, lodran turned to Serea and said:
"Thank you for giving us such a wonderful opportunity. I truly don't know how to repay you."
"Hahaha, repay ? I brought you here exactly because I want you to create equipnt for ."
Of course, this thought stayed in Serea's mind—her actual answer remained the sa:
"You earned this yourselves."
After hearing this, lodran looked at his hands, seemingly lost in thought.
Did he really earn it himself?
In truth, lodran knew he had made many mistakes amid the flurry, but the armor was still completed perfectly. Mistakes should be reflected upon, but what was the real reason for such a result?
Building Enchantnt!
The enchantnt compensated for his errors. During the forging process, he felt his spirit highly focused—it was almost like divine assistance. No doubt, this was the rit of Building Enchantnt.
If only his own camp had such a building—could his father's dream then beco a reality...?
At this thought, lodran spoke up:
"May I ask you a favor, queen Serea?"
"Oh? What is it?"
"I wonder if Queen Serea is willing to take a construction commission. If possible, I'd like to ask you to help us build an armor workshop like this for our camp."
These words let Serea know they had taken the bait! (Note: Only the first construction of the "Blood Forge Platform" cos with a magic to as a bonus; this cannot be repeated.)
"Let's talk outside."
Hearing this, lodran followed Serea out. Once they stopped outside, lodran imdiately said:
"We will pay for your services."
"Hmm... paynt..."
Serea pretended to think.
"Your Majesty, whatever you wish—rare forging materials, high-quality weapons—as long as you agree to our commission, we can pay."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Lodran answered decisively when he saw a chance.
"Alright, then. I need a steady supply of forging materials. If you agree to trade with , I can accept your commission."
Serea said this, intending to lure the Eriwin dwarf tribe away from Maregof and bring them into her trade alliance. That way, she would have a continuous supply of forging materials, while the Maregof alliance's strength would be weakened.
But upon hearing Serea's conditions, lodran wore a troubled expression.
"Well..."
"What, you can't do it?"
"I'm afraid not. We have a trade alliance contract with the Silver Ear tribe, requiring us to sell materials and equipnt to them first. So we lack surplus forging materials."
"I see..."
Serea said, then she flashed a sly smile.
"But I could offer a better price."
"No, dwarves do not betray agreents."
Lodran refused at once, very firmly.
It was just as expected—dwarves, with their stubborn nature, were not easy to lure away from Maregof. But just as Serea thought this, lodran added:
"But I do have a way for Your Majesty to get a steady supply of materials."
"Oh?"
"There are rich mineral resources in this jungle. If Queen Serea needs forging materials, you could simply open a mine and extract ore."
"I've thought about that too, but where would I look for a mine?"
After Serea voiced her question, lodran stroked his chin in thought.
"How about this: we help Your Majesty locate a mine and provide mining expertise. In exchange, queen Serea helps us establish an enchanted building. How does that sound?"
"Help us mine ore..."
Serea considered it—it actually seed quite workable. Once a mine was found, she could station a Skeleton Drudge and dig freely. Also...
Thinking of the Dragonbone Catacomb blueprint, she realized she could combine both projects!
"Do you know of any local mines that can be exploited through tunneling?"
"A tunnel? But tunneling is less convenient than open-pit mining..."
"It doesn't matter—as long as it's a tunnel. If so, we have a deal."
"In that case... even though you insist on a tunnel, there happens to be one nearby, but it only produces iron and copper ores."
"That's fine, any tunnel will do!"
Serea answered excitedly.
Her thinking was simple—since digging out the Dragonbone Catacomb required excavating mountains, and mining tunnels also required digging, why not combine the two?
"Will you co see it with ? The tunnel isn't far from here."
"How long would it take?"
"At full speed, under an hour. Look, there—it's that mountain."
Lodran pointed, and not far beyond the camp stood a prominent peak, perhaps ten kiloters away.
"That's the place."
Looking at it from afar, the mountain wasn't far at all—ideal for quickly transporting ore back to the camp, and convenient for constructing the Dragonbone Catacomb.
"Alright, let's take a look."
With that, Serea summoned Celia, Camilla, and the blood elves, mounted their Carrion Beasts, and set off under Lodran's guidance toward the mine.
...
An hour later, Serea and Lodran were halfway up the mountain, accompanied by agile elven guards. They soon arrived before a cave entrance.
"This is it."
As he spoke, everyone gathered at the cave mouth.
The cave was well concealed, but the entrance itself was exceptionally large, and its interior spacious.
With a "why not try" attitude, Serea attempted to unlock the construction of the Dragonbone Catacomb.
System: Prototype building compatibility 37%. Construction not possible.
"It might work!"
Serea's heart leapt—even though compatibility was only at 37%, as long as she modified the blueprint slightly according to the cave's layout, she might unlock construction.
Fueled by excitent, Serea gazed into the dark cave, and suddenly had a spontaneous urge to "charge in."
"Let's go in for a look."
"This cave has never been explored—it might be dangerous. Let us go in to appraise first, Your Majesty,"
Vina suggested.
"No need—leave a few people to guard here, and the rest will co with ."
With that, Serea led the way in—she wanted to study the structure inside. If possible, she would rush to revise the plan tonight and start work tomorrow.
Unable to dissuade her, Lola and the others followed Serea in.
The cave was pitch black; Celia and Camilla could just barely light the path with holy light. After only a few steps, the group discovered sothing new.
It was a minecart rail, rusted and apparently very old.
By the light, lodran saw marks of excavation along the cave walls, with veins of iron ore still exposed.
"The deposit is still very rich."
"Let's go deeper."
They continued inside, when suddenly Dogsius gave a warning.
"Master, there are monsters ahead."
"Monsters? Are they strong?"
"So are tier one or two monsters, and there is one tier three."
"Perfect. We haven't fought in a while—let's clear out all the monsters in the cave for easier construction."
As she spoke, little Boo flew ahead to appraise the interior, getting a full sweep of the cave. Deep inside was an artificial stairway leading down.
"There's more space underground?"
The group followed Little Boo further, and as Serea and company descended, little Boo reached the cave's bottom—a vast chamber of bottomless spring water and rock.
On the stone floor, several fear demons were feasting.
Fear demons were a group of humanoid monsters with no intelligence, afraid of sunlight, usually active at night, and preying on all living things, especially fond of making nests in caves such as this.
When Little Boo crept closer, Serea saw that the fear demons were eating a human adventurer, apparently dragged here earlier.
"Monsters ahead—prepare for battle,"
Serea ordered.
Everyone drew weapons warily, and as they descended to the cavern floor, the faint glow of mineral ore illuminated the fear demons.
"Shii!"
With hostile cries, the fear demons attacked with no further warning.
"Shoot!"
Vina was ready—elven archers drew bows, arrows flying straight for the fear demons' heads. In an instant, the attackers were shot down.
With these level 11-12 monsters cleared, everyone gathered atop the stone platform.
"Weren't there supposed to be tier three monsters too? Where are they?"
Serea asked Dogsius.
"In the water—coming!"
Dogsius' warning ca even as a gigantic tentacle rolled out from the spring, following the scent of blood to haul the corpse underwater.
"Enemy incoming!"
Weapons were drawn, and then the tentacle's owner erged—a gigantic octopus, its slimy tentacles clinging to the cavern walls as it feasted.
"So the fear demons are rely soone else's food,"
Serea remarked, as information about the monster appeared before her.
Level 29, golden Elite, Warbeast, deep Sea Octopus.
But why was there a deep sea octopus beneath the spring?
No, this wasn't the ti for such questions—the octopus, having swallowed the corpse, now turned its attention to Serea and her party.
Both sides faced off. Serea was in no rush to attack—she had never before encountered a wild warbeast.
During the standoff, the deep sea octopus slowly stretched a tentacle toward everyone. Seeing this, Serea's skin crawled.
Just as Serea was preparing to attack, Dogsius spoke up.
"Master, it doesn't seem to want to attack us."
"Huh? If not, what does it eat to grow so big?"
As Serea spoke, the tentacle nearly touched the group and everyone prepared to strike, a lodious voice sounded from underwater.
"Little Mo, go now."
"Woo!"
Responding to that woman's voice, the deep sea octopus made a sound, seeming to answer her or perhaps bid farewell, then quickly subrged.
Thud!
The deep sea octopus vanished. When everyone rushed to the spring, they discovered the water was extrely deep, seemingly connected to sothing below.
(To be continued...)
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