Setting Out Again

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

Serie had fully recovered, without even the slightest lingering effects. Som also said he had stayed long enough, so Rhode officially prepared to set out on another adventure.

Of course, their party had gained two more members this time.

"Noyun, listen to the adults while you're here, okay? Wait for me to come back!"

Standing at the village entrance, Norn reluctantly said goodbye to his younger sister.

"Mm. Then when will you come back, big brother?"

Norn fell silent for a moment.

He did not know when he would return from this adventure. It was even possible that he would never return.

But there were things he had to do.

He did not want to protect only this one village.

For that, he needed to become stronger.

"When your brother becomes strong enough, I'll come back." Norn crouched down and gently ruffled his sister's hair. "Then I'll teach you some amazing magic, all right?"

According to Serie, his younger sister also had the talent to learn magic.

It was just that she was still too young to accumulate enough mana in her body. She could not even cast the most basic spells.

Noyun clutched the corner of her brother's clothes. Though reluctant to part with him, she still nodded firmly. "Then I'll wait for you to come back!"

Erik could not stand watching any longer and urged them on gruffly, "Hey, hey, it's not like we're parting in life and death. You're making it sound like we're never coming back."

Erik had a huge pack on his back. Supplies for five people were no small amount; even the basic necessities took up plenty of space.

You did not just set off on an adventure empty-handed.

It was like going on a cycling trip. You did not simply get on a bike and leave on a whim.

At the very least, you had to bring your phone.

That way, if you gave up midway, you could call for a ride straight home.

Serie folded her arms and coolly added, "There's nothing wrong with calling it a parting in life and death. We really might not come back."

Even she had accepted Rhode's invitation to adventure with the assumption that she might never return to the Elf Forest.

It could only be said that Serie became a little unable to read the mood when there were too many people around.

Rhode did not correct her, merely hurriedly smoothing things over. "All right, all right. Time to go."

After giving a few more instructions to the dependable elders in the village, Norn finally returned to the group.

Bidding farewell to the villagers who had come to see them off, the five of them officially set out on their journey.

Thus, the legendary band of heroes buried in the river of history was officially formed.

The Saint marched on, the Sage sought survival, the God-Slayer slept, the one who ventured into darkness proclaimed death, and the honored one wore a crown.

Only, none of them knew it yet.

As the village faded farther and farther into the distance, Som asked after they left the sphere of influence of Gremir Forest, "Where are we headed first?"

"The Dwarven Kingdom ruins." Rhode unfolded the map. "If I'm not mistaken, there should be far fewer Monsters there than before."

"What do you mean?" Som asked, somewhat confused.

He remembered that place had long since become a Monster stronghold. By all rights, it should have been crawling with Monsters.

"Because of the war," Serie explained from the side.

"According to Kraft, the war between the Monsters and the Allied Forces has already begun. If so, most of the Monsters should have been deployed to the front lines," Rhode added.

In truth, both the Monsters and the Demon Race were in complete chaos.

After all, the Demon King had not yet appeared in this era. No one among the Demon Race submitted to anyone else; they were all like petty kings ruling their own territories.

Among those territories, however, the Dwarven Ruins had the largest number of demons. It was already beginning to resemble the First Demon King's Castle.

If nothing unexpected happened, the first Demon King of the Demon Race would likely emerge from among them.

"I see." Som immediately understood. "I heard the Dwarves' ancient forging techniques were lost during that attack as well. Even though that was supposed to be the foundation of their people. I wonder whether we can recover them."

From the very beginning of the Mythical era, the Dwarves had been renowned throughout the continent for their powerful forging techniques.

Countless races had spared no expense to ask the Dwarves to forge powerful weapons for them. It was said that the Dwarves had even created a weapon capable of harming gods, but with the fall of the First Dwarven Kingdom, there was no longer any way to tell truth from fiction.

"Didn't your forging techniques rely on secret recipes rather than people?" Rhode voiced his confusion.

In his view, as long as people were still alive, their skills would not be lost. They would be passed down.

Unless they used that ancient tomb-building method.

Once the work was done, they would simply bury all the workers alive. Then, naturally, nothing could be passed down.

Yet plenty of Dwarves had escaped when the Dwarven Kingdom fell. Were none of them skilled in forging?

Som shook his head. "I don't know about that. I learned even my current axe maintenance techniques from the old man."

"All right."

"Can outsiders learn your forging techniques?" Norn asked tentatively.

"In theory, no. But in reality, they've been lost for centuries. There isn't a single Dwarf on the continent who still knows them."

Som's meaning was simple.

There were no Dwarves left on the continent who knew the ancient forging techniques, so even if other races wanted to learn, there was nowhere for them to do so.

However, Som added, "If such techniques really appeared in the hands of another race, I doubt the leaders of those Dwarf clans would just stand by and watch."

Norn's gaze dimmed somewhat.

"If it's the original, untouched technique, then there would indeed be risks. So why not break it down first? I doubt those Dwarves would be able to tell."

Rhode's words let Norn see a certain possibility again. He looked at Rhode, who smiled at him as though he had guessed what Norn was thinking.

Perhaps he should find a time to talk with him.

He could teach them magic without conditions and had even gone adventuring with an elf. Perhaps he held the same goal as Norn.

Unlike Norn, Erik was more concerned about something else. "I heard there are plenty of treasures hidden in the Dwarven Ruins?"

"Yeah! They say there are statues carved from gold, set with gemstones of every color, over ten meters tall. There's even a Treasure Vault with its floor covered in gold coins, like a sea."

Gold was not widely circulated in this era, but the Dwarves could not resist that dazzling golden color, nor things like gemstones.

So when various races commissioned weapons, they would bring large quantities of gold items with them.

"Good grief! Just imagining it makes my eyes spin."

No matter the era, people liked shiny things. Even in a barter village, Erik was no exception.

"Is there anything besides gold and gemstones?"

Rhode was more concerned with whether there were other treasures. After all, he could not carry this stuff away, and even if he wanted to, he could not take much of it.

"I don't know about that."