Dwarf Firestone

Ivan discovered that presence the moment he entered this place.

However, the thing remained curled up on a pew in the corner of the church, lying there without moving, so Ivan initially ignored it. Only after examining the God Statue and finding nothing of interest did Ivan approach the thing.

The thing looked like a round, plump lump, lying on the bench. Ivan walked over and saw it rhythmically rubbing against something, and he could even hear it snoring.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the thing was actually a round person with long beard and hair that obscured his face. If one did not look closely, it would look like a round ball with frizzy hair on its head.

Ivan gripped his weapon tightly, while simultaneously patting the "ball" to see if it was still conscious.

Fortunately, after Ivan woke him up, the "ball" immediately jumped up and started cursing.

"Which son who was born without an anus is disturbing my sleep again?"

"I'm sorry, I woke you up."

Ivan gripped his One-Handed Hammer behind his back to keep the "ball" from becoming aggressive, and asked, "I've happened to come here to uncover the secrets of this country. May I ask who you are?"

"Huh? There are still some alive ones."

The "ball" sat up, brushed aside his hair and beard, and held an axe in his hand, indicating that he was also ready for battle.

Where did you come from?

Graveyard.

Ivan replied.

"So you're one of those guys who crawled out of the Netherworld too! Haha! Then we're in the same boat!"

This chubby ball is happy for some reason.

"My name is Firestone. I am a Dwarf, and like you, an undead."

He voluntarily released his axe, extended his hand, and Ivan, after thinking for a moment, also released his hand and shook hands with him.

Why did you come to such a godforsaken place?

After shaking hands, Firestone asked, "You should know this is infidel territory. The apocalypse has made those infidels even more aggressive. No one with a sound mind would come here."

"Based on what I've seen and experienced along the way, there are very few people who still have a clear head."

Ivan answered honestly.

"The reason I came here is actually because I have amnesia. I wanted to come here to see if I could remember anything."

"Yeah, haha, after all, at a time like this, who's left with a sane brain?"

The Dwarf, Firestone, laughed heartily, "But you've lost your memory! It seems you live in a very ancient era, perhaps even from the very beginning of the Age of Light... No wonder I've never seen you in the Netherworld."

The Dwarf was warm and talkative, which made Ivan want to chat with him more.

"The Netherworld? Actually, I have no memories of the Netherworld either."

Ivan scratched his face.

"Actually, when I woke up, I was sitting in a chair covered with tree roots. Then I walked along the passageway of that room and came out of the Graveyard."

"That chair might be from the Nether Realm."

Firestone seemed to have remembered something particularly unlucky.

"Hey, it's good you don't remember. The Nether Realm wasn't a good place to begin with, and now with the end of the world coming, the Nether Realm Gate have been breached, and it's teeming with Demons. Although we won't die anymore, being devoured alive by Demons isn't a pleasant experience. I bet that Nether God is dead too, which is why the Netherworld is so neglected."

It seems the situation in the Nether Realm isn't much better.

Ivan thought for a moment, then asked, "So, what about you, Firestone? What brings you to this country?"

"Me? I just didn't want to be eaten by Demons. I hacked my way out of the Nether Realm with an axe, and then I realized I'd never been to this pagan country before, so I thought I'd come and take a look."

Firestone snorted, "I am a blacksmith after all. I've heard there are quite a few Red Spirit Crystal in this Forbidden Kingdom, so I wanted to come and collect some. Fire can't be started in the Nether Realm, but as a blacksmith, I still want to greet the end of the world by a burning furnace."

"I see."

Ivan sighed.

"By the way, I don't have anything else to do anyway. If you can find any Red Spirit Crystal or equipment that you like, you can bring them to me, and I can upgrade your weapons and equipment for free."

Firestone tidied his unkempt beard, took out a piece of red Crystal, and showed it to Ivan.

"This is Red Spirit Crystal, the stuff we use to start fires. Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm quite skilled."

"Good."

Ivan nodded.

He then inquired about information about the country from Firestone, but Firestone also knew very little.

"I've only heard about this in the Nether Realm; this country is full of incredibly radical heretics who spend all their time thinking about how to kill the other four gods."

As Firestone recalled, he said, "This country seems to worship a forbidden monster, regarding him as a god. I've heard that he's still slumbering underground, waiting for the moment he awakens at the end of the world."

Is that so?

Ivan pondered for a moment.

"Then I'll go down and take a look."

"Hello?"

Firestone exclaimed in shock, "You're courting death like this! Even though that's Demon God, it's still a god!"

"I know, but didn't you say that the Order of the Nether Realm has collapsed, and that we are already dead and can't die anymore?"

After thinking for a moment, Ivan replied, "I just wanted to go and take a look."

"Alright then."

Firestone looked at Ivan with a strange expression.

"Even if you want to die, I can't stop you."

He pointed out the road leading down from the town to Ivan.

Ivan thanked him, told him about the safe location of Firestone Graveyard, and then said goodbye.

According to Firestone, in addition to this town, beneath it, the people of the Forbidden Kingdom built an even larger network of underground structures for mining, keeping slaves, and worshipping Evil God.

The reason Firestone knew the route was because he had sneaked in there before. Besides being a secret base for the citizens of the Forbidden Kingdom, it was also one of their mines, containing many Red Spirit Crystal and rare metallic minerals.

Ivan followed the route he was given and made his way inside. In this mine, there were many more and more terrifying enemies than on the surface. The people in charge of mining were even more insane, and the heretical priests in charge of managing the underground facilities used terrifying spells to manipulate raging fire. What was even more unbearable was that the dogs they kept underground, perhaps due to some kind of mutation, could also breathe fire.

Besides these things, there are many monsters underground, including bats engulfed in flames, small flying dragons, Lizardfolk, and so on.

However, besides these dangerous monsters, Ivan also found a lot of Red Spirit Crystal underground, which he stored in Garland Ring with the Gravekeeper Girl.

As the journey progressed, Ivan also felt that his tattered armor could no longer hold up.

After a long and arduous journey, he finally arrived at the very bottom of this country.

Here, it has become a land of lava, where the scorching heat constantly tests everything. Lava rivers flow slowly on both sides of the road, like ditches, and fiery hot flames occasionally erupt from the Rift in the ground.

At the end of this passage, lava formed a huge lake, where the so-called "Evil God" was imprisoned.