New Module, Alloy

The simple meal soon came to an end.

Though this elven lord held a lofty position, he was very approachable. To be honest, before coming here, Li Wei had not even been sure whether he would get to meet him.

He had never expected to be received personally.

Perhaps Rivendell had not seen a human visitor in a long time, or perhaps the powerful lord had vaguely sensed Li Wei's title and become curious.

But in any case, this was merely a small episode in his long life, perhaps nothing more than an insignificant note.

After chatting briefly and indicating that Li Wei was free to look around, Elrond left.

That night, Lindir arranged accommodations for Li Wei. Lying comfortably on the luxurious bed, Li Wei could not help but marvel. As expected of elven craftsmanship—this was more comfortable than any bed he had ever slept in.

The night quickly passed.

Early the next morning, as soon as Li Wei stepped outside, he felt numerous gazes directed at him.

Turning his head, he found several elves watching him curiously.

Clearly, news of Li Wei's arrival and what he had done had already spread.

Realizing he was being observed, Li Wei did not shrink back and stared right back along those lines of sight.

It had to be said that elves were indeed blessed in every regard.

Their long lives gave them ample time to practice all kinds of skills. Over the long years, with even a little effort, they could become well-rounded warriors.

And every one of them was a handsome man or beautiful woman, pleasing to the eye.

Also, elves had a maximum HP of 30.

"Greetings, adventurer who has traveled from afar. Has there been any news from the human towns to the west?"

At last, one elf could not suppress his curiosity and stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

"Much the same as always. People are living as usual, and nothing major worth mentioning has happened."

"I heard you defeated a cavalry unit by yourself. Is that true?"

"More or less."

"So it's true... Then, do you know magic?"

"More or less. Though defeating that squad relied more on a few small tricks and some luck."

And cheats.

"Impressive." The elf offered sincere praise.

"A new star among humans is rising."

He asked, "Will you be staying here for a while?"

"If possible, I'd be very happy to," Li Wei replied.

"Then that would be wonderful. Oh, if you don't mind, I can show you around where we live. Our land is beautiful and safe—you will not find any evil here."

"Then I'll trouble you."

The tour guide had arrived.

"I haven't asked your name yet."

"Agra."

"Li Wei."

Mountains, water, forests, waterfalls, grand palaces, small inns, farms, and ranches—every beautiful sight, natural or man-made, seemed to exist here. As long as one wanted to find it, one could.

Though it lacked a touch of the night's tranquility, Rivendell was clearly even more beautiful during the day. Li Wei could not help but sigh.

"It's truly beautiful. I've never seen scenery like this before. After seeing this place, I almost don't want to go home."

Agra, the guide beside him, smiled and nodded, rather proudly.

Ding—

As they passed a building, a sudden sound of hammering caught Li Wei's attention.

Following Li Wei's gaze, Agra introduced it.

"That is the smithy. Last night's battle caused some weapons and armor to suffer minor wear, so our craftsmen are repairing and maintaining them."

Oh? Elven equipment.

Li Wei was tempted. "May I go in and take a look?"

"Of course. You are a guest personally designated by Lord Elrond, so you have that right."

Clang!

When Li Wei slowly entered the smithy, he saw an elf hammering a brand-new longsword.

Seeing visitors, the elven blacksmith stopped what he was doing and greeted them.

"This is Lord Elrond's guest, Li Wei. He is very interested in our forging."

"I see. Greetings to you." The blacksmith was courteous.

"As you can see, I'm forging a new longsword. To keep my skills from getting rusty, I often take on repair and forging work."

"May I take a look at that sword?"

"Of course."

Having received permission, Li Wei gently picked up the gleaming longsword from the forge.

Elven Steel Sword Attack +7.

Huh?

"Are all the swords you use of this quality?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"N-no, not at all. They're excellent. I just wanted to say that your craftsmanship is truly exquisite—astonishing, even."

Though he appeared calm on the surface, Li Wei was inwardly screaming at how terrifying this was.

Come on, your standard weapons are all Diamond Sword-tier?

What kind of material was this sword made from? It was so hard.

"Thank you for your praise. Our craft has indeed been passed down for a long time and contains a great deal of wisdom."

As he spoke, the blacksmith began explaining the history of Elven forging to Li Wei. From the establishment of the Jewelers' Guild to the many Elven craftsmen who later migrated to Rivendell, there were simply too many stories to tell, and Li Wei listened with great interest.

It was said that the forge alone had existed longer than many human kingdoms.

Li Wei ran his hand over the forge, which bore a distinctly Elven aesthetic, and marveled at how everything here seemed older than the last.

Special work block detected: "Rivendell Forge"

"Alloy Forging" mod installed

Rivendell faction synthesis recipes unlocked

Hmm?

Hmm!?

Li Wei suddenly froze and stared at the forge before him, sucking in a sharp breath.

A new mod had appeared!

"What's wrong?"

Noticing Li Wei's unusual reaction, Agra hurriedly asked.

"Nothing. I was just shocked by how long this forge has existed. It's much older than I am."

"There is no need to dwell on it, Li Wei. In Elven Territory, any object may possess an exceedingly long history. It may be difficult for humans like you to grow accustomed to, but to us, it is entirely commonplace."

"Mm, I understand."

While perfunctorily responding to the Elf, Li Wei's thoughts had already drifted far away.

He opened the Synthesis Table and discovered a whole series of items marked with Elven tags.

Elven Steel Sword, Elven Spear, Elven armor sets...

To synthesize these items, he needed a material called Elven Steel. As for how to obtain Elven Steel—

Li Wei fell into deep thought as he looked at the Synthesis Table.

Elven Steel required a newly unlocked block called an Alloy Furnace. Toss in coal and iron, along with a bit of experience, and it could be produced.

Li Wei had a feeling that experience perhaps served as "magic" in forging. After all, many items forged by Elves contained magical power.

If he threw in only coal and iron without consuming experience, the result would be ordinary steel. Though stronger than iron, it was still inferior to Elven Steel.

Lately, Li Wei had often worried about this. His battles were too intense, and iron armor had long since become insufficient. Yet he simply could not get any diamonds. Sometimes, he had even considered going straight to Lonely Mountain to see whether he could steal some from beneath the evil dragon's watch.

But now, with the Alloy Forging mod installed, Li Wei suddenly felt that his future was bright. If he could forge equipment comparable to diamond armor, then perhaps he did not necessarily need to risk provoking the big boss of Lonely Mountain.