What Are Forging Stones Actually Used For?

"You're saying that anyone who's ever entered the town will be teleported here every time they're teleported!?"

"No way, my people are still outside!"

Si Telan shook the shoulder of the person in front of her, her face flashing with complex emotions: a bit of tension, a bit of anxiety, a bit of helplessness, and a bit of wanting to laugh.

Huh, trying to laugh?

The thought of how much suffering they would endure without my guidance is enough to make anyone laugh.

"Why didn't you write this kind of thing in your strategy guide?" She pretended to be angry and punched the person opposite her in the chest. "Now my people are going to suffer."

Lu Lu Wo, the author of the strategy guide, who somehow ended up here, shrugged helplessly and said, "We just wrote it in the latest version, but we haven't had time to send it out yet. Everyone needs to rest, okay?"

There are currently no competitors of similar skill level, so the Skyrim Strategy Team does not feel threatened.

She craned her neck to look back and asked, "By the way, have Leon and the others arrived yet? I have good news."

"I don't follow them around every day."

With no relatives around, Si Telan inexplicably relaxed, and she no longer needed to straighten her back so much.

Going out to search is out of the question; who knows where they've been teleported to? Hopefully, we can reach the safe zone soon.

She looked around and saw that all the tents in the town, big and small, were set up in Academy Gate Town. These belonged to the adventurers who were temporarily stationed here. Some people even slept in the open air, simply plucking a couple of handfuls of water plants, drying them over the campfire, and then using them as blankets to sleep.

Looking at it this way, adventurers are just like cockroaches; they can find a way to survive no matter what environment they are in. This kind of "I must survive" vitality is truly admirable.

But has no one thought of renovating and making use of the empty house?

"Is that Forging Stone?"

She suddenly realized that the things many people use to weigh down tents looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that they were not ordinary stones, but Forging Stone!

Because nobody knows how to use the Forging Stone produced in the Zane Dungeon, everyone considers them useless; even glowing stones are more valuable.

"It's a bit of a waste," Si Telan shook her head. She had always believed that everything produced in the Zane Dungeon was useful, but they just hadn't discovered the right way to use it, Forging Stone must be the same.

Recently, an adorable cat-like blacksmith master appeared in the Forest Area. Perhaps there are similar creatures with the ability to use Forging Stone waiting for everyone to discover.

But there's no point in saying all this now.

The number of people lingering here appears to be over fifty, but the town is too large, and when they are spread out, the number of people seems small, and it is estimated that many of them are out working elsewhere.

A queue formed in front of the wandering merchant's Ka Lie, with people buying all sorts of goods. If someone took too long to choose something, they would be cursed by the people behind them.

Near Ka Lie, there are several intact houses with similar decorations. The Skyrim Strategy Team has converted this place into their temporary base. Several unremarkable anvils and forges are placed outside, seemingly cleared out from the houses.

Si Telan observed that everyone seemed to be buying regular dried meat. Could it be that they didn't bring enough food when they entered the dungeon?

"Did you notice? This is a huge business opportunity, isn't it?" Lu Lu Wo noticed her gaze and said with a grin, "If we could reliably bring food and other supplies here to sell, we could definitely make a fortune."

"It's only profitable during this initial reclamation period. Once the Earl realizes what's happening, he'll definitely develop the land around the portal. At that time, these businesses will still belong to the major merchant guild."

Si Telan, who had a long-term vision, turned her gaze back to Lu Lu Wo and asked, "What good news were you about to share?"

"It's okay to tell you in advance."

Lu Lu Wo snapped her fingers, a confident smile spreading across her face.

"After much deliberation, we have come up with a preliminary idea for the solution proposed by the Crystallized Old Man."

"The key lies in the number of people."

The sky is vast and blue, the fields are boundless. The wind blows the grass low, revealing that there are no cattle or sheep, but there's plenty of aquatic products.

"Crackling and popping!"

On a hill that had risen above the water, a campfire crackled and burned—just an ordinary flame, a fire made by magic.

A rather large lobster claw was roasting over the fire, its bright red color making it look incredibly delicious, enough to make one forget how valiant and mighty its owner had been.

Looking around from the hilltop, the scenery was all the same. The fog was so thick that it was impossible to see the distant view clearly, and one wondered what dangers might be lurking in the fog.

That said, what kind of reckless person would have a BBQ on a dangerous hill?

"Are we really going to eat this stuff?" Mei Erjia looked disgusted. "Aren't we portraying ourselves as vegetarians?"

"That's enough to fool outsiders. Do you really think elves are natural beings who only drink nectar and eat leaves?" Li Zinei smashed the claw shell, revealing the white lobster meat. "You need to eat your fill to have the strength to travel."

"I won't eat it. I want to stay true to people's beautiful imagination of elves." The Cool Elf Bro named Kunan said resolutely, and then took action by pulling up weeds from the ground.

Everyone was used to this scene and honestly faced their desires, gathering around the fire to wait for the food to be cooked.

It seems like someone is missing. Where did Wei En Ma go?

"It's a bit hard to eat." Mei Erjia took a bite of the white lobster meat, then stuck out her tongue. "It's not as good as Lobster Fish."

"Hey, Mei Erjia, is the food in the Gourmet Area really as delicious as you say?" one of the elves couldn't help but ask. They always heard Mei Erjia boasting about how delicious the food in the Gourmet Area was.

"You haven't gone to check on them for so many days?" she asked curiously.

"I was busy doing other things, so I forgot." The elf scratched his head sheepishly.

"I'll take you next time."

Mei Erjia's words were met with cheers; the Elf Race would become very optimistic at the slightest benefit, though this only applied to the traditional Elf Race.

Elves like Si Telan, who have ventured out into the world, have long since changed their values. Like normal people, they want more once they have gained some benefits.

After a while of casual conversation, just as the enormous lobster claws were almost completely devoured, Wei En Ma's figure slowly emerged from the thick fog.

Her face was filled with satisfaction, and the dirt on the hem of her skirt disappeared under the effect of the cleaning technique.

During the time everyone was resting, she went out alone to find food—no, to scout the way. Now that she has returned, everyone knows it's time to set off.

If time were to rewind a while, they would discover that Si Telan was missing just after passing through the seal. Without their guide, they would have to fumble their way forward on their own.

Then they encountered monsters. Because the fog was too thick and they couldn't see the road, their attempts to dodge monster attacks only attracted more monsters. In the end, it took them some time to clear the area and find a hill to rest on.

"Couldn't find the way." Wei En Ma shook her head. There was only lake water on all sides, and no clues at all.

The optimistic elves were not discouraged and set off on whatever road they found.

But

"We've gone the wrong way." Gong Qiying was spying on everything from behind the Crystal Ball, sighed, wondering if all these elves were directionally challenged.

Actually, the place they were initially teleported to wasn't far from the Academy Gate Town, but the periodic fog obscured the campfire.

These elves are just as lucky as spearmen, so it's no surprise they went the wrong way.

It's not terrible to go the wrong way; what's terrible is when they don't realize they're going the wrong way and continue walking down the wrong path, laughing and talking.

"Just because your hair is green, does that mean you have to be directionally challenged like some algae-headed person?"

Gong Qiying had originally placed high hopes on this group of elves, expecting them to collect the fragments of Topus' paintings, but the fragments were mostly hidden in the academy, and if this group couldn't get into the academy, it would be a waste of time no matter what they said.

Should we try to guide them in some other way? Forget it, let nature take its course. They can't possibly never find the Academy Gate Town.

He flipped through the map of Lake Liurnia that he had drawn and muttered to himself:

"It can't be said that they were completely unlucky. At least if they continue on, they will encounter new afterimage characters, provided that they don't change direction again."

In the image on the Crystal Ball, the elves are resolutely walking on what they believe to be the right path, heading west.

If you head northwest, you'll encounter the Glintstone Dragon and the Academy Glintstone Key, but they're heading due west. If you keep going that way, you'll only encounter insurmountable mountains, also known as the border.

Generally speaking, a sane adventurer wouldn't try to cross something that's obviously a boundary. Everyone knows that every dungeon has boundaries, and exploring beyond those boundaries yields no reward.

Gong Qiying watched as they encountered a battle- Great Lobster that was out for a stroll with a group of Great Lobster, and were then frightened by the extremely long range and overwhelming power of the high-pressure Water Cannon —it seemed that every adventurer had this reaction after entering, and by now it no longer aroused his interest.

Although these elves have quirky personalities, they are quite powerful. After a little girl chanted, she unleashed a deafening explosion spell, killing the battle-hardened Great Lobster in one blow. As a result, she collapsed to the ground, completely powerless.

Following the lobster, the next creature to appear is the Dango (just kidding), referring to the insect family. Its disgusting appearance, bizarre movements, and magic that forcibly restricts movement taught the elves a lesson.

In the Elven Forest, the elves only encounter cute and handsome creatures. Even the monsters have appearances that appeal to many people's aesthetics. They've never seen anything like the Finger Worm, which was designed purely to disgust people.

Apart from Wei En Ma and Mei Erjia, the other elves all looked uncomfortable.

Then comes the Wraith, Puppet Soldier, and giant crabs—a whole procession that can be considered the Lake District's welcome ceremony for newlyweds.

Monsters in the lake area are attracted to people of similar strength, so strong people will encounter strong monsters, while ordinary people can at most fight a medium-sized lobster.

Relying on the law of attraction between the strong, Wei En Ma and her companions encountered the Elite Monsters, the Jyuratodus, in an open area.

There's not much to say about the battle itself; no matter how strong the Jyuratodus is, it can't beat Mugram. At most, it's just a bit more robust than the Caria Knight.

But

"Call."

Slowly rising from the mud ball flung out by the Jyuratodus, Wei En Ma revealed a terrifying, demonic expression.

The intense killing intent made the demon tremble involuntarily, as if it had awakened a raging flood.

"Run! The old woman is angry!" someone shouted, and the elves scattered and fled. About two seconds later, the ground began to tremble.

When people looked back, they found that the small lake had turned into a forest, as if a corner of Forest Area had been forcibly transplanted here.

The Jyuratodus was bound by thick branches and tortoise shells, unable to move like a salted fish.

"We're having grilled fish today." Wei En Ma spat out a mouthful of mud, her face so gloomy it could drip water.

Looking at the ferocious-looking Jyuratodus, everyone wanted to refuse, but dared not.

"Well, how about we find a place to rest first? Everyone's tired." Kunan ran out to smooth things over, sweating profusely as he pointed to a spot not far away and said, "Let's go over there. I just saw a small house over there."

Li Zinei took the initiative to use a cleansing spell to remove the dirt from Wei En Ma, and even tried to secretly use Tranquilizing Spell, but she wilted after being glared at by Wei En Ma.

Damn it, so what if she's "a few years" older than me and has a slightly higher level of magic? When I grow up, I'll definitely give her a good kick in the butt. A hint of annoyance appeared on her expressionless face.

There was indeed a house not far away, but when everyone got closer, they discovered that a large pot had been set up there, bubbling and gurgling, as if something was being cooked.

Mei Erjia walked over to take a look, but suddenly a strange voice came from beside her.

Would you like to buy some shrimp?