Child of Destiny

……

Shin was led by the young dwarf toward the innermost part of the blacksmith shop. As he walked through the shelves and racks containing different weapons, he immediately discovered how much difference it had compared to the first few times that he had come here.

Having a closer look, he could see a variety of weapons laid in rows. They were adequately organized and categorized by their types.

Polearm weapons could be seen together while being divided by their types – spears, halberds, staffs, and other kinds of polearm weapons were grouped together. Then each of these types was further categorized based on their fighting style like pointed spears used for more stabbing and thrusting while the bladed spears were commonly used for slashing and cleaving attacks.

Looking further, he saw a rack of blunt weapons of different types such as mace, spike clubs, and others. Right beside it was a row of swords with different varieties like bastard sword, versatile sword, whip sword, greatsword, shortsword, rapier, and more.

On the other side of the shop, opposite those weapons, were rows of equipment used for defense such as a variety of shields. A few racks away from it were sets of armor categories from heavy and light ones alongside the ones with the mix of leather and plated armor.

Aside from this, he also discovered that the place was much cleaner than it used to be. Not even a speck of dust could be seen on either of the racks or the weapons and armor that they contained.

He could not help but shake his head a little when he realized this. It was true that changes were bound to happen as time went by, especially when constant progress was involved.

As he was lost in his thoughts, he did not notice the strange gazes that the players within the shop were giving him. They were surprised to see this personal apprentice of Berlin come out from the hole that he had been hiding all this time. After all, he was one of the special NPCs within this shop that piqued the interests of large guilds and in-game organizations.

Most of these players were here to meet this NPC since he was not only good at crafting and forging top-class equipment and weapons, but he was also the only key on how to meet one of the Legendary Grandcraftsmen of the Kingdom, the dwarf Berlin.

All the large organizations situated within the Saint Heaven Kingdom were paying close attention to this particular shop due to this matter. They even dare to provoke the four powers reigning supreme within this city, the Titan Guild, Wings Alliance, Assassin Union, and Hand of Midas just to station their people here.

However, all their efforts were in vain due to how hard it was to meet this particular apprentice, much less find Berlin himself.

But right now, right in front of their eyes, they were seeing an unbelievable scene that they only could dream of.

Not only did this young dwarf apprentice come out from his dwelling, but he also personally escorted Shin to meet the grand craftsman himself. Moreover, he seemed to be being treated as some sort of VIP.

What kind of sh*t luck did this guy step on for him to be treated like that?

Even though they could not believe it, they had no choice but to accept the reality as it was already present right in front of their eyes. All they could do now was to report to their superiors and wait for further instructions.

“Do not go out of that shop without learning the identity of that player!”

“We will investigate this matter thoroughly, so stand there and wait for further instructions. If he leaves before that, then you have to follow him.”

“Standby and wait, we will investigate this matter.”

“Interesting. Wait there and find an opportunity to get close to him. This might be our chance.”

“Do not provoke that person under any circumstances. Lend a hand if he needs it. Befriending him is our best choice.”

Naturally, Shin was unaware of what was happening. He just continued to follow the young dwarf to the inner parts of the shop. It did not take long for him to reach an isolated room where not a single person was permitted to enter, both customers and staff of the shop.

The young dwarf stood at the center of the empty room for a couple of seconds while sweeping his gaze at every corner of the room. After confirming that there was no other person inside aside from them, he suddenly put his palms together before stomping on the wooden floor.

Bang!

Shin was confused at first as he did not understand the actions of the young dwarf. But he remained quiet and waited for what was about to come.

Swoosh!

Then it happened.

The entire floor was shown, revealing a magic formation that was familiar to Shin. It was a teleportation formation that was similar to the ones that the Teleportation Hall had, but also somewhat different at the same time.

Looking closely at it, Shin discovered that the language used by the two formations was different.

He knitted his brows as he muttered. “Is that the dwarven language?”

As he was thinking about this, the whole room was illuminated by the magic circle, followed by the pulling sensation that he felt.

Swoosh!

Shin closed his eyes due to how blinding the light that the magic formation was releasing. Then his entire body turned into particles of light before disappearing from the room alongside the young dwarf.

…

Swoosh!

Bang!

A few moments later, Shin found himself falling toward the ground. But with his fast reflexes, he was able to adjust himself in midair before landing on his feet in a steady manner.

“Where is this?” was the first thought that entered his mind as he found himself in the middle of a dark place.

But not long after, his very question was instantly answered by the intense heat coming from every direction. At the same time, he could also see some fiery red lights coming from the distance, which was seemingly the end of a cave.

While he was thinking what that light was, the voice of the young dwarf suddenly sounded from his side, interrupting his thoughts. “Follow that path and you will find Master. You can ask your questions to him later.”

After that, he turned around and walked in the opposite direction of that fiery light, seemingly indicating that he was able to see in the dark without a problem.

Shin wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth, he felt that the presence of the young dwarf had already disappeared. This shocked him a little as from his estimate, the dwarf only took one or two steps before completely disappearing.

“I guess, there are still some stronger NPCs around that I can’t notice,” he muttered while shaking his head. He did not expect that the young dwarf was that powerful.

But now that he thought about it, it seemed like it was true. He hadn’t felt anything from that young dwarf since the first time they met in front of the blacksmith shop.

When this thought crossed his mind, the young dwarf seemed to be becoming more and more mysterious. His presence was entirely kept, making it impossible for Shin to notice despite him not putting his guard down.

Moreover, it seemed like he could not see the details of this NPC either. He was too occupied with other things earlier, but it seemed like he let his guard down without him knowing after meeting the dwarf.

Thinking about that, Shin could not help but reevaluate the young dwarf once again. “Is he an assassin-type? A dwarven thief? That is interesting.”

After regaining himself for a few moments, he turned around and walked toward the exit of the cave that he was in.

Not long after he reached the end, he could not help but slightly close his eyes and placed his hand in front of them due to the sudden exposure to intense light. Then it was quickly followed by a scorching heat that seemed to be trying to burn his skin.

Due to the sharp rise of the temperature, Shin unconsciously circulated the energy within him according to the Celestial Vermillion Bird Method. His fire affinity quickly rose as the mana within him resonated with the fire element coming from the outside, making him adapt to the heat of the surroundings.

When he finally adjusted, he tried to open his eyes in a slow manner. Moments later, he was immediately greeted by a stunning scene.

What was in front of him was a huge river of magma!

Looking at its surface, Shin could instantly tell how hot it was, especially when he saw how this molten rock boiled with crimson bubbles popping out on its surface and the scorched smoke that it was releasing.

In the distance further away from where he was standing, he could even see huge falls made of burning magma.

It was a stunning yet also scary sight to see.

From what he could tell, he must be inside the mouth of a volcano. And it was a very old and ancient one at that, especially with the mixture of rich earth and fire elemental mana filling the surroundings.

While he was lost in amazement, he suddenly heard a familiar voice that he had never heard after such a long time. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Shin turned toward the source of the voice and saw a bulky dwarf with thick and long facial hair that was almost covering his mouth.

“Sir Berlin!” he greeted right after recognizing the old dwarf.

“It has been a while young envoy,” Berlin nodded as he scrutinized Shin with his gaze. “And it seems like you have grown into a fine man. You grow quite strong and powerful.”

“You even find some good blacksmith and tailor to craft your equipment,” he added after noticing the unique equipment set and cloak that Shin was wearing.

After that, he turned around and followed the path stacked on the walls of the magma cave. “Follow me. I am sure that your business here is for me to reforge that sword of yours.”

“Let’s get down to business and get this over with. I still have a lot of projects that I have to finish after this one.”

He paused for a moment before chuckling. “You are actually in luck, young envoy. I just broke through to the Saint Rank just recently. Your sword will definitely be reaching a much higher height than what it used to be at its previous peak.”

“Though, you also can’t be too excited since it will not break through the Obsidian Rank. But it will still be at the very peak of that rank,” he added with a somewhat excited tone.

A few moments later, Berlin led Shin to the bottom level of the volcano cave. The heat in this place was so high that even the walls were releasing a scorching temperature. Some of them were even reaching the melting point and started to turn into their liquified state.

But for some mysterious reason, they remained intact and stayed at that temperature without increasing any further.

When he took a closer look at it, he discovered that it was because of the magic formations drawn on the walls, ceiling, and floor of the cave. These formations were keeping the temperature within a certain range.

At that point, Berlin reached a certain part of the cave and stood right in front of an anvil with a burning furnace on the wall beside him. He turned around to face Shin and said. “This is one of the ancient secrets of our raise. It is a technique that turns this entire cave into a forging furnace.”

“Us, dwarves, like to live under the ground, within the mountains, and even inside a volcano. It is because that way, we can be much closer to nature. We can also feel the ‘heat’ this way, making it much easier for us to forge equipment or weapons. The resulting product is also much better than the ones made from normal means.”

“The techniques that we have for forging and blacksmithing are quite unique. And if we reach a certain level, we can even use these techniques in battle.”

He paused for a moment and stared at Shin with meaningful eyes before continuing. “I originally wanted to pass these techniques to you since you have helped this kingdom greatly, which also indirectly helps our race.”

“But it is a pity that you are not from our race. It will only be useless for you.”

“Moreover, it will not be suitable for the path that you are already taking. It will only confuse you further and lead you astray if you try to learn it.”

Taking another pause, he signaled Shin to come a little closer while also gesturing for the latter to take out the materials that they will need for the re-forging process of the [Yamato].

Then he added. “Instead, I will teach you something that will be more helpful to you.”

After saying that, he started circulating the energies within his body by using a certain breathing method. Then he took the [Yamato] from Shin and quickly dismantled it with a quick motion before throwing its crushed blade at a metal container.

He turned to Shin and said. “I will let you watch closely, young envoy. What you will pick up will be all up to you.”

……