Dolores looked down at the appraisal report again.
The phrase engraved on equipment can only be seen through a high-grade Appraisal Machine.
Origin Script.
It usually reveals the identity of the equipment, and sometimes leaves behind even a quote.
This phrase engraved on equipment is not written by the maker. The world reads it out.
The heart of the maker, and the intent at the time of making.
It cannot be manipulated. It cannot be embellished.
Because it is not an area where one picks pretty words to write to look good to her.
It is simply something from that moment being engraved.
If he had even considered that and induced this Origin Script to be engraved.
Then it is not the scheme of a mere child, so he is a talent to be treasured even more. But.
The story with the highest probability here was simply that the child made it while thinking of Dolores… that was it.
"……."
When was it, again.
That she received someone's pure goodwill.
Sister-wives? That was long ago too.
Goodwill.
It had been quite a while since something like that.
Dolores smiled softly once more.
'I should buy some candy.'
With that thought.
Meanwhile.
Puram's mind was flowing in a completely different direction.
'It's real.'
Compatibility 100.
Even the Easter egg of the previous Descendant of Fire, that is, the arrangement left for a junior, was output.
This gauntlet is undoubtedly genuine. And Puram must deliver this arrangement to a junior no matter what.
There is no hiding it.
That is the Dwarven Pride.
'… Wait.'
Puram's hand stopped.
He remembered a rumor that had circulated a few days ago.
The head of the Dwarves, Ricardo.
It was said that the furnace boiled on Ricardo's floor, one floor above this one.
That furnace is said to react only when a new Descendant of Fire is born.
A story that only remains in old records.
Ricardo was also getting on in years, so he wondered if he had gone senile.
Moreover, looking at the young Dwarves on Floor 88, there was not a single one who had even properly held a hammer, let alone a Descendant of Fire.
He thought there was no way a new Descendant would appear, so he dismissed it as nonsense.
He had thought there was no future for the Dwarves.
But it was real.
This gauntlet, made not long ago, must overlap with the time that furnace reacted.
Betting on the future of the Dwarf Race.
He must find it, no matter what.
Puram's gaze turned to Dolores.
This woman knows the answer.
She definitely knows the maker.
'… I have to hold onto her.'
Puram first copied the verification certificate.
And translated it. The certificate was written in Dwarvish, which humans cannot read. It was a basic system.
He held out the translation to Dolores.
"It is genuine."
"I see."
Dolores smiled softly and accepted the verification certificate.
"……."
Genuine, 100 percent, written at the top.
So far, so good.
But below that, there was unreadable Dwarvish written.
If it were just Dwarvish, he could read some of it. Like the appraisal report just now, but this was… a bit different.
"What is this text below?"
"… Who made this equipment, and where are they?"
He answers a question with a question.
Dolores felt that the appraiser before her was exuding an unusual aura.
To her, it was not a threat, merely a process of a third party proving that child's value once more.
Part of a tiresome battle of wills.
"I picked it up on the street."
That was her answer.
In truth, that child really was a child who had dropped with a thud on the street.
It was not wrong.
Puram's brow furrowed.
"To you, this may be a simple matter of profit and loss, but to the race, this is very important…"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Cut off.
Dolores kept her smile and closed the door on the conversation with a single word.
She had roughly heard of the Dwarf Race's circumstances, but that was their problem. Not hers to care about.
Puram thought that no matter how much more they talked, he would not get the result he wanted.
The option of pressuring by force does not exist. He knows who she is.
Then what about reporting to the head, Ricardo?
… Possible, but tiring. Very. He is still stubbornly old-fashioned.
Puram thought for a moment.
A sustainable direction that also preserves the future of the tribe.
Actually, there was one more thing Puram had agonized over whether to mention.
The grain of the leather.
Looking again, he understood.
Puram loved the Dwarven way more than anyone, but he also knew what the Dwarves lacked.
This kind of natural polishing—the technique of suppressing the grain itself to open the hidden paths of the leather—does not exist among the Dwarves.
It does not come from rough hands.
In other words, this polishing method belongs to the Fairy Race.
However.
He could not say that much.
One who is a Descendant of Fire and also possesses the secrets of the Fairy Race.
If this woman learns that fact, she might hand the new talent over to the Fairy Race.
If she judges that the Fairy Race has more to teach than the Dwarves.
That, cannot be allowed.
Puram swallowed his words.
So, he simply changed direction.
"… I must create a stepping stone for that new talent to grow."
"……."
Dolores's eyes narrowed.
Unlike until just now, this was not something she could let pass.
Dolores gathered the verification certificate and appraisal report, and lowered her gaze.
If so.
"It is not exactly a story that concerns me, but."
"……."
"How can they grow?"
Dolores does not cage a child with talent.
Especially if that talent is a Descendant of Fire, there is no need to say it.
'She has no intention of hiding it.'
Puram saw her reaction and fell into thought for a moment.
Would bringing him here really be only a good thing?
Here… there is the Dwarf Company.
Not just there. They would have already grasped who enters and leaves this verification office.
They might be listening right now, at this very moment.
The same goes for the upper floors; he heard that Floor 89 is also slowly being touched by the Dwarf Company.
There is no guarantee that Ricardo will perfectly protect the new talent. Moreover, Ricardo's methods do not suit today's youth.
He could bet that he would tell him to jump into lava of 10,000 degrees immediately.
If he cannot climb out? He would just think it was a shame.
Then rather.
Receiving this woman's abundant support and growing outside.
… might not be bad.
Rustle.
If he is a Descendant of Fire, he will receive treatment that does not fall behind anyone.
Puram translated everything, including the ancestor's arrangement written below the appraisal report.
-----------------------------
[To the Descendant who has taken the first step.]
[Clumsy, aren't you. But certainly hot.]
[Please do not cool.]
[If ever you lose your way, to Voldr's workshop——]
— Appraisal Machine Maker, the 7th Wise Craftsman Voldr —
-----------------------------
"……!"
Dolores's eyes widened.
"It was ancient Dwarvish."
"Please deliver it to that child."
Puram took a moment to catch his breath.
"If you lose your way, to Voldr's workshop."
And he immediately added.
"A good hammer… will be needed."
After saying that, he turned his head.
Dolores watched the old man's back as he turned away.
His back was bent. The Sun Engraving carved on the old apron faintly shone in the lamplight.
There was no falsehood.
Not a single word.
So the woman placed double the repair fee on the table and went outside.
Puram put a hand to his forehead.
Was the choice he made really correct?
He had handed over the future of the tribe to a mere climber.
Translating the ancestor's arrangement, and bringing up the hammer.
An irreversible choice….
He was lost in thought when.
Knock knock.
"… I am not taking more customers today."
"……."
There was no answer. And.
Creak.
The door opened.
"……."
A suit.
The clothes Puram hated most.
"This is the Dwarf Company, Mr. Puram."
The man in the suit smiles.
"Has anything happened?"
His eyes were not smiling.
***
"The beginning of Metallurgy is the hammer and forge…."
This is so frustrating, seriously.
Is there no method for a dirt-spoon Blacksmith?
I've read all the leather and crafting parts. But the Metallurgy part, no matter how I read it, I can't make heads or tails of it.
I feel like I'd have to try it myself, but the entry barrier is a real bitch.
"How much is a forge? A decent one."
[30,000 gold]
30,000 gold, huh.
Last time, that Genesis Sword or whatever was 10 million gold.
Yuna said to roughly think of every 10,000 gold as 100 million.
Then 30,000 gold is roughly….
[300 million.]
Shit.
How is the startup cost 300 million?
What is this, seriously?
I was clicking my tongue at the absurd price when.
"… Then the hammer?"
Suddenly my hands are trembling.
Then how much is the hammer, seriously.
[100,000 gold]
"Heh heh."
It's a price that makes me laugh hollowly.
Okay, I'm giving up on Metallurgy. I'll become a master of Leatherworking.
If things go wrong, I'm tempted to toss the Descendant of Fire and jump to the Fairy Race.
Child of the Forest, was it? I'll go with that.
Let's cut what needs to be cut. I don't know how rich Dolores is, but.
I don't believe she'll gladly spend 1.3 billion on a kid right away.
I'm definitely the type to stay objective about myself.
I was worrying about various things and lifted my head when.
"……."
"……."
Ruby was awake.
I don't know since when.
Half-risen on the blanket, she was staring blankly at me.
"…… Hello."
"……."
No answer.
She just looks, silently.
I looked out the window for a moment. Before I knew it… the sun was setting.
Seeing the sunset light coming in, I guess she slept a long time; I forgot while reading.
You said Lady Dolores is coming.
"… Did you sleep well?"
Still no answer, she just keeps her eyes open and stares at me.
Ruby's eyes narrowed.
Could this be.
"……."
"……."
A staring contest began.
Without anyone saying who started it, naturally.
Ruby looks at me, and I look at Ruby.
Sorry, but I've lost count of how many nights I spent in front of a monitor in the lab during undergrad.
Dry eyes are something I graduated from long ago. A 13-year-old dares to.
"……."
Ruby's eyes began to moisten… and finally.
"Hmph…!"
Ruby closed her eyes and rubbed them with both hands.
I won, I did win, but it doesn't feel good.
"Ugh."
Ruby rubbed her eyes and glared at me. Tears were slightly pooled in her bloodshot eyes.
As I said earlier, I don't really like taking care of kids.
Well, yeah.
"Aren't you hungry?"
When you play with kids, you lose track of time.
Paradoxically, I'm careful because I like them too much.
"I'm not hungry."
Ruby turned her head sharply and answered curtly.
It must be a bewildering situation with Dolores gone and only me in front of her, but she didn't seem to care.
She's calm. Are kids like this the ones who become mages?
"… Lady Dolores said she'd come without being late. Don't worry too much."
Though it seems she's already a bit late.
"……."
Ruby looked at me, then kept hesitating as if she had something to say.
And she opened her mouth.
"Master. Does it hurt?"
"……."
"You said earlier… Severed Meridians or something."
Before she fainted—no, fainting is a bit much.
It seems she heard something before Dolores put Ruby to sleep.
"It doesn't hurt."
If I get the chance.
I plan to make it so.
So it doesn't hurt.
"Liar…"
Ruby lowered her head with a distressed expression.
Just as her eyes were welling up.
Slam.
"Were you playing nicely?"
Someone entered.
It was Dolores.
"You're here."
I closed the textbook floating in the air and stood up.
"Master!"
Ruby kicked off the blanket and ran over.
She was about to cry just now, but her face is already buried in Dolores's waist.
"I stopped by somewhere, so I'm a bit later than I thought."
Dolores patted Ruby's head and looked at me.
Her eyes had a slight nuance of apology.
To me? Sorry to the kid?
It was strange that she even had such feelings.
"It's fine. Nothing happened."
Nothing much means winning a staring contest and giving up on Metallurgy.
Not worth reporting.
Click-clack.
Dolores slowly approached me.
Ruby, with her face still buried in the skirt, dragged along in a crab walk.
Strangely, Dolores had her hands behind her back from earlier.
"Lionel."
"Yes."
Dolores called me.
And.
Smoothly.
She held something out.
"……."
It's a hammer.
A two-pronged hammer that looks heavy at a glance, engraved with lightning-shaped lines.
A yellow gem is embedded at the end of the handle.
Just looking at it makes my eyes tingle.
-----------------------------
[Tojar's Thunder Hammer][★★★★☆]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility][—/80]
-----------------------------
[A battle hammer forged from ore mined from the depths of the Thunderlight Vein. Each strike carries a fragment of thunder. It is said the number of lightning strikes varies with the wielder's caliber, but none have proven it.]
- Rudin, Thunderlight -
-----------------------------
So it's a hammer.
A hammer that looks like it came out of a movie, one that only a qualified person could lift for some reason.
It's smaller than a head, but anyway.
If there's a problem.
-----------------------------
[Purpose: Combat]
[Thunderlight Vein deep ore — highest purity and crystal density. Material value: highest grade.]
[However, this weapon is a combat design optimized for shock transfer on impact. Its center of gravity is skewed to the end, and its striking surface is narrow, making it unsuitable for precision forging. In its current state, it cannot be used for forging.]
-----------------------------
This is a battle hammer, isn't it?
"It's a gift."
Dolores said to me.
She gifted me a battle hammer worth 1 billion.