That night.
Li Xiuman arrived safely at Iron River City.
After verifying his identity with his adventurer's license and paying the city entrance fee, Li Xiuman successfully entered Iron River City.
As a renowned city of smiths in the region, Iron River City was home to a vast number of blacksmiths.
It was named Iron River City because of a wide river that ran straight through the city.
The Iron River.
Upstream, this river passed through a mine, depositing a large amount of ore sand here downstream.
Having settled in this river for untold years, the ore sand had been eroded by the water mana in the current, transforming into a unique kind of mineral deposit.
And as a city, Iron River City naturally had its own Landmark Tower and dungeon.
Much like the White Bear City Dungeon, it was a fire-attribute dungeon, reaching forty-one floors deep.
Upon entering Iron River City, Li Xiuman felt an atmosphere entirely distinct from that of White Bear City.
Iron River City lacked a certain vitality; shops selling daily necessities were rare, replaced instead by a multitude of weapon shops.
The moment he passed through the heavy city gates, a relentless clatter of clanging rang in his ears.
It was the sound of hammers striking ore.
Smelted in furnaces, the raw ore shifted shapes under the rhythmic pounding of the smiths.
Inside every blacksmith shop, a colossal forge occupying half the interior belched an endless stream of black smoke.
Blacksmith apprentices continuously shoveled special magic coal into the roaring furnaces.
Ordinary coal could hardly generate enough heat to melt tough magical ores.
Looking across Iron River City, smoke-spewing furnaces were everywhere as far as the eye could see.
“This is... polluting the environment a bit, isn't it?”
Li Xiuman couldn't help but sigh.
Then again, what did he care?
It wasn't like he had lungs.
Since it was getting late, Li Xiuman didn't immediately go looking for Kuntu, the blacksmith Terub had recommended.
Rest came first.
After all, his journey here had been full of twists and turns, leaving him thoroughly exhausted.
He checked into an inn and was charged three silver coins for the night.
Damn, that was expensive.
Li Xiuman grumbled to himself as he handed over the coins.
Upon entering his room, Li Xiuman took off his gear and, by the light of the magic lamp, began maintaining his equipment.
Once his gear was taken care of, Li Xiuman pulled a magic book out of his storage space and resumed reading.
No matter the circumstances, one must never neglect their studies.
One must never fall into the slack mindset of giving oneself a vacation just because they aren't at home.
Slacking off is a slippery slope: there's only zero times and countless times.
...
“Dammit, I'm too tired. I can't read anymore.”
After reading for only a short while, Li Xiuman was simply too exhausted to continue.
See? Here was the proof of the Li Xiuman Theory.
Precisely because Li Xiuman had slacked off before, he gave up now with the greatest of ease.
The side effects of studying like a madman in the dungeon were finally catching up to him.
He had overdrawn on his future diligence...
Early the next morning, Li Xiuman woke from the bed, put on his gear, tidied up his appearance, and set off toward the location Terub had given him.
Winding through twists and turns, Li Xiuman internally roasted the absurd layout of Iron River City.
Everywhere he looked were identical, cluttered blacksmith shops without a single landmark in sight, making it infuriatingly easy to get lost.
Only after asking several kindhearted locals was he finally able to locate Kuntu's smithy.
“Red Dwarf Blacksmith...”
Li Xiuman glanced at the sign on the side of the shop and read it under his breath.
“Now that's a straightforward name.”
Li Xiuman had already learned from Terub that Kuntu Bal was a Red-Haired Dwarf.
He hadn't expected such an authentic, no-nonsense name.
It fit right into Li Xiuman's stereotype of dwarves.
Red Dwarf Blacksmith seemed to have even less foot traffic than the other smithies...
Was it because dwarven blacksmiths had stubborn tempers?
What differed even more from the other shops was the gigantic forge.
It was the largest furnace Li Xiuman had seen since entering the city.
Its top protruded right past the roof, resembling a gargantuan lump of dark red metal.
Rather than saying there was a forge inside the blacksmith shop, it would be more accurate to say there was a blacksmith shop inside the forge.
Li Xiuman didn't linger outside any longer and stepped inside.
“Welcome, customer. How can we help you?”
“If you need weapons, we have finished pieces ready. If you need custom forging, the price depends on the materials and the crafting techniques required.”
The moment he walked into the smithy, a burly human man approached and helpfully introduced their services.
“Forging.”
“Is Kuntu Bal, Master Bal, in?”
“I have a letter of recommendation from Terub of White Bear City.”
Just as Li Xiuman spoke, a shout rang out from deep within the blacksmith shop.
“A recommendation letter from that brat Terub?!”
“Do you have some fine material even Terub couldn't handle?!”
Then, hurried footsteps approached as a petite figure pushed aside the partition curtain and walked out.
A head of dark red hair looked like blazing flames.
Not just her hair—her eyebrows and eyes were also a vivid crimson, reflecting the dancing flames in the forge.
She looked as though she had just leapt straight out of a fire, her entire body still burning with embers.
What surprised Li Xiuman the most was...
This person looked entirely like an elementary school girl!
What the hell? Where did my big, burly, seasoned master blacksmith uncle go? How did he vanish into thin air?!
“What are you staring at, brat?”
“Don't let this old lady's appearance fool you! By your human years, I'm old enough to be your grandmother!”
Kuntu rested her hands on her hips, seemingly displeased by Li Xiuman's stare.
“It's nothing. I just didn't expect Master Bal to be so young and pretty.”
Flattery first—it was never wrong.
Telling people what they wanted to hear was Li Xiuman's specialty.
“Hmph, sweet-talker. I'm not some little girl you can fool with empty sweet words!”
Kuntu raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
Watching the subtle upturn of Kuntu's lips, Li Xiuman could tell that she was actually delighted to hear someone praise her youth.
“No, no, I mean every word from the bottom of my heart.”
“Master Bal, here is Terub's recommendation letter. Please have a look.”
Knowing when to stop, Li Xiuman pulled the recommendation letter from his robe and handed it to Kuntu.
After all, laying on the flattery too thick would only make it seem contrived.
Too much is as bad as too little.
Sure enough, Kuntu took the recommendation letter with a pleased expression, casually tore it open, tossed the envelope into the furnace, and unfolded the letter to read.
Li Xiuman offered a silent second of mourning for Terub.
The poor guy had put tremendous effort into the envelope, meticulously rewriting it multiple times until it was barely presentable.
Kuntu's gaze swept swiftly across the handwriting on the parchment.
Then, pulling her eyes away from the letter, she tossed the paper into the furnace and turned to Li Xiuman.
“Come inside and talk, brat.”
“And you boys, don't just stand there slacking off! If the furnace temperature drops even a little, prepare to have your hides tanned by me!”
As Kuntu barked at the apprentices who had gathered to watch the show, they all shuddered in terror and frantically shoveled magic coal with renewed vigor.
Rate on N.U.
