“An unfinished greatsword?”
Is it a magic item?
As a mage, obtaining a magic greatsword seemed useless since he couldn't use it...
But since it was related to the Forbidden Fire—the most notable thing in the Well of Eternal Imprisonment right now—how could Brock give up on it?
Wait, even if he couldn't use it, he had the Forbidden Fire Blessing and the Summoning Blessing Mark.
Plus, he had the heroic gargoyle card.
From previous battles, Brock was certain that the heroic gargoyle had solid swordsmanship and was better at using a sword than most adventurers.
If he got a magic greatsword, even if he couldn't use it himself, he could equip it to the heroic gargoyle.
This was the true way to use a Summoning Mark—or rather, the correct way to play the summoner class.
As a summoner, he could use magic items of various classes by utilizing the traits of his monsters.
Brock thought of the skeletons and skeletal shamans in the Desert Stratum.
Couldn't a skeletal shaman be seen as a summoner? They fought by controlling a large number of skeletons and even armed them.
If the Well of Eternal Imprisonment was deep enough and had enough variety in monsters, he could keep obtaining monster cards.
By arming these monsters with equipment, the summoner class could be seen as a promising new specialization.
A branch under the mage class: summoner.
Brock grew excited. In an ideal state, the strength of a summoner would far exceed that of a mage.
However, everything depended on the dungeon being deep enough.
Based on its performance so far, the Well of Eternal Imprisonment didn't seem like a small-scale dungeon anymore.
Was it a medium-scale dungeon?
Many thoughts flashed through Brock's mind, but the most immediate one was revenge.
The power of a summoner gave Brock hope for revenge against Thorin.
The purple-skinned blacksmith sitting nearby seemed to read Brock's mind.
“That isn't a magic item. It's just an unfinished greatsword blank.”
“It's just a piece of unfinished equipment.”
Brock wasn't discouraged by the purple-skinned blacksmith's words.
“Could you tell me more?”
The purple-skinned blacksmith wasn't stingy with information. Since he needed Brock to break the seal, Brock would find out sooner or later anyway.
“That greatsword is called the Nail of Sealing. It was specifically forged as a sealing greatsword to suppress the residual Forbidden Fire.”
“The Forbidden Fire's riot changed the entire Lava Stratum. In fact, this whole stratum was born because of the Forbidden Fire.”
“Although the Forbidden Fire itself has been sealed within the Lava Stratum, the residual flames left behind when it melted the earth are still scattered across various floors.”
The purple-skinned blacksmith stopped working. Several of his eyes stared at Brock, while others seemed to be lost in thought or memory.
“After the Forbidden Fire was sealed, its madness no longer permeated the entire stratum.”
“However, its residual flames still spread madness and destruction, constantly devouring living beings and driving the monsters of the entire stratum insane.”
“As long as these residual flames exist, the danger in the Lava Stratum will never subside.”
“To eliminate them, Forbidden Fire Containers were forged. With their power, the residual flames were cleared and contained.”
“However...”
The purple-skinned blacksmith slowly stood up, Brock's eyes following his movement.
“Vile individuals seeking the power of the Forbidden Fire set their sights on it.”
“Those who pursued the fire included the monster merchant race, the shaman tribe, and our own purple-skinned blacksmith tribe.”
“They stole the Forbidden Fire Containers and used the power of the residual flames in an attempt to release the prisoners of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.”
“After all, only the Forbidden Fire can melt a prisoner's shackles.”
The purple-skinned blacksmith's expression showed a hint of guilt.
Brock couldn't remain calm. Among those seeking the fire were the intelligent monsters of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
“With the containers stolen, the residual flames were unleashed once more.”
“But we could no longer forge new containers, so we had to use a special method to seal the residual flames.”
“The Nail of Sealing was forged for that purpose.”
“The one in this mining tunnel was cast using a king's bone from the lava lake and prisoner's shackles.”
“The mold used to cast it was destroyed, so it's impossible to forge another Nail of Sealing now.”
“Furthermore, this casted Nail of Sealing cannot be further forged or tempered, so it will always remain a blank.”
Brock tried to digest this information while the purple-skinned blacksmith continued.
This time, he wasn't explaining lore, but the situation of the seal.
“What I need you to do is simple. You just need to thrust the Nail of Sealing back into the Forbidden Fire Pedestal to suppress the fire once more.”
The purple-skinned blacksmith made it sound easy, but doing so meant facing the Forbidden Fire directly.
No one could withstand its destructive heat and madness.
Unless one had the Forbidden Fire Blessing, touching it would mean being consumed by the flames, reduced to ashes in this tunnel, and swept into the lava river.
But even with the blessing, it didn't mean one could ignore the heat of the mining tunnel.
Nor did it mean one wouldn't be burned by the fire.
Back in the Desert Stratum, those with the Forbidden Fire Blessing could use the fire to fight, but they were still burned by it themselves.
“Don't worry about the ambient temperature or the heat of the Forbidden Fire.”
“We are still inside the lava mining tunnel. How do you feel right now?”
Hearing this, Brock finally realized.
He and the purple-skinned blacksmith were still in the lava mining tunnel—the surroundings made that clear.
Yet, despite his severe injuries, he hadn't felt the unbearable heat since he woke up.
Otherwise, even if the purple-skinned blacksmith had saved him, he wouldn't have survived long enough to be treated or wake up.
The purple-skinned blacksmith saw Brock's confusion and pulled out a thick glass bottle.
It had been sitting beside Brock since he regained consciousness.
Brock hadn't had the chance to notice it until now.
His gaze fell on the bottle, and he saw it contained about half a bottle of an unknown liquid.
The open mouth of the bottle was constantly releasing a cold mist, counteracting the heat of the lava mining tunnel.
It was because of this cold mist that Brock hadn't been burned to death by the heat.
“Is this... magic spring water?”
Any spring water containing mana could be called magic spring water.
And those with special effects were incredibly rare.
Whether as an alchemical material or a tool, they were highly valued.
The most famous magic spring water was the water of life from the Spring of Life.
A single drop was worth a fortune.
“This is Frost Magic Water.”
Rate on N.U.
