Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Chapter 162 [The Seed of the World Tree]

The Dwarf King and Toronto lingered at the edge of the abyss for a long time.

That enormous crater was truly awe-inspiring. Standing on the edge and looking down, you couldn't see the bottom at all; only endless darkness spread beneath your feet.

Occasionally, hot winds would surge up from the depths of the abyss, carrying a scorching, sulfurous smell, followed by a chilling gust of wind that made people shiver.

"Some people call this place the 'Purgatory Passage'," Toronto said, pointing to a stone tablet not far away, an official sign erected by Inbelia. "Others call it the 'Land of Fallen Gods' or the 'Abyss of Hell'."

The dwarf king crouched down and touched the glassy rocks on the ground. They were traces of being melted by extreme heat and then cooled. He had only seen this kind of stone near the crater.

"What on earth happened here?" he muttered to himself.

Toronto shook its head; no one knew the exact answer. All they knew was that over sixty years ago, a massive explosion occurred here, and that's how this abyss came to be.

The two descended slowly along the officially designated safe route.

The further you go down, the stronger the feeling of being in both ice and fire becomes.

The air was sometimes so hot it was hard to breathe, and sometimes so cold it made your teeth chatter. The dwarf king estimated that an ordinary person would get sick after staying here for a few minutes, and die within a quarter of an hour.

Fortunately, they are not ordinary people.

Reaching a rock wall, the dwarf king stopped, took out his pickaxe, and chipped a fist-sized black stone from the rock.

The stone felt cold to the touch, but upon closer inspection, it contained a surge of fire elemental energy.

Even more bizarrely, beneath this scorching heat, there was also a chilling aura of death.

Two completely opposite forces have been perfectly fused together in a single stone.

"Good stuff." The dwarf king's eyes lit up.

Toronto took the stone, examined it, and nodded. "It is indeed a top-quality material. Fire and death elements are combined into one. Weapons forged from this mineral will possess the properties of both, making them extremely strange."

This stone has several names; some call it "Black Flame," some call it "Stone of Fallen Gods," and some even more exaggeratedly call it "Destined Death."

The Dwarf King still preferred to call it Blackfire Stone.

The two men knocked down a few more pieces, wrapped them in cloth, and carried them on their backs.

It's not that they don't want to take more, it's that they simply can't take it all.

There were only two of them, and even the strongest person couldn't carry much.

Secondly, the mine has already been taken over by the Inberia government. They can take a few scraps without anyone interfering, but if they dare to start large-scale mining, soldiers will probably rush over at any moment.

That's enough, that's enough.

The dwarf king dusted himself off, stood up, and took one last look at the bottomless abyss.

It's time to go back.

The descent was much easier.

As the dwarf king passed by the magic tree, he stopped to watch for a while. The adventurers were still hunting treants and reaping a bountiful harvest, all of them grinning from ear to ear.

The dwarf king suddenly felt a little envious.

This "treasure tree" that can infinitely farm materials would be a great resource for the dwarf kingdom—but they probably wouldn't be able to enjoy it.

Before leaving, the Dwarf King did one more thing: he took Toronto to the weapons shop in Inberia.

He had noticed the equipment the soldiers were carrying long ago.

The quality, the craftsmanship, the intricate and precise patterns—each piece was no less than the national treasures of their dwarf kingdom.

And almost every soldier in the Junbelia army had one of these pieces of equipment.

The dwarf is itching to get rid of it.

He was so eager to learn this forging technique.

But he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Why should they teach their unique skills to an outsider like you? They, the dwarves, have never passed on their rune forging techniques to outsiders, have they?

After much deliberation, the Dwarf King finally came up with a compromise.

He spent money to buy several weapons.

It wasn't the top-of-the-line equipment that soldiers had; weapons of that caliber are probably not sold to the public. He bought ordinary items that circulated on the market, which were of lower quality than the soldiers' equipment, but still contained that unique forging technique.

Buy it, take it apart, and study it; learn as much as you can.

If someone dares to sell it, they're not afraid of you copying it. If you can copy it, that's your skill.

The dwarf king consoled himself in this way.

So the dwarves, carrying a few black flints and some weapons, embarked on their return journey.

Meanwhile, Leylin was waiting for someone in the palace.

No, wait for a minotaur.

A huge shadow swept across the sky, and a true dragon king slowly descended, landing in front of him.

The enormous dragon claw opened, revealing what was inside.

A minotaur.

He was held in the dragon's claws, looking utterly hopeless.

Minos Crete.

This unfortunate Tauren player had only one thought in mind at that moment: What did I do to deserve this?

So what if I time-traveled? My max-level account is gone, so what? I finally found a safe place to grind goblins and level up, but then a dragon suddenly appeared out of the sky and captured me.

His world-class item, the Ariadne Thread, the little ball of thread that allowed him to quickly escape from any danger, completely failed this time.

It's not that the props are bad, it's that the opponent is too strong, the gap is so big that the props can't make up for it.

So he was like a chick caught by an eagle, brought before this human.

After the dragon put him down, it turned and flew away, leaving him alone to face this seemingly ordinary human.

Minos cautiously began, "You—hello?"

Leylin nodded: "Hello."

Then both sides were at an awkward silence.

Minos was at a loss for words. He was in a state of utter confusion, not knowing where he was, who the person in front of him was, or what would happen next.

Leylin glanced at him and broke the silence first.

"You're a gamer, right?"

Minos paused for a moment, then nodded.

He suddenly realized that the person in front of him knew the word "player," which meant what?

This means he's a player too!

Minos's eyes lit up.

"You also traveled from another time?" he asked eagerly. "Do you know how to get back? Is there any way to return to your original world?"

He wants to go home.

Although he wasn't a rich kid in his original world, he still had family, friends, and everything he was familiar with.

He didn't want to stay in this unfamiliar world, much less wear the skin of a minotaur.

Playing as a minotaur in a game is fun, but actually becoming a minotaur in real life is like something out of a horror movie.

Looking at him, Leylin could sense his urgency.

He shook his head: "Not at the moment."

The light in Minos's eyes dimmed slightly.

"But—" Leylin paused, "there might be a way in the future. When I'm stronger, or when I complete some experiments, I might be able to find a way to send you back."

Minos fell silent.

"For now, you can only stay in this world," Leylin said. "But I can help you solve an immediate problem."

"What's the problem?"

Leylin took a seed out of his pocket.

The seed was very small, like a tiny pair of wings, and its entire body was pure white, like an exquisite ivory carving.

Minos was taken aback.

These are—the seeds of an ash tree?

He had a vague impression that the ash tree seemed to be the prototype of the World Tree, and the seed of the World Tree—

"This is a world-class item, the Seed of the World Tree," Leylin said. "It can change your race."

Minos's pupils suddenly dilated.

Race conversion?

Doesn't that mean he can turn back into a human?

"Do you want to continue being a minotaur, or go back to your original form?" Leylin asked.

Minos opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

He suddenly felt that being captured wasn't so bad after all.