Star Forge Titan

"This name." Heidi seemed to have thought of something.

"Grippy means angry, and Parrett, well, that should mean pyrite, also known as false gold. It's simple and does sound like a pseudonym a dwarf would choose."

"It's basically a pseudonym, and it fits the style of the Dwarven Bloodsworn Avengers. They do abandon their original names until they have washed away their shame."

"Anyway, I don't think there's any need to delve too deeply into this."

Ivan spread his hands and casually stated the full meaning of the dwarf's pseudonym and surname in an ordinary tone.

This made Heidi tilt her head and look at him, and the inquiry in her eyes clearly shifted from the strange dwarf to the young but mysterious northern barbarian.

"Ordinary people in the North would not say such things." The female mage stretched out her fingers to wrap around a strand of hanging black hair, looking at Ivan with a smile.

"..." The young man with the same hair color as the woman in front of him couldn't help but face darkening. This woman was really difficult to deal with. She always acted extra sharp in unnecessary places.

"Anyway!" Alvin subconsciously raised his voice.

"He also wants my help. Don't the Bloodsworn Avengers always engage in spectacular battles wherever they go? This time, he's planning to challenge a sandworm, and it must be a large sandworm that has reached adulthood. So, he hopes that I, who recently caught a large sandworm, can give him some tips and tricks."

The black-haired boy changed the subject somewhat abruptly. Fortunately, Heidi didn't intend to delve into the matter further.

"Is this also considered part of the compensation?"

"According to his words, it counts."

"Okay, but you shouldn't be here just for this, right?" Heidi crossed her arms across her chest. Although she was asking, her tone was very certain.

"Well, as a mage, you should have a place here that is convenient for...dissecting corpses, right?" Ivan paused and spoke in a lower voice, his tone still very certain.

"Is this the purpose of your evening with a lady? You are truly a barbarian gentleman who doesn't understand romance." Heidi glared at him and said unhappily:

Then, she slammed the bedroom door shut seemingly angrily, but the sorceress's next words were soon heard from inside.

"It's underground. I'll take you there later."

Although there was a thick door between them, Alvin's keen senses could still detect the rustling sound of the fabric rubbing against each other.

Ahem, as a gentleman, even a barbarian gentleman, you shouldn't do such a thing.

Alvin walked down the stairs quickly, somewhat confessing his mistake, with an awkward smile on his face. He saw that in the reception area of ​​the lobby on the first floor, Feng Ling had actually become familiar with the fierce-looking dwarf Blood Oath Avenger.

The young dwarf spoke with a stern face as he spoke about adventure stories that were obviously heard from his elders. The little girl beside him trembled and exclaimed from time to time, and the expression on his face gradually became a little proud.

Is this guy really just a kid who hasn't fully grown up?

A Titan descendant who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old in this body complained in his heart.

The reason why Gripi is considered a young dwarf is not only because of his immature temperament, but also due to some other reasons.

For example——the number of whisker rings on his beard.

Beard rings are a unique ornament worn by dwarves, often crafted from various metals. The poorer ones would use brass, while the rich would naturally choose gold. Even wealthier ones would even inlay their gold beard rings with a variety of dazzling gems meticulously polished by gemsmiths.

It is said that the family of the Dwarf High King has a set of beard rings made of mithril. Those small and exquisite metal rings look like miniature gem rings, but they even blocked a fatal sneak attack aimed at the throat for a certain High King!

The foreign assassins must have been quite upset at the time. After all, it looked like a dagger coated with poison was blocked by an overly thick beard...

In short, beard rings have a very important position in dwarven culture.

These small metal rings not only symbolize the family's wealth, but also represent the age of the wearer.

Only after a dwarf has successfully celebrated ten birthdays, or ten years, is he qualified to put a beard ring on his beard.

Therefore, newly adult dwarves usually only have three beard rings. Considering the speed at which dwarves grow their beards, the length of their beards generally does not allow for more.

Usually there is one on each side, and the remaining one is put on the end of the beard, which is the limit.

At the moment, Grippy's beard was noticeably shorter than the mature dwarf's...

There are only three whisker rings hanging on it.

The thicker one is made of cheap brass.

Chapter 15 Witch's Wrist

The dwarf and the wind chime were chatting happily, while Ivan was led underground by Heidi.

Although the third level is only the beginning of the road to becoming a superior transcendent, it can still be regarded as a true high-level magician.

As a high-level wizard, Heidi has her own dedicated research room even when she is studying abroad.

Holding an elegant silver candlestick, the witch swayed as she walked down the spiral staircase, heading towards the secret research institute located below the Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

However, when she occasionally looked at the black-haired boy behind her, her eyes were inevitably filled with some strange emotions.

"The guest who arrived late at night brought a corpse as a gift."

Heidi teased the young fellow behind her in a teasing tone. Although she had no ill intentions, it still made people feel extremely embarrassed.

In response, Ivan could only smile awkwardly but politely. After all, he had brought a corpse with him.

Walking into the underground laboratory, he looked around the room curiously.

Heidi's secret laboratory is very spacious, and the air does not have the stagnant and dull smell of a cellar. It is obvious that it has a good ventilation system.

In the center is a large laboratory table with various test tubes, beakers and other experimental equipment on it. Neatly arranged bookshelves and item cabinets are placed against the walls around the room. Through some of the cabinet doors that have not been completely closed, you can see that they are filled with various processed magical materials.

The above are all very typical orthodox wizard laboratory equipment.

But what Alvin saw next was a little strange.

In the corner stood a soup pot that was half a person's height, filled with a strange liquid. These unknown substances, a mixture of blue and black, were stewed over a low fire, with sparks popping out from time to time, and a faint silver-white light flashing in the meantime. It looked like a starry sky that was put into the pot, beautiful and dazzling.

Next to the large laboratory table, there is a warm-looking wooden desk. The natural wood surface has a soft color, and on it is a complete set of tools for making handmade wool felt.

There are needles of varying thicknesses for different uses, wooden handles that make it easy to hold the needles, handles with an open front that allow you to swap out different needle sizes like changing pen nibs, leather finger guards to protect your fingers from being pricked, and small, unique, golden hand-made scissors with handles carved into vine shapes. And so much more...

Those pointy things looked a bit creepy, but what caught Alvin's attention more was a wool felt doll that was almost finished on the wooden table.

The so-called wool felting is to use a series of techniques to make the originally fluffy wool become firm and dense, and finally fix it into a certain specific shape to achieve the purpose of making the wool completely felted.

Using the same technique, wool can not only be made into common daily necessities such as wool blankets and wool socks, but also into various handmade dolls made of wool.

Right now, on the desk is a gorilla doll with unusually developed arms and a somewhat strange appearance.

What made Alvin concerned was that although it looked like a plush doll on the outside, it exuded a faint magical reaction from inside, much like those magic props with various special functions.

"Don't delve into a lady's secrets~" The sudden voice in his ear made Ivan shudder.

Although his perception had caught the relevant movement in advance, the subtle smile on Heidi's beautiful face as she approached him made him feel a little sweaty on his back.

"Ahem, how do you plan to examine this body?" Ivan coughed lightly, put down the body of the deceased soldier wrapped in a body bag, and asked calmly:

"It's very simple." Heidi put down the candlestick and raised her hand to light the magic lamp in the laboratory, making the whole room brighter.

Then, she took out a piece of soft colored clay from the cabinet next to her. It looked a bit like the plasticine in Ivan's previous life, but the color was only a single blue.

In addition to necromancers who directly question the dead, mages from other schools often also master various techniques for obtaining information from objects, and corpses can also be regarded as objects in a sense.

I just don't know what method Heidi, as a witch, will use to detect the corpse and extract information from it.

However, she first placed the colored clay not far from the head of the corpse, then pulled out a bone flute made of sheep leg bones from her collar and began to play a strange and peculiar melody.

Alvin felt a magical fluctuation similar to that of magic, and then wisps of smoke began to emerge from the dead man's head. The green smoke that looked like mist was absorbed by the colored clay, causing slight changes to the latter.

But this change soon ceased, as smoke no longer rose from the dead man's head.

Seeing this, Heidi frowned and put down the palm-sized bone flute.

"His spirit has almost completely dissipated. This speed is abnormally fast."

Alvin was not disappointed with the answer he heard, but instead laughed at it.

Bad news is still news, as long as you know how to extract the useful parts from it.

"It's rare to find a poison that can directly affect the soul. The guy hiding behind the scenes seems to be very powerful." Although he made such a sigh, there was no fear on his face, and he even seemed eager to try.

"Interesting." Heidi narrowed her eyes, and a bright light revealed in her narrow eyeliner.

She simply pulled out a thin needle and stabbed it forcefully between the deceased's eyebrows.

A drop of dull blood oozed out, the blood of the dead being dripped onto the clay by the witch.

She began to recite an ancient melody in ancient language. Alvin's experience in the virtual Palladia world made it easy for him to understand the meaning.

"Bones will dance, blood will sing, the memory of the dead, you are the heat, you should emerge before decay..."

Gradually, wisps of light red smoke flowed out from the wound on the dead man's forehead caused by the needle tip, and the clay that had just stopped changing began to twist again.

This made Alvin's eyebrows twitch. The witch is indeed known as one of the strangest professions. This method of casting spells is really strange.

Soon, the lump of clay turned into a man in military uniform. He began to perform various movements on the spot, some of which looked like he was receiving training, while others were obviously fighting with others.

At the end of the transformation, the clay soldier knelt on his knees, spread his arms like an eagle spreading its wings, and then crawled forward.

"This is a desert ritual used to express the highest respect. Coupled with military training, this person must be a noble."

Heidi said pointedly:

"How dare the nobles of the Silent Desert get involved in matters concerning the Witch King's secrets?" Ivan pondered and said slowly:

"Indeed, they are all dogs raised by the Witch King. Dogs should not interfere in their masters' affairs, even if the dog owners are dead. That is still human business." Heidi's statement was more sarcastic, but the meaning was the same.

"In this way, things become clear at a glance." Ivan said meaningfully:

"Yeah, do you still want to continue to participate in it?" Heidi turned and looked at the tall black-haired boy.

The witch is much taller than ordinary women, more than 1.7 meters, close to 1.8 meters, which makes her figure particularly tall, just like a model on the catwalk.

However, standing in front of the two-meter-five Titan descendant, she still had to look up to look him in the eye.

Golden eyes and pitch-black eyes stared at each other.

Gradually, both sides started laughing.

"I'm determined to win." Heidi's voice was full of determination, and even had a stubborn tone that meant she would never give up.

Seeing this, Alvin also smiled.

"Happy to accompany you."

Chapter 16: Dwarf Story

Ivan didn't know why Heidi was so obsessed with promotion.

Generally speaking, compared to most ordinary people or even extraordinary people in Palladio, a high-level mage can live a very comfortable life.

Whether continuing their studies at a school or joining a lord or faction, they would receive generous treatment. This was especially true for high-ranking female mages like Heidi, to whom many nobles were even willing to offer the position of legal wife.

It is conceivable that if she was only pursuing a good life in the ordinary sense, there would be no need to cling to the possibility of going further on the path to transcendence.

So, what is the reason that supports this woman to give it her all despite the high risks that are bound to arise in the fight for the Witch King's secret magic?

Oh, who knows~

Alvin chuckled in his heart. Although he was curious about this, he didn't intend to delve too deeply into it.

Just like their hidden identity as descendants of Titans, everyone has a past and secrets that they don't want others to know, and this is even more true for their personal obsessions.

As for his pursuit of the Witch King's secret technique, it was more out of curiosity about its origin than targeting the secret technique itself.

After learning some of the history of the Giant Kingdom, Alvin also had some understanding of this desert.

The Witch King who suddenly appeared a hundred years ago, the secret ritual they found certainly did not fall from the sky. Considering the history of the desert, the origin of the ritual is most likely related to the giant civilization.

Right now, he wanted to repair the Colossus and find clues about the remaining two special flawless gems.

In the absence of other sources of intelligence, it is natural to explore the giant ruins to seek any possible relevant information.

Considering that the Silent Desert is now divided into five parts, the Witch Kings should not be fifth-level strongmen, otherwise they would not only dominate the relatively desolate area like the Silent Desert.

Now, since I don’t have the Giant God Soldier, I naturally cannot be a match for any fifth-level perfect being.

But when facing a fourth-level crown wearer, at least he can escape unscathed.

Oh, the Witch King?

Worth a try…

Here, two northerners were having a secret conversation around a corpse in the basement, looking like typical villains.

On the other side, Feng Ling, who was still a little girl, was listening to Gripi telling stories.

Although the young dwarf wanted to act like most mature dwarves, taciturn and as tough as stone, under the gaze of Feng Ling's big, blinking eyes, he coughed lightly and told an adventure story about the 'Dwarf Prince'.