Chapter 267 Forgeking Insignia
After Alex went to the city entrance, he was approached by a cloaked figure who told him that Master Thogrim had sent him before he said to him that they would be traveling through space.
After giving Alex a moment, the man placed his hand on Alex's shoulder, and in the blink of an eye, darkness enveloped his sight as he found himself floating in zero gravity, hurtling through the folds of space.
After a few minutes, Alex regained his vision and found himself standing in a massive room with a high ceiling, and the first thing he felt was the usually high heat and resounding clang of metal striking metal.
Alex quickly located the source of noise and heat, which was the colossal forge at the far end of the room that had a blazing violet flame roaring within it, and before it stood a small muscular dwarf who was engrossed in hammering the anvil before him.
Alex felt surprised seeing the massive high-tier forge covered in intricate runes and more so by the raging violet flame burning inside it, recognizing it to be an incomplete Law Flame.
Alex stood in silence, watching Thogrim wielding his hammer with almost innate grace, seamlessly shaping the metal in the brief moments between lifting and descending his hammer, shaping the metal to his desire.
It was the first time for Alex to see a King grade Blacksmith at work, and it was a unique experience, to say the least, as everything from the intense heat and the rich mana, the rhythmic hammering, and Thogrim's focused demeanor felt attuned to the surroundings.
After waiting in silence for close to an hour, Thogrim's rhythmic hammering gradually came to a halt, and setting aside the hammer, he picked up the item he had forged, a badge adorned with a unique symbol.
The symbol, intricately etched onto the badge, was that of a hammer, with its head being the face of a fierce wolf, its jaws lined with sharp teeth on full display while its back curved into a pointy, thin, and razor-sharp edge.
The circular badge had a surface eerily similar to the Mystium Ore, displaying an iridescent sheen that shifted between shades of silver and a brilliant, ethereal gray adorned with intricate patterns of glowing, light blue veins that pulse with pure mana.
The wolf eyes carried a tint of red, like having a life of their own, and before Alex could use appraisal on the badge to see what it was, Thogrim threw it toward him, making him instinctively catch it.
"Kid, This is a small gift for giving me the creation method of the Mystium Ore," Thogrim said as he waved his hand, turning the ranging flame down and making the shimmering runes on the furnace vanish.
'Now, this is a very valuable item,' Alex thought, looking at the badge information.
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Name: Forgeking Insignia
Quality: Unique
Rank: Unranked
Bound: ???
Effect: Grand the Insignia holder, the respect of the Dwarven Race, and the privilege to engage in unrestricted trade with them.
Description: The Insignia represents the authority of Thogrim Brightstone while also signifying his recognition and unwavering trust.
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The insignia allowed unrestricted trade with the dwarf, which held great value because of the exclusivity of dwarven trade practices.
While dwarves openly engaged in commerce with various races, they maintained a distinct reservation when it came to selling their most advanced war weaponry.
Items like High-Rank War ships, Battle Puppets, Golems, Mana Cannons, and Mage Towers were never offered to unofficial powers.
Even Dukes of kingdoms were denied access to such formidable armaments, let alone mercenary groups or player guilds.
The insignia's privilege was exceptional as it granted Alex the freedom to negotiate and obtain these coveted assets, a privilege that stood apart rarely given to any individual or group.
However, the trade with the dwarves wasn't entirely unrestricted. While the insignia granted Alex access to certain limited resources, it came with conditions.
Alex will be bound by an oath not to sell or share those resources with any other faction or power, ensuring that things won't end up in the wrong hands.
"Thanks for the gift," Alex said as he happily placed the badge in his inventory before taking out the blueprints and handing them to Thogrim.
"You can expect to receive the 600 Fourth Rank battle puppets and the 40 Fifth Rank flying War Ships in Seven Weeks,"
"As for the money for the materials, I will take care of it, but this will be just a one-time gift, so don't expect me to keep offering you things for free," Thogrim said as he placed the blueprints in his space ring.
"Thanks For your generosity," Alex said, happy to save some money.
Alex had asked Thogrim to build him more than triple the number of battle puppets and warships he needed to give to the Frozen Flower Guild to arm his organization.
After a small talk with Thogrim, Alex was escorted back to the rouge city by the cloaked figure, and minutes later, he was traveling back to the Human continent.
After reaching the Human continent, Alex returned to Nova, the capital city of the Human Empire, which had its streets filled with millions of army soldiers, creating a tense atmosphere.
There were two Ruler Grade Seventh Rank war ships stationed just outside the city, having been turned completly invisible to the majority but still being visible to anyone in fifth Rank or above because of the low grade illusion keeping them hidden.
All the other major cities and towns were experiencing similar treatment, which was quite different from what the Empire did in its last life, and he knew the changes were thanks to a simple series he shared with the Price Aphariaen.
The army regiments were sent to protect other major cities in his previous life, but not on such a large scale as now. Instead, the majority of the available army was gathered near the barrier, and large soldier units were deployed to search every nook and cranny of inside the barrier.
Alex knew that attacks would start a little over a day from now, and he wanted to be free when the chaos started, so without any delay, he took the teleportation service and went to a city located in the Firescape Highlands.
After arriving in the city, Alex swiftly left it and started to make his way toward the "Volcanic Range," his destination being a Fourth Rank Dungeon to acquire the fire element source crystal that he needed to give to Alden.
The Dungeon Alex was going to was a system dungeon named (The Inferno Depths) with three floors, and it could be challenged both solo or as a team at any of the difficulties.
After sprinting for a few minutes, Alex arrived at the halfway point of an active volcano within the rugged and tumultuous mountain terrain that was half covered in streams of flowing lava and crawling with fourth-rank creatures.
The atmosphere surrounding the area was thick with an intense heat haze, and the distant roars of volcanic activity added a sense of foreboding to the already imposing scenery.
As Alex ascended the towering peak of the volcano, making his way toward the dungeon entrance, he saw several teams belonging to various guilds, both smaller and larger.
All gathered around a crimson-red swirling space portal, a few were getting ready to enter while a few were taking a break, and a few feet to the side was a vast lake of lava oozing and bubbling with intense heat and searing flame.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦