After yelling at the other blacksmiths that were in various rooms completing weapon orders and other things, Gizmo emerged from the same path that Damian had come from.
"Oi, look who it is!" Unlike the other people, Gizmo did not act as if Leon was a bomb that he needed to be careful about. The well built dwarf came over with a wide smile on his face. He patted Leon back and called Damian over after the two of them had exchanged greetings.
"Laddie, this is my apprentice, Damian. His Blacksmithing skill is already on the verge of reaching Intermediate grade!" Gizmo excitedly introduced Damian to Leon.
"Hello, nice to meet you." Leon smiled at Damian and shook his hand. The young man felt honored and shakily shook Leon's hand as well.
"Alright, get back to work." Gizmo chased Damian away then turned to Leon. "What is it you want? You would not come looking for me all the way here if it was not truly important." Gizmo asked as he led Leon to a room at the side.
The moment Leon stepped into the room, he noticed that the temperature was much cooler than everywhere else in the smithy. A quick look around, and he spotted several deep blue mana crystals. The mana crystals were water attributed, and through the help of special runes, they cooled down the surrounding area, making it much more comfortable for people.
"What is it you need to tell me?" Gizmo put his hands on his hips and turned to Leon when they were inside the room.
Before replying him, Leon waved his arm and put up a wind barrier around the room to maintain the confidentiality of their conversation. He did not want everyone knowing that he had gone out, even though he would not be gone for long.
"I will be leaving for the Swamp of Despair, and felt that I should tell you this." Leon said.
As Gizmo was a rather important figure within Fort White, and they could be called friends, just as much as business partners, Leon felt the need to tell him about his departure because he trusted him.
"The Swamp of Despair that's all the way over by the border of the Gublin Empire?" Gizmo stroked his beard as he thought.
The Gublin Empire was one of the major powers on the Central Continent. It was also one of the oldest powers that had existed on the continent, and it had taken the Swamp of Despair as part of its territories, making sure to cull the monsters within it, while also using the resources available there to boost its economy.
"That's the one." Leon nodded his head.
"Alright then. We can handle things here for you until you get back." Gizmo nodded his head as if it was not a big deal. Leon took this in stride, as he did not really want to start explaining his reasons to another person.
Minutes later, Leon was already back in the temple, and he went straight to the main hall where Michael's statue was located. The moment he stepped into the hall, the man with the gunmetal hair appeared.
"For you to seek me out already, I suppose you are ready." Michael calmly said.
"I am." Leon nodded in confirmation.
"Good." Michael tossed something small to Leon, who easily caught it. Upon opening his hand, Leon found a small silver medallion that was engraved with a bunch of markings that he could not understand.
"This is an instant teleport token. When you are done with the dungeon, all you need to do is feed it your mana and think of this temple. It will bring you back home." Michael instructed as Leon looked over the medallion. "Now, get ready." Michael clapped his hands, and the space around Leon twisted, turning into a cacophony of bright colors. In the next instant, the colors vanished, and Leon felt a strong gust of wind blow around him.
"What? That damn-!" Leon cursed as he suddenly realized that he was falling from the sky. Wind whipped around him as he steadied himself, seeing the large, sprawling swamp that laid below him.
Whoosh!
Wind and Gravity mana wrapped around Leon, bringing his speedy descent into a gradual one. As he was coming down, he spotted the goal of this journey. At the center of the Swamp of Despair stood a gigantic tree that was hundreds of meters tall. This tree was no ordinary tree, but was actually the entrance to the Despair Dungeon that could be found in the swamp. It was this dungeon that had given the swamp its name.
The Despair Dungeon was hundreds of years old. After so long, with no one being able to completely subdue and conquer it, it had suddenly began releasing monsters out into the swamp. It was through this that the swamp had quickly become the home of thousands of lizardmen, not to mention those that still remained within the Despair Dungeon.
Although the Despair Dungeon had released a flood of monsters out into the swamp, the monsters were still easily confined to the swamp. Occasional incursions into the swamp by the surrounding nations had made sure to keep their numbers within check, while also being used to train their soldiers.
All of these incursions were managed by the powerful Gublin Empire, which had taken the Swamp of Despair as part of its territory. Any other kingdom or nation that sought to enter the swamp had to do so through the Gublin Empire. But thanks to Michael, Leon had skipped all of those bothersome processes.
Leon soon fell past the canopy of the tall trees. He could spy the birds, insects, and other creatures that hid within the swamp, and his senses were alert and ready for anything that might try to make a move on him.
Splash!
Leon landed in the water, immediately regretting it as the ground was not firm at all. He jumped up and froze the water underneath him, creating a platform where he could stand.
"Well, here goes nothing." He sighed.
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