"Let me tell you, your house is very abnormal." Luvia said:
"Which door is this? There are three doors in the basement. Room 2 on the second floor is the [Hall of the Secret Keepers], and the corridor on the third floor is the [Soul Cemetery]. It's hard for me to imagine what will happen next."
"There is something abnormal here in Shade. It is now recognized as such."
Iluna also said with a smile, while Shade nodded and did not refute this.
In Luvia’s dream about [The Past and the Sixth Era], she with long hair and Mia with silver eyes were both in this house, and in that doomsday scene, No. 6 Saint Teresa Square looked at It's still intact, which in itself says a lot.
Although he still doesn't know what this means, is this place special to begin with, or is Luvia from [Past Life and the Sixth Era] chosen this place, which makes this place special. But this did not prevent Shade from knowing that his house was indeed the best.
"Go down and have a look. I got information about the [Earth Furnace] from the Heart of the Earth, and the guardian also shared the knowledge. I think this place will be very useful."
Because it is a door installed using a ritual, if you want to use it, you must go through the three steps summarized by Shade, namely "Spirit Rune", "Spell" and "Utensil".
"Spells" and "spiritual runes" are no problem. Shade can even open the door without the need for spiritual runes because he has swallowed the origin of the earth. The "object" corresponds to the "heart of the earth". This does not refer to the complete heart of the earth, but any fragments will do.
The guardian has said that the current Heart of the Earth can no longer be divided. But when Shade put his hand on the handle of the trap door today, he clearly realized that his body could actually be considered the "Heart of the Earth."
No one needed to explain. Shade knew that this was still related to what he had swallowed. In short, he successfully opened the door:
"May the earth protect me standing here."
The trap door was opened, and cotton-like white mist floated under the floor, but strangely did not leave the scope of the door, as if the door was restraining it. In the fog, you can't see whether there are steps below, let alone whether there is ground below.
But Shade knew that there would be no danger here, so he held the cat in one hand and jumped down first, followed closely by Iluna and Luvia. The falling process was not very long, and Shade felt as if he had jumped from the second-floor window of the house into a pile of straw piled on the ground. Stranger, you have entered the "Forge of the Earth's Core." 】
After their feet touched the ground, Luvia and Iluna also stood firm beside him. The thick white mist that diffused around gradually dispersed towards the surroundings.
The description of this place on the Stone Pillar in the Heart of the Earth was "a scene very similar to the center of the earth." But what was finally displayed in front of the three people was a dilapidated stone house surrounded by a small circle of ground magma.
It is not accurate to say that it is a stone house, because there is no wall at all in the direction facing Shade and the others. This house, built with three walls and a curved roof, is very hazy in the fog, but you can still see that almost all the building materials are black stones with a color similar to the "Heart of the Earth".
Two heavy, unpolished stone pillars support the roof with traces of connection from collapsing. When I get closer and observe, I can see that there is some ancient charm in the dilapidated feeling. Although it cannot be compared with the magnificent "Keeper's Hall" that is almost like a palace and the "Silver Moon Library" that seems to be located in the star realm under the moonlight, at least it is better than the "Time" that only has functional effects and does not even exist as a building. "Promenade" and "Space Maze" with only a few worn-out road signs are better.
There is a huge stone furnace in the house that is connected to the magma outside. The structure of this furnace is quite simple and can be opened from the sides and top.
"According to the information I have learned, any alchemical item that is made of more than 50% metal and stone can be strengthened here. Or, any alchemical item that is made of more than 50% metal and stone can be strengthened here. Throwing it into the furnace can fuse it into new items."
Shade said, the function here is as simple and direct as this:
"According to the guardian, the source of power here is the ancient gods and the earth. 'Smelting' is just a concept here, its essence is the
Tempered by the power of the earth, let the earth give strength to metal and stone. It can even be said that the power here is the power that originates from the earth itself. "
"Can relics be strengthened?" Luvia asked curiously.
"You can, but it's best not to. The guardian said that doing so is very dangerous. But for relic derivatives whose whisper element is not very strong, it should be no problem."
Shade replied, Luvia nodded, and Iluna continued to ask curiously:
"So what's the price to pay for using this place? I don't think it can be used casually, right?" Any space left by the ancient gods has limitations, that's for sure.
"What is consumed here is quite strange. It is not a specific substance, nor a special power, but... experience. It is difficult to find the right word in Drarian language:
"Simply put, when we set foot on the earth, we will definitely be tainted with the breath of the earth. The farther we go, the more places we go, and the more things we experience on the land, the stronger the breath of the earth we are tainted. And if you want to use this place , this is what is consumed.”
"Across the land?"
Luvia tilted her head and asked, while Iluna said more simply: "How many steps?"
"Well...not exactly, but it can be understood this way."
Shade was shocked by the simple and straightforward answer of the seventeen-year-old girl, but what she said was indeed very close. He held the cat's butt in his arms again:
"Little animals like Mia, who are very young and rarely go out, and are unwilling to go to the ground, will probably never be able to use this place. But we have gone through so many things, and we have used some important items to strengthen them, or try to There should be no problem with the new alchemy formula."
No one will tell them how many "breaths after traversing the earth" they each have, but the "other self" can vaguely sense how many times each can use this place.
This is an experience shared by body and soul, and the stranger's soul is less than a year old in this world. But because he has experienced too many things, the number of times he can use it is the most among the three:
"121 times."
"94 times, almost 95 times."
Iluna said. "Only 48 times."
Luvia said regretfully, but Shade guessed that this was her "other self" who had not judged her. "It's really generous. I thought everyone only has two or three opportunities in their lifetime."
Iluna sighed, and then she was quite eager to give it a try.
"Although we don't quite understand the ancient god's intention of setting up these spaces, it is certainly not to embarrass us. We are still young and will accumulate more opportunities in the future."
Shade said with a smile, using the metal pole standing on the side, he struggled to open the lid above the furnace.
The sound of stone rubbing against stone was not very harsh. When the cover was moved aside, fiery red light immediately illuminated the faces of the three people. The heat coming from the faces could even affect the souls:
"In addition to strengthening or fusing alchemical items, the earth can also temper our bodies and souls." "Put your hand into the magma? Or jump in directly?"
Iluna asked.
"It's not that scary. Just drink a small cup of magma. It doesn't consume the breath we have acquired after traveling across the earth, but there are consequences. First of all, there is a limit to the power of the earth that our souls and bodies can carry, so this kind of quenching There is a limit to refining. Secondly, doing so will seriously affect the nature of the body and soul itself, making it biased towards the power of the earth."
"Contaminated core spirit rune?"
Luvia frowned. This was something that all ring magicians tried to avoid.
"It cannot be considered pollution. After all, it is not a harmful force. But it will definitely have a serious impact on one's own system. However, like Miss Benanis, ring magicians who originally focus on the power of the "earth" do not have to consider it. That’s the problem.”
As he spoke, three small clay holy cups rose from the hot magma in the furnace. Each cup contained squirming lava:
“It’s okay to drink a small amount.
Although the improvement is small, the concept of "foundation" contained in the earth can stabilize those disharmonious parts of the soul and body. "
After saying that, Shade picked up the floating cup, tried to take a sip, and then threw it into the furnace angrily: "Really, it's the same as the Dark Dungeon, and it doesn't work for me."
Luvia and Iluna were amused by his appearance, and they both drank a small glass. Iluna didn't feel anything about it, but the purple-eyed girl felt very good:
"The soul is getting hot. This feels better than taking a hot bath in the cold winter!" [The power of the "Cornerstone" is repairing Luvia Anat's "other self". 】
"She" reminded softly in Shade's ear. Shade blinked and then took off the Detection Witch's badge from his neck. "I want to try the effect of strengthening alchemy items."
he said.
"Strengthen? Or do you want to add materials for smelting?"
Iluna asked curiously. Shade thought for a while and took out the part of mithril that Sister Devlin returned to him yesterday from his pocket. "Let's try this."
In fact, the "Philosopher's Stone" is a better smelting material, but Shade is reluctant to spend it here. As for the property of the mithril itself to "show the story of the Randall Valley," Sister Devlin said that as long as the mithril itself is no longer divided, changing its shape or adding it to other materials will not affect this property. .
As for the badge itself, it now has the characteristics of "Detection Witch" and "Blessing of the Death Angel". No matter how it is enhanced, Shade will be happy.
So the rope was untied, and then the round emblem and the mithril were thrown into the furnace by Shade.
