Chapter 145: Steel forged City

Michael chuckled.

"Dwarves are built differently."

He pointed toward the city.

"These mountains are their home. They can even bathe in hot springs that are hot enough to boil a human alive."

Emilia’s eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

Michael nodded.

"Seriously."

Kaiser looked toward the volcano.

"Then I suppose it’s the perfect place for them."

"Exactly," Michael said.

"The dwarves use the heat from the volcano to forge their weapons and armor. That’s why Steel Forged City became famous for its blacksmiths."

Marina looked at the massive walls surrounding the city.

"There are so many people."

Kaiser nodded.

"Most of them are probably dwarves."

As they approached the city, they could see dwarves moving around everywhere.

Some carried large pieces of metal on their shoulders, while others pushed carts filled with ore.

The streets were filled with the sounds of blacksmithing.

The heat coming from the city was intense, but the dwarves seemed completely unaffected by it.

Kaiser looked around curiously.

’This place is completely different from Winter Hold City.’

The city looked rough and industrial, with huge stone buildings and countless workshops built into the mountain.

Large streams of molten metal flowed through specially constructed channels beneath some of the streets.

Several massive forges were built directly beside the volcanic mountain.

Michael pointed toward them.

"Those are some of the famous forging districts."

Kaiser nodded.

"Interesting."

Emilia looked at him.

"Are you planning to buy something?"

Kaiser shook his head.

"Not right now."

He looked toward the road leading deeper into the city.

"Our main goal is Hollow ground."

"We’re only passing through Steel Forged City because it’s the closest major city to the route."

Marina nodded.

"How far is Hollow Ground from here?"

"Still quite a distance," Kaiser replied.

"We’ll have to travel farther after reaching Steel Forged City."

The group continued toward the city gates.

As they got closer, Kaiser noticed several heavily armored dwarven guards standing near the entrance.

Each of them carried large axes or hammers.

One of the guards looked at their group before his eyes stopped on Kaiser.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Kaiser noticed the reaction.

’Looks like we’ll have to be careful here.’

Especially not in a city famous for forging weapons and fighting monsters.

Michael walked beside him and quietly said,

"Don’t worry. We’ll just enter normally."

Kaiser nodded.

"Yeah."

The group continued toward the gates of Steel Forged City.

As they approached, one of the dwarven guards stepped forward.

"Stop."

The four of them slowed down.

The dwarf looked over them carefully before speaking.

"Purpose of entering the city?"

"We’re travelers," Michael replied. "We’re planning to stay for a short while before continuing our journey."

The guard nodded.

"Any prohibited items?"

"No."

The dwarf glanced at Kaiser.

For a moment, his eyes narrowed as if he sensed something unusual.

Kaiser remained calm.

After a few seconds, the guard looked away.

"Then you can enter."

The group passed through the gates.

As soon as they entered the city, the sound of hammering became even louder.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Everywhere they looked, dwarves were working.

Some were forging swords, others were repairing armor, while several workshops were producing large weapons that were clearly meant for high-ranked adventurers.

Emilia looked around with interest.

"This place is quite lively."

Michael nodded.

"Steel Forged City is one of the largest blacksmithing cities in this region."

Kaiser looked at the various shops lining the streets.

"Since we’re stopping here anyway, we might as well look around."

Marina smiled.

"Are we shopping?"

"Window shopping," Kaiser replied.

"We’ll see if we find anything interesting."

The group began walking through the main street.

Kaiser quickly noticed that the city had almost everything related to blacksmithing.

There were weapon shops, armor shops, accessory shops, material stores, enchantment workshops, and even stores selling rare monster materials.

Some shops had enormous weapons displayed outside.

One shop had a greatsword nearly twice the size of a normal human.

Another displayed several sets of heavy armor.

Marina stopped in front of one of the shops.

"That armor looks impressive."

Kaiser glanced at it.

The armor was made from dark metal with several glowing red lines running across its surface.

A small sign beside it displayed its rank.

"Rare Rank."

Kaiser wasn’t particularly interested.

’It’s decent, but nothing special.’

He continued walking.

A few minutes later, they reached a larger market area.

Unlike the weapon shops, this area sold raw materials.

Large pieces of monster bones, scales, claws, ores, crystals, and other materials were displayed across the stalls.

Kaiser’s eyes immediately became more interested.

"Now this is worth looking at."

Michael chuckled.

"I knew you’d find something eventually."

Kaiser walked toward one of the stalls.

The dwarf merchant behind it looked up.

"Looking for something?"

"Just looking."

Kaiser began examining the materials.

Most of them were ordinary, but some caught his attention.

There were several Rank 2 monster materials, along with a few Rank 3 materials.

Nothing was particularly valuable to Kaiser, but some of the materials could still be useful for Marina’s alchemy and scroll creation.

Marina also began examining the materials.

"We could use some of these for crafting."

Kaiser nodded.

"Then buy whatever you think is useful."

Marina’s eyes brightened.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

She immediately began checking the materials more carefully.

While Marina was shopping, Kaiser continued looking around.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped on a small black crystal.

It was sitting among several other ordinary materials.

Kaiser walked over.

"What’s this?"

The dwarf merchant looked at the crystal.

"That?"

He picked it up.

"Some kind of volcanic crystal. Found it near the deeper parts of the mountain."

Kaiser took it from him and examined it.

A strange energy was coming from inside.

It wasn’t particularly powerful.

But it felt unusual.

Kaiser narrowed his eyes.

’Interesting.’

He used his Reconstruction ability to inspect it.

[Unknown Volcanic Crystal]

[Quality: Rare]

[Special Property: High Heat Absorption]

[Description: A crystal formed after absorbing volcanic energy for hundreds of years.]

Kaiser looked at the crystal for a moment.

"How much?"

The dwarf merchant smiled.

"Thirty thousand CC."

Kaiser raised an eyebrow.

"For this?"

The dwarf shrugged.

"Rare volcanic materials aren’t cheap."

Kaiser thought for a moment before tossing him the money.

"I’ll take it."

The dwarf grinned and handed him the crystal.

"Good choice."