https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-12-The-Importance-of-Detection-Abilities-Against-Invisible-Demons/12939149/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-14-The-Rarity-of-Support-Type-Metahumans/12939151/
Chapter 13: The Hidden Quest, Aurora Blade
Chapter 13: The Hidden Quest, Aurora Blade
Lu Heng carried Su Muyu on his back as they headed towards the castle, reminding her, "Before we get too close, let's first confirm if there's any danger inside the castle."
"Okay," Su Muyu nodded and controlled the reconnaissance eagle to fly closer for observation.
The fact that the castle could block psychic contamination was just Lu Heng's speculation, so whether there was any danger within was still unknown.
However, as they approached the castle and saw its exterior, Lu Heng immediately felt relieved.
The castle looked very familiar.
If there wasn't another identical castle in the Abyssal World, then this one should be called Forge Castle, a place where weapons could be tempered and their attributes enhanced.
But in Lu Heng's memory, Forge Castle shouldn't be located here.
There was no time to worry about such details now.
Lu Heng carried Su Muyu and approached the castle, and its ancient gates slowly opened.
Su Muyu's eyes widened with surprise and curiosity as she took in the unique architecture before her.
Lu Heng, on the other hand, remained calm, his mind filled with memories associated with this castle.
They entered the castle through the main gates and found themselves in a spacious courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard was a wide stone path, lined with unknown plants on both sides.
Some of the plants even moved, resembling man-eating flowers.
At that moment, a short figure, cloaked in black and wearing a cat-faced mask, emerged from the castle and approached them. It made a sound that sounded like "Grumble."
This was probably some kind of language, but neither Lu Heng nor Su Muyu understood it.
Lu Heng was experienced in such situations and took the initiative to greet the figure, "Hello, we are travelers passing by, and we'd like to rest in the castle for a moment."
The short figure, upon hearing Lu Heng's request, immediately switched to a language they could understand, "Welcome to Forge Castle. You may call me Grumble."
This self-proclaimed Grumble was only about four feet tall, and his entire body was concealed by the cloak and mask, hiding his appearance.
In fact, the first time someone entered Forge Castle and saw his appearance, they might be startled.
Because this four-foot-tall figure was not human but a creature from the Abyssal Plane.
The Abyssal Plane was home to various creatures, just as Bluesphere had more than just humans.
Not all creatures from the Abyssal Plane would immediately engage in combat with humans.
There were also intelligent beings capable of coexisting peacefully with humans.
Grumble belonged to a unique subspecies of the Abyssal Black Iron Dwarves.
At this point, other metahumans were still unaware of the origins of Forge Castle.
Lu Heng, however, knew some of its secrets.
Forge Castle was originally a fortress in the Abyssal Plane, and it had angered an Abyssal Demon Lord in its original world.
To escape the wrath of this Demon Lord, Forge Castle voluntarily detached itself from the Abyssal Plane and, taking advantage of a spatial overlap, hid in a crevice between Bluesphere and the overlapping Abyssal space.
Once Forge Castle hid in the overlapping space, metahumans could enter it from Bluesphere.
To establish itself on Bluesphere, Forge Castle offered weapon tempering services to human metahumans, enhancing their weapons with energy attributes.
And this short figure before them was the master temperer of Forge Castle.
Recalling these facts, Lu Heng immediately thought of a possibility: Could it be that Forge Castle hadn't escaped the Abyssal Plane yet?
Due to Grumble's proximity, Su Muyu's keen perception had already sensed that he wasn't human.
She felt tense and kept tugging at Lu Heng's back, wanting to remind him of this.
But Lu Heng wasn't worried at all, and he asked, "Can we rest in the castle? Of course, as a reward, I'm willing to do what I can for Forge Castle."
Grumble was delighted to hear Lu Heng's offer of help, "Of course, I need your assistance. You can rest in the castle first."
"What can I help with? I can prepare in advance," Lu Heng asked.
"Certainly, Forge Castle currently lacks some materials. It would be excellent if you could find them," Grumble said, beginning to list the various materials needed by Forge Castle.
At that moment, a quest prompt appeared before Lu Heng.
[Hidden Quest Triggered: Forge Castle's Crisis]
【Mission 1: Collect Narnia Crystals】
【Description: Due to the use of an unstable spatial crystal, the Forge Castle encountered a minor accident while detaching from the Abyss Plane, falling into a world consumed by the Abyss. Now, Grumble requests that you collect a sufficient amount of Narnia Crystals to serve as a space stabilizer.】
【Reward: Grumble's Gratitude】
【Mission 2: Collect Ignition Ore】
【Description: The Forge Castle requires a large amount of Ignition Ore, and Grumble hopes you can collect enough to provide fuel for the castle.】
【Reward: Grumble's Gratitude】
After reading the missions, Lu Heng asked, "These Narnia Crystals are precious and usually guarded by demons. I don't have a suitable weapon at the moment. Can the Forge Castle help with tempering my weapon?"
Based on past experiences, Grumble's gratitude usually meant free weapon tempering.
Sometimes, by communicating, one could receive the reward in advance to boost their combat power before collecting the mission items.
Grumble spread his hands and said, "The Forge Castle currently lacks the energy to start the tempering furnace. However, you can check my weapon vault, and if there's a suitable one, you can borrow it."
Lu Heng's eyes lit up at this suggestion.
He had originally planned to temper his iron sword to slightly enhance its grade.
Unexpectedly, the outcome was better than anticipated, as he was allowed to choose from the Forge Castle's weapon vault.
Upon further thought, it became clear.
The Forge Castle was currently in trouble and needed someone's help, so naturally, they were willing to offer better rewards.
Thus, Lu Heng and Su Muyu followed Grumble to the weapon vault of the Forge Castle.
The vault was filled with various peculiar weapons.
Some were as small as toothpicks, while others were as large as a giant's club.
Lu Heng ran his hand over the weapons, examining their attributes.
Finally, his gaze settled on a longsword.
【Aurora Blade】
【Item Grade: C-Rank】
【Specifications: Length 132cm, Blade Width 3.6cm, Weight 1.6kg】
【Attributes: Attack Power 30】
【Evaluation: A weapon crafted from Aurora Ore, dealing blade damage on attack. It is a rare and exceptional sword with superior quality. When using cold weapons to attack, you gain a strength attribute bonus.】
The blade of the Aurora Blade was semi-transparent and deep blue, as if a faint light flowed within, clearly indicating its extraordinary nature.
The iron sword's attack power was only 10 points, but with the Aurora Blade, the weapon damage tripled.
In fact, when Lu Heng fought the Stone Gargoyle with the iron sword, he felt it wasn't sharp enough to break through the gargoyle's defense.
If he had the Aurora Blade, the situation would be entirely different.
"Can I take this one? With the help of this weapon, I can retrieve more Narnia Crystals," Lu Heng said as he drew and waved the Aurora Blade.
Grumble, upon hearing that more Narnia Crystals could be retrieved, immediately agreed, "Of course, if you can retrieve three portions of Narnia Crystals, this weapon is yours."
Lu Heng understood that this was a pre-arranged reward.
Immediately after.
Lu Heng chose an energy crystal bracelet for Su Muyu.
【Energy Crystal Bracelet】
【Item Grade: D-Rank】
【Specifications: Length 15cm, Crystal Count 7, Weight 90g】
【Attributes: Spirit +1, Essence Energy Total +20】
【Evaluation: A high-quality energy crystal bracelet that can increase the wearer's spirit and essence energy limit.】
Su Muyu had as many as five skill slots, and her essence energy was often insufficient.
Once all five skills were learned, using them consecutively would deplete her energy.
Therefore, equipment that increased the energy limit was a significant boost for her.
As the total essence energy = 10 x spirit attribute, this bracelet, with its additional spirit point, increased the energy limit by 30 points instead of 20.
After putting on the bracelet, Su Muyu's energy limit increased from 110 to 140 points, and her spirit attribute rose from 11 to 12.
With the equipment chosen, Lu Heng and Su Muyu rested in a guest room within the Forge Castle.
(End of Chapter)
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