[The Blacksmith Apprentice profession has been added].

[You have gained the title ‘The descendant of the Ironstones.’]

[You gained +2 Charisma Points.]

All these screens appeared for Kaizen after he accepted Therkara Ironstone’s proposal.

The blacksmith lady’s reaction to Kaizen’s words was one of surprise, and inside she felt happiness and satisfaction. Deep inside her heart, she was terrified that Kaizen would reject her, and having an apprentice was one of the things she most wanted after her village collapsed. Because in this way, she would be able to pass on the techniques that only the dwarves of the Ironstone family knew.

Then they did not make a big deal of it and headed off together towards the Medullar forge. This place was a few minutes ahead, on the narrow side of the cave.

There, the broad walls were much closer together than before, which did not necessarily make the whole environment crueler for a big guy like Kaizen and even Therkara. Although there were holes whose bottom could not be seen and very tight stretches, this was still nothing compared to the fact that there were sharp rocks in every corner of the last chamber. So, the master smith and her apprentice managed to get through this region in just a few minutes.

When they reached the end of this route, they came across something extremely unusual, even for Therkara. An immense lake flowed from a large waterfall, which plummeted from the leftmost part of the high ceiling of this place, transforming the previously dull cave into a beautiful cave.

The water in this natural lake was so crystal clear and clean that it transformed the faint color and shine of the crystals into a beautiful, radiant hue. The gray stone walls of the entire environment were blue thanks to this, and the ores in them, such as gold, silver, amethyst, and tourmaline, sparkled like stars in the night sky everywhere.

In the center of the lake, the reflected figure of a headless woman with a scale in her left hand and a sword in her right hand stood out. Kaizen immediately looked to the other side of the lake and noticed that this image was only the reflection of a giant statue on the other side of the cave.

Although the statue was far away, the reflection of the water had reversed the position of the objects it held. With the absence of a head, Kaizen did not doubt that he had already seen something similar in real life to this unusual statue. Still, Kaizen couldn’t help but be surprised by sight.

Of all the beautiful landscapes Klaus Park had ever witnessed, which were not many since he never had much money to travel at leisure, this cave in the basement of the Misty Woods was the most beautiful place he had ever seen with his own eyes. The feeling of discovering something unexplored and the stunning appearance of the place left him practically speechless, not knowing how to express himself.

“Oh my god…” Therkara said, as shocked as Kaizen. “What happened here?”

“Is there a river or lake nearby?” He asked, trying not to sound so silly about something simple.

The woman thought for a second and replied:

“Actually, a river runs behind the mountain where that gateway to the village is. In the past, when it rained a lot, seepage volume also increased, and we took advantage of that to collect a lot of water.”

“A hundred years is quite a long time, which explains why the seepage has reached that level. Probably, the soil of some stretch of this river gave way too, generating this waterfall and consequently the lake. That makes me think that this cave will be totally flooded in a few years.” Kaizen explained as he admired the steady fall of the waterfall. “Anyway, is that the Medullar Forge?” he pointed to the statue of the headless woman on the other side of the lake.

“Exactly. That is the way my ancestors managed to camouflage the entrance.”

“Camouflage? Why?” Kaizen spared himself from pointing out that the cave’s entrance was more prominent than anything else.

“Haven’t I told you yet? The Medullar Forge is more than just a place to make weapons, and this place was also where we kept our greatest treasures.” Therkara explained, starting to walk toward the large statue.

‘In other words, a vault!’ Kaizen thought to himself and turned his face to the right to hide his features. If anyone looked at him right now, they would see dollar figures replacing the pupils in his eyes.𝑶𝓋𝗅𝒩xt.𝗇𝓔t

They both walked around the lake’s edge as they approached the statue.

Soon Kaizen noticed that the headless statue was not a loose, empty element in that wild, natural environment, there was a curvature around this statue that was even larger than the statue itself spotted from afar. Since Kaizen was far away before, he couldn’t tell for sure, but as they got closer, he did not doubt that this curvature was, in fact, the worn trim of a gigantic door and that the statue was part of this door.

The statue was wedged into this trim as if the grandeur of its image was enough to protect the treasure from people who don’t take risks and from people who don’t like to be challenged.

Facing this fifteen or twenty-meter-high construction, Kaizen was intimidated. He had no idea how to open this thing, so he looked at Therkara.

The smith lady smiled nostalgically in front of the giant door, which she had often seen when she was going to give dinner to her father. Then, she clapped both hands together, held out her hands forward, and recited:

“The smell of molten steel, good mead, legacy, and a night with a human woman.”

After she uttered these words, the bang produced by the sudden opening of the door after so long echoed throughout the cave and ahead. This thunderous sound was followed by the noise of the rubbing of the heavy stone door on the floor.

*Crrrrr*

Kaizen immediately looked at Therkara and, confused by the words spoken by her, inquired:

“About these things you said, is there a meaning or a logic?”

“Logic? Hahaha! Of course, there is one, but it may sound strange to you.” She replied, making Kaizen more interested. “The smell of molten steel, good mead, legacy, and a night with a human woman are the four things a legitimate dwarf should never hate!”

Kaizen almost laughed, impressed. “Dwarves really know how to live life…” He said while looking at the door.

From that moment, Kaizen began to respect dwarves much more than before, for there was nothing on the declaimed list that he did not agree with.

When the statue door finally opened wide enough for them to pass, Kaizen and Therkara entered the Medullar Forge. As they entered the place, the novice came upon a chamber unlike anything he had ever seen.

…

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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