Walking down the street I hear laughter coming from many of the restaurants and taverns I pass by. Today's victory has raised the mood of the entire city as people celebrate both in private and public areas. After a few minutes of looking around, I find a tavern that isn't completely full, taking a seat at the counter.
"Get me something hard, I don't care what it is."
Without a word, the bartender just nods and after a minute a decently sized wooden jug with a aromatic clear alcohol held within. Giving it a taste, I find that it to be a bit rough but it isn't anything I can't handle.
Downing the entire jug in less than a minute, I let out a small but satisfied burp. "That was good, but do you have anything stronger?"
Soon enough my jug is replaced with a new one and a new drink. This one isn't as aromatic, but it's far stronger with a rougher feel.
"Ahh, that hit the spot, but you got anything stronger?"
"I apologise, Miss, but that was the strongest drink we offer."
"Fine, fill it up again."
As the jug gets taken away to be refilled a few Dwarves take a seat around me.
"Your quite good there, Missy, not everyone can drink Halgen without batting an eye like you. Now if my eyes don't deceive me, you're the Dragon girl, right? The one that came along with little Milla."
Taking a look at the Dwarf seated next to me, I'm momentarily surprised to find that it is the Dwarven representative. Small in stature like all Dwarfs, he seems a little aged now that I get a closer look. His face covered in bright red facial hair, but with a good look, I find signs of greying.
"Hold on, it's on the tip of my tongue... Skorsug, right? The representative of the Dwarven Confederation. I didn't expect to see you here.
"Nor did I, Dragon girl. Do you mind if I check your status? And feel free to look at mine if you agree."
Since I can hide most of the important stuff I agree and feel the chilling feeling. Of course, I also take a look at his.
Name: Skorsug Forgehand
Race: Dwarf
Titles: Forge Master, Master Craftsman
Class: Flame Hammer (Tier 5)
Level: 24
HP: 7,668 MP: 3,550 SP: 7,526
STR: 4,260
VIT: 3,976
DEX: 3,408
INT: 2,982
WIS: 3,692
MND: 2,840
Skills: Investigate (8), Forge Heat Control (10), Weapon Grafting (10), Armour Grafting (10)
As expected of one of the representatives, he is pretty strong, although Milla is significantly stronger. But it doesn't seem like fighting is his specialisation.
"What's up with your status? So many unknowns."
"Nothing I can do about it, my a lot of my status is hidden to others because of a Title of mine."
While he doesn't seem to entirely buy my excuse, he doesn't push the issue either. We have a few pointless conversations while chugging down drink after drink.
"I say, Miss Cordelia, you've got yourself some a good tolerance for alcohol. Being able to rival us Dwarves is truly impressive."
"No, it from my perspective, it is you Dwarves that are impressive. I have never seen anyone before who can keep up with my drinking."
"You should come and visit the Dwarven Mountains when you get the chance, I'm sure you would love our drinks, they're much stronger than what can be obtained here."
"I'll be sure to do so whenever I am given the chance. Say, what are your thought over what the Doge proposed at the conference."
"That one came from nowhere. Well, I think it is interesting, but I don't know anything about the weapons that Doge Olsen wishes to obtain. I'd rather continue doing what we've always done over taking a gamble on an unknown weapon. The Dragonoids choose not to support the proposal if I recall, so what brought this about?"
"Actually, I convinced Milla to reconsider the proposal and we were going to bring it up tomorrow. You see, I have personally bore witness to these weapons. This was several years ago, but back then the weapon was still a work in progress, but it should have advanced since then and it seems the Doge has outdated information. These weapons are effectively a portable handheld cannon that takes little training for a soldier to effectively use."
"You have my interest. Explain a bit more about what you think about this. If these weapons are as grand as you claim, then why would the Lausiel Empire sell them to us?"
"I will go into detail tomorrow, so just think over my suggestion. On a slightly different topic, I've heard that Dwarven forges are great, do you think it is possible to replicate these weapons and improve them with Dwarven techniques?"
"Hmm... it isn't much of a secret in the Alliance so I think this is fine to say. Give it a bit of time, but it should be possible. The reason we have such great techniques is because of the Metal Elemental Root we possess. Using it we can infinitely replicate and metal we harvest, giving us unlimited resources to experiment and research new techniques."
At the mere mention of an Elemental Root, I immediately sober up at focus in on it. "Now that's a rare thing to come by."
"It is and we have protected it since time immemorial, but recently we have a problem." Under normal circumstances, I don't think he would share this information but under the influence of alcohol, he lets it known. "Over the past month, there have been some Metal Elementals harassing us and they seem to be keen on taking the Root from us."
This is a great unexpected boon for just wanting to get a drink tonight. On top of getting the Dwarves to reconsider the Doge's proposal, I might have a chance to further my evolution. One of the things I noticed about the evolution options of the Elemental Spirit Dragon is that they have much fewer requirements than anything else, but are also very different. Like my initial evolution, once I meet the requirements I will forcibly undergo the evolution process. The first evolution to the 'Elemental Spirit Dragon Lord' requires me to accommodate the Elemental Essence of the eight main elements of Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Ice, Metal, Wood, and Lightning. The subsequent evolution 'Spirit Dragon of Primordial Elements' requires me to have the Elemental Essence of the eight main elements ass well as the other elements of Light and Dark. And of course, getting an Elemental Essence isn't easy, but here it is right in front of me.
"I believe I might be able to help with the problem that is plaguing you. I have experience dealing with Elementals. Why don't we have a chat with Milla tomorrow and arrange a time for me to visit."
"Truly? Elementals are not easily dealt with."
"Sure, I'll go discuss it with Milla. In return, think you can cover my bill?"
Skorsug takes a small moment to think about my suggestion, but quickly lays down a few silver coins. "I look forward to our future cooperation."
Getting up I walk out of the tavern waving my hand in farewell. "Thanks, and don't forget to think about my other suggestion as well."
This was an unusually lucky encounter for me... why do I feel that chilling feeling again? Someone is watching me. Seems like no matter what, some things will never change.