"Kobi, how far is the fire lizard's lair from here?" Ryan asked. As soon as he heard "fire lizard," an entry-level alchemical recipe flashed in his mind. The key ingredient that was missing from this recipe was something that could only be found on the fire lizard leader. This magical potion could not only restore mana but also recover some mental energy. Without this specific ingredient, the potion would only speed up the mana recovery, not fully restore it. These two effects might sound similar, but their meanings were vastly different. With this ingredient, the potion could instantly restore 20% of mana, with an additional 10% over the next 5 minutes. Don't underestimate this 30% mana recovery—it was a lifesaver.
Kobi glanced at Ryan before answering, "It's still several kilometers away, but there are hundreds of fire lizards, and the leader might even be at level 3 by now. However, their lair is not easy to reach."
Ryan was well aware of the fire lizard species. They were about a meter long, with hard scales, sharp claws, and teeth. The most troublesome thing about them was that they could instantly cast small fireballs. More importantly, their magic resistance was extremely high. Due to their long exposure to volcanic environments, their scales were covered in magma and volcanic ash, forming a natural armor. This made them particularly dangerous to most people. While their hides were excellent materials for making armor, and their scales could be used to craft fire magic scrolls (though only low-tier fire magic), what Ryan needed was the small, sharp horn on the fire lizard leader's head. This horn was unique to the leader and was about the size of a thumb. Its blood had the same effect as deer antler blood. The potion made from it could restore 20% of mana, but to get this horn, Ryan would have to face a horde of fire lizards that could bombard him with endless fireballs—a challenge few would dare take on, except perhaps for large mercenary groups or organizations.
"Ah, what a pity," Ryan sighed slightly when he heard Kobi's description. Even if Ryan was strong, he wasn't strong enough to take on a group of fire lizards, which left him feeling a bit frustrated.
Kobi and Ryan quickly began to head back. Fire lizards were extremely sensitive to the fluctuations of Fire magic, and as they walked, Kobi noticed that Ryan seemed a bit down, so he curiously asked, "Ryan, what's so unfortunate?"
"Ah, fire lizards are great alchemical materials. Their hides can be made into armor that not only provides immunity to low-tier fire magic but also has some resistance to mid-tier fire magic. It's also very durable against physical attacks and can even provide warmth in freezing cold environments. If you wear it in a snowstorm, you won't feel the cold at all. If you add a fire magic core and carve magic arrays, it would be even better. Also, the fire lizard king's blood can be used to create a potion that restores Fire mana. It's also good for restoring Qi... Kobi, what's wrong with you?" Ryan spoke while walking briskly, but when he turned around, Kobi wasn't following. Surprised, Ryan called out.
"An... Alchemist? You're an alchemist?" Kobi, upon hearing Ryan's words, was completely shocked. But he still didn't believe it. There were alchemists in the Dark Region, but most of them were elderly, supported by powerful figures in the second level to the north. It was hard to believe such a young person was an alchemist. However, hearing Ryan explain things in such detail made it hard to doubt. Still, Kobi couldn't resist asking.
"Yes, but just a beginner..." Ryan answered honestly, though he was a bit suspicious of Kobi's strange actions. Before he could finish speaking, Kobi suddenly dashed off. Ryan, thinking it might be the fire lizards catching up, quickly turned around, but when he looked, there was nothing. He reluctantly chased after him, feeling a bit anxious himself, so he called out while running.
"What's up with Kobi today? He's running so fast. Normally, when he comes to the forge, he's always dragging his feet. Now he's running like that?" Two dwarves who were in charge of transporting ore near the forge saw Kobi sprinting into the workshop and asked their companion, puzzled.
"Maybe he got into trouble. He wouldn't rush in like that otherwise," said the other dwarf, equally confused.
"Good point." The first dwarf nodded in agreement.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Tannis was working hard, hammering a piece of refined iron. Once he finished hammering, the refined steel would be ready. Tannis, bare-chested, sweat pouring down his body, occasionally took a swig of beer. It was satisfying, and he didn't have to worry about water.
When Kobi burst into the forge, he quickly saw his father hammering the iron. Kobi ran up to him. To be honest, Kobi hated the smell of sulfur and sweat in the forge, but given the importance of the situation, he had to interrupt his father. Kobi reached out and grabbed Tannis, pulling him aside. "Father, Ryan said he's an alchemist."
Tannis, engrossed in his work, was caught off guard when Kobi yanked him. The heavy hammer almost smashed onto his leg. He turned, saw Kobi, and immediately got angry, yelling, "You little brat! What do you think you're doing?! Alchemist? Who's an alchemist?!"
"It's Ryan, the one who beat me," Kobi said loudly. As soon as he said this, the hammering stopped, and everyone in the forge turned to listen.
"What's going on here?" A dwarf with a beard that nearly touched the ground walked over and asked in an annoyed tone.
Seeing the elder dwarf, Kobi quickly explained everything, including the use of the materials from the fire lizard, and as he finished, he noticed that everyone around was breathing faster, their eyes glowing with excitement.
"Let's go. It's just a bunch of fire lizards. We'll kill one and see if it works," said the oldest dwarf, his eyes shining with excitement. He glanced around, then loudly ordered, and immediately, the sound of hammers dropping filled the air. Some eager warriors unleashed their Qi, and a shadow swiftly disappeared.
"Wait for me!" Kobi, noticing that in the blink of an eye, everyone had run off, found himself alone in the large forge. He quickly ran after them, shouting as he went.
Ryan saw that Kobi had disappeared into the distance and, since there were no fire lizards chasing them, began to search along the edge of the lava river. There were many valuable materials in the magma—mithril, fine gold, fire crystal stones, and other rare materials. But before long, several dwarves rushed up and surrounded Ryan, their breathing quick and heavy. Ryan was startled. "Uh, what's going on...?"
"Are you Ryan?" asked one of the dwarves, whose beard nearly touched the ground. As soon as the old dwarf spoke, the others around Ryan turned their attention to him.
Ryan, seeing the serious expressions around him, was about to deny it, but then he saw Dex in the crowd. He nodded, though he felt uneasy. The pressure from the surrounding dwarves was overwhelming, and Dex didn't give him any hints.
"Are you an alchemist?" the old dwarf asked again, his voice trembling.
"A beginner... just a beginner," Ryan replied, feeling his scalp tingle. He swallowed hard and answered hesitantly.
"So, how long would it take to make armor from fire lizard hide?" The old dwarf's face showed a slight smile this time.
"Seven days. The fire lizard hide needs to be soaked in its blood for seven days. The magic array takes half a day to carve, and half a day to make the armor—about eight days in total. If we soak more fire lizard hides at once, after seven days, we could make one armor per day," Ryan said, feeling much more relaxed now. It seemed the dwarves were here for the fire lizard armor, so he spoke more fluently, though he still broke into a cold sweat.
"First, go catch ten fire lizards. Whoever gets there first will get their armor made first," the old dwarf said with a smile.
Boom, boom, boom. Ryan felt the ground tremble as the dwarves rushed toward the fire lizards, each flashing different types of Qi—mostly fire, earth, and even a bit of metal Qi.
Ryan didn't understand. It was just a fire lizard hide armor, so why was everyone so excited? Was it flattery for the old dwarf, or was there another reason?
"Young man, we're in great need of alchemists down here. The fire lizard armor you mentioned is recorded in ancient texts. The areas around the volcanoes are warm, but some places are freezing cold and can freeze people solid. As you saw, our weapons and armor don't have magic arrays. It's not because we don't want them, but because no one here knows how to create them. Dex told me about your background. There are some enchanters on the second level, but they only know a few basic enchantments. They can't make magic arrays. With the armor you could make, we wouldn't have to worry about the toxic fires when forging weapons. We dwarves would live decades longer," the old dwarf explained, noticing Ryan's confusion.
"Grandpa, we're back! We knocked out the fire lizards and brought them back!" came Dex's shout.
Ryan was startled when he saw Dex approaching with three fire lizards, all unconscious. He initially thought they were dead, but after hearing Dex explain, he realized they were just knocked out. Thankfully, dwarves had short arms, or Dex might have had to catch more. Dex had one fire lizard in each hand and another one slung over his back, clearly exhausted. From a distance, Ryan could see the fire lizards, but it was hard to tell they were dwarves, especially since they were hopping along rather than walking normally.
"Now we need something to soak the fire lizard hides. We can't kill them all at once because I need to refine their blood, and I'll need some help. I'm just a mage..." Ryan quickly explained. If they killed all the fire lizards at once, their blood would be useless, and he couldn't manage it all on his own.
"Let's go, let's head back to the city," the old dwarf waved his large hand, and the group of dwarves began to carry the fire lizards with them. The most ridiculous thing was that they had caught three each. Ryan glanced at them, and it seemed there were at least 50 fire lizards.
"Do you see these people? Are they out of their minds? The meat of fire lizards isn't even good to eat, yet they caught so many."
"Yeah, yeah, dwarves are like that—they'll eat anything. Not like us gnomes."
"You gnomes aren't any better. Aren't you omnivores too?"
"Shut up, you filthy goblin! If you keep yapping in front of me, I'll beat you up."
...
Ryan's group walked down the main street of Muan City. People were gossiping all around. After all, fire lizard meat wasn't tasty, and since they were pack animals, normally, only people with no other food would go after them. And yet, there was a whole group of dwarves catching them.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll report to the city lord. After all, we're from Muan City, right?" The old dwarf walked up to a large house surrounded by thorns. The door had beautiful carvings, and there were several ancient war trees in the yard. Dark elves, armed with bows, stood in the trees, and around the yard, there were dwarven warriors who stared at Ryan's group, wondering if they were going on strike again.
"Ryan, the city lord wants to see you. He has something to ask you," the old dwarf said after entering the building. He soon came out and grabbed Ryan, leading him inside.
Ryan noticed that the interior of the city lord's mansion was quite well-decorated. There was running water, shrubs, and vines, with many beautiful dark elves walking around. It was widely known that elves were born from the Tree of Life, and even after they matured, they could still pair up to form families. But from Ryan's perspective, the patrolling dark elves all had prominently high chests, indicating they were female. It was well-known that the gender ratio of dark elves was severely imbalanced, with females always outnumbering the males. One couldn't deny that elves were a beautiful race. The dark elves' armor, bows, and one-handed swords were all adorned with intricate, beautiful patterns, some even carved into delicate filigree. However, Ryan's attention wasn't on these details; it was fixed on their white, smooth thighs. He also noticed that while their armor looked beautiful, it didn't carry any magical aura, whereas their inner leather armor occasionally flashed with magical energy. Clearly, those were the real battle garments.
"Ryan, greet the city lord," said the old dwarf.
In both the surface world and the underground, mages only needed to bow when meeting nobles. Ryan found this quite agreeable. However, commoners were required to kneel, and slaves had to prostrate themselves on the ground. Lower-ranked nobles had to kneel on one knee before higher-ranked nobles. So, Ryan mimicked the old dwarf, placing one hand over his chest and bowing slightly.
"Here are some blank scrolls. You'll need to draw a magic scroll right away," said the city lord as Ryan looked up. The city lord was a dark elf with a very beautiful face, but Ryan could tell from his flat chest that he was male. As expected, the city lord was a level 9 expert. Dark elves, being both skilled in magic and combat, had the advantage of living longer, but they also had the drawback of having very low fertility. It was slightly better than dragons, but not by much.
Ryan didn't reply. He wasn't pleased with the city lord's attitude. However, seeing the old dwarf by his side and the lofty city lord, Ryan decided to perform well. He took the blank magic scrolls handed to him by a servant and carefully examined each one, refusing to make a move.
"Is something wrong?" the city lord asked impatiently.