The wise giants—the ancient civilizations boasted far-advanced technology and mystery. Modern people couldn’t imagine or understand the principles.
‘Hah… He really brought me Nevartan’s Necklace.’
The 3rd Seat, Radwolf, had particularly good knowledge and insight among the few survivors of the giants. His knowledge might be considerably biased because he had been stuck in the tower for centuries, but he could be certain of one fact based on various circumstantial and grounded facts.
The Great Robber of the Red Night—this hateful thief would surely rob Grid and steal his treasures without Grid being aware of it. However, a reversal happened. Grid came back after succeeding in a trade with the great robber. Not only was he aware of the great robber’s approach, but he also managed to persuade the great robber.
‘He could’ve subdued with force… no.’
The mental image of the great robber resembled his cowardly personality. The great robber was able to hide his existence in his mental image and it was possible to wipe out his spirit without having to go out of the mental world. It was impossible to subdue him with force when he could disappear like the wind.
“This… it is genuine.”
He had wondered if the great robber had scammed Grid. Radwolf suspiciously appraised Nevartan’s Necklace and clicked his tongue. The necklace was undoubtedly genuine.
“What deal did you make with the great robber?”
The great robber was a unilateral predator. It was possible for him to steal Grid’s treasures secretly. So why make a deal…?
“That…” Grid started to explain. He told the story of the outside world to Radwolf, who was confined to his workshop and rarely interacted with other people.
“Hah.”Radwolf marveled when he learned of the events of the Drasion raid. “That thief likes you.”
“…It seems so?”
Grid didn’t want to have a good interpretation of the person who stole Hexetia’s Short Sword, but he couldn’t deny it. The great robber was friendly to Grid from the start. He appreciated and respected Grid for developing transcendence from a young age.
“Giving him the short sword… you did a good job.”
Hexetia’s Short Sword was a dangerous object just like the Great Robber of the Red Night claimed. The owner of the sword was destined to be monitored by the gods. The only person who could deceive the gods’ eyes was the Great Robber of the Red Night. If Grid had insisted on keeping ownership of the sword, then the tower would’ve stayed away from Grid.
The tower wasn’t hostile to the gods, but they didn’t intend to be exposed to the eyes of the gods. Some of the tower members had long doubted the tendencies of the gods. However, the tower judged that dragons were more dangerous than gods.
“Well… you’ve worked hard. Sir Hayate will advise you anyway, but let me say a word in my old age… I hope you don’t make a mistake just because you are intoxicated with the status of a god.”
Radwolf had lived a really long time. He had witnessed quite a few people who claimed to be gods or were revered as gods. Their ending mostly wasn’t good. The majority of them became drunk on the faith and walked the wrong path, only to be punished by someone. Even if they walked the right path, they ended up as a short myth for a challenger.
Despite being the main character of a myth, the weak human body was good food for someone. The representative predators were the childless specter, the Gale of the Great Forest, and the Mountain King of Grenier. The Mountain King of Grenier became a recluse after he attacked and was defeated by Muller, but the childless specter and the Gale of the Great Forest were still alive.
The childless specter, a lich king, had existed for more than 1,000 years. A human being who gave up on being a human and chose immortality in order to explore the ultimate magic. This was very normal like other liches, but the actions he showed were different. He collected myths. They were just the short, small myths of humans, but the person who devoured a few of them was enough to be called a monster.
A collection of contaminated elementals, the Gale of the Great Forest. Tainted by the madness of Raiders, who ate the root of the world tree, it was born and angrily floated through the forests. It gained reason and wisdom at one point and started also collecting myths for some reason. Fortunately, it had eaten fewer myths compared to the childless specter, but… it was very difficult to deal with because there was no ‘tangible existence.’
“You should know it well after meeting the tower members and the Great Robber of the Red Night. There are really many unknown strong people in the world. Additionally, many of them are seriously twisted. They aren’t all cute like Biban. It is common for them to be trash, assholes, and sons of a bitches. In particular, be wary of the childless specter, the Gale of the Great Forest, and the recluse of Grenier. If you act too conspicuously, you could become their target.”
“……”
It didn’t fit with the wild impression he gave, but Radwolf was a scientist. He distinguished, understood, and judged things according to knowledge and ethics, without being governed by instincts or emotions. So even worse than Biban… Grid felt sorry for Biban, but this seemed to be a realistic evaluation.
‘The childless specter, the Gale of the Great Forest, and the recluse of Grenier…’
The ones Radwolf told him to watch out for must be dangerous without any exaggeration. Grid remembered these names and nodded. Then Radwolf threw Nevartan’s Necklace roughly into a drawer.
“…You are keeping it quite roughly.”
Radwolf had already said that Necklace’s Necklace was nothing more than a simple souvenir, but Grid hadn’t expected it to be handled so roughly. The desire to get the necklace back was simply out of pride.
‘Short sword…’
Looking at Radwolf’s attitude made Grid miss Hexetia’s Short Sword even more. Radwolf saw his dejection and coughed before finally pulling out his gift.
“Here, take it.”
[The moon night iron has been acquired as a quest clear reward.]
[Affinity with the 3rd Seat, Radwolf, has increased by 50 as a reward for clearing the quest.]
"Gasp…”Grid’s eyes widened and his heart shook. Being fascinated by beautiful metals was a blacksmith’s instinct. A silver metal—it wasn’t as bright as mithril. Rather, it was dark.
‘Is it sucking in the light…?’
The moon night iron was a mineral that blocked the ‘status’ of the target. The reason why the magic machines’ fists could pierce a dragon’s scales was due to the armor made from the moon night iron.
‘If I mix the moon night iron and divine stone with Greed…’
The strongest metal that made self-judgments, moved on its own and neutralized transcendent beings would be born. Grid’s cheeks were turning red with anticipation when he heard a voice.
“Stop.” Radwolf read Grid’s intentions and shook his head. “The reason I didn’t discuss fusing the moon night iron and insane dragon iron, even after knowing you have the insane dragon iron and can control it completely, is because fusing them is impossible.”
The moon night iron was a mineral that grew in the lands of the ancient giants. Now that the land of giants was destroyed, new sources of moon night iron were no longer available. Before discarding the old model magic machines, he had to recover the moon night iron. It was because the amount of moon night iron was so limited it needed to be recovered and re-used.
The reason why Radwolf didn’t discuss the fusion between the insane dragon iron and moon night iron, when he wanted the proliferation of moon night iron ore than anyone else, was because the compatibility between the insane dragon iron and moon night iron was too poor.
The insane dragon iron absorbed the madness of Insane Dragon Nevartan and became a metal with the proliferation ability. It was a metal derived from the insane dragon. It had the worst resistance to the moon night iron.
“Ah…”
Why didn’t Radwolf discuss fusion with the moon night iron despite admiring Greed which was created by mixing the insane dragon iron and pavranium? Grid belatedly realized it and became gloomy. Fortunately, the disappointment wasn’t great. It was because he heard Radwolf’s explanation just before his expectations reached the peak.
Radwolf suggested as Grid was trying to adjust his heart, “The moon night iron is a metal that only exerts its power if it is kept pure, but it isn’t very durable. It is much more durable than steel or mithril, but it doesn’t have infinite durability like pavranium or divine stone. Eventually, it will be destroyed.”
This was why it became more and more precious. Radwolf’s ancestors couldn’t stop worrying about the limited quantity of moon night iron. The land of giants fell and the source of moon night iron was destroyed, so it was natural for Radwolf to obsess over the moon night iron.
“The moon night iron is really inappropriate for armor. It just accelerates the consumption.”
Radwolf’s eyes scanned the eight magic machines lined up in the workshop. The elbows and hands, knees and feet, as well as the horns and shoulders—the armor made of moon night iron only covered these parts. The luxury of covering the entire body of the magic machines with moon night iron couldn’t be enjoyed even by Radwolf, the owner of the moon night iron.
“Since ancient times, the moon night iron has been rare and precious. Even before I was born, my ancestors had to think about ways to efficiently use the moon night iron.
Radwolf moved his hands through the air. It was a movement similar to the majestic commands of a maestro. The eight magic machines responded to the command. The magic powered weapons opened their eyes at the same time.
The eyes of the magic machines flashed in different colors according to the dragons’ attributes. The magic machines stepped forward at Radwolf’s command and pulled out different types of weapons. A sword, a spear, a single-edged sword, a bow, a rod, an iron whip, a gun, and a pair of knuckles—all of them were weapons made out of the moon night iron.
Grid realized it. The elbows and hands, knees and feet, as well as the horns and shoulders—these were all areas that could be used as weapons.
“My ancestors made weapons using the moon night iron and I agree with their judgment. You shouldn’t be frustrated and disappointed with the moon night iron. Instead, you should use it to make weapons. It is a weapon that can even pierce and kill a god.”
Grid had vowed to make a divine sword. However, he became ashamed of his determination when he saw Hexetia’s Short Sword. He questioned if he could make such a sword. However, this wasn’t the case anymore. Grid’s eyes burned with passion.
