Chapter 69: Obtaining the friendship of the dwarves
When his mental strength was depleted, the replenishment he received from meditating came at a noticeably faster pace compared to his normal training conditions. When Han Shuo returned to the cemetery of death and meditated for a night, his mental strength was once again filled to the brim. Thus, Han Shuo deduced such a conclusion.
However, for necromancers, they would be unable to release any sort of magic if they had no mental strength. This would undoubtedly place them in a very precarious position. Therefore, no mage would expend all of their mental strength in one shot under normal circumstances.
Since the dwarves were willing to share the mining cave, Han Shuo couldn’t help but form other plans. There seemed to be high amounts of metal and copper ore inside the cave. Therefore, it would take quite a while for the dwarves to excavate the entire cave.
For Han Shuo, he could absolutely leverage summoning creatures to increase the speed of mining. If these copper and iron ores were shipped to the Empire, they were sure to fetch rich rewards for Han Shuo, particularly the black iron ore inside. According to Han Shuo’s understanding and the dwarves’ expressions today, Han Shuo understood that these black metal ores were very precious resources, and perhaps could be sold for whopping prices.
There should be quite a few dwarf villages in the Dark Forest, and there weren’t too many dwarves in this group. All of them combined probably didn’t need this much metal and copper ore. Since this was the case, Han Shuo made some other plans in his heart.
After infusing fresh blood and magical yuan into the “Original Demon Cave”, Han Shuo left the cemetery of death early in the morning and rushed in the direction of the mining cave.
Han Shuo had thought that he had arrived early enough, but he discovered that the dwarves had already arrived by the time he arrived at the entrance of the cave. There was double the usual amount of dwarves today, and it seemed like they had been up all night long due to their excitement. Their eyes were all bloodshot, but their spirits were still highly stimulated.
One of them had a grizzled beard and was leaning on a staff, in the middle of solemnly relaying instructions to the other dwarves. All the other dwarves, which included Bennett, all listened respectfully to his admonishments.
Purposefully letting the sound of his steps attract the attention of the dwarves, Bennett immediately raised the iron hammer in his hand and called out when he saw Han Shuo appear, “Hi, dear friend, we’ve waited for you for a long time!”
When Han Shuo had walked close, the old dwarf with the grizzled beard bowed in the manner of humans to express his thanks to Han Shuo. He said benevolently, “Brave and strong friend, thank you for your repeated help. I am Chief Calvin of the dwarf village, and am very pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“I’m called Han Shuo and am very honored to obtain your trust!” This place was far from the Academy and no one knew of his identity. Han Shuo therefore used his true name to interact with the dwarves.
“Brave Han, your name is quite marvelous. I’ve never heard of anyone using such a name. Heh heh, the children say that you’re a man worth trusting. Our village is willing to share the secrets of this mining cave with you. I just hope that we can coexist in harmony in the future!” Calvin first looked at Han Shuo oddly, seemingly befuddled by his name, but his face then became wreathed in smiles and continued to talk.
“Then, I think we can begin working.” Although Calvin was neither in a rush nor too leisurely, the gazes of the other dwarves all flitted towards the cave behind them, obviously exposing their eager thoughts. Han Shuo did not speak further and directly proposed to start working.
“No rush.” Calvin thought and stared at Han Shuo. “Han, why are you helping us like this? We are willing to share the mining cave with you, but why didn’t you take half of the iron and copper cores yesterday?”
The elderly indeed thought more, and it seemed that the dwarves weren’t an exception. Han Shuo looked at Calvin, was silent for a moment and explained. “First, I also had a bone to pick with the forest trolls. Not to mention I was conquered by the death-defying battle spirit displayed by Bennett and the others. That’s the reason as to why I helped them the first time.
In addition to this, they actually helped me fight off the Windblade Wolves. Those two Windblade Wolves were actually my prey, and helping you mine ore in the cave is just a small matter. I don’t know how to forge weapons, and I don’t think I’ll have any use if I take the iron and copper ores. That’s why I didn’t take any when I left. Elder Calvin, you must believe me, I really don’t have any other dubious motives.”
“Yes chief, Han is a great friend and he’s not like the other humans.” Bennett suddenly spoke up and said to the old dwarf.
Nodding, Calvin bowed towards Han Shuo, saying humbly, “My apologies Han, I’m older and have seen too many wily humans. That’s why I questioned you. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Your way is correct, I completely understand your concerns!”
“It’s difficult for us to mine the ore further inside these caves with our strength alone. Since we’re willing to share our secret with you, we’re willing to share all that is inside with you, including the black metal bestowed by the gods. We’re willing to share everything equally with you and hope you don’t reject it, otherwise we’ll truly be embarrassed.” Calvin thought and made this solemn promise.
Upon hearing his words, Han Shuo thought that although the dwarves were stubborn and possessed fiery tempers, they were indeed a race worth befriending. Han Shuo became a bit shamefaced about his own intentions after hearing Calvin’s promise. He thought deeply for a moment, “Please be at ease elder, I absolutely agree with your suggestion. In addition, when I have enough black metal, may I sincerely request that you forge it into a weapon for me?”
“No problem Han, be at ease. If there is enough black metal, I will personally supervise them and create a weapon worthy of your use.” Calvin promised with a smile.
“Alright, I think we can begin working!” Han Shuo finally set aside his plans, thinking that his plans for the Demonslayer Edge were finally in motion. He smiled as he headed into the cave with the dwarves.
After a half day of mining, Han Shuo’s mental strength was depleted once again and he left the cave in utter exhaustion. Today’s haul was even richer than yesterday’s. Apart from large amounts of iron and copper ore, they had once again obtained two pieces, one large and one small, of black metal. Han Shuo magnanimously handed the bigger piece over to the village chief and threw the smaller piece into his space ring.
At the entrance of the cave, the dwarves packed everything away neatly and shouldered the ores with smiles that brightened their faces, planning on carting today’s haul back to the village.
“Dear Han, what kind of weapon do you wish to see forged?” Calvin asked before he left.
After thinking for a while, Han Shuo took out his dagger and drew a sketch of the Demonslayer Edge on the ground. He pointed at the weapon outline on the ground and explained to Calvin, “This type of weapon would be nice. I would like the best and the sharpest, would you be able to complete it?”
Calvin squinted his eyes and stooped down, observing the Demonslayer Edge sketch for a while. He spoke in deep thought, “I’ve never seen a weapon like this, I think this will be interesting. There should be no problem in creating it, but if you would like the best and the sharpest, we would need a few more materials. Our village likely doesn’t have enough of them in supply.”
His thoughts racing, Han Shuo thought of the Boozt Merchant Guild and privately thought that he really was going all out for this Demonslayer Edge. He said, “Please tell me what other materials are needed, elder. I will find ways to collect all the missing or insufficient materials. I need a high grade weapon.”
“Do you have pen and paper?”
“Of course!” Han Shuo took out the pen and paper he had prepared before going to the cemetery of death from his space ring and handed it to Calvin. “Don’t worry about the insufficient materials. I will find a way to gather all the materials together as quickly as possible.”
“Then alright.” Calvin nodded and started noting down a list of materials on the paper. When he finished, he handed it over to Han Shuo, saying, “Han, as long as these materials are gathered, I can assure you that I will forge a weapon with an unparalleled edge for you.”
“When the amount of my black metal is enough to forge this weapon, I will think of a way to collect these materials. I will be here earlier tomorrow to help mine the ore,” Han Shuo said as he left the mines.
Just like this, Han Shuo spent his subsequent ten days with the dwarves, mining the caves.
When Han Shuo had obtained enough black metal and the dwarves had all obtained a rich haul, Calvin proposed temporarily halting their mining operation and said that they should start forging these ores into weapons. They could mine again in the future when they ran out of weapons.
Han Shuo had already obtained the dwarves’ trust during this time and accepted Calvin’s invitation to visit their village and drink heavily in celebration. Thus, he knew the correct way to their dwellings.
After Han Shuo infused fresh blood and magical yuan into the “Original Demon Cave” earlier than usual. He then made direct use of the transportation matrix to leave the cemetery of death.