Lyle put away the Magic Gun and looked back at the damaged weapons and equipment. Based on what the Minister of Forging meant, these pieces of equipment that seemed worthless...
Were more like proofs of the Gray Dwarf Kingdom's prosperity; their commemorative value far exceeded their practical use, which was why they were brought along.
Lyle checked them one by one, occasionally casting "Item Appraisal." Unfortunately, after looking around, he found no magic items similar to the Magic Gun.
Finally!
Lyle's gaze stopped on a piece of severely damaged armor hanging at the very top of the broken equipment, riddled with holes.
The surface of this armor was very clean. Unlike the surrounding dusty, broken weapons, it had clearly been wiped frequently.
Its significance seemed extraordinary!
"This armor is?" A look of curiosity appeared in Lyle's eyes.
The Minister of Forging took a step forward, his dull gaze fixed on the armor. Even under the state of "All-Race Charm," an excited emotional change actually surfaced on his face.
"This is the greatest masterpiece ever forged by our Gray Dwarf race!"
A hint of fervor was added to the Minister of Forging's otherwise emotionless voice:
"It was also during our Gray Dwarf race's most prosperous period that all the Rune Smiths were mobilized to jointly forge this armor. It possesses four of the highest-tier rune characters."
Seeing this tattered armor, Lyle showed a clear expression of surprise.
Four high-tier rune characters?
Although he didn't know much about rune characters, he knew that besides the legendary Anti-characters and God-tier characters whose existence was uncertain...
There were ninety normal rune characters in total: fifty low-tier, twenty-five mid-tier, ten high-tier, and five of the highest-tier.
In other words, out of only five highest-tier characters in existence, four were inscribed on this armor.
Lyle remembered the hammer held by the last king of the dwarves living in the Azerlisia Mountains.
That was also a national treasure of the dwarf race, possessing six rune characters.
But obviously!
The six rune characters inscribed on that national treasure hammer of the dwarf race were most likely all low-tier or mid-tier characters.
"Although this armor has lost all its abilities, the four highest-tier rune characters have been preserved relatively intact."
"This is the treasure of our Gray Dwarf race. As long as this armor exists, those four highest-tier rune characters will not be lost to time."
The Minister of Forging spoke with an excited voice.
"What abilities does this armor have?" A sharp glint flashed in Lyle's eyes as he inquired.
"It is said to possess indestructible defense and the ability to devour Ore to continuously repair and grow stronger..." This time, the Minister of Forging's answer contained hesitation, as if he didn't know much either: "Among our Rune Smiths,
Regarding this armor, a ballad has always been passed down."
"A ballad?" Lyle repeated.
"The furnace fire in the ashes shines with glory."
"Gray Dwarf blood and fire intertwine."
"In the deep places of the Rock, a whispered blessing from the gods."
"The armor that devours Ore is attached to the soul of the Gray Dwarf."
"That is a greatness that even Ancient Dragons take note of!" the Minister of Forging chanted in a low voice.
Lyle did not ask further, but instead gazed at the damaged armor quite seriously, his eyes constantly flickering with a pensive expression.
The content of this ballad was not complicated.
Besides simply describing the armor's abilities, the rest of the ballad's content was basically self-boasting rhetoric.
"rune characters," Lyle muttered silently to himself.
Rune Technology could be said to be a craft unique to this other world. However, in the game 'YGGDRASIL,' rune characters also existed, though they were mostly used as decorations.
'YGGDRASIL' was mainly based on Norse mythology. In the myths and legends, Odin, the All-Father, once hung himself on the World Tree for nine days and nine nights to contemplate the secrets of the Universe.
When Odin, the All-Father, stepped down from the tree, he comprehended the secrets of 'Runes,' and this secret was then taught to humans in the form of characters by Heimdall, the Guardian of the Bifrost.
This was the so-called 'rune characters'.
The reason Lyle suddenly thought of this was because the ballad just now mentioned the word 'gods'.
According to currently known information, the so-called gods are nothing more than human players—assuming, of course, that no non-player gods exist in this other world.
Then how was the power of 'rune characters' mastered by the dwarf race?
The Minister of Forging was clearly unable to answer this question for him.
Lyle did not continue to think about this aspect, because there were too many hidden secrets in this world. Before truly exploring these secrets, mastering sufficient strength was the foundation.
"So, why is this armor, which you assembled all your craftsmen to build, so severely damaged?" Lyle looked at the Minister of Forging.
"Because the Ore Materials used to forge this armor were too good," the Minister of Forging gave an answer that was completely outside Lyle's range of thought.
"This armor can only devour the same Ore used to forge it. However, that kind of Ore is too rare, which resulted in the armor being unable to improve through devouring Ore from the moment it was forged."
At this point, the Minister of Forging's voice carried a hint of loneliness.
He seemed to be mocking himself because, for such a ridiculous reason, the armor created by gathering all the top Rune Smiths had become nothing more than a piece of ordinary, albeit quite hard, armor.
Lyle was somewhat surprised, not expecting such a funny reason. He then asked, "Do you still have the ability to forge such armor?"
"No."
The Minister of Forging shook his head:
"This requires several skilled Rune Smiths to jointly inscribe the rune characters. With this armor here,
The four highest-tier characters are not lost, but among the Gray Dwarf race, there are no Rune Smiths left besides me."
"Additionally, not just any material can bear the power of four highest-tier rune characters. And to truly bring out this power, corresponding Materials must be provided for it to devour."
"Satisfying these conditions is too difficult. It is destined to be a failed masterpiece."
The Minister of Forging's words caused the thought that had just risen in Lyle's mind to dissipate.
But soon!
Another thought suddenly flashed through Lyle's mind. His eyes narrowed imperceptibly; perhaps he could change his approach.
"It looks like you won't be dying anytime soon."
Lyle spoke softly to the dull-faced Minister of Forging, waved one hand toward the armor on the wall,
And stored it into his Item Box.
The night passed quietly.
The next day, early morning.
After a night of hard work, a portion of the numerous Gray Dwarf corpses located underground had been gradually cleared out by the three thousand humans.
As a result, the entire Oasis was piled high with Gray Dwarf corpses.
After a night without sleep and the daytime battle, some people were completely exhausted and collapsed on the ground. Even the cheetah-like Hilde was equally worn out, let alone the ordinary people.
Clearly, the subsequent cleanup work could not be completed in a short time.
Under these circumstances.
Hilde could only arrange for some personnel to temporarily stay at the Gray Dwarf Oasis, while escorting the Gray Dwarf race's supplies and Lyle back to the human Oasis.
The night of the third day.
On the human Oasis, another bonfire banquet was held, and happy, cheerful laughter could be heard.
Lyle sat by the water source in the central area of the human Oasis, glanced in the direction of the bonfire, shook his head, and withdrew his gaze.
He did not participate in this human tribe's celebration. "It's about time to leave."
Lyle raised his hand and stroked the Ghost Hound beside him, which was still in the form of a goshawk, and murmured to himself.
Since arriving in this Valley of Despair, nearly half a month had passed. Originally, he only wanted to perform a simple intelligence reconnaissance, but he hadn't expected so many things to happen at once.
The gains were not small, though.
The unique job advancement method of the "Gray Armor Knight" alone was a huge harvest for Lyle, not to mention the information and items obtained from the Gray Dwarves.
"I wonder if using a higher-tier teleportation magic can directly return me to the northwestern corner of the continent."
Lyle currently mastered the third-tier "Dimensional Move." He could increase the magic Rank by raising his mana, mastering higher-tier teleportation magic.
However!
Lyle couldn't be sure if the seventh-tier "Greater Teleportation" could directly Teleportation him back, because he remembered that in cases of long-distance teleportation...
It seemed necessary to mark the destination in advance.
If it were a "Gate," it wouldn't be so troublesome.
However, the "Gate" ability was no longer considered a simple Tier Magic, but belonged to the category of special skills.
Even in the "Great Tomb of Nazarick," only Bone King and Shalltear mastered that ability.
If he couldn't return via teleportation magic.
Lyle would have to consider only being able to return to the lava zone of the Azerlisia Mountains through the natural portal in the magma beneath the volcano again.
Turning into a small fish again wasn't a problem; what gave Lyle a headache was having to face the Ancient Fire Dragon and the sun located in the magma.
While using "Wild Shape," Lyle was unable to use his own inherent abilities, which would inevitably result in a state of personal weakness.
"Lord Hero!"
Just then, Hilde's footsteps sounded from a distance.