Dwarves are always very straightforward in their work. Mock left Stabuch the next day, preparing to return to the Silver Tooth Mountains. He left Ed with small black stones, with natural white lines, neatly split in half from the middle.

It was something that the dwarves used to communicate with each other, and even if the power of magic began to disarray or weaken, it could get the message to those who held the other half of the stone.

"We may not be very powerful. "We've been hiding in our mines for too long, like elves who have imprisoned themselves in the forests of Grivar...... But if you need help, the hammers and axes of the Blaze Dwarves are not rusty. ”

He didn't even dismiss Ed's bold attempt as whimsical or self-indulgent.

"We also try to fuse different metals together to make them tougher or easier to forge into complex shapes. "Sometimes the furnace explodes or burns a pile of useless residue...... But if you don't give up, you can always find the right mix and create what you want. It's a lot harder than what you want to do, but who knows what the outcome will be if you don't give it a try......? You have to remember your purpose, remember what you really want, what is most important. Being too greedy or swaying from side to side usually doesn't end well. ”

Such trust and support left Ed speechless. He didn't know how to answer other than a big hug.

They borrowed the teleportation array of the Water God Temple to send Mork and his companions away. Both Sean and Icabold remained in the small temple by Lake Xi'an, and did not return even after learning about the events in Stonebutch City, except for Philip Zeri with a blackened face.

"What the hell!" the paladin spat on the ground without any grace, "why doesn't that guy just want to die a little bit!"

He is full of ...... for Ante Bofford for all sorts of reasons Well-founded disgust.

Ed was scornful, almost guilty for letting Anther go. But if you want to make Ante disappear completely, it's really not that easy.

"If you run into him, you'd better be careful. He told Fili, "He's strong and he's become very ...... Odd. Although it looks like a living person, it may not be considered a 'human' at all. ”

He used the same method to defeat Isis and Ante. The frost power of the ice dragon's talent can actually resist slightly, and even cancel out the pure power he fused, Ante...... But it's like being able to become a part of it.

“...... You mean, becoming more like Scott?"

Fili frowned, hitting the nail on the head.

Ed couldn't help but look left and right - even if Iss wasn't here.

"I hate this kind of mess. Fili sighed and scratched his head, "It's actually good if there is no magic in this world - how simple it is to solve problems with a sword!"

"Maybe one day......," said Ed," said Ed, "it's not impossible." ”

For him, of course, magic was more wonderful than trouble. But he must admit that this power is so powerful that it has no boundaries, and those who can master it are only a minority of the few...... This is actually very dangerous.

A warrior with a sword, no matter how powerful, cannot stand up to a thousand enemies on his own, and a high-ranking mage can destroy an entire city in an instant.

“...... Don't you care?" asked Fili, still in a casual tone, but not hiding the scrutiny in his eyes, "if you lose the power you have now. ”

He didn't hide his doubts, but instead made Ed accept them calmly.

"Maybe not so easy. He smiled, "But I'll remember what Mock said, and always remember what I really want." ”

He didn't want power.

He was now able to use his magic with ease. But in twenty years, he was just an ordinary man, and he probably knew better than most people the gap between the two, and the inevitable effects of that gap—that a man of terrible power like him could easily become more and more conceited and greedy, as if the whole world were in his hands...... It should also be in his hands.

He may not be afraid...... I'm afraid that one day he will become something he can't even recognize, even if there is nothing wrong with "having power" itself.

Something was slapped on his chest. He subconsciously raised his hand to grab it—it was a booklet that had been casually nailed together, and there was no cover.

Felicity left behind. Fili, who shoved it into him, had looked away, "Sean asked me to bring it to you...... It's about the altar in the temple. ”

Ed's footsteps paused.

The altar that underground...... The same place as the altar under the Pomegranate Hall where Scott's blood still remained, was exactly what they were going to now.

Sean gave him such permission, as if he had finally admitted it...... Or what was accepted.

"I've never even been to that place. Fili scratched at his beard, which was always unneatly trimmed by himself, and sighed with some emotion, "I didn't even know it existed." I barely knew what kind of life I had before...... It was so easy. ”

That last sentence made Ed shut his mouth and swallow back the comfort he hadn't yet uttered - it was his fault, how could Philip Zeri be the one who needed his comfort!

The cramped and winding aisles are heavily guarded. The priests and paladins that Ed had never seen or even knew of their existence retreated silently from them. The hidden power of the Water God Temple was finally revealed in front of his eyes, making him feel complicated.

If he is the ruler of this country...... I am afraid that I will not be able to calmly accept that there is such a large force under his rule that is not controlled by him.

The space where the altar is located is much smaller than the one under the Pomegranate Hall. As soon as Ed walked in, he felt that something was wrong—and not just because the burning torches on the four walls made it unusually hot.

“...... Is this really a 'Lockburg one' altar?" asked Fili, who was not very sensitive to magic.

They've all been to that place. The altar felt like it was useful, dark, cold, and still like stagnant water, but the one in the temple of the god of water looked like ...... Like a rushing river in summer, it has a vivid and ferocious atmosphere.

"Because this hasn't been used?" Philip half-knelt down, looking at the runes he couldn't make out for a long time before giving up.

“...... They are not the same at all. Ed muttered, and quickly flipped through the booklet which he had not yet had time to read, and within a few pages he found the same conclusion that Felicity had left in scribbled handwriting—

"They're not the same at all. ”