"The first occupation of our dwarves is blacksmithing. Kuta Dongkuang, assistant to the mayor of the town, said solemnly.

"And do you still strike iron every day?" Thea asked, eyes still fixed on the shiny thing on his beard.

Kuta sighed as he walked, "There are so many things to do for the assistant, my furnace hasn't been lit in a long time. ”

"And your mayor is a blacksmith too?" Lukka asked.

"Yes, Mayor Mare is the most skilled blacksmith among the living dwarves. However, he is old now, and he has rarely done it himself in the last thirty or forty years, and the swords he built back then were hard to buy. Kuta's reverence for the mayor is palpable.

"Thirty or forty years, how old is your mayor?" asked Thea.

"I'm three hundred and seventy years old. Kuta replied.

Nora once explained to everyone that the life span of dwarves is second only to that of elves, and it is much longer than that of gnomes, and they will only enter old age after three hundred years old, and they can live to nearly four hundred years old.

"Don't look at the mayor of the town, but he is in good health, and he doesn't build weapons by himself, mainly because the chores in the town take up too much energy, and he has to mentor the most talented blacksmith apprentices, of course, there is nothing left to do it himself. Kuta continued.

"We tried not to bother as much as we could, picked up our things and left. Luca said.

"That's the best, you'd better hurry, it's not that I want to drive you away, now this island is really not suitable for outsiders to live in. Kuta nodded.

"We're not going to stay long, but," Lukka looked left and right, "where are you taking us?" ”

Kuta led them around, and instead of entering the town hall building, Kuta made a few turns and walked out of the backyard door.

Ollie alertly placed his hand on the hilt of the greatsword, and Daniel tightened his grip on the scepter.

Lukka gave them a look to calm them down, after all, he didn't see a hint of gloom on Kuta's face.

"Didn't I tell you, Mayor Mare is the best master blacksmith," Kuta didn't notice any of these people's unusual expressions, "he's either on the edge of the melting pot or at the altar, it's all on the hill anyway." ”

As he spoke, he lifted his hand and pointed to the hillside behind the town office.

The word "mountain" made Luca feel his thighs sore, and the word altar alerted him even more.

"Altar, which god, sacrifice what?" he said, his voice became rapid.

"God, what kind of god is there? This altar is for the spirits of the mountain. 'Kuta's reaction to Luca felt inexplicable.

"Isn't it a god?" Lukka breathed a sigh of relief, "what the hell is that mountain spirit?"

"The spirit of the mountain is the soul of the mountain. Kuta gave him a puzzled look, probably surprised that someone couldn't understand something so obvious.

"Mountains have souls, so can it talk?" Thea asked.

"Of course I can speak, the altar is set up to meet the needs of the mountain spirits. Kuta said.

"What if you're not satisfied?" Lukka thought the mountain spirit was unreliable.

"I don't know about this because it's never been like this. Kuta shook his head.

Lukka thought for a moment, "In other words, what can it offer you if you meet the requirements of the Mountain Spirit?"

Kuta smiled on his face: "That's a lot, if the mountain spirit is satisfied, the veins on the mountain will produce better quality ore, and the flame of the furnace will be just right, and we can forge more and better products." ”

Shut up and whispered in Luka's ear, "Sounds like some kind of magical creature." ”

Lukka also responded in a low voice: "Since the dwarves have lived like this for so many years, we don't need to investigate what it is, time is precious." ”

"It's time to start climbing the mountain from here, do you want to drink water and rest your feet? Kuta had led them out of the confines of the town to a stone house at the foot of the hill for pedestrians to rest.

"That's great. Lukka opened the kettle he had brought with him, took a sip, and sat down on a chair outside the stone house.

Looking up from here, the shape of the mountain clearly appeared in front of him without the shelter of the buildings. The mountain as a whole is conical, but near the top of the mountain, it is as if it has been slashed, and a flat piece has been cut off, and it looks like a flat top from below.

"This looks like a volcano, right?" Lukka rubbed his eyes.

"That's right, this shape is a volcano. Thea nodded affirmatively, she had an absolute say in this matter.

"It's an extinct volcano, right?" Lukka sniffled, not smelling sulfur or anything like sulfur in the air.

"Of course it's an active volcano, or wouldn't our melting pot be cold?" Kuta said.

Lukka now understood why the dwarves had made an altar to the Mountain Spirits. Before he crossed over, he had seen some records that some uncivilized people living near the volcano believed that the eruption was caused by the anger of the mountain god, and constantly threw all kinds of sacrifices into the crater, even the living people.

"Let's go when we've rested enough, if it's too late, and when it gets dark, the road won't be easy. Kuta said, looking at the sky.

"Okay, let's go. Lukka stood up and quietly added a just right weight loss technique to himself, with the help of this effect, at least he wouldn't be so tired when climbing the mountain.

Although the mountain path is steep, the dwarves are excellent craftsmen, and the stone steps are neatly trimmed, making the road much easier. Even so, it took Luka almost an hour to climb halfway up the mountain.

"Why did you stop?" Thea didn't seem to feel tired at all.

"It's here. Kuta said, pointing to a nondescript rock building on the side of the road.

"Isn't it at the top of the mountain?" Lukka didn't want to climb the mountain, but he couldn't believe the building that was smaller than the Silent Death's captain's quarters.

"Of course it's not at the top of the mountain, and further up from here, it's the territory of the mountain spirits, and we can't just go up there. Kuta said.

Lukka looked up and saw that there were no neat steps further up, only a ravine made of large and small natural stones.

Kuta walked over to the small stone house, knocked on the door, and said in a loud voice, "Is the mayor here? ”

After a while, the door of the stone house opened from the inside, and out came a dwarf with a dusty face.

"Are these visitors?" asked the dwarf, who couldn't see clearly.