dmims Page 150
Page 150
[Then you rubbed your eyes again, and the white-haired loli transformed back into a white-bearded old dwarf.]
"Damn it, I got up too fast..." You slapped yourself with mixed feelings, then decisively went back to sleep.
A question mark appeared on the old dwarf's forehead. He stared at you silently for several minutes. Finally, unable to bear the feeling of being spied on any longer, you jumped up from the ground.
"Hey, who are you sending this to?" you shouted. "I have absolutely no interest in old Nantong trees!"
"Hey, I've got a short temper!" The old dwarf suddenly grabbed the hammer beside him, jumped to your side, and swung it at you.
A hammer, carrying immense force, pierced through your body. Still shaken, you looked at your illusory form, instinctively wiping the cold sweat from your forehead. The feeling of being struck by lightning for a moment made you vaguely see your great-grandfather...
But the idea of meeting the Titan after death seems a bit too much, so you immediately snap out of it and ask in surprise, "What is this?"
The old dwarf chuckled, tossed the hammer to the ground, and said regretfully, "It's a pity the royal wine only transferred your soul consciousness to the royal court. Otherwise, with my temper, I would have beaten the food you ate yesterday back up."
[You frowned; this old man is so rude! Since that's the case, don't blame me for not respecting the elderly!]
"Sigh, what a pity." You lazily sat back down on the ground and said, "But with your weak and feeble hammering technique, it feels like you're not even good enough to pound rice cakes. Well, at this age, it's normal to be a little weak, I can understand... Unlike me, I can sleep with ten sisters without any problem. Oh, how did you know I still have several sisters outside that I haven't brought back? Am I really too outstanding in appearance? My sins..."
"Who asked you?" The old dwarf blushed, about to pull down his pants to prove his undying ambitions, but then immediately realized what he meant and cursed angrily, "You little brat, your ability to provoke people is quite reminiscent of the Titans back in the day..."
He shook his head, quickly regaining his composure with remarkable professionalism, and sat back on his throne, muttering to himself, "Fortunately, that old bastard has ascended to heaven, so I don't have to get angry every time I see him..."
The old dwarf scratched his long white beard and frowned, saying, "The effects of the royal wine haven't lasted long, so let me get straight to the point. Although you're a foreigner, your knowledge of brewing wine makes you a potential friend of the dwarves."
[Through the old dwarf's explanation, you learn that this "King's Wine" was a specialty of the former dwarf kingdom. After undergoing certain special secondary processing, dwarves who drank it could quickly see the dwarf king and report any emergencies they encountered.]
Of course, not every dwarf can produce this wine on their own; otherwise, the dwarf king would be driven mad by entertaining guests all day long. Only in the special building called the "Dwarf Inn" can they drink this magical wine.
"There's such a thing? This isn't magic!" you exclaimed in surprise.
"Heh, ignorant humans... The dwarves have existed for far longer than that damned magic network!" With that, the old dwarf's face showed a hint of resentment as he said bitterly, "It's just that our gods never fought... never fought..."
He glanced at you, then awkwardly changed the subject.
In short, you've learned that for some indescribable reasons, the former dwarf kingdom sank underground. Although the old dwarves desperately want to restore their kingdom, they're all shut-ins who never leave their homes. It's better to rely on a dog to restore the kingdom than on them. Besides, it seems like their lives are pretty much the same whether the dwarf kingdom exists or not…
"How could it be almost the same!" the old dwarf exclaimed passionately. "Before, it was that old Titan, Beeden, who stole the limelight from the dwarf kingdom. Damn it, using a Titan's true form to forge weapons was just too much of a gamble! Now, as long as our dwarf kingdom is reborn, we will definitely steal the spotlight from the world! Hmph, all the world's divine artifacts will come from my hands!"
"So what exactly are you trying to say?" you asked impatiently. "What does this have to do with me, a human being?"
"I am the Dwarf King," the old dwarf said after calming himself. "Actually, I am not dead. My treasury contains one hundred divine artifacts. Now I need you to go to the underworld, find the lost Dwarf Royal Court, and activate the mechanism to restore it to the world. After you succeed, I will bestow upon you a set of divine artifacts and appoint you as the Great General of the Dwarf Kingdom."
After saying this, he frowned, glanced at the time, and said, "The validity period for the royal banquet is about to expire. Give me an answer as soon as possible."
[Hesitant: "This sounds like a telecom scam..." you muttered, then fell into thought. Although you weren't interested in the Dwarf King's restoration plan, the history behind it was quite important to you, and you started considering how to make money ethically. After thinking for a while, you said...]
[A. I'm the dog of the Goddess of Magic, dare to look down on the Magic Network, I'll kill you right now! B. I'm the Titan King, I forgot the middle part, I forgot the end, send me money! C. I'm a pervert, I don't want artifacts, I want firearms; D. This is too troublesome, is there an easier job?]
"None of them seem serious!" Latis sighed, having given up hope on the simulator, and muttered to himself:
"Although option D seems the most reasonable and should allow the plot to proceed smoothly, but..."
He narrowed his eyes and said:
"Choose B, and try to get more information out of me."
"I am Emperor Powderwood," you said calmly, seeing the dwarf king's face turn pale. "...the great-grandson of the Superman Emperor."
"Are you perhaps toying with me?" the Dwarf King said in a deep voice, swinging his hammer. "I have a long-standing grudge against the Titan King. Why would you deliberately provoke me?"
"I really am a descendant of the Titans. It's okay, I wanted to beat him up too." You pulled a hammer from your pocket and swung it around like him, saying, "I'll give you a chance. Tell me what your story with him is, and I might consider punching him for you when I see him."
"...You've convinced me, lad." The dwarf king glanced at the antique hammer in your hand, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He regained his composure, pondered for a moment, and said:
"Let's not go into the past. There's no need for a little brat like you to know about the grudges of our elders... Anyway, after he completed the path to godhood, the path collapsed, causing those who came after him to spend over a decade lost in the starry sky before finding the boundary. After you beat him up, ask him what happened."
"The Path to Godhood?" You frowned. You'd heard this name before in the world of Terry, but you were surprised to find it here as well. So you asked, "What exactly is it?"
The dwarf king raised his head, gazed up at the thick ceiling, his eyes seemingly trying to pierce through the palace and reach the distant sky. After a long while, he came to his senses, sighed, and said:
"Your time has come. After all these years, I've finally found someone to talk to, so I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The path to godhood lies in that distant starry sky, a suspended belt of rock formations leading beyond the boundary."
As your increasingly shocked gaze grew, the Dwarf King smiled contemptuously and said, "Right now, on that so-called floating island."
You instinctively took a step back, muttering, "No, no... how could this be?!"
"Heh, young man, you're rather short-sighted, aren't you?" The Dwarf King chuckled, stroking his white beard, shaking his head, and sighed, "Unfortunately, our fate has run its course. Since you have no interest in helping me restore my kingdom, I'll simply wait for the next one. Anyway, I recently met a young boy who loves to travel; it seems the tribe has changed quite a bit by now. In any case, farewell, young Titan."
A minute later, he glanced at the tuft of beard he'd pulled off, finally breaking the enigmatic smile he'd been maintaining, and shouted at your innocent-looking face, "What are you still doing here?!"
"I don't know, maybe I drank a little too much," you said, your gaze drifting away.
"Alright." The Dwarf King pulled a comb from his pocket and began combing his beard, saying, "Then I'll just ramble on a bit more... Speaking of the floating islands, I don't actually know what they've become, but I imagine they still control the path to the boundary. Oh, but I guess they'd need to gain control of all the islands first..."
"I saw you take out a hammer just now, it looked familiar, but it's been so long I've almost forgotten..." The dwarf king put down his comb, rubbed some oil on his beard, and said uncertainly:
"It seems that when combined with some kind of dwarven martial art, it can activate some dwarven structures... never mind, it's been hundreds of years, I can't remember anymore..."
"What else... Oh right." He shook his head, rubbing his beard to let the essential oil seep in, and said, "Well, if you're free, you could consider going underground. There's something there..."
[Current spatiotemporal balance: 100. Your integrated strategy exploration has ended.]
[A flash of light appears before your eyes, and Jennifer, Gan Gan, and the dog suddenly appear. You stand up, surprised to find that you've found yourselves back at the entrance to the original mine tunnel.]
Seeing the two women and the dog looking equally bewildered, you scratched your head and asked them if they remembered what had just happened. After receiving an affirmative answer, you were greatly shocked by this roguelike mode. Could everything that had just happened have been orchestrated by the power of the Goddess's Water?
[No, you look at the bewildered dog and think that what just happened must have actually occurred, but because of things like restoring the balance of spacetime, the simulator covered up the traces. That's right, you guessed correctly! Here's a little red flower for you.]
[You thought for a moment, then briefly explained that it was all the work of omnipotent magic, and instructed your teammates to keep your experience a secret. You then entered the now-normalized mine and began mining.]
After mining several dozen kilograms of "attributeless mixed silver" ore, you pushed your minecart out of the mine. Looking at the darkening sky, you decided to return to your residence first and then make detailed plans for the next few days.
You successfully returned to Silverpath Town. At the town entrance, you saw Musk selling dried sweet potatoes. His expression changed upon seeing you, and he was about to ask if you'd forgotten to pay for his Demon Gathering Tower when he noticed the two lumps of poop from Dog in Gan Gan's bag.
Musk's eyes widened, and he instantly pounced on Gan Gan. Under her horrified gaze, he frantically snatched Shi from the bag, carefully squeezing it to confirm it was the material he wanted. Then, pressing Shi to his face, tears streaming down his face, he cried out:
“My precious! I’ve finally found you! I’ve been searching for you for so long…”
He held Shi Chong up to you, his eyes blazing with madness, and asked, "Where did you find this?! Are there any more? I'll give you money, I want them all!"
You couldn't help but take a step back in alarm. Only after making sure the liquid in his hand wouldn't touch you did you breathe a sigh of relief. You glanced at the grinning dog, your face serious, and stammered:
"There's still... but it might take a while..."
"No problem! That's good!" Musk put the item in his pocket, eagerly grabbed your hands, and shouted into your resolute eyes, "I will always be watching you, always waiting for you. You must never forget me, my ancestor!"
You forcefully pulled your hand back, remaining silent for a moment. Although reason told you that it wasn't stone, but minerals refined by Gouzi, emotionally you still couldn't accept that you were about to become a stone-moving king—no, a stone-selling king…
You hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately leaving dejectedly under Musk's eager gaze. For some reason, you had a feeling that although he was the one who got tricked, you were the one who suffered the loss...
[That night, you and your teammates had a nice meal out. It was then that Gan Gan realized you had fed her real stones. After a bout of impotent rage, she wrote in the Book of Hatred, "Latis tricked Gan Gan. I'm never pushing his butt again."]
You shook your head, finished your meal, and walked through the central market. Suddenly, you looked at the small hill directly opposite you and recalled what the caretaker had mentioned that morning about the "Listening Wind Terrace."
Chapter 159 The Overbearing Mage Actually Fell in Love with Me After Menopause
You glanced at your weary teammates, thought for a moment, and then headed to Listening Wind Terrace with only the Gold-Eating Dog.
For some reason, looking at the dog's goofy grin, you felt a little uneasy. After studying it for two minutes, it suddenly dawned on you, "Why does it look a bit like someone's smiling face?! No, I can't think about it too much..."
The two of you, one human and one dog, strolled up to the location of Listening Wind Terrace, as mentioned by the previous administrator. Strictly speaking, this is the very center of Silverway Town, but because it's situated on an upward-sloping hillside, the building density is much lower.
You turn around and see that the nighttime crowds are mainly concentrated in the relatively flat central market area, while the rest of the people are heading home in twos and threes to various corners of the town. The area where you are now is sparsely populated.
"It has to be said that people live differently in different environments..." You can't help but recall the densely populated city of Senhai Territory. Although various thick plant roots have penetrated the city, it hasn't affected people's living preferences in the slightest.
"But once you cross this hill and reach a slightly flatter area, you'll find people living there again..." You casually used your flight spell to take off and observe for a moment, then landed back on the ground, patting your dog's head. "Towns with such rugged terrain are indeed difficult to defend. It's hard to imagine how people in the past managed to withstand monster hordes..."
You stopped in front of a building that looked like a giant chimney rising out of nowhere and knocked on the door, which seemed out of place in terms of its overall design.
"Who is it?" An old woman peeked out from inside the door, squinted at you, and after scrutinizing you for a few seconds, said, "An illiterate person, what can I do for you?"
"Not a buddy?" You raised an eyebrow, unconvinced, and said, "How can you tell that I'm illiterate? I may not be a scholar with a vast knowledge, but I've at least read through three thousand classical texts. That's a lot of reading, so how can I be considered illiterate?"
"What kind of script?" The old woman frowned and said, "Then let me ask you, more than twenty years ago, which dwarven fortress still existed in this area? Which dwarven tribe were they descendants of? What different racial elements were mixed in the architectural style of the fortress? What was their best dish?"
"W-what?" You couldn't help but take a step back under the old lady's imposing presence, weakly retorting, "How, how would I know!"
The old lady chuckled and said, "Don't know? What are you doing here at the Listening Wind Pavilion, where historical records are stored? Illiterate people like you are like 'Dragon Horn Rock Wood,' pure impurities that can't react with knowledge at all."
You stared dumbfounded as the door slammed shut with a bang, exchanged a glance with the grinning dog, remained silent for a long time, and then angrily snapped, "What are you laughing at? Aren't you illiterate too?"
The gold-devouring dog's expression changed, it spat at you, and turned its bread-like rear end towards you, indicating that it was very angry.
As you watch its flapping tail, you suddenly realize something: the Gold-Eating Hound, being a dwarf's pet and a highly intelligent monster, might actually know the answers to these questions!
"Oh no, am I the one who's truly illiterate?" you muttered to yourself hesitantly, looking at the dog wagging its tail proudly. You scratched your head and led it back to the house, intending to ask your teammates.
"I don't know?" The dwarf Gan Gan, upon hearing your question, gave you an innocent smile and said, "My great-grandfather said that the more a dwarf knows, the more he feels he knows. I thought, if knowing more only makes you realize how little you know, then what's the point of learning? So I haven't learned anything!"
"...A genius?" You paused for a moment, glanced at Jennifer who looked equally bewildered, sighed, and dejectedly went back into the house.
[That night, you and Jennifer had a passionate discussion about magic formulas. When she learned that you had three thousand volumes of magic scripture in your mind, she was greatly shocked and begged you with admiration to write them down.]
You wondered how anyone could respect you for something like this, but then you remembered Jennifer's good friend nature and it all made sense. Back in college, didn't you secretly compare who had more study materials on their computer? You even remember spending a fortune on a 10+ terabyte external hard drive filled with course materials from various professors…
Suddenly, your beacon moved. You focused your consciousness on the beacon within your body and saw a letter from Teacher Yin. She wrote, "Little Ra, how was your first day in Silver Path Town? Is there anything I can help you with? Many students are away lately, so it's been quite relaxing."
You scratched your head, about to reply that everything was fine, when you suddenly paused, muttering, "Wait, Mr. Yin... isn't he my external hard drive?"
You quickly asked her some questions about dwarves, and after learning that she could answer them perfectly well, you immediately arranged for her to be your off-field helper the next day.
She asked you curiously why you were suddenly so eager to learn. You hesitated for a moment, then sincerely said, "Teacher, I don't want to be illiterate anymore!"
[Silver was taken aback and quickly comforted you, worried that your mental health might be affected as her student. After you explained the situation with some amusement, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Little La is already incredibly amazing! There's so much knowledge in this world; how can you possibly learn it all? As long as you have enough to live a good life, you're already the smartest child!"]
Looking at Ms. Yin's message, you sighed helplessly. In a daze, you felt her gentle voice echoing from the podium again. You couldn't help but complain to her, "Ms. Yin, I'm not a child anymore!"
[Silver Hugh hurriedly apologized to you. You scratched your head, very curious about where Silver's awkward yet easily bullied personality came from. After chatting for a few more minutes, you said goodnight to her. A few seconds later, you felt the beacon vibrate, paused, and then turned it back on.]
[The beacon contained a magical image: Silver Shul, dressed in thin pajamas, wore an adorable expression that seemed to crave praise, holding two enormous notebooks that rested against her youthful chest, creating a soft, rounded shape.]
"If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me anytime! I've dug out all my information!" Yin Xiu'er's letter brought a smile to your face. After praising her a few times, almost like coaxing a child, you disconnected the beacon link.
The next day, you and your teammates, who had gotten up early, went to the mine again. After learning that the overall harvest from the previous day hadn't been ideal, you scratched your head and began mining seriously with your teammates.
[This mining process did not trigger the integrated strategy support system. As you stuffed the impure ore into the mouth of the gold-devouring dog, you thought, "It seems that since I didn't intentionally enter a small instance, simply mining won't trigger the integrated strategy... After all, no one should be able to turn mining into a roguelike, right... a gold miner?"]
Eight hours later, you looked at the several new mine shafts you had cleared and nodded in satisfaction.
As a seasoned office worker, you know all too well the importance of the demographic dividend. Even if your small team could complete the mission, it would be far too strenuous. Therefore, you decide to drag the other miners into the mess, increasing their workload...
The miners, who had been slacking off in the upper mine shafts, arrived at your newly opened mine with long faces. You, having accomplished your task, quietly left the mine, concealing your identity. In the process of encouraging everyone to work together, you only made a small contribution... In short, it was all for the sake of protecting the town, so a little hardship was acceptable! The miners quickly accepted the change and worked even more diligently in order to significantly improve mining efficiency.
You crawled out of the mine, covered in dust and dirt, and grinned as you looked at the miners whose harvest was beginning to increase. Their white teeth gleamed beneath their blackened faces. Although you weren't entirely happy, seeing the harvest was still somewhat satisfying, but you couldn't show it, or people might think you were a masochist…