However, Starlight didn’t focus on what Po Kong was looking at. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Maela.
“Excuse me, Miss Maela Copperboot, what was that magic you used underground just now? Why did it feel completely different from my impression of it?”
Maela clearly hadn’t expected Starlight to ask this out of the blue, but after a moment of hesitation, she spoke up. “My mana affinity is for the earth element, but the earth elements converted through my body undergo varying degrees of mutation, like this.”
As she spoke, Maela reached out her hand. As the mana within her began to gather, a crystal the size of a fist slowly took shape in her palm.
Looking at the crystal appearing in Maela’s hand, Starlight couldn’t help but be stunned.
Possessing an affinity for all basic elements, he could naturally see the flow of mana within Maela. Following the same method she used, Starlight also began to condense his mana.
However, what appeared in Starlight’s hand was a grey stone. Furthermore, as soon as he stopped the infusion of mana, it reverted back into elemental power, while the crystal in Maela’s hand continued to sparkle with light.
“Hmm? It’s not a fusion of elements... but a mutation?” Starlight stared at the crystal in Maela’s hand. “That is a very rare constitution.”
Starlight sighed inwardly. If Noah were awake right now, he would certainly be intensely interested in such a peculiar mana mutation phenomenon.
Maela looked a bit embarrassed and put the crystal away, her voice losing its previous pride. “This crystal just lasts a bit longer than regular rock, and it’s a bit prettier, that’s all.”
“Moreover, due to the special structure of the crystal, I can’t synthesize large amounts of rock elements at once like a normal mage. I can’t help with mining or construction... so the old fogies in the clan think it’s just a useless showpiece.”
She curled her lip, her tone laced with clear helplessness.
“That’s not true! Your ability is very useful, Maela! According to my analysis, the crystals you construct have a much higher mana conductivity than ordinary minerals—even 27.5% higher than Mithril! The anti-magic attenuation coefficient reaches level 3.8! If this could be applied to magic circuits—”
Stark suddenly spoke up with excitement, a barrage of technical terms popping out of his mouth like rapid-fire, making everyone’s heads spin.
While they didn’t quite understand the significance of the data Stark was spouting, Starlight agreed with one thing.
That was that Maela’s mutated mana was not as worthless as she claimed. On the contrary, in certain specific fields, this unique crystallization trait might create miracles that ordinary earth magic could never achieve.
“Ahem, you guys can discuss this slowly. I’m not interested, so I’m going back to catch up on some sleep. Considering you’ve discovered a new crystal mine for this King, I won’t hold anything against you.”
Yserazor was clearly uninterested in the topic. After letting out a yawn, he departed.
With Yserazor’s departure, the atmosphere in the cavern immediately lightened significantly.
Starlight clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention back to the main topic. “Since we decided earlier to head to the North, we need to plan our route properly.”
Po Kong slapped his thigh and then looked at the two dwarves with a grin. “That’s right! Aren’t these two perfect guides!”
The four of them immediately fixed their gazes on Maela and Stark, but to their surprise, the two dwarves refused instantly, their heads shaking like rattles.
“No, no! We can’t take outsiders to Cinder City right now. Elves are fine... but it would be far too sensitive for you two humans to go!” Stark adjusted his goggles and spoke in a low voice.
“Why?” Moen asked curiously.
Maela took a deep breath and explained, “You don’t understand. Before we left, the Dragon Race seemed to be frantically searching for something, and they hinted that it might be related to humans. It caused quite a stir in Cinder City.”
“Also, the volcanoes near Cinder City underwent some kind of anomaly four months ago. People are on edge now, and many clansmen suspect it’s the work of outsiders. Humans are the primary suspects.”
As Stark spoke, he flipped through his notebook again and handed over his previous records.
Silence fell over the cavern for a moment.
“Being human will be an issue? I remember the old man had quite good relations with you guys. It hasn’t been that many years!” Po Kong scratched his head in confusion.
“The old man? Who are you talking about?” Maela raised her head warily and looked at him.
“Oh... sorry, I might have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Po Kong-Mars. The old man I’m referring to is Cang Lan-Mars, the current War God Grand Duke of the human kingdom. You should have heard of him, right?”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?!” Stark’s eyes immediately widened. “Hey, Maela... if it’s a member of the House of Mars, it shouldn’t be a problem to bring them back, right?”
“Shut up!” Maela elbowed Stark in the ribs and glared at him. “You believe him just because he said it? How do you prove your identity?”
Po Kong calmly removed the cracked bracelet from his wrist and handed it over. Since it had been damaged during the battle with Ming Ye, it had lost its transformation ability and was now just a decoration.
Upon seeing the damaged bracelet, Stark immediately pulled a magnifying glass from his bag and began to study it intently.
Stark pointed the lens at the inner side of the bracelet, checking it inch by inch.
When the light hit a specific angle, an exquisite dwarven rune mark could be seen faintly on the metal surface.
“It is indeed a product of our family.” Stark carefully returned the bracelet, a trace of regret in his eyes. “But the damage is too severe. With this level of injury... I’m afraid it will be very difficult to repair.”
Po Kong took the bracelet back and shook his wrist nonchalantly. “Doesn’t matter. I can’t use it right now anyway. I’ll just keep it as a memento.”
“Hmm... if he’s a member of the House of Mars, those old-timers shouldn’t have anything to say...” After confirming Po Kong’s identity, Maela whispered to herself.
“Wait, Po Kong, what exactly has your family done? Why do I feel like you’re welcomed everywhere?” Seeing that Maela no longer had any objections, Xia Duo arched an eyebrow.
“I didn’t really do anything... right? I’ve never served in the army, so I’m not really sure myself.” Po Kong spread his hands, indicating his own ignorance.
“The War God Grand Duke helped us resolve several crises that could have wiped out our race, so he has always been the most honored guest of the dwarves. Currently, many products of our Iron-Heart family are custom-made directly under his commission, which has given us a lot of business.” Stark took over the conversation and explained on Po Kong’s behalf.
“Anyway, the House of Mars has helped us a lot~ Alright, I can make the decision to take you back to Cinder City. When do you plan to set off?” After some internal struggle, Maela finally came around.
“As soon as possible, if we can. After all, we’re not just going to Cinder City; we need to head to the volcanoes in the North as well,” Starlight replied.
“Fine. If I’m not mistaken, it’s still snowing heavily outside. It should be fine if you follow us through the underground tunnels back, right?”
“We aren’t that fat old dragon Yserazor. Walking through a tunnel shouldn’t be a problem,” Po Kong grinned.
“Then it’s settled!” Maela said decisively. “We set off first thing tomorrow morning.”
She turned to glare at Stark again. “We need to make the most of our time to find materials along the way, otherwise someone’s coming-of-age ceremony is really going to fall through.”
Moen nodded gently. “We will all help search. Both Starlight’s and my elemental sensing will be useful.”
...
After briefly confirming tomorrow’s itinerary, they arranged accommodations for Maela and Stark. Yserazor’s cave was massive, so having two extra dwarves made no difference at all.
Starlight and the others also busied themselves with packing their things. According to Maela, they would likely be living in underground tunnels for the next ten or so days.
Rate on N.U.
