Starlight practically bolted from the hall. A gust of night wind hit him head-on, but it failed to dissipate the burning heat on his face.
He leaned against a pillar carved from black rock and took several deep breaths. The cool sensation from his fingertips helped him calm down slightly.
“Seriously... what exactly am I afraid of? I’m hopeless!” he muttered under his breath, unsure if he was angry at his own loss of composure or something else.
“I should probably learn a thing or two from Po Kong later. Maybe being thick-skinned enough is the best way to go?”
In truth, Starlight didn't even know what he was running from. Perhaps it was a lack of confidence in the future? Or maybe the frustration caused by Noah’s deep sleep? Or was it simply pure shyness?
He stood outside the hall for quite a while before recovering. By the time he intended to head back, people had already begun trickling out of the banquet.
The feast had already lasted for a considerable amount of time, and with Cinder City in need of repairs and reconstruction, the timing was about right.
Starlight hadn't taken more than two steps when he ran straight into his companions.
By now, Po Kong was completely wasted. No matter how high his alcohol tolerance was, it was no match for these dwarves who lived for drink and possessed an absurdly high resistance to it.
He was draped entirely over Xia Duo’s shoulder, drunkenly waving a flask he had managed to swipe from somewhere.
“Eh... it’s Little Star... Come~ let’s have a drink too!”
“Honestly, I keep telling you—can’t you be more steady? Why did you drink so much?” Xia Duo shook her head helplessly as she watched the rambling Po Kong.
Stark was cradling a food container, clearly packed with a meal for Maela. Moen was the last to emerge, her expression as calm as ever, though a faint, lingering smile seemed to play at the corners of her lips.
“You guys probably don't have a place to stay yet, right? Come back to my laboratory for now. Maela should be finished by this time; we agreed to meet there,” Stark said.
“Sure, let’s go.” Starlight and the others had no objections. After a long, exhausting day, they needed a place to rest.
It wasn't long before the group returned to Stark’s laboratory. Just as he had predicted, Maela was already waiting inside.
“Ah! You bookworms finally made it! I’m about to die of hunger!”
Upon seeing them return, Maela immediately rushed forward. Without the slightest bit of politeness, she snatched the food container from Stark’s hands and sat down to eat.
“Hey, hey... slow down...!” Stark started to say, only to be silenced by a fierce glare from Maela.
“Hmph~ Mind your own business! I’ve been busy outside all day and still missed the banquet. What’s wrong with me complaining a bit!?”
Maela puffed out her cheeks and stabbed her fork into the roast meat, though she unconsciously slowed her chewing.
On the other side, Xia Duo and Starlight worked together to settle the drunken Po Kong onto a temporary bed. When Maela saw Starlight pull a carved four-poster bed out of his storage space, her fork dropped to the floor in shock.
“!?? Starlight, what are you thinking? Using storage space for furniture?? Isn't that a huge waste?”
“My situation is a bit special. My storage space is quite large, so I’ve stuffed a lot of daily necessities inside,” Starlight replied with a smile.
Was she kidding? Even if he threw everything he owned into his storage space now, it wouldn't even take up a thousandth of the room. Telling them the truth would probably scare them to death.
“Oh~ that’s actually great. Maybe you should come mine with us. You could bring back a massive amount of raw stones in just one trip—think of how much work that would save!”
Maela clearly didn't realize what Starlight meant by “quite large.” She simply nodded thoughtfully, talking as she ate.
“Haha... as for mining, I think I’ll pass...” Starlight gave a dry laugh, not pursuing the topic. He saw Stark beckoning him from the workbench.
“You finish your dinner. I’m going over to discuss things with him.”
When Starlight reached the workbench, he found that Stark had already removed his pendant and clamped it with a pair of plier-like tools.
“Regarding my plan, let me explain the principle first...” Stark didn't waste any time and immediately began talking non-stop.
Starlight felt a bit lost in the technical jargon, but he managed to grasp the general idea.
Stark intended to use the existing machinery to try and trigger another resonance between Noah and the pendant. By analyzing the frequency of that resonance, he could determine their energy wavelengths and then find a way to reactivate the internal energy.
“I can only give you a general direction. I’m not sure exactly how long it will take to fix him... Starlight, you might need to stay here for a while.”
Starlight nodded, unfastened Noah from his waist, and placed him in front of Stark.
Nearly a day had passed, and Noah’s condition hadn't changed in the slightest, so he had no other options.
Faced with Starlight’s unconditional trust, the eyes behind Stark’s wind goggles suddenly lit up with a flame-like glow. He immediately entered that state of intense focus and began tinkering with the instruments in his hands.
“Once this guy gets into the zone, he won’t stop for a day and a night.” Seeing that Stark had no intention of stopping, Maela had no choice but to lead Starlight and Moen to a small cabin at the back of the laboratory to settle in. “Follow me. The guest rooms are this way.”
Fortunately, as a direct descendant of the Iron-Heart family, Stark’s residence was quite large despite his mediocre cultivation. Starlight and his three companions settled in comfortably.
...
Over the next few days, the lives of the four companions were unexpectedly leisurely.
Po Kong spent his days sparring with the dwarven warriors, Xia Duo was invited to give archery instruction, and Moen assisted in treating the residents injured during the disaster.
Only Starlight often lingered outside the laboratory, hoping for news from Stark. To his surprise, the dwarf hadn't stepped foot out of the lab even once.
If it weren't for the brief glimpses he got when delivering food every day, Starlight would have suspected he had fainted at the workbench.
Compared to Stark’s obsession, the rest of them felt a bit like loafers.
Of course, during this time, a small interlude occurred.
They hadn't forgotten their reason for coming to Cinder City: to have gear forged for themselves.
Initially, when the four of them found the Iron-Heart Patriarch—who was in charge of forging—and explained their intent, the usually hearty dwarven leader showed a rare look of hesitation.
It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, but rather that the entire dwarven race was currently focused on the city’s recovery. Combined with the backlog of previous orders, any weapons forged for them would have to wait two years.
However, this problem was instantly resolved the moment Starlight pulled out the materials given to him by the Rift Dragon King from his storage space.
The Iron-Heart Patriarch’s eyes lit up at the sight of the pile of dragon scales and horns; he practically started drooling.
“This... this is! Scales and horns of the Dragon King-level! These are materials any dwarf would dream of! Tsk tsk~ look at these patterns... this energy density... Lad from the House of Mars, you absolutely must give this job to me! Even if I don't sleep, I’ll get them made...”
Before the Iron-Heart Patriarch could even recover from his shock, he saw Starlight pull out the massive dragon crystal left behind by Cantia from his storage space.
The three-meter-long spindle-shaped dragon crystal instantly erupted with a brilliant radiance, illuminating the entire wall as if a galaxy were pouring down. The seven-colored light sealed within the crystal rotated slowly, pulsing as if it were alive.
“!!!!”
This time, the Iron-Heart Patriarch’s expression froze on his face. The well-traveled dwarven master was now like someone hit by an immobilization spell, his mouth opening and closing without a sound.
His gaze darted back and forth between the dragon crystal and Starlight. Finally, he suddenly lunged forward and gripped Starlight’s wrist with a death grip.
“Lad! Tell me the truth... did you guys go and raid the Dragon Valley’s treasury!?”
Rate on N.U.
