As the discussion deepened, everyone's voices gradually grew quieter.
A problem that had plagued countless scholars for over ten thousand years wasn't something they could reach a conclusion on through a whim-driven conversation.
Starlight looked back at the volcanic smoke and clouds that were gradually swallowing the entire sky, letting out a soft sigh. “Regardless, we have too little information right now. Let's head back to Cinder City first.”
The journey that followed was exceptionally quiet, as everyone was immersed in their own thoughts.
To speed up their travel, Starlight followed Maela’s example and fashioned a sled out of ice. He and Moen took turns providing the motive power.
Three days later, the group arrived back at the entrance where they had first started. Even though they had traveled at their fastest possible speed, they had still missed Stark’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
Outside the gates of Cinder City, the celebratory banners were still fluttering in the wind, but the reveling crowds had long since dispersed.
Due to the complete awakening of Ignium’s Crown, the catastrophic eruption had triggered terrifying chain reactions within a radius of several hundred miles.
The ash clouds that blotted out the sun were like a curtain of death, covering the entire Northlands within three days. Fine volcanic ash fell continuously like black snowflakes, accumulating into a thick grey layer on the mountains.
Fortunately, Cinder City was built inside the mountainside and was largely unaffected by the falling ash. However, the seismic waves accompanying the eruption still impacted the area, dealing another significant blow to the city, which was already in the process of being repaired.
Consequently, the festival that should have been incredibly lively had to be cut short. The dwarves once again entered a state of total mobilization for city reconstruction.
In the days that followed, the four of them joined the repair efforts in Cinder City, each using their unique abilities to offer what little help they could to the dwarves.
Starlight used his magic to repair the damaged parts of the city. Po Kong relied on his staggering strength to assist in moving heavy construction materials, proving himself even more powerful than many machines. Xia Duo moved through the city, delivering various messages for the dwarves. Moen’s magic, however, was the most impressive; the special vines she grew were not only incredibly tough but could also absorb the volcanic ash from the air...
During this time, they naturally didn't forget to visit Stark and Maela.
By now, Stark had successfully modified several autonomous machines, which worked tirelessly day and night in various parts of the city that needed rebuilding. He himself had plunged back into his workshop, continuing his research into the mysteries of the Stone of Creation.
To facilitate his research, Stark had specifically requested that Starlight leave Noah with him—not only for experimental comparisons but also because Noah’s unique nature sparked a constant stream of inspiration, making him eager to test one novel idea after another.
As for Maela, she was perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the trip to the Northlands. Already the personal disciple of a deceased dwarven magic master, she had also received the inheritance of Jörð, the Goddess of the Earth. Her progress could only be described as moving at leaps and bounds.
To digest the vast amount of knowledge surging from her elemental mark, she had immediately entered a state of seclusion upon returning to Cinder City, only appearing before the group on very rare occasions.
Every time he saw Maela, Starlight was amazed by her progress.
It was no exaggeration to say that in terms of earth magic alone, his companion had already left him—a Radiant Elemental Body—far behind in the dust.
One day, when Starlight came to deliver lunch to Stark as usual, he happened to run into Maela, who had just emerged from seclusion.
The mana swirling around her had become increasingly pure and dense. Every gesture she made carried the steadiness and majesty of the earth, as if she had reached a perfect resonance with the element.
“Yo! Starlight! Here to deliver food to that nerd again?” Maela called out from a distance, waving with great energy.
Starlight smiled and shook the food container in his hand. “Yeah, someone has to keep an eye on him, or the guy will forget to eat and sleep again.”
He looked Maela up and down. “It seems your seclusion went well? You look completely refreshed.”
“Of course!” Maela puffed out her chest proudly, sparks of excitement dancing in her eyes. “If I faced my old self now, I could take on ten at once!”
With that, she delivered a kick, and the door to Stark’s workshop flew open with a loud bang.
Inside, Stark was hunched over, fully focused on tuning a strangely shaped instrument, oblivious to the strands of hair stuck to his face by sweat.
Noah was laid out flat on a nearby experimental workbench, his pages covered in a dense network of colorful wires, making him look like a prisoner bound hand and foot.
Stark didn't even look up at their arrival; he merely let out a soft grunt to acknowledge them.
Noah, however, immediately shouted like he had found a savior, “Little Star! You finally came! How much longer is this guy going to torture me?!”
The shout caused the wires on the pages to quiver. Stark instantly rushed to the workbench and pressed down on the shaking pages. “Senior, don't get excited! It’s almost ready, really!”
“Liar!” Noah protested. “That’s what you said five days ago! Can’t you come up with a fresher excuse?”
“Truly! This time it’s for real! If you keep moving, there will be an electrical leak!”
“Leak? You said that last time too—” Before Noah could finish, a blinding blue light suddenly burst from between the pages.
“Oh no!” Stark’s pupils shrank. Before he could let go, the current surged up through the wires.
Crackle—!
“Aaaaagh—!”
His hair instantly stood on end, and his entire body began to twitch violently as if struck by lightning, yet his fingers were stuck to the wires and wouldn't come off. Maela and Starlight watched as he shook frantically in the electric light, looking like he was performing some bizarre dance.
Thud!
Three seconds later, the blue current finally vanished. Stark collapsed straight onto the floor, a wisp of smoke rising from his mouth and a look of terror frozen on his face.
Maela fell silent for two seconds before squatting down to poke his face. “...Are you still alive?”
Stark’s eyelids flickered. He raised a charred finger and whispered, “...Ex... perimental... data... record...”
Starlight couldn't help but palm his forehead. “You’re still thinking about experimental data at a time like this? Do you want me to get Moen to check on you?”
“N-No need...” Stark coughed as he propped up his upper body, using the back of an oil-stained hand to wipe the scorch marks from his face. “A dwarf’s constitution... cough... this little injury is nothing.”
With that, he grinned, revealing a row of snowy white teeth on his blackened face.
Looking at this unrepentant inventor, Starlight felt both annoyed and amused. “If it weren't for the sturdy physique of a dwarf, you would have died eight hundred times over by now. I’m really curious how you’ve lived this long!”
He was long since used to scenes like this. The first few times had indeed terrified everyone, but Stark always bounced back every time, so over time, they had all grown accustomed to it.
Noah closed his pages guiltily. “...Hey, this isn't my fault! He’s the one who messed with it!”
“It’s perfectly fine!” Stark sprang to his feet and lunged back toward the workbench with glowing eyes. “Senior, let’s just try one more time!”
“What?! Again?!” Noah’s spine stiffened, and he snapped his pages shut like a startled clam.
Watching the man and the book get into another scuffle, Starlight could only shake his head with a wry smile. After all, he had personally agreed to assist with the research, and Noah had participated voluntarily, so it was difficult for him to intervene now.
Just then, Maela, who had been standing to the side, suddenly looked up with a glimmer of eagerness in her eyes. “Starlight, when does that Magic Grand Arena you guys mentioned start? Can I sign up for it?”
The question gave Starlight a slight pause. Although he was a first-time participant himself, as far as he knew, there were indeed no racial restrictions on the competition. However, throughout its long history, very few non-human contestants had ever participated.
After all, for long-lived races like elves and dwarves who could live for hundreds or even thousands of years, the age limit of “under twenty-five” was simply too restrictive.
...
Rate on N.U.
