Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Sutton Joins, a Parting Commission

Hearing Sutton, Jon reined in his wandering thoughts and nodded dutifully.

"I’m listening, sir."

"Mm."

The old Dwarf stroked his beard, then picked up an ore crystal from a nearby table, holding it in his palm as he let out a long sigh.

"Lad, my life’s ambition is to research and develop a metal that can rival those made by the gods."

’Just as I thought,’ Jon mused, but he played along anyway.

"A metal that can rival those made by the gods?"

"Yes, I want to forge the strongest, most wondrous metal of all! One that can even surpass the Divine Artifacts forged by the Deities!"

"For a mortal to try and peer into the realm of the gods... it sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?"

At this, Sutton couldn’t help but laugh at himself, but his smile held a hint of fearlessness and calm acceptance.

"But I’ve made it my life’s dream, one I’m willing to spend my entire existence fighting for."

"Perhaps it all started because my father lost a forging competition against other Dwarf Clans and never stopped muttering about how his metal formulas weren’t good enough."

"Of course, that was just the beginning. The old man’s been dead for nearly a hundred years now."

Jon was taken aback. ’Only a long-lived race like the Dwarves could be so casual about life and death,’ he thought.

But Sutton continued his story without pause, as if he’d just mentioned something trivial.

"I still persist in this endeavor because I’ve discovered it’s a path with no end in sight, yet one that’s filled with joy."

"You’re still young, so you might not understand it now, but you should know what a blissful thing it is to be able to do what you love and always feel like you’re making progress."

"And these ores you brought back... they..."

The old Dwarf pointed to the rough ores on the table, which were coated in golden crystals. His face was a mask of an indescribably complex emotion—part joy, part apprehension at being so close to his goal.

"They contain a trace of the Power of an Ancient God."

"Although this Power is exceedingly faint, with these ores, I might be able to glimpse the realm of the Deities—to see just how far I am from my goal."

"So, thank you, Jon, for giving me this opportunity."

With that, he bowed again, completing the gesture of respect he had been unable to finish earlier.

This time, Jon didn’t shy away, accepting Sutton’s gratitude frankly.

Dwarves were always straightforward, and such a serious matter concerning a lifelong goal was certainly no joking affair.

For a moment, the only sounds in the Blacksmith Shop were the roar of the forge fire and the Silence between the old man and the young man standing opposite each other.

It was, one had to admit, a scene with a powerful sense of destiny.

The old Dwarf had extended a helping hand when Jon was at his lowest, and in return, Jon had brought him the opportunity to realize his dream.

Was this not a form of karma?

After a moment, Jon took the initiative and broke the silence.

"Sir, what are you going to do next? Try to use these ores to smelt a whole new metal?"

As he spoke, he picked up one of the ore crystals from the table and weighed it in his hand.

"Ore that contains the Power of an Ancient God must be difficult to work with."

"You’re right about that. That’s why I’ll use my treasured collection of ore samples to run many small-scale experiments, in hopes of achieving the best possible result."

Sutton stroked his beard, pondering for a moment.

"This will probably take a lot of time..."

Jon blinked, set down the ore crystal, and a smile touched the corners of his lips.

"Then, how about coming with me to Birch Town?

"To Birch Town?"

"Mm, I told you before, didn’t I? I’m going to build a huge Workshop for you, sir. I have a bit of a foundation in Birch Town now, so we can start getting ready, can’t we?"

"Besides, it’s more convenient in Birch Town for acquiring ore and other auxiliary materials needed for smelting. That would be more conducive to your research, right?"

The old Dwarf immediately understood the implication in Jon’s words.

"So, you don’t plan on ever coming back here?"

"Of course. I don’t like them, and I don’t want to come back."

The smile on Jon’s face didn’t falter, but his words were utterly devoid of warmth.

"There’s nothing in this village for me to miss."

Sutton gave the boy he had watched grow up a long, deep look and sighed helplessly.

How could he not know how the villagers’ ostracism over the past year had broken the boy’s heart?

Now that Jon had the power to leave, it was only natural that he would want to get as far away as possible.

And indeed, it was time for him to make a move himself.

Nearly twenty years had passed since he’d settled in this village—the closest one to Shery Mountain—commissioning Adventurers to collect ore samples for him from the peaks.

During that time, although he had obtained many rare ore smelting formulas, he had made no substantive progress on the Forging of a "divine metal."

And yet, Jon had just taken one trip to an Abandoned Mine and brought him back ore containing the Power of an Ancient God.

Wasn’t this a sign?

Besides, the boy hadn’t just obtained relics of an Ancient God; he could even sense the Ancient God’s presence. That wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Although he, Sutton, wasn’t one of those Priests from the clans with all their mystical chatter, he still knew what this meant—

’This boy might truly be one favored by the gods...’

’To stay by his side and protect him... that is also the duty of us Dwarves...’

These thoughts spun through the old Dwarf’s mind, but he didn’t voice them. Instead, he nodded at Jon and spoke decisively.

"Fine. If you don’t want to come back, then I’ll go with you."

"It’s a good opportunity to continue teaching you to be a proper blacksmith. As long as you’re willing to learn, I’ll teach you everything I know!"

"Really!"

Now it was Jon’s turn to be surprised.

He had only intended to take this opportunity to try inviting Sutton; he hadn’t actually expected to succeed.

He never thought the old Dwarf would agree so readily!

Seeing the look of pure delight on Jon’s face, Sutton snorted.

"I, Old Sutton, never make empty boasts. We’ll just have to see how much you can learn, lad!"

"Heh heh, in that case, I definitely won’t rest until I’ve learned every skill you possess!"

After speaking, Jon got up and went to grab a packing crate, earning a bewildered look from the old Dwarf.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you pack! Let’s not wait until tomorrow. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get settled!"

"Put that down!"

Sutton swatted at Jon irritably, stopping his rash behavior.

"Do you have any idea what I need to take with me? And you’re just going to start packing? Get outside and wait!"

"Alright..."

The young man held up his hands in a gesture of innocence and sauntered over to the Blacksmith Shop’s entrance. Watching the snow fall thick and fast, he began to think about his plans for developing his future power base.

’With Sutton joining me, my own faction will be able to get on track much faster...’

’Exquisite gear forged by a Master Dwarf Blacksmith carries a lot of weight. I don’t need much; just one or two pieces will be enough to crack open the high-end market...’

’And then there are the other flagship products I’m planning...’

Just as he was thinking this, Big Mimi, at the bottom of the steps, let out a low, warning growl that broke his train of thought.

Following its gaze, Jon saw a sallow-faced man walking stiffly out of the swirling snow, his movements like a wooden puppet.

When he saw Jon looking at him, a smile uglier than a grimace of tears spread across his face.

"Jon... there’s something I’d like to discuss with you..."

Jon watched him expressionlessly, nodding only after a moment of Silence.

"Fine. Come on up and talk."

As if granted a pardon, Basque darted past Big Mimi and up the steps with more speed than he’d ever shown in his life. He began rubbing his hands together, looking at Jon with an ingratiating smile.

"It’s like this..."

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