Chapter 360: Boron

After eating, Cain joined the merchants on their way into the city. They were a wealth of knowledge about the area and happy to share what they knew with a fellow Dwarf looking to make a fresh start.

Supposedly this city, known as Boron, was a crossroad within the Iron Empire. Roads lead out in six different directions, mostly headed even deeper into the mountains, and the bridges around the city could all be raised should the need to defend against attack arise.

Like Graska, the town takes up the whole mountain and is carved on multiple levels, with the vast majority of its structure being inside the rock, but this city is lighted by strategically placed holes and an array of mirrors.

That should make it a fair bit brighter than Graska during the day, and then they will only need to rely on firelight to see in the evenings. 

The merchants suggest that Cain take the entry examination written they arrive, since the city is very merit-based. It is a ranking system the dwarves use to place themselves in society, allowing him to buy what he needs more efficiently and for a better price if he can prove he has skills that are of great benefit to the Empire. 

That doesn't surprise Cain; the dwarves have always valued skill above almost everything else, so he agrees to take the test. 

"There's only one small problem; I left home because the mine was played out. I have a lot of nothing with me to prove my skills." Cain says with a frown.

"They will lend you materials in exchange for the item you make. Of course, if you fail they will throw you in the debtor's prison. But you are a Deep Dwarf; surely you can make something worth more than raw ore."

That makes the whole group laugh. Nobody would respect a Dwarf who couldn't improve the value of raw ore after all. Even successfully smelting it would be enough to keep you out of jail, though you might be laughed out of town if you weren't a cripple or a child and had nothing better to offer. 

"Hey Red, we have a traveler for the tests. A Deep Dwarf is looking for a new mine out by Hygar. He needs some supplies for the journey."

The guard, Red, is enormous for a Dwarf with hair as red as his name and runic tattoos all over his body. Dimnys recognizes them as fortifying runes used in the forge, but she has never seen them on a person before. 

"I will put up materials for you. What do you need?" Red asks Cain, who is busy consulting with Dimnys. 

"If you have Frost Iron, silver, Shadow Iron, and an ax handle, I reckon I can get something done," Cain answers, having come up with the easiest to make master-level recipe Dimnys knows. 

Cain knows he will have to improvise a little since the recipe needs more heat than a non magical force can produce, but with the Greater Fire Elemental merged, that should be a problem he can overcome. 

"As long as you know what you're doing." Red says dubiously, bringing back the eclectic bits of material and leading the way to a forge. 

The challenge draws a large crowd, eager to see what the newcomer can manage with those hard-to-manage materials but well aware of the reputation of Deep Dwarves, who even their own Kin rarely see. The species prefers to spend their entire life in the deepest mines, surrounded by the warmth and weight of the rocks. 

Cain heats the forge up to the necessary temperature using the Fire Elemental's temperature control skill, bringing impressed murmurs from the crowd, and begins heating the Shadow Iron. Once it is liquefied, Cain adds the silver and gives a stir. The last bit is the hard part, getting the Frost Iron to melt and fully Alloy before it solidifies again due to its frosty nature. 

Fortunately, Dimnys has done this hundreds of times, and Cain manages to follow her directions to what he hopes is perfection, smashing the rapidly cooling alloy lump into a beautiful ax head with the help of [Earth Shaping].

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Cain gives a brief thanks for no mana cost species skills and then begins the process of adding runes to the two pieces of the [Giant Slayer Ax]. Once finished, Cain drives the handle home, and the runes activate and begin drawing their own mana to meld the magical item into a single nearly indestructible piece.

[70 points, barely passable.] The clone of his friend mumbles in his mind, making Cain smile as he turns it over to Red. 

"There you go. A new ax for you." Cain says proudly. 

The crowd is in shock, and it takes Cain a moment to realize why. He's level 290. Therefore, so is the weapon. The Giant Slayer Ax adds a tremendous amount of strength and vitality, as well as extra Frost damage against creatures twice your size or larger. 

Cain didn't do well enough for it to come out Legendary, but even at Epic, it is quite the item. 

"If you don't say a thing, I'll start thinking you don't like it." Cain teases, and Red finally breaks from his stupor. 

"Bloody amazing work. An ax like this could drop an Ogre in a single slice." The Dwarf declares, and the crowd begins demanding to get a better look at it.

This is how they decide the quality of the work, by consensus. The ax is placed back on the anvil, and the crowd gathers close around it, careful not to touch the head and get Frostbitten. 

They note that Cain's runic script isn't as precise as it should be and that the ax head isn't perfectly smooth with some indentations where he had to hurry to get it formed before the Alloy set. They ruthlessly scrutinize every millimeter of the finished product and pass their judgement.

"72 Points, barely passable as the work of a Master Smith."

[Ha, they gave me 72 points.] Cain teases the Dwarf merged in his mind. 

[Don't tell the real me. She would never forgive you for doing so poorly even with her guidance.]

They are much more welcoming and enthusiastic about helping now that the inspection has been competed. Having been recognized as a Master Smith makes finding the things he will need for a journey much easier on Cain.

The prices are lower on everything, but they are also willing to provide many more details about the area in question when Cain says he is following rumors of a good mine hidden at the ancient Hygar ruins.

They know exactly where the ruins are, but they say there's nothing left of value. The Ancient mines that remain intact have all been searched for even a hint of promise and gave been found totally lacking in any signs of wealth. 

If he wants to search for a mine site there, he is welcome to it since they didn't find anything worth mining, but they warm that it will likely be a waste of time and suggest a few abandoned mines further out in the region. They weren't played out, but various circumstances led to no Dwarf having a current claim to them. 

Normally, other mountain dwarves world take their word for it, so they don't appear to be insulting their elders, but with elemental heritage, Deep Dwarves have a talent for finding hidden ore veins that others may have overlooked. 

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