"I said, your house is very abnormal."
Luvia said:
"Which door is this? There are three doors in the basement. Room 2 on the second floor is the Secret Keeper's Hall. The corridor on the third floor is the Soul Cemetery. It's hard for me to imagine what will happen next."
"It's now a recognized fact that something is not normal here in Shade."
Yin Luna also said with a smile, and Xia De nodded without refutation.
In Luvia's dream about the Sixth Age of the Past, she with long hair and Mia with silver eyes were both in this house, and in that doomsday scene, No. 6 St. Teresa's Square still looked intact, which in itself said a lot.
Although he didn't know what this meant yet, whether this place was special in the first place or Luvia in the sixth era of the past chose this place, which made it special. But this did not prevent Shade from knowing that his house was indeed the best.
"Let's go down and take a look. I have obtained information about the Earth Core Furnace from the Heart of the Earth, and the Guardian has also shared knowledge. I think it will be very useful here."
Because it is a door that is placed using a ritual, in order to use it one must go through the three steps summarized by Shade, namely "spiritual runes", "spells" and "artifacts".
"Spells" and "Spirit Runes" were no problem. Because Shade had swallowed the essence of the earth, he could even open the door without Spirit Runes. "Artifacts" corresponded to the "Heart of the Earth." This did not refer to the complete Heart of the Earth, but any fragments would do.
The guardian said that the Heart of the Earth could no longer be divided. But when Shad put his hand on the handle of the trap door today, he clearly realized that his body could also be considered the "Heart of the Earth."
Without anyone's explanation, Xia De knew that this was still related to what he swallowed.
In short, he successfully opened the door:
"May the earth protect me as I stand here."
The trapdoor was opened, and cotton-like white mist was floating under the floor, but strangely it did not escape the range of the door, as if the door was restraining it. In the mist, it was impossible to see whether there were steps below, let alone whether there was ground below.
But Xia De knew there would be no danger here, so he jumped down first with the cat in one hand, followed closely by Yin Luna and Luvia.
The falling process was not very long. Xia De felt like he jumped from the second-floor window of the house into a pile of straw on the ground.
Outsider, you have entered the "Central Crucible".
After his feet touched the ground, Luvia and Yin Luna also stood firm beside him. The thick white mist that was diffused around him gradually dissipated.
The description of this place on the Heart of the Earth Pillar was "a scene very similar to the center of the earth", but what was finally presented to the three people was a dilapidated stone house surrounded by a small circle of ground magma.
It is not accurate to call it a stone house, because there is no wall facing the direction of Shade and the other two. Although this house, which is built with three walls and an arc-shaped roof, is very hazy in the fog, you can see that almost all of the building materials are black stones similar to the color of "Heart of the Earth".
Two heavy, unpolished stone pillars supported the roof with traces of joints and prevented it from collapsing. When I got closer to observe, I could see that it looked old and worn, yet it also had some ancient charm. Although it couldn't be compared with the magnificent "Secret Keeper's Hall" that looked like a palace, and the "Silver Moon Library" that seemed to be in the astral world under the moonlight, it was at least better than the "Time Corridor" that only had functional effects and didn't even exist, and the "Space Maze" that only had a few shabby road signs.
There is a huge stone furnace in the house that is connected to the magma outside. The structure of the furnace is quite simple and can be opened from the side and top.
"According to the information I have learned, any alchemical item with more than 50% metal and stone material can be strengthened here. Alternatively, any material and alchemical items with more than 50% metal and stone material can be put into the furnace and fused into a new item."
Xia De said that the functions here are so simple and direct:
"According to the guardian, the source of power here is the ancient gods and the earth. 'Smelting' is just a concept here. Its essence is to temper metals and stones with the power of the earth, allowing the earth to give them power. It can even be said that the power here originates from the power of the earth itself."
"Can relics be enhanced?"
Luvia asked curiously.
"You can, but it's better not to. The Guardian said that it's dangerous to do so. But for relic derivatives whose whispering elements are not very strong, it should be fine."
Xia De answered, Luvia nodded, and Yin Luna continued to ask curiously:
"So what's the price for using this place? I guess it's not something you can just use as you please, right?"
Any space left behind by the ancient gods has limitations, that’s for sure.
"What is consumed here is quite peculiar. It is not a specific substance, nor is it a special power. Instead, it is... experience."
It's hard to find the right words in Delarion:
"To put it simply, when we step on the earth, we will definitely be contaminated by the breath of the earth. The farther we go, the more places we visit, and the more things we experience on the land, the stronger the breath of the earth will be. And if we want to use this place, we will consume this thing."
"Travel across the earth?"
Luvia tilted her head and asked, while Yin Luna's statement was simpler:
"Number of steps?"
"Well... not exactly, but you can understand it this way."
Shade was taken aback by the simple and straightforward answer of the seventeen-year-old girl, but what she said was indeed very close.
He lifted the cat's butt in his arms again:
"An animal like Mia, who is very young, hardly goes out, and is unwilling to go out when she goes out, will probably never be able to use this place. But after all we've been through, it shouldn't be a problem to use it to strengthen some important items or try out new alchemical formulas."
No one will tell them how much "breath after traveling the earth" they each have, but "another me" can vaguely sense how many times each of them can use this place.
This is an experience shared by both the body and the soul, and the stranger's soul is less than a year old in this world. However, because he has experienced so much, the number of times he can use it is the most among the three:
"121 times."
"94 times, almost 95."
Yin Luna said.
"Only 48 times."
Luvia said with regret, but Shade guessed that this was her "other self" who hadn't judged her.
"That's really generous. I thought everyone only had two or three chances in their lifetime."
Yin Luna sighed, and then became eager to give it a try.
“Although we don’t quite understand the ancient gods’ intention in setting up these spaces, it is definitely not to embarrass us. We are still young and will accumulate more opportunities in the future.”
Shade said with a smile, using a metal rod standing beside him to open the lid above the furnace with great effort.
The sound of stone rubbing against stone was not very harsh. When the lid was moved aside, the fiery red light immediately illuminated the faces of the three people. The heat that hit them could even affect their souls:
"In addition to strengthening or fusing alchemical items, the earth can also temper our bodies and souls."
"Put your hand in the lava? Or just jump in?"
Yin Luna asked.
"It's not that scary. Just drink a small cup of magma. It won't consume the breath we picked up after traversing the earth, but there are consequences for doing so. First, there is a limit to the power of the earth that our souls and bodies can bear, so this kind of tempering is limited. Secondly, doing so will seriously affect the nature of the body and soul itself, making it lean towards the power of the earth."
"Pollution core spirit rune?"
Luvia frowned. This was something that all ring sorcerers tried to avoid.
"It can't be considered pollution, after all, it's not a harmful force. But it will definitely have a serious impact on one's own system. However, for a ring sorcerer like Miss Benannis who originally relies on the power of the 'earth' as her core, there is no need to worry about this problem."
As he spoke, three small clay chalices rose from the boiling magma of the furnace, each with wriggling lava in it:
"It's fine to drink a small amount. Although the improvement is small, the concept of 'foundation' contained in the earth can stabilize those disharmonious parts of the soul and body."
As he spoke, Xia De picked up the floating cup, tried to take a sip, and then threw it into the furnace angrily:
"Really? Just like Dark Dungeon, it doesn't work on me."
Luvia and Yin Luna were amused by his appearance, and they also drank a small cup. Yin Luna didn't feel anything about it, but the girl with purple eyes felt very good:
"My soul is getting hot. This feels better than taking a hot bath in the cold winter!"
The power of the "foundation" is repairing Luvia Annat's "other self".
"She" whispered a reminder in Shade's ear. Shade blinked and took off the witch detection badge from his neck.
"I want to try out the effects of strengthening alchemical items."
He said.
"Strengthen? Or do you want to add materials for smelting?"
Yin Luna asked curiously. Xia De thought about it and took out the mithril that Sister Defulin returned to him yesterday from his pocket.
"Try this one."
In fact, the "Philosopher's Stone" is a better smelting material, but Shade is reluctant to waste it here. As for the property of "showing the story of the Randall Valley" that this piece of mithril itself possesses, Sister Develyn said that as long as the mithril itself is not divided, changing its shape or adding it to other materials will not affect this property.
As for the badge itself, it now possesses the properties of "Detection Witch" and "Blessing of the Angel of Death", and Shad will be happy no matter how it is enhanced.
So the rope was untied, and then the round emblem and the mithril were thrown into the furnace by Shad.