I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

Lis had spent some time with his dwarven teammate, Lunbos, and was quite familiar with the dwarves' habits.

Under the cover of transformation magic and the Legendary Secret Treasure "Transformer's Mask," even the Dwarf King wouldn't see through Lis's disguise.

He just needed to be careful not to expose himself in front of the bishop priest at the Dwarf Temple.

Although the Dwarf God was also a member of the Pantheon of Order, what Lis was planning was to forcibly enter the Holy Land of the Dwarf Kingdom and steal the Holy Artifact of the Dwarf Clan.

It would be best not to be discovered by the dwarves.

Upon arriving at Lonely Mountain City, Lis did not rush to his planned destination but instead wandered around the city first.

Lonely Mountain City proudly stood amidst the Jianuo Mountain Range, as if it were a stubborn stone cast by Mother Earth by chance.

Carved by the passage of time, it had become a brilliant jewel of the Dwarf Kingdom.

This city had no sky-reaching spires nor delicately symmetrical palaces, yet it attracted every traveler who set foot here with an almost primitive rugged beauty.

The broad, winding streets, like the deep wrinkles on an old dwarf's face, recorded countless past stories.

The low houses on both sides were closely linked, their roofs covered with heavy stone slabs. Though not orderly, they exuded an indescribable harmony and resilience.

These houses were scattered in a way that seemed to naturally grow on this land. Each brick and tile carried the wisdom and hard work passed down through generations of the Dwarf Clan.

Sunlight pierced through the scattered clouds, casting a warm and mysterious glow over the mottled walls of the city.

Strolling through this city, Lis barely saw any dwarves on the wide streets.

However, the occasional clanging sounds he heard proved that at this time, all the dwarves were busy with their forging work.

Only at night would most of the dwarves leave home to visit the taverns, enjoying fine wine and food.

Of course, by now Lis had noticed a few dwarves already passed out drunk along the roadsides.

Sometimes, enjoying fine wine didn't necessarily have to wait until nighttime.

To the dwarves, the allure of fine wine was irresistible.

After taking a brief stroll, Lis stood in front of a large building.

On a huge unrefined piece of iron ore at the entrance, "Iron Hammer Workshop" was engraved in Dwarvish script.

This was Lis's destination!

Iron Hammer was a quite common name among the Dwarf Clan.

But this did not mean it was an ordinary name because it was the name of the Dwarf Royal Family.

Every Dwarf King, regardless of their previous surname, would bear this name upon ascending to the throne.

The Iron Hammer Workshop was directly under the Dwarf Royal Court and was also the largest forging workshop in Lonely Mountain City.

Lis came here, naturally intending to start from this place and gain entrance qualification to the Sotiga Volcano.

Becoming a Dwarven Forging Master and gaining access to the core of the Sotiga Volcano was the easiest and least noticeable method.

Lis had confidence in his weapon forging abilities, which was why he chose this method.

Initially, Lis could only rely on the "Spirit Rhinoceros Skillful Hand" specialty to gamble on probabilities to successfully create Legendary Level equipment.

But as he continued to forge more items, his forging skill level began improving gradually.

Even without the "Spirit Rhinoceros Skillful Hand" specialty, Lis was confident enough to produce Legendary Equipment.

Although, like before, the Legendary Equipment he made barely reached that level, it was still Legendary Equipment!

At this skill level, he could be called a Forging Master even in the Dwarf Capital!

This was also the reason why Alfi from the Secret Silver Chamber of Commerce wanted to recruit Lis.

With this specialty, Lis felt that obtaining entrance qualifications to the core of Sotiga Volcano wouldn't be too difficult.

It would just take a little time.

Lis glanced at the building before him and walked straight in.

The building was large, but the reception area was rather ordinary, with nothing more than a simple wooden counter manned by a female dwarf.

This female dwarf might be considered quite a beauty among the dwarves, but to Lis, she had no appeal whatsoever.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with at the Iron Hammer Workshop?"

The female dwarf, Nidir, looked at Lis as he entered, her eyes lighting up.

In her eyes, Lis appeared exceptionally striking.

Though not tall, his physique was exceedingly muscular, and his muscles were faintly visible under the coarse fabric, as solid and strong as mountain rock.

His thick black hair was casually tied at the back, gently swaying in the wind, adding a touch of unruly and heroic aura.

His face was broad with distinct angles, his deep eyes smoldered with sharpness that could pierce through all worldly mysteries. His nose was prominent, and his lips were tightly pressed, revealing a sense of determination and bravery.

His hands were thick and strong, with clearly defined knuckles covered with thick calluses, indicating a vast amount of effort spent in forging.

Ah!

His sturdy beard~

His handsome, square face~

His solid, broad shoulders~

In that instant, Nidir felt as though she had fallen in love.

Lis sensed the intense gaze from the female dwarf in front and shuddered slightly.

Was... was his disguised form really so attractive?

But it was too late to change now, and this look had already appeared before those from the Secret Silver Chamber of Commerce as proof of his identity.

Lis felt somewhat resigned but could only muster his courage and say in a deep voice:

"I am Rees Iron Hammer, from Bo'er City."

"I wish to join the Iron Hammer Workshop. What qualifications do I need?"

"Is that so~"

Nidir looked at the Lis in front and suddenly perked up.

She thought for a moment and said:

"Generally speaking, many people wish to join the Iron Hammer Workshop, so you need to pass the workshop's assessment."

"The assessment is relatively difficult, but I think you will have no problem, Rees!"

"Wait a moment; I'll find the supervisor!"

With that, Nidir excitedly ran towards the back.

Rees felt somewhat helpless but decided against leaving after some thought.

There were many forging workshops in Lonely Mountain City, but the one most closely linked with the Dwarf Kingdom was the Iron Hammer Workshop.

He decided to see how things would unfold!

Lis didn't say much, waiting for a moment.

The sound of hammers continuously clanging against metal reached his ears, reflecting the workshop's busy atmosphere.

The air temperature here was much higher than outside, indicating how busy this workshop was.

Not long after, Nidir returned, pulling along an elderly dwarf with a somewhat white beard.

"What is it, Nidir?"

"I told you to wait; my piece hasn't even been quenched yet!"

"Waiting a bit longer won't hurt!"

The old dwarf, Tomun, grumbled as Nidir dragged him over.

"All right, Grandpa Tomun, you're getting old; you can't even lift a hammer anymore, so why are you so busy?"

"I'm telling you, this person here is excellent; I'm sure he can join the workshop."

"Hey, Little Nidir, if you say it like that, I'm not going to be happy."

"Next time, next time I'll show you what I can do!"

Tomun protested somewhat grumpily.

"All right, Grandpa Tomun, how about I buy you a drink later?"

"Please start his test!"

Nidir pulled Tomun in front of Rees, charmingly pleading.

"Fine, fine, you win."

Tomun shook his head and then looked at Rees.

"Hmm?"

Tomun examined Rees, his brows furrowing slightly.

His gaze traveled up and down Rees, lingering the longest on Rees's hands.

"I heard from Nidir that your name is Rees? From Bo'er?"

"Why do you want to join the Iron Hammer Workshop?"

"With your skill, opening your own forging workshop would be more than enough. Why do you want to come here as an apprentice?"

"What?"

Before Lis could answer, Nidir exclaimed in surprise beside him.

Having been in the Iron Hammer Workshop for a while, she knew very well what it meant to be able to open a forging workshop in the Royal Capital.

This meant at least the ability to forge Gold Level equipment, right?

Could he even be... a Forging Master?