Chapter 84: Women Are Difficult to Deal With 1

“Her Majesty’s order is for us to pretend that we know nothing.”

The Second Elder let out a long sigh.

“We should continue doing whatever we normally do, and we must not deliberately draw attention to that little fellow.”

The Third Elder froze for a moment.

Then he hurriedly asked,

“Did the message not say whether this boy truly is the key to our return to the surface?”

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

Returning to the surface.

It was a dream that countless dark elves had carried for generations.

The surface world had blue skies.

Beautiful clouds.

Fresh air.

Endless green forests.

Those things existed only in their imagination now.

The underground world offered nothing but endless darkness and the unpleasant glow of flames.

Everything around them was either red or black.

For countless years, the dark elves had held onto a single hope—

to return to the surface.

The ancient teleportation formation that once connected them to the outside world had already been destroyed.

Because of that dream, many dark elves throughout history had risked their lives attempting to cross the endless violent winds that separated them from the surface.

None had succeeded.

But now...

there was finally a possibility.

The Third Elder was not the only one whose emotions were surging.

The other elders looked at the Second Elder with anticipation in their eyes.

This was the dream of countless dark elves.

“The message did not say that.”

The Second Elder shook his head.

“But I do not believe the First Elder would lie about something like this.”

He looked at the others.

“Do not forget.”

“Even we cannot recognize ancient Elven script.”

“But that boy can.”

“And everyone here has personally witnessed his talent in alchemy.”

The elders exchanged glances.

Finally, the Third Elder spoke again.

“That is true.”

“A Level Two mage was able to create an alchemical weapon capable of wiping out nearly one hundred thousand kobolds.”

“Even if one of us had attempted the same thing, none of us could have accomplished it.”

“And we all know what materials he used.”

“Exactly.”

The Fourth Elder nodded with emotion.

“Water-element magic crystal powder.”

“Fire-element magic crystal powder.”

“Iron.”

“Beast leather.”

“Obsidian.”

“Just those ordinary materials.”

“In his hands, they became weapons with terrifying destructive power.”

“And the total value of those materials was not even worth a single silver coin.”

The “silver coin” the Fourth Elder mentioned was not an ordinary silver coin.

It referred to a mithril coin, a currency far more valuable than normal silver.

After Muan City repelled the kobold assault, the land mines Kent had created were eventually exposed.

Everyone learned what materials were required.

However, no one knew the exact manufacturing process at first.

But with enough effort from interested parties, the method was eventually uncovered.

After all, Kent had never truly intended to keep it secret.

Once others began experimenting with the design, they quickly discovered something astonishing.

The destructive power of the weapon was enormous.

But the most frightening aspect was its concealment.

At the same time, the upper levels of several races immediately issued orders to keep the information controlled.

The reason was simple.

Kent’s invention was not merely powerful.

It was hidden.

And in the dark underground world, where visibility was already extremely limited, that advantage became even more terrifying.

No matter how high one’s rank was, no warrior could maintain battle aura protection at every single moment.

No matter how powerful a mage was, no one could continuously maintain defensive spells without interruption.

The land mine needed only an instant.

Then it would silently explode.

Even heavy armor could not guarantee safety.

The small iron fragments hidden inside the device.

The poisonous substances mixed into the explosion.

The fact that the blast occurred directly beneath the victim’s feet.

All of these factors made it incredibly difficult to defend against.

Armor was designed mainly to protect against attacks from the front or above.

Who would expect death to come from the ground beneath them?

Everyone in the underground world was flesh and blood.

Everyone could die.

But what concerned the various races even more was not merely the weapon itself.

It was Kent.

The terrifying part was how he could take materials that appeared completely ordinary and transform them into something that made every powerful individual wary.

The weapon did not frighten only one group.

Everyone feared it.

Archers.

Warriors.

Mages.

No one was exempt.

Unlike other weapons, it had almost no obvious weakness.

A bow was ineffective against heavily armored warriors.

Magic could be countered by specialized defenses.

But a land mine?

Everyone had to fear it.

That was why a previously unknown small city like Muan City had suddenly attracted countless powerful figures from across the Dark Region.

Everyone wanted to see the person capable of turning ordinary materials into something that could change the balance of power.

Magic crystal powder.

Refined iron.

Obsidian.

How long had these materials existed beneath the earth?

The Dark Region had existed for thousands upon thousands of years.

Over that endless span of time, countless alchemists had appeared.

Even if one counted only the truly skilled ones, there had surely been hundreds, if not nearly a thousand.

Yet not a single one of them had ever thought of such a method.

For generations, their response to the kobolds had always been the same.

Defend.

Build stronger walls.

Strengthen their formations.

Wait for the enemy to attack.

But Kent?

The moment he acted, he created a weapon specifically designed to counter kobolds.

The materials were cheap.

The manufacturing process was simple.

And, to put it somewhat bluntly...

even an ordinary person could learn to make it.

It required almost no technical skill at all.

What kind of terrifying concept was that?

Unfortunately, Kent himself knew nothing about the impact his invention had caused.

After the secret of his land mines spread, the major cities of the Dark Region immediately took action.

The sale of magic crystal powder was prohibited.

The material was classified as a strategic resource.

As a result, the prices of both magic crystal powder and refined iron increased several times over.

Most people found this situation extremely strange.

After all, magic crystal powder had always been almost useless in the Dark Region.

Aside from being used in a small number of magical arrows and certain magic formations, it had very few applications.

The amount consumed in normal circumstances was tiny.

No one understood why such an insignificant material had suddenly become so valuable.

Meanwhile...

Kent was currently engaged in a silent staring contest with Darkya.

The whole situation began after Kent brought Darkya back to his home.

On the way there, Kent had deliberately wrapped an arm around her slender waist.

To make matters worse, his hand occasionally moved across her waist in an intentionally provocative manner.

He even took the longest possible route home, deliberately leading her around in a wide circle.

His expression was practically asking to be hated.

Darkya was so angry that she nearly crushed her teeth from grinding them.

Yet at the same time, she was afraid.

She was afraid that Kent might actually do something outrageous.

Something she could never imagine.

Finally, they arrived.

“Alright.”

Kent released her slightly.

“From now on, you do whatever I tell you.”

Then he thought for a moment.

“Oh, right.”

“Go boil some water for me first.”

“I’m thirsty.”

Kent brought Darkya into his house.

The moment he stepped inside, his expression changed completely.

He pointed toward the kitchen.

“Go.”

“Handle it.”

Darkya secretly let out a sigh of relief.

At least Kent was not doing what she had feared.

She immediately walked toward the kitchen.

But the moment she entered...

she froze.

Completely.

Darkya had become an eighth-rank Magic Archer before she was even a hundred years old.

That achievement required extraordinary talent.

But talent was not enough.

It also required endless effort and training.

Naturally, someone of her status had always been served by others.

Cooking?

Cleaning?

Basic household tasks?

She had never needed to learn any of them.

Now, standing inside the kitchen, staring at the strange tools and equipment before her, Darkya had absolutely no idea what to do.

“What are you doing?”

Kent’s voice suddenly came from behind her.

“Are you planning to let me die of thirst?”

At that moment, Kent had been carefully examining the knowledge he had gained from the ancient scroll.

He was analyzing whether the new alchemical system could actually be applied.

He had already given this method a name.

Divine Alchemy.

A name that sounded incredibly impressive.

However, after what felt like a very long time, Darkya still had not returned with the water.

Kent immediately became suspicious.

Had she escaped?

He rushed to the kitchen to check.

But instead of finding an empty room, he saw Darkya standing there with a deeply embarrassed expression.

Kent immediately shouted.

Darkya already felt extremely wronged.

Asking an eighth-rank Magic Archer to boil water...

That was practically unheard of.

Still, she lowered her voice and answered honestly.

“I... don’t know how.”

Kent was speechless.

You don’t know?

Then why didn’t you ask?

He almost scolded her.

But when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back.

Instead, he sighed and decided to demonstrate.

The underground world used a type of fuel similar to coal.

But it also resembled charcoal in some ways.

Most importantly, it burned for an extremely long time.

Even longer than the coal briquettes used on Earth.

And unlike ordinary fuel, these special underground fuel stones could be reused many times.

The method was simple.

The stone was placed into magma until it absorbed enough heat.

After absorbing heat once, it could maintain a high temperature for an entire day.

It could be used to roast meat.

It could be used to boil water.

And it could generate remarkably high temperatures.

Every major city had specialized workers who handled the preparation and distribution of these fuel stones.

Residents only needed to pay a monthly fee to use them.

It was convenient.

Efficient.

And environmentally friendly.

As for boiling water, the process was actually extremely simple.

Place the water into a kettle.

Put the kettle onto the stove.

And wait.

That was all.

The only reason Darkya had been unable to figure it out was because the stove was normally kept closed when not in use.

Kent showed her how to operate it.

Then he looked at the proud eighth-rank Magic Archer standing beside him.

For the first time, he realized something.

A woman who could fight dragons on the battlefield might still be completely helpless when faced with an ordinary kitchen.