Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure

Alex steps outside the minecart and sees a huge town with hundreds of goblins walking around. The town is completely etched into a massive stone wall, stretching as high as he can see, covering the entire underground. It reminds Alex of classical dwarven video game towns like Ironforge or the dwarven mines and fortresses in Tolkien’s works. Magical torches and other enchanted lights illuminate the area, giving the town a comfortable and mystical feel. Alex even spots a few smaller streams of lava and questions the entire situation.

Am I hallucinating?

Most surprisingly, to Alex are the buildings that are so naturally integrated into the huge rock—more like an underground mountain—with countless steps, leading towards the top.

Lava… in friggin Great Britain? More or less directly under London? Is this a joke? Did we ride through a portal? Well, not that I care… it’s magic, which is apparently an explanation for everything that doesn’t make sense. Or have I been affected by an illusion?

Alex uses his meditation technique, but the town remains as it is. The goblin looks at Alex with a skeptical face.

“Human… let’s move on,” he says.

This doesn’t look like a town Alex would ever associate with mere goblins, but he remembers that the goblins in Harry Potter are clearly different from those in most other works—more resembling a cross between dwarves and gnomes, only really sharing the greed of most other goblins.

“Fuck me, this town is huge! So many levels! Is this friggin’ Gondor? That’s impressive! Compared to this, Diagon Alley is nothing!” Alex says, obviously shocked, eyeing a bunch of giant statues as the town is etched into a large stone wall, rising hundreds of meters high.

“Hehe, looks like you can appreciate what we goblins have built up over thousands of years! It might not be as fancy as your mansions, but it will last forever as long as we maintain it!” the young goblin brags.

“Come to think of it, what’s your name?” Alex asks, still not knowing the name of his new acquaintance.

The goblin hands him a card, which Alex reads aloud: “Gnornuk—huh? You goblins really like your ‘k’s at the end.”

“Pfft, human, your name ends with an ‘x.’ I don’t think your kind should judge. When I saw your name on the introduction letter, I had to hold myself back from judging you. What kind of silly race would choose such a name? Are you a Muggle-born?”

“Hey, at least my name carries history, while you just change a few letters and keep your damn ‘k’ at the end. It’s the short form of one of the legendary names from history! Who doesn’t know about Alexander the Great? Where’s your individuality, huh? I could probably just take your name, change a single letter, and have a totally authentic name—like, let’s see, Gnorguk!” Alex retorts, slightly offended.

“You dare slander the great Gnorguk while your own name is merely a shortcut! This is pathetic!” Gnornuk responds, offended but with a grin as he mocks Alex.

Damn, these goblins—they all sound the same! I shouldn’t argue with this guy. He seems like the stubborn type.

“Forget it, silly goblin. Let’s just move on… wouldn’t want to offend the great Gnorguk… a name I just made up on the spot,” Alex says, the last part barely audible, realizing the pointlessness of this argument. It’s obviously leading nowhere, so he decides to just move on.

They slowly walk toward the giant goblin town, gradually making their way up the city. Gnornuk leads Alex toward a larger run-down building, the outer walls almost entirely cracked, in the far, sparsely populated part of the town, which has a lot of lava in its vicinity.

As they enter, they see an old goblin hammering away, obviously in the middle of forging a brand-new blade. From time to time, he grabs the unfinished blade, heats it up again in one of his giant forges—powered by the lava nearby, which even flows through the building on a lower level—and continues his work.

Alex and Gnornuk respectfully watch the old goblin, not interrupting. It takes him another 30 minutes to finally finish his hammering as he quenches the blade in a large barrel filled with oil. He swiftly attaches a handle and holds the blade against the lava, inspecting it.

“Another mediocre work. This is pathetic! Gnornuk! Did you bring the human to me? I hope this isn’t a waste of time!” Fannlok says, clearly unhappy with his work as he tosses the sword into a corner, treating it like a piece of trash.

“Human… you go ahead. I’ll go back—I still have work to do,” Gnornuk says and swiftly leaves the building.

“...”

This traitor… what a coward! Now, how do I play this? I think I’ll try something instead of aiming for the easy way. I think I can get more out of it this way.

Alex smugly walks to the same corner where Fannlok threw the sword. He picks it up and acts like he’s appraising it, while in reality just checking if the system recognizes it.

[Goblin Sword]

World: Harry Potter / Wizarding World

Quality: Deep Green

Type: Sword

Required Stats: STR - 4, PHY - 4, AGI - 4

Durability: 50/50

Damage: 19-26

Effect: Extremely Sharp – Increases the sharpness of the blade, increasing the chance of successfully cutting through armor and causing bleeding.

Note: A perfectly crafted goblin-style blade with exceptional sharpness. This blade only contains goblin steel and nothing else, relying solely on the blacksmith’s skill.

“Hmph, this is indeed pathetic. I was told you are one of the last great goblin runesmiths. If this is the level you’re at, I think it might be best if I leave; you probably can’t handle my request!”

Honestly, this is a nice sword… only made with steel and already Deep Green? That’s impressive!

“YOU HUMAN DARE TO MOCK ME, FANNLOK? I AM THE BEST GOBLIN RUNESMITH ALIVE!” Fannlok screams in rage at Alex.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe words… I believe a craftsman should let his work speak for itself. At this rate, I’d better look for a bunch of dwarves!” Alex says, holding up Fannlok’s sword and showing an amused face.

“DWARVES? ARE YOU INSANE?! THIS INSULT! Human, even you should know that this is merely a practice piece, to keep my skills sharp! Also, it’s merely steel. I’d like you to show me a better blade made with the same resources. I dare you!”

“Heh, I can’t, because I obviously have better weapons made out of rare materials. Why would I forge such a simple blade? Anyway, if you want to prove me wrong… I need a promise. Never reveal this knowledge I’m about to reveal to you to anyone. I want you to swear on your magic that you won’t leak this knowledge or use it to create your official works. If you can fulfill my request and I’m happy with the quality, this condition is revoked… I’m willing to let you use this information freely. That shall be your reward,” Alex says.

“You arrogant human, what could someone like you offer me?! Knowledge? We goblins are vastly superior to you humans! If it’s a goblin-crafted weapon, I can assure you that knowledge is not lost! A human-crafted weapon? I am not interested!” Fannlok says, disdain clearly visible in his eyes.

“Created by Merlin himself… a human!” Alex says as he takes out [Magoroth’s Legacy (Damaged)] and waves it at the surprised goblin before quickly putting it back in his inventory.

“HUMAN! SHOW IT TO ME! NOW!” Fannlok says, his mood and personality shifting rapidly. Just a quick glance is all he needs to spot the sheer quality of the weapon and the runes. He’s obviously more than simply interested in Alex’s bow.

“I need your promise first. Chances are, you can’t fix it!” Alex says, happy that Fannlok has taken the bait.

“... Fine! I, Fannlok, swear not only on my magic but also on my honor and the reputation of myself and my ancestors that I’ll not leak anything I learn from your weapon, nor use it for my own future creations!”

Alex, using Gyo, notices a slight shift in Fannlok.

I think that’s it. He isn’t lying!

Alex decides to stop playing around and antagonizing the goblin. He only wanted to rouse his pride to get him to take his request seriously, after all. From what he’s seen until now, Alex has no wish to mock the goblins, as he’s far more impressed by them than the wizards.

He takes out [Magoroth’s Legacy (Damaged)] and hands it to the goblin. “Please take a look. To tell you the truth, I don’t think there are many runesmiths left who could repair this weapon. Perhaps you are the only goblin left.”

Fannlok’s eyes light up, and it takes him over an hour to finish his inspection of the bow.

“Human, name your price. How about 100,000 Galleons? I can get a loan from my people, no problem!” Fannlok offers to outright buy the bow.

“I wouldn’t sell it for 100 million. I want it repaired! Also, according to your traditions, since this was forged by a human, it belongs to humankind, doesn’t it?” Alex says with a smile.

“Hahahaha, human, you are right! That was a bit silly of me! Of course, I can repair it. And these runes—they are not mere variations or customizations of Elder Futhark. There is, of course, a resemblance, but these are essentially new runes! They hold a strange magic in them. I need time to study them, but if it’s just about repairing them, it isn’t an issue. The resources it requires, however…. I’m a little bit broke at the moment, so it depends if you can cover the repair cost.”

Alex gulps and slowly opens his mouth to ask the question: “How much?”