Chapter 176: The Amazing Ajef

Only those who have lost can truly understand the value of having.

Eira took a bite of the roasted mushroom, savoring the fresh flavor mixed with spicy sauce, feeling utterly satiated after hunger.

It had been a long time since she felt this full!

The feeling was so wonderful!

——Thanks to Mr. Ajef for the food.

However, compared to culinary pleasures, the greatest happiness was no longer fearing the threat of war.

Mr. Ajef was right. The Ironbeard Tribe shouldn’t pay for Dwarf King Kauth’s mistakes! She instinctively glanced at her brother.

Her brother was also devouring the roasted mushrooms, but his focus was entirely on the virtual screen before him.

——He was browsing magical knowledge in the Internet Library.

After that day’s attack on Ajef, her brother Ebo completely changed.

He became increasingly silent.

Yet, Eira no longer worried about him doing something foolish.

Because he was almost entirely absorbed in his magical studies.

Each day, he made some progress, from gathering soul power to cultivating magic, even carving his first Magic Seal. Each step forward was exciting.

Eira never imagined her brother could have such talent in magic! In the tribe, although there were dwarf magicians.

Magicians had limited energy, and they were picky about students. Without great wealth or noble blood, neither she nor her brother had the chance to be disciples of prestigious magicians.

Magician books could not be freely circulated.

Yet she never expected that her brother, seemingly destined to never learn magic, would find mysterious spells on the Internet!

This was astounding! And she was truly grateful to the Internet God.

In fact, not just magic.

The vibrant Internet had already captivated her completely! The vibrant displays on the thin virtual screen were unmatched by the colorless underground world.

Every evening, she would browse the web for a long while before forcing herself to sleep.

She even had to play a sleep-inducing Divine Music to calm her excitement caused by the Internet.

She couldn’t understand why such a perfect existence, comparable to a divine artifact, was banned by Dwarf King Kauth. It was clear to her that their Ironbeard Tribe was deceived by him! ——Kauth feared the Internet would replace his rule, and he deceived his subjects, branded the Internet as a heresy, even at the cost of provoking war to make dwarves hate the Internet God! Fortunately, they had a wise chieftain who saw through Kauth’s conspiracy.

Otherwise, they would still be living in a lie, tools in the dwarf king’s hands!

“Are you done eating?”

“Yes, you go to work. I’ll do the dishes. I’ll practice Water Element Magic. The forum says integrating magic into life is great for training control.”

Ebo, without lifting his head, smartly knew what his sister wanted and cleverly made an excuse to help.

“Okay, then I’m off!”

“What should we eat tonight? I want to practice Fire Magic.”

“Don’t make it. Focus on studying magic. I’ll bring some bread, maybe some black wheat wine.”

“Alright but buy less black wheat wine. I don’t drink. The books say drinking is taboo for magicians as it affects the brain.” Ebo nodded.

“Then you’ll miss out on life’s great joy.” Eira mimicked their father.

Ebo paused, looked away from the virtual screen, and seriously said, imitating an online debate about magicians not drinking: “Losing some joys, but I’ve gained more happiness, haven’t I?”

He raised his right hand, and a water ball formed in his palm, shaped like a mushroom, with flames on top.

Eira didn’t know what her brother’s show-off meant.

But she was sincerely happy: “I’m leaving!”

“Yeah!”

Eira waved and cheerfully dashed out of the house.

A brand-new bicycle leaned against the wall at the door.

She didn’t rush off but opened the Internet Music Temple to play a song she saved last night.

Only then did she gently pedal forward.

The underground city was crowded, full of winding paths and even steps.

But none of this bothered Eira. She knew it so well and always found the shortest paths.

Especially since bikes became popular, the Ironbeard Tribe started voluntarily repairing roads.

“Ring ring!”

The mechanical bell chimed along with the gentle music, making life suddenly feel wonderful.

Eira felt a bit of regret.

Regret that their parents couldn’t see it.

All because of the damn Dwarf King Kauth!

Passing by the “Ironbeard Factory,” Eira instinctively stood up on her bicycle to take a peek inside.

This factory was built with Mr. Ajef’s aid.

She remembered when it first opened, causing a sensation in the tribe, everyone came to see it! Countless forging masters wanted a glimpse.

You must know, Dwarf King Kauth stole Ajef’s production line and treated it as a treasure.

Their Ironbeard Tribe exhausted efforts just to obtain a task of dismantling a machine tool.

However, Eira heard that, despite their efforts to replicate one, the copy was inferior, and many couldn’t figure out why.

Now, with Ajef generously providing a full production line, how could it not shock the Ironbeard Tribe?

It’s said the day after its opening, a forging master dismantled a machine, angering the chieftain.

Since then, the Ironbeard Factory’s security has been tight.

So, until now, Eira didn’t know what it looked like inside. Though she knew nothing could be seen from the entrance, she habitually peeked.

“Zoom!”

Her bike sped past the Ironbeard Factory, and ahead, she could see the high spire of the Internet Bank.

Passing the entrance, she saw children practicing bicycling in the open area.

Compared to the popular Ironbeard Factory, the Internet Bank was coldly received by the dwarf tribe.

——Note that the dwarves’ greed for wealth rivals even the Dragon Race’s.

There’s a saying: Dwarves must amass endless wealth, even if untouched.

So, for dwarves, depositing precious, shiny gold comparable to craftsmanship in the Internet Bank was nearly impossible.

Yet, Eira considered putting a small part of her parents’ gold coins into it.

It’s said money there can generate more money.

Her brother’s magic path would be costly, and her salary wasn’t high. What if they exhausted their parents’ savings and affected his studies? Lost in thought, Eira reached her destination—Mushroom Farm.

“Eira, quick, quick! Come see, the grass mushrooms all sprouted overnight! My goodness, they’re all purple. The Forest of Magic didn’t deceive us.”

Aunt Magi, her late mother’s best friend, was by the door, joyfully calling Eira over.

Hearing this, Eira quickly parked her bike and rushed over.

Inside the mushroom room, the soil mixed with distiller’s grains was densely covered in purple grass mushrooms.

“They’re all purple!” Eira was amazed.

Note that purple grass mushrooms were rare. Even skilled dwarf cultivators get only a few from many.

Her father even said purple grass mushrooms were gifts from the Titan Gods, only obtainable occasionally.

Who knew such a gift could be cultivated massively? This was miraculous! “Great, great, now we can eat purple grass mushrooms every meal!”

Aunt Magi marveled at the mushrooms, her face flushed with excitement.

Eira also smiled genuinely, thinking Mr. Ajef is truly an amazing human! The second chapter will be delayed, probably at 12:30.