The Paladin in the Abyss

"Lancelot, considering the sword my old man made for you, couldn’t you have left me with more?" Bruto complained loudly, perhaps his desire for battle was unfulfilled, or maybe he was annoyed that his body got splattered with quite a bit of Coward Devil brain matter.

"You only asked to keep two of them," Lancelot spread his hands and then turned to Kalalin, "The effect of that magic just now was really good, how come you never mentioned it before?"

"Uh, this magic is called ’Breeze of Smiles’, it’s something I created by combining Wind Creation Spell and Mad Laughter Spell," Kalalin scratched his head, "To ensure that the spell’s Circle Rank does not exceed the second circle, which is my highest casting capability, the wind was weakened to a gentle breeze, and the mad laughter was turned into a smile.

The purpose of creating this spell was very simple, merely to break the awkward silence that often occurs during scholars’ gatherings. I made this scroll for practice, but because I felt it didn’t quite fit the adventurous atmosphere, I did not bring it up."

"Well, the situation just now proved that this magic is definitely more useful than you thought," commented Lancelot.

"You say you can create new magic?" Baron Barrend asked with a face full of surprise. Dwarves have mixed feelings about magic, consisting of fear and distrust, even though they understand how to imbue equipment with magical power better than any other race.

"Well, not really," Kalalin explained, "Only those who can directly manipulate the Magic Net might be able to create a completely new spell. Scholars, in order to grasp the ability to cast, understand an existing spell very thoroughly, and on that basis, they can make certain modifications, such as increasing or decreasing its power, or combining several spells together.

Such modifications usually lead to a disproportionate change in the difficulty of casting or the power of the spell, a widely circulated spell is generally the best version after repeated trials."

"It seems like that’s not absolute," Lancelot said with a smile, "Weakened spells may have entirely new uses, as we just witnessed."

"Yes, yes, this is indeed a very useful idea," Kalalin’s eyes shone brightly. The recent experience had opened up a whole new door for him, and he was eager to experiment with various new ideas.

"The creator of a spell gets to name it, right?" Bruto said with a mischievous grin, "That spell’s full name should be ’Kalalin’s Breeze of Smiles’."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Then it’s settled, hahaha…."

There was nothing valuable on the bodies of these Demons, and the group continued on their way.

Barrend would occasionally knock off a piece of Iron Ore from the sides of the tunnel, inspect it carefully in his hand, or enter a working face for an exploration, but after an hour had passed, they still hadn’t found anything.

It had been six hours since they had left Twin Bridges Town, and the group found a relatively flat area to start eating their dry rations.

"We’ll search for another three hours, and if we still haven’t found anything, we must head back," Lancelot said, "Spending the night in this mine is probably not a good idea."

"I feel we are very close," Barrend frowned, "These Iron Ore tells me that there must be a huge Cold Iron Vein nearby, I’m sure I can find it!"

"Alright, but make it fast," Lancelot looked around uneasily. During the battle with the Aberrant Demon, his sight was temporarily stripped away by the Dark Arts, forcing him to focus his attention on his other senses; at that time, he felt as though he was being watched by a pair of eyes filled with longing.

No, definitely not by someone who likes to wear revealing leather and has a bombshell figure. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After a brief rest, the group set off again towards the depths of the mine. The number of monsters on the way thinned, and Lancelot uneasily thought back to the huge pit and the two shattered bodies of the Gray Dwarves at the fourteenth working face.

Another hour had passed, and they had reached a depth of seven thousand feet underground. Only Dwarves, who shared a special connection with the rock, had the ability to excavate at this depth, carving out enormous caverns beneath the earth’s surface.

In a work area akin to a castle hall, the party finally found the goal of their expedition.

As soon as he stepped into this work area, Lancelot felt hopeful because he sensed a special kind of coldness, an all-too-familiar feeling—he had a weapon on his back that gave him the same sensation.

Barrend quickly dug up the ore they had been diligently searching for in a corner. Unlike the common reddish-brown iron ore, the Cold Iron Ore throughout was deep black, with occasional blue crystals interspersed, signifying the natural cold magic within.

"You little rascal, come over and get to work!" Barrend called out to his son.

Two Dwarves swung their Cross Pickaxes, immersed in the joy of mining. For the Dwarves, this was one of their favorite tasks, a blessing bestowed upon them by the god Moradin, and crafting the ore into exquisite items was their way of paying tribute to him.

However, as stone chips flew, a thin fog began to rise around them, causing unease.

"Err, Barrend, what’s with this fog?" Kalalin walked over and tapped the Dwarf engrossed in his work, "Is this specific to the coldness from the Cold Iron Ore?"

Only then did Barrend notice the abnormal situation behind him. He shook his head and said,

"That shouldn’t be, I’ve never encountered something like this before."

Lancelot’s spirit tensed up; his Spiritual Sense was already sending him a warning as if some threat had reached a level that could not be ignored.

Suddenly, a terrifying monster appeared before his eyes. The creature, thirty feet tall, resembled a winged toad. Its entire chest, from under its chin down to its legs, was completely split open, lined with countless sharp, bone-like teeth, like a gaping maw ready to devour all in its path, and it lunged towards him with its teeth bared and claws outstretched.

Lancelot’s heart was struck by lightning, the horrific sight delivering a strong shock that inevitably threw him into a state of panic.

He fell to the ground, his heart convulsively twitching uncontrollably as his body ached as if it had truly been attacked. True Qi swiftly surged from his Dantian, and the recitations of the Ice Heart Spell naturally resonated within him, allowing Lancelot to regain his composure.

He quickly realized that the monster before him was nothing but an illusion; its appearance had too many inconsistencies, and other than its terrifying stance, it hadn’t actually charged at him to cause any harm.

While he was scrutinizing the details of the monster’s form, a figure rapidly approached him.

"Sir Lancelot! What’s wrong with you?" The newcomer was Dunif, the captain of the Gray Dwarf mining team. "I was worried something might happen to you down here, so after I settled my team, I came looking for you..."

He ran up to Lancelot and reached out to help the fallen Knight.

Lancelot abruptly looked up, and Dunif internally cursed, knowing it was too late.

What greeted him was a flash of a chilling blade.