As Hulim Heyerar stepped into the forge, the first thing she noticed was a massive furnace, inside which seething magma—melted ore—was churning.

  "So you’re the one that elf sent?"

  Charkin Karagon spoke up.

  Hulim turned to look at him.

  He was an extremely stocky dwarf, with thick brown beard and hair. His eyes were relatively small, yet they glinted with a sharp, piercing light.

  Most importantly, Hulim recognized him—this was the very dwarf who’d been shouting curses outside the blacksmithy that day.

  "Yes, Mr. Charkin. My name is Hulim Heyerar. My sword is broken, and Ms. Irus told me to come here."

  "Oh~, Heyerar, huh? A noble......"

  Just as Irus had said, the surname Heyerar was by no means an obscure one in Langard. It was clear that the dwarf before her recognized it.

  "Hand over that letter of recommendation from the elf."

  "Here you go."

  Hulim handed over the casually folded piece of paper.

  Looking at the paper, Charkin’s lips twitched noticeably at the corners.

  He then unfolded it and read the words written on it.

  "......"

  Charkin held the letter in silence for a long while. Throughout that time, Hulim could clearly see the conflicted look flickering across his face.

  "Sigh...... This really is that elf’s handwriting, no doubt about it."

  Charkin handed the letter back to Hulim.

  "Bring me that broken mithril sword of yours."

  "Alright, here it is."

  Hulim passed the mithril sword to Charkin, curiosity gnawing at her—what exactly had Irus written to make the dwarf look like that?

  She unfolded the letter and glanced at its contents.

  There was only one sentence written on it......

  【This kid’s mithril sword is broken. Fix it for her (＾▽＾)】

  Hulim: "......"

  "A mithril sword, huh? It’s been ages since I’ve messed with a toy like this......"

  Charkin muttered to himself as he inspected the mithril sword.

  Seemingly noticing that Hulim was staring at the letter, he grunted, "Don’t bother looking. There’s no signature, but that’s definitely her handwriting."

  "......Um, Mr. Charkin, are you on good terms with Ms. Irus?"

  Hulim folded the letter back up and asked.

  Charkin’s movements paused. He looked up at Hulim, his expression complicated.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Have you ever seen a dwarf and an elf who get along well?"

  "......"

  Charkin lowered his head and resumed his inspection, saying at the same time, "No choice. I owe that woman a huge debt of gratitude."

  "A debt of gratitude?"

  "Yeah, that’s right—a life-saving favor...... So I really don’t have a leg to stand on when she asks for something."

  So that was it. No wonder Charkin had agreed to take the job even with a letter like that.

  Clang!

  Charkin picked up a small hammer and tapped the mithril sword lightly. Then he glanced up at Hulim again.

  "Little girl named Hulim, you’re not very old, but your strength is no joke. Still, don’t fight so recklessly from now on. Even though mithril swords are sturdy, they can’t hold up against head-on collisions with someone close to Rank B power."

  "......"

  Well, Hulim wasn’t the least bit surprised.

  She didn’t know exactly why, but from Charkin, she felt a similar aura to Irus’s. If Irus could easily see through her strength, it was only natural that the dwarf before her could do the same.

  "Alright, I know how to fix it. Come back tomorrow to pick it up—I’ll have it repaired by then."

  After finishing his inspection, Charkin stood up and placed the mithril sword on the forging table.

  "Tomorrow already? But Mr. Charkin, weren’t you in the middle of making something extremely important?"

  CLANG——!

  Charkin brought his hammer down hard on the mithril sword, and with a crack, the sword shattered into pieces......

  Yet Charkin’s expression remained completely calm, as if this was perfectly normal.

  "Ah, that thing? Don’t worry about it. I can work on it tomorrow instead!"

  Hulim: "......"

  Charkin placed the shattered pieces of the mithril sword into a mold, then slid the mold into the furnace and shut the furnace door tightly.

  He then turned around and glanced at Hulim.

  "What, are you heading to the dungeon today? If so, I can lend you one of the swords from my shop for the time being."

  "No, I’ve never been to a dungeon before."

  Hulim shook her head.

  "I see. Then I won’t lend you a sword. Still, with your level, you’re more than ready to give it a try. It’ll do wonders for improving your strength."

  "Thank you for the advice. I’ll consider it......"

  ......

  After bidding Charkin farewell, Hulim headed straight back to Manacos Magic Academy.

  It was the Sabbath, so there were no classes at the academy. Her roommate Miko Kedar seemed to have gone out too—her bed was empty when Hulim returned to the dormitory. So Hulim ate dinner alone, then went to the Grand Library to read.

  Mastering Magic Circle Theory required an enormous amount of knowledge, and Manacos’s Grand Library boasted an incredibly vast collection of books—making it the perfect place to study the subject. Most of Hulim’s free time at the academy was spent here.

  Several hours later, the sky had completely darkened. Hulim checked the time, then made her way back to the dormitory.

  "Still not back......"

  Miko hadn’t returned to the dorm yet. Hulim didn’t give it much thought—she washed up and then went straight to bed.

  The next day.

  After finishing her classes, Hulim made her way to Irus’s potion shop once again.

  ......

  "Ooh~, Hulim, are you planning to go to the dungeon?"

  "Yeah. Normally, students at the academy don’t start training in dungeons until their second year, but I’m strong enough now, so I want to go early."

  "I see...... With your strength, you’ll have no trouble at all with the dungeons near Langard. Though have you decided which ones you’re going to?"

  There were a total of five dungeons near Langard, none of which were particularly difficult—Rank C powerhouses could handle them easily. But as Irus had said, it would be too much of a hassle to visit all five. Usually, people just stuck to one or two of them regularly.

  "Not yet. Do you have any recommendations, Irus?"

  Hulim didn’t know much about Langard’s conditions and didn’t plan on rushing into things blindly. It was better to ask someone who’d lived in Langard for a long time first.

  "Come to think of it, you haven’t been in Langard for very long, huh? In that case, I’d recommend the Echo Maze and the Luminescent Dungeon."

  "The Echo Maze and the Luminescent Dungeon? What’s so special about these two?"

  "They are special—extremely so. They’re super popular among mages!"

  "You know about non-incantation and multi-incantation, right, Hulim?"

  "Of course I do."

  Hulim nodded.

  These were two skills she hadn’t mastered yet.

  It was said that any truly top-tier mage had to be proficient in both.

  "Those two dungeons I just mentioned can help mages master these two skills."

  "Really?!"

  Hulim’s eyes lit up instantly.