After the blood-red figure was sent flying, it did not flee. On the contrary, after landing, it charged towards Bruto once more.
"Interesting, does it lack reason?"
Richard took out the Adamantine Staff, and a pitch-black fireball instantly coalesced beside him, blocking the path of the blood-red figure.
Boom!
The blood-red figure was sent flying again.
But this time, a hint of seriousness flashed across Richard's face.
"Receiving an 860-level fireball head-on, and its body only charred in part.
This is something that even some specialized physical Wizards might not be able to achieve."
In Richard's Dragon Eyes, this distorted magic dwarf showed little damage from the fireball's impact.
The charred flesh from the fireball's power almost instantly fell away. Dense flesh buds filled the gaps caused by the spell at a visible speed, even further proliferating.
Excessive growths, tumors, and even some twisted, indistinguishable, incomplete organs continuously surged from the wounds.
"It seems this is your trouble."
Bruto's expression was serious, but his eyes revealed sadness. He said to Richard, "My lord, this kind of one-time spell is ineffective against them; we must use continuous spells."
Richard nodded; the magic dwarfs must have considerable experience dealing with such monsters.
But Richard had no intention of listening to him.
He needed to understand this monster better.
Richard put the Adamantine Staff back into his pocket and took out the Mithril Staff.
If an 860-level could resist, what about a 1700-level?
The tip of the Mithril Staff sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight, and as Richard waved it, runes appeared at the staff's head.
In the next moment, a fireball, larger than the previous one, appeared in front of Richard.
The monster seemed to sense the terrifying power of the fireball; it "looked" at Richard and then turned to flee.
Seeing this scene, Bruto's face remained calm, but his pupils suddenly dilated.
The aberrant creature was actually fleeing! "Block it, Makar."
Watching the fleeing aberrant, Richard calmly issued the command.
Makar nodded slightly, and his figure appeared beside the aberrant.
Facing the terrifying monster, Makar expressionlessly reached out to grab it.
Then, a pitch-black fireball descended.
Boom!
The 1700-level fireball instantly turned the entire aberrant into charred remains.
Makar released his right hand, and the charred remains of the aberrant fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Richard walked over to the remains, using the staff to crush the shattered remnants, confirming that there was no residual flesh.
"It seems it wasn't useless; it just wasn't very effective," Richard said with a smile.
Bruto was speechless, only slightly bowing to Richard, "Your power exceeds my imagination; our experience may be somewhat flawed for you."
Richard picked up a piece of charred remains and stored it in a test tube.
"By the way, what is the name of this monster?"
Bruto paused for a moment before slowly saying, "We call it the Aberrant."
With the small interlude over, Bruto continued to lead the way.
The remaining journey saw no more aberrants, and Richard and his group arrived smoothly at the Gem Palace.
Upon closer inspection of the Gem Palace, Richard discovered that this luxurious palace was actually made of gold, with gems merely serving as decorations.
Under the sunlight, the palace appeared exceptionally dazzling.
"Wow, quite extravagant."
Richard looked at the Gem Palace, feeling a bit shocked, but he quickly calmed down.
Although the golden palace was luxurious, it was still just gold. If Richard wanted, he could also construct a Wizard Tower out of gold.
But the Fire Lizards behind him did not share the same opinion.
"My goodness, this palace is truly beautiful," Kava exclaimed in shock.
"These dwarfs may not look impressive, but their taste is quite good," Helan also marveled, "It's a pity the gems are a bit mixed.
If the types of gems could be more uniform, this palace would definitely be a supreme treasure."
At the entrance of the Gem Palace stood four guards, clad in golden armor and wielding long-handled war hammers.
As an Alchemist Wizard, Richard immediately recognized that the armor worn by these dwarfs was made of Adamantine.
These magic dwarfs had not even used Adamantine alloy; their armor was entirely made of Adamantine.
Bruto approached to inform the guards of their purpose, but it seemed a dispute arose between Bruto and the guards.
"This is the savior foretold by the High Priest! You have no right to detain his servant!"
"We have already allowed him to enter! But his servant must not step into the sacred Gem Palace!"
Bruto looked angrily at the golden-armored dwarf, who returned the glare without hesitation.
Although the will of the magic dwarfs was as unyielding as a mountain, it also meant that their views were extremely stubborn.
The High Priest's order to the golden-armored dwarfs was to allow Richard to enter the Gem Palace, so they only permitted Richard inside.
Richard's Wizard Hunting team had to remain outside.
But Bruto knew that Richard would never allow the Wizard Hunting team to stay outside.
Even though he had become familiar with Richard, he could already sense Richard's wariness towards him.
Bruto and the golden-armored dwarf were at an impasse, and their argument quickly escalated into a physical confrontation.
Ultimately, an ancient voice interrupted their quarrel.
"Apak, let them all in."
Upon hearing this voice, Bruto and the golden-armored dwarf immediately ceased their argument.
They respectfully bowed their heads towards the Gem Palace.
"Yes, High Priest."
...
The interior of the Gem Palace was just as magnificent as the exterior, with golden walls adorned with various gems.
Among them were treasures that even Richard found desirable.
But unfortunately, these were gems excavated by the dwarfs in the Mirror World, and Richard could not take them out of the Mirror World.
Passing through the narrow corridor, which felt cramped to Richard, he and his group quickly arrived at a resplendent hall.
In the hall stood a golden statue of a dwarf, and the walls were decorated with ancient murals made from various gem powders.
In the center of the hall, an elderly dwarf knelt on the ground.
This elderly dwarf wore a white robe that seemed completely out of place with the grand hall, resembling a modified Wizard Robe.
Upon sensing Richard's arrival in the hall, he silently stood up.
This dwarf had a long beard, so long that it dragged on the ground. He curled his beard and then turned to Richard, performing a somewhat peculiar Wizard greeting.
"Hero of our race, welcome to the Gem Palace. I am the High Priest of the magic dwarfs, Aberich."
Richard did not act arrogantly and respectfully returned the Wizard greeting.
The High Priest's strength was not to be underestimated; although he appeared frail enough to be blown away by a gust of wind, in Richard's perception, he was as solid and unshakeable as a mountain.
The High Priest raised a hand, and Bruto instinctively stepped back from the hall.
The High Priest turned his gaze to Richard's Wizard Hunting team and slowly spoke, "Your creations are truly exquisite; your Dragon Alchemy is perhaps unmatched among Wizards."
Richard humbly replied, "It is not solely my achievement; I am merely one of its designers."
The High Priest looked over the Wizard Hunting team and then shifted his gaze back to Richard's face.
Richard looked into his eyes, where purple irises seemed to swirl with stars.
"Savior, on your way here, you must have encountered the Aberrant. What are your thoughts on it?"
"I have no particular thoughts," Richard replied calmly. "My spells can deal with it, but many Wizards can do the same.
I am curious why, in your divination, I would be the savior of your race."
The High Priest slowly shook his head.
"I do not know either. When I was young, the magic dwarf clan had not yet migrated to this world. At that time, I had seen many Wizards.
To be honest, savior, while you are outstanding, you are still somewhat weak compared to the great disaster facing our race.
But I see many mysteries within you; perhaps these mysteries can help you overcome our great disaster."
The High Priest's words left Richard momentarily at a loss for words.
Divination is indeed like this.
Divination can tell you the outcome but will not reveal the reasons behind it.
However, there is one advantage to divination: once a clear result appears, that result becomes inevitable.
Whether the result is good or bad.
If the result of the High Priest's divination is indeed Richard, then without a doubt, Richard is the savior of the magic dwarfs.
Regarding this phenomenon, Wizards have a theory called Schrödinger's Cat.
Before observation, the future is chaotic and uncertain. But once an observer appears, seeing a definite future, the originally chaotic future collapses into that definite future.
Of course, such causality-like spells are also very limited in use.
A diviner cannot divine the fate of someone unrelated to themselves.
The High Priest can divine the fate of the magic dwarfs because he is their High Priest; he possesses that authority.
But he cannot divine Richard's fate without Richard's permission.
"You might as well tell me about the origins of this Aberrant; perhaps I happen to have a way to deal with it."
The High Priest nodded, "Indeed, the wisdom of Wizards is vast as the sea; I should not have made such judgments without understanding.
I was rude."
With that, the High Priest beckoned Richard to the wall of the hall, pointing to one of the murals and saying, "About 7,500 years ago, the magic dwarf clan was brought to this world by the great Truth Wizard, beginning to thrive."
In the mural, the magic dwarfs stood before a white-robed Wizard, and before the Wizard was a mirror, presumably the Mirror of the World.
The High Priest walked slowly along the wall, narrating the stories behind these murals to Richard.
"The Truth Wizard placed no restrictions on us, so we began to live in this world. About a thousand years later, a dwarf named Bruno was born in the Iron Fist tribe.
Bruno was very small at birth; his parents thought he would not survive the first winter after birth.
But Bruno survived and became a dwarf warrior before the age of fifty, turning into the Iron Fist tribe's steel warrior by the age of two hundred.
He was generous, grand, and wise, a natural leader among the dwarfs.
Under his leadership, the Iron Fist tribe grew stronger and conquered most of the magic dwarfs in the following millennium.
He was the undisputed king of the magic dwarfs."
"This Bruno has issues," Richard suddenly interjected. "According to Wizard research, the natural small stature of magic dwarfs is a congenital disease. This disease is nearly untreatable and can only be potentially cured through physical evolution, stimulating the life core.
Moreover, this treatment is only theoretically feasible; a magic dwarf afflicted with this disease is almost impossible to raise their physique to 49.9 and successfully break through that barrier.
It is even more impossible to break through in just fifty years."
The High Priest looked at Richard, his gaze filled with melancholy.
"Yes, so the great disaster came."
The High Priest slowly walked to a mural depicting a blood-red tumor, with a typical Wizard Magic Array on it.
One corner of the Wizard Magic Array was broken, and a piece of flesh escaped from it, transforming into a monster.
A golden-armored dwarf led twelve dwarfs, battling the monster with war hammers.
"This painting is false; the true history is that Bruno was chosen by the great Truth Wizard to be sealed by an evil entity.
The evil entity strengthened his physique and continuously corrupted his mind as he grew.
Although his will was strong, after over a thousand years of corruption, he still fell.
He secretly spread the flesh plague according to the evil entity's instructions, attempting to turn the entire magic dwarf clan into part of the evil entity.
In fact, he almost succeeded.
But I discovered his conspiracy in the end; I led the remaining twelve dwarf warriors to assassinate him and led the uninfected tribes to cleanse the infected dwarfs."
The High Priest pointed to the evil entity that the golden-armored dwarf was fighting.
"This is actually Bruno, the king of the magic dwarfs we now worship."
(End of Chapter)