The pre-dawn mist still lingered.
Ravenna stood before the massive stone gates of the dwarven stronghold, her fingertips lightly stroking the emerald-green markings on her wrist.
They were faintly warm, as if alive, responding to some kind of summons.
"You're sure it's here?" Rayne asked in a low voice, the tips of his elven ears twitching slightly, catching every rustle in the surroundings.
"The runes don't lie." Ravenna grinned, spinning her dagger between her fingers.
"Unless Old Nick slipped some hallucinogenic mushrooms into the potion again."
The baby squirmed in Rayne's arms, his tiny hand suddenly pointing toward the rock wall to the right of the stone gate, golden eyes gleaming with an unusual light.
"Over there?" Ravenna raised a brow, stepping up to the wall and pressing her palm against the cold stone surface.
In that instant, the rune markings on her wrist flared brightly, emerald light flowing like water into the rock, outlining a hidden dwarven rune—a great door split open within a mountain peak, identical to the mark on the bottom of Old Nick's blue potion bottle.
"Backup entrance." She whistled softly.
"Looks like dwarves aren't as rigid as they seem."
Rayne's brow, however, did not ease.
"Too easy."
"Easy?" Ravenna scoffed, pulling the blue potion from her belt.
"Old friend, after we drink this stuff, we might turn into glowing moving targets… or temporarily into stone golems… or—"
"Or explode on the spot," Rayne added flatly.
"Be optimistic!" She shook the bottle, the stardust crystals within refracting a mesmerizing blue light.
"At least Old Nick's success rate is sixty percent."
"Sixty percent…" Rayne murmured under his breath, the tips of his ears drooping slightly—clearly unimpressed by the number.
Suddenly, the baby reached out, his chubby little hand clamping around the bottle's neck with surprising strength.
"Hey! Little brat, this isn't a toy!" Ravenna tried to pry open his fingers, but the baby stubbornly held on, making urgent cooing sounds, his golden pupils slightly contracting as if seeing something invisible to them.
Rayne and Ravenna exchanged a glance.
"What do you think he's trying to tell us?" Rayne asked.
Ravenna stared into the baby's eyes and suddenly grinned:
"He's saying—'Hurry up, there's no time.'"
Before Rayne could say anything else, she tilted her head back and gulped down the potion.
A metallic burning sensation flared in her throat, as if swallowing a mass of liquid gears.
The next moment, blue glowing patterns appeared on her skin, magical energy boiling through her veins, fingertips tingling slightly.
"Your turn." She handed the potion to Rayne, a trace of blue liquid still clinging to her lips, shimmering strangely in the morning light.
Rayne took the potion, hesitated for a moment, then drank it all at once.
His reaction was more intense than Ravenna's—elf physiology was especially sensitive to alchemical potions.
Silver-blue veins surfaced instantly beneath his skin, his breathing quickened, and his pupils dilated slightly.
"How do you feel?" Ravenna asked with a mischievous smile.
"Like I've been struck by lightning three times," Rayne gritted his teeth.
The baby giggled, seemingly finding the whole thing amusing.
Ravenna didn't hesitate any longer. She turned and pressed her palm against the hidden rune again. This time, her arm passed through the rock without any resistance, as if she were touching not a hard stone wall but a layer of viscous liquid barrier.
"Stay close to me," she said over her shoulder to Rayne, then took a deep breath and stepped forward.
The moment she passed through the rock, her vision was filled with a deep blue mist. Her body felt as if it was being broken down into countless particles, then forcibly reassembled by some unseen force. A low hum echoed in her ears, like millions of gears turning all at once.
Then—
She staggered and fell into a dim tunnel, her knee hitting the stone floor hard, causing her to grit her teeth in pain.
"Damn teleportation method…" she muttered, rubbing her knee as she stood up and looked around.
The walls of the tunnel were inlaid with glowing minerals, emitting a cold blue light that illuminated the narrow passage. The air was thick with the smell of metal, gunpowder, and some old grease—typical of a dwarven domain.
A few seconds later, Rayne's figure appeared from the rock. He was steadier than Ravenna, landing almost silently, but the baby in his arms waved its little hands excitedly, as if just having enjoyed a fun game.
"We're in," Rayne whispered, his pointed ears swiveling cautiously, catching sounds from deep within the tunnel.
"Yeah, and—" Ravenna suddenly stopped as the runes on her wrist flared fiercely, the emerald light becoming blinding. She gasped sharply and instinctively gripped her arm.
"Yikes… this thing's stronger than Old Nick's chili wine!"
Rayne quickly approached, his expression serious: "It's guiding us?"
"No, it's more like… a warning," Ravenna gritted her teeth. The burning sensation of the runes gradually faded, but the feeling of being watched didn't disappear.
Suddenly, the baby struggled in Rayne's arms, its little hand desperately pointing deeper into the tunnel.
"He wants us to keep going," Rayne said.
"Or maybe there's milk over there," Ravenna shrugged, though her expression had already turned serious.
They proceeded down the tunnel, their footsteps echoing sharply in the silent passage. Ravenna's fingers remained resting on the dagger at her waist, ready for any potential ambush.
After about ten minutes, the tunnel widened gradually and finally opened into a circular stone chamber. In the center stood a dwarven statue, gripping a massive hammer with eyes glaring fiercely. On the base of the statue was carved an ancient dwarven inscription: "Only those who walk with bloodline and rune may enter the heart of the forge."
"What does that mean?" Ravenna frowned.
Rayne's fingertips gently traced the inscription. "An ancient dwarven trial — you must satisfy both 'bloodline' and 'rune' conditions to pass."
"Bloodline means dwarven blood, and rune means…" Ravenna raised her arm, the emerald runes faintly glowing in the dim light.
Suddenly, the baby wriggled free from Rayne's hold, wobbling as it walked toward the statue.
"Wait!" Rayne tried to grab him, but the baby was surprisingly quick. Within a few steps, he reached the statue's base and slapped his little hand down with a sharp clap.
In an instant, the entire chamber shook. The statue's eyes lit up with a red glow, and a low mechanical grinding sound rose from beneath the floor.
"I knew this would happen!" Ravenna drew her dagger in one swift motion, positioning herself in front of the baby.
But the expected attack never came.
Instead, the statue slowly raised its massive hammer and slammed it heavily onto the ground—
"Boom!"
The floor of the chamber cracked open, revealing a spiraling staircase descending into darkness, endless and unfathomable.
The baby looked back, its golden eyes gleaming with a victorious light, as if saying, "See? That was easy."
Ravenna and Rayne exchanged a glance.
"What on earth is this little bastard?" she whispered.
Rayne shook his head. "I don't know. But for now, we have no choice but to follow him."
Ravenna took a deep breath and stepped onto the stairs first.
"Alright then, an underground dwarven adventure—hope their wine cellar hasn't been emptied by the Abyssal Council."
The spiral staircase seemed endless. By the time Ravenna reached the three hundredth step, she gave up counting. The glowing ores embedded in the walls grew scarcer, and darkness gradually swallowed their vision, leaving only the faint light from the runes on her wrist and the baby's eyes.
"This place feels off," Rayne suddenly stopped, his pointed ears twitching. "Something's following us."
Ravenna immediately held her breath, dagger held horizontally in front of her chest.
Silence.
Then—
Click.
Click.
Click.
Sounds like metal joints grinding, coming from the darkness behind them.
"Dwarven mechanical guards?" Ravenna whispered.
"Maybe," Rayne's voice was tense, "but if they were normal guards, they wouldn't hide their approach like this."
The baby suddenly let out a sharp cooing sound, its tiny hand gripping Ravenna's clothing tightly.
"He's scared," Rayne said.
"That's even worse," Ravenna's runes flared again, but this time it wasn't guidance—it was a warning—some danger was closing in.
Click. Click. Click.
The sounds grew closer.
Suddenly, a pair of crimson eyes lit up in the darkness.
Then came a second pair.
A third pair.
"Run!" Ravenna snatched up the baby and turned, sprinting down the stairs.
Rayne drew his longsword, its silver gleam tracing an arc in the darkness, precisely cutting toward the first shadow to pounce.
Sparks from clashing metal illuminated the enemy's true form—it was a mechanical spider, as large as a hunting dog, with eight flexible metallic legs crawling up the stairs. Its head was embedded with a crimson gem, radiating an ominous glow.
Even more terrifying, its joints were wrapped in a dark purple viscous substance, writhing like a living creature.
"Abyssal corruption!" Rayne shouted fiercely. "These machines have been tainted!"
Ravenna didn't look back, clutching the baby as she dashed forward. Behind her, Rayne's sword gleamed and the mechanical spider's shrieks intertwined, the clang of metal echoing through the narrow staircase.
"Rayne! Don't get attached to the fight!" she shouted.
"They're summoning more of their kind!" Rayne's voice came from behind, accompanied by another burst of fierce combat sounds.
Gritting her teeth, Ravenna suddenly stopped and with one hand pulled an alchemical bomb from her waist—one of Old Nick's "surprise gifts."
"Take this!" she yelled, hurling the bomb backward with force.
Rayne immediately understood and leapt backward to create distance.
"Boom—!"
The blast's shockwave shook the entire staircase, a wave of heat rushing toward them. Ravenna shielded the baby, squinting as she looked toward the dust-filled space behind.
The mechanical spider's wreckage lay scattered everywhere, but deeper in the darkness, more red eyes were lighting up.
"Run! Keep running!" Rayne shouted as he dashed beside her, his sword blade smeared with the sticky purple substance.
They no longer hesitated and sprinted downward with all their might.
At last, the staircase ended before a heavy metal door, engraved with the same rune as the entrance—the gate cracked open in the mountain.
"Open the door! Hurry!" Rayne turned, sword held horizontally, ready to face the pursuers.
Ravenna pressed her palm against the door; the glow from her rune markings resonated with the carvings on the door.
"Click—"
The door slowly opened.
"Go!" She grabbed Rayne's arm, and the two of them stumbled inside the door.
The metal door slammed shut heavily behind them, completely cutting off the mechanical spiders' screeches.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
"Welcome to the 'Anvil Fortress,'" a hoarse voice came from ahead.
Suddenly, torches flared to life, illuminating an old dwarf with a beard braided intricately. He wore a metal eyepatch over his left eye and gripped a rune-engraved warhammer in his right hand. His one eye scrutinized them as a meaningful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't have gotten in."