The Leap of Faith

"To be honest, you might be lying to me too, just like those Nutai people. I crossed this mountain but didn't see anything... But you're my friend, and I think I should trust you this once."

Olaf shouted loudly as he walked up the mountain with Herren Aurora.

Aura walked on the other side, keeping her distance from Olaf. She feared this kind of person the most... not the fear of his power, but the fear of him ever approaching her and talking to her.

She whispered to Herren.

"Are you sure you want to take him to see Ornn? I don't mean to say he's a bad person, it's just... he's so noisy."

"Don't worry, he'll quiet down in a bit."

Herren chuckled, trying to calm the somewhat uneasy Alara, while casually responding to Olaf.

"Just because you can't find it doesn't mean I can't find it... To be honest, many people have come here before, but all they saw was a dilapidated mountain cave. But I'm different."

"Oh? You were able to find Ornn? What makes you different?"

"Of course, I'm from Luxiang."

"A person from Luxiang?"

Olaf, a barbarian from the northern Lokfa Peninsula, naturally had never heard of the term "Furnace Country".

Who are the people of Luxiang? Is Luxiang a tribe?

"The place you just vandalized is Luxiang."

"Hmm...that looks like a ruin, not like anyone lives there."

"Am I not human?"

"..."

Olaf scratched his head again through his helmet, seemingly his signature move to ease the awkwardness.

"I already told you, I didn't know where you lived... I even played a good game with you, so I guess that makes up for it, right?"

"Unlike you, fighting isn't a reward for me."

"Helen said irritably, and as he spoke, the three of them quickly arrived at the location of the giant crater in the mountains.

Back then, it was thanks to her light and agile boots, and by falling and getting up again and again, that Herren became familiar with the terrain and was able to move freely through these mountains.

Only now, with a physical body far exceeding that of ordinary people, has Herren been able to climb here effortlessly.

But Olaf wasn't even out of breath, and even Aura, the seemingly gentle rabbit, was hopping and skipping all the way, showing no signs of fatigue despite the arduous journey.

Herren couldn't help but sigh, realizing that in this world, people's physical constitutions really are quite different...

"arrive."

"That's it? I've been here before, it's clearly just an ordinary place..."

Olaf spoke with a disdainful expression, but then glanced down and his eyes widened in surprise.

The dilapidated hole he had seen before had now transformed into an ancient sinkhole, with faint flames flickering at the bottom and wisps of smoke rising from the furnace.

"this……"

Olaf rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things before turning his astonished gaze to Herren.

Herren shrugged pretentiously, as if everything was going according to plan.

"See? I told you..."

However, Olaf's next move was unexpected.

Olaf suddenly roared, his loud voice prompting Aura to quickly grab his two long ears and cover his ear piercings.

Immediately afterwards, Olaf performed a Lockfat leap, plunging directly into the deep sinkhole with his axe in hand.

"Bromacia!!!"

"..."

Helen watched silently as Olaf's figure and voice faded into the distance, then helplessly covered his forehead.

"Is he alright?"

Ara looked at the bottomless sinkhole and blinked her big eyes. "A normal person would die from falling like that, right?"

"Don't worry, Olaf won't die."

He might have to worry about someone else, but in Freljord, Olaf is probably one of the least worrisome...

There's another guy in Freljord who just can't die.

"Let's go, let's walk slowly."

……

……

Heron didn't try to experience freefall; he obediently walked down.

Upon entering old Orn's furnace, he saw Orn's busy figure, just as he had seen more than a decade ago.

He always seemed to be like this, his movements appearing slow due to his enormous size, but his actual actions were unclear, and he would always suddenly slow down when Heron arrived.

Ornn might not even realize it yet... In fact, several years ago, when Herren's skills had improved to a certain level, he could clearly sense that Ornn was deliberately slowing down his movements.

Herren always kept this warmth in his heart, and he never regarded Orn simply as a god.

"Old Ornn! I'm back!"

Herren greeted the old goat casually, but Orn didn't even turn his head. After a long while, he finally spoke in a muffled voice.

"That's a bit fast."

"Really? I feel like I've been gone for quite a while."

Herren said with a smile, then pulled out Aurora, who was looking a little embarrassed, from behind.

"I also brought my friend; she needs your help with something."

Ara was pushed out by Herren. She could clearly feel Orn's torch-like gaze linger on her for a moment, which made her tense up.

This was the first time in her life she had ever seen such a huge "creature".

And this furnace room... isn't it a bit too cluttered?

Ara had expected to arrive at a magnificent temple, but instead, she found herself in this unexpected scene.

It's like Harren's dilapidated furnace has been magnified dozens of times...

"Um, my name is Alara. Hello, old Orn... or perhaps I can call you Ramhaus?"

Ara's words startled Herren, because he clearly saw that Orn's orderly movements had obviously stopped.

After a long while, Orn turned around and said in a muffled voice.

"You're not allowed to use that name."

"Oh... okay then..."

Aurora gave an embarrassed, awkward laugh.

"I knew your real name from the spirit world, I thought that would... bring us closer, haha..."

"I don't get close to people."

Orn seemed rather cold and unapproachable, responding indifferently, which made Aura awkwardly tap her rabbit feet on the ground.

"Um...right, I have another friend. He should be coming down first. Haven't you two met before?"

Herren then realized that Olaf wasn't there. What happened? Could he really have fallen to his death?

Orn didn't reply, but in a break from forging, he pointed to the rock wall beside him.

Herren looked over and saw that the usually messy rock wall was now exceptionally smooth, and there was even an exquisite statue...

The statue was completely covered in furnace ash and deeply embedded in the rock wall; it looked exactly like Olaf...

"Holy crap?!"