The Extra Villain: I Made a Contract With The Dragon Empress!

Chapter 364: The Legendary Blacksmith, Gorim

The southern part of Brindel City was the busiest area. Shops such as bakeries, restaurants, and various other establishments were open, bustling with customers.

"Where are you taking us, Merlin?"

Nysera couldn’t hold back any longer and finally asked.

They had been walking for ten minutes, and her curiosity about Merlin’s destination kept growing.

Merlin turned toward her and patted her head.

"It’s a secret. You’ll see soon enough," Merlin replied, feigning mystery.

Nysera pouted in dissatisfaction, but she didn’t complain and simply kept it to herself.

After walking another twenty meters, Merlin suddenly stopped and looked left and right, as if searching for something.

His eyes lit up when he spotted a wide alley across the street.

"Follow me."

Merlin quickened his pace toward the alley.

Nysera and Jared exchanged glances but said nothing, immediately following him.

The three of them entered the alley, and the change in atmosphere was instantly noticeable.

The air grew hot and stuffy. The sound of metal clanging beneath hammers echoed throughout the alley.

Jared froze. He recognized that sound—the sound of swords, spears, and other weapons being forged under a blacksmith’s hammer.

And sure enough, about thirty meters ahead, they saw five to ten blacksmith shops.

The blacksmiths inside were busy with their work, so none of them noticed their arrival.

"Are you surprised?" Merlin asked.

Jared nodded and admitted, "Yes, I’m very surprised. I didn’t expect there to be so many blacksmith shops in this alley. How did you know?"

He rarely went into the city, but he was already quite familiar with some of its main locations.

In his opinion, blacksmith shops like these should have been fairly well-known. Strangely, he had no idea there were so many gathered here.

"I visit the city often, and I stumbled upon this area by accident," Merlin replied casually.

Of course, that answer was nonsense. Merlin didn’t have time to visit Brindel City except on specific occasions—usually to go on dates with girls.

He knew about this location from the novel The Lost Hero. The alley they were in was called "Burning Embers."

The name was chosen because the entire alley was filled with blacksmith shops. This place was actually quite famous, but only among weapon enthusiasts.

In the novel, Abel had once come here and accidentally met a legendary blacksmith named Gorim.

Gorim played a crucial role in the story. He helped the main character forge many weapons and became one of Abel’s greatest supporters.

If Merlin wanted to help Jared make a comeback, then meeting Gorim was the best course of action.

Jared simply nodded and said nothing more. Along the way, his gaze couldn’t tear itself away from the blacksmiths.

"What a nostalgic sight," he whispered.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d held a blacksmith’s hammer—maybe two or three years ago.

One thing was certain: everything felt unfamiliar to him.

"Where is Gorim’s place?" Merlin scratched his head in confusion.

In the novel, Abel had met the man by accident due to a certain incident.

However, the exact location of Gorim’s residence was never described, aside from the fact that it was somewhere in Burning Embers Alley.

Letting out a small sigh, Merlin closed his eyes and whispered, "System, help me."

"[Ding! The greatest system is here! Assistance cost: 1,000 system points! Accept/Decline?]"

Merlin: "..."

Come to think of it, this system was just like those damn capitalists. Luckily, he had plenty of system points, so a thousand points was no more than a drop in the ocean.

"Accept!" Merlin replied without hesitation.

"[Ding! One thousand points deducted! Searching for the location of the supporting character Gorim...]"

The system’s search process took quite a while. After two minutes, the voice sounded again.

"[Ding! Successfully found! Gorim’s current location is about one hundred and ten meters from you, Master!]"

A mysterious panel with a golden arrow then appeared in front of him.

Merlin smiled slightly and began walking in the direction indicated by the golden arrow.

The farther they walked, the more blacksmith shops appeared on both sides.

Jared couldn’t take his eyes off them, while Nysera yawned sleepily.

"Their forging technique is a bit... rough," Jared whispered, shaking his head.

Although he had lost his abilities, that didn’t mean he was oblivious to forging techniques.

To his eyes, their work looked very crude. A weapon should be forged carefully, and its structure must be examined closely.

That was because every blow of the hammer would affect its structure. The more careless and imprecise the strikes, the worse the weapon’s durability would be.

However, Jared didn’t blame the blacksmiths. Everyone had their own stages of growth, even in the field of blacksmithing.

Besides, Jared had already lost his abilities. He had no right to comment on others’ skills.

After five minutes, Merlin suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Nysera, who had been daydreaming, bumped into his back and rubbed her forehead.

"Why did you stop? Have we arrived?" she asked.

Merlin nodded. His gaze was fixed on a small shack to the right.

The shack seemed isolated from the nearby blacksmith shops. It was run-down, deserted, and filthy.

Anyone who saw it would assume it was a place for vagrants to live.

But in Merlin’s eyes, it was far more valuable than gold.

After all, a legendary blacksmith lived inside—Gorim, a man whose name had long been forgotten by the world.

Merlin composed himself and asked, "Is this the right place, System?"

"[Of course, Master. Rest assured, I won’t lead you astray,]" the system replied confidently.

Merlin said nothing more. Since the system had spoken, he had no reason to doubt it.

"Follow me," Merlin said as he walked toward the shack.

Nysera and Jared followed behind. They assumed Merlin was heading to one of the blacksmith shops.

To their surprise, he headed straight for the small, dilapidated shack instead.

"This..." Jared was at a loss for words as he stared at Merlin with doubt and confusion.

Nysera was also confused, but she chose to swallow her questions and wait for Merlin to explain.

Merlin stopped in front of the shack’s door. He took a deep breath, then knocked.

Knock!

"May I come in?"

He waited for a minute, but there was no answer.

Merlin knocked again, but still received no response from inside.

Feeling annoyed, Merlin lifted his foot and kicked the door open.

Boom!

Nysera: "..."

Jared: "..."

Merlin ignored their strange stares and walked inside.

The place was filthy and stuffy. The air reeked of sulfur, and the interior was run-down.

’Where’s Gorim? Did he leave?’ Merlin wondered silently.

He didn’t doubt the system. In the novel, Gorim really did live in a pitiful, cramped, and squalid place.

This shack perfectly matched the description.

"Merlin, look over there—there’s someone unconscious!"

Nysera’s voice came from behind him.

Merlin quickly followed her gaze and saw a short, bearded, muscular man lying near the kitchen.

His face was pale and looked deathly weak.

Merlin’s eyes widened in shock, and he hurried over.

He knelt down and examined the man. Thankfully, there were no wounds or signs of poisoning.

"Damn... Is that Gorim? Did he faint from starvation?"

His breathing was weak, as if it might stop at any moment.

Merlin lifted Gorim onto the shabby sofa near the kitchen, then placed his right palm on his forehead.

A green light flashed and slowly spread throughout Gorim’s body.

Gorim’s pale face gradually regained its color, causing Merlin to breathe a sigh of relief.

If Gorim died, Merlin wouldn’t know how to help Jared regain his forging abilities.

"He’s fine—he just fainted," Merlin said, pulling his hand away.

Nysera looked at Gorim curiously, then furrowed her brow.

"This man... He’s a dwarf, isn’t he?" she guessed.

"Oh?" Merlin looked surprised. "How did you know?"

Nysera smiled casually. "His build. He’s very short and muscular, and his face looks old. Only dwarves have those characteristics."

The corner of Merlin’s mouth twitched. Nysera’s words were true, but they were a bit too blunt and could offend any dwarf who heard them.

Fortunately, Gorim was still unconscious and hadn’t heard her.

"Merlin, is he your target?" Jared asked hesitantly.

Merlin turned toward him and nodded.

"That’s right. He is my target—or more accurately, he will be your teacher."

"My teacher?" Jared froze. "What do you mean?"

"Simply put, he’ll be teaching you. You’ve lost your forging ability, haven’t you?"

Jared’s expression darkened. "I did lose my ability, but I don’t need a teacher."

His knowledge of forging was still firmly etched in his mind.

A teacher?

No one in this world could be his teacher except his father.

After all, his father was the greatest blacksmith in the entire kingdom—no, perhaps on the entire continent.

If it weren’t for the royal family’s interference and his father’s enemies’ malicious schemes, his father wouldn’t have ended up disabled like he was now.

"I know you’ll underestimate him," Merlin said calmly. "But you’ll regret it once you find out who he really is."

A mysterious smile curved on his lips.

Jared’s curiosity was piqued. Without realizing it, he asked, "Who is he?"

Merlin didn’t answer right away. He stared at Gorim, who was still lying unconscious, for a few seconds before replying, "He is Gorim—the legendary dwarf blacksmith, famous for forging a thousand mythical-grade weapons."