10. Dwarves and Berserkers

Storm City was unlike Dragonrock City. Within its walls lived countless residents of different races: orcs, dwarves, and elves, among others.

It had all started years ago when the dwarves discovered a vast mineral deposit beneath the land where Storm City now stood. They built their mines there, extracting ore and forging weapons. Over the decades, more and more people came to trade for these arms. The dwarves eventually decided to establish a city at this very place.

Born as master blacksmiths and architects, the dwarves built Storm City with the most impregnable walls in the entire Dragonrock Empire. The city housed the grandest weapon market in all the empire.

Because the dwarves were a neutral race, all fighting was forbidden within Storm City. Thus, it became the greatest gathering place for mercenaries and adventurers of every kind.

As Mo Fei traveled through the city, he saw mercenaries from countless races, though most were warriors. The few magicians he spotted traveled in small groups, or accompanied mercenary bands. Rarely did he see a magician walking alone as he was.

However, no one sought to trouble him. After all, wood magicians were respected among all races.

Mo Fei entered a tavern to rest and have a meal. An enthusiastic dwarven waiter led him to a window seat.

At the next table, a group of dwarves caught his attention—not their appearance, but rather their frequent coughing. Judging by their attire, they were miners, and their coughs were likely the result of working long hours in the dust-filled mines.

“Why don’t you seek treatment for such severe coughing?” Mo Fei approached them and asked.

“Honored Magician, can our coughs truly be cured? We once sought help from the city’s wood magicians, but they told us our condition was not an illness and could not be healed,” one of the dwarf miners replied, standing up.

In this world, the healing abilities of wood magicians were generally limited to external wounds, with little they could do for internal ailments. No one here had yet learned to use spirit herbs for medicine, which was why Mo Fei could gather so many aged spirit herbs in an ordinary mountain.

“Take this pill, and your ailment will be gone!” Mo Fei said kindly, handing over some of the elixirs he had refined in recent days.

“Respected Magician, can this pill truly cure our cough? There are many more dwarves in our tribe suffering just as we do. Would you come with us to the tribe and heal our people?” the dwarf miner pleaded.

“Of course. These elixirs aren’t rare, and nothing could make me happier than saving more people,” Mo Fei agreed at once.

At that moment, a minotaur warrior from the orc tribe, sitting at another table, overheard their conversation and approached. “Sir, if you can cure an illness even the best wood magicians in the city cannot, might you also be able to heal the weakness that afflicts us minotaurs after we enter our berserk state?”

The orcish minotaurs, known as berserkers, could unleash a raging frenzy in battle to greatly enhance their combat power. But once the rage passed, a period of debilitating weakness followed, lasting around ten days. If this aftereffect could be cured, the combat might of the minotaurs would be dramatically increased, potentially upsetting the balance of power among the orc tribes.

“I’m not familiar with the specifics of your weakness, so I can’t say for sure whether I can help. Why don’t you show me your berserk state?” Mo Fei suggested to the minotaur.

“I’ll go berserk for you right away…” But just as the minotaur prepared to do so, a dwarf miner interrupted, “Since you also need the gentleman’s help, why not accompany him back to our tribe? Besides, this is not the place to unleash your berserk power!”

“In that case, I’ll pack my things at once,” the minotaur agreed.

His name was Cain, a leading figure among the younger generation of the minotaur tribe. When an opportunity to change his people’s fate appeared, he was determined to seize it.

Mo Fei and Cain left the tavern with several dwarf miners, heading toward the dwarven settlement outside the city. None of them noticed they were being followed by a group of mercenaries who had also been dining in the tavern.

Once outside the city, they came to a hillside, and Cain suddenly stopped. “Wait, I sense danger approaching. We minotaurs are born with a sense for peril, and I feel it coming from behind us!”

They hid behind the woods atop the slope and waited. Soon enough, a band of human mercenaries appeared on the path below.

“Aren’t those the mercenaries from the tavern? They must be after my elixir recipes. If they get their hands on them, both the minotaurs and dwarves could be in grave danger…” Mo Fei thought, seeing that the mercenaries were clearly after them.

“Cain, when the fight starts, go berserk immediately. I’ll support you,” Mo Fei said. These mercenaries were clearly no match for him.

They stepped out of the woods onto the hillside, where Cain brandished his twin-bladed axe.

“Gentlemen, I think we all know why you followed us here,” Mo Fei addressed the mercenaries.

The mercenary captain appeared surprised, having expected Mo Fei’s group to flee rather than wait for them. “Honored Magician, if you hand over the recipes for those two potions, I promise to let you leave unharmed.”

“My recipes will only be given to the minotaurs and dwarves. You have no chance,” Mo Fei replied.

“So you’re forcing us to act, then?” the captain growled.

“If you want to harm the gentleman, you’ll have to get past my axe first,” Cain declared, shielding Mo Fei behind him.

Did they really think one man could stop more than a dozen of them? Even in a berserk state, it seemed impossible.

Mo Fei, curious to see a berserker in action, cast “Wooden Shield” and “Nature’s Power” on Cain. “Cain, go berserk and finish them.”

The mercenaries, brash and overconfident, failed to notice the spells Mo Fei had cast, but the dwarves standing beside him saw everything.

“Sir, please cast your spells on us as well. We wish to fight for you!” said one dwarf, drawing his weapon.

Seeing the determination in their eyes, Mo Fei smiled. “There’s no rush—Cain alone is enough. You just stay by my side.”

Though he’d heard tales of berserkers’ might, Mo Fei had never witnessed it himself. Still, to be safe, he cast enhancement spells on the dwarves as well.

Empowered by the spells, the berserk Cain now possessed strength far beyond that of Simon from the Gale Mercenaries—more than twice as strong, in fact. The mercenaries fell before him like wheat before the scythe, slain in a matter of moments.

The berserkers’ reputation was well deserved; Mo Fei could only admire their prowess. After his rampage, the aftereffects of Cain’s berserk state struck. His whole body went limp, his head spun, and he collapsed to the ground.

Mo Fei quickly took out a vial, poured out a pill, and fed it to Cain. This elixir, refined from a millennium-old ginseng, was highly effective for restoring strength. After swallowing it, Cain began to recover some of his energy.

“Build a stretcher and carry Cain back to your tribe. I’ll examine him more thoroughly there,” Mo Fei instructed the dwarves.

Two dwarves stayed on guard while the others set to work. In no time, they had crafted a solid stretcher—dwarven handiwork was truly unmatched, even for something so simple.

They carried Cain toward the dwarven settlement.

On the way, Cain, having regained a little strength, opened his eyes and looked at Mo Fei. “Sir, thank you.”