Orc Half-Lord

(Author's Recap Note: Because there are no resources that existed on the surface of the Tianyuan Continent, everything that was built on the surface, for example, buildings, foods, water, stones, and wood, came from the Heavenly Dungeon)

(That includes their Tianyuan Ores Aiolos purchased from Artos, the Mineral God. The god's designation also varies. There could be a Craft God doing art, or a Mineral God doing blacksmithing. their title is just a rough title of their expertise, like Micos as the god of Trade, or a soon to appear individual, God of Law)

(Another recap would be the existence of ten primary gods. Life - Time - Space - Sky - Land - Sea - Creation - Star - Tool - Food. The existence of Raven Sarira with the title of [Prank] is something that will be further explained when the world entered their upper realm arc. Hopefully, it won't be too big of a spoiler alert for all of you)

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Low-Heaven Tier.

Although the grading between this with the Below-Heaven Tier is just how they're written, the fact behind them is more than just a play of the word.

(Below-Heaven Tier is also written as Tian-Xia-Ji. Low-Heaven Tier is written as Xia-Tian-Ji instead. It might sound ridiculously simple, but that's how it sounds)

And what're the differences between Below-Heaven and Low-Heaven Tier? In terms of Origin, they belonged to the same source. But the easiest way to discern their differences is through the hint of Godhood Source within.

First of all, their qualification.

A Nucleus from a Slime could be improved into Low-Heaven corporeality but, not all nucleus possessed the qualification to do so. It takes from birth, luck, fate, and encounter for the permission to take the single step.

As for the second way, it is through tempering.

Similar to how the Tianyuan Ore was smelted in a Tianyuan Iron. And from there, ten to a hundred iron ingots till it turned into a fraction of Low-Heaven Iron. But through this process, it is similar to how the resources for a thousand were given to one. It was considered a waste of effort from when the Tianyuan Calendar started.

But today, Aiolos is repeating what the ancient and elder gods deemed a waste of effort.

The chest of ores he bought from Artos was smelted into a mountain of Tianyuan Iron ingots. The more Godhood Power he injected into the ingots, the shorter the mountain becomes. At the end of his tempering process, only less than half an ingot of Tianyuan Iron survived the corrosion of his Godhood Power.

Of course, with a mountain of Tianyuan Iron sacrificed for this half ingot size of Low-Heaven Iron to form, its birth can be said to be worthy. Although it was his first to capable of doing something outrageous as this, he can't repeat this feat daily.

But for today, Aiolos decides to be a little selfish.

In the next morning, the five party members were greeted with a set of new gears. Except for Alrune, who's lightly suited, there are at least five pieces of equipment per person.

And between them, only Pharcis' had it differently. Aiolos ditched away almost all her equipment, except for the Lord's Cloak. Her new set of equipment consists of corset-like chest armor, lightly armored greaves, a sturdy wrist protector, and a brand new pairs of a gauntlet.

"This is!" Rochelle inspects the gauntlets Aiolos made for Pharcis, which is humbly qualified as a Xia-Tian-Ji weapon. The design of the gauntlets now resembles a pair of claws of a werewolf, but entirely made from metal.

There's also a small gimmick hidden between the knuckle and the armor-plate on the back of her palm. If needed, four spines can be extended from the plate itself to deliver a deadlier blow. And from the inside, there's a Non-Elemental Stone embedded on her palm, as decoration and attribute bonuses.

Also on her set is the Potion Pouch they bought from Logos Clothing and Craft. Aiolos had her name stamped on the cover before leaving it on the table for her.

"Let's go." they depart without disturbing Aiolos in his sleep. With close to 20 pieces of gear to repair and assemble, the stress they put on Aiolos' shoulder is similar. Also, what they have to understand is that without the Godhood Power, it would take a regular blacksmith much longer to did what Aiolos has done in a night.

Alrune chuckled as she retreats from knocking the door to Aiolos' Workshop.

Inside, the god is sleeping like a log and snores at the same time. By her side are the loots they brought back, which piled up into a mountain of goods. In between of his fingers is a blueprint of some accessory.

...

...

"Rochelle, could we explore the first floor today? I have something I wanted to try," Hansen exchanged a glance with Rochelle confidently, filled with eagerness to try his new ability.

"Rochelle, me too..." Pharcis raised her hand. She's also excited about her new ability.

"Alright. Let's explore the first floor today. I won't be helping, so you'll have to rely on yourselves when all of us are on the first floor." Rochelle agreed with their suggestion. After the battle against a few teams of orc scouts and werewolves, it doesn't hurt for them to take it easy once.

Descending to the first level, Hansen made a lunge toward a crowd of three Swift Wolves. His first activation of [Swift Blade] was a success, granting him twice his agility and attacking speed for 10 seconds.

"The feeling of moving along with the wind felt amazing!" Hansen delivered three strikes at a Swift Wolf before he dodges their attack. And using the surface of his sword, Hansen swung using both hands to executes another technique of his.

"Sword Bash!" the Swift Wolf that tried to attack Hansen was b*tchslapped by the Scarlet Blood. And further exploiting the feeling of his improved agility, Hansen throws a kick at the confused Swift Wolf before cutting the head apart.

Only a Swift Wolf is left. But before it could take action, Yesha appeared from behind and delivered a ruthless attack. The Swift Wolf immediately succumb to death from close to six blows.

"Pa - Pa - Pa, very good." Rochelle clapped her hands. Their improvement tells Rochelle that instead of feeling intimidated, they're eager to confront the situation once more.

Once the corpses entered the Item-Box, they continued with their exploration, finding valuable stuff as they move. What they did not realize is Rochelle's brutal training incorporated in their mind. Unconsciously, their flow followed similarly to how Rochelle fights.

"Krak - Krak - Krak..." suddenly, a very familiar sound came into their ears.

Alrune raised her staff, pointing it at where the sound cames from. With Yesha taking the lead to scout ahead, they found a spot where Steel Worms made their nest!

A Steel Worm carries a bunch of eggs in their body from the day they hatched. Close to 20 young Steel Worm could hatch from the body of an adult Steel Worm. The nutrient within the parent's body is enough for them to consume and grows before repeating the cycle once more.

Their favorite food is ores, especially one with a high concentration of Tianyuan Iron inside. The better the Steel Worm feeds, the slowly the proceed to the hatching stage. This is because of the bloodline, the information, and survival instinct could only be inherited at the last moment.

And with over 10,000 years of inheritance, their survival ability cannot be underestimated.

Especially...

"There's an Ore Devourer there..." Yesha whispered. A monster like the Ore Devourer is highly sensitive due to its natural echolocation sense. If they proceed rashly, it would either irk the Ore Devourer's mood or causes it to escape.

It is counted as one of the bosses on the first floor.

But most importantly, an Ore Devourer is a monster the party can't afford to give up! If Aiolos is here, he'll be laughing mad from such a stroke of luck! To a Crafting God like him, or a Mineral God, like Artos, Ore Devourer is a treasure!

Only the heavenly dungeon knows what is hidden inside of that body!

The others revealed a hint of their happy face and grabbed Rochelle's shoulder.

"Let us hunt this nest. Aiolos is going to be so happy he won't be able to sleep. But first of all, we'll need your help." Alrune said as she looks at the clueless Rochelle.

...

...

Meanwhile...

Two crest holders fought for their lives as they tried to rescue their friends. They were a party of six, who came down to the second floor to hunt for a few Flame Boars and perhaps, if they're lucky, a baby War Mammoth.

But as they're done with their task, they end up getting hunted by the orcs on this floor. To the six of them, this was the first time they were chased by the orcs relentlessly. One of them even died under the rain of arrows fired by the Orc Scouts.

Worst of all, the Orcs know where they're heading to and blocked them from accessing the entrance to the first floor. The crest holders immediately fought for the opportunity to escape. And before they managed to make a difference, despair came to them in the form of a Boss-Grade monster.

The ground trembles as the boss monster came closer to them, one step after another. Even worst, their dead comrade's corpse is in this monster's hand, who is taking a leisure bite as it steps forward. When it came to the neck of the corpse, the boss monster shucked the flesh like shucking a clam before swallowing it whole.

"Pooh!" the remains of the clothing and some bones is what was left after the boss monster spits it out.

"Shelly, leave!" the leader of the party tried his best to protect their youngest member. If Aiolos' party was here, they might recognize the girl called Shelly.

She's a crest holder of Tetros, the Food God. In fact, all six of them were Tetros' crest holders.

"Shelly! Go!" the party leader charged at the boss monster with light surrounding him. This is his most proficient skill, Protection Light. Submitting to her leader's wish, Shelly hops faster than a rabbit towards the entrance to the first floor.

But before she could leave, a corpse falls right onto her, along with the heavy armor it wore.

The boss monster came closer with three more corpses on both of its hands. After stacking them together, two orcs steps forward with mace where there are four blades on the head.

"Human. Die!" the Orc Half-Lord raised the mace given by his master and crushed the six people into pulps.