Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Giant Thalion scoffed at these gauntlets. In his view, a true warrior should wield a battle-axe, a warhammer, or perhaps a trident—not something that looked so flimsy and harmless.

However, the Pandaren Taran was a special case: he enjoyed smashing his enemies' heads with gauntlets. That was his personal preference.

On the battlefield, Taran would also use a long, spiked staff—a weapon capable of delivering truly brutal power.

"I like them. But I'd like to buy a few more pairs. I've got some kin who need gauntlets too."

The Blood Elf behind the counter brightened when he heard this, only to look dejected right afterward. They had only one pair of gauntlets in stock and nothing more.

"Elf, wrap up these gauntlets for my friend Taran!"

Seeing that Taran was pleased, Thalion swept a large handful of gold Blackstone coins onto the counter, intending to buy the gauntlets and present them to Taran.

"One pair isn't enough. We'll go check the dwarven stalls later."

Taran simply nodded, not refusing the gift. He was already thinking of the dwarves' stall.

The dwarves had only just arrived in Stoneheart City. Though they had no actual storefront yet, they'd set up a temporary booth in the outer-city square and were already catching plenty of attention.

Once Taran and Thalion left, the Blood Elf clerk turned and went into the shop's back room.

"Send word back to our kin: Stoneheart City is in need of a new batch of enchanted weapons."

"Warhammers, battle-axes, greatswords, spiked clubs, gauntlets, tridents…we need to keep a bigger stock of them all."

Truth be told, weapons were in short supply within the Stoneheart Horde.

Although the Horde produced and researched its own standard-issue arms, those were reserved for the various armies. None were allowed to flow outside.

That wasn't the real crux, though. The crucial part was that nearly everyone in the Stoneheart Horde fought.

Apart from the bloodline warriors who had actually joined the armies, people of all races had a constant need for weapons, whether for training or hunting.

As a result, the Horde as a whole faced a weapon shortage.

Blood Elves, humans, and dwarves had caught on to this and had collectively come to Stoneheart City to do business.

The Blood Elves had already taken a small bite out of the market for weapon sales.

––––––––––

In the outer city, at the Mysterious Tavern.

As Stoneheart City grew livelier and more prosperous, more patrons were drawn to the Mysterious Tavern.

Individuals like Torin, Mike, and Wyatt, whose strength was insufficient, could only join the other mercenaries in drinking and revelry on the first floor.

On the second floor, there were only two or three patrons, including the Alpha-level knight Godfrey.

As for the third floor, you could only go up if you were Legendary-level.

On that third floor, by a window, the dwarf Harbek smacked his ale-drenched beard happily. After a moment, two patches of flush the size of oranges appeared on his cheeks, and with a loud belch, he shook off his daze.

"Excellent ale. Bring me another cask!"

The succubus maidservant standing by nodded and left to fetch his drink.

While he waited, Harbek popped a piece of beast meat from the plate into his mouth and turned back toward the bustling Stoneheart City below.

"Fine ale, tasty meat, great place!"

Harbek took an immediate liking to Stoneheart City, enjoying the lively atmosphere and the high-tier entertainment available.

"How does it compare to Thunderhold City of the dwarves?"

A voice spoke up by his ear. Before he could respond, Orion was already sitting on a chair opposite him with a casual air.

Orion's body dwarfed Harbek's. When he sat across from Harbek, he completely blocked the dwarf's view.

"It doesn't compare at all."

Harbek's pleasant mood soured at having his leisure interrupted, even if the one intruding was the lord of the city, the Giant King.

"Tonight's drinks are on me," Orion said.

He stretched out a hand, picked up a piece of roasted meat, and tossed it into his own mouth.

Up on the tavern's third floor, aside from the succubus maidservants, it was just him and Harbek, the dwarven emissary. This was as good a place as any for an unofficial meeting.

"That's more like it! Ten more casks like that last one, and I guarantee I'll be drunk tonight."

Orion lifted a hand, giving the order, and then he turned to see Harbek sizing him up.

"You're afraid?" Orion asked casually.

Although Orion spoke lightheartedly, Harbek's heart tightened.

"You…you've advanced… you're at the peak of Legendary level?"

Harbek himself was an upper-tier Legendary-level warrior, having invested centuries into achieving that status. Yet the Giant King before him was reportedly quite young—probably under a hundred years old—and he'd already achieved Legendary peak.

"Does it matter? Compared to an ancient being like the White Dragon Frostsire, we're all basically the same."

Orion's face was calm as he spoke, utterly composed.

"The same, my ass!"

Dwarves were famously hot-headed and straightforward, and Harbek hid none of his thoughts, blurting out the profanity without hesitation.

"Hahaha… 'my ass,' says the dwarf. I like it!"

Harbek grew animated at Orion's gleeful teasing but had no retort.

"Giant King of the Stoneheart Horde—surely you didn't summon an old-timer like me just for a few drinks?"

"Of course not. I came to see what high-tier treasures the dwarves brought this time."

This first exchange of goods between the dwarves and the Stoneheart Horde definitely included some valuable items not available to the public—intended only for the highest echelons of the Horde.

It made perfect sense for these things to be under the care of Harbek, an upper Legendary-level elder of the dwarves. That was why he'd come in person.

Straight to the point, Orion's words prompted Harbek to narrow his eyes in thought. A moment later, he decided not to hide anything, taking out a storage ring and setting it on the table.

With a slight motion of his hand, Orion drew the ring toward him. He didn't immediately inspect the contents inside but instead turned it over to study it.

"Was this crafted by the dwarves?"

"Of course!"

"Decent craftsmanship."

"Only 'decent'? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to cut void crystals? Or how challenging it is to inscribe spatial magical formations inside them?"

Harbek spoke proudly. Dwarves considered the storage ring one of their crowning achievements. At least, that was true here on the Utessar Continent (as humans, dwarves, blood elves, and others referred to this land).

Just a quick glance told Orion that this storage ring's capacity was nothing compared to the ones he'd purchased from his "bros" in the Champions Alliance.

"How do you plan on selling these rings?"

At the mention of selling storage rings, Harbek shook his head so vigorously he resembled a bobblehead doll.

"As allies, dwarves can present you with one storage ring as a gift. But as for selling them? That's impossible."

Orion was intrigued.

"Why is that?"

"Because we already have so few storage rings. Even among us dwarves, they're in short supply."