Infinite Doubling: Conquering the Divine Realm from an Island-Chapter 41: Black Dragon Valley

George froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, that’s me."

"Lord Viscount...! Why would someone like you come to me? Damn it, I should’ve been prepared!"

The once-furious dwarf suddenly looked full of regret, smacking his forehead over and over.

The bruised player in the distance just stared in confusion, completely lost as to why this man who’d beaten him up was now acting so respectful.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Brown. I didn’t realize I should’ve contacted you in advance," George said, feeling a bit embarrassed by the dwarf’s reaction.

"Your words are far too heavy, Lord Viscount!" Brown hurriedly pulled George inside, leaving the dazed player outside scratching his head.

"Mr. Brown, I’d like you to design a fortress for me—on my fief," George said directly.

At those words, Brown nearly jumped out of his chair in excitement.

He never imagined a Viscount would personally ask him to design a fortress.

"May I ask about your fee?" George continued.

He had no idea how much someone as famous as Brown charged for designing a fortress.

Brown went silent for a moment, deep in thought.

Designing the residence of a Viscount was a once-in-a-lifetime honor. He would’ve done it even for free—but naming a price was tricky.

If he asked too little, the Viscount might take offense.

Too much, and he couldn’t possibly afford it.

After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "How about... ten thousand gold coins?"

"That’s quite cheap, Mr. Brown. You’re very fair," George said with a smile. He actually thought the dwarf was being honest and reasonable.

Hiring a top-tier architect for ten thousand gold coins was a bargain in his eyes.

But to Brown, George’s tone sounded completely different.

In Brown’s ears, it was the voice of a noble displeased by such a low offer.

Panic rushed through him. Under the crushing pressure, he fell to his knees at once.

"Forgive me, Lord Viscount! I was being presumptuous! Twenty thousand gold coins—will that be acceptable?"

George blinked, finally realizing something was off. "Wait... you’re paying me?"

"Of course!" Brown said with perfect sincerity. "To design a fortress for a noble like you—it’s the greatest honor of my life. Spending a bit of money is the least I can do!"

George let out a helpless laugh.

Before, when he’d heard Raila and Sophia talk about it, George hadn’t really thought the title of Viscount was anything special.

But after what happened today, he finally understood—just how valuable a noble title really was.

Brown, the same dwarf who had turned away countless players without a second thought, had dropped to his knees in fear the moment he saw George.

George could have easily taken the twenty thousand gold Brown offered, but instead, he chose to pay him the fair market price for his work.

Hearing that, Brown was overwhelmed with emotion. Tears welled up in his eyes as he declared, "I’ll build you the greatest fortress in the world, my lord! One even a king would envy!"

He seemed truly inspired, quickly packing up his tools and insisting on going with George to the fief right away.

Once they arrived, Brown immediately started sketching out plans with unrestrained excitement.

George stood beside him, helping map out the layout.

His vision for the fortress was clear—it needed to be both comfortable and heavily fortified.

When George mentioned he wanted the strongest possible defenses, Brown said casually, "Then nothing beats Obsidian for that."

George’s eyes lit up. "Obsidian? Can it be bought anywhere?"

Brown thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It’s... not that simple. Obsidian only comes from Black Dragon Valley. That place is... well..."

Seeing Brown’s hesitation, George frowned. "It’s dangerous, isn’t it?"

Brown nodded. "People say a black dragon lives there. It’s not a place you want to mess with. We can just use quartz stone instead—it’s safer."

"No." George shook his head firmly. "I’ll go to Black Dragon Valley myself. I want that obsidian."

"Lord Viscount, that’s too dangerous!" Brown tried to warn him again, but George had already summoned his Holy Light Wings, ready to take off.

As George lifted into the air, Brown could only sigh and shake his head helplessly.

He didn’t know that George had earned his Viscount title by defending an entire city. He simply assumed George had inherited it—and carried the usual pride of noble blood.

George, unaware of what Brown was thinking, was already soaring toward Black Dragon Valley.

This time, his mission had two goals:

to gather the obsidian needed for his fortress,

and to test the true power of his Nether Magic Eye—along with that mysterious demon skill book.

[Nether Magic Eye: Active Skill]

When used, a Nether Magic Eye forms on the user’s forehead.

The eye can see through fog and illusions.

Any creature caught in its gaze will suffer a Fear debuff.

When it kills a demon, it can store the demon’s true spirit and use it as a summon.

[Fear Debuff]

All attributes -10%.

Small chance to lose combat ability completely.

[Demon Skill: Abyssal Curse]

Skill Description:

Casts a cursed sigil.

Any target struck by the sigil receives a Soul-Erosion Mark, converting 20% of their Martial Energy into the caster’s shield.

The target also falls into a Fear Illusion.

[Fear Illusion]

Target enters an illusionary nightmare with a 30% chance to lose all combat ability.

With the Nether Magic Eye and Abyssal Curse in his hands, George felt his strength rise once again.

But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of doubt about the true power of the Eye of the Demon.

Just how strong was that thing, really...?

Both the Nether Magic Eye and the demon skill book had come from it. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

To hand over such treasures so easily—it had to be terrifyingly powerful.

At least in George’s mind, if they ever fought one-on-one, he probably wouldn’t stand a chance.

"I still need to get stronger," George muttered under his breath.

After about half an hour of flight, a vast mountain valley appeared in the distance—Black Dragon Valley, just as Brown had described.

To his surprise, there was already a convoy of players moving through the valley’s entrance.

"Didn’t Brown say this place was dangerous? How are these people brave enough to come here?" George thought, curiosity stirring.

He folded away his Holy Light Wings and disguised himself as an ordinary player.

Acting cautious, he approached as if he’d just happened to run into the group.

"You alone?" the leader—a burly man—asked, eyeing him warily.

"Yeah... I got lost," George said, putting on a nervous look.

"Boss, why don’t we let him join us?" a woman in the group suggested.

Mostly because George looked handsome—far more so than the rest of the caravan.

"He can come," the leader said coldly, "but he pays."

"I’ve got money." George pulled out a pouch of gold and handed it over.

For him, such an amount was nothing.

"Good. Name’s Singh," the man said, his tone softening as he took the gold. "I’m the leader of this convoy. Stay close."

George took the chance to ask, "Brother Singh, what’s our convoy doing out here?"

Singh shot him a cautious glance. But after a moment’s thought, he figured it didn’t matter—he wasn’t planning on letting George leave alive anyway.

"Smuggling," Singh said bluntly.

Hearing him say it so directly, George let out a cold laugh in his heart. Now he understood exactly what kind of people he was dealing with.

Still, with his strength, killing Singh would be effortless. There was no need to rush it.

Putting on a curious look, he asked, "Do you have any obsidian?"

The rest of the players burst out laughing.

The female player from earlier walked over and said sweetly, "Obsidian’s deep inside Black Dragon Valley. We wouldn’t dare go that far in."

"Yeah, everyone knows there’s a black dragon in there!" another player added quickly.

"I see." George sighed in disappointment.

He had been hoping that if this group had a trade route for obsidian, he could avoid a direct fight with the dragon.

But now it seemed that battle was unavoidable.

"Hey, you don’t know a thing—how’d you even end up in Black Dragon Valley?" the woman asked with a teasing smile.

"I just got unlucky and lost my way," George said casually.

"Hah! Black Dragon Valley is full of danger. A weak player like you would’ve died a hundred times by now if you hadn’t run into me!" Singh said mockingly, irritated by how friendly his female subordinate was acting toward George.

"Oh? And you’re not afraid of the dragon?" George asked with a faint smile.

Singh flinched for a second, then puffed up his chest. "Afraid? It’s just a little lizard. I just haven’t bothered to kill it yet. If it ticks me off, one swing of my axe and it’s dead!"

"Boss, you’re amazing!"

"Yeah, our leader’s unbeatable!"

His men immediately began cheering, trying to flatter him.

Singh glanced at George again and caught the faintly mocking look on his face. His temper flared.

He’d already made up his mind—after they went a bit farther, he’d kill this smug kid.

They walked and joked for another half hour.

Singh looked around the area, deciding it was time to make his move.

Just as he was about to call George over, George suddenly spoke.

"Brother Singh," he said, "this black dragon you mentioned—does it have pitch-black scales, blood-red eyes, and a pair of sharp fangs?"

Singh froze. "Yeah... how do you know that?"

George lifted his finger and pointed toward the sky, a faint smile on his lips.

"Because it’s right up there."