"The Furnace never dies; honor is eternal!"

’Oh, heavens.’ That hit Bane right in the heart. ’It’s the perfect slogan for our clan. How did I never think of it before? This is what I get for not reading enough books.’

Those words were worth a toast. He downed his beer, white foam coating his beard.

Refilling his mug, he went to see what was going on with that Magical Device.

Eight youngsters sat around the machine. In front of each of them was a chessboard-like Illusion, a row of cards, and some other scattered information.

It looked a bit like Wizard’s Chess. Bane didn’t like games like that. They were too mentally taxing, and if there was even a slight skill gap, victory was impossible. Not exciting at all.

He quickly found the source of the sound: a girl’s board, which had a full six Dwarves on it.

’Good taste.’

He wasn’t particularly fond of Human women. They were maybe five-foot-three but didn’t even weigh one-hundred-sixty pounds, with waists thinner than his thighs. And no beards, either. Just too skinny and small.

But choosing Dwarves for her lineup showed she had good judgment. Dwarves were always the best Warriors.

Besides the six Dwarves, there were also two Beastmen. That was fine. As long as they weren’t Sharp Ears, Dwarves could fight alongside any Warrior.

And at the very front of the formation, a powerful Warrior held a Heavy Hammer.

’Oh! Look at that magnificent red beard! That must be Sate Furnace. He looks exactly like he does in the picture books I’ve seen. That slogan fits Sate perfectly, and it fits me perfectly too.’

The basic gameplay was easy to understand. You spent Gold Coins to refresh cards, bought cards to summon pieces, and collected three of the same piece to upgrade it. You could even equip your pieces with Magic Equipment.

Collecting a certain number of pieces with the same class and race gave bonus effects. When time was up, players were matched in pairs, and their pieces would automatically begin to fight.

Dwarves could enhance their equipment, while Warriors would gain increased Armor and Attack Power.

’Perfect for Dwarf Warriors,’ Bane thought, growing excited. He took another big swig of his drink.

On the board, Sate swung his Heavy Hammer and flattened a Zor that was darting all over the place.

"Oh!" Bane cheered along with the young Dwarves. ’That’s the way a Dwarf Warrior fights! Those Zor, hiding in the shadows, poking here and there like flies. When it comes to a real fight, they’re just one swing of a hammer away from being flattened.’

This was thrilling!

’So much more thrilling than Wizard’s Chess.’

’Strategy, skill, passionate battles, plus a little bit of luck... what could be a more perfect form of entertainment? I have to find out where this thing came from. The clan needs one... no, lots of them!’

A Giant Dragon appeared on the board, looking incredibly lifelike.

To be honest, Bane didn’t hate Giant Dragons. Sure, they were greedy, but what race wasn’t? At most, they were just greedy for different things.

’Those Sharp Ears claim to be free of desire, but they still practically worship rare musical instruments.’

’At least Dragons are open about their greed. You never know what shady methods other creatures will use for theirs.’

’Can a Dwarf Warrior defeat a Giant Dragon?’

A group of Dwarves huddled together, nervously watching everything unfold on the board.

Twenty seconds later, the Giant Dragon fell.

"Oh!" Another cheer erupted. Wooden mugs clanked together, followed by a series of GULP, GULP, GULP sounds from all around.

"I’m finished!" a young Dwarf shouted, turning his mug upside down first.

"Ha! Get this lad another round, it’s on me! If I were fifty years younger, none of you could outdrink me!"

A few drinks later, the atmosphere among the Dwarves grew even more heated. They even started a rhythmic war cry behind Elsa, cheering on the Dwarf Warriors on the board to take first place.

In the game, only one opponent remained.

"We are the champions!"

"Dwarves are always the best!"

The countdown ended. The enemy attacked. Bane could tell at a glance that the opponents were his most hated Sharp Ears—cowards who only dared to use bows from a distance.

’The Furnace will crush them!’

However, the scene he envisioned didn’t happen. As soon as the battle began, a whirlwind swept Sate into the air.

’What is this?’

’An Elven trick! It must be an Elven trick!’

A few seconds later, Sate landed. He slowly gathered Magic Power and finally managed to use his Skill, but all the other Warriors had been defeated. Only Sate was left, struggling to hold on. He was chained by countless crowd control effects, unable to move at all, and was defeated without even swinging his hammer once.

"Impossible, this is impossible! How could the great Dwarf Warriors lose to Sharp Ears?! It’s all because of their tricks! If they played again, the Dwarves would definitely win!" Bane roared in frustration.

"Why don’t you play then," Elsa said, looking very impatient.

A Dwarf never refuses a challenge, especially in front of other Dwarves.

He stroked his red beard and sat down majestically in the seat Elsa had vacated.

Stroking the surface of the Magical Device, he could tell from the first touch that it wasn’t made of ordinary materials. ’For such fine materials to have such shoddy workmanship... The craftsman who made this wouldn’t even be qualified to be my apprentice.’

He took a moment to get used to the controls, and the game officially began.

For the first time in his life, he felt the night pass by so quickly.

Three hours. Two eighth-place finishes, two seventh-place, one sixth.

Bane had to admit, there was something to this game.

It was a good thing his beard was thick and his skin was dark, or else everyone would have seen how red his face had become.

Especially after Elsa had contemptuously muttered, "What a clown."

He was the best craftsman in the clan, and the second-brightest mind after the Great Elder.

’But this next match will be my chance to redeem myself.’

He only had nine health left, but he now had a two-star Sate. His lineup’s quality wasn’t high, but his synergies were complete.

Most importantly, he also had a Dragon Egg that was about to hatch next turn.

According to the description, the Dragon Egg could drop items of extremely high value.

’Just survive this round, just survive this round...’

The brave and fearless Dwarf began to pray, something he rarely did.

’Sate, hold on!’

The Dwarf hero still fell, but the opponent was also down to their last piece.

The attack landed. Health -8.

"Phew—"

Bane let out a long sigh of relief. He had scraped by. Now, it was his turn.

The Dragon Egg shattered, bursting with Gold Coins and several pieces of equipment.

’Refresh, search... oops, missed one... need this one, need this one... refresh... eh, should I take this one?’

Tiny beads of sweat formed on Bane’s forehead as the timer ticked down, second by second.

He started to panic.

’Who was I supposed to put in this lineup again? Why is there an empty slot? Right, and the equipment, who gets the equipment...’

The timer hit zero.

The opponent appeared.

’It’s over. It’s all over.’

He slammed his fist on the Magical Device in frustration.

Instantly, all the Illusions vanished.

"Seriously, I already opened the Dragon Egg. Shouldn’t this round count as my win?" Bane’s voice was only a third of its usual volume when he said this.

He rarely lied, but for some reason, he couldn’t help himself this time. ’This thing is bewitching.’

Meanwhile, the other players were freaking out.

"You broke the Magical Device! Do you have any idea how expensive this thing is?"

’I know very well. No one knows the price of various materials better than me. But the workmanship on this Magical Device... in my opinion, they should be paying people to take it.’

"Then I’ll just fix it."

"Just fix it? And who are you to say that? Do you know how many people worked hard to make this thing?"

"That just means those people weren’t good enough. I am Bane Furnace, and there’s no Magical Device I can’t fix."

"Oh, you are, are you? And I suppose that’s Sate standing next to you?"

"How do I prove it?"

"You don’t just have to fix it. You have to shrink it, turn it into a standalone machine. I hear the Furnaces can turn trash into treasure. You’d better not use any precious materials, either."

"Of course I can," Bane replied without a second thought.

"Good. Then sign the contract."

After Elsa and her group left, Bane’s assistant said to him, "Master, I think they were setting you up. It was all a ploy to get you to act."

"Of course I know that," Bane said with a casual smile. "But this Magical Device is truly interesting, isn’t it? I would have improved it even without a contract. Such a fun gadget shouldn’t be held back by bloated craftsmanship."

With that, he rolled up his sleeves and started taking it apart right away.

He quickly found the source of the problem: a part that had been deliberately tampered with. Next to it was an envelope.

He opened it. Inside was a check and a letter, addressed: "For the Esteemed Mr. Bane Rodell Furnace’s Eyes Only."

"Interesting fellow," Bane said, turning to the apprentices and assistants behind him. "Whoever orchestrated this, I like their style."