The Earth Dragon looked at Finn as if she was looking at a prey.
Before she could do anything, Yurian stepped forward and hid Finn behind himself.
"We need to talk."
"Follow me."
The Earth Dragon turned around and entered the forest.
Yurian beckoned Finn to come along.
Walking through the thicket, they soon came across broken giant pillars and walls.
They looked like ruins of a bygone era.
The amount of ruins increased as they kept walking.
The mud ground changed into solid stones and they entered what might have been a magnificent palace but now all that was left were broken ruins.
All around, there were massive stone knights pinned to the ground with giant swords similar to the one wielded by the Earth Dragon.
The Earth Dragon sat on the throne at the end of the hall.
She propped her chin under wrist and asked,
"What brings you to my kingdom?"
"I need a Level Disguiser."
"Just that? You can make it yourself."
"I can't." Yurian pursed his lips. "See it for yourself."
He turned towards Finn.
The Earth Dragon followed his gaze. Her brown eyes changed to golden color.
Finn felt the similar sensation of being unable to hide anything.
A moment later, the Earth Dragon's eyes returned to their previous color.
"That's a nice Status Screen. I suppose even you wouldn't be able to make much changes to it. I can disguise it in your place, but why should I help?"
"Help me this once. I'll return the favor later."
Yurian looked troubled as he answered.
Hearing him, the Earth Dragon sighed.
"You misunderstood my words. I have no problem helping you. I'm asking why should I help this brat when he doesn't even understand his situation?"
"Stop saying this brat. I have a name. Finn."
Finn had been staying quiet because he did not want to upset Yurian as he was helping him.
However, there was a limit to how much disrespect he could bear.
"And I won't understand the situation until you explain it to me. I'm not some omnipotent god. You need to give me an explanation instead of keeping quiet and then behaving as if I'm lacking information."
Finn's words lowered his evaluation.
Had he known, or tried to understand, who the Earth Dragon was, he would not have spoken so recklessly.
Her intention of helping him diminished.
She opened her mouth,
"The Travelers are a pie that falls from the sky. They are the gifts — sacrifices — that are given to us to make use of.
"You are the highest-rated pie among all the pies of this batch. Your Status Screen is the first in history. That means you are special. How? I don't know. But you are special.
"As soon as the information about you spreads, everyone will be scrambling around to get their hands on you. They will imprison you and try to understand what makes you special.
"You will lose everything.
"Your freedom, your talents, and your identity."
Finn puckered his lips.
He would lose his freedom?
That was not good.
How was he going to forge weapons and earn money if that happened?
The Earth Dragon mistakenly thought Finn understood the gravity of the situation.
She was pleased.
At least he was not as dumb as he looked.
"So are you going to help me?"
"No."
The Earth Dragon smirked.
She wanted to see what he would do to get her favor.
Finn turned to Yurian.
"We should return. She said she isn't going to help." He added. "There is no need to waste our time here. I need to forge the Epic-grade weapon as soon as possible."
"You're leaving? Did you understand a single word of what I said?"
"I did."
Finn explained.
He would be in danger if he met someone and they used Inspect on him.
The problem was easy to solve.
He just had to live the life of a pro-introvert inside the smithy.
He would get Yurian to sell his weapons and use all of his time to forge items to sell.
It was the most efficient use of his time inside Infinite Realm.
After listening to Finn's explanation, Yurian broke into a barely suppressed laughter and the Earth Dragon's face became red from anger.
She called her sword from the void.
The space beside her cracked and her sword came out.
Her figure blurred and approached him at a swift pace.
Just as she was about to attack, Yurian created a magic shield to block her.
A shockwave spread through the surrounding area.
Finn was unharmed thanks to the magic shield.
"Why are you acting like a brat? He only gave an answer to the question you asked."
Looking at Yurian who was unable to stop laughing, a vein throbbed on the Earth Dragon's temple.
"I don't like him."
"I don't like you either. But you don't see me trying to kill you." Yurian dissolved his magic shield. "We will go to someone else if you aren't going to help."
He was about to leave when the Earth Dragon suddenly spoke,
"Stop."
"Oh? Are you saying you'll help?"
Her brows creased.
She did not like Finn at all.
However, unless she decided to go all out, it was impossible to harm Finn with Yurian protecting him.
If she went all out to hunt Finn, it was the same as saying that she, an Earth Dragon, could not defeat an ant without unleashing her full might.
It would disgrace her name.
How?
How could she get back at Finn without Yurian stopping her?
An idea popped into her mind.
"You are trying to forge an Epic-grade weapon, right? How long has it been since you started forging weapons?"
"A day."
Finn did not understand why she was asking this, but he answered nonetheless.
The Earth Dragon smirked as if she caught him with a hook.
Yurain tried to stop her, however, for some reason, he could not make any sound.
"Don't stop me. I'm just telling him something he needs to know," she told Yurian before speaking to Finn.
"To forge Epic-grade weapons, you need the blessing of the Spirit King. That old fart wouldn't bless you until you practice smithing for a year at the minimum."
"Is it true…?"
"Why would I lie? Without the Spirit King's blessing it is impossible to merge the Spirit Core with the weapon. No blessing, no Epic-grade weapon."