CHAPTER 313: CHAPTER 312- FORGELET

It was strange. The system was strange.

One moment, it told Adrian he couldn’t travel to another world unless he met certain conditions. The next, it shoved him through a swirling portal without so much as a warning.

And where did he land? Of course—another world.

’What is this place...and why do I feel so heavy?’ Adrian looked down at himself. His body was still slim, his muscles firm. He hadn’t suddenly gained weight. Yet every movement felt sluggish, as though invisible chains were pulling him down. Was it him...or this place?

Calling it a "room" didn’t feel right. The wide space around him roared with life. Sparks burst from anvils where molten metal was hammered into shape, ringing sharp notes that echoed through the chamber.

Massive furnaces belched smoke, their orange glow licking the walls like fire spirits. Steam hissed from pipes overhead, rattling with every surge. The air itself felt thick, filled with the biting tang of coal and hot iron. More than a room, it was a heart of industry. Yes—a factory.

Workers swarmed across the floor, their movements practiced and powerful. They looked like dwarves at first glance—short, broad, and compact—but Adrian soon realized they were far taller than him, easily twice his height, their muscles bulging as they swung heavy hammers and carried glowing ingots with bare, calloused hands.

"Hey, who are you!"

A rough shove nearly sent him sprawling. Adrian caught himself just in time and turned to face a white-haired dwarf gripping what looked like a single-shot rifle, its barrel dark and oiled.

Raising his hands calmly, Adrian said, "I was called here. Some kind of emergency, maybe?" He kept his words vague—this man clearly wasn’t Forgelet.

The dwarf’s eyes narrowed. He cocked the rifle with a sharp click. "Last chance. Who are you?!"

Adrian frowned. The hostility was unnecessary. He prepared to teleport away when suddenly—

"He is my guest!"

The booming voice echoed from above, freezing every worker in mid-motion. Hammers paused mid-swing, molten metal hissed forgotten in cooling troughs, and even the furnaces seemed to grow quiet. All eyes turned upward.

Adrian was about to look when something heavy dropped behind him with a thud.

"Avirin!"

The sweet, childish voice pulled his gaze back.

There she was. Pale grey hair that shimmered like soft metal under the glow, wide blue eyes shining with innocence, and a smile so radiant it softened the hardened faces around them.

"Forgelet?" Adrian asked in disbelief.

She grinned and skipped closer. "Yes, it’s me! Ah, you finally came."

They embraced briefly, her warmth oddly comforting. Around them, dozens of towering dwarves gawked as if they had just seen a miracle walk among them.

Forgelet ignored their stares. "Come on, let’s talk in my office."

Before Adrian could react, she scooped him up with surprising ease.

"Wait, wh—!"

She leapt.

The world blurred. Adrian’s stomach lurched as though he was on a rollercoaster, the factory floor dropping away beneath them. The clanging of hammers and the roar of furnaces faded as they landed with a heavy thump on a raised platform. Forgelet set him down gently.

"Sorry about that, Avirin. Too many eyes down there."

Adrian grabbed the guardrail, steadying his legs. "No...problem. But why do I feel...like this? Everything’s heavy."

Forgelet tilted her head, lips curving as if she was turning something over in her mind. Then her eyes lit up.

"Oh, right! This world has stronger gravity than yours. Your body just isn’t used to it yet."

"Thought so," Adrian muttered, finally steadying himself before asking, "So, what’s the emergency?"

"Let’s go inside first," Forgelet urged.

She pulled open a metal door on her left—towering nearly twenty feet high—and stepped aside, leaving space for him to enter first.

What she called an office was nothing of the sort. It was a workshop.

Heat and smoke filled the air. A furnace roared in one corner, molten light spilling across the stone floor. Steam hissed from a boiler, and broken hammers lay scattered by the wall, silent reminders of how often they were tested against metal tougher than they could handle. Every detail spoke of a place owned by someone who lived and breathed smithing.

Adrian followed her inside, noticing how Forgelet—still shorter than most workers around—seemed almost dwarfed by her own workshop. Yet compared to him, he still had to tilt his head upward when they sat across from each other.

"So," he asked, keeping his focus on the reason he’d been pulled here rather than on her, "what’s the situation?"

Forgelet nodded. "Right, so..." She reached into her side pouch and pulled out a small orb. A single tap on its surface sent it humming to life, and soon a massive projection of the orb floated between them. "...this is our planet."

She raised her hand diagonally across the image, then spread her fingers. The hologram peeled apart like layers of glass, revealing the planet’s insides.

"You see this innermost layer? That’s the core—the heart that keeps our world alive. We can’t afford to lose it."

Adrian leaned back, unimpressed. "No planet survives without its core."

Forgelet gave a half-smile and nodded. "Yeah, right. But here’s the problem—recently, a fanatic of the twisted God managed to summon a being from the Hollow Side."

"Hollow Side?" Adrian’s brows shot up.

Forgelet blinked, clearly surprised by his quick pick. Then she shook her head. "Can’t tell you more. The system won’t allow it...and trust me, you don’t want it angry. Just know this—Hollow Side isn’t our world, and nothing pretty crawls out of there."

Adrian heaved an exasperated sigh before urging her, "Well, continue."

Forgelet sheepishly smiled and was about to continue when suddenly, she flinched and so did Adrian as they felt a strong presence approaching

"Oh shi-" Before Forgelet could stand up, the door of the workshop burst open.

Adrian didn’t have the time to react before he was pushed away, falling from the stool.

He saw a giant shadow through the dust as the heavy stomps grew closer.

Adrian took out his revolver believing it was an ambusher but once the dust settled, he saw Forgelet pushing the man away but his eyes were on Adrian.

"You....you can’t have my Evilyn! She is mine!" It was a young, energetic dwarf for sure who was glaring daggers at Adrian

"Michael! Can you stop?!" She cried, trying to push him out but failing miserably

Adrian exhaled a weary sigh, ’What kind of drama did I get myself involved in?’

Unbeknownst to him, while he was here, his beloved Bella was facing the toughest battle of her life.

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.