Farewelling the eccentric old man, Athena recalled the two potion formulas she just memorized in her mind. Without delay, she went to find another wooden cabin.

Unlike the tranquility just now, as soon as she arrived at the doorstep of this cabin, she could hear waves of curses coming from inside. The other party was obviously very irritable. Just as Athena was about to knock on the door, there was a violent explosion from inside.

The door was pushed open forcefully, and Athena quickly stepped back, avoiding being hit.

A burst of black smoke emanated from inside, and an old man rushed out of it, coughing while not forgetting to use the cloth in his hand to wipe his glasses before putting them back on.

The curses from his mouth never stopped, and only after he finished venting did he notice Athena standing beside him.

He just frowned slightly, not saying much, and asked Athena to follow him inside. Athena hesitated for a moment as she looked at the still smoke-filled room, but still followed in. The pungent smell of gunpowder made her uncomfortable, and the dense black smoke made it impossible for her to open her eyes.

At a very fast pace, the old man opened both sides of the room, and the smoke gradually began to dissipate.

There wasn't much small talk; the other party seemed to be in a hurry.

"Come here quickly, what are you standing there for? Do I have to invite you? Have you not seen how busy the old man is here? You don't even understand respecting the elderly and loving the young! Call me Mu!"

"Yes"

Athena found his words somewhat inexplicable, but still obediently walked over to the elder goblin, Mu's side.

Mu didn't take out any strange books for her to read; instead, he took out some materials and tried to mix a kind of gunpowder. He then took ordinary yellow soil from the side, carefully wrapped the gunpowder in it, and meticulously wiped it with a kind of oil before finally relaxing and placing the earth ball aside.

Athena had been attentively watching from the side all along. After Mu placed the earth ball aside, he said to her, "I've demonstrated it, now it's your turn."

Mu made room for Athena, and she followed Mu's steps carefully, step by step, replicating them. She was very cautious with each step, very serious, not daring to make the slightest mistake, so each step took several times longer than Mu's.

Until she completed the final step, she also tried to replicate Mu as accurately and carefully as possible.

In fact, she succeeded.

Mu did not rush her during the whole process, nor did he disdain her slowness. Instead, he would sometimes seriously correct some of her steps.

Seeing that she had really produced it, Mu was even more surprised than Athena herself. He struggled to suppress his expression, but still couldn't help twitching his face.

"A low-quality product, really embarrassing." Mu complained about her while putting a large pile of materials into a sack, then placing the sack aside.

Mu didn't mean to hurry Athena away; instead, he pressed her onto a chair, letting her make more Fireburst Balls. He claimed that the inferior products made by Athena were intolerable to him.

Almost the whole afternoon, Athena didn't get up from the chair, she kept making Fireburst Balls. The first production obviously had a luck bonus, so it succeeded once.

In the subsequent production process, there were inevitably a few explosions. Both of them had to run out of the wooden cabin several times, and Athena couldn't help but be scolded by Mu.

It wasn't until Athena felt a headache that Mu let her go. However, it was only for her to rest for a while. When her headache subsided, she began the repetitive process again.

While Athena was making them, Mu was always guiding her on the side, instructing her on how to add, how much to add, and when was the best time, being precise and detailed.

Until Athena made the fourth Fireburst Ball and placed it on the table, this lengthy manufacturing process finally came to an end. Not because she had satisfied Mu, but because it was almost time.

"Why does time pass so quickly? It's all because of you, making things so slow!"

"Remember to come earlier tomorrow, got it? Young ears like yours aren't good for hearing in the morning."

Athena stood up, took a deep breath, finally having some time to catch her breath. The way Mu said that indicated that she might have some talent after all. Otherwise, with his character, he probably wouldn't even bother with her.

It's 5 o'clock now, still two hours until 7. She asked, "Why do we have to go back before darkness falls?" If this were in the surface world, Athena could understand, but the Goblin City isn't affected by darkness.

Darkness and daylight don't have any impact on them, so why emphasize resting before darkness and working when daylight comes?

Mu's mood soured instantly upon hearing Athena's question. Irritably, he said, "Rules are rules. Once you believe in daylight, you must be loyal. Stop with the questions, just go back quickly."

Athena now had a good understanding of Mu's temperament. Completely ignoring his prickly tone, she was just a little concerned about the content of his words. But Mu clearly didn't want to discuss this topic with her, so she didn't press further and left.

Back on the upper level, she hurried to the blacksmith's shop. Uncle Gowther wasn't hammering iron; instead, he was sitting quietly inside the shop, while his nephew Grey seemed half asleep beside him.

Seeing Athena, Uncle Gowther's gaze was somewhat complicated, as if saying, "I told you to come later, but you came so late."

Uncle Gowther slapped Grey awake, "Wake up, if you keep sleeping, you'll have to figure things out on your own!" Grey, startled by his words, quickly stood up, showing that she was wide awake.

The [ Crimson Bow ] and the [ Black Abyss Axe ] were still not returned to their original positions; they were waiting for Athena in front of the counter.

"50 silver coins is the lowest price I can offer you. What do you think?" Uncle Gowther looked sincerely at Athena.

Today Athena realized that she had overestimated her purchasing power with silver coins. 50 silver coins could buy her two weapons, which was completely within the range of 'almost free'.

But there's no such thing as a free lunch in the world. She was very tempted by these two weapons, but couldn't think of a reason why Uncle Gowther would treat her so generously.

"Are there any additional conditions?" Athena rubbed the Black Abyss Axe's handle. The cold touch was captivating. She was so enchanted that she couldn't give it up.

Uncle Gowther had long known that no one could resist his weapons. He deeply resented Grey's excitement beside him, wishing she could be more mature.

"It's nothing difficult. Just sign an equal contract with her, allowing her to go out with you. That's it."

"These two weapons will be the admission fee I give her. Although my child's skills aren't refined, she still deserves some of my true teachings..." Uncle Gowther kept talking, and Athena couldn't find a suitable opportunity to interrupt.

"While she's staying with you, you can also ask her to help you forge some weapons, as part of her accommodation fee."

When he stopped, Athena hurriedly inserted, "Just need to sign an equal contract? Take her out?"

Uncle Gowther said indifferently, "Without the help of your third world, we wouldn't dare to venture into the outside world."

"The Goblin race is a renegade, rebellious race from darkness. We betrayed the darkness and chose to follow daylight. There's not a monster that doesn't hate us, and darkness is our grave..."

ShoujoDirector

Your author has experienced the feared writer's block dilemma a few days ago while working on the drafts of Athena in Tower Defense Game. I am currently writing the first half of the next arc, "Regional Battle." Depending on my situation, this series might go on hiatus while I try to come up with ideas that meet my standards. Sure, I could add random nonsensical things here and there, but I know you guys wouldn't want low-quality content.

For those who don't know, writer's block is a non-medical condition primarily associated with writing, where the author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. If you were an author, you might feel at some point that something is blocking your way while writing your particular story. In this case, both Athena in Tower Defense Game (at chapter 65) and Me, The Sovereign of the World (at chapter 60) have halted, but I can still conclude that the existing chapters and drafts are enough to be considered as volume ones. I'm sure I will find a way to continue the two series.

Anyway...

While I am currently facing this dilemma, I published a new story that I created months ago and outlined plots and scenes enough to cover over 200 chapters. With this, maybe I can solve the problem. So please check out, Happy Evil Heartbreaker [Modern LitRPG]