This chapter is brought to you by anubisscans. More updates on our website.
Support us by reading at anubisscans.com.
106
“…That is truly out of the question. Their deteriorated skills make it impossible.”
Pirnen flatly refused as though the idea were absurd.
The distrust toward the dwarves came through far too clearly.
“I’ll take responsibility for the results. There’s no other option anyway, is there? Or do you intend to cover it with materials that ruin the aesthetic?”
“…….”
The mark landing squarely, Pirnen fell silent.
She furrowed her brow and sank into thought.
Then, after a brief pause, she gave her answer with conditions.
“Very well. If it fails as expected, that gold bracelet will be reclaimed. The compensation will of course still be paid.”
“Understood. And during the repairs, I’ll have the dwarves stay within the city. They’ll keep quietly to that run-down building at the northern end.”
“…Do as you see fit.”
Pirnen gave a reluctant nod upon hearing about the state of the village.
This was sufficient progress.
“You’ll receive reports separately, but if you ever wish to give up, feel free to come to me at any time. Then I look forward to seeing you again shortly.”
With a light parting word, she disappeared inside the wall.
Jinuk, who had been glaring the whole time, also vanished with his group in tow.
Ding—
[Main Quest #5 has been completed.]
[You have received 200,000 gold.]
[Your experience points have increased by 60,000.]
[5 stat points are awarded.]
[Progress increases substantially.]
[Main Quest #6: Survival]
After repelling the first wave, negotiations with the mayor have succeeded.
Are the dwarves who took shelter underground safe?
Objective: Return to the village and confirm the dwarves’ survival.
Reward: None
*Current Progress: 22%
The main quest completion message following right away.
The increase in progress was enormous as well.
Shhk—
Just then, someone turned from within the dispersing subjugation team.
A handsome brown-haired adventurer who appeared to be around his forties.
“I was deeply impressed by what I saw earlier. I had no idea an outside adventurer would be of such tremendous help. On behalf of Ifrit’s citizens, I thank you.”
The adventurer extended a hand and offered a warm greeting.
Hanbit clasped it and replied with a light handshake.
“Not at all. It was simply the right thing to do.”
“You carry a great depth of character for such a young age. I am Zenon, a B-rank adventurer. If anything comes up, please do not hesitate to ask. I’ll be of help.”
“I’m Black Dragon. I’ll be sure to reach out if I find myself needing a favor.”
The exchange that resembled trading calling cards was over quickly.
Right now this was how things stood — but he was a man whose help would be greatly needed as early as tomorrow.
‘Then I suppose it’s that side now.’
Left alone, Hanbit turned his gaze north.
In the still quiet village, faint outlines of short figures could barely be made out moving about busily.
“Black Dragon-nim!”
Just then, Avantgarde appeared through the gap in the broken wall.
“Where did you go? I thought you’d join us right away.”
“I did a sweep of the area around the village. There might have been interfering parties.”
“Is that so? Did you find anything?”
“I found two NPCs. They looked like people the mayor sent.”
He gave a satisfied nod, saying he had taken precautions just in case.
Hanbit had noticed it early on but saw no need to say so.
“Then let’s head to the dwarf village.”
“Yes!”
Either way, the two made their way to the outer edge of the northern wall.
As they gradually drew closer to the village, a strange sound reached them.
“Damn it all!”
The voice belonged to dwarf prince Gorik.
He was frantically searching through the ravaged village.
He had even thrown off the robe he always wore.
“Kudran! Rikenna! Jenovo! Where are you!”
Gorik’s voice calling out his people’s names was desperate.
Seeing that, Hanbit was inwardly surprised.
‘A reaction this intense — I’ve never seen before.’
Unlike the past, this time he had made efforts to bring out the situation well in every way.
Having not proceeded alone gave him the breathing room to do so.
Whether because of that or not, Gorik was showing emotions more raw than Hanbit remembered.
“Can’t you hear me! Can you hear my——”
Moving deeper and deeper inward, he came to a hollow stop at the center of the village.
Then he sank to his knees and fell into despair.
-T_T
-They’re all dead. T_T
-Total wipeout (no one died)
-Was he secretly wanting to come back?
-That damned pride of his;
A side of him completely unlike his usual bluntness surprised everyone.
Hanbit slowly moved his feet and stepped inside.
“There’s no need to shout like that.”
“……!”
Hearing a familiar voice, Gorik snapped his head around.
Eyes wide, he shot to his feet and strode toward Hanbit.
“You! What have you done to my people… my subjects!”
“What do you mean, what have I done?”
“You told me to watch! To watch the terrible sight of monsters descending on the village!”
Gorik had concluded it was all Hanbit’s trap.
Not entirely wrong — but Hanbit offered his defense.
“What I meant was that you should see properly how the people here have been living. I was the one risking my own life in the fight, to begin with.”
“…….”
Showing the monster blood on his sleeve, Gorik went quiet.
The image of himself, who had done nothing but watch helplessly as the attack unfolded, had surfaced.
“Come this way for now.”
“…What?”
Hanbit moved his feet toward where the underground space was.
Gorik watched him trudge away, then followed after him.
“Where are you going now! I asked where my people are!”
“I know. So see for yourself.”
“What strange talk again…….”
The two, still conversing, arrived at the collapsed building near the center.
As Hanbit began clearing the piled debris, Gorik asked:
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, I can hear sounds from below as well.”
Tap tap—
Just then, something stirred from beneath the ground.
And moments later.
“Got it!”
Someone pushed through the packed earth and rubble and emerged.
“Kudran?”
“…Your Highness?”
The two dwarves whose eyes met called out to each other at the same moment.
-Hi.
-Welcome back.
-Ta-da, everyone survived~
Eyes meeting, frozen in place.
Kudran’s reaction went one step further.
“Your Highness? Are you truly His Highness the Prince?”
“I…….”
Even at his subject’s urgent question, Gorik could not properly answer.
The desperate urgency with which he had been searching moments ago was nowhere to be found.
“His Highness?”
“His Highness?”
“What? Is it really him!”
The dwarves who emerged after also laid eyes on Gorik.
The sight of them swarming in looked like a family meeting after a long separation.
On the surface, at least.
“The prince?”
The elder, next to emerge above ground.
Discovering Gorik, his eyes went wide.
“…As long as you are safe, that is enough.”
Gorik, having met the elder’s gaze, wheeled sharply around.
Then he began walking quickly toward the outside of the village.
“Your Highness! Just a moment——”
“Ah, I’ll go. Just Jaeha-hyung, please come with me.”
“Me?”
Kim Jaeha stepped forward with a question.
Either way, he followed behind Hanbit as the two trailed after Gorik.
They came to a stop five minutes after leaving the village.
“How far were you planning to go?”
“…This is far enough.”
At Hanbit’s question, Gorik pressed a hand against the wall and answered.
His expression held relief and desolation in equal measure.
“When did you dig that underground space?”
“Right after a small monster attack. The thought was to make one shelter.”
“I see.”
At the clear answer, Gorik gave a nod.
He moved his gaze briefly upward, then asked in a low voice.
“Will the people go on living in the village? If monsters attack again, they absolutely won’t be able to hold.”
“No — I’ve already negotiated with the mayor to bring them inside the city. In exchange, the collapsed wall must be repaired.”
“The wall? You mean to have them repair it? Without me?”
Gorik asked again, and the anxiety in him was palpable.
He knew full well that without dwarven metallurgy it was absolutely impossible.
“What will you do? If you don’t help, the people of the village will have quite a hard time. Ah, if that’s inconvenient, you can begin by teaching the craft to Kim Jaeha.”
“…You truly are a slippery one.”
Gorik clicked his tongue at the naturally flowing course of events.
But a better option did not come to mind either.
He looked at Kim Jaeha standing beside him and said:
“So I really am teaching this man. Do you have enough grit? The process of passing down the craft will not be easy to endure.”
“I’ll hang on to what I’m entrusted with until the very end. Surely that’s better than abandoning your people and leaving.”
“…It seems I’ll need to start by instilling some basic respect for one’s teacher.”
-Lol.
-What a surprise. Lol.
-Gorik got got;
-One hundred percent they fight during training.
Kim Jaeha’s cutting blow, bluntly delivered.
Given his personality, it was quite unexpected — but Hanbit had anticipated it to some degree.
The two had entirely different attitudes toward responsibility.
Especially regarding a leader who had abandoned those under his care — that was something past forgiving.
“I’m glad you seem to be getting along. Either way, please start the education whenever it’s convenient. Where would you like to do it?”
“Not inside the city. As it happens, the village has become ruins — no one will come looking. I’ll use the underground space you made this time.”
“Understood. Kim Jaeha, please hand that over.”
“…Ah.”
At Hanbit’s words, Kim Jaeha recalled something.
He opened his inventory, took out the dog-tag-shaped iron plate, and held it out to Gorik.
“Please take this.”
“Very well.”
Finally reclaiming the token, he quietly examined the iron plate.
Then he raised his gaze slightly and looked at Hanbit.
“Why do you need dwarven metallurgy? Is it for personal use?”
“That too, but right now protecting Ifrit takes top priority. With things as they are, if powerful monsters attack the damage will clearly be severe.”
“Hmm.”
Gorik glanced briefly at the broken wall and gave a nod.
A brief silence settled.
Before long, he spoke as though he had resolved something.
“In truth, the blessing cannot be drawn forth with this token alone. Even if the craft is taught, it would not be the true power.”
“Is it because of the heirloom?”
“…So you heard from Kudran.”
Gorik assumed the people had passed that information along.
He let out a short sigh and continued his explanation.
“To bestow the blessing, the token requires its pair. The dwarves’ heirloom, taken from us in the snowy mountains, must be recovered before the true power can be wielded.”
-The hammer, wasn’t it?
-And it was taken, on top of everything;
-One thing after another.
-Who took it?
-Let’s just go find it quickly.
Gorik, having released the truth he had been carrying alone.
Hanbit knew this well too.
The viewers voiced frustration, but there was room for understanding.
It had happened while he was unconscious.
“Without the hammer, the craft amounts to nothing?”
Kim Jaeha, rubbing his brow, asked as though struggling to follow.
Gorik shook his head quietly and answered.
“The craft is the foundation. But whether or not you can put your soul into it — that difference is enormous. What makes that possible is precisely the blessing carried by the heirloom.”
Hanbit too had gone through the full process of obtaining both the token and the heirloom.
That was why he knew well what was waiting ahead.
“So — where is the heirloom? Let’s go find it right away, no need to put it off.”
“I know the location. But I would recommend finding another way.”
“What? Why?”
The proposal being refused, Kim Jaeha asked again with a puzzled look.
Gorik, eyes on the iron plate, gripped it tight as he answered.
“Because the dwarves’ heirloom is in the possession of the master of the snowy mountains — the Snow Drake.”
