Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Incheon, the Demon World, the Black Market - Part 6
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As the dwarf appeared, Lee Hyun-wook checked the system message that popped up before his eyes.
[Hidden Quest]
- Encounter with a Dimensional Traveler - 1
You have encountered a ‘Dwarf Wanderer’ who emerged from a dimensional rift.
Having just set foot in a strange new world, he is in a state of confusion. Helping him will bring an unexpected reward.
* A ‘prerequisite’ is required to proceed with this quest.
‘A prerequisite… This is the start of a major quest.’
This type of quest was known as a “request quest.” The system didn’t present a clear objective; instead, the goals and rewards changed depending on the relationship with an intelligent NPC.
In other words, how he handled the situation would drastically alter the quest’s content.
Lee Hyun-wook looked at the dwarf’s airship. It was small, no more than three meters in total length, and looked shabby, as if it were cobbled together from welded parts of an abandoned car.
Its surface was covered in several large claw marks, as if it had been mauled by some beast.
“…Damn it! Hey, you! Could you give me a hand opening this door? Huh?”
From within, the NPC named ‘Dwarf Wanderer’ shouted.
Lacking the strength, he couldn’t seem to open the crumpled airship door.
But despite his desperate plea, the party was frozen, unsure of what to do.
"I-Is that… a monster?”
Go Jin-hwa asked. The others felt the same way.
At this point in time, friendly NPCs were still rare, so their reaction was only natural.
Lee Hyun-wook shrugged and approached it.
"I don't know. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem very threatening.”
"Wait! I-Intelligent monsters like that are usually Black Orcs or Red Drakes......."
She trailed off, but her meaning was clear: those two species were extremely dangerous.
She was making a reasonable assumption that this creature could be just as perilous.
"Don't worry. If things go south, I can just blow up the airship itself.”
Lee Hyun-wook extended his left hand and used ‘Metal Transmutation’ on the dented part of the junker airship.
Sccrrreeeeech—!
The brown, scrap-like door of the airship was ripped open with a loud *thwang*, and the dwarf was flung out.
He tumbled violently across the dirt ground before managing to regain his footing.
“Hrk— I-I’m out!”
Lee Hyun-wook examined the dwarf’s appearance.
He was about 130cm tall with a thick torso, a large, bulbous nose, a gray beard, and white tattoos on his face…
‘Based on his appearance, he’s a Gray Mountain Dwarf, or Gray Dwarf for short.’
Just as there were many kinds of orcs, there were also various types of dwarves.
‘And they are a tribe with specialized skills in architecture and shipbuilding.’
They were a people who enjoyed and took great pride in creating items larger than any other race.
But originally, the Gray Dwarves were supposed to become allies of the Villains.
‘The Taesan Guild was the representative for the Gray Dwarf tribe… so this is how it started, huh?’
A rough picture of how his past life had unfolded began to form.
‘After those guys defeated Swallow, they must have received a quest and swallowed the entire tribe.’
Afterward, the Gray Dwarves began producing various superweapons at the Villains’ request…
‘And every single one of them was a horrific weapon of mass destruction.’
One of them was the <Sudarsana> mounted on Laputa.
The cannon that had wiped out the allied naval fleet surrounding Laputa in a single blow was a creation of the Gray Mountain Dwarves, and the massive airship ‘Gate Sentinel’ was also completed with their assistance.
However, the Gray Mountain tribe was not inherently evil. After learning the truth of how their weapons were being used, they made the decision to sever ties with the Villains.
Of course, the Villains would never let such a useful asset simply walk away.
‘They dropped a meteor spell on the Gray Dwarf settlement and massacred them.’
That was the tragic history their tribe was fated to walk, but this time, things would be different from the very beginning.
“Whew— I don’t know how you opened that door, but you’re a friend with mysterious powers!”
The Dwarf Wanderer spoke cheerfully as he approached Lee Hyun-wook.
"The name’s Soiler Wirebeard. What’s yours?”
"My name is Lee Hyun-wook.”
Lee Hyun-wook used formal language, intentionally showing respect.
The dwarven race had a stubborn pride that bordered on vanity.
So when trying to win them over, it was best not to skimp on respect and compliments.
And upon hearing his name, the ‘information’ displayed before him was updated.
- Dwarf Wanderer Soiler Wirebeard (LV: 49)
* This NPC is ‘Neutral’ toward you.
After a brief exchange, the system seemed to recognize him as an ‘NPC’ rather than a ‘monster.’
It was then.
"S-Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook! Look over there!”
Park Jun-mo shouted, pointing somewhere.
Woooooosh—!
The dimensional rift from which Soiler’s airship had emerged was now pulsing as if it were about to burst.
Soiler’s jaw dropped.
"Oh, drat! What’s wrong with me! I forgot to close the dimensional gate—!”
Soiler cried out and ran toward his airship.
He seemed to have noticed something was wrong and was about to take action, but…
Huuung—
It was too late.
Something shot out of the rift.
Cawwwww—!
It was… a giant crow.
It flapped its wings, glided down, and dug its talons into the ground to stop itself.
Cawwwww—!
It then let out a monstrous cry and spread its wings, revealing a wingspan that looked to be well over twenty meters.
"W-What is that thing!”
Its four red eyes glinted as it looked down on the party.
- Four-Eyed Crow of the Gray Mountains (LV: 61)
That wasn’t the end of it.
Two more emerged, and the three stood side by side.
It seemed these monsters had been chasing Soiler’s airship.
The mystery of the claw marks on the junker airship was solved.
Krrrrrunch—!
The three monsters advanced menacingly, their talons scraping the ground and crushing the rocks beneath.
"Uh, uhhh…."
"W-What are you all doing! Prepare for battle!”
A level 61 opponent was something only a B-rank Player could face. For them, especially without a proper tank, a single scratch from those talons could mean instant death.
"Everyone, don’t move. They’re faster than they look.”
Lee Hyun-wook gestured for the Red Hole Players to calm down, then looked at Park Jun-mo.
"Park Jun-mo…."
A blue light crackled in his fist.
"—Fire!”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s command, arcs of electricity shot from both his hands.
Fz-z-z-zzt—!
The current wrapped around the massive monsters’ bodies like blue threads, electrocuting them.
“Uggghhh—!”
"Just hold on a little longer!”
Park Jun-mo’s electric attack wasn’t yet strong enough to take down a level 57 monster.
But it was enough to hold them in place.
In that opening, Failnaught shot out from Lee Hyun-wook’s waist.
Thwip—Thwip—Thwip—!
Lee Hyun-wook first pierced the monsters’ wings, robbing them of their mobility. If he had recklessly aimed for their heads from the start, the flying monsters’ unique agility could have resulted in casualties.
Cawwwww—
They endured the electric attack and tried to take flight, but their wings drooped uselessly.
‘Good, now I can aim properly.’
Failnaught swerved and began piercing the eyes on the monsters’ heads, one by one.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
And that was it.
"What… W-What just happened…."
Go Jin-hwa and the other Red Hole Players stared at Lee Hyun-wook with blank expressions. The monsters had seemed insurmountable to them, yet he had defeated them with such ease.
Go Jin-hwa was once again filled with a sense of awe.
‘Is there anything this man can’t do?’
Facing monsters head-on like this was a completely different skill from simply dishing out firepower.
“…Oh, dear me! My mind is all over the place!”
Just then, Soiler emerged from the airship with some kind of remote and pressed a button.
Fwoooosh….
The ‘rift’ quickly faded and then vanished completely.
"Phew… It closes on its own eventually, but I completely forgot I was being chased…”
He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
"Anyway, you really are something else! I was chased by those things for days and nights, and you finished them off so easily! Hahaha! It’s truly my good fortune to have met you first in this strange land!”
At that moment, his ‘relationship’ with Soiler changed.
- Dwarf Wanderer Soiler Wirebeard (LV: 49)
* This NPC is ‘Positive’ toward you.
Perhaps due to the recent battle, his status had changed from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Positive.’
‘In that case… the appearance of those monsters was also part of this event.’
Since this was a game, every event likely had some sort of ‘script.’
Instead of running from the monsters, fighting and winning had likely earned Soiler’s ‘trust,’ positively influencing the quest’s path—its objectives and rewards.
In other words, the potential rewards had just increased.
"Soiler, what brings you to this world? If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”
Lee Hyun-wook took it a step further, intentionally asking in a very kind manner.
"Eh, what? You’re offering to help me on top of saving me? Are you serious?”
"Yes, of course. Our meeting must be fate, don’t you think?”
At that, Soiler’s cheeks quivered as if he were deeply moved.
‘In my past life, when they appeared, the entire world reacted with extreme caution.’
It was unavoidable.
When beings that were practically monsters showed up in droves asking for land to settle, who would greet them with open arms? That was why, initially, the majority opinion was to reject the dwarves.
‘But in the end, the nations that embraced the dwarves achieved incredible technological advancements.’
In essence, Lee Hyun-wook had swiftly seized that incredible opportunity.
"Hah, well, if I were to tell you about my situation, it’s quite complicated, and I’m not much of a talker…."
"It’s alright. Please, take your time.”
The story Soiler then laid out was indeed complicated.
To summarize, his world was on the brink of collapse for some reason, so they had planned a massive migration to another dimension, and he was tasked with scouting for a place to settle in other dimensions.
After finishing his story, he hesitated before confessing the words he had been holding back.
"So… what I mean to say is, um… could our tribe settle in your world?”
And the moment he heard that—
[Hidden Quest]
- Encounter with a Dimensional Traveler - 2
The Dwarf Wanderer Soiler is seeking a new home for his people to live.
He intends to entrust you with the helm of this massive undertaking, upon which the fate of his race depends.
As Soiler views you favorably, the rewards will be significantly greater, and an ‘additional reward’ will be given based on the ‘satisfaction’ with the settlement.
* Reward: Varies based on performance.
Just like that, the ‘request quest’ progressed to the next stage through conversation with the NPC.
Lee Hyun-wook extended his hand to Soiler, who was nervously awaiting his answer.
"Soiler, you don’t have to worry about a settlement. I know a very good place.”
"Hah— Is that really true?”
"Yes, I’ll introduce you to it soon.”
"My word! How can everything be falling into place so perfectly—!”
At his words, Soiler grasped Lee Hyun-wook’s hand, overjoyed.
Yes, there was a place they would love.
And it was a place with an abundance of jobs, where the dwarves would have no fear of unemployment.
***
"Oh… isn’t this an airship built with Gnomish technology!”
Soiler couldn’t hide his admiration as he boarded Pridwen.
"Yes, it probably is.”
"Ooh— Ooh— Where on earth did you get this? May I have a look around?"
"Of course. But please don’t touch anything.”
A dwarf would surely be unable to resist his curiosity and start fiddling with things.
Since that could cause problems, Lee Hyun-wook gave him a special warning.
“Hehehe— This one is a particularly fine piece of Gnomish work!”
Gnomes were commonly known as a race that were something like teachers to the dwarves.
But if you asked the dwarves, they would say they had never actually seen a Gnome.
They had simply discovered Gnomish ruins and learned their advanced technology from them.
A short while later, as Pridwen neared the Red Hole village, a loud cheer erupted from somewhere.
Waaaaah—!
In the village square, over a thousand residents had gathered, waving their hands.
They chanted Lee Hyun-wook’s name and shouted their thanks.
Lee Hyun-wook landed Pridwen nearby, and Go Jun-cheol strode over.
"I confirmed that the Swallow retreated, but as you said, they will all wither and die, right?”
"Yes, that will certainly happen.”
Hearing that, Go Jun-cheol finally smiled. He then gripped Lee Hyun-wook’s hand.
"Lee Hyun-wook, you have truly… become the savior of Red Hole…."
It was the first time he had shown such emotion.
A short while later, Lee Hyun-wook was sitting in Go Jun-cheol’s house. Having dealt with the Swallow as promised, it was time to discuss his reward, but a few other topics had come up as well.
"Hmm, dwarves, you say…."
First, the dwarves. Soiler had decided to stay here for a while.
The plan was to take him to Laputa once things had settled down a bit.
"Yes, I’d heard rumors of such beings appearing recently, but I never thought they’d show up here.”
If rumors were already circulating, it meant another dwarf tribe had likely appeared in a different region.
‘So I wasn’t the first one to encounter them.’
This was one of the major events that opened up around this time.
But since most would treat them with hostility at first, Lee Hyun-wook would be the one to benefit most from this event.
"And there’s one more thing. You must have seen a rocky mountain collapse a short while ago.”
"Yes, wasn’t that where you found the dwarf?’’
"I found more than just a dwarf there. I found something very valuable.”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s words, a glint appeared in Go Jun-cheol’s eyes.
“…I’ve discovered an Adamant mine.”
"An A-Adamant mine… Are you serious?”
Even the battle-hardened Go Jun-cheol looked stunned by the news.
He didn't know how large the deposit was, but it meant they had struck an incredible fortune.
"However, you must know that I also played a part in the discovery of this Adamant mine.”
"Of course, that’s an undeniable fact… You will receive a fitting reward.”
It was a blatant demand for compensation, but Go Jun-cheol actually preferred this attitude.
‘That’s right. It’s better to take what you’re owed without hesitation.’
Go Jun-cheol believed that people who acted selflessly often had something to hide.
He’d seen more than a few such people in his life, so he was sure of it.
That’s why he preferred clear give-and-take, building trust through repeated transactions.
In that respect, this man, Lee Hyun-wook, had many qualities that he found quite agreeable…
But… Lee Hyun-wook’s next words left him utterly shocked.
"Give me the exclusive rights to develop and distribute the Adamant mine.”
Go Jun-cheol didn’t answer for a good ten seconds.
"......."
It was an incredibly excessive demand.
"You don’t have to worry. I will pay a fair price for the Adamant.”
But it wasn't about the price.
The power to control a resource as immense as Adamant and decide how it was used was true strength. It was a power that could be wielded like resource diplomacy, and he was asking for that right…
"Hmm… I know it’s thanks to you, but you must be aware that’s a very big request, right?”
Just then, Lee Hyun-wook played another card.
"Yes, and in return, I will help the people of this village return to the surface.”
At that, Go Jun-cheol’s eyebrows twitched.
"This isn't a safe place, is it? I doubt anyone came here by choice. I will help you. I’ll help the children born in Red Hole become citizens of the Republic of Korea again, so they can live with the rights they deserve.”
Lee Hyun-wook gave a faint smile.
‘…He figured out what we want in such a short time?’
It was as if Lee Hyun-wook had seen right through to Red Hole’s deepest desire from the very beginning.
And that wasn’t his last card.
"And I will secure a place for the residents of Red Hole in Laputa.”
"......Hmm?"
"Simply bringing them to the surface won't guarantee their safety or livelihood. But… Laputa would be different.”
At that point, Go Jun-cheol let out a short, incredulous laugh. It wasn’t a scoff. It was because the man’s ‘deal’ was so weighty, and he could feel his resolve crumbling after just a few words.
"You really do have so much, and you wield it all so frighteningly well, don’t you?”
In other words, he kept pushing forward in a way that was impossible to refuse.
‘That’s right, this is an unstable world. We can’t live here forever. We have to go up.’
On top of that, it wasn’t just anywhere, but residency in the magitech city floating in the skies of Seoul…
“Hah— Really… I can’t resist this…."
"Then, may I take that as you accepting my proposal?”
Go Jun-cheol nodded.
At this point, the future of the village’s children was more important to him than money or power.
"Alright. But may I ask what you plan to do by swallowing this mine whole? It can’t just be for money; you must have a bigger goal in mind… Can you give a hint to someone who’s boarded your ship? As a paying passenger, don’t I have the right to know where this ship is headed?”
"Yes, it’s simple.”
Lee Hyun-wook took a steel ball from his pocket.
Then, through ‘Metal Transmutation,’ he shaped it into a sharp ‘point.’
“…I’m going to make weapons.”
"Oh, weapons, you say…."
"As you know, my ability is to control steel.”
And Adamant was the strongest steel—the strongest metal.
Go Jun-cheol had just witnessed a glimpse of the rumored ‘Steel Rain.’
But those weapons were all made from dungeon steel.
‘Hah— A Steel Rain made of Adamant… Most tanks wouldn’t stand a chance.’
He realized that the S-rank Player sitting before him had only just reached the ‘starting line.’
"And since you’re S-rank, your power will only continue to grow in one way or another, won’t it?”
"Yes, that’s right.”
Meaning he would continue to grow stronger, endlessly…
And in this world, almost everything was made of metal.
An esper who could freely sway, mold, and detonate those things…
‘Perhaps this man’s arrival is the greatest fortune of my final years.’
***
Lee Hyun-wook received a promise from Go Jun-cheol for ‘evidence’ that could take down the Taesan Guild.
It would take some time to gather and organize that evidence, but…
‘…In other words, it’s only a matter of time.’
Before leaving the black market, he made one more request.
He asked them to gather as many ‘Ancient Coins of the Underground Kingdom’ as they could, an item of unknown use that was likely dropping in various places.
‘Right now, it’s considered a worthless junk item, but its value will skyrocket after the dwarves appear.’
That was because it was one of the most valuable currencies in the dwarven world.
He was, so to speak, getting in early on the ‘coin.’
And as the first ‘full-time employee’ from Red Hole to be hired for Laputa, he brought Yeo Min-sang out with him.
As Lee Hyun-wook was heading toward the Hope Guild with him, he received a phone call.
- Hey, Sponsor! This is incredible!
It was Kang Hee-seol.
"Hm?"
- W-We just finished something! And it’s—wow—it’s amazing!
Just what had they created to make her so excited? He felt a surge of anticipation.
- You know that robot you brought us before?
"Ah, you mean the Ruin Guardian?”
- Yeah, that thing!
He had deactivated the ‘Bronze Guardian (Alpha)’ from Gnomish Ruin A3 and brought it to Kang Jeong-du.
They had apparently been conducting all sorts of research based on it, and it seemed they had finally created something with it.
- So, Grandpa made a shotgun with the crystal embedded in the robot’s shoulder!
‘Hmm, the crystal…’
Lee Hyun-wook remembered. He remembered the scene where flames shot out from the 4-meter-tall giant’s shoulder, melting all the Living Armors… And now she was saying they had made a personal weapon, a ‘shotgun,’ out of it.
‘Wait, they made a shotgun with that? Is that even possible?’
- And then we used ‘the hammer’ on it… and it got an incredible skill!
The hammer, she must have meant the ‘Hephaestus Hammer.’
It seemed they had witnessed the true potential of that item.
- What is that hammer anyway! Give me one too! Please—?
And so, it seemed a masterpiece had already been born.
Lee Hyun-wook immediately headed for Kang Jeong-du’s workshop.