The Ancient Dwarf Citadel (1)
Dwarves could be defined as a race that dreamed of an industrial revolution in modern terms. But they got punched by the emperor and faded away like that—a pitiful bunch. If they'd succeeded, they might've become a great power dominating the entire continent, like Britain in the 18th or 19th century.
"Ancient magitech! It holds that kind of value, you know? Do you understand?"
"...Yeah. Yeah. I get it already."
To sum up everything Yanes had said so far, that's the vibe she was giving off. This magic-obsessed nutjob was showing insane affection for any discipline involving mana.
'Magitech? Isn't that just the pathetic product of total losers who failed hard?'
Valerius's little joke had clearly gotten under her skin, and she'd been lecturing nonstop for an hour because of it.
"No, you can't, sir."
"Urgh."
Sophia quickly intervened, sensing Valerius debating whether to knock Yanes out. After all, she'd be the one carrying her if he did.
She was noisy, sure, but once you got used to her, she wasn't so bad. That's why Sophia was dead set against letting Valerius go through with it.
In the end, all Valerius could do was shake his head with a deep sigh.
"...Amazing."
Raven muttered that while watching the scene. Sophia caught it and beckoned him over slightly. Valerius was too distracted by Yanes chattering right behind him to notice anything here.
"What's amazing?"
"Huh? Oh, well, the boss hates naggy women the most. The ones who dodge consequences with tears or scream for their backers."
"Ahem."
Sophia's head tilted. But wasn't Valerius the one who made Yanes scream like that in the first place?
"Weak to honey traps?"
"Huh? Oh, come on, no. Down on the southern front, a succubus snuck in for a night raid, but the second his belt came off, he snapped her neck without a word."
"...You resisted a succubus's temptation?"
Sophia was horrified by Raven's follow-up story. A succubus's allure was classified as a mental affliction you couldn't resist without an artifact—or unless you were a devout bishop-level believer, which Valerius sure as hell wasn't. If he'd powered through with sheer mental fortitude, calling him superhuman wouldn't be off-base.
"Hmm."
Sophia glanced at Valerius and Yanes with keen interest. Considering Yanes's ambitions that she'd mentioned before, this situation wasn't half bad.
"Ahem. Is the knight uncomfortable in any way?"
"Huh? Uncomfortable?"
"Your condition needs to be top-notch to protect the young lady effectively, right?"
"Oh my, how kind."
The group wandered the dungeon without incident. Aside from Valerius grumbling about the lack of blood scent, it was perfectly peaceful.
"...This place feels a bit off for a dungeon."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Dungeons are usually places condensed with malice and grudges—spots where undead spawn naturally from the resentment. But here, it's just guardian golems."
"Exactly, sir. And there are hardly any traps meant to block intruders."
Yanes and Sophia voiced their doubts, but Valerius didn't think much of it. In the original story, the first guy to discover this dungeon was just some no-name moldy bastard. He stumbled in after fleeing from a beast and came out with artifacts, so the difficulty couldn't be that high.
"Don't poke around needlessly. We grab what we want and go. Or we can gear up properly and come back later."
"Th-that's true, I guess."
Yanes broke into a cold sweat. Beside her, Sophia rolled her eyes dramatically. As a challenger type, Valerius had limited intuition or street smarts, but when it kicked in, it was razor-sharp.
"What? You two do something behind my back?"
"Uh, well."
Yanes had been scribbling down every mana circuit etched into the walls, buildings, and facilities. She'd touched one in the process, and it had briefly glowed before fading.
"You knew?"
"No?"
"Snuck around without us noticing? We should train you as an assassin."
"With how clumsy she is?"
"...You're talking about me, right? Right?"
It was a pretty off-kilter conversation, but whatever. A dwarf citadel didn't mean there'd be anything impressive anyway.
"Be more careful next time."
"Ah! Yes! I will!"
Yanes looked shocked that he hadn't chewed her out more. Raven smirked at her tense expression. Most of the time she was bold and brassy, but she always turned timid in moments like this.
He thought it'd blow over as a minor thing, but the world wasn't that forgiving.
Ziiing.
A small vibration started at Yanes's feet. Mana ripples spread out like waves from a stone tossed into a lake, blanketing the citadel in an instant.
Kugugugugu!
It wasn't just any tremor. The vibration climbing through the stone floor was precise and heavy enough to rattle their bones. The citadel's dormant heart had begun to beat again.
Protocol 04 Activated.
Intruder Sector Confirmed.
Blue mana letters flickered chaotically above Yanes's face in midair. Her mistake hadn't just nudged a circuit—it had awakened the citadel's entire defense mechanism.
'Ah, we're screwed.'
The face of the villainous lady, ruthless in the original story, went deathly pale in an instant. Cold sweat beaded down her spine, and her heartbeat thrummed irregularly in sync with the mechanical vibrations. This wasn't mere guilt. She'd roused ancient dwarven magitech far more advanced than anything modern. For a mage, nothing was scarier.
Clank, hiss!
Seams in the walls meshed open with exquisite precision. What burst out were magitech steam golems the size of bears. Red mana flowed over their rusted coppery armor plates, and the grinding of interlocking gears pierced their eardrums.
"Who says romance fantasies don't deliver? Look at this bullshit setting."
Dwarves with steam engines? Come on, make it make sense. With insane energy like mana around, why bother with steam? Sure, for versatility, this was dozens of times superior, but still.
Pssshhh!
Sophia drew her sword and blocked Yanes's path. Vents on the golem's shoulders opened, blasting hot pressurized steam.
Boom!
A charge powered by immense steam pressure. The stone floor crumbled under the force. Sophia's sword clashed with the golem's arm but couldn't overcome its hefty steel mass.
"Ngh!"
Bluish mana gathered on Sophia's blade. Her razor-honed swordsmanship unfolded like a hail of arrows.
Shiiiing.
The upward slash at extreme acceleration tore through the air with a resounding whoosh. It could've bisected most monsters clean in half—an elite strike.
"...My god."
But the steam golem that took it head-on had just a single sword mark on its chest plate. If even that barely scratched it...
"Move."
A low, sunken voice came from behind Sophia's shoulder. Valerius, aura surging with murderous intent.
Thud.
Valerius stepped forward. Gliding across the ground like he was on skates, he settled into stance. His sharpened senses flooded with data: the timing of building steam pressure, the trajectory of power through meshing gears. He weaved past the golem's fist, twisted his body, and landed a body shot.
Kwaaang!
His fist smashed into the golem's chest—not just a hard hit, but dead on its power core. Crunch. A grotesque metallic rupture echoed as the armor crumpled like paper. Trapped high-pressure steam erupted in scorching heat, but Valerius didn't blink. He jammed his hand into the crumpled steel, ripping out everything he could grab.
Krunch, skreeee!
A scream-like metallic wail rang out as the massive mechanical doll toppled. Oil-mixed coolant soaked the floor like blood.
Unit 01 Destruction Confirmed.
Defense Intensity Increased.
The system message updated, and the citadel corridors flashed red. It wasn't just one. Dozens of mechanical glows ignited at once from the end of the hall, beyond the ceiling.
"Yanes."
Valerius tossed the ripped-out gear to the floor and called her.
"Y-yes?"
"I heard Valbasor knows magitech and alchemy. How many intact ones to steal their tech?"
Yanes gulped. Dozens of steam golems advanced, blasting steam in unison. The whole space felt like a massive pressure cooker.
"Uh, twenty intact ones should do it."
"Good."
Valerius's lips twisted into a grin. The war hero who'd single-handedly cut down 700 foes had cold bloodlust gleaming in his eyes.