Dwarf Brothers from Tirmant
"...Yeah, I see. I thought something was off."
Granbas Garglat plopped down onto the ground with a weary thud, nodding slowly. Han Ji-woo had spent a full hour explaining the situation, and only now did Granbas seem to accept it. His hand slowly stroked his thick beard, laced with a bitter edge.
"I must've taken a direct hit from that stone golem's fist. That rock-hard punch crushed two or three of my comrades at a time. Dwarves are tough, sure, but even we couldn't withstand that kind of disaster. I felt my whole body exploding in pain for a split second, and when I came to... "
Granbas glanced toward the Logaku house.
"I was stumbling out of there. ...So I'm dead, then. Makes sense—no one survives a clean hit from that fist. But..."
He fell silent for a moment, scanning the surroundings. His eyes swept every corner meticulously.
"Am I the only one who came here?"
"Yes."
"Looks like only one person can pass through an open Dimensional Gate."
"...Yes?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, uh, this is only the second time the Dimensional Gate has opened. Hold on."
Han Ji-woo checked Brisong's Dimensional Gate skill.
A gate randomly connects the Logaku house to dungeons from other dimensions.
The Dimensional Gate can only be used by heroes from other dimensions.
After someone uses it, the gate deactivates and requires time to reactivate.
This skill disappears upon use.
'No mention of it being limited to one person?'
Han Ji-woo closed the skill window and picked up the conversation where it left off.
"It might allow more than one—I'm not sure. Last time, only one came through."
"Hmm. I see."
Granbas furrowed his brow deeply, letting out a low groan.
"But why ask?"
"There was this half-wit dwarf I had to protect. I'm a bit of a half-wit myself, but he was way worse. Always cowering behind me, shaking like a leaf. I kept him safe up to floor 32, but on 33... that stone golem's fist came down like lightning. It smashed me—and him too, hiding right behind."
Han Ji-woo wasn't sure what to say for comfort, so he just nodded. Granbas didn't seem to want pity anyway; he just kept spilling his story.
"After hearing about this place and the Dimensional Gate, it hit me. What if those who die right when the gate opens end up here?"
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the space.
"Sounds like you're right..."
"Huh?"
Granbas perked up his ears, looking around sharply.
"That voice! Arnok! Is that you, Arnok?!"
"Hah... yeah."
With a deflated sigh, another dwarf appeared before Granbas. Above his head floated the name 'Arnok Garglat'.
While Han Ji-woo blinked in confusion at the sudden arrival,
Bam!
"Gah!"
Granbas's fist crashed down on Arnok's crown, sending him sprawling and rolling on the ground.
"That hurts! Owowow."
"Shut it! You came through too and hid this whole time?!"
"W-well... I didn't know where I was. Monsters everywhere—got scared."
Arnok mumbled timidly, and the pets swarmed around him.
"Eek!"
Arnok paled, eyeing them warily.
"Loved the tearful reunion, you two. So, what's the deal here?"
Granbas scratched his head furiously at Han Ji-woo's question.
"This here's Arnok. My little brother. Total coward, as you see. Not a drop of dwarf in him! That's why he got a Stealth skill after getting kidnapped into the dungeon. Makes him invisible, hides his presence. Useful for saving his own skin, maybe, but shameful for a dwarf!"
Arnok bristled.
"And your smithing sucks! That's the real dwarf shame!"
"Yours sucks and you're a coward!"
"...Fair point."
While the similar-faced dwarf brothers bickered, Han Ji-woo mulled over the new info on the Dimensional Gate.
"Granbas is right."
The sharp-eared big brother grinned at Han Ji-woo's mutter.
"Exactly! Heroes who die right when the Dimensional Gate opens come here!"
That sparked a question for Han Ji-woo.
"So if multiple people from different dimensions die at that exact timing, do they all come here?"
"Could be."
"Doesn't add up. Dungeons pop up across tons of dimensions simultaneously. Would so few heroes die right then?"
"Maybe it's the ones who die closest to the timing."
"Oh, yeah, possible."
"...Isn't that skill yours? Why keep asking me?"
"Even if I raised the cat, a trainer knows it better."
"What a ridiculous analogy. Anyway, introductions. This is my brother Arnok. And this is Han Ji-woo, owner of this space."
"I know. Heard everything. I'm Arnok."
"Nice to meet you. Where are you from? Bryunak Continent?"
"Nah. We're dwarves from the Tirmant Continent."
"Humans, other races, monsters there too?"
"Yep. And we dwarves rule it. Other races keep good ties with us—the continent's bosses—through interspecies marriages. Not bad, but it means half-breeds like me and this runt pop up."
The Garglat brothers were dwarves without smithing skills. And Arnok lacked the dwarven hallmark: hot temper—or valor.
'No wonder they seemed off for dwarves. That's the story.'
Tirmant Continent, ruled by dwarves. Other races intermarried for alliances. Result: dwarves without smithing talent.
Han Ji-woo had never imagined such a world.
"So all the kidnapped into your dungeon are dwarves?"
"That's right."
He'd heard the Creator's dungeons snatched the most influential from each planet. His dungeon took Earth humans; Osgeelro Haiban's took influential humans, elves, dwarves from Bryunak.
'Which means!'
This was the cumulative satisfaction from heroes visiting the Hidden Space. When it maxed at 10 points before, the strongest deceased hero from their world descended as a constellation.
'If I max the dwarf brothers' satisfaction to 30 points?'
The mightiest dead dwarf from their dungeon would descend as a constellation!
'Strongest dwarf means high chance of smithing skills.'
Whoever bound them as constellation gets the smithing. No need for Han Ji-woo to craft— just supply materials!
Han Ji-woo eyed the brothers with a salesman's smile.
"Gentlemen, let me make your stay comfortable."
* * *
The dwarf brothers accepted their deaths surprisingly easily. To them, death was just returning to the Earth Mother Goddess who birthed dwarves. Nothing more, nothing less.
They saw it as her summons. Following Mother's will, they cut ties with the living world coolly.
This made things easier for Han Ji-woo.
'Food first.'
Heroes' biggest dungeon gripe: no good eats. Palas Laporte's satisfaction spiked right after his first meal here.
As Han Ji-woo fired up the stove for rice and dishes, the Garglat brothers realized the "monsters" were pets and took interest.
"These are pets? Hmm. Kinda cute now that you mention it."
"What do you mean? They're all super cute, bro."
"Even the black hatchling? Dragon spawn! Even we dwarves ruling Tirmant respected those bastards' turf. We'd win eventually, but the losses... Still cute to you?"
"S-scary... but cute."
"What about that goblin? Cute mug?"
Pao tried his best to look adorable, but...
"...I spoke too soon, bro."
Pao slumped away, defeated. Arnok thought privately,
'Face is iffy, but that vibe's kinda cute.'
Granbas beckoned the pets.
"Stop gawking like zoo monkeys. Come here."
Toryong yawned and burrowed underground. The others didn't budge.
They'd seen him swing twin axes at Seibier—not play, but fight. Even if misunderstanding, they stayed wary. Seibier might've approached innocently, but the others knew better and sulked.
As the pets kept distance, Granbas reached into his pouch.
"Here, bet you've never had this."
Grinning triumphantly, he revealed a jujube on his palm.
"Hard to snag in a dungeon, right? Got it from an achievement. First one here gets it."
He expected a rush. Instead...
Crunch. Munch. Snap. Chomp.
They munched apples, grapes, watermelon—who knows from where?
Stunned, Granbas dropped his jujube.
"Y-you share fruit with outsiders? First come, first served?"
He glared at Arnok, plotting to knock him out. Arnok sighed pitifully back.
"That's your problem, bro. Always narrow-minded. That's why the golem got you."
"What, you punk?!"
"Look around wider."
"...?"
Granbas quelled his rage and scanned slowly. Now he saw: vast fields, towering fruit trees, barns, cascading waterfall, serene lake.
"Wh-what the hell is all this?!"
Granbas's satisfaction rose by 2 points from the shock. Arnok, who'd known since arriving, stayed flat—until
Nyang?
Lucy nuzzled his knee.
Thump!
Heart-drop moment—satisfaction surged by 3.
Han Ji-woo approached the brothers, tray of steaming dishes in hand.
"Dinner first."