Chapter 116
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Dwarf
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Dwarf.
The race that forms one pillar of Norse mythology, later recreated as "dwarves" by J.R.R. Tolkien, the grand master of modern fantasy.
In truth, wasn't Tolkien, before being a great author and linguist, someone with the ability to peek through dimensional holes into other worlds?
Perhaps he was even a senior to Jin, who had experienced the Return Bead early on?
His brilliant human imagination was like an intercontinental nuclear missile piercing through eras.
And so, today.
To humanity, dwarves are etched in the mind as a very specific stereotype.
They are...
Stubborn, exclusive underground craftsmen.
Boisterous, passionate above-ground warriors.
Short stature barely taller than a child, with sturdy limbs like logs.
And they take pride in their braided beards that reach their chests...
Hm?
Jin tilted his head.
He scanned the figure that emerged from the bushes, top to bottom.
For starters, it was short.
Generously speaking, an upper elementary schooler.
Maybe even shorter.
In contrast, its limbs were thick, with bushy eyebrows reminiscent of inchworms and a jaw beard that had traded evenly with its head hair—that hair growth alone was extraordinary.
Up to here, it looked perfectly like a dwarf.
The problem was...
Just like the mechanical assassin, its skin was made of metal.
Unlike the mask-like mechanical assassin, though, this one was incredibly intricate, to the point where facial expressions could be felt.
...Mechanized dwarf?
What in the world is this absurdity.
Jin blinked rapidly at the bewildering sight.
It was a perfect buffering moment.
The guy finally caught his excited breath and lunged at the fallen mechanical assassin.
"Chloe---!!!"
He embraced the half-destroyed upper body and wailed toward the sky. He didn't shed tears, but that voice was utterly heartbroken.
What the hell is this?
Jin scratched the back of his head.
Despite his baffled expression, his other hand kept the gun trained on the opponent.
"Hey."
"Chlooooee!!"
"Damn it. Hey. Hey. Enough."
Jin smacked the top of the unresponsive noble's head with Gravis.
The overly long barrel proved handy in times like this.
"Guhk!"
The 16kg metal lump struck true, and from its mouth erupted screams like Oof...! You bastard...! I'm dying...! amid flailing legs.
It feels pain?
Jin tilted his head and raised the gun barrel upward again.
"Hey."
"Hah! Wait, just a moment!"
The guy gulped down a heap of air.
He rubbed his sore head, raised his palm to shield his face, shuffled backward on his heels, and all the while tried to gather the mechanical assassin. Total panic mode.
"...Are you a dwarf?"
At Jin's follow-up question, the guy froze every movement.
Then he made a pouty face, as if he'd heard every ridiculous thing under the sun.
"Do I look like a fairy to you?"
"You don't even look like a dwarf."
"Where? If I'm not a dwarf, then who is? Huh?"
Is he genuinely clueless?
Or just plain crazy?
After a moment's thought, Jin smacked the metal forehead claiming to be a dwarf once more.
"Kyaaak!"
The guy rolled across the ground with a scream.
Yet his voice was full of defiance.
"Youuu! Tall bastard! Chloe's enemy! I won't forgive... Kek!"
He boldly swung his fists and charged, only to eat a punch to the face and flop over. Jin followed up.
"Euk! Khek! Wait! Hit a bone...!"
Compared to the mechanical assassin firing menacing arrows, this self-proclaimed dwarf was laughably frail. Soon enough, he raised both hands in surrender.
"S-Stop! I surrender!"
His voice was desperately urgent, sensing mortal danger.
Jin halted his club-like swings of Gravis and said,
"Rush me one more time, and you know what happens, right?"
"Y-Yeah, so put that hideous thing away... Guk!"
For insulting Gravis, he earned one more solid hit and wailed pitifully.
Meanwhile, Jin holstered his long-suffering partner and spoke.
"Name."
"...Me?"
"Who else is here besides you? Name."
"...Bagmar."
"Good, Bagmar. So you're a dwarf?"
"That's what I said."
Jin stared at the unyielding metal face and added,
"Then when did you become like that? I mean, when did you get your body modified."
"Born this way."
"...?"
"I'm Bagmar. I've been like this since I awakened my ego and opened my eyes. What's the problem?"
Jin's expression turned deadly serious.
Problem? Obviously.
The moment he realized in this damned mishmash world that a dwarf's racial value was 'machine.'
His head somehow grew complicated.
Thus, he alternated glances between the fallen mechanical assassin (Chloe) and Bagmar, thinking.
Something's off.
He'd never heard of dwarves being a mechanical race, and even if true, there were too many things that didn't add up.
For example, Jin recalled the words of the Anarion family head persuading Aldmain in the past.
'The dwarf king and elf king never yielded their stubbornness. What was the result? If you still feel nothing seeing their downfall, how are you different from the beastman king who went mad long ago?'
By that logic, the dwarves had clearly declined long ago. Yet such a race maintained its lineage for over a thousand years?
With zero external contact?
Impossible.
No matter how much this world mocked common sense, this was unacceptable.
Naturally, Jin whipped up a three-line summary in his head.
Dwarves are not a mechanical race.
They went extinct long ago.
...Then what is this guy?
To resolve the final question, he racked his brain inappropriately hard and finally hit on the right phrasing. Casually eyeing an escape route, Jin placed a hand on Bagmar's shoulder and said,
"Hey."
"W-Why?"
"Do you know who made you by any chance?"
It was like skirting around "who's your mommy and daddy?" unnecessarily.
But surprisingly, Bagmar didn't answer immediately.
"......"
After a long silence, his response was,
"How about we move to a safe spot instead of chatting here? My hideout's not far. Let's head there first. I'll fix Chloe, then tell you everything. Deal?"
"Oh yeah?"
What do I have to trust you on?
Jin shot back skeptically, and Bagmar hurriedly added,
"Listen, tall guy. You're an outsider, right?"
"And?"
"Hard to believe maybe, but I've been waiting for someone like you. You seem unfamiliar with this place too. Just trust me once, even if you think you're getting scammed. We'll definitely help each other."
"Ha."
Jin scoffed.
"Then why'd you attack me?"
"Th-That was because you smashed Chloe...! And you hit my head first!"
"Whatever."
Technically, the machine fired arrows first, but Jin didn't nitpick. Instead, he generated static in his hand.
"Whoa! Hold on!"
Crackle! As Bagmar flinched at the surging electricity,
Jin whipped the thick bolt like a rope and flung it. The electric tendril snaked out, binding the dwarf tightly.
"Try anything funny, and you'll join your girlfriend right away. Got it?"
The casual tone made it feel all the more sincere.
Bagmar gulped dryly and nodded.
"Got it. So help with Chloe."
"Good? Then lead the way. Left foot. Right foot."
Jin slung the half-wrecked machine over his shoulder, shook the electric rope, and called cadence. Bagmar sighed and started walking.
Step by step.
With strides half an adult's, he was frustratingly slow, but what could be done? That's how his body was built.
Jin naturally slowed his pace, fixing his gaze on the ochre-haired occiput, and pondered.
Did the Lawbringers all land safely?
They didn't scatter, did they?
Without the goggles, everything's so annoying.
Shouldn't have taken point...
By the way, how long can the Pilgrim hold Apophis?
What if that thing regains power and starts moving?
This expedition's unofficial, they said.
If it crosses the city sector like this,
I'll be stuck here for 84 years flat?
Just imagining it sent chills down his spine. As Jin bit his lower lip,
"We're here."
Bagmar halted at some point and said.
He bustled his short legs, brushing aside leaf-covered ground. Beneath the classic camouflage appeared a round metal lump with a handle.
"Should I open it? Or you?"
"Me."
Jin set Chloe down and pried open the manhole-cover-like metal lid with force.
Revealed was a staircase clearly leading underground.
Not too deep.
Following sensor lights that flicked on automatically, he descended a bit before his feet hit solid ground.
And thus, the basement!
"Oh?"
Jin let out a small exclamation as he looked around.
A fairly spacious and cozy area.
Walls and floor clad in faded metal, dotted with weathered, well-used items everywhere.
At the center of this workshop-worthy underground space sat a peculiar workbench.
Surrounded by intricate adjustable machinery.
Bagmar nodded toward it.
"Just put Chloe there."
Wary of traps in the meantime,
Jin scanned carefully before placing the broken machine on the bench.
"How long?"
"Won't take long."
He was right.
Released from bonds, Bagmar repaired his girlfriend under Jin's watch with nimble hands, like fast-forwarded footage. Astonishingly, the silent machine sat up.
"......"
Its expressionless face met Jin's eyes.
Bagmar sounded satisfied.
"All good. Chloe, lie down."
Confirming the machine obeyed and reclined, Jin twitched an eyebrow. Bagmar turned slowly and said,
"Thanks for waiting."
"No need to thank me."
"Chloe and I've been together 12 years. If she's hurt, my head goes blank too."
She's weird, Jin thought, catching a thick Cast Away vibe in Bagmar's words, and swiftly changed the subject.
"So, answer to my question?"
"You asked if I know who made me. Yeah, I do. My creator is Apophis."
Creator.
And Apophis.
An answer that resolved Jin's doubt while spawning new ones.
"...Apophis made you? Not a dwarf?"
Jin, who had figured Bagmar for an android crafted by dwarves, furrowed his brow.
"Right. Not dwarves, Apophis. And I'm the only one among my comrades who awakened ego."
"Hold on, hold on."
Jin raised his palm like erecting a wall between them.
For a moment.
Having sorted his thoughts, he slowly spoke.
"So you're saying this flying fortress we're stuck in made you? And there are more like you?"
"Only I awakened ego, as far as I know. At least since 28 years ago."
"...28 years?"
Bagmar clenched his fist toward Jin's tilting face.
"Yeah! A whole 28 years! The time I've spent preparing to escape! Sure, I half-gave up without finding a way... but I endured thinking an outsider might have answers. Tall guy! Yeah, someone like you! Who pierced Apophis's barrage! The savior to lead me to the surface! So anyway, what I've prepared all this time..."
Before his excited voice could end,
Jin cut in with a sour face.
"What are you on about. I'm trapped too."
"...Huh?!"
"I got separated. Savior my ass."
"...No way out of here?"
"I came in to investigate."
"Ah?"
As Bagmar's bronze eyes widened, Jin said,
"But your story screams something's up. Looks like we need to head to that castle. Know a shortcut? You've been here 28 years. Gotta know the paths inside out."
"......Wh-What are you saying! The royal castle? Why go there!"
"Gotta stop the bombardment or whatever to get out. You wanna stay here? Miss this chance, it's another 84 years."
The moment Jin finished,
As always, the status window appeared and slowly morphed.
「Air Fortress, Apophis」
The final legacy left by the dwarves a thousand years ago.
Has transformed into something inexpressible today.
What did their choice against the changing era
bring forth.
Investigate the Air Fortress together with the ????s.
*Reward: Perk XP 36,000
Confirming it, Jin grinned fiercely.
I knew it.