Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Another World Dwarf Gallery
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The species that excels at creating items is the Dwarves.
Why are Dwarves so good at making items?
Is it because of their perseverance? Or because they find joy in crafting?
None of those reasons were the right answer.
Dwarves cherish items and hold fanatical beliefs about them.
Because that was the only way to overcome their physical limitations.
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─Why are Dwarves so short?
ㄴWhy are *you* so small down there?
ㄴYou son of a bitch.
ㄴGot burned lol
ㄴWhat kind of trash talk is that lol
ㄴThen why do demons have horns, elves have long ears, and dark elves have black skin?
ㄴWhy do beastkin have fur and are called furries... Why do suspiciously rich people keep flocking to us...
ㄴThat's what gets me going
ㄴBro.
ㄴMaybe there's no reason at all?
ㄴFR lol Why are you looking for a reason
ㄴJust like there's no reason for me being a NEET, there's no reason for Dwarves being short lol
ㄴAh, right, right lol My friends from the neighborhood already have decent jobs, are married, and have two kids each, while I'm stuck at home being a NEET with no reason lol
ㄴStop hitting me it hurts stop saying mean things
ㄴI'm not even a Dwarf, so why am I short?
ㄴAre you secretly a Dwarf?
ㄴAre you saying my parents are Dwarves?
ㄴYou sure they aren't?
ㄴ? Let me go ask
ㄴGot my shin kicked
ㄴWhy would you ask that you crazy bastard lol
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As is well known, Dwarves are short.
By the traditional, systematic, and rational inch system of the Elves, they are about 55 inches.
(By the standards of other races, it's around 140cm.)
Even as adults, they are only at the level of other races' children. They were born with a disadvantageous physique.
Being short means their arms and legs are correspondingly short.
In a fight, the reach difference is fatal, and it imposes an unreasonable penalty on Dwarves.
As a result, the only thing they could rely on was their weapons.
Their one and only weapon!
To compensate for their short limbs, they created enchanted weapons and accessories.
The one fortunate aspect was that their short bodies had a high density, making it easier to craft equipment.
So, where was the homeland of these Dwarves?
Naturally, it was a forge, and they made weapons and armor.
However, the problem was their location, tucked away in a corner.
The Dwarven kingdom, Terin, was in a remote area with many mines.
What's the point of making lots of weapons if you have to have merchants cross mountain after mountain to sell them?
Even if they sold a lot, did they end up with a lot of money?
No, not at all.
Due to high transportation costs, the money they ended up with was barely enough to grease their throats with some pork fat and drink beer.
But the person who solved all these problems was none other than the Head Admin.
"Kyaah!!!!!”
A Dwarf who downed his beer burst into a hearty laugh.
For them, every day was now a festival!
Ever since the Auction House opened, their laughter never stopped.
The money they earned from selling weapons at the Auction House was incomparable to before, and the beer and snacks they could buy were ridiculously cheap in comparison.
"Let's drink until we die!"
The party was so intense that Dwarves were actually dropping like flies from drinking too much beer, but no Dwarf tried to stop the death-by-beer party.
This was a stroke of luck they hadn't seen in ages. Why would they hold back?
Gulp. Gulp, gulp.
Most Dwarves were chugging beer like it was water, but...
"Hmm..."
"Ugh..."
"Hrmmm..."
There were Dwarves who were deep in thought, their hands on their chins.
They hadn't even touched their beer, and their faces were smudged with soot, as if they'd been hammering away just moments ago.
"Is this design correct?"
"I told you it is! Let's just start hammering and—"
"Do you have any idea how expensive the materials are for this part? Are you going to start with the hammer first?"
"Then what, bro? Are you hoping that if we just add intricate detailing, engraving, and reinforcement on top of these difficult materials, everything will just magically work out as planned?"
"That's why we've all gathered here, isn't it? To make it happen!"
"Does anyone even understand?"
At his words, the others fell silent.
Even if they were equipment-crazy Dwarves, their understanding dropped when it was outside their specialty.
And now they were all gathered trying to make a single item, so there was no way their opinions would align.
Imagining the final result, a fusion of all their skills, was thrilling, but designing the process was not a fun task.
"The engraving process looks like it'll break."
"I'm telling you, it won't break."
"Look, let's just start hammering."
"Hey, just hold on a bit!"
They all had different eyes and different opinions. Wasn't it a mistake from the start to try and make a single item together?
The atmosphere was so tense it felt like they'd give up before even lifting the first shovel.
"Tch."
"This part is weird."
"Oh, if you know so much, why don't you make it all by yourself?"
"If I only knew how to do the engraving, I would."
"Anyone can talk, can't they?"
They were all experts with decades of experience in their fields.
Naturally, having someone nitpick their work scratched their pride.
A single scratch was a critical hit!
But ever since the talk of creating a masterpiece began, they had landed dozens of critical hits on each other.
It was a miracle they hadn't come to blows yet.
Beric Flare, a blacksmith who had been silently watching the whole process, finally spoke.
"Do you really think you can make anything like this?"
"We can! Why not?"
"You can't even start. How could you possibly make it? That's what I'm saying."
"Well..."
"Frankly, it's strange that we're even fighting like this. When we don't know something, we don't fight with our mouths—we start hammering, don't we?"
...
He was right.
Since when did we start caring about theories, structures, processes, and all these petty details?
"Besides, if we fail, we can just try again."
Thousands of attempts, thousands of failures. A true blacksmith isn't afraid of swinging a hammer tens of thousands of times.
There was no reason to be fighting like this.
"You're right. Let's begin."
A blacksmith speaks with a hammer and an anvil.
If you fail, you just try again.
If the material breaks, you just get another one.
The weaponsmith, Grom Stonehammer, struck the weak points of the heated obsidian.
*Clang! Clang!*
He chiseled away the weak spots to shape it.
He formed the convenient shape of a ring, something that could be worn at all times.
Next was the armorsmith, Valin Ironforge, who refined the shape.
"Hup!"
His precise hammering carved away the crude form, resulting in a clean, circular shape.
This alone was grueling work, requiring hundreds of hammer strikes.
Sweating profusely, he stepped back. Now it was the accessory smith, Scottlin Blacksteel's turn.
"Hoo..."
The obsidian was tough, but it had already been thinned to a sufficient degree.
If the force distribution was off, it was an easy piece to shatter.
This was the part they had anticipated the most problems with in the design.
Obsidian is solid, but brittle.
It required applying just enough force to not shatter it, while simultaneously carving out tiny grooves for the engraving.
It required exquisite force control.
He scraped away at the obsidian hundreds of times.
"..."
His hand stopped.
The work wasn't over yet.
According to the design, he was supposed to carve the slots at even intervals, but...
His intuition screamed at him not to.
He didn't hesitate for long.
Theory is just theory.
What brought him to this spot was...
The countless experiences and senses he'd built up until now.
Following that sense, he carved the slots for the engraving.
Not at even intervals, but narrowing as they went.
Drip. Drip, drip.
Sweat rolled down his cheeks and dripped from his chin.
Once the work was done, the finished mold was beautiful and ecstatic to anyone who saw it.
A technique born from a lifetime's dedication to reaching the limits of Dwarven craftsmanship, an artistry that could not be replicated.
It was all contained within this small obsidian ring.
"Son of a bitch."
The engraver, Haglin Stoneheart, couldn't hold back his curses.
Even carving at even intervals was enough to make his head spin, but now?
An even narrower spacing meant more segments to engrave. He grit his teeth at the fact.
"Only a crazy bastard like him would come up with something like this."
His mouth was rough, but the hand holding the mana pen was delicate.
One stroke, another. The tiny engravings soaked into the obsidian ring.
He was gripping it so hard that his fingernails cracked and blood began to flow.
He couldn't do this work without putting that much focused force into it.
"Haglin."
"Shh."
What if he ruined his hand and lost everything?
Fearing that, a colleague tried to stop his work, but another blocked him.
"He's almost finished."
An end was in sight for his work.
Mana rippled as he engraved the intricate patterns.
"Ha..."
The final task was the reinforcement to preserve the ring for a long time.
Beric Flare lifted a massive hammer.
"Bless us!"
*KWAAAAANG—!*
As his hammer struck the ring, a light shone.
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The Gallery Auction House had many functions.
The most intuitive was the item detail information.
─Rick's Forge
[Ordinary Sword] Enchantment: Sturdiness (C) Buyout Price: 15 Silver
Even items with magical properties could be identified at the Auction House.
That's why a suspicious rumor circulated in the Gallery about "finding strange items."
💬 Comments
— Title: What do you think of this?
[Elf's Old Panties] Enchantment: Preservation (B) Buyout Price: 3 Gold Should I buy it...;;;
— Anonymous
Should I buy it... hmm... FR lol Why are you hesitating lol Who the hell puts Preservation on this lol Let's buy it and smell it first Is smell important? lol If smell isn't important, why buy it? FR Smell is important. FR.
— Title: Found a suspicious item
[Suspiciously Suspicious Statue] ─? (Hidden) ─? (Hidden) ─? (Hidden) ─? (Hidden) ─Current Bid: 4 Gold 12 Silver What is this?
— Anonymous
Scamming the gullible lol Why would anyone buy this? Because sometimes ancient relics show up? Even in real auction houses, there are a lot of these I'll buy it, waiting Ah, shit lololol You stepped in shit, bro lol
— Title: I won the bid, what do you think?
[Suspiciously Suspicious Statue] -Enchantment: Induces Diarrhea -Enchantment: Induces Stomach Pain -Enchantment: Chills -Enchantment: Curse Get lost.
— Anonymous
lololololol What kind of trash item is this lol How much did you pay? 5 Gold Burning 5 Gold on crap? kekekekeke Couldn't you gift this to someone you hate? Look at it, who would accept this? lol FR, it's a stone statue holding a suspiciously knife-like object and it's covered in moss? Who would take this lol Eww lol
— Title: I found something too
[Ring of Infinite Gratitude] ─? ─? ─? ─? ─? ─? ─? ─? -Bid Unavailable- What the hell is this?
— Anonymous
How many lines of enchantments is that? WTF lol What kind of item is this This is Imperial Treasure-grade, isn't it? Crazy;;; But why aren't the detailed abilities showing? Probably too high a grade to identify? Wow, this is a truly insane item Is it cursed? The ring's name doesn't sound like a curse But why can't I buy it? Looks like there's a purchase restriction If there's a purchase restriction, only the Head Admin can buy it, right? Yeah, a post went up about that
A post was uploaded to the Gallery.
📰 Post Title
Oh! Head Admin! A gift from us, just for you! (.jpg of a Dwarf Grandfather's magnificent member)
— Anonymous
Ah, shit You son of a bitch I'm gonna raid the Dwarf mines, I swear
That was just a troll post, though.
📰 Post Title
Oh! Head Admin! A gift from us, just for you! Please check the Auction House.
A few minutes ago. A Dwarf had uploaded a post.
The content was nothing special, but one thing was certain.
It was an item made specifically for the Head Admin.
💬 Comments
— Anonymous
─But what did they do to get an item like this? ㄴYeah ㄴThis is obvious. The Terin Kingdom, which was being oppressed by the Theusser Empire, lobbied the Head Admin in advance. There's no other reason to open an Auction House. It's a world where you have to watch the Empire's every move. Acting like this is basically declaring war on the Empire. ㄴDamn, the comment is a mountain of rice ㄴLook at this guy, his brain is fantasizing again, posting political comments lol ㄴBefore you old men break your canes, just close the Gallery lol ㄴFR lol, you political sickness patients, seeing politics in everything, it's crazy ㄴBut... then why did they give the gift? ? ㄴYeah ㄴDid he give a good blowie once? ㄴWhat blowie, you crazy bastard lol ㄴlololol
⭐ Top Comment
— Anonymous
Head Admin, be honest with us. You did it once, didn't you?
— Anonymous
lolololol This guy isn't scared of a ban, huh lol The angle meter is broken lol How good was the blowie to get a gift like that lol The Head Admin is currently busy reattaching his jaw, can't Gallery right now lol You guys get out too lol So, does anyone know the real reason? Something like... he did a personal favor is the most plausible answer So you're saying the Terin Kingdom and the Head Admin have a connection?
In an instant, the Gallery was on fire.
The Head Admin, who never makes public appearances, but the Terin Kingdom knows something?
The Terin Kingdom knows the answer!
Of course, the reaction of the person at the center of this rumor was simple.
"? What the hell."
You think I blew the Dwarf King's thing?