The Golden Tribute and the Dawn of Hope

It was a jackpot, an absolute jackpot! While the dwarf Bjorn sat sighing heavily under the night sky, my room behind the monitor was practically a festival zone. A massive iron vault, offered by the dwarves, hovered in the center of the screen, accompanied by a blinding golden flash.

I clicked on the small vault with my mouse, my palms sweating. A dramatic visual effect, reminiscent of pulling a top-tier loot box in a mobile game, filled the screen. The vault door rattled open, and a brilliant, prismatic pillar of light erupted from within.

"That system comment is so snarky. Still, this is huge!"

The first thing to pop out of the vault was a massive, glowing blue gem.

"Oh, an awakening and evolution material? This is a total pay-to-win item."

My eyes sparkled, but I soon scoffed and turned away from the screen. "What's the point of evolution materials? I've got a stubborn saintess who won't sign a contract even if I feed her and heal her wounds. I'll just keep it in the inventory for now."

The crystal was a great find, but my real interest lay in what came next. *Clatter-clatter!* A mountain of bright yellow gold coins poured out of the vault like a waterfall. It looked like the entire emergency fund the dwarves had scraped together in the mines.

I gulped and stared at the screen. Sixty gold coins. Since the one coin the saintess had offered earlier was worth about 500,000 won, this was a massive sum.

"Alright. I'm not going to pay those ridiculous exchange fees like last time." I frantically searched through the system settings. "There has ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be a way to receive the physical currency instead of a bank transfer. I'd rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have it delivered to my room and take it to a gold shop in Jongno myself. The fees are just too painful."

But no matter how much I searched, the option wasn't there.

"Fine. If I don't like it, I guess I'll have to build my own system." I resigned myself to the inevitable.

*Buzz-buzz-buzz!* My smartphone on the desk vibrated violently. A flurry of push notifications from my bank app flooded the screen.

"Holy crap."

The curse word slipped out naturally. Even after the merciless exchange fees, the amount in my account was a staggering 30 million won.

"Jackpot! This is the big break! Let's gooooo!"

I jumped out of my chair and danced around my room. Thanks to the insane inflation, I had been surviving on instant noodles to save money, but now, 30 million won—60 times the 500,000 won I'd received before—was sitting in my account.

After cheering like a madman for a while, I finally caught my breath and sat back down in front of the computer. I slapped my cheeks hard with both hands to steady my racing mind.

"Whew... calm down. If I'm satisfied with this, I'm just a small-timer."

In the canyon on the monitor, I could see the old dwarf Bjorn, unable to sleep as he fiddled with the items I had bestowed upon him.

"If you take something, you have to handle the aftermath properly—that's the basis of business. The priority is to ensure these dwarves survive safely."

I rested my chin on my hand and mapped out the entire situation in my head.

"They can't hold out against a swarm of monsters in this open canyon. The wagon is broken, so they have no mobility. It would be better to send them to join Aria."

The castle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was easier to defend than other places, and Aria had more people. The dwarves' craftsmanship and combat prowess would create perfect synergy with the nuns' labor.

"Once morning breaks tomorrow, I'll have to open a path to guide them to the castle. Before that, I should buy some defensive gear and supplies so they can prepare for the journey."

I looked at the bank app showing the 30 million won deposit with a satisfied grin and opened a massive online shopping app that offered late-night rocket delivery.

How much time had passed? In the dark, deep canyon, the old dwarf Bjorn sat leaning against a broken wagon, silently sharpening his axe with a whetstone.

It was an old weapon, its edge already chipped and dulled from yesterday's battle. As he kept watch, carefully rubbing the stone to prevent the metallic screeching from traveling, a faint dawn began to seep into the pitch-black end of the canyon.

Then, a rustling sound came from behind him. "Elder... you haven't slept all night."

A one-eyed dwarf, clutching his bandaged shoulder, carefully rose to his feet.

"Torvi. Why are you awake already? You should have slept more." Bjorn set down the whetstone and called his name.

"I couldn't sleep deeply because of the pain in my wound. But... thanks to the bandages the Outer God threw down, the fever has gone down and the bleeding has stopped completely. I can move just fine." Torvi replied with a bitter smile.

He sat down beside Bjorn and looked up at the brightening sky. As the dawn broke, the bizarre colors of the night sky, which had burned like a red wound all night, were gradually turning into a faint ash-gray. But even the brilliant sun announcing the morning could not erase the memories of that merciless nightmare.

A deep sense of futility passed through Torvi's remaining eye. "Elder. Have the gods truly abandoned us completely? Leaving us in this pit of destruction, tossing us to those horrific Outer Gods and their wicked minions like feed for livestock."

Bjorn remained silent, brushing the dust off his whetstone. As the eldest and leader of this small group, he agonized over how to answer without crushing the children's hope.

To be honest, Torvi was right. Among the High Priests of the Nine Peaks, who had spent their lives conveying the will of the gods during the glorious days of the past, was there even one who had prophesied such a horrific destruction? Had the gods of the Pantheon ever sent down a single oracle to prepare for the invasion of the heretics?

If not that, had the kings and nobles, who hoarded themselves in the Nine Peaks, obsessed with their power, property values, and luxury, ever prepared a single relief supply or evacuation route for the frontier's lower clans?

Not a single one. In the moment of life and death, the support and sponsorship of a strange and alien Outer God was the only miracle and salvation.

Bjorn gave a bitter smile after a long, heavy silence. "That may be true... but then again, it might not be."

He shrugged his shoulders and patted Torvi's back lightly. "Whether the gods have abandoned us or not, you must never let go of the thread of hope. If only for the sake of our clan's children sleeping over there. Besides, even if it's sleeping with the enemy, haven't we gained a very reliable financier... no, a sponsor?"

Bjorn winked slyly with his scarred face.

"Ugh! Elder, please don't do that with that beard. You're making me want to throw up my breakfast." Torvi laughed, disgusted. Thanks to Bjorn's silly joke, the heavy atmosphere lightened significantly. "By the way, I never dreamed you would offer that vault you cherished so much to the sky. Weren't most of those gold coins your retirement fund, saved by working like a dog from your days at the Nine Peaks and in the mines? And you even bought those rare magic crystals for investment!"

At Torvi's question, Bjorn laughed heartily and stroked his beard. "Money is meant to be earned like a dog and spent like a king. Besides, what use are those shiny metal scraps and rocks to an old man like me? To me, your lives and the lives of those children are a thousand times more precious than that money."

Torvi's heart swelled at Bjorn's crude but sincere answer.

"By the way, you learned one thing for sure yesterday, didn't you? That no matter how terrifying and evil an Outer God is, they are no match for 'gold'."

As Bjorn chuckled, Torvi also let out a small, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incredulous laugh.

It was just then, as the two dwarf warriors shared a moment of laughter to welcome the morning.

*Wooooong!* A familiar distortion of space occurred, cutting through the cold morning air of the canyon.

The two dwarves reflexively jumped to their feet.