Dwarf Tribe (2)

Shaaa. A chilling malice spread out. It was poison so potent that ordinary people might have had their skin blister from it. That malice filled the gorge before his eyes.

—This is no ordinary poison.

Kim Jehyun nodded at Alkasha's words. This place had already become somewhere no ordinary lifeform could survive.

'I definitely confirmed the marker.'

Kim Jehyun frowned as he thought. Before arriving at this gorge, there had been an engraving on a ginkgo tree hundreds of years old, symbolizing the dwarves' domain. The information wasn't wrong. The engraved marker pointed right to this gorge.

'What went wrong?'

As Kim Jehyun tilted his head, something snagged in his senses.

"Human?"

He turned toward the voice and saw it: a short figure not even reaching his waist, with a sturdy bronze-colored body.

'A dwarf!'

Kim Jehyun's face lit up. At the same time, a notification popped up that the quest was complete.

Kim Jehyun smiled at the points he'd received, but the dwarf in front of him spoke again.

"How did a human find this place?"

The dwarf aimed the black hammer in his hand at Kim Jehyun, brimming with wary hostility. Kim Jehyun tilted his head at the sight and called out to Alkasha.

'Alkasha. Didn't you say dwarves are the servants of dragons?'

—That's right. Not just elves—dwarves are faithful servants of dragons too.

'But the elves recognized me right away. Why's this dwarf acting like this?'

—Hmm... Dwarves do have blunter senses than elves, but... Ah, I see. That one's still young.

Kim Jehyun looked the dwarf over carefully again. According to Alkasha, the dwarf was too young to properly sense a dragon's presence. Plus, as Kim Jehyun's realm had risen, the aura leaking from him was now better contained.

'But that face looks young?'

His face was covered in deep wrinkles, the skin rough and pockmarked. By human standards, anyone would say he'd aged plenty.

Kim Jehyun smirked and used Dragon Eye to check the dwarf's info.

'Dragon Eye.'

'Level 45...'

Kim Jehyun nodded as if it all made sense now. Dwarves, like elves, boasted long lifespans. Once they reached adulthood, they were said to exceed A-grade as a baseline. The low level confirmed he was quite young by dwarf standards.

"I've come to see the dwarf tribe. Can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I meet the others?"

"Keh, come to see us? Get lost. We don't deal with the likes of humans. And... you couldn't meet them anyway."

Alvis spoke coldly to Kim Jehyun, then trailed off with a gloomy expression.

"Hm."

Kim Jehyun picked up on it right away—something had gone wrong with the dwarf tribe.

'Can't use him like this.'

Kim Jehyun clicked his tongue softly.

"Something happened to your tribe? Looks like it's that poison... If I can help, I will."

"...Are you strong?"

Alvis, who normally wouldn't even bother with a human, was desperate enough to listen.

"Somewhat."

With that, Kim Jehyun let a bit of his aura leak out.

"...!"

Alvis jolted, feeling it on his skin. The unremarkable human had suddenly felt enormous.

'Th-this aura... Like the great ones Father spoke of... No, what blasphemy! Comparing a mere human to them.'

Alvis shook his head and spoke to Kim Jehyun in a serious tone.

"Y-you have quite the strong aura. Are you a high mage?"

His voice trembled without him realizing it. Kim Jehyun chuckled.

'This guy's really dense.'

Were all young dwarves like this? No comparison, but he clearly couldn't sense it even when Kim Jehyun released it openly. Hilarious.

"Yeah. A 6th Circle mage from the Magic Tower."

"Oh...!"

Alvis's eyes sparkled. Even isolated dwarves knew of the Magic Tower, one of humanity's strongest forces.

He looked at Kim Jehyun desperately.

"H-have you ever dealt with the Sayo Tribe?"

"Sayo Tribe."

Kim Jehyun recalled the race from his past life. Serpent-like features and bodies, but distinct from snakes. A bit longer than human height, orcish build. Human-like arms on the upper body. They reared up to slither, fighting with hands and venomous fangs. That was what he knew.

'So that's it. That poison was from the Sayo Tribe.'

The situation clicked. The Sayo had likely taken over the dwarves' gorge home. The dwarves were probably captured in the process. Sayo loved war by nature, turning captured dwarves into slaves for their armaments.

"The Sayo Tribe captured our whole tribe. Father... Sister too. Everyone. Please help. I'll do anything."

As the desperate Alvis pleaded, a message appeared before Kim Jehyun.

'500,000 points?'

Kim Jehyun's eyes widened. The biggest payout yet. Clearing this would get him to a million points in no time.

—Hah, I knew it'd be like this. Yeah, shower me with points! All of 'em!

Alkasha ranted about injustice beside him, but he ignored it and looked at Alvis.

"Alright. I'll help."

Kim Jehyun extended his hand to Alvis.

* * *

"Shaaa."

A group of Sayo, each a head taller than Kim Jehyun, ambushed him and Alvis.

Flash.

Kaboom!

Blue light flashed from Kim Jehyun's hand, and the five Sayo collapsed before even reaching him.

"Y-you're... pretty strong, human."

Alvis gripped his trembling hammer with both hands as he spoke. His gaze toward Kim Jehyun had done a complete 180.

'A mage this strong!'

This gave them a real shot. Alvis figured the dwarf god had pitied them and sent Kim Jehyun.

"Th-this way!"

Alvis charged ahead eagerly. Alkasha clicked his tongue at the sight.

—How's a dimwit like that not caught by the Sayo yet?

Kim Jehyun shrugged, not knowing either, and followed. He glanced at the Sayo he'd felled with lightning magic.

'They're using dwarf-made gear.'

The Sayo wore iron plate armor and wielded spears as tall as themselves. Masterfully crafted, far from crude.

'Too good to waste.'

Kim Jehyun stripped the gear from the corpses and stored it in his inventory. A little maintenance, and it'd be like new.

Progress into the gorge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠went smoothly. A- and B-grade Sayo soldiers were no match for him. They fell as they came.

The poison thickened deeper in, but it was nothing to Kim Jehyun.

—Your body has surpassed hundred poisons immunity to reach thousand poisons immunity. This is nothing.

Indeed, as Alkasha said, he felt no discomfort breathing it in.

What worried him was Alvis.

"Huff, huff."

Alvis had somehow donned a mask-like thing over his mouth and nose. But his eyes, uncovered, were red and tearing up.

"You okay?"

"Of, of course. A man of the Black Anvil Tribe, Alvis, won't be mocked by... cough cough."

Alvis coughed violently after inhaling some. Kim Jehyun shook his head.

'Is he really fine? He'll keel over before we reach the core.'

—Probably... He'll hold. Dwarves have tough skin and stamina by nature, so some poison resistance. He's holding better than expected—must have exceptional resistance.

Alkasha added that Alvis had a notably poison-resistant constitution. Sure enough, he recovered quickly and took the lead ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again.

"Alvis. Quick question—why'd your tribe lose to the Sayo?"

Facing them, Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jehyun saw dwarves shouldn't lose to Sayo based on what Alkasha said. He asked straight up.

"It was... the poison."

Alvis answered gloomily. They'd poisoned the underground water source for the dwarves' drinking water with the princess's potent toxin. Odorless and colorless, the dwarves hadn't anticipated it and fell helplessly. Paralyzed, they were rounded up.

"How'd you escape?"

"I... don't know."

Alvis hadn't been paralyzed by the princess's poison. He'd barely fled to bide his time.

—Ho. Truly exceptional poison resistance.

'Seems so.'

Realizing his own resistance let him step up to save his kin.

"But the Sayo Princess is no pushover... You're strong, but a head-on fight might be tough."

"That strong?"

"Yeah. She's built her second tower. When you meet her, handle the guards. Leave the rest to me."

Alvis eyed the silver dagger sheath at his waist. That seemed to be his trump card.

'Second tower?'

—Means she's crossed the second wall. Dwarves call surpassing walls 'stacking towers.'

Kim Jehyun nodded. So, S-grade monster. Manageable for him, but he was curious about Alvis's ace.

He'd follow Alvis's lead when they met her.

After dispatching more Sayo soldiers, a sinister aura and thick poison suddenly filled the space.

Shhh shhh shhh.

Snake scales scraped the ground, and a massive shadow loomed over Kim Jehyun and Alvis.

"You're the ones who killed my children."

Upper body a woman's form, lower a serpent's. The Sayo Princess. Her vicious killing intent surged toward them.