Chapter 17
Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Shocked Dwarf
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The dwarf was astonished!
Right after Liraum confidently emerged with the completed weapon, she had been kidnapped by Rionne.
"What? You want *me* to train the kid? You do it yourself."
"I can't!"
"What the fuck— this is bullshit."
Liraum shot a glance at Enoch, who was peeking suspiciously from afar.
His eyes brimmed with distrust, clearly thinking, *She made a weapon this fast? It's gotta be junk.*
Liraum had no intention of making excuses.
Explain how she'd coated her hammer with aura to boost speed and quality? Lecture on her secret vision? Why bother?
He'd figure it out once he tried it.
"Fine, tch. Whatever. A few good whacks and he'll learn."
Wh-whacks!? She's gonna hit Enoch!?
Rionne threw a tantrum, but Liraum strode forward.
The cocky brat stared at her sullenly.
"Here."
Liraum handed over the completed weapon.
A pair of gauntlets with a faint greenish sheen.
They didn't look gooey, but at a glance, they seemed incredibly soft—doubt flickered in Enoch's eyes.
"Alright then."
Enoch slipped on the gauntlets casually, and Liraum hefted her hammer.
"...?"
"Let's take a few hits first, kid."
Whoosh—!
The hammer swung,
Boom—!
Enoch's body crashed through the forge wall and flew off into the distance.
Enooook...! Leaving Rionne's scream behind, Liraum stomped the ground—thud!
Her figure shot forward swiftly.
She found Enoch wincing, his blocking hand numb, and raised her hammer high.
"Raaah!"
Boom—! Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground where the hammer smashed.
Enoch barely dodged and clicked his tongue.
"Tch, damn midget."
"Look at this punk's attitude! I've lived dozens of times your years, brat!"
Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Liraum's hammer whipped through the air.
Enoch tracked it with his eyes and evaded.
Fast, but no fancy tricks—it wasn't too hard to dodge.
"Oh? Dodging now?"
Fwoosh—! Red mana cloaked Liraum's hammer.
Hammer Aura.
"You'll struggle to adapt!"
The gauntlets on Enoch's hands were Liraum's proud masterpiece, made with all her effort in a fit of anger.
Great weapons on their own, but mastering them took real skill.
So this fight was a kind of test.
With just a *tad* of grudge-venting mixed in.
A *teeeny* bit of the training Rionne requested, too.
Enoch glared at Liraum and spread his hand.
She had the clear edge in raw power.
So he'd deflect it.
Tap—the side of the falling hammer met his palm.
Pushing it aside,
Boom—!
A thunderous roar erupted as the hammer cratered the ground.
Enoch instantly condensed lightning in his free hand.
Crackle—!
The dwarf's squat little body.
One hand-sized hole would end it, so what he needed now was the second stance.
Piercing Kill
His sharply poised hand thrust toward Liraum's chest.
Liraum's eyes gleamed.
"Oh?"
She grinned, and her figure vanished in an instant.
"Already handling it that well?"
Enoch whipped around at the voice behind him.
He hadn't even retracted his thrusting hand yet.
Facing the swinging hammer, his lips moved.
"Gather, defend."
Crackle—! Lightning coalesced into a barrier.
Lightning Shield.
Defense was a bit weak, but
Crack—!
It could buy a few seconds.
Enoch pulled back and glared at Liraum.
"Hah, would you look at that. This bitch went and made a monster."
Without taking his eyes off the cackling dwarf, Enoch glanced at the odd sensation in his hand.
And sure enough,
"This is..."
His lightning-formed nails had taken on a sharp, vivid shape.
Moreover, the power seemed greater than the effort he'd put in.
He'd already realized the gauntlets were tough when blocking the hammer earlier, so he knew they weren't ordinary.
Of course, that wasn't his concern.
"No big deal."
"What'd you say, punk!?"
The pissed-off dwarf charged.
Attack power versus his own output.
Enoch calmly calculated and charged to meet her.
"Gather, blend."
Magic-infused lightning layered over his nails.
The strongest strike in this state was,
Brutal Slaughter - One Origin
The Brutal Slaughter - One Origin that formed Piercing Kill.
Piercing Kill was simpler, but surprisingly, One Origin packed more raw power.
KABOOOM─────────!
Hammer met nails in collision.
Enoch's instinct screamed.
He could deflect the hammer and smash the dwarf's skull like this.
But Liraum was a battle-hardened veteran.
Before he could deflect, his hand—thwack!—was flung far aside.
"...!?"
"Kid, I've been smithing for over two hundred years!"
Normal smithing had little to do with combat, but stack a century of experience?
Add countless battles on top?
The result: Liraum could mold anything with her hammer swings like shaping molten steel.
An opponent's skull, or weapon.
That was all there was to it.
"Just one good hit!"
The enraged dwarf's hammer plummeted toward Enoch's head.
Enoch's instinct told him.
Ow, this is gonna hurt bad.
As the hammer loomed larger over his dazed eyes,
"Nooo!!"
KABOOOM────────!!!
This time, the hammer flew far away.
Liraum barely kept hold of it and scowled fiercely.
"What the hell, you bitch! You *asked* me to help!"
"B-but you can't just hit the kid!"
Enoch stood there blankly.
Rionne had somehow scooped him up in a protective hug.
"Haa, you fucking...! Fine, you little shit! Let's settle this proper today!"
Fwoosh—! The red glow on Liraum's hammer deepened.
The intensifying mana soon cradled a star in her mind's eye, and people called it this.
The mark of a Master: Aura.
*
Of course, no mere Master could handle Rionne.
Played for a fool, Liraum fetched a huge keg from somewhere and chugged it down.
"Gaaah...! Fuck!"
"Watch the language. Kid's here."
"...Tch, shit."
Liraum ground her teeth and guzzled more beer.
That bitch—still hung up on old shit, no doubt.
Sulking over something from over a century ago? Her huge tits must house a tiny, shriveled heart the size of a pea!
"Anyway, Enoch, got it? Dwarves aren't some race to scoff at. The gauntlets feel good, right?"
"Hmph."
"Enoch?"
Nothing special, just calling his name again.
But Enoch pressed his lips tight, then finally nodded.
"...Yeah."
"And what I said before? That was all about *her*. Other dwarves have a great rep on the continent."
"What the fuck, you bitch!?"
Liraum bellowed.
Rionne just stared her down coolly, no reaction.
Still gets her blood boiling thinking about it...
But she couldn't just off the dwarf.
Hoo... Rionne exhaled, calming herself, and stood.
"Since we're at it, wanna meet some other dwarves?"
"Huh?"
"The ones here are all forging nuts, kinda eccentric... but meeting them might change your mind, Enoch."
Enoch hesitated, then nodded.
Not thrilled, but it was Rionne saying it, so he accepted.
*
Half-forced into guiding, Liraum grumbled.
"Why drag *me* along?"
"How many dwarves do you think I know besides you?"
"Fair, you're the Thousand-Year Sword Queen."
She spat it grudgingly, but it wasn't wrong.
The Thousand-Year Sword Queen had plenty of famous tales, but among dwarves, she was the dwarf-hater.
Of course, Rionne didn't *actually* hate dwarves.
Though if asked if that infamous title was her karma... well.
Her words and actions played a big part.
If you asked Rionne, it'd all be Liraum's fault.
"Here we are, Old-Timer's forge. Home to the oldest dwarf on this volcano."
*Oh, and still younger than you, Rionne.*
Liraum added, earning a smack.
"Anyone home?"
Rionne knocked on the forge door.
"Why knock? Just go in."
Boom—! Liraum kicked the door open.
A reply came instantly.
"Who's the rotten fuck!?"
"It's me, gramps!"
"You rotten bitch, I'll...!"
Thud! Thud! Footsteps, then a dwarf appeared.
Snow-white hair, wrinkled face.
But his skin was taut from bursting muscles—strikingly incongruous.
Enoch stared at the muscle-bound old man even shorter than him.
"What're these? Elf and human?"
"Don't know who?"
Liraum grinned.
"It's the Thousand-Year Sword Queen."
The reaction was immediate.
"Kyyyaaah...! Witch...! The witch is here...!"
Enoch's dwarf phobia deepened.