The False Lord of Muhar
The tale of the False Lord of Muhar was nothing more than a single brief line preserved in ancient texts.
[In ancient times, when four Arcanists and Tur Mah led the dwarves to the pinnacle of magitech engineering, they created a single construct to challenge the realm of the gods. Dwarf King Tur Mah declared that their creation would be the greatest of all beings.]
Golem.
But the dwarf kingdom was ultimately destroyed by the very golem they had created. Detailed accounts of the dwarves' downfall were lost, yet they never abandoned their pursuit of golem craftsmanship. Muhar Castle was also the resting place of that endeavor. What had the ancient dwarves been doing in this forsaken land of the duchy?
Now I'll find out.
Kaaaaang—!! The moment Kangtal's sword cleaved down on one of the massive three heads, a sharp clang echoed like striking a lump of iron.
And that secret must be tied to the Calamity.
This wasn't just about clearing Muhar's quest. He had to prepare something only he could achieve here.
"Raaarghhh!!!!"
Of course, Mad Dog didn't seem to have any such worries.
Thwack—!! As Baek Yiheon smashed down on the hellhound's head, one of its staggering heads rammed him full force with its forehead.
"Guh…!!"
A dizzying pain choked his breath, and Baek Yiheon plummeted to the ground. Thud—!!! His body hit back-first without mercy, jolting from the impact and skidding across the floor.
Baek Yiheon burns his energy.
Burned energy condenses throughout Baek Yiheon's body.
Fighting Spirit Lv2 used!
Born Fighter activated!
A red aura flickered around him. Normally, skill use didn't trigger notifications for energy consumption. Burning energy like this seemed to be one of his unique traits, not a standard skill.
A red glow settled in one of Baek Yiheon's eyes.
"Hrng…."
As he exhaled deeply, white smoke wafted from his mouth like a hunting dog's breath. Wounds everywhere steamed and evaporated from the heat enveloping his body.
Is that Born Fighter? Seems like a trait that triggers after consuming a certain amount of HP, similar to Sword's Penance….
His beastly growl made the trait's name fit Baek Yiheon perfectly.
"Raaarghhh!!"
He gripped Kangtal's sword with both hands and charged the hellhound.
Burned energy condenses on Baek Yiheon's blade.
Struggle Sword Lv2 used!
The red aura that had cloaked his body sucked into the blade in an instant, turning Kangtal's edge pitch black.
Kwaang! Clang!! Kwagagang!!
Baek Yiheon brutally stomped the hellhound's foreleg with his sword, then leaped onto the falling streetlamp. As the staggering hellhound lifted its head to pursue, he zigzagged off the lamp and building walls like scaling a cliff.
Chaaang!!
Flipping in midair, he soared upward, gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and slashed with all his might at the hellhound's neck.
Thwack—! As he fell, he kicked the massive body hard with his foot. The monster, one head severed, staggered and crashed into the adjacent building.
"Hup…!!
Five Color Ring Lv20 used!
Attribute Ring – Lightning Strike activated!
Red Sickle hurled his chakram at the hellhound pinned under building rubble. Fueled by shards of Death Flame, the chakram's blaze intensified, embedding into the remaining two heads.
Thwack—!! Kugrrrggg…!!
The hellhound's necks severed as it tried to rise, its massive body collapsing back to the ground with a thud.
"Whoa… What the hell. Level 80 really is different."
Baek Yiheon's color restored, he stared in awe at Red Sickle, who had severed both heads in one go.
"And chakrams, huh… Tough to handle."
He eyed the round chakram embedded in the wall.
"Better not touch it. You might get burned."
The chakram's Lightning Strike heat still glowed red-hot.
But at those words, Baek Yiheon seemed to get competitive and grabbed it despite Red Sickle's warning.
"Hey, careful…!!
Szzzzz…!!
The chakram rejected the touch like a hot iron, spewing fierce heat into Baek Yiheon's palm.
"Hup…!!"
Then, the raging heat suddenly sucked into his hand.
Savagery Lv1
Baek Yiheon's energy recovers.
"Whew…."
He exhaled, tossed the chakram back to Red Sickle.
"You used it well."
"What?"
I couldn't help clicking my tongue at the monster's trait.
Clank—! Woodrrrk—!!
But more pressing than figuring out his traits was the task at hand. I yanked the headless body from the wall, dragged it down, and sliced open its belly with my sword.
"Urk…."
Blood spurted from the split hide, and Baek Yiheon grimaced, shaking his head uncharacteristically.
"Hmm."
I peeled back the abdominal skin and plunged my hand inside. The two watched silently, faces saying what the hell is he doing?
"Here it is."
After rummaging a few more times, I found a small box in my grasp.
Click— Opening it revealed a single screw inside.
"What's that?"
Baek Yiheon peeked over my shoulder.
"Materials needed to take down Muhar's final boss. Remnants of the dwarves' ancient magitech. One more to go."
"Magitech…? Wait, this thing was a machine puppet?"
Baek Yiheon stared at the broken hellhound corpse in shock.
"Yeah. If anything, a degraded version of a real hellhound. The genuine three-headed ones are in the demon realm."
"Whoa… Demon realm. Sounds intriguing."
"Don't even think about it. Like you said, unlike Dimension World 1, the servers are new, no guilds yet. Opening a demon gate now would be suicide."
"Aw, come on. Where even is a dimensional gate? How would I open one?"
"You were the first to open a demon gate in DW1. Los Clan nearly shit themselves chasing the demon Devol that popped out. Did you know where it was back then?"
Baek Yiheon chuckled at my words.
"Thanks to that, Los Clan rose to the top of the eight great clans. Rerto Karen should thank me. Instead, that bastard puts a hit on me."
"Your head's a mystery."
I shook my head, but honestly, no one knew how he'd opened the demon gate—he kept it secret. One suspicion lingered from ancient texts about Muhar's dwarf experiments: the "opened door" might have been a dimensional gate like his.
If my memory's right, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who followed him sowing Calamity—the Black Knight symbolizing Famine and Desire—was rumored to be a demon.
The texts never mentioned demons explicitly. Just that the dwarf kingdom's fall began in Muhar.
Hundreds of years after the dwarf kingdom's destruction. Is this precursor in Muhar just a simple event…? Or a sign that what we thought ended is another Calamity's harbinger? I need to confirm.
To do that, hunt Muhar's leader.
"Anyway, a magitech machine… Explains why my trait didn't trigger."
"What trait?"
"Slaughterer."
Baek Yiheon kicked the broken corpse, tsking.
"Nothing special. Extra damage to beast-type monsters, faster energy recovery."
"All your traits are like you. What's the range for 'beast-type'?"
"Anything with a heartbeat and limbs. Rat or dragon or human."
He licked his lips with a grin.
"Why? Curious about my traits?"
Killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Curious, yeah. Don't use it on me."
I brushed past him toward the basement stairs, voice low.
"Unless you wanna die."
Baek Yiheon's face twisted oddly at the warning—smirking yet eager.
"Heh, got some guts. Fitting for the Flame Colosseum king."
He sheathed his sword and followed casually.
Then—
"W-Wait…!! Just a sec!!"
A frantic voice from behind as we headed down the stairs. No surprise who it was.
"Huff, huff… Help me!!"
The sweating man grabbed my wrist as he leaned on the stairs. Motram of Muhar.
"…Huh?"
Catching his breath, he looked up, eyes widening.
"We've been waiting."
"Pardon?"
"Motram! Remember me? The guy who bought up all your leaf leaves sometimes."
Baek Yiheon greeted him warmly first.
"Oh…! How could I forget? You clean out my shop's leaf leaves every time."
"Ha, haha."
Baek Yiheon laughed awkwardly.
"What brings you here?"
"When I'm in Lisal, I drop by to bring food and supplies to the vagrants. Nothing much, but plenty wait for me."
Motram gulped from his canteen, parched.
"I'm from here originally. Muhar's like exile, so I keep it secret."
"I see. That's why you visit."
"Yes. Came by before leaving this time, and this mess happens…."
Motram sighed deeply.
"Still lots of people in the castle. We need to save them… Will you help?"
Just as I remembered. Motram saves over a hundred here before ruin, hailed as Muhar's hero, granted the castle by the dukes.
True, but….
You can undertake the quest with Motram.
Muhar Citizen Rescue
📍 Survivors in city:134/150
📍 Rescued survivors:18/134
Accept?
"Perfect. We went to Lisal looking for you. Right on time!"
"Me?"
Motram blinked at me confusedly. Sure enough, the alert popped up the moment he appeared.
Add him to the party, rescue people, grab the last material, hunt the False Lord boss. Done.
Everything to plan.
"What're you waiting for?"
Baek Yiheon poked me, since only the party leader could decide quests.
"…."
Why this feeling? Something missing.
Reports said Motram inherited this leaderless place after the incident. But when I unified the duchy and came, it was ruins.
Why…?
What happened to Muhar in between?
A chilling thought crossed my mind.
Chill—
"…."
I stared at Motram. A mere merchant who saved many citizens, hailed a hero. No combat experience.
Then….
Who killed the False Lord?
In that instant, an ominous alert shattered the silence.