The Second Torong and the Dwarf King's Twin

The moment I smashed through the wall, another flurry of notifications popped up, but I had no time to pay them any mind. My eyes were fixed on the dwarf right in front of me.

……Huh?

In that instant, a strange sense of dissonance hit me.

Unlike the first map location earlier, this notification had the word 'hidden' attached to it.

Even if the name was the same—secret location—regular and hidden carried completely different weight.

If Silver hadn't had that map, this would just have been an ordinary reward spot.

I glanced at the treasure chest sitting alone in the empty clearing. I was curious about what might be inside, but something far more important was right there in front of me, so I tore my gaze away.

Why the hell is he here……?

I frowned at the dwarf leaning against Isabel Silver, letting out a faint groan.

"Snap out of it, Norpa."

That's right. Incredibly, the one collapsed before us was none other than Guljiwang Norpa—Norpa Jeran—the master of the Torong Manual.

No way. It's been over a hundred years since he died……?

I could hardly believe the scene unfolding before me; it felt like a dream.

"What the……."

"Instead of just standing there stunned, how about giving me a hand?"

Isabel Silver spoke to me as I stood frozen, unable to hide my shock.

"……."

"Got any healing spells?"

Normally, a question like that was meant to probe someone's hidden class, but she asked it plainly, without a hint of mind games.

"Hold on. I've got one recovery potion left."

Silver trickled the potion into Norpa's mouth.

Woooong…….

A faint light shimmered around the dwarf before fading away.

"Urgh……."

As the potion's effect wore off, Norpa groaned and struggled to lift his thick eyelids.

He's really alive?

[I wouldn't know. The Dwarf King's death happened before my time; I've only heard the stories.]

Maybe Tur Mah was wrong, and we all had it backward.

The fact that even Black Eye didn't know suggested this wasn't a simple glitch—it had narrative weight, a proper event.

Guljiwang Norpa left the Torong Manual—his secret technique—to humans before entering the tower. The ones who inherited it became the Torong Clan, and his ascent to the tower afterward is famous history.

That's why the four surviving Arcanists' descendants—the dwarf artisans left in the duchy—saw Norpa as a traitor to their kin.

Ironically, they're aiding humans in the duchy themselves.

The remaining three dwarf artisans believed their kingdom might be gone, but their techniques must endure. Even if it meant the humiliating life of providing magitech gear to the duchy, they never taught their secrets to the locals.

"Are you coming around? Norpa Jeran."

"Hm?"

That was when it hit me. The moment I called the slowly awakening dwarf by name, something felt off.

Norpa Jeran? Not Norpa Grum?

I'd pored over the palace archives' ancient tomes countless times; no way I'd misremember the Dwarf King Norpa's name.

In that instant, I recalled what Tur Mah had said in Sandorim Forest.

Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Dwarf ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠King—his twin brother.

"Could it be……."

A thought flashed through my mind. I checked Norpa's left wrist as he lay there.

A thick steel shackle-like band was locked around it.

There it is…….

It was identical to the one I'd seen on U-ryu-ga before.

The bracelet on his wrist was Torong—the armored magitech device.

Why is this still around?

Decades had passed since some humans who inherited Guljiwang Norpa's secret technique called themselves the Torong Clan to carry on his legacy.

Torong…… wasn't just one.

I turned to the dwarf and asked.

"Are you Norpa Jeran, twin brother of the Dwarf King?"

The dwarf, barely regaining his senses, looked at me and jolted in shock, shoving me away in a panic.

"Kuh?!"

His thick arm hit like a hammer; I involuntarily let go, stumbling back and landing on my ass.

"Y-You human……!! Damn bastards, why!!"

The dwarf bared his teeth at me and Silver, growling.

I couldn't believe his ingratitude.

"We save your sorry ass from death, and the first thing you do is curse us out. Unbelievable."

"Calm down, Norpa Jeran. We came here on a commission to find you."

"……Who the hell are you?"

Norpa eyed Silver warily.

"I'm here on commission from the Veil and the Magic Tower to find you. And to protect the Torong Manual your twin brother lost to humans."

She answered as if she'd been waiting for it.

Unlike when I'd asked, the mention of the Veil and Magic Tower made Norpa clamp his mouth shut and stare at her.

"Trust humans again? After they drove us to ruin?"

"Not humans—the Veil."

At Silver's reply, the dwarf's face hardened.

……Humans killed the Dwarf King?

Regardless of his reaction, her words shocked me.

No way. The Torong Manual wasn't passed down by the Dwarf King to humans—it was stolen?

The Torong Clan worshipped their ancestor, the Dwarf King who left them his secret technique, like a god. Proof was that their leader wielded Torong—the armored magitech the Dwarf King had left behind.

No one doubted it; that's why everyone assumed they were the true inheritors of the manual.

I never once considered U-ryu-ga's clan might have stolen Torong from Norpa.

[That bastard killed even his own master.]

Black Eye ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke as if reading my thoughts.

[Not surprising. Fitting for a traitor's kin. Think about it—any oddities with him? If the Dwarf King truly passed the manual to them, why haven't they made a single other device besides that one Torong?]

"No……."

[They didn't make any—they couldn't. If they stole the manual from the Dwarf King like she says, they got the book but not the knowledge behind it.]

"……."

It was disorienting. From the smiles Gulak showed me every time I thought of him, to the anguish on the battlefield swinging his sword to stop the calamity. And after the conquest wars unified the continent, he was the one who took in the surviving dwarves from the fallen kingdom.

Were all those memories of him I'd held onto just lies? Plus, time had turned the misunderstanding into accepted fact—the duchy's dwarf artisans saw the Dwarf King as a traitor too.

Kwak—

Realizing it was all a distortion by the Torong Clan, I ground my teeth without thinking.

Not just for the skill—for the truth, I need to meet you, U-ryu-ga.

But setting aside the tangled mess, the existence of a second Torong was huge good news for me in another way.

"Isabel, did you know the Dwarf King was killed by humans?"

She shook her head at my question.

"No, I was just ordered to get him out of here. Norpa, this is the Black Oath Circle. You'd recognize it, surely—one passed only to Veil successors."

She held up her bracelet for Norpa to see.

"No way……."

He looked at her with suspicion, his eyes demanding confirmation.

"Is she still leading the Veil?"

"If you mean Asera Tanubiel, yes."

At Isabel Silver's answer, Norpa Jeran let out a low sigh, his face full of regret.

"Sendra's daughter guarding the Veil now…… Time has flown that far."

"This is also a commission from the Magic Tower to find you. Though I'm a Veil successor, I'll help you go to whichever you prefer. The Veil leader said to follow your will."

"She shows me consideration."

"But think carefully about where the Torong Manual is safest. Whether the Magic Tower's ties to dwarves run deeper than the Veil's."

Norpa let out a low "Hrrm……" of contemplation.

The Veil wants Torong too.

But even if we saved the Dwarf King's brother, my dreams never mentioned Torong outside the Torong Clan. No new ones had been made, no rumors—so even the Veil couldn't complete one.

Probably because Norpa Jeran never helped them.

That meant opportunity. I watched their conversation closely.

"How did you know I was here? I came to Pharhum's Tomb hunting a golem core and got trapped by a lich's curse…… Didn't you think I was dead?"

"Investigations into you have been quietly underway for decades. People only knew rumors of the Dwarf King—his twin brother was unknown."

"Hrm……."

"Even in the kingdom, few knew of your existence. Without Asera, even we Veil successors wouldn't have found you."

"I see."

Norpa nodded.

"Though really, it's the tower they're after. Magic Tower or Veil—neither can let go of their greed."

But he replied coldly to Isabel Silver.

"……The tower?"

"You don't know that far. Forget what I said."

Norpa Jeran waved her off, refusing to say more. She frowned at me, but I just shrugged.

Even a Hidden Eater wouldn't know about the tower yet.

No need for me to share info.

"I was just tasked with locating and reporting on you."

His attitude could unsettle anyone, but true to her title, she replied calmly.

But the Magic Tower and Veil still curious about the tower……

Might be a way to use them.

"Let's go."

Isabel Silver reached out to Norpa.

That was when it hit. I feigned surprise at the sudden alert.

"What?"

"……Nothing."

Sharp as ever, Silver noticed my change, but I quickly schooled my expression.

This…….

I welcomed the sudden quest—especially that last line.

Can't just hand Torong over to the Veil when it's right here.

Now I knew the location of every Torong, ones I thought could never be remade.

I nodded subtly, making sure Isabel Silver didn't notice.

But could I really get Torong just by helping him? The Veil leader and Norpa Jeran seemed connected somehow. That meant raising affinity with him would put Silver a step ahead of me.

In that case…….

I needed a game-changer. I reread the quest description carefully. Every quest hid clues in its text.

"Golem core……."

A spark ignited.

"Norpa."

I made the proposal to lay the groundwork for reversal.

"Why do you want a golem core?"

"To make a golem, obviously."

"I heard the golem blueprints no longer exist……."

Norpa shook his head at my words.

"Not true. Not complete, but there's the tome ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Tur Mah—the great engineer who was king of the dwarf nation and led the four Arcanists."

I flashed a triumphant smile.

"Is that so? What if…… I introduced you to a golem maker superior to even that incomplete tome of Tur Mah's? How about dealing with me instead of the Veil or Magic Tower?"

"……What?"

"You dare claim there's an engineer greater than Lord Tur Mah?!"

His bellow rang in my ears.

"No. No one's greater. That's why I'll let you meet him."

"……What?"

I leaned in toward him.

"Wouldn't asking Tur Mah himself be better than reading his tome?"

Seeing his stunned expression, I blinked in satisfaction.