Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Treasure (2)
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A way to buy their favor? Yeah, that was definitely needed.
They already saw me as their hero, but winning even greater favor would let me squeeze out more rewards.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into my head.
‘Hey, you’re a god, right? What if you showed them your true form? Wouldn’t they start worshiping you on their own?’
That had to be the surest and fastest method.
It was hard to believe, but he claimed to have once commanded similar kin.
But the Sandworm’s response was negative.
[The Sandworm says it’s not time yet.]
‘Why?’
[The Sandworm explains that its power isn’t fully restored. It says it can’t fully display the dignity of a god in its current state.]
[The Sandworm insists that it’s not too late to accept worshipers after raising its stature enough to reclaim its lost authority.]
‘Showing them your fallen form would be embarrassing? Yeah, I get that.’
While I was chatting with the Sandworm, the Dwarf King let out a hearty laugh and clapped me on the shoulder.
“Benefactor! Shouldn’t we commemorate your great deed of awakening our city and allowing those pointy-eared fools to rise again?”
“That sounds good. Then for the reward, a legendary item would be…”
“We Dwarves wish to hold a grand feast in our own style! Please don’t refuse our hospitality!”
“A feast?”
The Dwarf King shouted to those around him.
“Bring the hardest bread and the strongest liquor!”
At the king’s command, the Dwarves cheered in unison and sprang into bustling action.
The area in front of the furnace instantly transformed into a rowdy feast hall.
Under the Dwarf King’s guidance, I headed to the seat of honor.
A large plate and horn cup were placed before me.
“Here, benefactor! Eat your fill! This is our Dwarven pride, the rock bread!”
‘They want me to eat this?’
What the king pointed to was truly bread that looked like a rock.
I picked one up skeptically.
It had a hefty weight.
I scraped it with my fingernail, but not a single scratch appeared.
My brow furrowed.
Were these guys messing with me?
It would’ve seemed more sincere if they’d just shoveled dirt my way.
Reading my expression, the Sandworm whispered quietly.
[The Sandworm explains that this is the Dwarves’ way of showing hospitality.]
[The Sandworm advises that Dwarves recognize someone who enjoys harder bread and stronger liquor as a true warrior.]
‘…What kind of culture is this?’
[The Sandworm explains that it’s similar to Koreans making foreigners eat kimchi.]
‘Hey, people don’t do that anymore. More importantly, how do you even know about that?’
I grimaced inwardly but pretended to be unfazed as I picked up the bread.
Well, this was simple enough.
Without hesitation, I took a big bite.
Crunch-!
A sound like chewing rocks echoed through the feast hall.
In an instant, the noisy Dwarven chatter stopped as if by magic.
All eyes turned to me.
Admiration flashed in their gazes.
“Gulp.”
I chewed and swallowed the bread piece as if it were nothing.
In truth, I felt no sensation at all.
Thanks to my Mineral Devouring skill, this was as easy as cake.
“Ooooooh!”
Seeing this, exclamations mixed with thunderous cheers erupted from the Dwarves.
“With that tiny mouth, to chew and swallow rock bread so easily!”
“He has the makings of a true warrior!”
The atmosphere heated up in a flash.
The Dwarf King smiled in satisfaction and gestured.
Then an attendant brought bread that was larger, darker, and even harder-looking.
“Benefactor, I am impressed by your toughness! This is steel bread, which even among us Dwarves, only seasoned warriors dare to challenge! Please, have a taste!”
“…I’ll gladly accept.”
I sighed inwardly as I took the bread.
And once more, I took a large bite.
Krrunch-!
A much louder, sharper cracking sound than before.
“Ooooooooh!”
“Indeed!”
The Dwarves’ cheers grew even louder.
Fine, if we were doing this, let’s go all the way.
I smirked cockily with one corner of my mouth raised.
“Is this all the hardness you’ve got? I get it now, the Dwarves’ level…”
“What spirit!”
“He’s a true warrior!”
“Bring more bread! No, bring it all!”
Several more challenges followed like that.
The bread’s hardness grew increasingly absurd, and each time, the Dwarves’ reactions became ever more fervent.
“To think we’d bring this out for an outsider…”
Finally, the Dwarf King arrived with a solemn expression, carrying a massive chest himself.
When the chest opened, a bread gleaming like diamond revealed itself.
No, honestly, it barely qualified as bread anymore.
“…This is the diamond bread handed down through generations of Dwarves. Even I take half a day to chew a single piece. Dare you challenge it?”
“By all means.”
Every Dwarf in the feast hall held their breath.
I picked up the bread.
And like eating soft cotton candy, I popped the whole thing into my mouth.
Crunch… Krrunch…
All other sounds vanished.
The only noise in the feast hall was the eerily loud sound of me chewing the bread.
“…”
“…!”
The Dwarves no longer cheered.
They simply stared at me with eyes filled with shock and fear.
I didn’t stop there.
The real show was just beginning.
I stood and headed to a pile of ores in one corner of the smithy.
“This should be enough.”
I picked up the largest, hardest-looking chunk.
And right before the Dwarves’ eyes, I began to chew it.
Crack! Crrrunch!
The rock crumbled helplessly under my teeth.
Clang-!
The horn cup slipped from the Dwarf King’s hand and shattered on the floor.
At that moment, the silence dominating the feast hall broke.
Simultaneously, cheers like an explosion burst forth.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
The Dwarves leaped up en masse and swarmed toward me.
Unable to contain their excitement, they hoisted me high into the air.
“Eek?”
They tossed me into the air while chanting.
Stop. I have a fear of heights.
“He’s no mere warrior!”
“The greatest warrior! Steel Jaw!”
“Steel Jaw! Steel Jaw! Steel Jaw!”
“Gaaaaah!”
A scream escaped me involuntarily.
The horrific sensation of my body falling under gravity.
Thud!
Fortunately, the Dwarves caught me safely.
But the terror didn’t fade.
They were preparing to toss me skyward again.
“Hey, wait! Stop! Stop it!”
I shouted desperately.
But my words didn’t reach the frenzy-maddened Dwarves.
They hurled me into the air once more with all their might.
“Steel Jaw! Steel Jaw!”
“He’s a god!”
Screams and cheers swirled around my ears.
After several more tosses, I finally touched ground again.
“Ugh, urk…”
My legs trembled; I could barely stand.
When I landed, I was surrounded by countless Dwarves.
“Please, just one handshake, Steel Jaw!”
“Let me touch that steel-like jaw just once!”
“Me… me too! I wanna touch it!”
“Get lost!”
Their eyes brimmed with pure respect and worship.
One Dwarf elder, seeing my small stature, shouted.
“With such a tiny frame, that kind of power! One of his ancestors must surely be a Dwarf!”
The other Dwarves fervently agreed.
“As expected of the elder, so wise! Otherwise, that toughness can’t be explained!”
“Exactly! Though he lacks a beard, he’s a warrior with Dwarven blood!”
The Dwarf King stepped forward.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and proclaimed solemnly.
“From this day, I appoint you an honorary Dwarf! And bestow upon you the surname Steel Jaw!”
And so, I became the Elves’ hero and an honorary Dwarf at the same time.
***
“I’m exhausted…”
After the frenzied feast ended, I sat facing the Dwarf King.
His face still flushed with lingering excitement, he said to me.
“Steel Jaw, I once again offer my respects to your greatness. To repay the grace of awakening our city, I wish to give you a gift.”
“Ah, finally…”
“Speak whatever you desire. Anything in this smithy shall be yours.”
This was the main point.
I subtly stroked the World Tree staff in my hand and opened my mouth.
“Hmm… well. The Elves I met recently gave me a piece of their World Tree as payment for saving them.”
At my words, the king’s eyebrow twitched.
“A piece of the World Tree…?”
“Yes. This staff and pendant are exactly that. It’s like giving away a tribal sacred relic as compensation.”
I finished speaking and gazed at the king with a meaningful smile.
“You wouldn’t offer a lesser reward than the Elves, would you, great Dwarf?”
My provocative remark riled up the surrounding Dwarves.
One Dwarf shot to his feet and slammed his war hammer into the ground, shouting.
“What nonsense is this, brother!”
“To dare compare our great Dwarves to those cowards!”
“My king! This brother speaks true! How could we lose to those weak pointy-ears!”
Starting with his cry, the other Dwarves joined in unison.
“Indeed! If they gave a mere log, we must give our very souls!”
“It’s a matter of Dwarven honor! We absolutely cannot lose to them!”
The Dwarves’ pride was fully ignited.
The Dwarf King, too, seemed spurred by my words; his face turned beet red.
He pounded his chest with his fist and bellowed.
“Who dares compare us Dwarves to those pointy-eared lot! Very well, Steel Jaw! We shall craft for you the greatest treasure Dwarves can offer!”
With that declaration, the king immediately summoned the smiths.
“Gather all our finest artisans! Melt the purest materials!”
At the king’s command, the Dwarves sprang into precise action once more.
Dozens of Dwarf craftsmen gathered before the furnace, hammering and working the bellows.
I watched the spectacle with interest.
Things were turning out far grander than expected.
Finally, when all the work was done, the Dwarf King came to me personally.
In his hand was a small box.
“Here, take it. This is the greatest gift we Dwarves offer you, and our pride itself.”
I carefully opened the box.
Inside lay a single ring emitting a mystical glow.