The Hero of Iron Helm
“It’s not too late even now, Hairun.”
“Isn’t he your disciple? Are you just going to stand there and watch your disciple die?”
“Go stop him this instant! What can he possibly accomplish alone?!”
Iron Helm, at Lava’s Glory.
The dwarves waiting inside the building each tossed a remark at Hairun, who stood with his arms crossed.
After sending Jinwoo off to the Wasteland, Hairun had remained here waiting for his return. The dwarves, however, refused to leave him in peace.
“It’s only gotten worse since earlier!”
“Your disciple might be making the situation even more dire!”
The tremors had been growing steadily more violent. Heat had intensified as well, and along the outskirts of Iron Helm, corrupted power was slowly seeping toward the city.
“Our Iron Helm could fall because of that disciple of yours!”
“What will you do if that happens?”
The dwarves pressed him hard.
“Pathetic dwarves.”
“What?”
“What did you just say?”
“I called you cowards who are too scared to even approach the Wasteland. Why? If you were so worried about Iron Helm, why didn’t you go yourselves? You can’t even leave this place, just sitting here in Lava’s Glory waiting for the Great Hammer—what gives you the right to keep running your mouths?”
Hairun looked them straight in the eye.
In terms of raw strength, the others far outclassed him. Hairun was a blacksmith; they were warriors and hunters. Yet in this moment they were all the same—helpless against the Corrupted Dragon, forced to wait quietly inside Lava’s Glory.
The dwarves scowled at his words.
“We only said it out of concern.”
“Ha! Give me a break!”
Hairun stared at them as if he could scarcely believe his ears.
“You lot. Don’t forget what you promised.”
“You’re still talking that nonsense?”
The dwarves were flabbergasted.
“We’ll keep that promise, no question! If he actually kills that corrupted dragon and comes back, I’ll even hand over my house! Every last piece of equipment from my workshop, too!”
“Is that so? So it’s a promise, then. You’ll cough up every material you’ve been hoarding, including the Breath of the Earth?!”
“Of course! I’ll give it all!”
The Breath of the Earth was a family heirloom that had been passed down through that dwarf’s bloodline.
“You swear it before the God of Hammers?”
At Hairun’s question the dwarves nodded.
“We swear it before the God of Hammers!”
The vow was now absolute; there would be no taking it back.
Hairun grinned.
“Remember the promise. When Jinwoo returns, you will keep it without fail.”
“Ha!”
One of the dwarves sneered.
“Sure. If he manages to come back, that is.”
Even as they mocked him, Hairun’s faith never wavered. He was certain Jinwoo would deal with the Corrupted Dragon and return. He trusted the young man’s skill, yes—but more than that, he trusted the look in his eyes.
Jinwoo had said his firepower was insufficient, that he could not fully draw out a material’s potential. He had been frustrated at not being able to work the materials properly.
That look was terrifying.
The hunger in those eyes when they spoke of greater fire had been extraordinary. Eyes like that would bring him home—after seizing the Dragon’s Flame.
He would return. Hairun believed with absolute conviction that Jinwoo would save Iron Helm.
If he could have, he would have gone along to help. But accompanying him would only have gotten in the way. So Hairun did the best he could as a master.
The only thing I can do for him is provoke these fools into making promises.
It was the greatest service a teacher could render right now.
Kuuung—! Kugugung—!
A thunderous roar shook the mountain. The volcano erupted like a mad thing and the ground heaved.
“It’s getting stronger. We might already be too late.”
Shaaaaaaaaak—!
On the outskirts, corrupted power began to surge upward. Then, all at once, everything fell silent. For a long while only stillness remained.
The dwarves of Lava’s Glory were not waiting for Jinwoo. They were waiting for the Great Hammer.
Suddenly a commotion rose outside.
“The Great Hammer…”
“The Great Hammer has returned!”
The dwarves rushed out. Hairun followed cautiously. And then he saw it.
“Th-that is…!”
“A dragon… no, it’s nothing but bones.”
“It’s a Bone Dragon!”
“So this is how it ends!”
This was no ordinary Bone Dragon.
“…It’s wearing something?”
Hairun, last to emerge, also looked up at the Bone Dragon floating in the sky.
“!”
While everyone else trembled, only Hairun smiled.
“You lot are in real trouble now.”
“Hairun! This is no time for jokes!”
“Actually, it is.”
The dwarves did not understand, but Hairun did.
Shwaaaaaaak—!
The Bone Dragon dove from the heavens in a steep plunge.
And then—
“I see everyone’s gathered.”
Jinwoo landed among them.
Confusion flickered across every dwarf’s face. Why was Jinwoo appearing here? They had been certain the Corrupted Dragon, Shadow Wing, had finally come to invade.
“This is the dragon I caught.”
Jinwoo continued without missing a beat.
“You haven’t forgotten your promises, have you?”
You have cleared the quest!
Before the massive building of Iron Helm known as Lava’s Glory, dwarves began to gather one by one, each hauling a cart. The carts held all manner of goods—different kinds, yet every single item precious.
“You… is that…?”
“The deed to my house. Khh…”
One dwarf tugged at his beard and ground his teeth. He had already sworn before the Great God of the Dwarves; there was no taking it back now.
Thus the dwarves who had made firm promises to Jinwoo at Lava’s Glory began bringing out the countless materials they had been hoarding. More than a dozen rare materials piled up in short order.
Jinwoo watched the scene with quiet satisfaction.
“How in the world did you pull it off?!”
Hairun was overjoyed.
“I believed you would return. And so…”
While waiting, he explained, he had squeezed even more fine materials out of the dwarves.
Somehow there seems to be more than I expected?
Jinwoo remembered every material that had been promised. Yet watching an even greater variety accumulate in front of Lava’s Glory left him puzzled.
“Hairun, you extracted extra for me.”
“Of course I did! You saved our Iron Helm single-handedly.”
In that light, this level of compensation was only fair.
“Please tell them they can take the house deeds back. We’ll settle for other materials instead.”
“Good thinking. That fellow still needs a place to sleep. He’s probably hiding some excellent materials; I know his situation, so I’ll make sure he brings them.”
The dwarves delivered every last item they had promised.
“I should be happy, but…”
The Corrupted Dragon was dead and the pollution of the Wasteland had vanished. The crisis that had threatened to engulf Iron Helm was resolved in full. Yet the dwarves who had lost their fortunes through a careless slip of the tongue could only laugh through tears.
“That’s the Breath of the Earth, right? Set it right here!”
Hairun cheerfully collected the dwarves’ assets with meticulous care.
“Looks like everything’s here.”
Jinwoo examined the materials.
These are the quest rewards.
The materials they brought ranged from SS-grade all the way up to SSR+.
These two are the best of the lot.
One more item, however, caught his eye above all the rest.
“That one is the most precious of all, Jinwoo.”
Hairun gestured grandly.
“The Breath of the Earth!”
UR
Description: A mineral formed over long ages by the gathering of the earth’s breath.
The Breath of the Earth. Simply looking at it was enough to entrance; the mineral was breathtakingly beautiful.
“It’s a family heirloom. I wrung that one out of him too. He sneered that I’d never get it, you know.”
If it’s valuable enough to be an heirloom…
It would possess quality worthy of the UR grade. Jinwoo lightly brushed his fingers across the Breath of the Earth.
Shalarak—.
In that instant the power of the earth surged through his hand.
“This one’s different…!”
He would have to strike it. He needed to feel its response under the hammer.
Jinwoo grinned and gave Hairun a thumbs-up.
“Thank you. This is a tremendous help!”
“It helped? Then I’m truly glad.”
Hairun smiled, then stormed over to the long-faced dwarves and barked at them.
“What did I tell you? I said he’d do it!”
“We never thought he’d actually succeed…”
The dwarves hung their heads. Ordinary citizens of the city, however, were already in full festival mood.
“Hooray!”
“Jinwoo, was it? Thank you—truly thank you! Because of you, our Iron Helm lives again!”
“We all owe you our lives!”
Every dwarf in the city thronged before Lava’s Glory.
“The hero of Iron Helm!”
“Look at those solid muscles! Are your parents dwarves by any chance?”
“Pure-blooded human.”
Jinwoo answered.
“Anyway—hurrah! Hurrah!”
Affinity with the dwarves of Iron Helm has reached MAX!
“We’ll raise a statue of you!”
Jinwoo did not refuse.
“Make it a big one, please.”
The bigger, the better.
Amid the festive atmosphere of Iron Helm, Jinwoo gathered every last material and then called to Hairun.
“Hairun, do you happen to have a hammer?”
“A hammer? Why a hammer? Did yours break…?”
“Yes. It was a fine hammer, but it shattered.”
“Hmm. I do have one, but…”
Hairun’s technique was Deep Smithing.
“As you know, Deep Smithing doesn’t place much importance on the hammering itself. And while I do have a hammer…”
Hairun promptly produced one.
“It won’t be to your liking, I suspect. Fine as a spare, but not something you’d want as a main. I’d give you the one I’m using if I could, but even that isn’t anything special.”
Though he owned a wide array of tools befitting the title of All-Thing Crafter, none of the individual pieces were of exceptionally high quality.
Just then a notification chime sounded.
The Great God of the Dwarves speaks of an additional reward!
At the sudden message Jinwoo replied,
“I will reclaim the temple shortly.”
The Great God of the Dwarves declares that the additional reward is precisely what you seek!
“What I seek?”
The Great God of the Dwarves reveals that the additional reward prepared is…