The Dwarves' Lost Blessing
"The human race met His Majesty...?"
The dwarf voiced his doubt at a situation he couldn't even picture. A royal audience in the palace was practically impossible, but the story in his memories was a bit different.
"The amethyst forest at the northwest edge. That's where I lived."
"...Pardon?"
Kang Hanbit continued unfolding the story he'd prepared. But it wasn't a lie. It was a true tale from when he'd reincarnated into one adventurer's body.
"Were you truly a... survivor from that place?"
Unlike before, the dwarf muttered in a voice thick with sorrow. The amethyst forest bordered his homeland, the Hedrick Kingdom. The bloody battle with the monsters that engulfed it had even claimed the king's life. As the reason they'd fled to Ifrit, he could never forget it.
"When His Majesty came to our village, he told us tales of the dwarves. That's when I first learned about smithing."
"You heard the secret I only grasped a few years ago... back then?!"
Heat flickered in the dwarf's eyes—not disappointment or regret, but genuine admiration. He nodded to himself and began recounting old stories.
"What's that supposed to mean? A secret?"
"Isn't what they use Dwarven Smithing?"
At that moment, the two who'd been listening a step behind chimed in. It made sense that it felt unfamiliar; it was a secret even hidden among the dwarf race.
"Dwarven Smithing is like a blessing. It's like the qualified royalty granting power. Of course, revoking the blessing is also the royalty's prerogative."
"...But their prince ran away?"
"That's why they fell apart, right?"
-lol
- Gorik Snowball;
- So that's why they became useless.
- Why Buffers Matter.txt
- Lowly dealers, take note.
- Yeah, tool cut.
The problem that had befallen these dwarves was simple. Prince Gorik, who should have bestowed the blessing, had vanished. Without their technological edge, unable to hear the whispers of materials, their value had plummeted.
"Don't tell me this token I have is the tool for granting that blessing?"
"No, that's the tool for finding the hammer."
"Hammer?"
"It's a royal heirloom. You need it to grant the blessing. But Gorik lost it in the snow mountains."
"Ah......"
Kim Jaeha looked flustered now that he understood the full story. The dwarves had never been treated as story helpers from the start. Simple reason: they were useless due to incompetence and greed. Who'd have thought the root cause stemmed from Gorik's flight? And the token he'd obtained was such a crucial item.
"You said we couldn't use this token, right? So the only way is to convince the prince?"
"Even if you convince him well, Gorik won't come back here. Instead, you'll act as the bridge. That's the most important part of the episode."
"That's exactly why I'm more worried......"
Kim Jaeha's importance had been emphasized multiple times. The plan was set the moment they learned he'd been the first to discover the token. In short, he had to do exactly what he'd done before: learn smithing and pass on part of the blessing's power to the dwarves.
"So, what do you plan to do now? That guy's just thrilled......"
Avant-garde, who'd been listening, pointed straight ahead. The dwarf was still chattering away about old tales.
"Well, we've gotta fix everything."
There was no shortage of things to handle in Ifrit. That's why he had no intention of repeating past mistakes this time.
"...Why again?"
Kim Jaeha eyed him warily. Kang Hanbit patted his shoulder lightly.
"You'll pull it off, hyung."
"What? What the hell am I supposed to do?"
What else? Endure Gorik's hellish training process to the bitter end.
He swallowed that thought. Kim Jaeha would surely succeed.
"Something like that."
"No......"
-?
- Yeah, let's go.
- Black Dragon, what are you scheming now?;
As questions piled up, Kang Hanbit turned back to the dwarf.
"Then let's change the offer. Help me out, and I'll solve your blessing problem. Not everything, but enough tech to get by."
"Oh! Do you know where Prince Gorik is?!"
The dwarf leaned in, raising his voice. But if they met the prince right away, it'd end in tragedy. It was fortunate they'd been apart.
"Finding him is my job too. You don't want to keep living like this, right?"
"Hm."
The dwarf fell silent at that. After a moment's thought, he spoke slowly.
"Regaining our tech sounds good, but we have no intention of wasting extra power on Ifrit!"
The dwarf declared he had no desire to devote himself to the city. It wasn't helpful to Kang Hanbit's plans, but there was no need to persuade him now. Soon enough, they'd realize the need to protect the city themselves.
"Just do what I ask."
"Then it's a deal! I'm Kudran!"
"Black Dragon."
Kang Hanbit shook Kudran's hand lightly.
*Ding-*
[You've completed Main Quest #2.]
[Progress has increased.]
[Main Quest #3: Dwarf Village]
You've met Kudran, the manager of the dwarf village.
The reason their standing has hit rock bottom is the absence of the blessing.
The solution is changing Gorik's mind.
How will you resolve this?
Goal: Head to the dwarf village and talk with them.
Rewards: 50,000 gold, 30,000 EXP, 2 stat points
Current progress: 5%
Not bad.
The quest laid out the path ahead clearly. The top priority right now was one thing: Dwarven Smithing.
*Ding-*
Then, another alert rang in his ears. Checking the system window, a new message had arrived. He turned the screen discreetly and peeked at the contents.
「Luna」
「Competition for Dwarven Smithing will heat up again. The corps have caught the scent, so expect scout teams and players to swarm.」
Faster than I thought.
The others were moving quicker than expected. They'd been watching so far, but now they were shifting to action first.
「Black Dragon」
「Thanks for the info. In return, I recommend checking north of Pheria Island at midnight tonight. The crowds have thinned out a lot.」
「Luna」
「Right? With episode resets, hidden zones, and now dwarf smithing, too much is going on. Over half have bailed, but... something fun there? 」
「Black Dragon」
「Something that only shows when it's quiet. It'll take a few days, but you might find weapon materials useful for you.」
Luna's info was a big help. He'd planned to have Juyeonu look into it later anyway. Since she'd shown goodwill first, he wanted to reciprocate. With her ice powers, it could be a nice gift.
「Luna」
「I'll definitely check it out. Keep watching the stream, so make it fun.」
The chat ended with her last message. He hadn't expected to build friendly ties with a major corp's vanguard this quickly. Maybe because he sensed Luna wasn't ordinary. Exchanging info like this was more intriguing than he'd thought.
*Swipe-*
Kang Hanbit pulled up the community separately. The vibe there was buzzing in every way.
<How do you clear these shitty hidden zones?>
<Stuck in episode streams?>
<Messed up with Atsbel, now what?>
<Can't we go for smithing too?>
<Breaking) Scout team conquering ep.8 declares halt.>
<Baldor's duels are insane.>
<Anyone sharing spirit aggro tips?>
Posts on every topic were updating nonstop. Since everyone was following Black Dragon's path, it was always a novel sight. He tapped one title that caught his eye midway.
Dwarven Smithing coming back?>
Black Dragon went to Ifrit, so if it's a hidden skill, he'll snag it, right?
That Kim Jaeha with him is the first discoverer of the achievement, they say.
-Think so?
-How many people were searching back then. lol
-Corps are still quiet.
-Yeah, scouts haven't found shit.
-No hype
-But what if I find it?
└If you do, 100 mil gold.
└I'll give 200 mil.
└Sincerely, the broke asses with not even 10k gold.
-Worth a shot?
-Yeah, nothing to lose.
-Scouts move, I move.
From the comments, they still hadn't grasped the situation. It showed just how fast Luna had shared the info. Was this why Juyeonu told him to build scout connections?
Gotta hurry.
Now that he'd noticed external movements, there was no time to dawdle. Not out of wariness, but because he needed to use them in the right places. Like in the aquarium dungeon, enthusiastic rivals made great tools.
Kang Hanbit approached the dwarf, who was tidying up around them.
"Time to head to the village."
"Ah, hold on a moment!"
Monster remains and tools scattered about. Kudran was diligently putting them back in place.
"Let me help."
"Oh! Really?! I'd be so grateful!"
With no hint of refusal from Kudran, the three busied themselves cleaning up. Once it was all done, Kudran spoke with a touched expression.
"Thank you for the help! I didn't expect it to finish this fast!"
"No big deal."
Kang Hanbit replied politely and glanced toward the city walls. Gorik had returned unnoticed, watching from hiding.
Yeah, he's got a lot on his mind.
Showing up now to sort the twisted relations would simplify things. But the prince, shunned by his people, bore wounds too deep to heal easily. Contrary to his blocked-up artisan look, Gorik was sensitive at heart.
"Then I'll guide you to the village right away!"
As he pondered, Kudran spoke up. Kang Hanbit turned and nodded.
"Lead the way."