Interrogating the Mad Scientist
"Was there an NPC this unique?!"
Back in the cabin basement, Avant-garde showed interest in Isis. It was only natural, given how distinctive she was—he must have regretted not knowing about her sooner. But if you'd followed Adventure A's guidebook, you wouldn't have encountered her anywhere in the Raven Kingdom, at least.
"How's the prep going?"
"Coming along nicely. The dwarves are so enthusiastic, it's hard just to keep up by watching."
Avant-garde had focused on filming the dwarves' preparations with his camera. Considering one of the main goals of the Ifrit episode was restoring their status, it was a smart choice.
"Whoa, what an incredibly weird underground building! Can I go down and...?"
The scientist started glancing around curiously. Kang Hanbit grabbed the collar of Isis, who was heading for the stairs.
"You're getting interrogated first."
"Oh, interrogation? Let's just get it over with quick! Here?"
"Over there."
He led the eager scientist to a room in the corner of the passage and sat her in a chair. Kang Hanbit and Jinook stood facing her.
"You'll show us the spirits' power again once the interrogation's done, right?"
Isis swung her legs, eyes sparkling. Since that was the plan anyway, Kang Hanbit nodded.
"I'll show you later, so just answer well. First, tell us your affiliation."
"Promise! So, affiliation... should I say I'm a scientist working under the 8th Bishop? I've begged so many times to do spirit research, but they keep refusing. You have no idea how desperately I..."
-Achanho ON
-Talks way too damn much. lmao
-But she's kinda cute tho?
-Noisy Isis VS Stoic Taeyul Boss Manager
-Even beats construction site racket, hands down.
Her answer quickly turned into a aggrieved rant. Kang Hanbit cut her off and asked again.
"Whatever. Any other orders?"
"Use a few vertical caves around Ifrit to make nests. Attack the city with enhanced monsters and report results. That's it. They hardly ever tell me anything else anyway."
Isis added that she only met the bishop occasionally, and even then, it was just about research and monsters. Exactly two topics.
"A few vertical caves? There are more like the one we saw?"
Jinook's eyes widened in shock. If there were several more, it was a hopeless situation. Even calling for reinforcements would just lead to tragedy.
Sensing his anxiety, Isis shrugged.
"The spaces are there, but what's inside differs. The first two waves freed parts of them—that's how they came out."
"The monsters that didn't meet your standards?"
"Yep. The second batch was ones I put some real effort into, though. But you froze them solid in one shot!"
She waved her hands around, reenacting it. Watching her, Jinook unrolled the map he'd brought.
"We need to check from where the third wave starts. Point it out."
"Hmm, is that even useful?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Look closely."
Leaning forward, Isis stretched her arm to the edge of the southern forest beyond Ifrit. She traced a semicircle along the border all the way up.
Her finger stopped at the northern forest's end.
"That's the range for the third wave."
"...?"
Jinook froze at her blunt explanation. The area she marked covered nearly the entire forest. If true, it was effectively random.
"The whole thing's the range? That make sense? Monsters come from those vertical caves we saw."
"The cave walls are easy to break. They're connected to the surface everywhere in the forest, so the kids can pop out wherever they want."
"...Then the yeti sleeping spot?"
"Around the east side, but there are other kids there too. When they wake, they'll burrow to whatever surface they fancy."
"Ha."
Jinook let out a sigh. Even the strongest monster, the yeti, couldn't be predicted precisely. The subjugation difficulty was insanely high.
His helpless frustration naturally turned toward the culprit.
"This is an 'experiment'? You're just trying to smash Ifrit!"
Hand on his sword hilt, he pressed her. Isis asked flatly,
"Hmm, why do you think the bishop sent me to Ifrit?"
"...What?"
"Out of all those cities, why here? Even with usable vertical caves, it felt off. Then I saw Ifrit's walls, and it clicked: that's why."
"...."
Jinook was speechless at the bullseye. Watching the exchange, Kang Hanbit asked Isis,
"So this isn't the experiment you wanted? Environment's too easy to topple."
"Depends how you look at it. Perfect for fine-tuning enhancement systems. Anyway, can you just list all the questions? I wanna see the spirits' power now..."
Her patience waned fast despite answering dutifully. Kang Hanbit noticed her fidgeting.
"So, real goal? Invade the Raven Kingdom?"
"Probably? Each bishop has their own plans, but ultimately world conquest or whatever. That's the Holy Nation's petty aim."
-Petty world conquest ㄷㄷ
-Holy Nation bastards are straight-up thugs.
-Fr, later episodes gonna hurt my brain;
-Shit's real once we leave Raven Kingdom.
Info on the Holy Nation from guidebooks and scouts was limited, but enough to make everyone wary. Their faith-fueled atrocities, backed by overwhelming power.
"Anyway, focus on now. List every monster type you put in those caves. More than what we saw."
Jinook cared about one thing: stopping the third wave and protecting Ifrit. He needed precise intel.
"Oh, wanna explain them all?"
Isis's eyes lit up as she jumped to her feet, then hesitated before hopping to Jinook.
"Seen the crystal spiders and hop goblins? Oh, hellhounds are so cute too..."
She gushed like a proud parent, rambling on. When it veered into areas beyond the Raven Kingdom, Kang Hanbit stopped her.
"Enough. Leon the vice-captain will investigate the rest. Stop here."
"Huh? Already?"
"...Yeah."
Reluctant Isis and drained Jinook. Kang Hanbit hustled them outside.
"Oh, Black Dragon-nim!"
As they emerged, dwarf Kudran approached. His gaze shifted to Jinook behind.
"Guild master too!"
"...Ah."
-Huh?
-This setup;
-Perpetrator VS Victim
-Hammer to the foot? Still innocent.
The violent scene from the monster corpse disposal yard. The dwarves, total victims, had every right to react.
"Tha...t..."
Jinook hesitated to speak. But Kudran's voice drowned him out.
"Check this out! We've prepped this much already!"
Beaming, Kudran led Kang Hanbit to a warehouse-like space piled with completed swords, bows, and more.
"Impressively fast."
"I get why you prioritized the dwarves' legacy first," Avant-garde said. It was key this episode—the blessed dwarves' skills visibly improved.
"Wanna see the workshops too?"
"Sure."
They followed Kudran downstairs. Clang-! Rumble-! Work noises echoed from the stairs. Isis reacted first.
"Whoa!"
She bolted ahead, peeking at the dwarves working in the passage. The whole floor was a forge—quite the spectacle even from afar.
Kang Hanbit caught up, grabbing her, and checked the projects: preparations for the wave. Specialized for large-scale monster hunts. Ballistae, catapults, repeating crossbows—modified with magic tools.
"This..."
Jinook stopped at the sight of sweating dwarves, approaching cautiously.
"What complaint brings you here now."
A dwarf elder approached from the opposite side: Ballon. His cold gaze fixed on Jinook.
"...Not a complaint."
"Using polite speech, for once. Where's the guy who only felt better stepping on filthy dwarves?"
-ㄷㄷ
-Fair reaction.
-Victims don't forget.
-Won't let it slide easy.
The elder's sharp tone carried years of pent-up oppression.
"...."
Jinook couldn't speak. Changed since the first wave, but the gap between past sins and current resolve was hard to bridge.
'He's lost,'Kang Hanbit knew. Simply put, no way out yet. But he'd faced his sister, so he wouldn't wander long.
"Monster disposal's underway with drafted personnel. If issues, I'll handle them—please don't disrupt here."
"That's... not it."
Jinook stepped back at the elder's advance. After a pause, he bowed.
"...I'll come back later."
He left via the stairs, dwarves watching puzzled. Busy with prep, but necessary for the future.
"I brought Jinook. Need his help against the monster assault."
"Hard to call it 'help' with that human... Do we have to stay close?"
"Not at all. Do as you feel."
"...Good. Understood."
Short talk done, Kang Hanbit observed more, then addressed the dwarves.
"Pace looks good. Push till tomorrow, please."
"We're pumped after so long—it's fun! Adventurers like Zenon and lab's Lebius gave ideas; creativity's flowing! Suggest anything you like!"
Kudran buzzed with excitement, dopamine high. He'd pour effort into new weapons soon.
"Gonna see the prince now. Back later."
"This way!"
As he headed for stairs, Kudran pointed down the hall: a tunnel sized for one person.
"...Leads outside the walls?"
"Yes! Detour's too far, so we dug it secretly from His Highness!"
Another new change. Small, but positive—kinda fun.
"Perfect. I'll go that way."
Kang Hanbit took Isis into the tunnel. Lamps lit the clear path.
'Wonder what this'll do.'
The indigo scale shard in his hand. Untried this era, but promising—Gorik had eyed his sword.
"So when do I see the spirit king's power? You promised!"
"Can't just spam it. Wait a bit."
"Ugh..."
Chatting, they exited into the dwarf village. Kang Hanbit headed straight for Gorik and Kim Jaeha's workshop.