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Chapter: 99

"Humanity killed His Majesty...?"

The dwarf expressed his disbelief at the unimaginable scenario.

While an audience with the king at the royal palace was nearly impossible, the story he remembered was slightly different.

"The Amethyst Forest at the northwest end. I used to live there."

"...What?"

Hanbit continued to unfold his prepared story.

It wasn\'t a lie. It was a true story from when he was reincarnated as an adventurer.

"You were truly a survivor of that place."

The dwarf\'s voice was filled with sorrow, unlike before.

The Amethyst Forest had bordered his homeland, the Hedric Kingdom.

The deadly battle with the monsters that had engulfed the forest had even claimed the king\'s life.

As it was the reason they had fled to Ifrit, it was something he could never forget.

"When His Majesty came to our village, he told us stories of the dwarves. That\'s when I learned about metallurgy."

"You mean you learned secrets that I only discovered a few years ago, way back then!"

The dwarf\'s eyes lit up with excitement.

It wasn\'t disappointment or regret, but sincere admiration.

He nodded to himself and began to tell an old story.

"What do you mean, secret?"

"Wasn\'t the metallurgy they used dwarven metallurgy?"

The two people who had been listening from behind spoke up.

It was only natural that they were unfamiliar with a secret kept even within the dwarf clan.

"Dwarven metallurgy is like a blessing. It\'s like the royal family bestows power. Of course, taking away the blessing is also the royal family\'s privilege."

"...But their prince ran away?"

"That\'s why they failed, isn\'t it?"

-Crazy. lol

-Gorik snowball;

-No wonder they became incompetent.

-The reason why buffers are important.txt

-You lowly dealers, wake up.

-Yeah, just tools.

The problem facing these dwarves was simple.

Their prince, Gorik, who was supposed to bestow the blessing, had disappeared. Without their skills and unable to hear the voice of the materials, their value had plummeted.

"So the artifact I have is the tool to bestow that blessing?"

"No, it\'s a tool to find the hammer."

"Hammer?"

"It\'s a royal heirloom. You need it to bestow the blessing. Right now, Gorik has lost it in the snowy mountains."

"Oh..."

Kim Jaeha was taken aback.

The dwarves had never been considered as allies in the original story. They were seen as useless due to their incompetence and greed.

However, the reason for that was Gorik\'s disappearance. And the artifact he had obtained was incredibly important.

"So if we can\'t use this artifact, the only option is to persuade the prince?"

"Even if you persuade him, Gorik won\'t come back here. Instead, you\'ll act as an intermediary. It\'s the most important part of the episode."

"That makes me even more worried..."

Kim Jaeha\'s importance had been emphasized several times.

This plan had been set in motion as soon as they realized he had discovered the artifact. Simply put, he had to do what he had done.

He had to learn metallurgy and pass on a portion of the blessing to the dwarves.

"So what are you going to do now? That guy seems really excited..."

Avantgarde pointed at the dwarf who was still rambling about old stories.

"Well, we have to solve everything."

There was still a lot to do in Ifrit. So this time, he didn\'t intend to repeat the mistakes of the past.

"...Why me?" Kim Jaeha asked, looking worried.

Hanbit lightly patted his shoulder.

"You can do it."

"What? What am I going to do?"

\'What else? You\'re going to endure Gorik\'s hellish training to learn metallurgy.\'

He kept that thought to himself. He was sure Kim Jaeha would succeed.

"There\'s something like that."

"No..."

-?

-Yeah, good job.

-Black Dragon, what are you trying to do again?

As questions swirled around him, Hanbit turned his attention back to the dwarf.

"So, let\'s change the deal. If you help me, I\'ll help you solve the problem with your blessing. Even if it\'s not all of it, you can recover enough skill to make a living."

"Oh! You mean you know where His Highness is!" The dwarf leaned in and shouted excitedly.

But if they were to meet the prince directly, the outcome would only be tragedy. Perhaps it was fortunate that they had been separated.

"Finding him is also part of my job. You don\'t want to live like this forever, do you?"

"Hmm."

The dwarf was silent in response to this question. After a moment of thought, he slowly began to speak.

"It\'s good to regain our skills, but I don\'t want to use excessive power on Ifrit!"

The dwarf asserted that he didn\'t want to dedicate himself to the city. While this wasn\'t helpful to Hanbit\'s plan, there was no need to persuade him immediately.

Soon, he would realize the need to protect the city.

"Just do as I ask."

"Alright! My name is Kudran!"

"I\'m Black Dragon."

Hanbit shook Kudran\'s hand.

Ding-!

[Main Quest #2 completed.]

[Progress increases.]

[Main Quest #3: Dwarf Village]

You met Kudran, the manager of the dwarf village.

The reason for their decline was the absence of the blessing.

The only solution is for Gorik to change his mind.

How can you solve this situation?

Objective: Go to the dwarf village and talk to them.

Reward: 50,000 gold, 30,000 experience points, 2 stat points

Current progress: 5%

\'Not bad.\'

The quest clearly outlined the direction he needed to go.

For now, the most important thing was dwarven metallurgy.

Ding-!

Then, the alarm sounded again.

Checking the system window, he found a new message.

He turned the screen and secretly looked at the contents.

「Luna」

「The competition to obtain dwarven metallurgy will start again. The corporations have caught wind of it, so players, including the advanced teams, will be rushing in.」

\'It\'s faster than I thought.\'

Others were moving faster than expected. Until now, they had been watching, but now they seemed ready to take action.

「Black Dragon」

「Thank you for the information. Let me tell you something. I recommend you go north of Peria Island at midnight. There are fewer people there now.」

「Luna」

「Right? There\'s been too much going on lately, from the episode reset to the private area and dwarven metallurgy. More than half have dropped out... but something interesting seems to be happening there.」

「Black Dragon」

「There\'s something that only appears when there are fewer people. It might take a few days, but you might find a material that would be useful for you.」

The information Luna provided was quite helpful.

He planned to ask Yeonwoo about it later.

As she had shown him kindness first, he wanted to return the favor.

Considering that she used ice powers, it might be a great gift for her.

「Luna」

「I\'ll definitely go. Keep up the good work on the stream.」

The conversation ended with the last message.

In fact, he hadn\'t expected to establish a friendly relationship with a large corporation\'s advanced player so quickly.

Perhaps it was because he felt that Luna was an extraordinary person.

Exchanging information with her was more interesting than he had thought.

Hanbit opened a separate window and looked around the community.

The atmosphere there was very heated.

<How do I open the damn private area?>

<Anyone stuck at the episode level?>

<I said the wrong thing to Artsvel, what do I do?>

<Can\'t we also get our hands on metallurgy?>

<Breaking news: The advanced team that was tackling episode 8 has announced their withdrawal.>

<Balder\'s duel is really shitty.>

<Anyone know how to aggro the gloem?>

Posts on various topics were being updated constantly.

It was a strange sight, considering everyone had walked the same path as Black Dragon.

Hanbit tapped on a title he had seen earlier.

<Will dwarven metallurgy be revived?>

If Black Dragon went to Ifrit, it seems like he\'ll get the hidden skill.

I heard that Kim Jaeha, who\'s with him, was the first to discover the achievement.

-No way?

-We searched so hard for it back then, lol.

-The corporations are still quiet.

-Yeah, the advanced players haven\'t found anything either.

-Don\'t exaggerate.

-But what if I find it?

└If you find it, I\'ll give you 100 million gold.

└If you get it, I\'ll give you 200 million.

└These are all people who don\'t even have 10,000 gold.

-Isn\'t it worth a shot?

-Yeah, it\'s a low-risk, high-reward situation.

-If the advanced players go, I\'m going too.

Judging by the atmosphere in the comments, they didn\'t seem to have figured things out yet.

It showed just how quickly Luna had passed on the information.

Was this why Yeonwoo had told him to build relationships with the advanced players?

\'I need to hurry.\'

Now that he was aware of the external movements, he couldn\'t afford to delay.

It wasn\'t because he was wary of them, but because he needed to use them strategically.

Just like in the Aquarium dungeon, passionate competitors could be good tools.

Hanbit approached the dwarf who had been tidying up.

"Let\'s go to the village."Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

"Ah, just a moment!"

The surrounding area was littered with monster remains and tools.

Kudran was diligently putting them back in place.

"I\'ll help you."

"Oh! Really? Thank you so much!"

With no objections from Kudran, the three of them worked together to clean up the area.

Once they had finished, Kudran said with a grateful expression, "Thank you for your help! I didn\'t expect it to end so quickly!"

"It\'s nothing,” Hanbit replied politely and turned his gaze to the entrance of the fortress.

Gorik had returned and was watching them from a hidden spot.

\'Well, he must be thinking a lot.\'

If he were to appear here immediately and try to resolve their twisted relationship, things would be much simpler.

However, the prince\'s heart, having been rejected by his people, was too deeply wounded to heal easily.

Gorik, despite seeming like a stubborn craftsman, was actually quite sensitive.

"Then, I\'ll escort you to the village!" Kudran spoke up, breaking Hanbit\'s thoughts.

Turning around, Hanbit nodded.

"Let\'s go."