In the past, I had completely disassembled one of these Dalocos monsters on my own, so I didn’t really need any help. Still, since they insisted on helping, I told them to just handle the head.
There’s a nucleus brimming with mana in there. In fact, that was pretty much the only valuable thing from this creature. If it had been female, we could’ve at least eaten the egg.
After slicing open its belly and tossing aside the entrails and flesh, I extracted what little was still usable. Occasionally, while rummaging through like this, you’d find purple stones like the one now.
Unlike the monster’s core, this seemed to be a stone formed from condensed mana. The deeper the color, the more concentrated the mana inside—and this one was almost black in hue.
Good. Setting it aside, I continued sifting through the remains of the foul-smelling beast.
Suddenly, Myungho collapsed onto the Dalocos. It happened so abruptly that I just stared blankly for a moment before stopping what I was doing and checking on him.
“Hey! Hey! Are you alright?!”
At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong, but his mana felt alarmingly thin.
“Ah, guess I passed out. Lately, I’ve been using quite a bit of it.”
“Let me carry you. Do you have any mana potions left? No? This isn’t good. I couldn’t buy any potions in Golsamet either…”
The others were calmly chatting as if their leader collapsing wasn’t a big deal. Seriously, he collapsed!
I don’t know if he can recover mana as quickly as I do, but given how depleted he is right now… Ugh. I was saving this for an emergency.
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the blue potion I’d stashed away. Even after uncorking it, I hesitated about whether or not to use it.
Really use it? But this guy is my only way of communicating with the world right now, so I had no choice.
I opened his mouth and poured in about a quarter of the potion. Not sure of the exact dosage, but this much should wake him up. However, he didn’t stir.
Eventually, I had to pour in half of it. Only then did Myungho sit up, making a face as if he’d eaten something awful.
“Ugh… This taste… A mana potion? You had one… Never mind. Um, thanks for using it.”
If it tastes that bad to humans, no wonder he gagged immediately after waking up and thanked me. What made him collapse all of a sudden?
“What exactly were you doing when you collapsed?”
“Oh, you didn’t know this. So… Using the Holy Sword too often does this. Normally, I’d have been fine, but lately, I’ve used it a lot against high-level beings… Haha.”
In short, he overused his abilities and pushed himself too hard. Well, if that’s the case… It’s not my place to criticize. I tend to lose control when the extermination squad comes around and end up exhausted the next day.
Next time, I advised him to calculate carefully so he doesn’t collapse again. Though his body seemed fine, he was still down, so I decided to finish dismantling the beast myself.
Unlike the belly, the head was entirely encased in a thick shell, requiring some effort to break through. Still, with my strength, it didn’t take long to extract the swirling white core within.
“It’s a shame we can’t take the shell. It would’ve made great armor…”
Myungho looked regretfully at it, but it was too heavy, and we lacked a proper way to transport it, so we left it behind.
Despite having collapsed earlier, Myungho sprang forward confidently, leading the way. As he repeatedly threatened the younger ones while walking, we soon began to feel vibrations resonating from underground.
“Wait. Something unusual is down there.”
Since I’d encountered subterranean beasts before, I warned Myungho to stop. But he said something completely different.
“Is that so? Great! Let’s head toward the source of the vibration! That repeating… thud thud sound?”
“…Yeah. Do you know what it is?”
Vibrations this strong usually occur when large wild animals mate. What could possibly be causing such vibrations underground?
The answer came quickly. Myungho confidently declared it must be the sound from the Dwarves’ forge and urged us to hurry. Hold on.
Dwarves? What are those? I’m somewhat familiar with Elves since they occasionally join the extermination squads, but I’ve never seen a Dwarf before. They build forges underground?
“Oh, right. You might not know. Seeing it firsthand will be faster than explaining. You wouldn’t believe me if I described it.”
What do they look like? Like the short ones I vaguely remember reading about in books from my previous life?
Anyway, since he insisted, we headed toward the source of the vibrations. By placing my ear to the ground, I determined it wasn’t far away.
“There! I found it. Let’s go. Hey, not that way—it’s this way!”
Pointing toward where the vibrations were coming from while lying down, I noticed Myungho was looking elsewhere.
“…Uh, Alterra. Can you… maybe not lie down so casually?”
What nonsense is this kid spouting? Ignoring his absurd comments, I stood up and approached the source of the vibrations. The closer we got, the more it felt like an entire underground village.
And as I approached, two sets of vibrations rushed toward me. Roughly estimating where they would be, I caused the ground beneath them to sink.
A rather loud scream echoed through the forest despite the considerable distance.
What kind of sound is that? The voice was so hoarse and unpleasant that it made me wince. Upon hearing it, Myungho and the others rushed toward the source of the scream.
It wasn’t anything serious, but since they ran off without giving me a chance to explain, I followed them.
“I’ll get them out! Grab this! Yes, we understand your language! To make a long story short, let’s get out of the hole first…!”
Why are they so anxious to help others? Following them, I took a look at what I had trapped in the hole and nearly doubted my eyes.
I expected them to be short, but their squat figures resembled enlarged walnuts.
Both were wearing masks that covered most of their flat faces, leaving only their eyes exposed.
Overall, they gave off a repulsive vibe. Their appearance alone made me frown involuntarily, and their voices were equally grating.
Had I not met them, I probably would’ve left them buried. But now… since I’m not alone anymore. Channeling mana into my horn, I lifted the sunken ground.
Their awkward attempts to regain balance on their comically stubby legs were pitiful. Moreover, their arms were nearly as long as their bodies, making them resemble gibbons.
Gibbons, but about 100 times uglier?
“…Alterra. You didn’t trap these guys, did you…?”
Myungho stared at me silently, but I didn’t respond. If they were ordinary humans, I might’ve apologized, but seeing them, that thought vanished instantly.
“This has nothing to do with me. Tell them to be grateful for being rescued.”
Realizing there was nothing else to say, Myungho asked them if they were okay in a generic way before getting straight to the point.
“…We’re glad you’re alright. Um, by any chance, could you tell us where your village is? We have a colleague who needs some Dwarf-made items repaired. Here, if you don’t trust us, we even have the blueprint. Yuna?”
Saying that, Myungho received the blueprint from Yuna and handed it to these “dung sacks.” They examined it carefully and exclaimed in surprise.
“This… There’s no doubt this bears the unmistakable mark of a Forge Master! The bow is understandable, but asking for modifications to the arm? Is it detachable?”
“No. It’s a single unit. But other Dwarf villages have handled similar repairs effortlessly. Surely… you can’t mean you can’t do it here?”
Myungho’s tone sounded genuinely disappointed, but the underlying implication was a challenge.
The Dwarves became visibly agitated and started loudly arguing in their irritating voices.
“What?! Those runts from the neighboring village can do it, but we can’t?! Pfft! Follow us! We’ll show you that we’re far superior to those brats over the mountain!”
The Dwarves’ footsteps radiated anger and competitiveness, but due to their small stature, even though they moved quickly, it was easy to keep up with a leisurely pace.
Is this… a success? I asked Myungho.
“So, are we heading to their village now? What are they? And why are those dung sacks so angry? Did I say something wrong?”
“Yes, we’re going to their village. And… well. I sort of poked at their competitive nature. They’re a proud race and can’t refuse challenges, so I compared them to another village.”
Even for dung sacks, their pride is enormous. I dislike them even more now. My disdain for them grew stronger.
“…Alterra. Do these people bother you?”
Don’t they?
“Yes. For some reason, just seeing them makes me… want to crush them.”
“Well. A dragon hating dwarves isn’t unheard of. Makes sense. Dragons are the earthly agents of the gods, and the gods detest dwarves immensely. So naturally, dragons have no reason to like dwarves either. As for hybrids… seeing your reaction, perhaps disdain is hereditary. Fascinating.”
The mage glanced at me and muttered something to Myungho, who nodded in understanding before quietly following the Dwarves.
No matter how I think about it, I don’t like them.
But descending into the dark cave and reaching their village might change my mind slightly.
Though I dislike Dwarves, their craftsmanship is impressive.
How they managed it with their stubby arms, the underground space was surprisingly vast. It was comparable to a university lecture hall, except for the limited vertical space.
In the center stood a colossal stone pillar reaching the ceiling. Its interior had been hollowed out into a forge, visible through the openings.
Inside, a massive press machine operated on some incomprehensible principle, pounding red-hot metal blocks repeatedly.
Around it, several “dung sacks” gathered, hammering hot iron or cooling heated metal in chaotic activity.
“Here is our village. Kagrignum!”
“What?! Someone stole quality ore again?! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
Dwarves are still annoying.
