Misa and Lance followed Hilkin through the dwarf streets to the Crystal District in the town center, the crystal palace where the dwarf city lord resided.
Even though Misa had visited the dwarf district once before, seeing the dwarf crystal palace again still filled him with awe. The dazzling crystals shone with a soft glow, like a jewel embedded in the dark underworld.
The dwarf guards were already prepared. They stood in neat rows on both sides of the corridor, trying their best to show their bravery to the human hero. The dwarf city lord sat high on his throne, his robe adorned with gems, a gem pendant larger than his fist hanging from his chest. He propped his chin with one hand, looking down with an air of supreme authority—
And straining to look up at the hero’s chest.
Lance: “…”
Dwarf City Lord: “…”
Damn it, this human hero, why is he so tall?
The dwarf city lord felt he couldn’t admit defeat.
He was just a little shorter, that’s all. Height doesn’t determine momentum. Even though he was short, he was the lord of the city, with overwhelming momentum; definitely not something a young human hero could compare to!
The dwarf city lord let out a cold snort from his nostrils and said in a deep, icy voice, “Foolish human hero!”
Lance: “Do you want the ore vein map?”
The dwarf city lord forcibly ignored Lance’s question: “…We Earth Folk absolutely do not welcome—”
Lance: “There’s a Demonstone mine.”
Dwarf City Lord: “You deceitful humans—”
Lance: “A Crystal mine.”
Dwarf City Lord: “We noble Earth Folk absolutely…absolutely will not deal with humans!—”
Lance: “A Gleamstone mine.”
Dwarf City Lord: “…”
Dwarf City Lord: “…………”
Dwarf City Lord: “………………”
Lance: “A Purple Meteorite.”
Dwarf City Lord: “Wuu, will humans really accept us?”
Misa: “…”
Where’s the self-respect of the noble Earth Folk?! City Lord!
The dwarf city lord left his throne, sitting on the steps in front of it, covering his face with his hand, tearfully recounting his heartbreaking past to Misa and Lance.
“My name is Orstone,” the dwarf city lord sighed. “Since my father inherited the city lord’s position, our Earth Folk haven’t had a good time.”
Dwarves are skilled in craftsmanship and love strange minerals. Unfortunately, while the ore veins near the volcano are abundant, there are always gaps, creating significant blank spaces in their technological progress.
Some minerals can be replaced with other things, but many cannot. For so many years, they still haven’t found a way to overcome the lack of materials. They can only choose to trade with humans.
But humans don’t want to trade with them.
Humans hate monsters. Whenever they see them, they flee in terror, or even attack them proactively. Several dwarves have been injured as a result. Since humans have never shown good faith, the dwarves have given up trying.
Misa couldn’t help but question.
“Can’t you see the light?” Misa frowned in confusion. “Then how do you meet humans?”
The volcano near Sky City is supposedly a gathering place for many monsters; few humans set foot there, and even fewer would survive falling into a crack and ending up in dwarf territory.
He couldn’t figure out how the dwarves could have had several “business discussions” with humans. It was a completely impossible fantasy; he even suspected that this was all a dream Orstone was having.
Orstone looked calm and answered Misa’s question seriously.
“It’s simple,” Orstone said. “By digging.”
Misa: “Digging?”
Orstone: “Since my father’s time, we’ve been planning tunnels leading to Sky City.”
Misa frowned: “But Hillsilver said you can’t get past the volcano…”
“Hillsilver is too young; this is a secret of our clan,” Orstone sighed. “Many of his generation don’t know about the tunnels we painstakingly dug.”
Misa: “…”
Misa thought about the almost floor-length beards of Hilkin and Hillsilver, and couldn’t quite figure out their ages.
Orstone waved to the dwarf knights beside him, and someone immediately presented a yellowed map. It was densely covered with crisscrossing tunnels under Sky City. However, for some reason, almost every tunnel’s end was marked with an X, as if to represent—
This path is impassable?
Misa frowned, pointing to one of the tunnels, asking, “What’s this?”
Orstone: “Oh, we dug the tunnel into a human’s house.”
Misa was surprised: “A human’s house?”
Orstone proudly puffed out his chest: “Yes! Under the Sky City lord’s bed!”
Misa: “???”
Orstone: “We also dug to the side of the bishop’s bathtub!”
Misa: “…”
Humans would welcome you instead! Strange dwarves!
Lance wasn’t interested in where the tunnels led; he was more concerned about their current condition. He frowned and asked, “What about these tunnels now?”
Orstone sighed deeply.
“Humans sealed the tunnels,” he pointed to the red Xs on the map, sighing. “They also filled them with rubble and mud, sealing the entrances tightly. It’s very difficult for us to dig through again.”
Misa: “…”
Lance carefully examined the entire map.
Most of the tunnels dug by the dwarves had been discovered and filled by humans. The only remaining entrance led to the human lord’s residence, and judging by the location on the map…it seemed to be near the church.
Lance pointed to the remaining tunnel and asked, “Where is this?”
Orstone proudly raised his head, as if regarding this tunnel as the most impressive achievement of the entire dwarf project. He solemnly pointed to the entrance and said, “This is the human sanctuary!”
Misa: “…”
Fine, you’ve hollowed out the entire underground of Sky City, haven’t you?
“Three years ago, when I went to the sanctuary to try to talk to humans, I was mistaken for the god of craftsmanship, Gangara,” Orstone said seriously. “Humans thought it was a divine oracle, didn’t think much of it, and didn’t discover the tunnel under my feet.”
Misa: “What did you talk about?”
Orstone: “Um…”
Misa: “…You didn’t say anything, did you?”
Orstone: “I…”
Misa: “Such a good opportunity!”
Orstone shook his head desperately.
“I didn’t want to! A group of them suddenly knelt down, saying they didn’t want to be destroyed, and asked me to save them,” Orstone recalled in terror. “Humans are really terrifying!”
Misa: “…”
Lance nodded, as if agreeing with Orstone’s words, saying, “Humans are indeed very superstitious.”
Misa: “…”
Orstone nodded vigorously.
Lance asked again, “You live right next to the volcano; aren’t you afraid of volcanic eruptions?”
His question came out of nowhere, unrelated to the tunnels they had just discussed. Misa suddenly remembered what Lance had said to him at Hillsilver’s house.
He suddenly seemed to understand the hero’s intentions.
Three years ago, humans received an oracle from the goddess Ginises.
The oracle stated that Sky City would be destroyed in the flames of the End-of-Days War, which seemed to be a reference to the nearby volcano. Humans couldn’t stop it, but the dwarves, who had lived beside the volcano’s lava flows for generations, might have unique methods.
Misa looked away, from the crystal palace window, toward the area outside the dwarf town.
A lava flow converged on a distant cliff face, cascading down from a very high cave ceiling like a waterfall, but slowly solidifying halfway down. By the time it neared the ground, it had already turned into solidified rock. This was not the normal solidification speed of lava, and the ground, which should have been unbearably hot, had gradually cooled down since they entered the dwarf town. By the time they reached Orstone’s crystal palace, the temperature was almost the same as the surface.
If the divine punishment referred to in the oracle was the volcano, then perhaps the dwarves really did have a way to stop it.
Orstone answered Lance’s question seriously.
“That’s our furnace,” Orstone said. “Hastings’ furnace will never threaten his loyal Earth Folk.”
Misa: “…”
Lance: “…”
Lance: “Speak plainly.”
Orstone: “It’s a secret—”
Lance: “Ore veins.”
Orstone: “I shouldn’t—”
Lance: “Ore.”
Orstone: “But—”
Lance raised his eyebrows slightly. A look appeared on his otherwise upright and honest face, a look that Misa wasn’t familiar with. It felt like—
He seemed a little impatient.
If Orstone continued to talk nonsense, he might leave immediately, yes, taking the countless ore veins the dwarves longed for, and mercilessly leaving this place.
It was a loaded question.
Orstone immediately spoke.
“A little skill combined with some earth vein magic,” Orstone said quickly. “With enough Ice Crystals, you could even cool down the entire volcano.”
Lance: “Do you have Ice Crystals?”
“No!” Orstone frantically shook his head, nervously clutching the glittering large pendant on his chest. “We only have one left!”
Misa: “…”
Author’s Note:
Aaah, I’m sorry, I forgot to set the time for the draft box!!!
