NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 434 Misjudgment (1)
The air has become chilly.
The enthusiastic cheers that seemed like they would never stop have disappeared without a trace, and only a cold silence surrounds the surroundings.
Some of Gharun's disciples' faces hardened, some became completely stricken, and some even wavered.
“Oh, that’s a black volcano.”
I sense a feeling of bewilderment followed by fear from the dwarf.
Something is not right.
Verden, feeling suspicious, asked Linus, who was reacting in shock.
“What is the black volcano?”
“Ah… Ah, yes. So, the Black Volcano is, so to speak, a cursed land that the dwarves must never invade.”
curse?
“As Your Majesty knows, there is no place in the volcanic zone that is not warm all year round, and in extreme places, it is hot enough to burn human skin. It is a land where lava is easier to find than a stream. It does not snow here, and the concept of cold is not even common… but the black volcano is different.”
Linus fell asleep.
“The Black Volcano is a land where the ley lines have been depleted. To the dwarves, it is called the ‘Forge Where the Hammering Has Stopped,’ and it is the only cold place in the volcanic zone.”
Dwarves are a race that lives based on the geothermal heat of volcanic regions.
Since they considered heat itself to be their lifelong companion, a land without geothermal energy was no different from a land of death.
“Was it like that from the beginning?”
“That’s not true. In the past, there was a clan in the Black Volcano, and it was led by a great dwarf called ‘Golden Anvil’. But it was destroyed in an instant.”
“The reason is.”
“I don’t know the details either. My master didn’t say much either, so I didn’t bother asking. However, the Black Volcano has been tacitly forbidden to approach for hundreds of years… It’s clear that it’s a terrible place for dwarves.”
Not 10 years, not 20 years, but hundreds of years.
If fears from the past still remain even after a lot of time has passed, it is not a problem that can be easily solved.
The dwarves' perception of the Black Volcano would have been fixed, if not entrenched.
Verden stroked his chin.
'I wonder what Gharun is going to do.'
It would be difficult to convince them simply by using his reputation as a teacher and a hammer with integrity.
When I look at the dwarves who were madly shouting Gharun's name and orthodoxy, I see them all keeping their mouths shut and looking serious.
While Verden was watching the situation closely, Gharun looked at his disciples without blinking an eye at the changed atmosphere and spoke.
“You’ve all probably heard these rumors at least once in your life. ‘If you enter the Black Volcano, you will be cursed and your clan’s volcano will dry up.’, ‘If you mine ore from the Black Volcano, your clan’s mine shaft will collapse.’, ‘Cursed dwarves live in the Black Volcano.’……these are very old rumors.”
“…….”
“Such stories, passed down from the old days, have always made us fearful. It was even worse when I was young, so I understand better than anyone how much the dwarves hate the Black Volcano. I just want to ask. Has any of you dwarves actually seen the Black Volcano?”
Gharun looked at one of his disciples at random.
The dwarf who received the gaze rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Oh, no.”
“Yeah, no.”
thud!
Gharun lifted Markuab slightly and tapped the ground once.
“Neither in the past nor in the present has the rumors of the Black Volcano been confirmed to be true. Even after 300 years have passed. So, should the dwarves still be afraid of the Black Volcano?”
“But according to tradition…….”
“Of course, it is important to follow the oral tradition. We have been able to achieve our present through the experiences of our ancestors. I also do not want to break the taboos that have been passed down for a long time like you.
but.
“Still, I, you must go to the Black Volcano. Why? Because we are dwarves.”
Gharun raised his voice even higher.
“The Black Volcano was once the furnace of the greatest clan. The fortresses and facilities they touched are now sleeping in the cold ground. In other words, the legacy of the clan that led the golden age of dwarven history is being neglected. There is a gap of 300 years, but considering the achievements of the ‘Golden Anvil’ at the time, it must have been just as technologically advanced as the Red Volcano Clan.”
The dwarves are rumbling.
Although they were naturally curious, most of the opinions were more concerned that they might be cursed.
Gharun didn't care.
“A curse? Yes, it might really exist. But is it really a dwarf to be afraid of it just because it exists? Not at all. Think about it carefully. How is that different from the attitude of today’s dwarves who try to join hands with humans?”
Kwaaang!
Markuab, with the added power of Gharun's immense strength, broke the floor.
“Forget the legends of 300 years ago and think of your ancestors from the distant past. They did not lose their spirit even in difficult times. Instead, they devoted their lives and souls to striking the hammer!”
The air inside the tunnel, which had been extremely cold, began to heat up.
“We are the ones who forge blessings in the fire, and curses through the forge. Creation has always been in our hands. We are the true dwarves.”
"legitimacy……!"
Everyone flinched at the word 'orthodoxy'.
The dwarves' pale complexion returned and their hearts began to pound.
Gharun did not miss this opportunity.
“Repeat. What are we?”
"legitimacy!"
The dwarves who had been intimidated by the legend of the black volcano began to speak up one by one.
“Who are we!”
“Authentic dwarf!!”
The heat has finally returned.
“For the sublime orthodoxy!!”
“Yes…… Yes! Just as the Master said, we are different from the people of today! Nothing, be it a curse or anything else, can stop our creation and our hammer!”
“No threat can stop the dwarf!”
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“As expected of a hammer with integrity! You are a true dwarf!”
“Gharun! Gharun!”
“Authentic! Authentic!”
Their voices overlapped and became one.
Because of that, the tunnel shook violently, but no one paid any attention.
The small space was ablaze with will.
It's time to drive the wedge.
Gharun held Markuab in one hand and pointed straight ahead.
“If you are ready, go and prepare! For creation according to the original tradition! We willingly go to the Black Volcano!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
All the dwarf disciples were excited.
There was not a single person who was not moved by Gharun's passionate speech.
The dwarves who received the order all came out of the mine shaft at once, making the ground shake, and rushed to the waystone to grab their tools and luggage.
The tunnel became empty in an instant.
“Whew, I’m really tired now that I’ve finally gotten into the mood. This is usually what clan leaders do.”
Gharun held in his hand one of his belongings, [Endless Flask], which he had brought from the clan's secret book that was on his waist.
This was an item made with the same manufacturing technology as the space bag, and it was like an inexhaustible bottle, having been filled with a huge amount of strong alcohol a long time ago.
Gharun, who had been drinking heavily, let out a sharp breath.
Verden approached.
“I enjoyed the speech. It’s true that as time passed, the dwarves were influenced and eventually changed their minds… But will your disciples who went to the Waystone return?”
Feelings change.
The mind may be positive at the moment, but it can turn negative in a few minutes.
Not only humans, but also dwarves.
“If they were real dwarves, they would come.”
Gharun answered briefly, but he had his own convictions.
You could call it faith as a teacher.
After giving a long speech, Gharun yawned and lay down in a corner of the tunnel.
“……Tsk, I have a feeling he won’t come.”
Linus was the only one who was negative.
And after half a day had passed.
“These little dwarfs?”
None of Gharun's disciples came.
* * *
Why don't you come back?
The reason was simple.
Because it was the dwarf tradition not to enter the black volcano.
Although Gharun was talking about the original tradition and such, his disciples followed the existing tradition.
Because it was more advantageous for them to do so. It was an expression of their desire not to go to the Black Volcano.
“Tsk.”
Verden clicked his tongue.
'I didn't think they'd all come… … but I never thought even one dwarf would show up.'
This is none other than the fame and speech of Gharun.
The selfishness of the dwarves, who selectively chose orthodoxy and used it as a shield to avoid doing things they didn't want to do, was ridiculous.
Alpha stared at Verden.
[Tsk.]
Alpha watched and learned.
“When you said you wanted to become an apprentice, you said you would do anything……! They are anathema, anathema. From now on, those dwarfs have no right to speak of orthodoxy. If they do, I will personally break their heads.”
Gharun, who was sitting there all day, muttered complaints.
A very angry look.
The tunnel where he had given his speech to his disciples had long since been destroyed and completely collapsed, sinking to the ground, by the giant hammer, Markuaab, that he had swung in anger.
“…….”
[… … .]
Verden and Alpha stared at Gharun.
Even the legendary dwarf knew shame, so he tried to avoid eye contact and often coughed in vain.
“Well, is it only for a day or two that dwarves are selfish? To be honest, I expected that.”
“Shut up, Linus.”
“…….”
“Fuck.”
Gharun drank his alcohol one after another.
anyway.
There's no point in sitting still just because things don't go as planned.
“So the problem is that there is a dwarf facility in Black Volcano, but there is a lack of manpower to find it and make active use of it. Is there an alternative?”
Verden did not blame Gharun at all for the current situation.
That was natural.
Who could blame the dwarf's determination to not only escape from prison to make Verden's armor, but also to raid the clan's treasury and give up his own fortune?
Even if it was an action for his own good.
What we need now is answers.
“Well, I guess it’ll have to be Linus and me.”
“Is it possible to operate with a small number of people?”
“It’s possible, but it would take dozens of times more effort and be much less efficient. The Dwarf facility uses the power of the masses to artificially increase each individual’s skills and shorten the production time.”
Ugh, Gharun's mouth has watered.
“I’m here so there’s no shortage of technical aspects… but I’ll have to try it myself to find out how long it’ll take. After so much time has passed, the facilities need to be cleaned up and specially adjusted for the minority. That’s why I needed another dwarf, damn it.”
Ultimately, time is the issue.
Verden was satisfied that it was not completely impossible to produce.
“Then the key is to find the facility as quickly as possible. Let’s go now. It looks like none of your disciples will be coming.”
Even though more than enough time had passed to walk back and forth, there was no sign of dwarves in the surrounding area.
Thud, thud.
Verden took a step forward.
You can use <Gate>, but it has a significant cooldown so it should be saved for emergencies.
'A truly instantaneous teleportation is a desperate measure.'
For that reason, while waiting for Gharun's disciples, I created a quiet empty space and drew up a multi-space movement plan.
The difficulty of space travel is proportional to the distance and number of people.
Distance aside, the plan was to move a group of about twenty people, so Verden spent several hours working on it… … As you can see, there were only four people, including Alpha, in the center of the large magic circle.
Gharun frowned.
“I guess I’m really embarrassed.”
“Don't worry about it.”
“Don’t comfort me in vain, young Transcendent. I have lived longer than you.”
Judging from the way he answered while snorting, it seems he has already let go of his feelings for his disciples.
“You fucking dwarf bastards.”
Isn't it?
Well, I guess it's a good thing.
Whoa whoa whoa.
Verden activated the space teleportation.
The magic circle flickers.
The waves emanating from the vast magical power swept in even more violently.
The light grew stronger and stronger, and soon the field of vision became tinged with purple.
Verden, Alpha, Gharun, Linus.
They crossed through space with a purple flash, leaving the vicinity of the Waystone and moving towards the edge of the black volcano.
* * *
The Black Volcano is an unfamiliar area even to Gharun, who has lived there for over 200 years.
I don't know exactly where the clan's stronghold is, and I can't be sure what will happen.
A blacksmith shop where hammering has stopped.
It's truly unknown.
Of course, this was no concern to Verden. He could just destroy anything that got in his way, whether it was the cursed land or something else.
The Transcendent of Destruction has begun its exploration.
* * *
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dwarves, who were used to digging with pickaxes, continued their work without rest.
The blocked passage is being dug up by the minute, and the debris rolling on the floor is being moved on metal carts.
Every time we went a certain distance, we erected a pillar and added a ceiling to prevent any potential collapse or falling objects.
Within a few days, the backbone of the fortress was partially restored.
The passage is open again.
Arkul, who had taken the lead in the excavation work more than anyone else, joined the dwarves who were waiting outside, covered in dust.
“Clan leader! Are you okay……”
“Where is Gharun?”
"huh?"
“Where is that old fool now?”
Arkull clenched his teeth.