Chapter 71
Gulp, gulp–
Thud!
“Ugh…!”
The Dwarf, Brondin, slammed his beer mug onto the table with such force that it seemed like the table might break. Beer still left in the mug scattered into the air.
The refreshing taste of a cold beer after a hard day of work was indescribable.
Especially for him, who had been working in a sweltering environment, a cold beer was as precious as the rare elixir itself.
Not that he had ever actually tasted an elixir.
As he wiped the beer foam from his beard with regret, he let out a sigh, releasing the fatigue from his tough day.
Soon, Brondin lifted the mug again and downed the remaining beer.
“Phew, I just can’t resist…!”
Still unsatisfied, he eventually took out another barrel of beer from his treasured third possession—the magic refrigerator—and only after drinking that did he let out a satisfied breath.
For the record, his first treasure was the furnace, and his second treasure was his hammer.
“Now this is how you drink. Who needs those fancy fruit or herb-infused drinks…?”
He clicked his tongue, shaking his head, as he thought about how he could never understand the tastes of the “pointy-eared ones.”
Screech.
“Oh, Master! You’re back! You’ve worked hard!”
As he was savoring the lingering taste of the beer and grumbling about elves, someone opened the door to the workshop and walked in.
The young man, his upper body gleaming with sweat, greeted Brondin enthusiastically, calling him “Master.”
Unlike the stocky Brondin, the young man had long, lanky limbs.
“What do you mean, ‘Master’? I only gave you a few pointers because I didn’t like the way you handled the hammer!”
Despite his gruff words, there was no sign of dislike on Brondin’s face.
“Hahaha! You’re absolutely right! With my skills, I wouldn’t dare call myself your apprentice!”
“Hmph. At least you know your place. But still, for a human, you’ve got some perseverance. Keep it up, and you might be able to work as hard as a Dwarf one day.”
The words were gruff but held a subtle warmth.
Dwarves weren’t particularly keen on taking apprentices from other races. Their strong muscles and thick skin allowed them to withstand the intense heat and long hours of blacksmithing, something other races couldn’t handle.
Humans were somewhat better off in that regard, but still.
As the young man laughed heartily, he set down a box he had been holding under his arm.
“But Master, what’s this?”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you last time?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It’s a Dragon Orb.”
Brondin carefully opened the lid of the box.
Contrary to his usual rough demeanor, his hands moved with caution.
Inside the box was a golden gem.
Both Brondin and the young man let out simultaneous gasps of admiration as the golden light emanated through the fine cloth.
“Ohhh…!”
“A Dragon Orb…!”
Brondin, his hands trembling, reached out to touch the Dragon Orb but quickly pulled them back, fearing he might break it.
He stared down at it with teary eyes.
“I never thought I’d get the chance to hold one of these…”
“Is this your first time too, Master?”
“Of course! Do you think this is something you can just get your hands on because you want it?”
Brondin shouted.
A Dragon Orb.
It was the name of a very rare gem found near a Dragon’s Lair.
Not only was it incredibly durable, but having been exposed to a dragon’s mana for decades—maybe even centuries—it had an extraordinary ability to absorb and react to mana.
Moreover, each Dragon Orb had a unique characteristic.
Depending on the type of dragon that influenced it, the orb’s color varied. For instance, an orb found near a Red Dragon’s Lair would be red, while one found near a Blue Dragon’s Lair would be blue.
Thus, the golden Dragon Orb they were looking at had been influenced by a Gold Dragon.
Because of this, Dragon Orbs were highly coveted by many, though the supply was far too limited to meet demand.
The fact that they were found near Dragon’s Lairs meant you had to enter a dragon’s territory to find them. And no dragon would welcome an intruder into their domain, especially when it involved their precious treasures. Entering a Dragon’s Lair was essentially a suicide mission.
Even if someone managed to sneak into a dragon’s territory, there was no guarantee they would find a Dragon Orb.
This naturally limited the supply, and with the demand so high, the prices soared astronomically.
“I never had the money to buy one, and even if I did, with my old skills, I would’ve ruined it anyway, so I gave up.”
Brondin reminisced about the time when he had missed out on acquiring a Red Dragon Orb.
It had been such a high-purity gem that all Dwarves with a craftsman’s spirit coveted it.
As he recalled the vivid red hue that still lingered in his memory, Brondin suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“But… you, you’re looking at it like this is familiar to you.”
The young man flinched.
“H-Haha, haha! Th-there’s no way.”
The young man stuttered in response to Brondin’s remark.
“Hrmm. It’s just that seeing this ‘Dragon Orb’ in front of me makes it hard to believe.”
“Hmm… I suppose. That could be the case.”
Brondin nodded at the young man’s words.
The young man let out a sigh of relief, but Brondin, whose eyes were once again fixed on the Dragon Orb, didn’t notice.
“But Master, what do you plan to make with this?”
“Well… I don’t know yet.”
“Eh? Didn’t you buy it with a plan in mind?”
“No…”
Brondin stroked his bushy beard.
“I don’t know how many years I’d have to wait if I missed this chance, so I just bought it. Thanks to that, I’m broke for the time being.”
In short, his purchase was an impulse buy.
It was a gem that was nothing short of a dream for any artisan, so he had no regrets, but it was true that he’d have to tighten his belt for a while.
He closed the lid of the box again.
“You, go up the mountain tomorrow.”
“Eh? The mountain?”
“Yes. Go get some tools.”
Processing a Dragon Orb couldn’t be done with ordinary tools.
Even though he didn’t have an immediate plan, he knew he’d have to process it eventually, so he wanted to prepare in advance.
The young man, who suddenly found himself with an unexpected hiking trip, wore a sullen expression.
But the Master’s words were absolute.
“…Understood.”
Thus, he had no choice but to accept, contorting his delicate face as he did so.
***
At the city located at the foothills where the Great Mountain Range begins.
Baltora.
We arrived at that place.
“Ohh…”
Entering through the city walls that showed both intricacy and sturdiness, Da-eun looked around and let out a soft sigh of admiration.
“Dwarves here, Dwarves there, and over there, humans… Wait, humans?”
She tilted her head in confusion.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a Dwarven city?”
“Yes. Baltora.”
“Then why are there so many humans? Of course, there are more Dwarves, but still…”
“Is there a problem with humans being here?”
“Y-you know I didn’t mean it like that!”
Da-eun swiftly avoided being labeled a racist.
“Baltora is a Dwarven city, but it’s not their homeland. The true homeland of the Dwarves is over there—the Great Mountain Range.”
Since Baltora was a city built for exchange and interaction, it wasn’t unusual to see other races here.
Well, except for elves, who had a very poor relationship with Dwarves.
Dwarves were renowned artisans.
Even if it was just an ordinary sword, attaching the prefix “made by a Dwarf” would increase its price by two or three times. Their craftsmanship was acknowledged by all races.
Even the elves, who were notorious for being at odds with the Dwarves, recognized the quality of Dwarven-made goods.
From simple ornaments to weapons and armor, and even to architecture.
When it came to creating things, Dwarves had an innate talent.
However, they had one shortcoming.
“Dwarves aren’t good with magic.”
They could forge sturdy items and construct durable buildings, but they couldn’t enchant them with magic.
If they were capable of wielding magic as well, the elves might have disappeared from the Ardina Continent after the First Racial War.
They could only handle Earth attribute magic, but even then, it wasn’t considered exceptionally skilled.
Could they create magical items then?
Of course, the answer was no.
Creating magical items required not just craftsmanship but also exceptional magic skills.
Upon hearing this, Da-eun clapped her hands.
“Ah, so the Dwarves create the vessel for magic, and then humans infuse magic into those vessels, right?”
“Yep, that’s right.”
That’s why there are quite a few humans living in Baltora.
Even if they don’t live here, there are those who come to purchase high-quality items or for trading purposes.
“Kana, you sure know a lot… You must’ve studied hard. Good job!”
“Uhh… That’s not really the case.”
“Huh?”
It’s not like I studied hard, nor did I have any desire to know.
The reason I know all these things is purely thanks to Garid.
“Kana, once things settle down a bit in Grasis, how about we go on a journey together?”
“A journey?”
“Yeah. Let’s travel around the continent. We could visit the Holy Kingdom, the Great Forest Nadiron, Baltora… and by then, we might be able to go to the Imperial Capital too. What do you think? Just imagining it makes you excited, doesn’t it?”
“…Do we really have to? I find staying home much more exciting.”
“If you’re going to say you’re excited, at least change your expression to match your words.”
…That’s how it went.
Thanks to his incessant rambling by my side, I ended up knowing quite a bit, whether I wanted to or not.
Especially Baltora, which Garid had visited himself, making his descriptions even more vivid.
But that’s not the point right now. I need to find something worthwhile…
Heat wafted out from the rows of workshops.
I felt the hot air blowing on my face as I looked around.
Since I didn’t know any artisans personally, I had no choice but to search one by one.
There was one artisan I wanted to find, but I didn’t know his name or what he looked like, so I gave up on that early on.
“Excuse me, but is it okay if I go off on my own for a while?”
“It’s not that you can’t, but… is something the matter?”
“Well, since we’re here, I’d like to visit the temple. I’ll go check if there’s a place we can stay, so take your time looking around.”
“Wait… Wouldn’t staying at the temple be too much of a bother again?”
“Haha. Not at all. They’d probably be delighted.”
Celine said she would go ahead and disappeared.
After hearing her intentions through Da-eun, I nodded calmly.
It’s not like she’s causing trouble; she said she’d wait at the temple, so there’s no reason to stop her.
“Then, should we look around a bit too?”
“What do you mean, look around?”
I grabbed Da-eun, who was already showing a keen interest with her sparkling eyes.
“We have work to do.”
“W-work? What work?”
“Finding a skilled artisan.”
And with that, I dragged her along to the nearest blacksmith.
“Nooooooo!”
I ignored Da-eun’s long-drawn-out wail of protest.
—
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