Volume 14 Chapter 2 (1/2)

This chapter is brought to you by AnmesicCat, BDark, Haikai, Kirito, and Masadeer. Special mentions to Kairav and .

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The Dwarves had a ranking system in their smithery.

The low ranking Dwarves had to set up their smithy in the lower parts of the village.

Of course, even low ranking Dwarves were more skilled than humans, as well as the other races.

They were able to quickly repair severely damaged armour, weapons, among other things.

The quality of the items they made weren’t bad, and traders buy and sell these items all across the continent of Versailles.

n.o.ble Hand's smithery was located at the very top of Iron Hand Village. They are the most respected of Dwarven craftsman.

When Weed went to n.o.ble Hand's smithery, he found the Dwarf sweating while sharpening an axe.

:”What's with this little Dwarf!”

”On behalf of Dane Hand, I have brought 20 Grade 2 iron ores.”

”So that little brat was able to keep his promise this time. If you want to watch me work the bellows, you can watch from the corner.”

After 30 minutes had pa.s.sed, Weed successfully received a request from n.o.ble Hand.

Because n.o.ble Hand did not have the time to melt the iron ores, he asked Weed to do it for him!

When orders are placed in this prestigious smithery, the customer will only expect items created with high quality refined iron ores.

That is only possible when someone has a Blacksmith skill higher than Beginner level 3.

“It’s urgent I would appreciate it if you would hurry. And also....”

But when n.o.ble Hand looked at the refined ore he was very surprised.

”Who's the Dwarf that refined that ore?”

”Is there a problem with it?”

”They are all of the same size and weight, and it is refined to the highest quality. If a Blacksmith were to make 100 swords with these ores, they will be able to make high quality swords.”

n.o.ble Hand greatly compliment the iron ores that Weed refined.

In most cases, if a Blacksmith were to create 100 swords, some are bound to be failures.

Because the difference in the materials, and fire temperature, decreases the quality of the sword.

In comparison to wooden sculptures, a small ma.s.s of iron would required to be adjusted to its golden ratio, however more details are required for sculpting.

Thanks to his experience with carving wood, it trained his dexterity, hence it wasn’t hard to consistently produce high quality iron.

n.o.ble Hand spoke with a serious face.

”But I think it seems to be short of 40 grams. Are you sure you used 20 iron ores to create this iron?”

”...”

”Well, This isn’t a big deal as long as you don’t take it too far. Is it possible that you want to surprise everyone by creating a large weapon?”

According to the information he read in the Dark Gamer's website, the answer to this question should be 'Yes'.

”I would like to create a weapon that would astonish the entire world. I believe if I were able to create a weapon like that, only then will I be worthy to call myself a Dwarf.”

n.o.ble Hand stroked his beard with a satisfied smile.

“Yes. We Dwarves have forsaken water in exchange for the ability to handle our beloved metals. The ability of humans could never match up to our skill.”

The pride of the Dwarves is endless!

The Dwarves are reknown for their skill in working with fire, thus their pride is not unfounded.

: “Dwarven weapons... How many weapons do you want to make?”

He didn’t have to set a high buying price in order to obtain one, but he would have to state a slightly above average price.

Weed proudly said.

“I want to make 5 billion gold worth in weapons.”

Suddenly n.o.ble Hand became irritated and said.

“5 billion gold! Even if all the Dwarves put our money together, it would be impossible. I did not realize you had such an absurd dream. Get out of my forge immediately!”

If this continues, all my suffering will be in vain.

Weed immediately complimented him.

”You say that Dwarven weapons are worth it. I currently have about 20,000 gold.”

But in reality, he didn't even have 2,600 gold.

He was so desperate for money, he even considered selling his j.a.ptem or unnecessary equipment!

“Do you have 20,000 gold?”

“Yes.”

”You plan on buying Dwarven weapons with all your money?”

“Splendid.”

“Then I guess I can a.s.sist you. All Dwarves appear wealthy, but in fact it’s the opposite. We’re always crafting something, repet.i.tive failures and successes is why we’re not particularly wealthy. We always struggle with lots of debt because of expensive materials.”

There are two things merchants find most profitable in the Dwarven kingdoms.

Raw materials and beer.

Dwarves tend to be liberal with money when acquiring supplies for crafting, the cost really adds up.

However, they almost never buy other luxuries.

This is the reason Dwarves seldom have appropriate accessories to match their appearance.

Imagine Dwarves with pierced noses and wearing bushy earrings.

Without exception, every single Dwarf in the continent was suffering from poverty.

“If you indeed have 20,000 gold, I know some Dwarves that will be willing to help. They can craft genuine items of the highest quality grade possible. Now go east of the village with this written introduction to Nein Hand. You’ll need to find the oldest abandoned mine, and then you’ll be able to locate where the truly outstanding Dwarves live.”

Ttiring!

<table border=”1” cells.p.a.cing=”3” cellpadding=”0”><tbody><tr><td valign=”top” width=”550px”>

You have acquired an introduction from the Dwarf, n.o.ble Hand.

</td></tr></tbody></table>

What Weed needed was a letter of introduction.

By accessing and searching through the Dark Gamers' Union website, he was finally able obtain the information he needed.

A place where he can learn Advanced Blacksmith skills from some Dwarves with excellent talent.

If you walk to an old abandoned mine without a light, through the lakes, the Underground Dwarven City will appear.

It was a City built out of gold, stone, and iron, where Dwarven Artisans reside.

He will end up there if he met the requirements.

***

Weed did not have any trouble looking for the way to Nein Hand's village. He tracked down the old abandoned mine easily.

Deep inside the abandoned mine, was a pa.s.sageway connected to the unground.

*Jeo-beok jeo-beok*

Whenever the torch flickered, Weed’s shadow danced around violently.

Walking down an underground pa.s.sageway while relying on the light of a single torch instills a primal fear in people.

It took roughly 30 minutes of walking to reach the abandoned mine’s entrance. It wa surrounded by stalact.i.tes with water dripping off of them, breaking the silence and creating a sense of fear.

***

Since Royal Road became popular, less and less people went to see horror movies.

There are many dangerous areas on the Versailles continent, such as monster-filled dungeons, which many have decide to explore. For that reason, a lot of people have lost interest in watching horror movies.

In reality, the main reason why people stop watching horror movies is because the basic elements of the horror movies are outshone by the monsters found in dungeons.

“Zombies!”

”They're about level 30. You’ll never find monsters with characteristics like these before level 30!.”

“You can’t get rid of it with one Holy Blessing.”

These were some of the comments viewers made while watching the hero escaping from Zombies.

***

Weed was not afraid as he descended into the dark cave.

“It would be more interesting if monsters came out for an ambush.”

In fact, even if he knew monsters were waiting in ambush or there were traps laid out, he would not be tense.

There was graffiti all over the walls, written by Dwarves. However, most were insignificant random doodles.

<table border=”1” cells.p.a.cing=”3” cellpadding=”0”><tbody><tr><td valign=”top” width=”550px”><ul>- What can I craft with 5 iron ores and 1 silver ore? </ul></td></tr><tr><td><ul>- Take the right path to the Dwarven Village. That... is exactly what I'm trying to do. Do you know the correct path to the Dwarven Village? </ul></td></tr><tr><td><ul>- Don’t ever look back. If you look back... </ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

The graffiti was useless provocation intended to instill fear.

Dwarves are very optimistic, but mischievous, they are similar to .

They like fire and dislike the darkness, and drew graffiti for their enjoyment.

All the top players would recognize the graffiti as baseless provocation and carry on. However, with so much Dwarven graffiti, no one would blame you for thinking that perhaps there was a great treasure behind it.

Just when he was about to become accustomed to walking in the darkness, it gradually brightened. Finally, he was approaching his destination.

Weed suddenly quickened his pace. And finally, he was able to see the end of the cave.

There was a huge communal area.

All the subterranean streams fed into one ca.n.a.l and then ran into a lake. As the water flowed, it sparkled as if it contained grains of silver. And along the lakefront, an inviting village with earthen structures, completed a charming scene.

The home of Dwarves.

From the lake, water flowed and went to every house.

The Dwarven village was a sight to behold with its waterways like silver veins.

The smitheries were constantly emitting plumes of white smoke.

Some houses were built with precious materials such as silver, gold, and mithril.

The Dwarves, like humans, favored embellishments, but did not like anything too fancy.

Just like houses, the pubs were built using gold and other materials.

The taverns must produce great tasting beer if they can afford the fine stones.

Kurueso definitely looked like the gathering place for Dwarven artisans.

***

The Priest of Death Question.

In the Royal Road forums, Damon posted the first ever S-Ranked quest acquired in Royal Road.

- We, the Predators of the Land guild, are going to hunt a boss monster in the northern parts.

We accept all professions.

Looking for brave adventurers to take up this challenge.

If the hunt is successful, the loot obtained will be equally divided amongst everyone.

A reward of at least 10000 gold is offered for any information about the boss monster’s location.

The users’ response was apathetic at best.

“The Predators of the Land guild were already past their prime.”

“They have taken possession over Seongdo village... If you want to hunt the monsters down, go further north.”

“Indeed, it could be successful.”

There weren’t many users who will be partic.i.p.ating in this hunt.

The North was crawling with so many powerful monsters and evil forces, that it requires an expedition consisting of top level players.

However, despite the risks, a small adventuring expedition was sent to gather information.

“On the eastern sh.o.r.e of the Wailing Swamp is where you’ll find the Hydras. The Hydras had an unusually large heads.... I don’t know any more details.”

They had received Information on the boss monster.

Daymond’s guild members led the way to the lake where the Hydras resided.

They met the informant in a small neighboring frontier village to give him 10,000 gold, and then proceeded to the Wailing Swamp.

The Hydras grew to a height over 6 meters tall. It’s heads’ movements were slow, but each of the heads could emit a strong venom.

The acid could reduce the durability of s.h.i.+elds and armor to zero in a matter of seconds!

The Hydras inhabited a marshy area where their feet would sink deeply, so hunting them was unexpectedly easy.