Chapter 58

Chapter 58

The dwarf, Osun Ironhammer, was flustered.

The four golems that had appeared before him seemed to belong to the figure cloaked in that robe.

‘I was the one who attacked first, but…’

Osun had left his village to search for a special ore, traveling all the way to the Kurran Mountains.

Compared to other mountain ranges, the Kurran Mountains had relatively few monsters, but he still couldn’t let his guard down.

After all, he was physically and mentally exhausted from over three months of constant battles and survival.

On the seventh day after entering the Kurran Mountains, the first monsters he encountered were stone golems.

Osun wondered why golems roamed the mountains, but there was no time to ponder.

Preemptive strike, no questions asked.

Facing a 4:1 disadvantage, he aimed to reduce their numbers by striking first.

And Osun was confident he could handle the golems.

As a member of the valiant Ironhammer clan, he excelled in combat.

Moreover, facing stone golems gave him an even greater advantage.

After all, ore and rock are the most familiar substances to a dwarf.

‘He never imagined my double-bladed axe wouldn’t work…’

Osun swung his weapon, the Wyvern Born Double Axe, launching a surprise attack on the first golem.

Forged from wyvern bone, this axe was the ultimate weapon, capable of cleaving through steel like tofu.

However.

Contrary to Osun’s expectation that it would cleave the golem’s core in two in one blow, the axe only left a shallow gash on the surface.

Panicked, Osun continued swinging the double-bladed axe at the golem, but only minor gashes multiplied; not a single effective blow landed.

Finally, Osun resolved to abandon the attack and flee.

But even that failed.

The remaining golems, already swarming around Ohson, grabbed his arms and lifted him into the air.

‘It’s true my attacks were sharp, but I didn’t make the golems that weak…’

In any case, Oson was carried by the golems to a certain woman, a Grey Elf, and an unknown figure cloaked in robes.

It was surprising enough that a mage could create a stone golem, but the fact that it was a Grey Elf was another shock.

After all, elves were more often associated with commanding elementals than summoning creatures or familiars.

Fortunately, when the female Grey Elf gave a nod, the golems released him.

But then the robe-wearing guy started spouting nonsense.

He claimed it was his fault that the perfectly fine golems suddenly collapsed.

Who the hell dragged me here in the first place?!

***

‘Ironhammer, Iron Hammer is a city? Interesting. But more importantly, a dwarf…’

Dwarves are a mysterious race shrouded in secrecy.

Even in Korea, a dungeon where dwarves appeared had only been discovered once, and globally, dwarves were a monster so rare they could be counted on one hand.

‘It’d be a shame to just let them go like this.’

Dwarves are a race renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship.

The items found in their dungeons are all top-tier, grade A or better.

People tried to use dwarves to craft weapons or armor, but they failed time and again due to the dwarves’ blind aggression and ferocity toward humans.

‘Maybe I should ask them to make armor this time.’

Taking advantage of the moment when Osun was talking to Sari, Dojae ordered the golems to stop repairing and instead carve away at their bodies.

Of course, the original wounds would heal slowly over time, and if Dojae infused them with magic, they would vanish in the blink of an eye.

But Dojae deliberately made the damage the golems had sustained appear more severe.

“Hey, dwarf. Thanks to you, the golems are in a lot of pain.”

“What! How is that my fault! Those bastards attacked me first….”

“Really?”

“Th-that’s right! This body had no choice but to…”

Osun couldn’t continue.

He realized that upon reflection, he was the one who had attacked first, and the golems hadn’t done anything.

“You lot, come here.”

Dojae called to the golems.

Four golems shuffled over, dust swirling around them.

“Did you attack this dwarf first?”

At Dojae’s question, the golems shook their heads vigorously.

Of course, the mindless golems shook their heads in obedience to Dojae’s command.

“Then this dwarf bastard attacked you while you were just passing by?”

Nod nod.

“That’s what they say, dwarf.”

“Hmph. I can’t trust the words of a mere monster! And I trust the words of a Grey Elf even less! I’m grateful that young lady helped us, but I’m busy and must be going. Hmph.”

Osun tried to gloss over the situation and make his escape.

But Dojae grabbed the dwarf’s shoulder and stopped him.

‘What kind of strength is this…’

Osun turned his head to look at Dojae’s hand.

And upon seeing the pale skin on the back of that hand, he was struck by a question.

‘Not a Grey Elf, then?’

Osun turned his body toward Dojae.

Dojae slowly removed the robe draped over him.

“For your information, I’m human. Can you trust a human’s words?”

“What… What the hell! Human! You’re human? How is it possible for a human to still be here?”

After confirming Dojae’s identity, Osun felt immense curiosity toward him.

Dwarves are a race driven by intense curiosity.

Thanks to that curiosity, they crafted new and creative items, and sometimes these creations became widely renowned throughout the world.

Because of this racial trait, a human appearing after 200 years was nothing short of a major subject of inquiry for Osun.

“So what are you going to do about it? How are you going to pay for destroying my golems?”

Dojae asked Osun, who was staring at him with flashing eyes.

The gaze was so intensely burdensome that he briefly regretted taking off his robe.

“Payment… Would this suffice?”

Osun rummaged inside his robe and pulled out three gold coins.

Three one-gold coins.

In truth, three gold coins were all Oson currently possessed.

His long journey had depleted every gold coin he’d carried.

“You think three measly gold coins will cover the damage my golems suffered? Do you have any idea how much it cost to make these things? I expect payment commensurate with that.”

Dojae exploded in anger.

These golems were made from one A-grade magic stone and three B-grade magic stones.

Truthfully, the golems’ magic stones weren’t even shattered, and the damage they sustained was negligible. The mana required for repair was a mere pittance. But Osun wouldn’t know that, so he deliberately acted high and mighty.

“Hmph. I’m busy, so take them back to your village. If you mention the name of this Oson Ironhammer, I’ll pay you a fair price.”

“Where is this village?”

“On the slopes of the third-highest mountain at the edge of the Halfein Mountains.”

“Halfein Mountains? Sari, how long would it take to walk from here to the Halfein Mountains?”

“Hmm… At our current pace, about two months? And besides, that’s Hartsasian territory.”

“Huh, two months?”

Dojae let out a hollow laugh.

He didn’t know what the territory of Hartasian was, but the idea of walking for two whole months was absurd.

‘This dwarf isn’t joking around…’

Given Oson’s situation, he should be groveling for forgiveness, yet look at that smug attitude.

He was shameless.

At first, he’d planned to ask Oson to craft a few decent pieces of armor before sending him off.

But seeing his attitude, that desire vanished completely.

“This won’t do. I was going to let him go after making a few decent pieces of armor, but I didn’t expect him to be so unreasonable. Well, I have no choice. Golems, convey your feelings to this dwarf.”

If a request doesn’t work, showing force is the only option.

Just a little.

Just enough to scare him.

“You… human! If I unleashed my full power, not a single golem would remain!”

“Oh? Really?”

Dojae’s golems slowly approached Oson’s side.

By now, the golems had fully healed all their wounds.

They gradually closed in on Oson.

Osun drew the Wyan Bone Double Axe and shouted.

“Eat this! Taste the might of Oson Ironhammer’s axe!”

***

“I’m sorry. I was too presumptuous.”

Osun, one eye swollen black and blue, knelt and spoke.

His armor was torn and ripped, and the Wainborn Double Axe had been snatched away, now clutched in the Golem’s hand.

“Dwarf, because of you, my golems are injured again.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Osun said with a servile expression.

As he said, the golems had already healed their wounds and returned to their normal state.

“Can’t you see it? The golems’ pain.”

“I can see it! I’m sorry, Golems. It was my fault.”

Osun felt utterly humiliated apologizing to mere stone golems, but what could he do?

He had been beaten nearly unconscious by these four golems.

“Right. From now on, cultivate empathy. For the time being, follow me and repay the wounds the golems suffered by doing the tasks I assign.”

“Huh? Follow you? This body… I mean, I have something I need to find…”

“It’ll be no more than a month. After that, I’ll send you on your way, so you can look for it then.”

“Guh… Understood.”

Osun’s heart grew heavy.

Three months to reach the Kuran Mountains.

Even if I find the ore right away, it’ll take three months to return.

He didn’t even know how long it would take to traverse this vast mountain range all the way north, yet he had to waste a whole month following Dojae without moving an inch.

And the longer he delayed, the more danger the villagers faced.

“Why? Do I seem too harsh?”

“No, not at all. How could that be? This Osun Ironhammer! I will serve you to the best of my ability, sir.”

Osun forced a smile as he spoke to Dojae.

Otherwise, he didn’t know what the golems watching him beside Dojae might do.

“Hmm, I don’t think so?”

Dojae studied Osun’s expression.

It wasn’t so much fear of the golems as if he were being chased by something.

Sure enough, Osun cautiously opened his mouth.

“Actually… there’s an ore I absolutely must obtain…”

“What is it?”

“It’s an ore called Thorn.”

“Thorn? You mean that stone they say can only be mined at the highest peak of the northern mountains?”

Sari exclaimed in surprise.

Her reaction made it clear that ‘Thorn’ was not an easily obtainable ore.

“That’s right. I absolutely must obtain Thorne and return!”

“But it’ll be difficult to get that far.”

“Even so, I have no choice. For the sake of our village, I will crawl to the ends of the continent if I must to bring it back!”

Osun shouted in a spirited voice.

He had conceded to Dojae, but he couldn’t let Sari look down on him too.

“Sari, is that place called the Northern Mountains dangerous?”

“Yeah, to save Thorn, we have to go all the way to the mountain at the far northern edge. There are tons of monsters there, and the weather’s all over the place, so it’s incredibly dangerous.”

“Just how special is this Thorn ore?”

“It’s not that special. But it’s a stone that, if it gets enough light during the day, glows incredibly beautifully at night. In short, it’s a gem!”

“Hmm… Really? Hold on a moment.”

Dojae pondered for a moment before opening his pocket dimension.

Seeing Osun’s startled expression, Sari smiled and nodded.

Soon, Dojae placed three ore chunks, each about the size of a soccer ball, on the floor.

“Surely it can’t be this?”

The ore Dojae had taken out.

Among the dark stones, some emitted a bright light.

“Th-those are Thorne Ore!”

The ore that unexpectedly sprang from Dojae’s hands.

It was the Thorne Oson had been searching for.