Chapter 184

The golden magic circle inscribed on the wall glowed, and from it appeared a new dwarf.

'His beard… is dragging on the ground.'

In dwarf society, the longer your beard, the higher your status. This dwarf was only around 140 centimetres tall, but the beard flowing from his chin appeared over two meters long.

'Elder Bufafa.'

As an elder, his status ranked within the top ten in the world of the dwarfs.

'A dwarf master who receives both respect and admiration from the dwarfs.'

That was a suitable description for him.

Other than his beard being long, it was hard to tell him apart appearance-wise from the gatekeeper twins. Even to someone with Observer's Eye like me, the dwarfs all looked so similar that I would really have to go all out observing them to barely discern some differences.

'In that respect, Pedro's got a really good eye.'

I didn't think Pedro picked out Elder Bufafa by his beard alone. As expected of someone who would rise to Master position in the future.

The elder approached me.

"May I ask… just who you are?"

I couldn't read him with Eye of Perception. As expected, he was way higher level than me.

'A dwarf is being this respectful?'

Even someone respected among humans as a Master, Pedro, was never offered such a cordial and courteous attitude by the dwarfs. So why was I, a Player in the beginner period, being given such respect? And by an elder dwarf?

For now, I put out my hand. Thankfully, I knew a little about dwarf etiquette. Their society was very different from human society. In their world, when a person offered a handshake first, it meant 'I respect you'.

The gatekeepers seemed to be failing to understand what was happening.

"Brother. Do the elder and that toy-to-be know each other?"

"Watch your mouth. The elder accepted his handshake."

Handshakes weren't a common occurrence in dwarf society. If offering a handshake meant 'I respect you', then receiving it meant 'I like you as well'.

"That's just 'cus… the elder is weirdly friendly to humans."

But the elder I had seen on Youtube wasn't very friendly. Pedro and the countless other production class Players were hit time and time again by the elder and the dwarfs, to the point that those videos were once put under review and publicly criticized.

"Even so, this much respect means he's acknowledging that human."

"Who would have thought the elder would accept a human's handshake?"

Elder Bufafa spoke to me over the gatekeeper twins' shocked words. "I feel great achievement from you. Just who are you, if I may ask?"

"..."

Great achievement.

'Is he talking about the stigma?'

A special value that certain people could sense. Something extraordinary that only they could see.

'What part of me would a dwarf feel great achievement from?'

I thought a little. The elder asked again.

"Just who are you?"

From that, I had a hunch. This was the elder's test. I didn't get a notice, but it was like a quest.

'A test to see if I am cognizant of my own achievement or not.'

That was the important thing to this elder.

'If I'm unable to find the right answer…'

His current attitude would take a complete 180. I was lucky enough to possess an achievement held sacred by dwarfs, yet I didn't even know it. To an elder dwarf, that was more than enough to insult.

"I…"

I thought a little more. I needed to pull off this pseudo-quest nicely for all the future scenarios to go smoothly. Seeing as the gatekeepers were unable to say a thing, this elder was very likely a big shot even among the big shots.

'An achievement a dwarf would hold sacred.'

Dwarfs were the eternal idols of the production classes. Everyone knew even the humans we called Masters weren't even close to a dwarf's skill.

'Production class.'

I couldn't see the elder dwarf's eyes because they were covered by his eyebrows, but I could certainly feel it. Expectation was shining in his eyes. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment if those hopes were unmet.

Just then, I noticed something.

'Massive walls.'

The magnum opus of the dwarfs.

'The Winter Castle, erected to defend against a dragon.'

They claimed it could ward off a dragon. I didn't know if these snow-covered walls really could block an unknown being of legends, but this Winter Castle was a work of love that showed what the dwarfs valued.

I gave my response.

"I am a Guardian Tower Master."

"As I thought…!"

The elder's brows quivered, revealing a glimpse of his eyes. His completely black eyes examined me.

"Would you be so generous as to tell me the name of your Guardian Tower?"

"My Guardian Tower is…"

That moment, I thought of Ahn Seohye. What was the Guardian Tower now? Was it Tintin, or Seohye? Technically, 'Tintin' was the correct name.

'But… is that the name this dwarf wants to hear?'

I didn't think so. It was a bit embarrassing to say so, but it surely meant something that a person with good 'intuition' like me thought of Ahn Seohye at this moment. I trusted my intuition and gut.

At a time like this, you could just say both. With well-matched timing.

"Ahn Seohye," I said.

The dwarf tilted his head. "I haven't heard that name before at all."

"She is the soul with guardian will who has become one with my Guardian Tower, Tintin."

I didn't know what he wanted, so I threw everything at him.

"She is the owner of the Red Eyes. Ahn Seohye is the Barrier Magician of red thread who was born with a destiny that may have led her onto the path of becoming a Red Demon."

"..."

The dwarf's beard began to writhe and twist.

"I see, so the Guardian Tower Master bestowed new will and life to the mighty structure that is a Guardian Tower."

"..."

"I welcome you to the Winter Castle."

I heard a notice.

[Elder Bufafa of the Winter Castle welcomes the Guardian Tower Master.]

[The Winter Castle permits the entry of the Guardian Tower Master and his companions.]

That moment, a large, circular hole appeared in the Winter Castle, clearly revealing the interior of the Winter Castle.

'An intense heat.'

I could feel fierce heat coming from within.

'I can feel immense fire ki.'

Blazing within was fire ki of a higher grade than the fire ki I gained from the Fire Giants. I felt higher grade fire ki again afterwards via the Blackfire Bow. Those experiences bolstered me, making me more sensitive to the heat I felt now.

'I want to go inside.'

My heart thumped.

'Fire Giants. And the Blackfire Bow.'

And then, this incredibly pure fire ki radiating from the inside of the Winter Castle.

'If I go inside…'

I became sure of it.

'I will see a new path.'

My heart raced, and my limbs trembled. My throat suddenly felt dry, so dry it felt like it was cracking.

'Stay calm.'

Rushing would only backfire. The heat ki in my body hungered for the heat ki within the Winter Castle. I had the feeling that satisfying this hunger too hastily would only result in indigestion.

"Please come inside. To the Winter Castle of the dwarfs."

* * *

Pedro couldn't stop being amazed.

"Whoaa."

There was nothing under their feet, but they could walk over the empty air.

Pedro said, "Elder. You haven't escorted me like this before, have you?"

At the same time, Pedro needed to clench his lips. That was because something struck his head. The elder's beard moved like a living creature and delivered a resounding smack. Amazingly, the elder's beard formed a hammer shape on its own and then reverted back to normal.

"Shut up. I never said you could open your mouth."

Pedro muttered very quietly to himself. "...A manly man is tight-lipped."

That earned him another bonk. A manly man doesn't cry. A manly man doesn't scream. Pedro barely endured the pain as he walked.

'A manly man doesn't hold grudges.'

But this was a bit upsetting. Ever since his first class quest, he went into the Winter Castle multiple times. Every single time, he was kicked inside. He had never gone into the Winter Castle on foot before.

'I was kicked in the behind and forcibly thrown in.'

The Winter Castle was unique. When the elder kicked his butt, he was sent crashing into the Winter Castle and blacked out every time. When he came to, he was always inside the castle.

'Seriously, why do I have to be abused like that when I could just walk in normally like this?'

A manly man didn't hold grudges.

'Mark my words, I'll kick that old coot's butt one day.'

As Pedro walked, he became even more curious about this person named Kim Hyukjin.

'The dwarfs… don't often show goodwill to humans.'

This wasn't just goodwill, but almost VIP treatment. He wasn't even a production class Player. Pedro heard he was an archer. Just what kind of archer was treated so hospitably by a dwarf? Pedro really had no idea who this guy was.

'He's also not affected by the fire ki inside the Winter Castle?'

Even a fire magician would struggle with the heat inside the Winter Castle. Only 'specially chosen production class Players' could safely withstand the power of the Sacred Flame burning in the central square of the Winter Castle.

'I couldn't even breathe and passed out my first time.'

He was lucky and survived back then, but he could have easily died. In fact, Vela was currently huffing and puffing like he would go belly up any moment now.

"Elder," said Kim Hyukjin. "The miraculous and incredible power of the Sacred Flame of the dwarfs can have a negative effect on some humans. I beseech you to please have mercy and lend your assistance so this dull and foolish human is not burned to death by the Sacred Flame."

"..."

The elder stopped in the middle of walking in midair.

"I see that the Guardian Tower Master knows many things. It seems you have special eyes."

"That is correct."

The elder retrieved something from within his beard.

"Hmph, you useless thing." He gave Vela a red pill. "Eat it."

His attitude was day and night from when he talked to Hyukjin. To the dwarf elder, Vela wasn't 'Kim Hyukjin's companion' or 'Kim Hyukjin's friend', but an 'independent creature'. In dwarf society, acting like this was absolutely not because he looked down on Kim Hyukjin. Knowing that, Hyukjin didn't take much issue with it. These people had their own ways and rules, after all.

Gulp.

After swallowing the pill, Vela breathed a long sigh of relief.

"I'm thankful and all, old sir," he began.

"..."

"But are you goo—mmph! Mmgh!"

Pedro clapped a hand over his mouth. Vela flailed. The guy was very weak towards his childhood friend. His physical strength was definitely superior, but Vela was unable to escape Pedro's vice.

Before long, the group was back on the ground. They kept walking. It wasn't normal 'walking'. A magic circle appeared with every step. They were definitely walking in a straight line, but they were teleporting wildly through space.

'Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right.'

They were walking forward, but the direction they teleported differed every time.

'I can't make out a rule… to where we're going.'

It might even be that a teleportation array was being created on the spot in the direction the elder wanted.

'Or that I can't figure out the rule right now at my level.'

They walked for about three minutes, reaching a humble smithy. That smithy was the elder's home.

'The smithy…'

Ordinary people could not approach it. That was because the smithy itself was on fire. It wasn't an accidental fire. This was how the smithy was made from the beginning.

"Is the esteemed guest gracing this place…"

Hyukjin didn't say anything about it, but the elder brought it up.

"...in order to restore that which bears traces of a king, by any chance?"

That was when he heard a notice.

[The 'Commandment of Iron and Gold and Silver and Fire' has begun to take effect.]

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