22 – 22nd Episode – The Otherworldly Dwarf Gallery
The race known for its craftsmanship is the Dwarves.
Why do Dwarves make excellent items?
Is it their resilience? Or is it their joy in crafting?
None of these were the reasons.
The reason why Dwarves love items and hold fanatical beliefs,
Was because it was the only way to overcome their physical limitations.
─Why are Dwarves short?
ㄴWhy are you…short downstairs?
ㄴThis bastard…
ㄴThat hurt ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴWhat’s this exchange of words ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴThat’s the case. Why do demons have horns, elves have long ears, and Dark Elves have dark skin?
ㄴWhy do people turn furry, why do suspiciously rich people wind up twisted…
ㄴ It gets on your nerves.
ㄴHey.
ㄴAren’t there cases without reasons?
ㄴFor real ㅋㅋ What are you trying to find out?
ㄴJust like there’s no reason for me being jobless, there’s no reason for Dwarves being short ㅋㅋ
ㄴAh, that’s right ㅋㅋ My local friends are all married with at least two children and decent jobs, but there’s no reason I’m unemployed at home ㅋㅋ
ㄴStophurtingmeI’m in painfromyour cruelwords.
ㄴI’m not even a Dwarf, so why am I short?
ㄴ Aren’t you actually a dwarf?
ㄴ Are my parents dwarves?
ㄴ Isn’t that correct?
ㄴ ? Oh indeed; I’ll ask right now
ㄴ I was kicked out after asking
ㄴ Why ask such a thing, you nut ㅋㅋㅋ
As it’s well known, dwarves are small in stature.
Speaking in the traditional, systematic, and rational inch system of the elves, they stand around 55 inches.
(In terms of other races, that’s about 140cm.)
Even as adults, they barely reached the height of other races’ children, leaving them at a physical disadvantage.
Being short. That means having short limbs.
Range differences in a fight can be fatal and demanded an unreasonable penalty for dwarves.
As a consequence, they could only rely on their weapons.
Always the weapons!
To compensate for their short limbs, they created enchanted weapons and accessories.
One good thing was their short stature boasted a high precision in crafting equipment.
So then, where was the homeland of these dwarves?
Of course, it was the blacksmith’s forge, creating weapons and armor.
However, there was a problem: their located in the lower right corner, a tucked away spot.
The dwarves’ homeland, Teurin, was in a remote, plentiful mining area, and that was its flaw.
What’s the point in making many weapons?
To sell them, merchants must cross mountains upon mountains.
And even if a lot has been sold, do they earn much money?
That was not the case.
Due to high transportation costs, the money earned was enough to just grease the mouth with some pork and drink beer.
However, the one who solved all these problems was Jurik.
“Kyaaa!!!!!”
A dwarf, who had just downed his beer, burst into a hearty laugh.
For them, every day now was a festival!
Following the opening of the auction house, the laughter never ceased.
The money earned from selling weapons at the auction house was incomparably greater than before.
The beer and bar snacks available for purchase were also ridiculously cheap.
“Let’s drink and die!”
Such an intense festival continued, to the point where real dwarves would die from drinking beer.
There was none among the dwarves who would stop this deadly beer party.
This fortune had come after so long. Would they hold back?
“Gaah! Guaaah!”
Most of the dwarves were guzzling beer like water, but there were a few,
“Hmm…”
“Um…”
“Hmm…”
With their hands on their chins, these few were deep in thought.
They hadn’t even touched their beers and their faces looked haggard like they’d been hammering away until a moment ago.
“Is this design correct?”
“It is! Now try hammering—”
“How much does the material going in here cost? And you want to start hammering?”
“So, you hope that everything will go as planned while you carefully insert the complicated materials, intricate carvings, and enhancements over each other?”
“Isn’t that why we gathered here to pull this off?”
“Does anyone get it?”
At his words, everyone else shut their mouths.
Even if they were dwarves obsessed with equipment, their comprehension fell off if it wasn’t their area of expertise.
But the fact that they gathered here to create an item, there was no chance their opinions would align.
Imagining the end result of combining everyone’s skills was exhilarating, but the planning process was not fun.
“It seems like it might break during the engraving process.”
“It won’t break, I’m telling you.”
“Well, let’s start by hammering.”
“Hey, hold on a bit!”
“Isn’t it enough to adjust only this part?”
With everyone’s perspectives and opinions differing, wasn’t the idea of creating one object together fundamentally flawed?
The atmosphere turned discouraging even before the first scoop could be taken.
“Sigh.”
“There’s something weird about this part.”
“Well if you know so much why don’t you make it yourself?”
“If I had known I would have to do the engraving, I would’ve done it all myself.”
“Isn’t that something anyone can say?”
They were all experts who had been in the field for decades.
Naturally, a scratch to their pride would ensue if they were tackled from the side.
Even the slightest touch was a lethal blow!
However, after the conversation about making a masterpiece arose, lethal blows were exchanged dozens of times between them.
Their patience was admirable to the extent that they didn’t resort to fisticuffs.
Blacksmith Berrick Flayer, who was silently watching this whole process blurted out a single phrase.
“Can you create something like this?”
“We can make it! Why can’t we?”
“No, we can’t even start. Can we make it? That’s what I’m saying.”
“Well.”
“I find it strange that we’re fighting like this in the first place. When we don’t know something, don’t we start with hammering rather than arguing with our mouths?”
“….”
A valid point.
When had they started caring so much about theories, structures, processes, and trivial matters?
“If we fail, we can just start again.”
Thousands of attempts, thousands of failures. Not being afraid of tens of thousands of hammer blows. That’s what being a blacksmith is.
There was no reason to fight like this.
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get started.”
In blacksmithing, communication is done with a hammer and an anvil.
If they fail, they can try again.
If the material breaks, they can get more.
Weaponsmith Grom Stonehammer struck the weak part of the heated obsidian.
Clang! Caang!
He began to shape it by carving out the weak parts.
The shape of the ring was made simple, to be worn anytime.
Next was the armor smith. Balin Ironforge shaped it.
“Hmm!”
With precise hammering, a rough form was chiseled away, producing a neat circular shape.
Even this alone required hundreds of hard hammer blows.
Drenched in sweat, he retreated, and the jewel smith began. Scotlyn Blacksteel started.
“Hoo…”
The obsidian was sturdy, but its thickness had already been reduced enough.
If the distribution of strength wavered, the operation could easily break.
It was assumed that this part would cause the most issues in the design.
Obsidian was sufficiently strong, but also fragile.
While giving enough strength to not break into fragments, a tiny indentation needed to be made for the engraving simultaneously.
Exquisite control of force was needed.
And thus, hundred folds, the obsidian was lightly chiseled away.
“….”
His hands paused.
The work was not yet complete.
The original design was to carve notches at regular intervals.
But his intuition screamed against doing so.
His hesitation did not last long.
The theory was just that.
What brought him here was countless experiences and a keen sense.
Following his intuition, he carved a slot for the engraving.
Not at regular intervals, but narrowing gradually.
Drip, drip.
His sweat tricked down his cheek and fell from his chin.
The completed frame after the operation, regardless of who in the vicinity looked at it, was beautiful and splendid.
The generations’ worth of skills that have reached the limits of dwarf technology, and irreplicable finesse.
Were all held in this small piece of obsidian.
“Damn it.”
The engraving blacksmith. It was too much for Haglein Stoneheart to stand.
Even the periodic engraving made him feel like he was losing his mind.
Even closer intervals. He gritted his teeth at the fact that the sections of engraving have increased.
“Are they insane to make such a thing?”
His words were rough, but his hand holding the Mana Pen was delicate.
One stroke at a time. The small engraving soaked into the obsidian ring.
The grip was so tight. His nails cracked and blood flowed from the hand holding the pen.
It was work that had to be done with intense concentration and force.
“Haglein.”
“Quiet.”
Ruining his hand like this meant losing everything.
He wanted to stop his work out of fear, but a colleague stood in his way.
“We’re almost done.”
The end of his work was in sight.
Intricate engravings brought Mana into a ripple.
“Ha….”
The final work was a strengthening process to preserve the ring for a long time.
Berrick Flare raised his giant hammer.
“Bless us!”
With a bang–!
When his hammer struck the ring, there was light.
***
There were various functions in the Gallery Auction House.
The most intuitive function was the item’s detailed information.
─Rick’s blacksmith shop
[Ordinary Sword]
Bonus: Solidity (C)
Buy Now: 15 Silver
Even magically treated items could be recognized at the auction house.
That’s why there was a suspicious breadcrumb trail of strange items in the gallery.
Title) How About This?
[Elf’s Worn-Out Underwear]
Preservation: B
Buy Now price: 3 gold
Should I buy it? Hmm…
ㄴShould I buy? Hmm… lol.
ㄴHesitating over this? Lol.
From Noble mtl dot com
ㄴWhat the hell is a pup doing on it as a preservation effort? Lol.
ㄴLet’s buy it first and smell it.
ㄴIs smell seriously important? Lol.
ㄴIf smell isn’t important, then why buy it?
ㄴSeriously;
ㄴYes, the smell is important.
Title) Suspicious Object Found
[Oddly Suspicious Sculpture]
─? (Undisclosed)
─? (Undisclosed)
─? (Undisclosed)
─? (Undisclosed)
─Start Bid: 4 gold 12 silver
What is this?
ㄴHunting for practical jokes lol.
ㄴWhy would you buy something like this?
ㄴBecause sometimes it turns out to be an ancient artifact?
ㄴThere’s a surprising amount of this sort of thing at real auction houses.
ㄴI’m going to try buying it. Excited.
ㄴAh, sh*t.
ㄴLol.
ㄴYou’ve stepped on the landmine. Lol.
Title) I’ve won the bid but what’s this thing?
[A suspicious-looking statue]
– Conferred: Induces diarrhea
– Conferred: Induces stomachache
– Conferred: Chills
– Conferred: Curse
Get out if you have seen it
– ㄴLol
– ㄴWhat kind of trash item is this lol
– ㄴHow much did you pay for it?
– ㄴ5 gold
– ㄴYou burned 5 gold on sh*t? hahahahaha
– ㄴCan I give this thing to someone I hate?
– ㄴWho would accept it looking at how it appears lol
– ㄴSeriously, it’s a suspicious-looking stone statue holding a knife. And it’s even covered in moss? Who would take this lol
– ㄴAw man lol
Title) I found something too
[Infinite Gratitude Ring]
-?
-?
-?
-?
-?
-?
-?
-?
– Unavailable for bidding –
What on earth is this?
– ㄴHow many enchantments are there on it? Lmao
– ㄴWhat sorts of items even exist out there
Is this an empire-grade item?
Are you insane?
But why aren’t the detailed abilities showing?
Perhaps we can’t identify it because the grade is too high?
Wow, this is a crazy item.
Is it cursed?
The name doesn’t seem like a curse.
But why can’t it be purchased?
Isn’t there a purchase restriction?
If there is a purchase restriction, then only noobs can buy it, right?
Oh, there’s a post up.
A post has been uploaded in the gallery.
Title) Oh! Noobs! Our gift for you!
(Grandpa Dwarf’s majestic item.jpg)
Ah, sh*t.
You ungrateful bastard.
I’m going to terrorize the dwarf mine.
This isn’t a clickbait post.
Title) Oh! Noobs! Our gift for you!
Check the auction house.
A few minutes ago. It was a post uploaded by a dwarf.
The content was nothing special, but one thing was certain.
The item was created for noobs.
─ But what did they do to receive this item?
Seriously.
This is obvious. The Ter Kingdom, under the persecution of the Teseur Empire, must have lobbied with the noobs in advance. Otherwise, there’s no reason to host an action. In a world where it’s natural to take care of the empire, this action ultimately means to turn against the empire.
Damn, that comment is a bull’s eye.
Look at him spinning his delusions into a political comment.
They better log off the gallery before we smash their canes.
Seriously, these political nuts are crazy.
-“But… then why did you send a gift?”
-“?”
-“Exactly.”
-“Did you give it a suck once?”
-“What the hell did you suck, you crazy bastard, hahahaha!”
-“sh*t lol!”
Title: Spit It Out Honestly
-“I sucked it once.”
-“sh*t lol!”
-“This guy doesn’t seem to fear getting banned, lol.”
-“Says his jaw got dislocated, hahahaha.”
-“How well must you have sucked to get a thing like that, lol.”
-“Currently fixing a dislocated jaw, so I can’t troll the forum, lol.”
-“You guys should get out too, lol.”
-“So, nobody knows the reason?”
-“Something… Like doing it personally seems the most plausible answer.”
-“So there’s a connection between the Terin Kingdom and the sucker?”
In an instant, the forum was ablaze.
The sucker, who doesn’t partake in external activities, apparently knows something about the Terin Kingdom.
The Terin Kingdom has the answers!
Of course, the sucker’s reaction upon seeing this hypothesis was simple.
-“What the f*ck is this?”
-“Did I suck the dwarf king’s thing?”
