VOLUME 14: CHAPTER 10

VOLUME 14: CHAPTER 10

For several more minutes, silence continued descending to everyone present in the Uncharted Mountains.

Fear.

Reverence.

Disbelief.

Various thoughts ran through everyone’s mind as they stared at the aftermath of the spell.

Had they not witnessed it in person, they would never believe that a single human was capable of such destruction.

Judging by the scale of the spell alone, if this attack was directed at Rugard, the Kingdom of Dwarves would be literally wiped off the map.

“F-Father… my body,” muttered Crown Prince Hafnir. “It won’t s-stop trembling.”

King Lerenon didn’t answer. He simply stood there in total silence, staring at the mountain range that had been melted by the spell.

Even the other princes and the advisors who came along with them were the same.

For the first time, the dwarves understood why the Dragons, who they revered as deities, treated the human king with utmost respect. They witnessed how even the combined forces of the Dragons struggled to prevent their barrier from breaking the moment the Primordial Fire touched it.

Even without anyone mentioning it, they understood that even the Ancient Fire Dragon Tribe would die if that spell hit them.

While the dwarves shuddered from utter terror and disbelief, an entirely different emotion was felt the by Ancient Fire Dragon Tribe.

‘The Primordial Fire.’

This must be what enlightenment was like.

This must be what the humans felt after breaking through a wall they’d been trying to surpass their entire lives.

Vulcan said in draconian, “…My wife, do you feel it too?”

Vesta slowly nodded. “Yes, my husband.”

It was not only Vulcan and Vesta who felt it. Even their children felt something inside them become undone.

After witnessing the Primordial Fire, the entire Ancient Fire Dragon tribe felt their shackles – something they didn’t know existed before – become broken.

How should they describe it?

It felt as though a predetermined limit to their ability to govern fire had been broken after witnessing Lark’s spell.

After seeing the pinnacle of all fire magic, the Ancient Fire Dragons finally realized the goal they should be striving for. They realized they were merely large frogs in a well, and that there was still so much they could improve on when it came to their ability to manipulate the fire element.

Compared to the strongest spell of the Fire Elemental Lord Candela, the Fire Dragons felt that theirs were mere embers that could be snuffed out at any time by a passing breeze.

They even felt it was laughable that they’d been so arrogant about their ability to govern fire before.

This spell – it was the real deal.

“Haaa…. this has been a valuable lesson,” said Vulcan. “Thank you for showing us this spell, King — h-hey!”

Vulcan stopped midway through his speech upon noticing Lark’s current state. Although Lark remained standing, he’d already lost consciousness after casting a spell that wasn’t meant to be used by humans.

The seven heads of the Scylla shrieked in terror upon learning that Lark had lost consciousness.

“G-God Evander!”

“What s-should we do!”

“H-Hurry up! Let’s return to the Dwarven Kingdom!”

“DWARVES, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GIVE US ALL OF YOUR MEDICINE! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO GOD EVANDER, WE’LL SLAUGHTER ALL OF YOU! WE SWEAR!”

For the second time ever since he took over the body of Lark Marcus six years ago, Evander lost consciousness.

***

Thankfully, unlike before, Lark regained consciousness in just a couple of hours.

Lark found himself lying on top the Scylla’s back. Something felt soft, and he realized his head had been resting on a person’s thigh. Looking up, he saw Lady Alice’s puffy eyes.

“Ah, you’re awake!”

Lady Alice’s eyes widened. Judging by the bags underneath her eyes, it seemed she’d been crying for hours.

Lark realized he’d lost consciousness after pushing his body to its limit.

‘As expected. That spell is too much for this body.’

The spell wasn’t something humans should be able to replicate in the first place.

He’d already expected there would be a backlash before he performed the strongest spell of the Fire Elemental Lord Candela.

Lark muttered, “Where….”

“Please stay down,” said Lady Alice. She wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes and smiled. “We’re on top of Blackie right now. We’re on our way to the Kingdom of Lukas.”

Lark quizzically looked at her when he heard this.

They were on their way to the Kingdom of Lukas and not the Dwarven Kingdom?

“Blackie said you’ll get better once you drink a pinnacle-grade healing potion,” explained Lady Alice. “That’s why we hurriedly left the Uncharted Mountains after you lost consciousness, Your Majesty.”

Lark finally understood what was happening. After spreading out his senses, he realized that the Dragons were nowhere to be found. After focusing a bit more, he learned that the Scylla had already left them behind.

The Dragons were also flying in this direction, but the Scylla’s speed was too fast they couldn’t keep up. Out of sheer desperation, the seven-headed creature flew toward the Kingdom of Lukas as fast as it could, leaving behind visible trails of gusts as it flew past mountains.

The air whizzed and kept hitting the barrier cast by Lady Alice.

Suppressing his groans, Lark slowly sat up. His body ached all over, and he felt a void within him. He looked around and saw Captain Symon sitting nearby. The captain looked visibly relieved upon seeing Lark.

“You’re finally awake,” said Captain Symon. “What a relief, Your Majesty.”

Lark nodded at him. After looking at the Scylla’s desperately flapping wings, he spoke, “Blackie. I’m awake. There’s no need for us to return to the Kingdom of Lukas this soon.”

The flapping wings of the Scylla immediately slowed down. All seven heads slithered toward the place where Lark was sitting on.

“G-God Evander!”

“Boooohooo!”

“O-Oh! He’s awake! He finally regained consciousness!”

“We were so worried!”

“How terrifying!”

“Please don’t push yourself like that again!”

“God Evander!”

The Scylla slowed down, and the seven heads slowly moved even closer to Lark.

Smiling, Lark petted their snouts one by one.

“I’m sorry for making all of you worry,” said Lark. “I’m alright now. Just a little bit of sleep and I’ll be able to fully recover.”

Everyone around Lark knew this wasn’t true. Even Captain Symon, who wasn’t that well versed in magic, knew that King Lark would never be able to recover the life force he’d spent when he performed that spell.

Because of that one spell, King Lark had lost a decade of his life.

Captain Symon felt bitter when he thought of this.

He felt powerless. He wished he had enough strength so that King Lark wouldn’t feel the need to do something so reckless again.

“Please rest, Your Majesty,” said Captain Symon. “We’ll take things from here. Rest assured, no harm will come to you during your sleep. I’ll protect you, even if it’s the last thing I’ll do.”

The seven heads nodded several times.

“That’s right!”

“Please rest!”

“We’ll bring you back to the Kingdom of Lukas, God Evander!”

“Leave it to us!”

Lark shook his head. “No. We’re not going back to our country. It’s not yet the time. We’ll return first to the Dwarven Kingdom.”

The seven heads looked at each other, clearly reluctant.

“…But!—”

“—Blackie, this is something I must do.”

The seven heads drooped.

“Yes… God Evander.”

In the end, the Scylla conceded. In a gentler manner, it changed directions and flew toward the direction of the Dwarven Kingdom.

During their entire flight, Lark rested by using Lady Alice’s legs as his pillows.

***

Time quickly passed by.

More than a week after Lark performed the spell of the Fire Elemental Lord Candela, the dwarven royal family finally ordered the army to march toward the Bottomless Gorge.

It was finally time to mine the adamantite deposits located deep within the abyss lurker’s territory.

“Nofrog, are you crazy? You’re really coming with the army?”

Gorovir was stunned upon seeing the leader of the Fifth Weapons Factory present in the expedition army.

And it wasn’t only Nofrog who was here. Even his fellow engineers were present – all of them volunteered to be part of the engineering unit of the expedition army.

Nofrog smirked and rubbed his rose. Proudly, he replied, “Master Gorovir, didn’t you say it before? A dwarf must dream big.”

Gorovir did say that, but it wasn’t meant to be interpreted like this.

Everyone in the kingdom knew what happened to the Hafnir army after they delved into the Bottomless Gorge before, during the Trial. Out of thirty thousand warriors, only five thousand managed to return alive.

Although the expedition army this time was far stronger than Prince Hafnir’s army, the Bottomless Gorge was among the Forbidden Regions of the kingdom. It wouldn’t be surprising if thousands of them die within the deepest parts of the abyss, their bodies forever irrecoverable.

“This madman… did you finally lose it?” said Gorovir.

As the dwarf who knew the best way to mine the adamantite, Gorovir was naturally included in the list of those who’ll be joining the expedition. But these engineers from the Fifth Weapons Factory had no reason to get involved in this matter. The mining equipment were created by the First and Second Weapons Factory, after all.

“Madman? Tsk. Tsk,” said Nofrog. “Your words are becoming poisonous as time goes by, Master Gorovir, my friend. How cold-hearted! Can’t you see? We’re all here to witness with our own eyes the performance of the genesis model!”

The genesis model was the newest model of the power suits created by the Fifth Weapons Factory. After cutting down its size, it had become smaller but more maneuverable, and its energy usage had become more optimized compared to before.

“The genesis model, huh?” muttered Gorovir. “How many did your team manage to produce during the last two weeks?”

Nofrog said bitterly, “Didn’t even reach half the quota, Master Gorovir. We intended to produce at least fifty of them for today’s expedition, but we managed to create only twenty even after mobilizing the Fifth Weapons Factory’s entire force.”

“I told you fifty power suits in two weeks is unrealistic.”

Gorovir seemed to have hit a nerve, as Nofrog indignantly replied, “Unrealistic? No, no! We just ran out of middle-grade mana stones, that’s all! If we’ve been given enough of those things that served as the genesis model’s power source, we would have been able to produce more!”

A dwarven engineer from the Fifth Weapons Factory added, “That’s right! We’ve completed all of the base frames several days ago, Master Gorovir! If not for those bastards from the First Weapons Factory hoarding all of the available middle-grade mana stones—!”

“—Yes, Yes. I understand, that’s enough,” said Gorovir.

The legendary blacksmith looked around him, afraid that a dwarf belonging to the First Weapons Factory heard it.

The last thing he’d want was for the engineers from both Weapons Factories to clash when they were just starting their march.

“You don’t look convinced though?” said Nofrog. “Master Gorovir, fifty power suit are really doable—”

“—I said I believe you, Nofrog,” said Gorovir exasperatedly. “But the quota aside, are you sure you should be here? Nofrog, no one will save you if the monsters of the Gorge suddenly appear on our backs. We’re going to the Abyss, the territory of the lurkers. Those monsters are capable of tearing a seasoned warrior’s body into shreds. For non-combatants like us, the moment we encounter them, all we can do is wait for death.”

For a moment, fear was seen within Nofrog’s eyes. “Master Gorovir, if it’s for the sake of the genesis model, w-we’re not afraid of mere monsters.”

Seeing their expressions, Gorovir decided not to prod further.

He realized these dwarven engineers were afraid too, but their desire to see their creations in action overpowered their fears. To them, their workmanship was more important than their lives.

But just to be safe, Gorovir reminded them, “Just make sure to stick close to the supply team, Nofrog. I heard that royal guards have been assigned to protect the supplies for this expedition. It should be safe even if several abyss lurkers suddenly ambush that unit.”

Placing royal guards to protect the supply unit was a strategy born after the failure of the Hafnir Army in the Bottomless Gorge.

After learning that the Abyss Lurkers were quite intelligent and capable of utilizing the numerous tunnels of the Bottomless Gorge to their advantage, Crown Prince Hafnir ordered the military to position royal guards in every key position. He also ordered the supplies team to be protected as much as possible.

‘Although we have the Dragons with us, I feel uneasy,’ thought Gorovir. ‘This expedition… I hope the majority of us survive.’

Still, although he felt uneasy, Gorovir felt thrilled at the thought of mining the adamantite deposit in the Bottomless Gorge.

Adamantite.

Elven Oaks.

These were the two materials he needed in order to fulfill his lifelong dream. At last, he would be able to mine one of them.

Gorovir already steeled himself with anything that could happen. Even if this expedition’s destination was the underworld, he wouldn’t hesitate to join for the sake of fulfilling his ambitions.

‘Ah, we’re moving.’

After all preparations were complete, King Lerenon ordered the start of the march.

Over ten thousand soldiers, composed mostly of elites from the royal army, descended into one of the Forbidden Regions of the kingdom.  

***

Surprisingly, the expedition to the Bottomless Gorge had been uneventful so far.

Unlike before, the feared monsters of the Forbidden Region hardly approached their army, as though they were terrified of something.

After time passed, everyone in the army realized that the Ancient Fire Dragons had been exuding their dragon fear all this time. The dragon fear seeping out of their bodies was hardly noticeable to the dwarves, but it was enough to deter the monsters of the Bottomless Gorge.

By the time they were nearly at the Abyss, Gorovir received a message from one of the dwarven warriors.

“His Majesty, Dwarven King Lerenon is summoning me?” said Gorovir.

“Yes, Master Gorovir,” said the messenger. “It seems the human king wishes to see you. Come, please follow us. We’ll escort you to the vanguard.”

The vanguard was composed of elite soldiers under the dwarven king’s immediate command, the Ancient Fire Dragons, the seven Scylla heads, and Lark’s group.

Receiving no immediate reply, the messenger said, “Please don’t worry, Master Gorovir. The vanguard should be a safe place. In fact, it should be the safest position in the entire army.”

Gorovir also believed the same.

Just a single Dragon would be enough to turn the tide of war, and there was an entire tribe of them there. Compared to his current position which was protected by royal guards, that place was incomparably safer even if it was the vanguard.

“Lead the way.”

“Thank you. Please follow us.”

With the dwarven warriors at the lead, Gorovir passed through numerous units and eventually reached the vanguard of the army.

‘What’s that?’

Gorovir saw two cubes made of adamantite floating in front of the vanguard, following the group as they moved.

At first, Gorovir was wondering what the two items were, but after seeing the adamantite cubes break into numerous pieces, fly and pierce the bodies of the surrounding monsters, he realized it was something similar to the moon sigils Lark showed to him before through the blueprints.

“Amazing,” said Gorovir as he approached Lark. “To think those artifacts are capable of killing the ursus bats from this distance.”

Gorovir bowed his head. “You called for me, King Lark? Your Majesty, King Lerenon?”

The dwarves nearby were unhappy that the legendary blacksmith greeted Lark first, but they didn’t dare to openly show it on their faces. King Lerenon, on the other hand, didn’t mind. After witnessing Lark’s Primordial Fire more than a week ago, King Lerenon had come to accept the current status quo.

The only dwarves who were unhappy about how Gorovir was treating the human king were those who didn’t come with them to the Uncharted Mountains.

Had they witnessed that spell, too, they would have probably thought differently.

“King Lark here wishes to converse with you,” said the dwarven king.

Gorovir turned to Lark. “You wish to converse with me, Your Majesty?”

Lark said, “We’ll be entering the Abyss in a few hours. How about some chitchat while we walk? I’m just curious how much knowledge you have regarding adamantite.”

Chitchat while they walk?

Here, in the deepest parts of the Bottomless Gorge?

Those words were so absurd that, for a moment, he wondered if the human king was jesting. But after seeing the reactions of those around them, Gorovir realized King Lark meant them.

The people in this group looked so relaxed despite the pitch-black darkness surrounding them.

Lark smiled, “I understand you’ve spent most of your life researching about adamantite. If this request is too personal, it’s fine, forget it. Just think of it as my attempt to initiate a conversation with a renowned dwarven blacksmith.”

Those who’d researched a certain field their entire lives held pride in the knowledge they’d accumulated throughout the years. Asking for this knowledge was no different from asking them to hand over the fruit of arduous years of research.

Lark knew this, too, that’s why he didn’t pressure Gorovir to share what he knew.

Hearing this, Gorovir felt somewhat embarrassed. “That’s not it, Your Majesty.”

It wasn’t that he wished to monopolize the information he’d gathered throughout the years. It took him some time to respond because he didn’t expect that they’d called him here at the vanguard for this.

“I’ve already pledged to serve you,” said Gorovir. “All of the information I have is naturally yours, my master.”

Again, the dwarves nearby were displeased when they heard this. But King Lerenon wordlessly told them not to interfere and just let Gorovir speak to the human king.

On the other hand, the First Prince Margaro, who’d silently walked next to his father, believed that his Uncle Gorovir made the right decision to follow King Lark. If not for his status as a dwarven royalty, he would probably ponder whether or not he should also follow King Lark.

“Then, let us hear it, Gorovir,” said Lark. “I’m curious to know what the greatest blacksmith in the Dwarven Kingdom – no, the entire continent – thinks of adamantite.”

The legendary blacksmith nodded. Sensing that the entire royal family and the Ancient Fire Dragon tribe were gazing at him, waiting for him to speak, he felt an indescribable pressure envelop him.

Gorovir swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke.

“First, let me clarify things, Your Majesty. Not all adamantite are equal. It’s color, purity, hardness, and ability to conduct mana varies depending on the region where it is found.”

Lark already knew this. “Oho~ they’re not equal?”

“Yes. The environment where the adamantite vein is formed greatly influences these properties. The ambient mana, particularly its proximity to a dragon vein, determines the ore’s ability to conduct mana.”