It was important to have a plan.
Dwarves mostly enjoyed gambling and indulging in alcohol. Not all dwarves were like this, but because most dwarves were surprisingly good at self-control, they do enjoy gambling in moderation. In fact, those that were stressed and frustrated from work usually relieved their stress by drinking and gambling, since even the most extraordinary craftsman experienced stress.
Davey stepped into the tavern and the Eighth Elder Goulda recognized him immediately. The old dwarf asked, “Hm? What are you doing here?”
‘I thought he was too busy to do business, but he’s drinking here?’
It seemed like the old dwarf had been drinking here for a while, since the number of glasses in front of him were enough to leave any human speechless.
As Davey sat in front of Goulda with a laid-back attitude, Davey scoffed and said, “I thought you were quite busy, but it seems that you have some time to relax. Let’s have a drink together.”
“Hmph! Even the most important matters need to be slept on. To rush into dealing with the matter is, in fact, worse than doing nothing at all. And right now, Big Brother Goulda has kicked us all out, so… But you said you want to have a drink?”
“I heard the dwarf-made spirit is quite strong.”
It was not the Eighth Elder Goulda who responded, but Gerrit, the captain of the dwarf guards, who was nearby. “What? Spirit?”
‘I thought he’d be watching the door, but he’s here drinking, too. Alright.’
“Hey Malcolm! This human here wants to drink the dwarf-made spirit!” Gerrit shouted.
“Huh?”
Everyone suddenly perked up. The dwarves, who were too drunk to even realize that Davey had entered the tavern, looked at him in fascination. It was as if they were looking at a mystical animal.
“Phahahaha!”
“You want to drink the spirit? You’re out of your mind! And the person you’re drinking with is Elder Goulda?”
People began chattering from all over, as if they had understood what Davey had meant.
“Hey, human. You said your name was Davey?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m warning you, but the alcohol content in dwarf-made spirit is no joke. It’s too strong for a human to drink.”
“Well, this is nothing.” Davey grinned and chugged down a glass of spirit that was right in front of Goulda. He felt a strong yet clean scent of alcohol punch his nose.
“Hup!”
“Hm…”
At the same time, the dwarves, who were chattering and laughing nearby, looked surprised.
“Whew! This is what alcohol should be like.” Davey chuckled and clicked his tongue.
-I don’t understand why people drink alcohol…
‘To be honest, it’s just super strong and doesn’t taste good at all.’
“It feels a little weak, but it doesn’t matter. So, Eighth Elder. Would you care for a battle?” Davey asked.
Goulda squinted at Davey. He still looked a little bothered when he gradually widened his eyes in surprise. “Hey, are you really okay? You chugged that down in one shot. Can you tell how many fingers I am holding up?”
“It’s not bad,” Davey replied.
“Pahahaha!!!” Goulda burst out in laughter, but he soon slammed his glass on the table and stared at Davey intensely. “Alright. We dwarves don’t treat good drinks poorly! Let’s do it! Hey, Malcolm! I’ll pay for everything, so bring this greenhorn prince all the drinks that he wants!”
“I’m not responsible for anything!” The muscular dwarf wearing an apron walked into the kitchen while shaking his head. Then, he put down several glasses filled with the same amount of spirit as Goulda had.
“Dwarves love a good bet. On the off chance that you win, what do you what? Although, I’m not in the position to grant whatever your request is because of the important matters at hand.”
“I just want to hear your story.”
‘Approach them slowly.’
As if he liked Davey’s response, Goulda let out a hearty laugh. Then, they simultaneously grabbed the handles of their wooden glasses and glared at each other. Goulda warned, “I won’t go easy on you. If I win, you will leave this place. Although it’s been a long time since a human I like has come here, the timing isn’t good right now.”
“As you wish.”
* * *
“Groan… Hey, I’m totally fine. Why don’t you give up?” Goulda asked Davey.
“I think you’re at your limit.”
“Damn… You are one nasty human…”
Davey had thought that Goulda would be more stubborn, but Goulda was fair and honorable. To Davey, who had a master-level abundance of mana, being drunk meant nothing to him in the first place. Well, he was sort of holding out with his willpower, but even though his physical strength wasn’t like the past, his willpower still was.
-A true fraud.
‘I can win against him even without mana.’
-What did you have to do to get like this?
Davey reminisced about his past since Perserque asked him in amazement. He remembered one of his swordsmanship teachers: the man who had instantly united the World of Martial Arts as soon as he appeared. At first, he wondered how a man who was remembered as a terrifying being could have become a hero. However, the man had been a human being with feelings. The other heroes of the Hall called Dokgo Jun, the Heavenly Destroyer, ‘The Hero of One Person’.
-The Hero of One Person…
‘Well, I’ve only kind of heard tales of that world, so…’
Whatever it was, Dokgo Jun was the reason why Davey could drink a crazy amount of alcohol. The man had been the greatest drunkard to have ever lived. Since even Daphne, the immoral saintess who liked to drink, had warned Davey to never have a drink with him, it was clear how much of a heavy drinker the man had been. The problem was that because Davey had learned swordsmanship from him, he had often had drinks with him. Thinking back, Davey thought that maybe the most difficult thing he had to endure while training at the Hall was having had to have that damn drink. Since Dokgo Jun’s usual spirits could even wipe out transcendent beings who handled mana, it had been difficult for Davey to bear it.
‘Compared to his, dwarf spirit is nothing.’
[Hiccup! You want to learn more? Hiccup! Then get me another bottle. I’ll teach you if you can tolerate it. Just so you know, if you pass out, I’m going to work you hard.]
The image of Dokgo Jun worshiping alcohol as a god and working as the missionary was still fresh in Davey’s memory.
“Hiccup! I didn’t think I’d ever see a human better at drinking than a dwarf…”
“There are many kinds of people in the world, right?”
“Pahahaha! Hiccup! Everything looks like…it’s spinning…”
Thud! Finally, Goulda gave in to his intoxication and slept with his head slammed against the table. It was clear who the winner was.
“Wow! Grandpop Goulda fell!”
“What a rare sight!”
“Pahahaha!!!”
As Goulda fell asleep, the surroundings became rowdy again. Even the dwarves, who were shocked at how much Davey was able to drink, laughed and chattered.
‘A few seconds ago, he couldn’t even hold himself up properly from being so drunk. Now, he has good judgment.’
“Hey, you human! Amazing!”
“My, how did you drink all that?”
“I can’t believe the drunkard of our tribe passed out like that!”
‘The best?’ Davey chuckled and stared at Goulda, but the old dwarf had already passed out from all the alcohol.
-You’re going to have to wait a day.
‘I think so, too.’
Watching Goulda be carried out by other dwarves, Davey turned his glance over to the remaining dwarves and smiled. “Who wants to be my next competitor?”
‘I’ve ignited their competitive spirit, so I should at least make a campfire with it.’
* * *
“Well, a bet is a bet. Okay, what are you so curious about?” Goulda asked.
“Did you say the Primordial Inferno has been causing the village to be so disorderly?” Davey threw a question back.
After hearing Davey’s question, Goulda suddenly went stiff from going all limp from the alcohol. Then, with a chuckle, he slumped onto the table. “Well, what can be done? The problem is the old sword that had been protecting our Yellowstone Tribe has broken.”
“It broke?”
“Yeah. It’s strange.” Goulda seemed dissatisfied by something and let out a sigh.
“Then, can’t you just give up on it?” Davey asked.
Goulda stared at Davey as if he was trying to figure out the intentions behind Davey’s honest question. “Even though it’s old and not made for attacking, it’s kind of like our spiritual anchor, in a way.”
“Is that so? I apologize.”
“Usually, the tribes take turns taking care of the sword. The tribe that receives the sword must take care of the sword for a certain amount of time; that is the promise and the rule. It’s been under the care of my father… But my brother and I are in charge of it now, because my father returned to the earth much earlier than we had expected.”
After hearing Goulda’s explanation, Davey managed to figure out the current situation. It was the Yellowstone Tribe’s turn to take care of the dwarves’ sacred weapon, but after Goulda’s father, who had been the only one fit to manage the sword, had passed so early, Goulda and his brother were hurried into taking over the role. Then, now that the sword itself had broken apart… Davey could sort of understand the situation.
As Davey nodded his head slowly, Goulda stared at him silently. Goulda asked Davey, “Okay, since I like you, I will ask this question: is that all you wish to know?”
Davey smiled. Dwarves had a strong sense of pride, but they were kind to species they found friendly and likable. All he did was have a drink with Goulda, but of course, he didn’t try to maintain a good impression for nothing. He said, “Actually, I am a little skilled in blacksmithing, so… Would I be able to watch you do your work as a late learner?”
Goulda flinched as he heard Davey’s question.
* * *
As soon as the sun came up, Goulda quickly headed to the Central Workshop, the best workshop of the Yellowstone Tribe, as if he was never drunk. Davey quietly followed along.
Although magic existed in this world, scientific technology was less developed than Earth because magic was much more advanced. In fact, when the people on Earth used technology to raise the temperature of a blast furnace, most kingdoms and empires required the help of magic or alchemy. All that the furnaces of a smithy in a territory or city could do were tasks like melting iron and such, but…
The Great Furnace of the dwarves was different. This enormous furnace, the pinnacle of the dwarves’ skills and crafts, was their pride. Hundreds of spinning wheels spun to automatically operate bellows, and it withstood extremely high temperatures because it was made out of a special material. As such, the temperature the Great Furnace could go up to was about 3000 degrees celsius. Of course, even this Great Furnace would start to crumble if the temperature was raised higher than that.
-I can’t believe that all this was made without any magic or alchemy and just by their craft.
Intrigued by Davey’s explanation, Perserque flew beside Davey while nodding. Even though she had lived for a long time, she still couldn’t have seen something like this. This was unsurprising since she had mostly lived in spirit form.
“Oh, Gol… Hey, who did you bring in here?”
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