Chapter 199: The Fallen Kingdom of Metal (4)

Thud.

“I see.”

Having finished reading Karundal’s journal, Kai nodded.

As he did so, Shimizu, who had been reading over his shoulder, also nodded.

—So, the dwarves of Ingart were initially brought to the dragon’s nest.

“That’s what it seems. And the dwarf king, Karundal...”

Tap, tap.

Kai tapped on the entrance to the hidden room as he continued, “Managed to secretly create a room like this when modifying Sineras’s lair.”

To avoid a dragon’s detection, not even a hint of mana could be used.

If it had been powered by mana, a skilled Wizard like a dragon would have sensed it immediately.

In desperation, Karundal had left his journal here, clinging to a sliver of hope that one day, a powerful adventurer who defeated Sineras would find it.

—But, in a way, perhaps it’s a relief. It seems not all dwarves were captured.

“Yes... According to the journal, they managed to help a large number of dwarves escape.”

Still, over three-hundred dwarves were captured and became Sineras’s slaves.

That army of monsters Sora saw near the nest... That mystery has been solved now too.

They were guards, meant to keep the dwarves from escaping.

A sigh of regret escaped him. “It’s really a shame. If I had come just a little sooner, I could have saved the dwarves, too...”

By now, both the dwarves and the monsters watching them had gone somewhere else. According to the journal, their destination was one of the bases of the Church of Muldine.

And the journal was last written in only a week ago. They can’t have gone too far yet...

Just a week. If he had defeated Sineras then, things could have turned out very differently.

Well, I would have had to face hundreds of monsters then, so I could have ended up losing.

After all, the main scenario destined the merfolk, elves, and dwarves to face ruin. Trying to change that fate inevitably brought challenges like this.

“Besides, at this point, no force could have handled level 550 Sineras...”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kai suddenly stood up.

—Are you heading out right away?

“I should. The journal includes the location of where the dwarves that escaped are at. It would be best to go there and gather any surviving dwarves first.”

Dusting off his clothes, Kai immediately left Sineras’s lair.

As Patrick had mentioned during the Trial of Hanox, the dwarves move their kingdom of Ingart roughly every few hundred years.

Because of this, whenever an abandoned dwarven kingdom was discovered, other nations became greedy. The dwarven architecture, still beyond the reach of human technology, held immense historical and technical value.

And the Ingart that was invaded this time...

Thud, thud.

Kai stomped his foot firmly on the mountain ground.

“Was in this place, the Snowy Mountains.”

Ingart, newly built just two-hundred years ago, had been located right here in the Snowy Mountains.

I don’t know how Sineras found that out, but it’s likely the Church of Muldine had a hand in it.

They would have extended their dark influence toward the dwarves as well, just as they had done with the merfolk and elves.

The key figures of the dwarven kingdom have all been kidnapped.

They would most likely be forced into slavery, building structures for the Church of Muldine.

Tracking them down alone would be impossible, but...

Kai spread out the map tucked between the pages of Karundal’s journal and looked down at the Snowy Mountains with a shine in his eyes.

“In a crisis threatening the survival of the race... all scattered dwarves are meant to gather here.”

The scattered dwarves wouldn’t be able to travel far, especially in harsh conditions. As the saying went, some things were found just under their nose. As such, the dwarves’ shelter was also located in Snowy Mountains.

***

[You have gained 10,752 XP from Blizzard’s hunting.]

[You have gained 11,039 XP from Blizzard’s hunting.]

“

Hm

. Blizzard’s doing much better than I expected.”

Of course, even with his boosted XP from defeating Sineras, it wasn’t enough to fill his XP bar quickly.

Good boy. I’ll have to treat him to something tasty later.

With a proud grin, Kai patted the head of Mimic, who was in wyvern form.

“Let’s descend further from here.”

“

Screech! Screech!

”

Kai and Mimic dove between massive ice walls as if being sucked in. It was a giant crevasse, formed by the splitting glaciers.

“

Brrr

, it’s freezing.”

Despite wearing winter gear, the chills running through his body proved that this was no place for an ordinary human to be.

There’s a dwarf shelter in a place like this?

Kai tilted his head, but no matter how many times he checked the map, this was the right place.

“Good work, Mimic. Take some rest.”

“

Screech!

”

After petting Mimic’s head and unsummoning it, Kai began slowly walking slowly across the icy ground.

He walked on for a bit, relying on the single, glowing Sacred Flare above him. But just as he was about to turn the corner, a familiar sound caught his ear.

Drip!

It was the sound of water dripping, common in humid caves or dungeons. However, Kai’s face hardened, and he immediately drew his sword.

Water shouldn’t be dripping under normal circumstances at this temperature.

Standing behind the massive ice wall at the corner, Kai gulped.

Someone is on the other side of this corner.

No ordinary person would be here.

This is the dwarves’ shelter. If the person on the other side is a dwarf, it would be a relief, but...

If it wasn’t...

It’s an intruder.

Kai’s gaze turned as cold as the icy walls surrounding him.

The next moment, as Kai rounded the corner in one swift movement, a greatsword came crashing down toward his head.

Water?

There was definitely water on the blade. Without even having time to wonder how it wasn’t frozen in this temperature, his body instinctively reacted.

“

Heup!

”

In an instant, Kai angled his longsword, diverting the greatsword’s trajectory elsewhere, then spun around like the wind and delivered a powerful slash across the opponent’s chest with his longsword.

“

Ahhh!

”

With a single blow, his opponent’s HP dropped drastically, and she slid across the smooth ice as she fell. Then, Kai quickly bound the opponent, who was twisting and groaning in pain with Holy Chains, and examined her gear.

There are items I’ve never seen in the auction house.

Yet, they carried the distinct aura of well-designed, high-quality items.

Which means this isn’t a priest from the Church of Muldine who stole dwarven weapons... right?

Kai looked above his opponent’s head and blinked. If this were an NPC or monster, a red name would have appeared the moment they turned hostile. However, there was nothing above her head.

In Kai’s experience and within the

MID Online

system, there was only one possible explanation for this!

“Are you... a player?”

At his question, the opponent looked equally surprised, slightly raising herself to sit on the ice and replied, “...What are you?”

“I asked first.

Oh,

and take off your helmet first if you don’t want to get logged out.”

“

Sigh

. Fine, helmet off.”

Unable to use her hands, his opponent activated a command, and the helmet instantly disappeared. Revealed beneath the thick helmet was the face of a woman with strong features. Unsuited of this icy place, her short, dark-red hair was cut almost like a man’s, and her large eyes were framed by deep double eyelids, giving her a look of intense stubbornness.

A woman?

But that didn’t matter. Kai (twenty-two years old and single from birth) kept his longsword pointed at her and asked again, “I asked if you’re a player.”

“

Tsk

, fine! I’ll tell you, just put that damn sword away...

Huh?

”

Noticing the Silent Longsword of Frost emitting a frosty aura as it hovered near her neck, her annoyance faded, and she just blinked as she looked at the sword.

“

Huh?

Wait, hold on. The chill coming off this blade... It’s an ice-attribute sword! And it even has a silence option?!”

Her eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Kai’s longsword, seemingly forgetting she was a captive.

“

Wooow

... It’s beautiful.”

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

Kai furrowed his brows and tried to withdraw his sword, but she quickly shouted, “W-wait! I just want to look at it for a moment! I’ll repay you later, so...”

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“Forget that, just answer my questions first.”

Crossing her legs, the woman slightly pouted and asked, “Geez, so strict. Alright. What’s the problem?”

“First, your name.”

“Camilla.”

“Alright, then what’s your reason for being here?”

“

Hmph

, didn’t you learn in elementary etiquette class that when someone tells you their name, you’re supposed to tell yours as well...

Huh...?

”

Camilla, who had been staring at Kai’s longsword without taking her eyes off it, clicked her tongue disdainfully and glanced at his face.

Then, as if she’d seen something shocking, her eyes widened, and she stammered, “W-wait. Are you... could you be... Unknown?”

Kai shrugged and gave her a look as if asking if she was just realizing that now.

Then, Camilla’s face lit up as if she had met a friend of ten years, and shouted, “

Woow!

You’re really Unknown! Kai! I’ve been dying to meet you!”

“Even if you’re pretending to be a fan, I won’t let you off just because of that.”

Thinking it was a cheap act, Kai replied coldly, but Camilla only laughed mockingly at him.

“

Hah!

Fan, my butt. Did you get the celebrity disease or something? It’s not even funny.”

Embarrassed by her blunt remark, Kai shook the chains he was holding. “Don’t try to change the subject. I asked why you’re here.”

“

Hmm

.” With a sly smile, Camilla gestured with her chin and said, “Judging by the quality of the sword you’re using... I guess you’re done with the Ironwill Longsword?”

“...How do you know about that?” Kai furrowed his brows as he responded.

The Ironwill Longsword was a weapon given to him by Solid, the blacksmith of Glendale. Of course, Solid had mentioned that he wasn’t the one who made it, but rather another adventurer—a player. In other words, only three people in the world knew about that sword.

Solid, myself, and... the adventurer blacksmith who supposedly has a hidden class.

Yet just moments ago, Camilla had mentioned the Ironwill Longsword.

“That means...?”

As Kai looked at her with a doubtful expression, she burst into laughter and readily admitted it.

“Are things starting to piece together? That’s right. I’m the one who made that sword. Camilla.”