Chapter 246: Without Any Cost (10)

I ran through the dark forest. Perhaps the scent of a great beast kept them at bay, but not a single cry echoed from the nocturnal wildlife. Brody Valdorf bounded through the woods, sometimes on two legs, sometimes on four. He never once hesitated, as if even the faintest trace on a leaf was enough to guide him.

Pop!

With each leap, soil erupted violently beneath his feet. Though he tore through the forest with a frame over three meters tall, he didn’t snap a single tree among the densely packed woods.

I kept following the werewolf. The forest grew denser, the darkness heavier.

About three hours passed. Then the gentle sound of water trickled through the silence.

Brody slowed his pace. "

Grrr...

we’re nearly there."

He led us deeper into the ravine, somewhere untouched by humans. As I eased into a walking pace, Isaac, who had been soaring in a straight line overhead, descended swiftly.

Shwick!

He dropped like a spider sliding down its thread, landing lightly with precise control. He seemed much more adept at flying now than he had been two years ago.

"This is it."

Brody gestured toward two boulders nestled near the base of a giant tree. A human child could barely squeeze through the narrow gap. I checked to see if there was some sort of mechanism to widen the entrance, but there was nothing of the sort.

"We have to go in through here."

"There’s no barrier either. Pretty sloppy hiding. If they were Finshehied, they wouldn’t be hiding like this. Guess they’re not. Hmph..."

I ignored Isaac’s muttering and glanced between the werewolf and the narrow opening.

"I..."

Standing before the rocks on all fours, Brody shifted into a smaller wolf. He was smaller compared to earlier, sure, but he still stood well over a meter at the shoulder. He was big enough to seem imposing, yet small enough to squeeze through the gap. He craned his neck toward me, his dark, round nose twitching with alertness.

"Woof!"

With a soft bark, he slipped inside.

"Let’s follow."

"

Hmm...

"

[Using Skeletal Morphing]

Crack! Crick!

Skeletal Morphing was a sub-skill embedded in Lord of Bones. My skeletal structure shifted on its own, aligning to the narrow path ahead.

"Pathetic. If they think this kind of hiding will fool human eyes, they’ve got a long way to go,"

Isaac mumbled from behind, gliding effortlessly through the gap as if performing a stunt.

I agreed that humans would struggle to find this place and find it physically tough to enter, too.

"This seems reasonable enough, doesn’t it?"

I found myself defending the dwarves I hadn’t even met yet. Most humans would hesitate to enter a suffocating maze with thin air and pitch-black passages. If they had hidden themselves this deep, then anyone chasing them would have to be the truly deranged one. It was only right to blame the predator, not the prey forced to flee and hide.

As I walked through the narrow, trap-free passageway, I quietly sided with the peace of the weak.

"Tsk... You’ve got to live like the whole world’s your enemy."

"..."

"Not that everyone’s your enemy. You and I aren’t, after all. But better safe than sorry, don’t you think?"

Either way, if the front line ever stalled near this area, they’d be discovered eventually.

We kept descending until a faint light flickered ahead. The suffocating sense of enclosure began to lift.

Ding!

A floating system window appeared.

[Hidden Refuge of the Dwarves]

[Dungeon Rank: E+]

[Recommended Level: 15–25]

[A dungeon you could clear with your eyes closed.]

[Bonus Dungeon!]

[High chance of acquiring quality items during exploration. Bring a large bag!]

So this is a dungeon after all.

The rank was a bit higher, but it reminded me of the goblin village.

[Entering the dungeon...]

The ceiling gradually rose and settled around three meters high. The tunnel, which previously felt like a natural cave, now bore signs of artificial construction.

"Woof woof!"

Brody, ahead of me, stood upright and shifted back into human form.

Crack!

I ended my bone reshaping and returned to normal. The change had been minimal, but it still left me feeling slightly refreshed.

"Do we have to go farther in?" I asked.

Brody nodded. "Yes."

There were no guards or mechanical defenses. Then again, the path had branched so many times that it resembled a true maze. Anyone capable of navigating all that probably had the strength to trample anything the dwarves had prepared.

In the end, the peace of the weak always hinged on luck. Looking at the dungeon window reminded me of the Crimson Deer Goblin Settlement. I ended up meeting Brody Valdorf through that chain of events.

As we walked, I turned to him and asked, "Do you happen to know anything about a goblin mage?"

I was asking late, given how fast everything had moved.

Brody shook his head. "A goblin... mage? No, I’ve never heard of such a thing."

Isaac, now perched on my shoulder, added his two cents.

"He’s not lying."

"I never heard of goblins wandering these mountains either. Are you sure you didn’t mistake them for a southern tribe?" Brody asked.

If it were the southern goblin village, I knew one story about the Crimson Antler Goblins and Mudcash, the mage.

I prodded Brody further. "Tell me more."

"That happened... two years ago now. One of my old comrades rescued some goblins in the south."

"Were they... being harvested for bloodstones?"

Brody turned his head and looked at me. "

Ah

, sounds similar."

"By any chance... is that old comrade a slime?" I asked.

His thick eyebrows twitched. "What? How do you know that?"

"Just a guess."

As if.

That same slime had asked me to save the Crimson Deer Goblin Settlement. Judging by the tone, I was sure it was them. Had I not done it, they likely would have saved the goblins themselves. The necromancer’s followers I’d slain wouldn’t have died by my blade, but instead been melted in acid, their bodies dissolving as white smoke billowed like a final breath.

Hobgoblin Zixkisses Boomtong must have told Lime about Mudcash. Lime had probably claimed the artifact by now. Two years had passed, after all. Still, I was relieved their suffering hadn’t continued. A soft wave of relief and lightness passed through me.

"How’s Lime doing?"

"You know Lime?"

I didn’t hesitate for long. It wasn’t like I was lying. I nodded.

"You really know some strange people. What were you doing before you met me?"

"Lime..." Brody hesitated before answering. "Lime went independent. It’s been a while."

I hadn’t expected that. "Independent?"

"Yes. Lime left early in the war. They said they couldn’t bear what they saw and ran. Aezar asked me to track Lime down, but I never found them."

Unexpected, indeed. For someone who once said humanity had to be destroyed after observing them up close, that was... a soft choice. Maybe Lime had gotten too attached to that human orphanage after all.

"Lime was someone I relied on a lot. I was really disappointed. They just got up and left without a word..."

A werewolf and a slime weren’t exactly a pair anyone would expect to be close friends. Still, if even someone with Brody’s tracking skills couldn’t find Lime, then I had to assume meeting them again would be unlikely.

Then Isaac whispered to me,

"Look at that guy. Why’s he suddenly looking at you like that?"

Looking?

I turned to see Brody Valdorf’s beastly face filled with trust. It felt sudden, and honestly... a bit suffocating.

"You really are well-informed. I suppose that means you

must

know where Lumen is, too."

If a system message popped up right now saying his Affection for me increased, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Is it because I said I knew Lime?

"Something like that."

I brushed it off and kept walking.

Brody walked ahead of me, occasionally glancing back and sharing his thoughts. "When I first found this ravine... the things you need to watch for during recon in terrain like this are..."

Brody kept talking.

"When I saw you moving your bones... it left quite the impression. As for the moon’s blessing I received..."

And he continued talking.

"In the wolf form I just showed you, I can communicate a bit with beasts. Not full conversations, but I can definitely feel their emotions. Gray bears, though, they’re always difficult. Let me tell you about their personality disorders..."

"What am I supposed to do with this guy?"

Isaac made it very clear that he couldn’t care less.

"You should listen. He’s sharing good stuff, all based on personal experience, you know?"

"You little..."

When are the dwarves going to show up? This is getting exhausting.

Honestly, aside from Isaac and Lumen, I hadn’t really talked to anyone else. However, the image I’d had of werewolves was starting to fall apart. I’d imagined them as symbols of desolate solitude, creatures who clung to shattered moonlight as their only solace. However, this guy wouldn’t shut up.

Still, everything he said was weirdly worth knowing. His rambling was the kind that would’ve been easy to dismiss if it were meaningless, but instead, it came wrapped in a strange sense of usefulness that kept me listening.

"Can’t you walk a little faster?" I whined.

I suggested we run, like we had in the forest, but Brody Valdorf insisted on keeping it slow, saying the dwarves might be startled. He also kept talking.

"That’s why our ancestors respected humans. They believed we’d honor each other’s territories. But in the end..."

If his words had been empty, I would’ve told him to shut it. But no, they carried just enough weight to make me think maybe it was worth remembering.

"..."

We’d been walking for nearly an hour when I sensed something familiar ahead. I sensed two living beings.

"We’re almost there."

"If they’re living at this depth, I guess we won’t need Wurvriir."

"What’s that?"

"The language of underground dwarves. When all you do is mine, you grow close to the creatures of the deep and gradually become like them. It’s a forgotten tongue."

Isaac brushed it off, not seeing any reason to elaborate further. We kept walking, and soon, a bluish light flickered into view ahead.

Two dwarves stood guard. They had the typical dwarf build, short and stocky. Years of living underground had given them pale skin and piercing blue eyes. Their thick black beards curled all the way down to their chests.

"Boring. They’re just Homigs hiding underground."

"Homigs?"

"One of the most common dwarf surnames on the surface. Homig, Tirralic, Rumdermill... Not that it matters anymore. Hardly any of them are left."

Brody called out to the dwarves. "Brothers, I’ve returned."

"

Ah

, it’s you? Been seeing a lot of you lately."

"If you knew what I’ve been dealing with out there, you’d all be shocked."

The dwarves laughed heartily, their beards shaking with the force.

"

Hah

! I’m already shocked just looking at you. No need to tell me the details. And the undead behind you?"

"He’s looking for quality gear. He said he’ll be using it to clean up humans."

"

Oho

. Then of course we’ll help."

Isaac lost all interest the moment he saw them, and I didn’t need to speak a word because these hidden dwarves trusted Brody Valdorf completely. Apparently, he’d saved one of their villages from massacre and looting in the past.

A short while later, the dwarves handed over the armor and three swords without hesitation.

"Here you go."

Sword Energy.

Brrr...

The moment I imbued one with energy, I could feel it. These swords could withstand aura bursts at full power without strain.

The sword was a flawless masterpiece. Still, the Grassmere greatsword had felt wilder, better suited for channeling raw force.

I recalled what Lime had said when they appraised that weapon.

This sword is made of unrefined Primophite ore. If you melt it down and reconstruct it with mana stones, its value might skyrocket.

"By any chance..."

As soon as I brought it up, all three dwarves perked up, their eyes gleaming, their expressions serious.

"We’ve always wanted to try working with something like that."

"If it really is Primophite, we’d probably only be able to assist a master smith."

"Just bring it here. If it’s for the village, we’ll find a way to handle it. So, where is this sword now?"

I couldn’t exactly say it melted inside a magical barrier. They wouldn’t believe me. So I gave a vague answer, something about bringing it if I had the chance.

They kept insisting I bring it, saying they’d gladly work on it with no payment. Even when they handed me the armor and the three swords, they didn’t ask for any gems or gold. All they had was a single, uncertain promise: that I wouldn’t let the front lines linger near their home. That alone was enough for them to show such generosity.

Isaac grumbled, clearly displeased.

"What is this...?"

"Didn’t everything go well?"

"It’s irrational. Pure goodwill? How ridiculous. Shouldn’t they at least ask us to slay some monster deep inside?"

"Well then... We’re counting on you!"

The dwarves saw us off with grateful faces.

"Good luck out there!"

They weren't obsessed with riches, and they displayed no signs of using me.

[Your reputation with the Hidden Dwarf Village has increased.]

[If the front line is confirmed to move north, the Hidden Dwarf Village will grant you additional rewards.]

"I guess it’s okay if the world has people like that too sometimes."

I thought of the runaway peasant who mistook me for a knight and tried to throw me into a pit to burn me alive. I recalled the Necron cultist who pretended to be a foreman and lured me to where dozens of his comrades lay in wait. There was also the old man who had given me a powder to block my senses, calling it a talisman from the fire. I thought of the bounty hunters who chased Rubia, the adventurers who groped Rena as she hung, caught in webs, and the men and women who ran orphanages as fronts for child prostitution. All of their faces were still vivid in my memory.

Perhaps the world wasn’t entirely as Isaac believed. As if resisting that idea, I thought of Rubia and, out of habit, opened the scenario window once more.

Ding!

[S-Rank Scenario: "Rubia Ray" is in progress!]

[— Assimilation Rate is below 75%.

— Subquest: Lord Ray

— Crown Rubia as the Lord of Erast!

— Raise her governance level to 10!

— Reward: ???]

The window hadn’t changed. It was still marked as incomplete. I had no clue as to what condition she was in now, or how much pain she was enduring. And I had no way of knowing.