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Dozens of dwarf craftsmen were already at the Great Furnace hammering away. A few of the oldest dwarves frowned when they saw Goulda leading Davey inside. Addressing them, Goulda said, “Can’t you see? It’s the human who has come to visit the village.”
“Goulda, you’ve gone mad!”
“How dare you bring a human into this place?!”
The old dwarves responded just as Davey had expected. Goulda was the Eighth Elder, meaning that there were other elders, and the other elders had refused to meet Davey because of their work in the Great Furnace. Among them, he could see an old dwarf who looked very similar to Goulda.
“Goulda,” the dwarf said.
“Big brother.”
“Explain this nonsense.”
As the dwarves glared at Davey with cold eyes, Goulda let out a deep sigh. He explained to his brother, “It was a bet. Apparently, this greenhorn prince from the Rowane Kingdom knows blacksmithing.”
“So?”
“I’m just trying to let him shadow our work here for a little while.”
“So, you brought a human into this Central Workshop? Goulda! Are you insane?! You’re still drunk, aren’t you?!”
“I’m fine! It’s been a while since I’ve met a human that I like. As one of the elders, please trust my judgment and have faith in this greenhorn prince.”
“Goulda, you…!”
Goulda was unexpectedly brave. He did initially find Davey bothersome at first, as did the other elders, but he was a man who kept his promise. At that moment, he addressed Davey, “Hey, you greenhorn prince.”
“It’s Davey.”
“…Yes, Davey. This is all I can do for you.”
“Yes.”
“A promise is a promise. I am helping you today, but don’t think I will do this again.”
“This is enough for me.” Davey smiled.
As if he didn’t like how Davey was smiling, Goulda scoffed and turned away. He said to the other dwarves, “What are you all doing?! I told you we have important work to do today!”
“Damn it! What is this nonsense?!” A dwarf even threw his hammer on the ground. They were probably infuriated that Davey, a human, had entered the Great Furnace.
-They’re overreacting.
‘Even time doesn’t change the stubbornness of craftsmen. Since I’m the one doing something completely impudent right now, don’t get too angry.’
Perserque puffed up her cheeks in discontent.
-You’re just going to let them talk to you like that?
‘I would react in the same way, too.’
The weapon being worked on here was a legacy of Davey’s teacher, Surtr. Davey had seen the divine sword, and he was in possession of his teacher’s last work, the two twin swords. All that was left to see was one of his teacher’s past works, which was in the Great Furnace.
“Damn it! You learned blacksmithing? Do you even know what we’re doing here?” One of the dwarves shouted at Goulda.
“God, it’s not just any weapon; it’s the thousand-year-old sacred object!” Another added.
“I know! Everyone, I am asking for a favor on behalf of my position as an elder.”
The infuriated dwarves closed their mouths once Goulda shouted with determination. However, their hostility toward Davey did not subside easily.
-Is there a reason to help these people?
‘Who said anything about helping them? I’m just here to trade diamonds for corn.’ Davey was just taking a look around before he could make a trade.
“Have a little mercy on the late learner,” Goulda pleaded.
“What are you all doing? Goulda is an elder, too! If he has decided so, we must respect it!” Right then, the old dwarf who looked exactly like Goulda helped him out. He was Golgouda, Goulda’s older brother and the First Elder who was taking care of the Primordial Inferno in this generation. As the First Elder, he was the highest-ranking one, so it was safe to assume that he was the commander of the entire Yellowstone Tribe.
“Ahem… I will allow it since Elder Golgouda has spoken.”
“However, this mustn’t happen again!”
Perhaps Elder Golgouda had a much stronger influence than expected. The dwarves who initially complained simply picked up their hammers from the floor and began to focus on their work again.
“Human.” Elder Golgouda glanced at Davey.
“Yes.”
“I gave you permission on account of my younger brother. But if you get caught doing any funny business, I will crush your skull with my battle-axe.”
When Davey smiled at his threat, Golgouda just turned and walked away. It was as if he didn’t like Davey’s response.
* * *
The Primordial Inferno was a gigantic sword with an antique design. It was about two meters in length and had a blade that was easily over 30 centimeters in width. Although it was called a sword, it looked closer to being a structure with many parts attached to it. It wasn’t a weapon made for attacking, but maybe that was because it couldn’t slash.
The sword, a sacred item of the dwarf village, was placed in the center of the black workshop. It looked half-broken but still magnificent. Davey just stared at the Primordial Inferno without a word.
-What are you looking at so closely?
‘That can’t be fixed.’ Davey, who was silently looking at the sword, decided boldly. He said to Perserque, ‘Fix it? Fixing it is as disrespectful and stupid as trying to revive an old man who died after living a good life. They’re better off making a new one. That sword is too old.’
The Primordial Inferno was crafted using the same method that was used to make Caldeiras, but unlike the divine sword, it was never completed. That was why it wasn’t able to withstand the long period of time.
“What are you all doing?! Pull it!!”
“Hey! Where’s the iron you made?!”
“You damn people! Hammer properly?! Do you all want to die?!”
The workshop was like a battlefield. All the dwarves were highly skilled, but they would never be able to fix the Primordial Inferno even if they all worked on it. There was no reason for the dwarves to work this hard on any regular sword, but the Primordial Inferno was a sword imbued with many blessings. It was more of a magical instrument than a regular sword. That was why the dwarves were carefully taking it apart piece by piece and working on it delicately.
-They have a nasty personality, but they are surprisingly hard workers.
As Davey watched the dwarves discuss their next steps and then cautiously work on the sword, Perserque mumbled as if feeling surprised.
‘Did you just realize that dwarves have a hot temper?’
-I know they do.
Even if they had a nasty personality, the dwarves were extremely polite to those that they respected. This was the first time Davey had met a dwarf, but he had heard about them before.
The sun was starting to come down, but the dwarves continued on with the restoration work that had started early in the morning. Davey was impressed by how they were grinding their souls into their hammering and how hard they were studying the sword.
Davey got lost in his thoughts as he sat comfortably and observed the dwarves, like a lion watching its prey. ‘With that passion and skills, they would be perfect for the development of the territory.’
The dwarves were much more talented than Davey had thought. Although, there was no way they would come to his territory and fix the facilities even if he asked, since they weren’t focusing on anything else other than that sword right now.
The most hardworking and fastest dwarf among them was First Elder Golgouda, the older brother of Goulda who had brought Davey here. He was silently hammering away, not thinking about his health. It was as if he had committed a sin.
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“Damn! Golgouda, you’re going to collapse if you keep working like that! Get some rest!” One of the dwarves shouted to Golgouda.
“I’m fine! Where are the pliers? Get me the next piece!”
“Damn it!!”
Golgouda was pushing himself so much that the other dwarves went pale just from watching him. He probably felt the most responsible for the Primordial Inferno breaking, since he was supposed to take good care of it. And since the sword broke as soon as Golgouda and Goulda had inherited the management of the sword from their father who had passed, it seemed inevitable for him to feel guilty.
Davey clicked his tongue at Golgouda, who was fiercely working while clenching his jaw. ‘Working like that isn’t going to solve anything.’
To be frank, Davey could see that Golgouda didn’t have a clear judgment right now, but he could also see that Golgouda’s outstanding skills were the only thing allowing Golgouda to hold on to the sword. The old dwarf was desperately working on the sword even though he wasn’t skilled enough to fix it. He was basically taking one step forward and one step back, making no progress. Whatever it was, all the dwarves did was just hold on to a glimmer of hope.
Davey was silently watching the dwarves work when an opportunity for him to step up appeared unexpectedly. A dwarf wearing black barged into the workshop and said, “Ha! These damn Yellowstone Tribe folks. You guys managed to break the sword.”
“Torrs?”
“Why did the Blackstone Tribe show up here?”
The other dwarves murmured.
The Blackstone Tribe was a tribe of dwarves who were located in the southern part of the continent.
‘When did they come here? The Blackstone Tribe is pretty far from this place.’
The workshop went silent at Torrs' sudden appearance, except for one person. Torrs commented, “You all speak so shamelessly when you have destroyed the sacred item.”
“Shut your mouth, Torrs!” Goulda shouted, incapable of containing his anger.
Torrs, the dwarf in black, just shrugged his shoulders and came into the Central Workshop.
‘This is getting interesting!’
Torrs watched the other dwarves and smirked at Golgouda, who was ignoring his approach. He said provocatively, “What do you think, Elder Golgouda? I didn’t really like the fact that the sword was in your possession in the first place.”
“You!!”
“Give the sword to the Blackstone Tribe now. Our craftsmen are probably better than this. Ptui!”
The other dwarves frowned in anger as they saw Torrs spit on the ground and provoke their First Elder.
“That’s not true! We have the finest elder in our tribe!”
“Ha! That’s funny. Not even the best elder of the Blackstone Tribe will be able to fix this!”
“Even though you say that, you have struggled to fix this sword for a while,” Torrs remarked.
Perhaps it was because Torrs spoke the truth. The other dwarves clenched their jaws in fury.
However, Golgouda silently hammered at a piece of the Primordial Inferno. Clang!! Clang!! He ignored Torrs and desperately swung his hammer over and over again, like he was praying.
“Hand it over now. Don’t insult the sacred sword any longer!” Torrs shouted, and the frowns of the other dwarves deepened.
At the same time, Golgouda’s hammering intensified. It rang out.
Some dwarves were so enraged that their jaws were clenched and their eyes were red. Davey could practically feel their anger just by looking at them.
“This has been discussed and agreed upon by all the elders of the other tribes. We can’t leave the sword in the hands of the least skilled tribe. Well, I would’ve been able to trust you if Great Elder Gould was here.”
As everything was based on abilities and skills for dwarves, no one could say anything to Torrs.
Clang!! Clang!! The intense hammering sound rang throughout the entire workshop, and that was when it happened.