The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

V54C8P3- The Plan of the Dwarves

The corpse explosion was big enough to shake the earth.

With the undead skill, he blew away the corpses and caused a mass slaughter.

At least a thousand monsters met their deaths all at once.

"Return to the land from whence you came. Rise from the darkness. Ye who are black and corrupted. Engrave the everlasting rule of darkness upon all beings. Undead rise!"

A large number of dullahan knights were summoned!

"Summon the death knight Van Hawk. Summon the vampire Torido!"

Weed even summoned Van Hawk and Torido as he continued the combat.

- He's a disgusting necromancer!

- Fool. You cannot stop us!

The undead were mercilessly trampled upon by Tabola Gon.

They were weak against the gigantic creature and could not hold it back, due to their lack of defense and vulnerable bones.

On top of this, Weed was wearing the Sky Ruler's Armor and warrior equipment instead of Bar Khan's full equipment set, making them even weaker.

"Fight all you want. You incompetent idiots."

Weed wrapped some bandages around his own body and continued the battle.

The undead split the attack force and created a moment for him to breathe.

This was when his mana replenished sufficiently.

"Day of apocalypse!"

"The ultimate skill of the solar warrior!"

All of his mana was burned, causing waves of smoke to spread in all directions.

The power was enhanced by the holy fire and Goblet of Flames, discharging nearby undead and swallowing all the monsters in the path of its endless spread.

"Wy-3!"

- I'm on my way. Master!

Weed jumped on top of Wy-3 who flew low, close to the ground, before up into the sky again. He was going to leave freely after having spent all of his health points, stamina and mana.

- Don't run away!

- Sly rat. Come back.

Kural was causing a ruckus from the ground.

It was a powerful monster legion, but the force dwindled down to about half, which made it easier to defend against their siege.

Aside from Kaybern's doings, 7 cities and 31 villages of the Arpen Empire were destroyed by monsters.

Weed put in a lot of effort, but there were cases where monsters would behave unexpectedly.

There were cases where forces of greater numbers that should have been able to defend easily did not fight effectively and crumbled before a monster invasion.

Old prestigious guilds had a better time, but most of the lords of the Arpen Empire had little to no experience in large-scale battles.

It was only logical that the casualties in the Arpen Empire got out of hand.

***

After 3 weeks of waiting, an importantreport came in.

- Shaysha: I am at Debrado village right now. This village is not marked on the maps and is in close proximity to Kaybern's territory. We have found a dwarf who knows about the Brazier of Sacrifice.

It was a dwarven village in the heart of the Ulta mountain pass.

The dwarves in this village produced high quality weapons with refined metal.

Their existence was shrouded in mystery, but the adventurers combed through the Thor region for the Kaybern quest.

Areas near Kaybern's territory had also been subjected to the search, but dangerous monsters roamed in considerable numbers and the dwarves had had to put their lives on the line.

Dwarves could freely travel in and out of places that weren't in close proximity to the dragon lair, but every time they ran into Kaybern's underlings, they had to offer money or jewellery, in exchange for their survival.

After many dwarves had exhausted all their treasure, the fruit of passion and effort was beared.

- Weed: I will be there right away.

***

Weed moved to a safe location with Yurin's Paint Teleportation Skill and carved a dwarf sculpture.

"Sculptural Transformation!"

His body turned into a dwarf with a nicely groomed beard. He had a round, protruding belly as well and picked up a decent axe.

The area near the dragon's territory restricted spatial travel skills like teleportation.

Weed ran through Ulta mountain pass in the appearance of a dwarf and reached Debrado village.

"This way. You are Weed-nim, correct?!"

Shaysha, who was waiting at the entrance, gave him a warm welcome.

"Yes. I am Weed."

"It is such an honor to meet you. I'm sure you must tend to your business first. The village elder is at the blacksmith shop."

"Thank you for your assistance in this quest."

"It's nothing. I am a dwarf living in Thor, but I think of myself as a citizen of Arpen."

Shaysha's face turned pink.

An up-close meeting with Weed who had accomplished countless achievements made her tense. Weed had an ordinary face and was currently transformed into a dwarf but felt like he had unique features.

His arms and legs were short but thick, and his nose especially was red; the look of a dwarf who drinks well and works diligently!

The village elder too was an excellent blacksmith dwarf with a valley of muscles on his arms.

"Shaysha, and a face I've never seen before. A young dwarf. What brings you to this village?"

"I am grateful to be in the presence of you, elder. I have come to ask about the Brazier of Sacrifice."

Weed bowed his head slightly in the dwarven tradition. The effect of being emperor did not work that well for dwarves, and he was under Sculptural Transformation for the time being.

The village elder grabbed the beer on top of the table and gulped it down.

"Brazier of Sacrifice… Our artefact that we held so long ago. I thought no dwarf would ever seek it."

"What could be the reason for that?"

"That's… Complicated."

"It is very important and I must know. Is the Brazier of Sacrifice in this village?"

"Hu-hu. The beer is bitter."

The elder of Debrado village turned his head elsewhere. He was trying to divert the subject.

"Here, try this beer from Morata."

"What beer is this? The foam is out of this world!"

Weed had a way of disarming the heavy mouths of the dwarves.

"Have another glass. One-shot."

"Hah!"

The dwarves hardly ever get drunk, but the Morata beer had a trick.

'7:3 of beer and whiskey. This is the golden ratio.'

It was a bomb shot designed for dwarves!

Weed with his peak dexterity mixed up a good glass. Then, the elder began to tell the secrets that he was reluctant to tell before.

"The Brazier of Sacrifice… Hick. The truth is, we lost it."

"The dwarven artefact was misplaced?"

"K-uuh… It's always the same with all our treasures, taken away the moment the dragon lays its eyes on them."

"If it was taken away by a dragon, Could that dragon possibly be Kaybern?"

"Yes, that is right. That greedy dragon took our brazier."

"…"

Weed felt like he ran into a wall.

The artefact needed to hunt Kaybern had already been stolen!

Once the elder finished telling the story, he could not control his temper.

"Do you know what Kaybern did after it took our treasure?"

"What happened?"

"It was used as a heating stove. Even the brazier was used a few times before it got tossed in a corner and was forgotten."

"Of course."

Weed wasn't in the least surprised even if Kaybern used the brazier for roasting sweet potatoes.

Dragons are not beings that could be assessed with logic.

"Then, the brazier should be inside Kaybern's lair."

"It isn't far from here, but it is in a place where us dwarves cannot reach."

The elder's voice became sentimental and Weed sensed it.

'It won't end like this. With no doubt, this will lead to a quest.'

It was an intuitive sense that came from experience.

The dwarven elder laid down his beer glass and spoke heavily.

"If someone were to take back the Brazier of Sacrifice, we can call him the hero of the dwarves. It is something that no one could ever succeed in."

"But, Kaybern is unbeatable. There are too many guards around as well."

As a sculptor, Weed once offered a gem sculpture to the dragon for the sake of a quest. That time, he managed to approach the entrance of Kaybern's lair.

Let alone the steep, dangerous terrain, but it was a haven of menacing monsters.

'Defeating those monsters is troublesome alone, and there were too many dragon soldiers. There will be magical traps set up as well, and I will die at Kaybern's hands after infiltrating.'

It was truly an impregnable fortress.

"Hmm. It is indeed too difficult. However, as you may know, us dwarves do not know when to give up. This is actually a secret between dwarves, but there is a reason for this village being so close to the lair."

"Why is that?"

"It is to do what dwarves do best. If you're a quick dwarf, you probably understood already."

"Could that be…"

"Hmm-hmm. I won't say more. Unless you're willing to help us out here."

Blink!

< The Dwarves Secret Plan

The dwarves had their precious Brazier of Sacrifice taken away by Kaybern.

The dragon was the natural predator against the brave dwarves.

They offered countless treasures, but the Brazier of Sacrifice was an item related to the origin of the dwarves.

Return with the Brazier of Sacrifice stolen by Kaybern.

It is a dangerous task, but the dwarves will reward you greatly if you succeed.

Difficulty: S

Reward: Rare dwarven treasure.

Quest Requirement: Dwarf.>

< The race quest of the dwarves has been activated.

You are in the perfect appearance of a dwarf under Sculptural Transformation and thus capable of proceeding with the quest.

If this task is declined, the dwarves will consider you a coward.

Honor will be decreased by 10,000 and friendship with the dwarves will become negative. >

An S rank difficulty racial quest!

'I had to take the Brazier of Sacrifice no matter what… I guess the racial quest popped up since I'm in this form. Two birds with one stone ain't half bad. It's also what dwarves are good at.'

Something that short dwarves excel at!

A dwarven village close to Kaybern's lair.

Something sparked in Weed's mind from the conversations.

"I will return with the brazier."

< You have accepted the quest. >

***

Weed began to scout around Debrado village.

'Dwarven population is 325. Most are elders,and I don't see any young ones.'

Dwarves were a race that could usually bear over 3 children.

The fact that the village was comprised of elderly townsfolk was unique, and the number of blacksmiths were far less than other dwarven villages.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The dwarves were working and only produced weapons and armor in large quantities.

'There are rarely any merchants and adventurers, but they keep producing as if they're preparing for war.'

His suspicions deepened!

Dwarves tended to invite others into their homes if gifted with good beer, and the interior was dressed with premium swords, axes and armor.

Even after considering that these were crafted by dwarves, the quality was very impressive.

'What the dwarves are good at… The standard of the warriors is excellent too. They are old, but only the born warriors reside in this village.'

His suspicion was quickly developing into certainty. He had to check one more thing before it was perfect.

He asked one of the nearby dwarven townsfolk.

"I want to acquire some minerals. Which way is the mine?"

"It is up north. It's quite the walk."

"Thank you."

Weed ran to the mines with a pickaxe.

The mines in the rocky areas of Ulta mountain pass seemed to have no significance other than that it was huge and steep.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The deeper he went, the more dwarves he saw, busy swinging away and mining iron and silver.

"Did you just dig this up?"

"Yes, I did.."

He examined the iron and silver ores stacked up to the side.

"Identify!"

< Low-quality iron ore. Several minerals are mixed in small quantities.

Iron is present, but purity is on the low end. >

Usually, the dwarves used the highest quality iron ores. If it wasn't a rich vein, the race would never have built a village near it.

After he checked out the mines, he was certain.

There was an unusual ratio of the population with no children, endless production of war supplies, and the mine of low-quality iron ores was wide and steep.

'Considering the direction this mine has been dug… Of course. I figured out the real purpose of this village. The dwarves here are trying to dig an underground tunnel to rob Kaybern's lair!'

A spark traveled throughout Weed's body, just like when he had his first kiss with Seoyoon.

(To be continued…)