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“Oho! Rocks! The God of Stone has blessed us with his grace!” one of the dwarves shouted, his eyes wide with fervor.

The stout dwarves acted like I had always been on their side from the start.

“Gahahaha! Look at this, you vile elves! Even the heavens are on our side!”

“…Damn it!” One of the elves clicked his tongue and drew his bow, aiming at me.

—Ting!

He fired an arrow.

“Hmph!”

I quickly raised my staff and deflected the arrow to the side. The arrow skidded past me and embedded itself in the ground.

Boney 5’s Air Shield protected my body, but my physical training made me more than capable of handling such attacks. I could easily fend off a low-level elf’s attack.

“Whew, so they attack immediately, huh? It’s nice that the line has been drawn quickly.”

Perhaps due to the favorability, the dwarves were friendly to me while the elves were hostile. This made things easier since there was no need to come up with complex reasons to fight.

“Sunny.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Take care of them. Don’t kill them, just drive them away.”

Even though I chose to side with the dwarves, I had to be cautious.

[Assist one of the races to resolve the conflict.]

The objective of this stage was ultimately to resolve the conflict. Killing them recklessly might create new conflicts instead of solving the existing ones.

“I shall do as you command.”

Sunny understood my thoughts perfectly. It began to drive the elves away while subtly controlling the other skeletons.

—Whoosh! Flash!

Sunny swung its spear vigorously.

—Crack! Thud!

Each swing split massive trees in half, caving the ground in.

“How is that even…?”

“Th-They’re strong!”

The solar force radiating from the spear was enough to intimidate the elves.

“Could he be from a neutral race?”

“Seems like it! It’s a type of species we’ve never seen before! And they stink of the dead…! Could it be that the dwarves have dabbled in dark magic?”

“Retreat for now and report to the higher-ups!”

—Swoosh!

The elves began to disappear one by one.

If I wanted, I could have killed them all.

“Nicely done, Sunny.”

But I chose not to.

As I leisurely watched the retreating elves, the dwarf who had shouted earlier approached and gave me a slight bow.

“Whoever you are, thank you for your help. I am Dagnar, a warrior of the Rock Tribe. I will never forget this favor and make sure to repay you.”

Behind Dagnar, the surviving dwarves began to appear one by one.

I smiled and nodded in response. “It was nothing.”

“Haha, nothing? Choosing sides between two of the races in this world is no small feat and could even be very dangerous.”

“Pardon?” I tilted my head in confusion.

This dwarf spoke as if he knew I had chosen their side. More importantly…

“Are there other races living here as well?”

“Huh? Why do you sound like you don’t know anything? It’s as if you fell from the sky.”

“…”

Yeah. I guess you could say I did fall from the sky.

As I blinked, Dagnar let out a soft sigh. “Haah. It looks like you’ve been holed up in some remote place for a long time.”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“Hmm… Many races live within this forest and rocky terrain. There are strange ones like you among them.”

“I see.”

No wonder they didn’t find my presence strange despite never having seen me before. I also now understood why the elves earlier said something about a “neutral race.”

“But none of these many races ever side with the Forest or Rock Tribes. Even when they see our battles, they don’t interfere.”

“Why is that?”

“The races that did interfere… Not a single one survived. They all went extinct.”

“…”

By extinction, he meant the complete destruction of a race.

“That’s why I’m grateful to you. You risked your life to choose the Rock Tribe. You believed in us.”

“Is that so?”

Well, I was just following the quest. The penalty for not choosing was death, after all.

“Haha, by the way, who are you? I haven’t even asked the name of my benefactor.” Dagnar extended his rough hand.

“Uh, I’m Joo Donghoon.” I lowered my staff and shook his hand.

“Joo Donghoon, huh? That’s a good name.”

“I think Dagnar is a cool name, too.”

“Gahaha, is that so? Well then, Joo Donghoon. As you’re our benefactor, I’d like to invite you to our tribe’s city. Would that be alright?”

“Your city?”

“Yes, the city of rock, Titan. It’s known as the city of minerals and stones.”

Minerals! And stones? Wow, that’s something a production worker could never pass up on! There was no need to hesitate. Act first and think about the consequences later!

“Sounds good to me.” I nodded enthusiastically with a grin.

The city was hidden within the rocky terrain. This place, carved like a basin into the center of a massive rocky mountain, was called Titan, also known as the Holy Land of the Dwarves.

“Ooh,” I marveled as I looked around.

Like something out of a movie, the rocky landscape was a feast for the eyes.

“M-My lord, this is a breathtaking sight.”

If I was this impressed, I could only imagine how Sunny must feel now that he was finally seeing the world.

“Look at them! A foreign race!”

“They smell of rock?”

“Did they really choose to side with our tribe?”

“It’s been about ten years since another race has chosen our tribe!”

I felt a tingling sensation all over my body since a lot of dwarves were murmuring and staring at me.

“Haha, please understand. It’s been a long time since we’ve had visitors from outside.”

“Mhm.”

I looked at the dwarves again. Their eyes were clearly filled with goodwill.

“How do they know that I chose to side with the dwarves?”

“Haha, they just said that you smell of rock.”

“They can tell by smell?”

“Of course! Why do you keep asking common sense things? If you smell of rock, you’re a benefactor of our tribe!”

“…”

Seriously, what kind of logic is that? Judging everything by smell.

Well, I guess I can understand.

This was a completely different world, so I shouldn’t have tried to understand it using the logic I knew.

I looked around again. Frankly, what I was most curious about wasn’t the dwarves.

Minerals, blacksmiths!

When you think of dwarves, you think of blacksmiths, right? That was why I chose the dwarves over the elves in the first place.

“There! What’s that place?”

Soon, I pointed excitedly to what looked like a mine.

“Haha, there? That place is almost abandoned now, but would you like to take a look?”

“Abandoned?”

“Phew, just follow me.”

Dagnar kindly guided me to the mine. Judging by his expression, he had a lot to explain.

After a long walk, Dagnar let out a deep sigh. “Haah, yes, it’s… such a shame.”

I immediately understood the reason for his sigh. The mine looked majestic from afar, but it was nothing but ruins on the inside. Broken carts lay scattered everywhere with pickaxes rusting and lying around.

“…”

“To be frank, it’s been quite a long time since we dwarves made any weapons…”

I felt my heart sink.

No way.

That was impossible. Dwarves not making weapons?

[Rock Dwarves are short but very strong and sturdy. As fae of the stony mountains, they are interested in metals and possess great craftsmanship.]

Even the description said so! This is a scam! A total scam, I say!

“Is that really true?”

“Haha, why would I joke with my benefactor? That’s why it’s so sad. The true talent of the dwarves is in making weapons, but lately, we’ve only been training. Tsk.”

“Why! Why aren’t you making any?”

“Huh. You… sound like a dwarf.”

Oh, I got emotional without realizing it. But who wouldn’t?

“It’s because of the Chief.”

“The Chief?”

“Yes, the Chief of the Dwarf Council and the great warrior of the rock, Vulcanus, declared that we must wield weapons, not tools, to win the war against the elves!”

“Weapons, not tools…”

He meant not to use hammers as tools but as weapons. Hearing this reminded me of someone.

That old geezer.

The one who told Boney 6 to learn hammer techniques instead of blacksmithing.

“But that’s a little strange, isn’t it? Better weapons would make you stronger in battle. Why give up blacksmithing…”

“You’re right. Lately, we’ve realized that we were wrong. Weapons were indeed a major part of our power.”

“…Then you guys can at least start now.”

“It’s already too late.”

“…?”

“To be precise, it’s been forgotten. It’s been a hundred years since the Chief’s order.”

“What?”

Wait a minute. A hundred years?

“Skills are meant to be passed down and preserved, whether orally or through records, but we’ve lost too many in battle over the years. Renowned craftsmen and blacksmiths all lost their lives over time.”

“All the blacksmiths are dead?”

“It’s too late to regret now. It’s impossible even if we try to restore things by looking at old records. Skills are best learned through experience. Not to mention that the Chief’s not helping at all.”

“What did he do?”

“He said not to rely on weapons and focus on improving our battle skills instead!”

“…”

“Of course, the Chief is a dwarf worthy of respect. He made the greatest contributions in the war and is the strongest among us. But sometimes his hatred for the elves clouds his judgment. In fact, the real fear of war is losing our precious culture…”

Ah.

I frowned because it was heartbreaking. That was why leadership was so important. One person’s decision could lead an entire race down the path of decline.

“Hm.”

It was disappointing. It would’ve been great if Boney 6 could learn blacksmithing skills from another world.

“By any chance…”

My eyes suddenly caught sight of the dwarf’s hammer. It looked like an ordinary hammer, worn out from years of use, worn down from the flow of time.

“Can I take a look at your weapon?”

“This thing? Weapons are precious, but I see no reason to refuse since it’s my benefactor asking.”

Dagnar handed me the hammer. I took it and checked its information.

[Item: Worn-Out Dwarven Iron Hammer]

[Rank: D]

[Type: Hammer]

[Description: A sturdy hammer. It has worn out over the years.]

[Effect 1: Increases strength by 5.]

“Hmm.”

I was at a loss for words. Even if they weren’t blacksmiths, dwarves should still be dwarves. How could they carry such a weapon? It was a moment of despair that banished all my hopes and dreams.

“It’s very worn out, isn’t it? But it’s still a precious tool that has saved my life.”

“…Thank you for showing it to me.”

“Haha, you look very downcast.”

Yes. Indeed, I was downcast. After all, that natural mine over there and all those minerals piled up were going to waste…

Waste?

Wait a minute.

That’s not right.

Suddenly, my mind cleared.

Why am I feeling down? Shouldn’t I be happy instead?

My eyes widened, and I looked at Dagnar. “Come to think of it, there’s a lot of minerals here, right?”

“Of course, the minerals here are abundant. It’s called the city of minerals because minerals are produced naturally. But since we haven’t mined it for a hundred years, it must be incredibly abundant.”

“Oh, so… you’re not using them at all?”

My greed started to build. If what Dagnar said was true, considering the value of the minerals here, it was clearly worth many billions on Earth. Furthermore, there seemed to be rare ores that didn’t even exist on Earth.

What would happen if I could refine and monopolize all of that?

My body tingled with excitement. Goosebumps rose, and sweat formed on my palms.

“Haha, that’s right. The dwarves are no longer interested in this place. Whoever takes it will actually be doing us a favor by preventing it from going to waste.”

“…!”

Wait, this might actually be worth trying!