“Pagma! You have no such thing as shame!’
“Did you come back to die?!”
‘The interest is hot.’
The dwarves were famous for devoting themselves to their work. He heard that the dwarves were the type to turn a blind eye even if a madman suddenly popped out naked. There seemed to be only one exception. A crowd appeared the moment Pagma’s name emerged.
“Everybody, out of the way! It is my job to kill Pagma!”
“Let’s torture him for 10 years instead of just killing him!”
“I will drop a hammer on his little toes.”
“......”
New dwarves were constantly gathering. It had been a long time since the room ran out in the small smithy. Grid was pressed back against the checkout counter and calmly grasped the situation.
‘Should I escape?’
Why were they raging against Pagma? Grid’s experience was too rich for such questions and confusion. He knew that most of Pagma’s actions, while for the sake of justice, had betrayed or injured others. There would naturally be resentment.
‘Sigh.’
However, he hadn’t expected Pagma to even make trouble in Talima, a blacksmith’s holy land. He planned to communicate with the dwarves using the relations.h.i.+p between Pagma and Milepeu (dwarf craftsman).
‘I have to give the dwarves some time to cool down before getting closer.’
It was the moment when the sighing Grid was about to pull out the sword to use Restraint...
“Hey, you guys! Calm down!” The first one to recognise Grid’s ident.i.ty and the owner of the smithy, Morain, shouted at the dwarves to calm down. “Have your eyes become rotten from making failed works every day? Look closely at him! How can you see Pagma from this ordinary yet unknowingly charming face?”
“......!”
“Certainly...”
The dwarves in the front row who were close to Grid were the first ones to calm down. They grunted as they stared closely at Grid’s face.
“His appearance is ugly compared to the beautiful Pagma.”
“Yes, Pagma was trash, but his appearance was charming. On the other hand, this person is only vaguely charming.”
“His skeletal frame is bigger and his eyes are as sharp as an eagle. He looks like he is going to eat a mouse.”
“……” Grid’s eyes twitched. It was unpleasant to hear evaluations about his appearance when it was hard to tell if they were praises or curses.
‘What does it mean that I look like I’m going to eat a mouse?’
Still, he thought it wasn’t bad to be evaluated as charming. It was also a very high evaluation considering that he was being compared to Pagma. Based on the murals and memories of the past, Pagma had a beauty comparable to Kraugel.
Now Morain held the cheeks of the smiling Grid and set it so it could be seen well by the dwarves. Then he declared, “I told you in the beginning! He isn’t Pagma, but Pagma"s Descendant! Your eyes are all clogged up!”
“Pagma"s Descendant...!”
The dwarves who rushed over after hearing Pagma’s name finally regained their sense of reason. Now all the dwarves had calmed down.
“Indeed, that Pagma died in the Behen Archipelago.”
“Yes, Pagma is no longer in this world. No matter how evil he used to be, even he can’t crawl out of h.e.l.l...”
Grid was baffled when he saw the dwarves’ disappointed expressions.
‘They miss him while also feeling resentment toward him?’
The moment Grid had this thought...
“Dammit... I should’ve beat that guy.”
“What if he just died comfortably? He should’ve died in terrible pain.”
Grid quickly gave up his previous idea. He sighed again as the hundreds of dwarves, including those pressed against the window, stared at him. Grid knew it because he was a legendary blacksmith. He could tell that they were appraising everything about him.
“Aren’t his skills pretty good as Pagma"s Descendant? The sword he is carrying is among the top 10 swords that I’ve seen so far.”
“I like the balance between the shoulder guards and gaiters. There is the energy of two G.o.ds? I would covet it if it was a trio.”
“Isn’t he better than Pagma?”
“I want to take apart those boots.”
Gasp, gasp, gasp.
The dwarves’ breathing became harsh. The items Grid made directly were stimulating the dwarves’ sense of craftsmans.h.i.+p. Those who had lived for hundreds of years witnessed numerous masterpieces, yet they were still impressed by Grid’s level of work. It was natural. Grid’s equipment included myth rated items. His works were comparable to any other masterpiece.
Of course, not all dwarves felt admiration. A few dwarves scoffed.
“They are all dead things. There is no soul at all. There is only a glossy surface just like the garbage that Pagma made.”
“It is because he is Pagma"s Descendant that he can’t achieve any rapport with his works?”
Grid, who had been proud of the dwarves’ a.s.sessment, frowned. It was normal to be displeased when the works he poured all his pa.s.sion and effort into, the materials he collected after risking his life, and the skills recognized by the blacksmithing G.o.d, were denied. The soul and rapport—Grid noticed that the concept they were discussing was the ‘ego’ he had been longing for.
“It doesn’t matter if you swear at Pagma, but... I can’t listen to my work being demeaned.”
Grid didn’t need to lower his pride just because he was in a bad position.
The moment he gave up his pride, he himself would be denying all the experience he had acc.u.mulated and all the effort he had expended.
“Do you deserve to evaluate the work of others?” Grid declared coldly and the atmosphere became heavy.
The mature transcendent status dominated the s.p.a.ce, causing the dwarves inside the smithy to step back with amazement. Nevertheless, a few dwarves didn’t back down. They were the ones who demeaned Grid’s work. To be exact, they were craftsmen who had ‘experienced an obsession surpa.s.sing death.’
“Didn’t you also evaluate our work?”
A dwarf craftsman’s gaze fell onto the gauntlets held in Grid’s hand. “You would’ve observed and evaluated all our work until you selected an item from the stands. It is natural to evaluate all works. You should quit being a blacksmith if you don’t want to be criticized.”
“At least I don’t sell my conscience to do business like you guys.”
“Conscience? Is it a conscience?”
Tang!
Something reminiscent of a lion’s mane—Pelot, the owner of this hairstyle that highlighted his bigger face even more, became furious while arguing with Grid and threw his hammer. Grid wasn’t wary at all. It was because Pelot’s throwing skill was only at a rudimentary level and there wasn’t any killing intent in the throw. The trajectory of the hammer was just a simple threat and it slightly brushed Grid’s shoulder.
‘Isn’t this too sloppy to be called a threat?’
Grid snorted and stayed still. Then the G.o.d Hands came out of his inventory and blocked Pelot’s hammer on behalf of Grid.
“This...?!”
The eyes of the dwarves widened and Grid smiled.
‘I also have a great ego product.’
The current G.o.d Hands were the result of enhancing pavranium, the best of Pagma’s legacy. Grid’s pride in the G.o.d Hands was unmatched and he took the dwarves’ response for granted. However, the dwarves’ intense reaction didn’t stem from admiration.
“Y-You son of a b.i.t.c.h...!”
“You...! Did you come here to mock us?!”
“His wickedness is just like Pagma...”
The calm atmosphere started to heat up again. The dwarves were staring at Grid with eyes filled with deep disgust and resentment. It was the same as when they misunderstood Grid as Pagma.
‘...Uh?’
Grid was stunned. The harsh reaction of the dwarves alarmed him.
‘Perhaps?’
All sorts of questions were raised in the mind of the pale-faced Grid. Was it right that the ego in the pavranium was created purely with Braham’s magic? Considering the level of the golems who appeared during the invasion of the Eternal Kingdom, wasn’t the ego contained in the pavranium particularly outstanding? What did Pagma do to gain the grudges of the dwarves? Additionally, how did Pagma use his Granting an Ego skill?
Grid got gooseb.u.mps. A great fear struck him. Grid wanted to turn away from the truth. However, it was already too late. Pelot saw the G.o.d Hands and cried out, “You! Pagma’s Descendant! The seed of disaster left behind by Milepeu...! You dare to argue about conscience in front of us when you are imprisoning the soul of the empress!”
“……!” His concern became a reality. Grid’s legs weakened as his heart sank. He sat in place and looked at the G.o.d Hands hovering around him with trembling eyes. “Pagma... Pagma, he...”
Braham had directed great anger toward the yangban Garam. He accused Garam of ruining his life by releasing Pagma to the West Continent. Until now, Grid had thought it was a bit of a leap. However—
“This bad seed...”
...Grid was very sympathetic now. Of course, Pagma was aware of all the sins he had committed and regretted it. At the last moment, he carried all his karma. It was also true that he saved the world. Nevertheless, could he be called a hero? Wasn’t it actually poison as Braham said? Wouldn’t the world have been calm even if Pagma’s poison hadn’t been released on the West Continent?
“Pagma"s Descendant! Die!”
“We curse you!”
The dwarves were furious enough to lose their temper and they pulled out their hammers. At this moment, the hammers in their hands weren’t a sacred tool, but a weapon. However, the dwarves weren’t a race that focused on combat. Only a handful of them were warriors and they protected the royal castle.
The dwarves in this place were all civilians. Hundreds of them were gathered and Grid could slaughter them in a flash if he wanted. However, Grid lowered his sword. There was only one action he could do.
“I’m sorry!”
Grid screamed as he kneeled on the ground the dwarves became wide-eyed.
[The new cla.s.s quest ‘Another Path from Pagma’ has opened.]
[Would you like to accept the quest?]
[★This is a quest with two diverging points.]
[If you refuse the quest, the contents of the previous cla.s.s quest will be changed.]
Notification windows opened up in front of Grid.
‘Accept the quest.’
Grid naturally chose a different path from Pagma just as he had done so far.