Chapter 159. Frozen Spirit (2)
"What, it’s a human again?”
"They’re coming frequently these days.”
"Is he a reliable human?"
"Well... Wouldn’t he be trustworthy since Kim Woo-Joong brought him here?”
Seo Jun-Ho felt like a monkey in a zoo and smiled awkwardly when he saw the dwarves whispering and coming out of their houses one by one.
"Hey, Player Kim Woo-Joong, I made a big mistake, right?”
"Don"t worry too much." He laughed softly. "I had the same reaction when I first met him and there was no big problem."
"Ahem."
Graham, the White Anvil Tribe leader, coughed dryly and sat in front of a huge desk in the center of the square. A few more dwarves, believed to be his closest aides, sat around him.
"...Wow," Seo Jun-Ho said in awe.
"Ohhhhh, that"s a great creation," the Frost Queen let out words of admiration.
The huge desk built in the underground kingdom was a work of art itself. There were columns nearby that looked like those of an ancient temple, but the columns seemed to fit into the scenery naturally without affecting the surrounding buildings. The columns, land, and even small parts of the desk had elegant designs that showed even on the tiniest details.
"It"s a desk that the dwarves use for important meetings. They call it the Desk of Wisdom," explained Kim Woo-Joong.
"Is it okay for such a great desk to be in such a public place?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.
"Yes, they believe that nothing should be hidden amongst the dwarves.”
"…They don"t hide anything from each other? It sounds like a pipe dream."
"They"re actually making that dream come true."
More than a hundred dwarves gathered around the large desk. If Kim Woo-Joong was right, did that mean they all lived without hiding anything from each other?
"Humans would never be able to do that even if they died and were reborn,” sneered the Frost Queen.
"Yeah, I’m a bit… No, I’m so jealous of them," Seo Jun-Ho replied.
It was almost impossible for humans who doubted and antagonized each other to never hide anything from each other.
‘If humans stuck together like this and didn’t hide their feelings from each other…’
Then, the many deaths from 26 years ago could have probably been prevented. Seo Jun-Ho sat down with a weak smile.
"Wine is the best when you have a meeting."
"I should bring wine, too."
"Should I get the 100-year-old one today?"
The busy dwarves took out wine from their homes and drank with each other. When Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at the scene, Graham snorted. "Why, are you also surprised that dwarves don"t drink beer?"
"Yes. Honestly, it"s a little unexpected."
"Tsk, tsk. It’s obvious that aged wine tastes much better than beer."
"I don"t know why you think we"d like such cheap barley alcohol.”
"Did you say Northern European mythology? I don"t know why the ancient myth of your world is like that.”
"They portrayed dwarves as fools.”
The dwarves grumbled as they sipped wine.
Graham asked Kim Woo-Joong, "Kim Woo-Joong, is this really the helper that you said you"d bring?"
"That"s right..."
"Hmmm. He doesn"t look so reliable to me."
Graham looked at Seo Jun-Ho with suspicious eyes.
"Kim Woo-Joong, you looked strong from the moment I saw you, but this guy...”
"Yeah, he looks fragile.”
"Despite his appearance, he managed to get through the cold snowfields.”
"Can he really get rid of the Ice Witch…?”
Listening to the negative reviews of the dwarves, Kim Woo-Jooong spoke, "I"m sure he’ll be of help."
Graham nodded slowly at Kim Woo-Joong"s affirmation.
"If you say so. But... is he a trustworthy human being?"
It was a sharp voice with the dignity of the leader guarding his group. The dwarves valued nothing more than themselves. Just by looking at this underground kingdom, it was clear their dexterity was dozens of levels higher than that of humans. It was natural for them to be wary of humans outside.
"Yes, I trust him. The secret of the White Anvil Tribe will never leak out."
Seo Jun-Ho himself was rather embarra.s.sed.
‘I appreciate your trust, but... Why the h.e.l.l?’
This was only the second time Seo Jun-Ho met him. The last time they met, they had a conversation for hours, but that shouldn’t be enough to figure out a person"s personality.
"If something unsavory happens because of Player Seo Jun-Ho... I"ll deal with it directly myself."
‘Oh…’
Seo Jun-Ho was convinced. He smiled awkwardly.
‘It"s the liberty of the strong. If something gets messed up, you could take care of it yourself anytime.’
Of course, it was clear that Kim Woo-Joong had goodwill toward Seo Jun-Ho, and wanted to believe in him personally. After all, the only way to clear the 3rd floor for now was with his "Frost" skill.
"Hmmm." Graham put down the wine gla.s.s and spoke, "Human, what"s your name?"
"Oh, excuse me. My name is Seo Jun-Ho."
"I am Graham Gouldir. Did you hear why you were called here?"
"Yes. You"re requesting the acquisition of the new cave where you"re going to migrate to from the Ice Witch?"
Graham nodded silently as he picked up a slice of cheese. After swallowing the cheese, he slowly began to speak, "Have you ever heard of the Forest Elves, Meadow Orcs, and Underground Dwarves?"
"I"ve never heard of them before."
"…You"re green. They are so famous that even a three-year-old child in Frontier knows them."
"Tsk, is it ok to leave this important issue of the tribe to such a greenhorn?"
"He really doesn"t know anything. It makes me nervous.”
The dwarves sighed in frustration. Seo Jun-Ho just calmly listened to them. Skill came from action, not from the mouth. Graham raised his hand to silence the dwarves and continued. "There are many people who know what the elves and orcs look like, but not many who know what the dwarves look like."
"I think so too." Seo Jun-Ho nodded.
Since they lived so deep underground, there wouldn’t be opportunities to run into them.
"No matter how old we are, we would still look similar to human children."
"So, you can walk around the human world without any suspicion.”
"Right… There"s no inconvenience except that I can"t buy alcohol with this b.l.o.o.d.y face."
“So why are you moving?”
"You"re asking an interesting question.” Graham tapped on the Desk of Wisdom. "There"s only one thing about the myth of the world over there that’s actually accurate about us."
"Are you talking about dexterity?"
"Yes, we are a race favored by the G.o.d of Earth and Creation, the Horn. In terms of dexterity, we are the best on the continent."
He spoke in a voice filled with great pride. However, it could not be denied. Next to and behind them… there was the holy city of art that they had created.
"Earth energy. Every land in the world has its own different energy. Us dwarves build huge furnaces in a land with good energy to build our kingdoms, and make the necessary weapons and equipment for our survival."
Graham looked up with a wistful look. "…This place, Del Ice, is where I was born and raised. Unfortunately, the dwarves of our tribe have used a lot of earth energy, and now the earth energy has become faint. It"s going to take another 50 years to recover."
"That"s why you"re moving to a new place...” Seo Jun-Ho nodded with understanding.
“The construction of the new Del Ice ended decades ago. I was just counting the days until we migrated...”
Graham frowned and let out his frustration. But because his appearance was that of a small boy, he looked very cute.
"The Ice Witch. The b.l.o.o.d.y Banshee that used to wander around the Hamel Ice Canyon ended up settling there."
"Can you tell me more about her in detail?"
"In detail? Hmmm."
Graham sighed lightly, leaned on the back of his seat, and shook his head. "How many times do dwarves encounter monsters out there? We don"t know much about her either."
"So I just have to get rid of the Ice Witch?”
“You also have to guarantee that our new home remains intact. That"s why Kim Woo-Joong failed."
Kim Woo-Joong, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, "I can do it if I get rid of the Ice Witch along with the canyon. However, in that case, the new home of the dwarves would inevitably be damaged.”
"…That"s difficult."
He had to eliminate the Ice Witch, without damaging their home. Seo Jun-Ho could see why he had been called in to satisfy these two conditions.
"Take these."
Graham stacked thick fur clothes, a map, and keys on the desk.
"It"s a garment made from the fur of the snow mountain yeti. It should be able to help you withstand the severe cold from the Ice Witch to some extent. Also, that’s a map showing the location of our new home, and the key for opening its door."
Graham looked at Seo Jun-Ho. He hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty, “Since Kim Woo-Joong is confident in you, you most likely have the ability. I ask of you, please return our new home back to us.”
To be honest, Seo Jun-Ho wasn"t certain if he could do it. He exchanged glances with the Frost Queen and nodded slowly. "Honestly, I"ve never seen the Ice Witch, so I"m not sure how strong she is or if this is something I can even do. But…" Seo Jun-Ho wore the fur clothes and packed the map and the key. "I"ll take it back.”
He didn"t say that he would try, but that he would ‘take it back.’ Graham smiled faintly at his confident words, and the other dwarves also laughed profusely.
"This wimp’s feistier than he looks, I like it!"
"Hoho, do you want some wine? It"s delicious because it"s 100 years old."
"…If you come back successfully,” Graham said, fixing his eyes on Seo Jun-Ho’s belt, the "White Armor,’ "I"ll make you a dwarven weapon. For armor... it seems like you already have a guy on the same wavelength."
"Can dwarves communicate with equipment?”
Graham got up from his seat and smirked, "Equipment? We talk to all the metals in the world."
“Oh…"
The way he said that just now was a bit like a dwarf.
***
After spending the night in Del Ice, Seo Jun-Ho and Kim Woo-Joong went to Hamel Ice Canyon.
Amidst the biting cold, Kim Woo-Joong tightened his collar.
"Player Seo Jun-Ho, aren"t you cold?"
"It"s cold, but I have somewhat of a resistance to it."
Seo Jun-Ho didn"t expect that being resistant to cold would end up being so helpful.
Whooooosh!
Seo Jun-Ho looked at the huge snowstorm before him and said, "So you"re saying the Hamel Ice Gorge is in that snowstorm?”
"Yes. You can"t see it because of the snowstorm, but I"m sure of it."
"It is an artificial snowstorm," the Frost Queen spoke all of a sudden.
She pointed her finger at the front and said, "See? The wind in the other places is relatively less intense, and the snowstorm is only in the direction of the canyon."
"That"s true." Seo Jun-Ho nodded, then looked at Kim Woo-Joong. "Thank you for guiding me."
"I wish you all good luck."
After saying their goodbyes, Seo Jun-Ho moved on ahead.
Crunch, crunch.
Thigh-high snow engulfed his lower body. He advanced, clearing the snow with his hands as if moving through a bush. As he got a little closer to the snowstorm, he heard someone"s voice.
[Don"t come, don"t come, don"t come.]
[You"ll die if you come. Don"t come, don"t come.]
[Don"t come, don"t come… Don"t come!]
It was an eerie warning from a young girl, something you"d only hear in a horror movie.
The Frost Queen was scared and asked, "Contractor, are you sure you’re okay? If you"re scared, it"s okay to go back.”
"I"m not scared. Is the Queen of Frost perhaps afraid of the Ice Witch?"
"...Not at all! Why are you so slow?"
Despite grabbing his collar tightly, she was obviously scared. She was simply pretending to be unafraid.
‘…Five, four, three, two, one.’
Counting while walking, Seo Jun-Ho suddenly turned 90 degrees to the right, held the key, and groped for a wall.
Clack!
A moment later, the key went into the groove on the wall and a deep rumble could be heard. A door that had been secretly installed in the canyon opened and the new home of the dwarves emerged.
[Dungeon: You have entered the ‘The Ice Witch’s Castle’]
Seo Jun-Ho came out from the snowstorm and arrived at a much warmer place. He took off his goggles and pulled out a flashlight before looking at the dark underground city.
"...The atmosphere is intense."
It was a dead underground city with not a single ray of light in it. In between the scattered buildings, blue spirits were secretly watching Seo Jun-Ho.