Chapter 78: GM’s Meister (3)

During the thousands of years of her dragon life, the ancient dragon, Carthesia, indulged in countless amusements, always seeking thrills and stimulation beyond what she already knew.

She became intrigued by a human who had created a small world using illusion magic. 

Carthesia kidnapped him and helped him build a new world called “Rudera.”

She enjoyed this fantastical new world filled with amusements, but after experiencing the “Day of Miracles,” she found herself unable to do so any longer.

“A mere… human, with some talent, or so I thought.”

Healing every disease and disability of all living creatures on the continent? 

Such a feat was beyond the realm of illusion magic.

“Perhaps…”

Perhaps Albus was not an ordinary human but rather a god who delights in play.

Certainly, the worlds created by Albus in Rudera were filled with mysteries that did not belong to this one. 

It seemed impossible for a mere human child, who had spent his life in a single territory, to achieve such wonders, as if a god had stitched together pieces of different worlds.

“But if that were the case, he would have no reason to speak of divinity.”

Albus had once asked her about the divinity flowing from his palms. 

If Albus were truly a god, there would be no reason for him to bring it up.

Carthesia pondered for a long time.

Eventually, she made up her mind and reached out to Albus through magic.

“Did you call for me, Lady Carthesia?”

Albus’s voice, heard for the first time in days, was as gentle and cute as always. 

But with doubts about him growing, she could no longer simply enjoy that voice.

“You’ve done quite an extraordinary thing recently. The ‘Miracle,’ I mean.”

Carthesia struggled to calm her mind and hide the tremor in her voice.

“Ah!”

On the other side of the communication, a voice full of surprise came through.

‘Is it an act or the truth?’

Even though she was a dragon capable of discerning truth from lies, if he were a god, even the dragon’s powers might not be enough to see through him.

“I’m sorry, Lady Carthesia! I should have contacted you and sought your advice beforehand, but I foolishly acted on my own!”

A flustered Albus quickly began to speak.

“You see, it all started when I was monitoring the broadcast system and came across the story of a succubus and her sick sister.”

He explained why he had decided to bestow a miracle upon the sick and why he had acted so quickly.

“I just wanted to save lives that would have been lost if I did nothing. Fortunately, it even affected reality. Imagine if it hadn’t carried over into reality; that would have been a disaster!”

Albus chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

‘How much of this is true?’

Carthesia was thoroughly confused.

“It’s hard to believe. That you healed every intelligent being on the continent with such a simple act.”

Normalizing all the sick on the continent—such a feat seemed impossible, even for a god.

If it were that simple, there would be no place for diseases on the continent.

“It may be hard to believe, but it’s true.”

Albus’s voice was unchanged from its usual tone.

Carthesia found it impossible to discern the truth.

“If you are capable of complete healing once more, I have someone I’d like to introduce you to.”

“An introduction?”

“Dwarven Meister Ollun. A dwarf who was once the greatest artisan on the continent.”

She had been skilled enough that Carthesia occasionally requested her services before she lost both hands in an accident. 

Carthesia also felt a slight guilt toward this dwarf girl.

“A dwarf?”

“Yes. A dwarf who, even among her kind, was considered a genius, having reached the highest level through awakening. She was called the greatest genius among dwarves.”

Ten years ago, a massive energy surge occurred while helping Albus build the servers for Rudera. 

The surge affected the magma activity beneath the earth, causing unusual activity in a volcano far from her lair, one of the dwarves’ volcanoes.

This was an accident that went completely beyond Carthesia’s calculations. 

It wasn’t her intention; it was merely a natural disaster caused by a series of unfortunate coincidences. 

Yet, she felt a slight sense of guilt toward Ollun.

After losing both hands and having her pride as a Meister utterly shattered, she had quit all her crafting work and shut herself in her room, doubling the tragedy.

“However, due to the incident ten years ago, she sustained severe injuries and effectively retired. With her help, the connection devices to Rudera could be further improved.”

Carthesia, being an excellent artisan herself, was skilled enough to design the devices alone. 

However, with Ollun’s help—the only dwarf with a skill that surpassed hers—the devices could be even more advanced.

If Albus could heal her, it would bring salvation to Ollun and benefit Albus as well.

“And by confirming the scene where she is healed…”

She would determine Albus’s true identity.

After ending the communication with Albus, Carthesia immediately set off for the Dwarven capital, the “Underground City.”

Arriving in the Dwarven district, she knocked on Ollun’s door.

“I greet you, great one!”

Ollun’s father, the head of the most prestigious Dwarven family, bowed deeply to her. 

His wife, standing beside him, also offered the highest form of respect.

As a dragon, the guardian of the Middle World, and a great dragon at that, Carthesia was an existence so lofty that even the highest-ranking Dwarves found it challenging to approach her.

“I wish to see Ollun, your daughter.”

“Ah, I am humbled, great one. But my daughter is currently in seclusion and unable to come out.”

Even though Ollun’s hands had been healed due to the “Miracle,” she was still shut in, so her parents were unaware of this fact.

“It is fine. I have come with a way to heal her hands.”

“What?”

It was still the day of the “Second Day of Miracles,” so Ollun’s parents were unaware of the miracle that had spread across the continent. 

They had no idea what the great dragon before them was saying.

“Do not worry. You will soon find out.”

With a creak, the door opened.

Led by the Dwarven couple, Carthesia entered Ollun’s room.

Buzzing sounds filled the room, and countless sheets of paper covered the walls, filling her view.

“…Blueprints?”

The sheets of paper were filled with diagrams that looked like blueprints for something.

“Ah! It’s been a while, Lady Carthesia!”

Ollun, deeply absorbed in drawing blueprints, noticed Carthesia’s presence and looked up to greet her.

Unlike her parents, her greeting was more casual, as she had been relatively close to Carthesia, a former client, before the incident.

This greeting caught Carthesia off guard.

‘She’s lively.’

Contrary to her previous state, where she had lost all motivation and energy after losing her hands, she was now full of life.

“Are your hands… healed?”

Peering closely with her dragon eyes at Ollun’s hands, which were busily moving, Carthesia realized that Ollun’s hands had fully recovered to their state before the accident.

“Yes, they have!”

Ollun responded brightly. Her voice was filled with hope and joy.

‘Her parents were unaware her hands had recovered.’

Carthesia glanced at the connection device in a corner of the room.

‘It seems she encountered Albus’s ‘Miracle’ while inside Rudera.’

She quickly deduced how Ollun’s hands had been healed.

“That’s fortunate. The damage to your hands was a loss for the entire continent. Now, I can request your services once again, as in the past.”

“I’m sorry, Lady Carthesia. I don’t think I can accept your request today.”

“Why not?”

“It’s because I have so much creation and development to catch up on that I couldn’t do before.”

Even while speaking to Carthesia, Ollun didn’t put down the pen she was holding and continued sketching the blueprint.

“Forgive me for not stopping my hands. I have so many ideas I want to bring to life after seeing the creations of the many GMs within Rudera.”

Scratch, scratch.

She continued drawing her design.

On the paper was the design of a suit, something like a robot.

“Hmm. I see.”

Carthesia stroked her chin.

This was somewhat unexpected.

It seemed she wouldn’t be able to witness the process of Ollun’s hands being healed.

“It seems difficult to place an order today.”

“My apologies, Lady Carthesia.”

“In that case, I must adjust my plan.”

“My purpose in coming here today was to introduce you to a GM with whom I am acquainted… But if you are busy, then there is no helping it.”

Scratch—

Ollun’s hand, which had been moving without rest, suddenly stopped.

“…What? Who?”

“A GM. The master of Rudera, GM.”

“Are you saying you’ll introduce me to… them?”

Ollun’s eyes widened in excitement. 

Her cheeks were flushed, like a girl in love.

‘That’s somewhat annoying.’

“Yes. I will let you meet the GM inside Rudera.”

Somewhere in Rudera.

“Bow down. You are in the presence of the Creator of this world, the rightful owner of Rudera.”

Ollun was finally able to meet her savior, who had pulled her out of the abyss of despair.

A god with a transcendental plan and vision that surpassed all the crafting history accumulated by the continent, filled with robots, warships, and countless mechanical devices.

A new paradigm that would completely overturn the history of Dwarven development.