Chapter 11 – Dwarf

Ｒｅａｄ ｏｎ​ Ｋ​ａｔ​Ｒｅａｄ​ｉ​ｎｇＣ​ａｆｅ

I took a deep breath and held it. Then, I crouched as low as possible and moved carefully, making sure not to make a sound.

The target seemed unaware of my approach, leisurely munching on grass. In a world of survival of the fittest, it’s too careless to focus solely on eating without being aware of its surroundings. What a soft creature.

I slowly pulled the dagger from my pocket and gripped it in a reverse hold. I only had one chance. The target was quick, and if I failed, I didn’t know when the next opportunity would come.

But who am I? A super rookie who taught myself Shadow Walking and would later become a specialist in assassination. Assassinating a target that wasn’t even on guard at this distance was easier than eating porridge…!

“Hyaaah—!”

“Squeak?!”

As I charged with a shout, the rabbit finally noticed my presence and jumped in surprise, turning to look at me. It twitched, trying to flee belatedly, but my blade had already been launched long ago.

Thud! With a heavy impact, the dagger lodged firmly into the rabbit’s head.

I quickly pulled my hand away from the dagger, and the rabbit, staggering from the shock, collapsed. Not long after, the dead rabbit turned to dust, leaving behind a magic stone.

Another perfect victory today. My talent, growing day by day, is truly fearsome. After celebrating my victory in battle, I retrieved the magic stone and dagger and quickly left the area.

If I lingered, a group of rabbits might appear like last time and lynch me, and I wouldn’t be able to win. So, this isn’t running away—it’s a strategic retreat.

“Still, this makes three already…!”

Only after retreating to a safe spot did I check my inventory and smile happily.

Inside my inventory were a broken core, three magic stones obtained from hunting rabbits, and a money pouch containing 10,000 gold.

–

Ulrika’s extreme prescription didn’t end in a good result, but it wasn’t entirely without change for me.

First, I had finally started hunting rabbits, something I had been too scared to attempt before.

Of course, it wasn’t a proper fight like last time. Instead, I hunted by hiding my presence as much as possible and ambushing them when they were off guard—a somewhat cowardly method. But when your life is on the line, what does it matter if it’s fair or cowardly?

Rabbit, you wouldn’t call me cowardly, right…? I’ll take the fresh magic stone.

Anyway, thanks to sticking to this method of combat, I gained a new skill.

[Name: Marionette]
[Exclusive Skills: Doll Crafting, Mana Thread]
[General Skills: Handicraft Lv. 1, Presence Concealment Lv. 1, Backstab Lv. 1]

The skill descriptions weren’t provided, but just by their names, I could roughly guess their effects.

Presence Concealment probably made it harder for enemies to detect me, and Backstab likely added extra damage when attacking from behind.

“These don’t seem like skills a Doll Master should have…”

Shouldn’t I be getting more skills related to handicraft or mana? I felt like I was gradually becoming a useless character, but survival came first.

Besides, I needed money to make dolls. Thinking that, I used the Doll Crafting skill.

[Wooden Doll Crafting]
[Articulated Doll Crafting]
[Autonomous Doll Crafting]
[Core Crafting]
[Core Repair]

“Core Repair.”

[Core Repair]
[A core in need of repair has been detected. Would you like to repair it?]
[Repairing a Cracked Core (Basic) requires 20,000 gold and magic stones (quantity varies depending on type).]
[Marionette currently possesses 10,000 gold (10,000/20,000) and 3 low-grade magic stones (3/10).]

“I thought I’d been saving diligently, but it’s still not enough…”

It had only been a week since I started hunting seriously. Due to my hunting method, it was hard to catch even five rabbits a day, but I managed to save a little by being frugal and eating one meal a day with Andreina-nim (though it wasn’t by my choice).

Even after saving so hard, repairing the core still felt like a distant dream. Doll 505, despite its poor performance, why does it cost so much to repair…?

“…It’s not that Doll 505 is bad, but rather that I’m not utilizing it properly.”

Even if I repaired the core and remade Doll 505 (5th generation), I’d have to stick to my current hunting method for a while.

At least until I figured out how to strengthen dolls using Mana Thread. Otherwise, I’d just end up with another Doll 505 that shatters after one hit from a rabbit.

If only I had more money, I could’ve figured it out by breaking Doll 505 repeatedly. Maybe a money pouch filled with gold will fall from the sky somewhere.

Rustle—

“Eek?!”

While I was leaning against a tree, lost in thought, the sound of rustling bushes startled me, and I jumped to my feet. Was it another group of rabbits like last time?! I hurriedly prepared to run, but something emerged from the bushes faster than I could react.

“Where was the village entrance again… Huh? A person?”

“Ugh, I surrender…?”

“Surrender? What are you surrendering for?”

Thinking escape was impossible, I dropped to the ground, trembling. Then I heard a human voice. I quickly looked up and saw a boy who appeared to be around my age tilting his head in confusion.

“A… a kid…?”

“Don’t call me a kid. I’m technically an adult. Besides, you’re a kid too, so what are you talking about?”

“S-Sorry…!”

His expression turned fierce the moment I called him a kid, so I quickly buried my head again.

It was pitiful to be acting so submissive to someone who looked much younger than my past self, but as the weakest on the Floating Island, this was all I could do.

As I tearfully begged for forgiveness, the boy stammered awkwardly.

“N-No, I’m not that mad… Ugh, just get up. You’ll get dirty lying there.”

“Huh?”

Before I could resist, the boy effortlessly pulled me to my feet, surprising me.

We were similar in height and build, so how was he so strong? Completely baffled, I looked at him in confusion as he coughed awkwardly and spoke.

“I’m just a bit sensitive about being called a kid. Sorry for getting mad.”

“Ah, okay…”

“By the way, I haven’t seen you before. Did another summoning happen in the village while I was down on the 5th floor?”

“N-No, I’ve been here since I was first summoned…”

“…You’ve been here since you were first summoned? There’s no way I wouldn’t know about that.”

Who are you to say there’s no way you wouldn’t know? The words almost slipped out, but I held them back with superhuman patience.

Outwardly, he looked no different from an ordinary kid, so he seemed manageable for someone with social anxiety like me. But remembering the expression he showed earlier, I knew he wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. No need to provoke him unnecessarily.

Still, I was curious. I hesitantly asked him,

“S-Sorry, but who are you…?”

“Huh? You don’t know me?”

His genuine surprise made me tilt my head in confusion. Sure, the boy in front of me had the air of a handsome young noble, but was he really at the level of saying, “You don’t know me?”

Where does that inflated ego come from? As I silently criticized him, the boy scratched his head and nodded.

“Well, I don’t know you either, so I guess it’s fair.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Call me Hosanna. It’s not my real name but a nickname I used in a community I was part of. You know how this place is weird in many ways, right?”

“Ah, y-yeah…”

After all, even I was using the name Marionette instead of my real name. At my response, Hosanna smiled warmly and continued.

“As you can see, my race is Dwarf… but do you know what Dwarves do?”

“Um… aren’t they the race also called Dwarves? Short, muscular…”

“Oh, you’ve played games, huh? Most girls don’t know that.”

Well, I was originally a guy, so of course I knew. I nodded awkwardly at Hosanna’s words.

“Well, as you can see, I’m not the traditional Dwarf people imagine. I look like a handsome noble, with no muscles and a slender body. Plus, I don’t have any equipment crafting skills. Do you know why?”

“Uh… no idea…”

“Because I made it that way. For a TRPG character.”

“T… RPG?”

“Ah, you don’t know that far? Just think of it as a game. Anyway, as part of my character concept, I chose Dwarf and maxed out appearance and intelligence… and when I came to my senses, I ended up in this body.”

Hosanna shook his head as if it was still absurd to think about.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve gone with Barbarian or something. Just because I’m short, everyone treats me like a kid. Do you know how infuriating it is to be treated like a kid when I’m already 30?”

“Ah, haha…”

Thirty years old with that face? And he’s much older than me? Glad I didn’t provoke him, I nodded in agreement as Hosanna grumbled.

“Anyway, I got sidetracked. I introduced myself, so now it’s your turn.”

“Ah, m-my name is Mari. My race is Human…”

“Human? Not a Dwarf like me?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Why…?”

“…Sorry, but can I ask your age?”

Why is he suddenly asking my age? I rolled my eyes before squeezing them shut and shouting.

“W-Well, I’m an adult too…!”

“Ah, really…?”

I had just become an adult, but still, an adult is an adult. There was no point in revealing my exact age since he’d just look down on me. At least as fellow adults, he’d respect me outwardly.

But why is Hosanna looking at me with such pity? I couldn’t understand it at all.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
It’s a shortie…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Oh so an 18 (19 if we still count the kr thing) year old ‘adult’, hmm makes sense.

Let’s bully her more then!

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