Ch.93The Crossroads Mountain Range. Crucis (1)

After enjoying a pleasant time at Waterfall, our Iron Worker party arrived at the Crusis Mountain Range.

It had been a week since we left the city of waterfalls.

Before me stood a massive mountain range with enormous permanent snow accumulated at its peak. Compared to the vastness of these mountains, I felt infinitely small, like an ant before a human.

What would the view be like from the summit of the Crusis Mountains, so tall that I couldn’t capture it even with my head tilted back? As one of the world’s 52 scenic wonders, it must be far more beautiful than I could imagine.

More stunning than that day when we leisurely ate chicken under the willow branches.

“The Crusis Mountains of the Crossroads… We’ve finally arrived.”

When Simon said this, we all truly realized that we had reached the Crusis Mountains, the eastern crossroads of the Faerûn continent.

“Beneath those mountains lies the crossroads built by dwarves. A sacred intersection constructed during the Era of the First Eclipse, still protected by the mountain’s majestic presence. During that era, countless warlords challenged the mountain folk to claim that intersection, but in 50,000 years, no human, elf… not even a dwarf has succeeded.”

The dwarves of the Crusis Mountains number over 100 million.

They live in underground cities beneath the mountains and in tiered cities above.

In the underground cities, they mine minerals and do what one typically associates with dwarves, while in the tiered cities, they work in various service industries catering to the endless stream of pilgrims and tourists.

They distinguish themselves from other dwarves by tattooing a cross between their eyebrows, which, naturally, mimics the shape of the Crusis Mountains as seen from the sky.

“They should welcome us.”

“Yes… they should.”

Simon sighed, then followed me on horseback.

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

As we advanced toward the base of the mountains, we were being swallowed by the enormous shadow they cast.

What does it mean to live as a dwarf down there and up there?

Does it mean being able to see what ordinary human eyes could never see, and do what they could never do?

Well, maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t.

Either way, I was born human, and there was no way to change that.

“Simon.”

“What is it?”

“I’m just asking in case, but they do have elevators or cable cars up there, right?”

“Of course they do. How else would dwarves live?”

“True…”

Dwarves, about half the height of humans, would never have bothered with the Crusis Mountains without elevators, escalators, or cable cars.

I snickered imagining dwarves struggling to climb the treacherous peaks of the Crusis Mountains, and Raisha, not knowing what I was thinking, kissed me.

*

“What the fuck? We can’t climb the mountain?”

“I’m terribly sorry. There was a landslide that seems to have disturbed the yetis’ habitat… We’re recruiting adventurers of Metal rank or higher, but we haven’t filled all positions yet…”

“Damn…”

I could only click my tongue in frustration.

Yeti was a term for giant bipedal creatures stronger than ogres but weaker than trolls.

Our party, which had barely defeated an ogre, was clearly outmatched in this situation.

We might handle one yeti somehow, but the mention of a “habitat” meant there were at least ten or more. If weak adventurers like us went in, I’d become stew ingredients and Raisha would be a nutritious snack.

“We’re Coal rank adventurers. How could we possibly assist in such a subjugation?”

As I fretted, Simon stepped forward and asked on my behalf.

The dwarf in front of me briefly widened his eyes, then turned back to me and asked:

“Have you ever hunted a yeti before?”

“Ogres, yes. This woman and I together managed to take one down.”

“Ogres… hmm… wait here a moment.”

The dwarf briefly left his post and entered the building next door, where he began speaking with what appeared to be his superior.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying from inside the building, but judging by the dwarf’s face when he returned, it didn’t seem to be bad news.

“Iron Worker Party, was it?”

“That’s right.”

“If you want to join as auxiliary support, we have positions…”

“Auxiliary?”

“Yes. Metal rank adventurers who can use Aura will launch preemptive strikes to reduce the yeti numbers as much as possible… but we’re short on manpower. That’s where Coal rank adventurers like you, whose skills are proven but can’t use Aura, come in as support. We’ll pay 100 silver coins per yeti.”

“100 per creature.”

Not a bad price.

When we hunted the ogre, we had inferior equipment, no Simon, and no elf sisters.

No matter how much stronger yetis were than ogres, with better equipment, more party members, and improved skills, our party could handle it now.

“Alright. We’ll participate.”

“Excellent. Please write your names here.”

I wrote our party name and the names of all members on the list he provided, then handed it back. The dwarf looked at it and returned it to me.

“?”

“Sorry. I forgot to ask you to mark who the party leader is.”

“…”

*

The subjugation was to take place at the waist of the Crusis Mountains.

The tiered cities above the mountains were divided into two main sections: commercial districts for pilgrims and tourists like us, and residential areas for regular inhabitants.

Shops lined the main streets, with residential areas behind them, essentially forming a ring of commercial establishments surrounding the residential zones.

“The subjugation is scheduled for three days from now… but it might be moved up, so please leave at least one party member at the inn. If you miss the timing, you’ll bear the loss.”

“Understood.”

“The major houses have requisitioned the closest inns, but they couldn’t secure the shops, so you’ll need to find your own food and drink.”

“At inflated prices, I’m sure.”

“…I apologize. Even politicians can’t ignore their constituents…”

“It’s fine. We have our own provisions. Other parties probably do too.”

Adventurers travel from place to place consuming various supplies, and merchants are always contemplating how to empty the thin wallets of adventurers.

The most common method is simply raising prices, and in extreme cases, some even charge different rates for ordinary people and adventurers.

In such cases, the guild would “appropriately” intervene, but most adventurers simply endured it, sharing self-sufficient adventuring methods with each other.

How to hunt and preserve game, how to distinguish poisonous mushrooms from edible ones, and so on.

Fortunately, our spatial storage still contained fresh vegetables, meat, and grains, as well as plenty of cheese and butter.

We even had beer purchased from Waterfall, which would make our stay feel more like a vacation than an adventure if we brought it out at the inn.

“Here’s the inn. As I mentioned, don’t all leave at once. We don’t know when announcements will be made.”

“Where are our rooms?”

“As you requested, you and your lover in room 1031. The wizard in 1032. The pointy-ears in 1033.”

“Wait. Why are we the only ones not described derogatorily?”

“If it bothers you, call me a shorty too.”

The dwarf coolly retorted to Lucia, handed us three keys, and I distributed them to my party members before entering the inn.

*

The inn was packed with adventurers who briefly looked at our party as we entered, then resumed their conversations.

“What about meals? It’s not even lunchtime yet.”

When Lucia said this, I thought for a moment and asked my party members for their opinions.

“Lucia and Kasia… you don’t have spatial storage. Simon, can you eat with them?”

“Why not? It’s depressing for this old man to prepare meals alone.”

“Hehehe. We’ll play rock-paper-scissors to decide who does the dishes.”

So Simon and the two elves would share meals, and I pulled Raisha close and said:

“You’ll take care of my meals. Understood?”

“Yes… Master Victor.”

Raisha pulled on my arm and whispered softly, which prompted a middle-aged female adventurer watching us to comment:

“Oh my, such a proper young lady should be with my son!”

“Woman, stop asking for trouble and maintain your mace properly. If a woman like that went to our son, we’d be holding a funeral within a week…”

With these remarks from the older generation that bordered between compliments and harassment, I went up to room 1031 with Raisha, where I began enthusiastically fondling her body that had received the older generation’s approval.