Chapter 73 – Floor 11. Dwarven─ Brewmaster

Click- Clack-

The metal handle on the side of the mimic rattled, making jingling sounds.

Of course, I wasn’t carrying it by hand—I had cut straps from my backpack and woven them together to make something like a duffle bag that I could carry on my shoulder.

‘Not bad.’

Though the weight was heavy, it wasn’t unbearable, and since I used to have to take off my backpack and put it on the ground during every battle, which left quite a gap, it was much more stable now that I could just slightly lower my shoulder to drop it or simply summon it.

“So, can you explain this place to me?”

“…Haah.”

Since I had already summoned her, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to hear if there were any hidden stories.

Severa, who was floating around me, sighed deeply as if about to empty everything inside her, then began pouring out information about the abandoned mine.

“As you can see, it’s a deep abandoned mine that’s been deserted for a long time. Even when Maria and I came here, it was already abandoned and no one remained.”

“Despite that, those sacrificial cult lunatics seem to be living quite well.”

The abandoned mine area from Floor 11 to Floor 14 is severely lacking in food, unlike the sewers where killing rats yields delicious meat, or the tropical forest where fallen fruits and food are quite abundant.

Water can be found reasonably well, but without gathering emergency rations, it’s a food desert where you’d likely starve to death.

Of course, if you ignore your karma value, it doesn’t matter much. It’s not that there’s nothing to eat at all.

The item name “delicious meat” doesn’t specify what creature it came from.

In other words, it doesn’t get labeled as “rat’s delicious meat” when it comes from a rat, or “sheep’s delicious meat” when it comes from a sheep.

‘And killing humans also produces delicious meat.’

The most common enemy in the abandoned mine area is the Apostate, which is human.

Just imagining it made me feel disgusted, so I had the mimic spit out a liquor bottle and downed all the whiskey that was sloshing around in the half-empty bottle with glug-glug-.

The warm sensation and the lightheadedness provided by the alcohol forcibly improved my mood.

“Khuh…”

“Of course, though this is their base, those heretics probably don’t live continuously inside this abandoned mine. I don’t know exactly how they live.”

Anyway, there’s almost nothing edible in this abandoned mine except human flesh.

Therefore, the abandoned mine area is a place you need to get through as quickly as possible, with precise food distribution.

‘And the next area has water problems…’

The fortunate thing is that during the intervals between areas, I can return to reality and pack all the necessary items to bring back.

Without this, I might have starved to death or died of thirst.

“Anyway… this mine was originally an iron mine used by dwarves to extract iron.”

“I see.”

I already knew this much. That’s because if you become friendly with the dwarf NPCs you occasionally meet while exploring, they would tell you that much.

“But perhaps due to endless greed, the mine dug by the dwarves eventually reached a place where the mountain spirit was sleeping, and in the end, the spirit woke from its deep slumber.”

“Mountain spirit? What’s that?”

“A supernatural being that existed since the beginning of time, outside of physical form. Although dwarves, like elves, have inherited the blood of spirits and thus live quite long, they still can’t match genuine spirits.”

So basically, dwarves with awesome mining skills were digging into the mountain at high speed and ended up drilling a hole into the landlord’s house wall?

I could roughly guess the next part of the story.

The homeowner probably roared like a lion and the dwarves either fled or received three skulls while shedding tears.

“The wrath of the mountain spirit shook the dwarf kingdom that had been brilliantly showcasing its technology. Naturally, since the kingdom was more important than a single mine, the dwarf king negotiated with the spirit, promising to close the mine if it would dispel its anger.”

“So the dwarves abandoned this mine, and now these lunatics are hiding and living here?”

“Probably so. Even when I passed through this abandoned mine, it was already a thing of the distant past.”

I nodded at Severa’s words, but somehow felt uncomfortable and furrowed my brow.

I didn’t know exactly how many years ago the expedition of Severa and Maria’s 10-person team took place, but it must have been much earlier than Kali, who said at least a dozen or so years had passed…

“YOU SCOUNDRELS!!! TAKE YOUR FILTHY─ HANDS OFF RIGHT NOW!!!”

Just then, a deep, thick shout reverberated through the ant-hole-like passages of the abandoned mine from far away.

That voice, which somehow seemed like it would be accompanied by a lush beard, instinctively quickened my steps.

“Master? Are you going without knowing what it is?”

“I’d go even if I knew, so what does it matter if I don’t know?”

“…”

Tang─!

The metal soles of my boots pounded the stone floor vigorously.

***

Sturdy arm muscles, lush and beautiful beard, eyes like glowing iron, a stocky build compared to ordinary humans, yet a robust being that gave the illusion of a living rock.

Standing in his way were heretics, each wearing black robes and drawing daggers.

A total of one and seven.

Even in a situation where it was obvious he would be slaughtered and lose his life if they clashed, the small dwarf fearlessly raised his voice against the seven.

Whether his spirit had an effect or not, the heretics hesitated, and the standoff lengthened.

“How dare you covet Dwarven─ ale without knowing your place!”

What the dwarf was guarding was an oak barrel as thick as his own body.

It seemed to be filled with liquid, as a small sloshing sound could be heard from inside the barrel whenever he stamped his feet thump-thump-.

“If you don’t want to die, withdraw immediately! You wicked─ beings!”

“This is an offering for the true god. Offer it gratefully, you ignorant shorty!”

Whoosh─!

A sharply ground axe was swung threateningly toward the heretics who took a step forward.

As the fierce axe blade gleamed, tracing its trajectory, the approaching heretics’ steps faltered and stopped again, but as if tired of this drawn-out standoff, their next step was filled with the determination to kill even if they got cut.

Naturally, sensing this, the dwarf just grumbled lowly and narrowed his eyes.

Unable to hide his predicament.

“Die! And we shall offer this up!”

A highly raised dagger struck down like lightning.

“I hate religious discrimination the most.”

Halt.

The dagger being swung down to kill the dwarf stopped. No, everyone’s movements stopped.

A voice never heard before. A presence never felt before.

The somehow chilling difference in caliber was like encountering a hero who had reportedly held off an army of thousands alone at a city gate for a whole night on an old battlefield.

“Everyone has the freedom to believe in whatever religion they choose!”

A black-haired man.

Everyone froze and stopped moving at the sight of him, wearing armor of unusual shape and material, clenching his fist and shouting as if he were a passionate orator.

“And…”

Chang─

A flanged mace and a sharp dagger drawn from his waist.

“I hate cults the second most.”

The room in the abandoned mine was filled with an intensely sweet fragrance, covered in a thick blue mist.

***

Thud- Splash-

One by one, the apostates collapsed to the floor, falling into sleep.

It was the result of Alraune’s sleeping powder, as she glanced seductively with raised corners of her mouth, asking for her collar to be pulled tighter.

Grip-!

“As expected, it works perfectly on living enemies.”

“Kek, fuun..♡”

The leather dug into Alraune’s neck as the collar tightened. Seeing Alraune make an ecstatic expression at that pressure, I slightly averted my eyes.

It was too harsh and difficult for me to watch, as someone who is the most pure and innocent lover in the world.

Sob sob. All for the sake of the world.

“Kurgh… Are you after the Dwarven─ ale too… human…”

“Oh, you resisted.”

In the innermost part of the room covered with hazy flower powder, a dwarf was kneeling, dripping with sweat, barely supporting himself with an axe, and glaring fiercely at me.

Of course, I hadn’t come for the ale as the dwarf suggested.

If I were after anything, it would be the bushy-bearded dwarf himself. Not that such a short man was my type…

That dwarf was an NPC.

Along with the Parasite Master, Mateo, he was a main NPC who gave sub-quests in the abandoned mine area—the Dwarf Brewmaster.

I had thought about putting him to sleep along with the others and dealing with the apostates alone, but since he had resisted, I could probably rely on him a bit.

After all, he handles three by himself in the appearance event.

“I carry my own alcohol.”

I took out a liquor bottle from the mimic, jingled it to show him, then picked up my weapons again and slowly stepped into the room filled with flower powder.

“Let’s deal with these first and then talk.”

“Krng… Inevitable. I hope you have the same honor as a Dwarven─ warrior.”

Swish─

As soon as those words ended, the heavy mace, propelled by centrifugal force and gravity, shot at high speed toward the head of an apostate collapsed on the floor.

Crack─! With the sound of the skull breaking, red blood burst like a watermelon thrown on the stone floor.

[Critical Hit]

[You have defeated the Apostate.]

Splash─

“Kurgh… What’s happening suddenly…”

An apostate, whose sleep had been broken by being covered in warm blood, was getting up unsteadily with unfocused eyes.

Without hesitation, I rushed in and thrust my dagger into the apostate’s adam’s apple. The coolly gleaming dagger smoothly cut through the skin, working its way through muscle and bone.

“Gurk?”

“You should have stayed down.”

Crack─

I twisted the dagger, twisting his neck. The apostate fell with his eyes rolled back. From the log that followed, I could tell he died instantly.

Whip─ Bang─!

A whip. The first human-made weapon to break the sound barrier.

Although it wasn’t widely used due to its ineffectiveness against armored opponents and its difficulty of use, its effect on unprotected humans was extraordinary.

Its structure is just tightly woven leather straps.

Then a sturdy plant stem, different only in material, could mimic the destructive power of such a whip if wielded similarly.

I felt a few droplets of warm blood splashing on the back of my neck along with the sound of air bursting as it broke the sound barrier.

Turning my head, I met the eyes of an apostate who had been hit by a vine whip in the face, his nose completely blown off, spurting blood as he dropped his dagger.

Thrust─

Just like before, I thrust a dagger into his neck and swung the mace toward the dagger’s handle.

Thwack─!!!

With a sharp striking sound, the dagger flew through the neck, and the neck dangled broken. Beyond the gradually collapsing body, I could see apostates who had woken from sleep due to the commotion.

“W-what! What on earth is this!!!”

“Three.”

The duration of Alraune’s sleeping powder is about 3 turns. Considering the time spent talking with the Dwarf Brewmaster, that’s about 10 seconds.

Clearing three in 10 seconds isn’t bad.

“Mimic, spit out Kali.”

Clank! Ptooey─!

The mimic, waiting at a distance, spat out Kali, and simultaneously, Kali, who had returned to her main form, swung her greatsword toward the apostates.

A tremendous flow of power.

The apostates became a handful of sand helplessly swept away by that fierce current.

“Hmm…”

Maybe I should ask the dwarf for some ale.

I feel like throwing up.