Steel Mountain Range

The wings stopped. The wind that whipped the black mane also died down.

The form of a horse with black wings. But it was not just a horse.

The magical power of the S-class monster, the Heavenly Horse ‘Kaiser’, crushed the air even after death.

“Indeed, the Steel Mountain Range, so many monsters like this. It’s a high-level hunting ground, alright.”

My body felt like it weighed a ton. The battle had lasted nearly two hours.

In the game, I just had to memorize the patterns, but reality was different.

One mistake was fatal. If I didn’t have the Holy Sword, I wouldn’t have even been able to counterattack.

“Alright, let’s get to looting.”

I began to dismantle the monster’s corpse piece by piece. The heart, the horns, the feathers of the wings, and most importantly, the magic stone.

“With this… I’ll have enough materials to take to the blacksmith.”

The marker on the map caught my eye.

Steel Mountain Range.

A habitat for rare monsters… and the location of the dwarves’ city.

It’s already been a week since my meeting with Aris, and now the destination is right in front of me.

“I wonder if Serena delivered it well.”

The sight of the blue magic circle of the Magic Tower city collapsing was still vivid.

I was worried about leaving the letter with Serena, but if it’s her, she would have done well. Because she’s a genuine psychopath killer who has no fear of death.

I checked my inventory one last time. The S-class materials were neatly organized.

The Wolf King’s fang.

The Glacier Turtle’s shell.

The Evil Extinction Kirin’s horn.

The Mammoth’s bone.

And the feathers and heart of the Heavenly Horse Kaiser that I just obtained.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath. There was no time to recover the stamina and mana consumed in the current battle.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I stood up from the monster’s corpse. The cool wind of the mountain range cooled my sweat-soaked forehead.

I had to get to my destination before sunset. Time was running out, and ‘they’ would always be chasing after me.

It’s a path I’ve already chosen. I have no choice but to keep moving forward.

*

I stopped at the end of the Steel Mountain Range’s valley.

“This is… ‘Iron Forge’.”

A huge lava furnace pierced the sky. As soon as I entered the city, the air was hot due to the heat of the smithy.

The sound of bearded artisans hammering echoed cheerfully in the streets. They all had stern expressions, but their hand movements were as delicate as artists.

At the same time, automated factories were running. Weapons poured out along with the roar of the magic power engine. It was a bizarre sight where tradition and innovation coexisted.

“Hey, human! Be careful, or you might get burned by the steam pipes if you just stand there blankly!”

A dwarf with a shaggy beard approached. He was short, but his muscular arms were impressive. He held a wrench and a hammer in his hands. Traditional blacksmith tools along with tools engraved with magic circuits.

“This is really… a unique place.”

“Unique? Haha! Of course, it is. Because we’re dwarves!”

The dwarf’s laughter echoed loudly.

“What you see over there is the Automata Legion, and over there is the magic power amplification engine room. Everything is automated.”

My gaze stopped at the display in the central square. Automatic armor powered by magic power, magic cannons capable of long-range attacks, shields engraved with spells. Each and every one of them was an amazing object.

Laughter echoed loudly from the tavern. Dwarves who had finished work were drinking beer and chatting.

“Did you see the halberd I finished today? The magic power amplification rate has increased by 30%!”

“What, only 30 percent? You should see the new armor from our workshop.”

“You’re both noisy. Either way, the chief’s work is the best!”

Rough voices were mixed together. It was a conversation full of passion and pride.

The culture of the dwarves was alive and breathing wherever I went. I couldn’t see this kind of sight in the game. Iron Forge was simply a place to enhance equipment.

A slogan engraved on the square bulletin board caught my eye.

〈Innovation that forgets tradition is empty, and tradition that rejects innovation is dead〉

‘It might be possible here.’

It was time to go find the best blacksmith in the city.

I walked through the bustling merchant street. The dwarves’ calls to customers hit my ears.

They were simply NPCs in the game, but the dwarves in reality were so alive. In a very annoying way, too.

“Hey, you, the adventurer with the tired expression! Just a moment! Where did you buy that weapon?”

A female warrior was caught in the solicitation. She was an elf with silver hair and a sleek physique. The dwarf merchant carefully examined her sword.

“I bought this a while ago…”

“That’s what I’m saying! You were completely ripped off… no, you lost out. Come to our store. We have something twice as good…”

“I said I don’t need it! Let me go!”

“Just get an estimate first? We’ll give you 60 months interest-free! Just take a look!”

The elf tried to run away, but the dwarf’s pace was faster.

On the opposite side, another sight unfolded.

“How much did they quote you elsewhere? Just tell me!”

“Th, that’s…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll match it all!”

A young adventurer was also caught while choosing armor. The dwarf merchant grabbed his arm tightly and wouldn’t let go.

“No, I’m just looking…”

“Looking? Haha! Good. Take a look. I’m telling you to just take a look?”

Perhaps because he couldn’t stand against the dwarf’s grip, the adventurer was eventually dragged into the store against his will.

‘He’ll be broke when he comes out of there.’

“Customer, just take a look around our store. I’m telling you to just take a look?”

“No, come this way. We’re having a special discount!”

“We’ll give you an additional discount if you bring a quote from a competitor…”

When an innocent adventurer came after hearing the rumors, the dwarves surrounded them like wolves encircling prey.

And without even being told, they checked their muscles or calluses on their hands and came up with a quote on their own.

“Oh my, you’re just getting a quote and not buying?”

“I’m just passing by…”

“Do you want to get hit, customer?”

A bitter smile formed on my lips. The only good thing was that the dwarves’ equipment was expensive, but it was worth the price.

“If you sign a contract today, we’ll give you a special gift…”

“We’ll match any quote from a competitor!”

The expression on the orc’s face, trapped in the dwarves’ encirclement, gradually distorted. Eventually, he took out his wallet and sighed.

‘I guess there’s no race that can beat the dwarves’ affability.’

More sights came into view as I walked down the street.

“How about this sword? Lava stone plating with special magic circuit treatment…”

“Ah… I don’t have any money…”

“Don’t worry, there’s always a way. It’s called an adventurer credit loan, and we’ll provide you with a full set of magic engineering equipment, as well as living expenses.”

A human wearing a wizard’s robe was melting into the dwarf’s sales talk.

“Hey, human! What are you just looking at?”

One of the dwarves approached me with a smile full of salesmanship. Soon after, two or three more gathered, as if they smelled something.

“You’re not planning on going on an adventure without a weapon, are you? You know the world is dangerous these days, right?”

One dwarf glanced at my waist and continued. It must have looked like I didn’t have a weapon because I hadn’t summoned the Holy Sword.

“Take a look at this. It’s the latest work plated with Royal Mithril!”

The dwarves surrounded me with their representative products.

With their grim faces and weapons, ordinary adventurers would feel threatened.

Of course, I didn’t have to worry about violence. If they fought with a customer, their reputation would be ruined, not to mention their products would become used goods.

“Just a moment.”

I cut them off. Royal Mithril… It was an item I had crafted hundreds of times in the game to gain proficiency.

“Did you say Royal Mithril? Isn’t that made by mixing Mithril and lava stone in a 7:3 ratio and then forging it with a magic power crystal?”

The dwarves’ beards shook slightly.

“Uh… that’s right, but…”

“But this Royal Mithril… I doubt the purity a bit?”

“Wh, what did you say?”

“If it’s genuine, it should have a blue glow when you melt the magic power crystal, but what I see now is light purple. Isn’t the lava stone content higher than the standard?”

The dwarves looked at each other, sweating.

“And the rune patterns on that dagger are strange too. If it’s a traditional dwarven technique, the ‘Blessing of the Wind’ should always be engraved after the ‘Protection of the Earth’… The order is reversed. This will cause problems with the magic power circulation.”

“Uh… that’s…”

The embarrassed dwarf stammered. Another dwarf quickly jumped in.

“Hey, this guy seems like an expert?”

“So, what I’m saying is.”

I put strength in my voice and continued.

“Doesn’t it seem like the current market price is ridiculously high? So, if you calculate the appropriate price, the material cost is 200 gold, the production time is 3 days, and if you add the magic power crystal consumption…”

“Ah, I forgot to turn off the furnace!”

“I think there’s a fire over there…”

“I think the artisan-nim is calling me!”

The dwarves left one by one, as if running away.

The adventurers who were watching from the surroundings looked at me with surprised eyes. To overwhelm the notoriously picky dwarf merchants with logic.

A small smile appeared on my lips. But this was a natural result. Because it was a crafting system I had seen so much of in the game. From equipment stats to enhancement probabilities to material combinations. How much time did I spend memorizing the strategy guides?

‘Shall I go to my real destination now.’

From far away, I could hear the dwarves’ calls to customers again.

“Miss, that bow seems a bit outdated…”

“You’re going to go to a dungeon with that kind of armor?”

But no more dwarves spoke to me.

*

Leaving the downtown area, the streets became deserted.

The noise of modern magic engineering workshops faded away, and only the sound of hammering echoed quietly.

An old sign creaked. A blacksmith shop with a faded, rusty hammer symbol engraved on it.

‘Is this it.’

When I pushed the door, the old hinges groaned. A small spark flew from the furnace.

The air was different. Unlike the modern blacksmith shops powered by magic, it had an atmosphere where the artisan’s breath was alive.

That’s when it happened.

Kkang! Kkang!

A subtle hammering sound rang in my ears.

Inside the blacksmith shop, a petite silhouette was hammering.

A small height of less than 150cm, brown hair that covered the floor and more, like Rapunzel in a fairy tale.

It was the dwarf girl I was looking for.

Perhaps because the original work was a *ssipdeok* game, the male dwarves were the typical fantasy race with shaggy beards, but the female dwarves were different.

Female dwarves were just as short, but instead of beards, they were pretty girls who grew their hair long.

Just as male dwarves proudly grew their beards, female dwarves considered long hair to be a virtue of dwarves.

“Excuse me…”

When I spoke, the hammering stopped. The girl slowly turned her head.

Hazel eyes with a reddish glow like a furnace. Her skin had a healthy tan, perhaps because of the soot from the blacksmith shop.

“Is this Garuda’s blacksmith shop?”

The girl’s shoulders flinched. She quickly lowered her head and stammered.

“Ah… no… I, I am Garuda, but… but… why…?”

The hand holding the hammer trembled.

“Then I’ve come to the right place. Ah, can I speak comfortably? The customer is king, after all?”

As I took a step closer, the girl shrank even more.

“Yes…? What do you mean? Uh… su, suddenly?”

Then the blade placed on the workbench caught my eye. It was an unfinished sword, but I could feel the artisan’s soul within it.

‘Indeed… she’s the artisan I’ve been looking for.’

At that moment, her eyes sparkled. But she shook her head and stepped back.

Garuda was like this in the game too. She was the best blacksmith, but it was difficult to get a request from her because of her extremely timid personality.

“I have something I want to commission….”

“A, a commission? From me…?”

Garuda’s shoulders flinched again.

“Th, that can’t be… these days, everyone looks for magic engineering blacksmith shops… this place is just old, outdated… and useless….”

“But what I want is that ‘outdated’ technology.”

I held out a bag full of S-class materials. Her eyes sparkled.