Overwhelming Firepower

”You must be wondering why a dwarf like me is in this human town. I was actually banished from my clan since I caused a few problems when I was younger.”

As Durik spoke, his hearty and rather grumpy tone seemed to change for a second, but he quickly returned to his usual self and continued.

”So I wandered from different areas and learned many things. Eventually, I arrived here in Gurbundy and found that your mines have some interesting minerals.”

Durik then rummaged through a few things and then took out something. It was an unassuming chunk of ore, no larger than a clenched fist.

At first glance, it looked dull and lifeless, gray stone streaked faintly with thin veins of blue and copper-red.

He placed it on the worktable. The second he placed it down, it made the worktable shake a little. The ore made a low hum as it looked to be vibrating.

Seeing this reaction, Robert couldn’t help but lean closer. ”Is that what I think it is?”

Durik grinned as he proudly spoke. ”Aye, this chunk is something most humans would find difficult to do anything to. A wonderful ore that could absorb mana or aura. It can resist heat and cold, and is quite difficult to smelt, but with this, one can create sturdy weapons and armor. This is what you would call Orichalium.”

The second, Durik said, was the name of the ore. Robert wanted to grab hold of the item, but was stopped by Sir Thalos. Bram’s eyes also would not move away from the ear as it looked like it was pulsing like a heartbeat.

Everyone in the room knew what orichalium was, but most of their knowledge came from myths. This was something used by heroes of old, demigods, and other mythical beings.

On the other hand, Lucen was equally shocked but for a different reason. Orichalium was something that would be found around the mid-game stage. It was not something he expected to see at this point.

Even though later, when the demons appear, there would be stronger materials used, and better things than orichalium, right now, this was the best material to be found. Lucen was the first one to get his bearings back after seeing the orichalium.

”So why are you showing us this?” Lucen asked.

”This is part of what I need to do before I can help you build your so-called train.”

”What exactly do you want us to do?”

Durik tapped the chunk of orichalium with a thick finger. The hum deepened slightly, as if responding to the contact.

”I need help mining it. I found that there’s an orichalium vein in those mines. Unfortunately, with me alone doing the job, it would take some time to mine it all. As you know, the properties of orichalium make it difficult to mine.”

”You also can’t ask the people in town for help, since if other people know about the orichalium mines, it would gather some unwanted attention to this town. Even with the Iron Duke’s protection, it won’t be enough.”

”There’s that as well, and another thing.”

”Another thing?” Lucen tilted his head, a little confused.

”The closer I get to the vein, the more monsters I find. There were a lot of Stone mites. Insect-like monsters that feed on metals and other ores.”

Durik’s expression darkened as he spoke, the earlier excitement giving way to something heavier.

”At first, they were just a nuisance,” he continued. ”Stone mites skittering along the walls, chewing through support beams, dulling tools faster than they should. Annoying, but nothing a dwarf can’t handle.”

He paused, tapping the orichalium again. The hum answered him, deeper this time, almost like a distant pulse.

”But the deeper I dug, the worse it got.”

Bram frowned as he asked. ”Worse how?”

Durik let out a low grunt.

”Veinleeches started showing up. Nasty little things. They cling to the rock and suck out mana like ticks. The mana lamps I placed would suddenly go dark, and I would find a few stuck to my body, draining me of my own mana. If I were a human, that would have been the end of me, but as a dwarf, even in the darkness, I could find my way back and kill the nasty suckers.”

Sir Thalos’s hand rested on the pommel of his sword, his posture subtly shifting. ”I guess even for a dwarf, those kinds of monsters will slow down your progress.”

”Aye, which is why I need your help, not in mining, I can do that myself, but in dealing with those monsters that pester me. I don’t know what other monsters could be down there. In dwarven mines, there would be a few more types, any of which would be more troublesome than the last. If I need to deal with every one of those, it would take a long time to finish, delaying my time to help you.”

The dwarf looked at Lucen and, while tapping on the orichalium on the table, continued to speak.

”Help me so that I can help you. Of course, I won’t let you do this completely for free, I will give you around five percent of the orichalium found.”

To a dwarf, that offer was already amazing, since there is now no dwarf that would share the ore he himself found. Lucen stared at Durik’s eyes and then shook his head.

”Not good enough, how about we help you with this, you give us five percent of orichalium, and you help me make my train for free. Plus, I want you to work for me in creating many more wonders like the train.”

Durik froze, the rhythmic tapping of his finger against the orichalium stopped, and for a moment, the only sound in the forge was the faint hum of the ore itself.

Then he burst out laughing.

”Ha! Hahaha!” The dwarf slapped his knee, beard shaking as he laughed. ”You humans really are greedy creatures.”

Durik’s laughter slowly died down. He straightened, eyes sharp now, no trace of humor left in them.

”Five percent of orichalium is already more than most dwarves would ever give,” Durik said. ”And now you want my skills for free? For more than one project, no less.”

”I didn’t say the other projects would be free, I just meant making the train would be free,” Lucen spoke with a straight face, his voice filled with confidence.

”Not only that, I plan to make many wondrous things. If you join me, you’ll be the dwarf who helped shape the future. You would be the one who personally forges that future with your own hands.”

Durik stared at Lucen for a long moment. The forge felt hotter, or perhaps it was just the tension.

The hum of the orichalium seemed to grow more pronounced, filling the silence between them.

”Forge the future,” Durik repeated slowly, tasting the words as if they were some kind of new mineral. ”Big words for a human lad. Still, I do like your words. Humans do seem to have a silvertongue, but what you’re saying is quite different from the promises those other humans gave.”

He crossed his arms, thick muscles bunching beneath soot-stained sleeves. ”Most humans I’ve met talk about giving me gold, granting me titles, and quite a few offered me power.”

Durik then shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. ”What use to me are titles given by humans, as for power, I don’t really find that attractive. Gold? It’s not even good enough to use as materials in my smithing. The only reason I need gold is to buy drinks.”

Durik touched his beard a few times before he continued speaking. ”Which is why your offer is the most enticing to me. It would seem that you have a bit of understanding about what a dwarf is, human lad.”

”So is that a deal?” Lucen asked.

Durik did not respond immediately as he kept on rubbing his beard with one hand and closed his eyes, deep in thought.

Robert, who was the most excited to meet the dwarf Durik and had many questions, was silent at this point. Even he knew that this was not the time to do such things.

Especially since he knew that if Lucen was able to get this deal made, that would mean more time to spend with Durik, meaning he could ask as many questions as he liked without needing to worry about Durik leaving.

After what seemed to be several minutes of silence, Durik opened his eyes and spoke.

”Hmph, very well, I agree to give you five percent of the orichalium vein. I will also make your train without charge. As for working for you... I can work with you, but never for you. I will get paid, and you will give me my own forge. I might also bring a few other dwarves in a similar situation as I to work, you need to pay them as well.”

Lucen listened to every demand Durik made and did not find anything wrong with such demands; in fact, Lucen expected much more aggressive demands.

”Finally, you’d better be sure to show me a wondrous future filled with such interesting things like that train of yours. So do we have a deal?” Durik spat on his hand and extended it forward for a handshake.

Lucen did not hesitate and spat on his hand as well. He then grabbed hold of Durik’s hand with a tight grasp and shook it.

”Deal.” The two looked at each other with wide grins on their faces.