Chapter 23 : Elves, Dwarves, and Debts

“Ex-exclusives! Jackpot! Guild Master! I hit the jackpot…!”

“That bastard should be thrown in prison.”

“Right! Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please, just take a look! I swear I won’t call him Guild Master again… aaagh!!!”

He realized his mistake too late, but the guards were already dragging him away.

“Huff…”

The one who had given that order was none other than Crowing, who was destined to become the ‘First King among Players.’

He was the King of the Bear Kingdom.

“But what exactly was that guy trying to say?”

“Wait a moment…”

The Deputy Guild Master exchanged a few words with the dragged guild member and then widened his eyes.

“He said he discovered something suspicious.”

At that moment, all of Crowing’s attention was fixed on his ambition to become the ‘First King.’

What the guild member was trying to say was related to that.

“You know how Elves are gathering all over the Terras Continent, right?”

“That’s connected?”

“Apparently, a Player is at the center of it. Someone who was called ‘Luxi Royalty’…”

“…What? Royalty?”

Though that was just a nickname the old guild members slapped on, by the time it reached Crowing, the truth had already faded away.

“Post wanted posters all over the guild, and put bounties outside too. Pay out gold coins every time someone kills him. If someone captures him alive, give 100 times the bounty!!!”

There was no need to watch the surroundings.

The Bear Kingdom Guild’s style with Players had been consistent from the start until now.

***

Jaeho had grown stronger.

Not just in reputation, but genuinely stronger.

All thanks to the Elves’ special training!

[Lv.82 Alicia]

[Spiritization Medal (Heir Apparent Rank)]

[Strength: 275]

[Intelligence: 68]

[Agility: 180]

[Stamina: 205]

[Mana: 146]

His level had exploded upward.

Still, fighting Monsters was no easy feat.

“I need a weapon…”

No matter how much his level rose, hunting bare-handed had its limits.

“I should get some kind of weapon like gloves or something.”

After a few such thoughts, Jaeho finally entered his first major city.

[Rasel Kingdom]

The largest country on the Terras Continent.

There stood the Red Mage Tower Jaeho had been searching for.

The fortress—

As he entered the castle, Jaeho heard people whispering nearby.

“What? Elves? I heard Elves have been gathering on the Terras Continent recently…”

“But isn’t the Rasel Kingdom in a completely different direction? I’ve never seen an Elf here before.”

According to New World’s continental standards, the Terras Continent lay to the southeast.

Even there, the Rasel Kingdom was located at the very edge.

The Elf Great Migration had caused a huge stir and spread rumors, but due to geographic conditions, people rarely saw Elves here.

“That’s strange. They really look like Elves.”

“Because they really are Elves!”

“The rumors say Elves don’t pick fights lightly. They’re supposed to be very high-level.”

“Well, still, are they stronger than the kingdom’s knights?”

The Players’ chatter was overheard by Jaeho, but the Elves held back patiently.

“At least they’re not stupid enough to pick fights anywhere.”

Jaeho felt relieved.

He had been worried the Elves might treat people like they did in the Hell Desert (a term Jaeho was completely unaware of).

“Well, I’m going to the blacksmith. What about you guys?”

“We’ll come with you.”

“Coincidentally, we need our weapons repaired too.”

Jaeho willingly accompanied the bold Elves to the nearest blacksmith.

***

The Rasel Kingdom had many blacksmiths in proportion to its size.

Each blacksmith had their own specialties, and Players usually chose their regular shops accordingly.

If a blacksmith didn’t have a steady clientele, their skill was often questioned.

Unfortunately, the place Jaeho chose was the smallest and quietest blacksmith in Rasel.

“Excuse me.”

He entered expecting a burst of heat, but instead felt only an eerie chill unbefitting a blacksmith’s forge.

There was only one person inside, asleep on an anvil just his size.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, the Elves suddenly grimaced.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Why don’t you try going to a different blacksmith?”

“Doesn’t this place look like it’s not really operating?”

A blacksmith without a fire—what else could that mean?

“Y-yeah! Maybe try somewhere else!”

The Elves rushed out one after another.

“…What’s with them?”

Jaeho was about to leave when—

“Ugh! Smells like disgusting bastards from somewhere!”

The sleeping blacksmith suddenly shouted and bolted upright.

“Uh?”

The dwarfed man’s fierce glare reached up to Jaeho’s thigh.

“Dwarf smith!”

“Ugh, you human!”

The dwarf smith was so startled at seeing Jaeho that he tumbled off the anvil.

“Get lost, you demon bastard!!”

He had heard plenty about monsters, but “demon” was fresh.

“I’m human.”

“Ha! The biggest liars are demons!!!”

“People lie better than demons, though?”

Jaeho glanced nervously toward the entrance, lowering his voice in case the Elves overheard.

“And Elves lie pretty well too.”

If they called brutal killing techniques ‘self-defense,’ then…

Surprisingly, Jaeho’s Elf-bashing had an unexpected effect.

[Your Elf-downgrading opponent is impressed.]

“Hmm… you seem to know your stuff. No, wait, even a demon could say something like that.”

Muttering to himself, the smith finally looked Jaeho in the eye.

“Looking closer, no horns, no fangs… actually, you look kind of like an Elf. What the heck?”

“I’m human.”

“Surprising… you don’t seem human at all.”

After clearing up the misunderstanding, Jaeho turned back.

“Well, I’m off then.”

“Wait! Why did you come here? Didn’t you want to request some work?”

“Isn’t this place closed anyway?”

“Why not! I want to work here!”

“Sounds like a terrible place for business.”

Jaeho didn’t want to entrust crafting in such an unstable place.

“Hey! I’m a Dwarf! A descendant of the blacksmith god and fire god! That’s what the Dwarf clan is all about!”

He walked to the forge and took something out of his pocket, throwing it in.

Fwoosh!

Flames burst out fiercely from the forge.

“?!”

“Don’t think I’m just like any ordinary blacksmith.”

Crossing his arms proudly, he said.

“So what do you want made? Weapons? Armor?”

“Weapons… like gloves or claws.”

“Hmm.”

Suddenly, he grabbed Jaeho’s hand and started poking it repeatedly.

“Hoo—this is…”

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Jaeho pulled his hand back, unnerved by the smith’s bizarre behavior.

“Truly… this is the fist of a born fighter! Even among the smiths of my hometown, I’ve never seen such a refined fist!”

The smith reached out again as if hypnotized.

“J-just once more…! Just one more touch!”

“Are you crazy?!”

***

After things calmed down somewhat, Jaeho and the smith sat across from each other at a small table.

“Definitely not hands for spears or swords. Even less for bows. More like… a butcher’s.”

“Alright, cut to the chase.”

Jaeho interrupted.

“So, can you do it or not? Just say it clearly.”

“As expected… you have a furnace-like temperament.”

The smith only gave vague praise or criticism, nodding to himself.

“Seeing you reminds me of my youth. Back then, I was a monster who could make others piss their pants just by looking at them.”

His face darkened as he spoke.

“But I’m not like that anymore. I’ve lost all confidence… they even stole the anvil passed down through my family for generations.”

[* Side Quest *]

[Rasel Kingdom’s smith Vulca is a member of the Royal Blacksmith Family.]

[But he pawned the family anvil to fund his gambling debts and has yet to recover it.]

[His family fell into decline and returned to the hometown; Vulca now runs a lonely blacksmith shop in the Rasel Kingdom’s outskirts.]

[He was originally an excellent smith.]

[If you help him retrieve the family anvil, he will fully support you.]

[Success Condition: Recover Vulca’s Anvil.]

[Reward: Maximize favorability with Vulca.]

“Why should I do that?”

[ <Spirit of Vitality> asks, ‘Why do this?’]

No, the fact the anvil was stolen wasn’t a lie.

“This isn’t the place.”

As Jaeho stood to leave, Vulca clung to his leg.

“Wait! Please help me! There’s no one else but you!!!”

“When did I ever see you to owe you anything?! You’re just an alcoholic gambler!!”

“No! I’ve completely come to my senses! I make money and pay off gambling debts! But without that anvil, I can’t make money…”

“What nonsense? You’re contradicting yourself!”

At that moment, the Elves waiting outside re-entered because Jaeho hadn’t come out yet.

“Alicia! What’s going on?! This disgusting dwarf!”

They saw Vulca attempting to tear Jaeho’s pants!

Without hesitation, the Elves charged and beat Vulca, separating him from Jaeho.

“Are you okay, sir?”

“How dare you attack Alicia!”

“What crazy nonsense is this?”

Jaeho shouted, startled.

But the misunderstanding was clear.

“Damn, these are real Elves!!! Ugh!”

Vulca gagged.

“Let’s get out of here now!”

Jaeho tried to escape the blacksmith shop, but the situation was increasingly tangled.

“Hey—when are you gonna pay back the money you borrowed from me, dwarf?!”

Bam—!!!

A group of thugs kicked the door down.

“If no money, then sell the building… hmm?”

They were flustered at the sight of the crowded blacksmith.

“Huh? El-Elf?”

It was rare enough to see Elves in the Rasel Kingdom, but seeing them alongside a Dwarf was even more shocking.

The two races were instinctively hostile and known to make each other sick just by eye contact.

“What? You and that dwarf know each other?”

But the thugs had one thing in common: they looked like they were ready to ruin everything.

Fearless, with no regard for race or species—this was the baseline behavior of thugs.

“R-Red Balloon!!!”

Vulca, who had been sulking near the forge, glared fiercely.

“You’re not going to ruin this, right?! I came looking for it just yesterday!!”

Jaeho’s eyes were full of sympathy watching Vulca.

“So you say you’ve come to your senses, but you went to the gambling den again yesterday, huh?”

“W-well, that’s unavoidable! This blacksmith shop doesn’t make money! To make money, you have to gamble. Just one big hit…”

“Alicia! Don’t listen to this crazy dwarf!”

“Right! Just go somewhere else!”

Jaeho nodded at the Elves’ suggestion.

He didn’t want any strange people hanging around his flower shop, and didn’t need a gambler dwarf making things worse.

Clack—

But no matter how careful you are, sometimes even a backward fall breaks your nose.

In this case, the voice wasn’t directed at Jaeho but at the thug blocking his path.

“Excuse me.”

The thug lightly tapped the knife hanging from his waist and said,

“Looks like you’re pretty close with Vulca here.”

“Are you gonna ignore a friend in trouble?”

Suddenly, Jaeho recalled memories from his school days.

“Bullies used to do this all the time.”

And it never ended well for them…

“Oh? You think you can fight?”

Jaeho stayed silent, and the thugs reluctantly drew their knives.

Slash—

With a strange sound, one thug’s face was slashed and distorted.

Thud—

The thug fell, blood gushing.

“How dare you draw a knife in front of Alicia! Unforgivable!!!”

The one who did it was an Elf!

And not just the first Elf who struck, but others also rolled up their sleeves.

“Uh… everyone? Wait a moment?”

Jaeho tried to hold them back, but he couldn’t stop the enraged Elves.