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Chapter 57 – A Wild Dwarf Appeared!

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Author: Firehead Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: TpstT English Source: Two More Free Thoughts
Editor(s): Vecna

We explored Blutgang while we waited for Dina and Libra to return. If I had to sum up my impression of the location in one word, it would have to be “magnificent”.

Although it was an artificial land which was created inside the giant golem, as long as one did not stare at the ceiling for too long, it was very possible that they would start to forget that they were inside a golem.

No, let me say it frankly. It was scary.

I did not think that they had already evolved from living in caves to this point.

Notwithstanding that inside of the city gave off an olden feeling, to have such a city inside the limited space like this reminded me of the robot anime I watched in the past which showcased a space colony.

In this world, it seemed the race that was closest to the modern age and most fantasy-like were the dwarves.

If they were given a few hundred more years, it was very possible that there would not be much difference between the inside of Blutgang and the modern age.

I assumed there would soon be things like traffic lights and cars in this world.

Ah, if I was to talk about cars, I suppose there was already one that existed in this world; the Tanaka that I had created.

Whilst I was thinking along those lines and loitering around the city, I noticed that there were multiple footsteps that were heading towards our location.

I guessed the distance to be approximately…. 300m. Although I was not at the level of Libra, my hearing was still quite good.

Compared to a human, the strides were smaller and felt almost dull or barefooted. There would be no mistake to assume that all of the footsteps belonged to dwarves.

In support of that assumption, what appeared from the corner of the intersection, turning towards us were around five dwarves that was wearing workers’ clothes.

……Rather than dwarves, with the way they looked, they were just a couple of uncles from the construction or warehouse facilities.

I felt the stereotypical image of dwarves that donned armours inside of my head collapse.

“Ohhh, she’s here!”

“Is there no mistake it’s that charming young lady?”

“Yeah, there’s no mistake! It’s not every day you get to see a beauty like that, I’m not going to make a mistake!”

Come read for free at the original source two more free thoughts

Seeing the change in the expression of the dwarf platoon that started heading towards me, my vigilance amped up a gear.

From the conversation that I overheard, it was clear they were searching for me. Furthermore, they even stated that there would be no mistake based on my appearance.

…. This was… not looking too good?

Using the disguise I was gifted by Megrez I currently had my wings hidden. Additionally, I had also changed the hairstyle and was wearing glasses.

Notwithstanding, the face itself was not hidden and the appearance of Ruphas was extremely eye-catching.

Thinking that the lifespan of the dwarves was short and that there was no photographs in this world, I had assumed that there would be no dwarf that would know how I looked like… but it seemed I had made a blunder. With this level of technology, it would not be strange that there was something that resembled a camera.

Since I did not like wearing that full-body bondage play disguise, I came out wearing the current disguise, but it seemed I was too careless.

….Oh well, whatever. It was just a simple mistake that would be easily corrected with my battle prowess.

I lightly loosened my knuckle joints and used the [Observing Eyes] on the dwarves to check their level.

Their prowess equalled to those of level 20 to 40. If it was me, I could literally knock them all out in a blink of an eye.

By deliberating my consciousness to enter into a battle, I was able to slow down the sense of time, turning the movement of dwarves into slow motion.

And by further concentrating my consciousness to put myself in a state ready for battle, it was possible for me to fight, react and attack in the smallest gap in a time frame that could practically be considered an instant… that was what I had noticed from the recent battle with the Demon King.

In all likelihood, I would be able to knock them out before they could even become aware of anything. There was simply that much difference in our specs.

If they were to show even a slightest intention to attack – I will take them down.

“Wa, wait, please, Ruphas-sama! I can’t feel any hostility from those people!”

However, Virgo pulled my consciousness back from a state that was in full combat mode.

Her words caused my mind to rapidly cool down, returning my perception of time to that of an ordinary state.

Shortly thereafter, the group of dwarves arrived in front of me with an all too obvious smile that contained not a single speck of hostility.

“Yo, I was looking for you. You were that chick that came in a box-like golem made out of steel, right? Look, it’s me. I’m the one that accepted your golem at the entrance.”

“……eh? Ahhhhhhh….. Apologies, I can’t distinguish your face.”

The middle-aged dwarf pointed at himself and said as such, however, putting things bluntly, I could not distinguish the dwarves apart at all.

Well, if I were to look at things properly, I could sort of see that there were some differences between each of their faces.

But these five…. Or rather, were all the dwarf men like this? All the distinguishing parts of the face were overlapping with each others.

Thick eyebrows, big nose and a needlessly long beard. Additionally, they all had stern facial expressions.

As if I would know. Even worse, they were all wearing the same coloured workers’ clothes.

At the very least, change the colour! If Ma__o and Lu__gi wore the same coloured clothing, it would be hard to distinguish them.

“Tsk, this is why the outsiders are…! Hey, look carefully! I’m clearly the most handsome one in the bunch!”

“What are you talking about!? You just look like a grandpa!”

“That’s right, that’s right. I’m the handsome one!”

…… I can’t tell them apart at all………

They might have been able to tell each other apart, however, from my perspective, all I saw were five identical individuals causing a ruckus.

If they had shaved their beards, I would at least have been able to clearly see their facial features properly.

“Ahh–, you know, how do I put it? I suppose I’ll at least listen to what you have to say.”

“Ohh, that’s right, I forgot. The golem you came riding in, that thing was really magnificent! A small mobile golem that carries people are already being put to use in this Blutgang, but it’s the first time I’ve seen something perfected to that degree! Not to mention, the interior had been turned into a dwelling space, it’s perfect for a long journey! That thing’s an innovation! Can you tell me who it was that build it and where they’re at?”

It seemed these guys neither had noticed my real identity nor had any hostility towards me.

Their craftsman soul was simply lit on fire after seeing Tanaka and so they came to find me.

Well, this was embarrassing. I wanted to smack myself in the head for the way I was thinking just a moment ago.

‘If they were to show even a slightest intention to attack – I will take them down. Awkward!’

It was fortunate that I did not say that out loud. If I had done so, it definitely would have become a dark spot in my history.

I was really glad Virgo had stopped me.

…. Or more like, what was this? I was being so aggressive without even thinking about it.

For some reason, the way I was thinking recently had become quite dangerous.

“Ahh, if it’s that thing, I made it. But was that really something to be surprised about? If you’re talking about a passenger golem that you can board into, there’s already a super high-class one called Blutgang?”

“Well, of course, Blutgang is the pinnacle of alchemy. It’s impossible there’ll be something better than this. But Blutgang is an ultimate creation of the Smith King. It’s not something that we can imitate. There’s just simply no comparison. On the other hand, if it’s that thing that you came riding on, if we try and understand the mechanics behind how it was built, even we can mass-produce it. That’s why I called it innovation.”

To my question, the middle-aged dwarf answered proudly.

There was no mistake that in the boarding type golems, Blutgang was of a highest-class golem.

The height of 300m and length of 1100m, a supreme non-standard sized creation. Furthermore, you could board tens of thousands, or even a few hundred thousand people if you wanted to push it.

Without a doubt, it was a golem without comparison. One would not have to hesitate in calling it the world’s greatest invention.

However, if one were to ask if you could mass produce that, the answer would be “No”.

Some weird structure which made absolutely no sense could only be made because it was Mizar. Let along the current generation’s dwarves, even I would not be able to replicate it.

Whereas, if it was Tanaka, as long as one understood the framework, it could be easily reproduced. At the very least, it would be so for the alchemists.

Needless to say, there were boarding type golems that existed in this world. Nevertheless, Tanaka was modelled after a modern car, thus the interior comfort and stability were completely different.

In all likelihood, the self-driving golems in this world were comparable to a self-moving horse-drawn carts without the horse.

“So here’s an idea, what don’t you let us inspect that thing a little? We’ll pay you handsomely and once it starts being mass produced, we don’t mind putting your name as the inventor. In Blutgang, there’s this thing called “patent”. Unlike the other countries, the initial inventor properly gets their respect and money associated with the product. We’ll need permission to copy it and when it is copied, the initial inventor gets the appropriate amount of money. So how about it? It’s not such a bad deal, right?”

“Hmmmmmmmmmm…………”

Come read for free at the original source two more free thoughts

I pondered a little about the middle-aged dwarf’s suggestion.

There was nothing inside Tanaka that I would be troubled with if it was reproduced.

However, if it was a real car, it would be overloaded with things like fuel and engine which would be too much advanced technology for this world. However, Tanaka was only a golem with an appearance of a car.

Notwithstanding that it was fitted with things like rubber tyres and suspensions, if you considered the technical skills of the dwarves, it was not a technology that was greatly advanced.

There were no items that would trouble me if it was inspected and even in the worst case scenario where they decide to dismantle Tanaka into pieces, I could put it back to the current state.

Furthermore, if the skills of the dwarves could improve with this, it was favourable to the humanoids.

I suppose… it’s not such a bad idea?

“Well yeah… I don’t mind. Inspect it however you wish. But, you wouldn’t mind if I was also at the location, would you?”

“Of course not, why would I? If you, the creator of that thing would be there with us, I couldn’t be more pleased.”

For now, I decided to ask so that I could also be there at the location.

Although I stated that it was possible for me to restore Tanaka if it was dismantled, it was a possibility that it would be dismantled to such small pieces that it was practically impossible to restore it to the original condition.

For such a situation, it was probably better if I was at the scene so that I could stop them when required.

But above all else, I wanted to see the technical skills of the current generation dwarves.

“Alright, now that it’s decided, let’s go.”

I was led by the five middle-aged dwarves and had to backtrack all the way to the entrance of Blutgang.

When that happened, Aries and the others followed me as a matter of course, thus we looked like an odd group as the nine of us were walking in line. Nevertheless, it seemed no one paid attention.

We passed through the gate that we had initially come in and returned back to the docking lot.

“Ohhh that’s right, I forgot. We haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name’s Howell.”[5]

“I’m Kurta.”

“Yea, I’m Geversite.”

“It’s Kullerudite, nice meeting you.”

“I’m called Gersdorff.”

Ok, I’ve clearly understood that these guys had no intention of wanting me to remember their names.

As if I could remember your names if you all introduce yourselves one after another with the same appearances.

Anyways, I guess it’s fine if I just remembered Howell who had first started talking to me and called the rest as Dwarf B – E.

Well, I could not even remember which one was B and which one was C though.

“Ahh, yeah, anyways, Howell… was it? If it’s fine with you, can you sell me materials that you can only obtain in this country?”

“I’m Gersdorff. Howell is on the other side.”

“………….”

Damn it, maybe I should just paint their beards right now….

Every one of these guys has black beards. At least have variation in colour.

Graphic designers, are you being stingy with your resource and using the same graphics over and over? – That was the tsukkomi that I wanted to make.

Or rather, even the designs of the recycled villagers at least came with a variety in colour.

Come read for free at the original source two more free thoughts

“Ahh–, anyway Howell, listen.”

“I’m Geversite. Howell is this guy right next to me.”

“It’s me.”

“I really don’t care which one you are. I’ll appreciate it if you just consider what I just said.”

Previously, I had already explained that the basis of the alchemy was to transmute one material into another.

For example, transmuting rocks into steel, then creating a golem using that steel which was transmuted.

Back in the game, there were a finite and set number of combinations and paths the players could take. Furthermore, the numbers and types were also predetermined.

But it was now different. If I felt like it, I could now transmute any form of alloy or steel.

Additionally, the current location was the place most favourable to the alchemists, the country of dwarves. It was highly improbable that there were no new materials made available by them.

As such, it was possible that I will be able to see super materials that I would not even be able to find back on Earth.

That was what I was hoping for.

“Materials exclusive to this country… hmm, I’ll gather them and bring them all later on.”

“I’ll appreciate it.”

Howell’s (… this guy was Howell, right?) joyful answer caused my lips to curl up a little.

In practice, because Tanaka was created out of cheap materials, I thought I would try and upgrade it using proper materials.

Although there were raw materials back in the tower, those would be considered rare materials by the current Midgard’s standard.

Starting from the epic grade orichalcum, adamantine, Damascus, mithril and apoitakara.

They were each extremely powerful as a material, however, because they were all rare and limited in availability, I was hesitant in using them incessantly.

I did not know exactly what I would have to deal with in the future. Notwithstanding, I knew that I should at least have to deal with the Demon King-san and the Goddess, thus I had a hunch that I would be forced to create strong golems.

If at that time, there were not enough material because I had used them up to upgrade Takana which was nothing more than a transportation device, it would be ludicrous.

As such, the material used to upgrade Tanaka into a jet was wootz steel (Damascus steel).
Notwithstanding that it was a fairly strong metal, it was not a very rare material back in the game.

It was a material with a fairly high maximum level that the players could obtain cheaply. As a consequence, it was a perfect material in mass-producing fairly strong golems.

Anyways, I thought that I would observe the dwarves researching Tanaka for a little while.

They were looking overly enthusiastic about the research that they were about to conduct, thus I was worried that they would go too far if I did not stop them halfway.



 

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