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  I waited in [Darkness], watching as the next [Chuu-in] leaped by, its powe?rful legs propelling it forward towards Delas and his party in the distance. For a moment, it paused to sniff on the ground and pointed its nose towards me, the old man's face leering in my direction. My heart froze for all but a moment and I thumbed my sheathed sword. But there was another scream –or battle cry– from Delas’ direction and the monster turned, losing interest in me and loping towards the battle.

  The scent of blood filled the tunnels.

  Finally letting myself breath, I looked out the [Darkness], seeing Delas’ party surrounded by over a dozen Chuu-in that roamed these caves.

  “Mister-”

  “Shhh.” I put a hand on her shoulder. I didn’t want her to make a sound just yet, or we’d all be discovered by the number of Chuu-in walking by.

  Because my party and I were all covered in my [Lingering Darkness] skill.

  The [Scent] was enough of a risk factor already. I didn’t want to risk making a sound. Instead, I waited until the last Chuu-in lured with the [Neung-uh’s Ocarina] was engaged in the fight. Of course, the screams of pain, roars of fury and the smell of blood overpowered the Chuu-in’s battle senses and they all rushed past us, not bothering to investigate further.

  Still, I made us wait another five minutes, in case of lingering Chuu-in that might bring up the rear. It was only when Stole gave me a squeeze on the hand –signaling that the last of the Chuu-in were past– that I dropped the skill.

  And we all made a dash for it.

  The Chuu-in had been close enough for us to see their faces. Faces that looked deceptively like a human, their ugly smiles permanently painted on their faces and the repulsive scent of man-beast that wafted in after them. The beasts had been within arms reach and it had been taxing on everyone. It wasn’t until that we could no longer hear the screams that Stole opened her mouth again.

  “Are we… not going to finish them off?” Stole asked.

  Christ, Stole was barely eighteen years old.

  And she just asked if we weren’t going to kill Delas and his party.

  I don't care about the fact that she hadn't thought through her actions. If Stole fired, no doubt someone from Delas' team could pinpoint our location. Worst comes to worst, one of them gets away and accuses us of massacring their entire party, right under the church's noses. All practical reasons for why we shouldn't kill Delas' team aside, I didn't want Stole to kill them.

  “No, we’re not.” I replied.

  Stole didn’t reply immediately.

  “I could.” She said simply.

  “I know.” I believed her. “My answer hasn't changed."

  Death isn’t like what they make it out on television. It’s not like it’s in the movies. Being close to it, being the one to deliver the final blow… it changes you. There’s a certain weight to death. Yes, I’ve come to terms with it, yes I’m not afraid of doing it again and again. But to impose that weight to Stole, who signed up to be an adventurer?

  Adventurers live close to death. There’s no doubt about that.

  But for just a little longer, I wanted Stole to see the Priestesses from the Church as people that she could be friends with. Or just bullies that she hated.

  Not things that could be killed with a crossbow bolt to the head.

  “I’m serious.” Stole said, breaking my train of thought. “If you want me to-”

  “It’s not that I don’t believe you.” I said softly. “I don’t think you should have to.”

  “Oh.”

  Aurora gave me a grateful look and I nodded towards her.

  It’s one thing to kill a Monster. Another thing to kill a person.

  Yeah, Stole could wait just for awhile.

  “Stole,” I called, more to change the topic and set the source for our destination. “Try to focus on the way below. Avoid monsters; try and see if you can lock-in on a dwarf or a cluster of people.”

  “I got it.” Stole replied a moment later.

  We finally stopped running.

  “Ok, from here on, let’s just follow Stole.” I said.

  This was the reason why a character with the Pioneer trait was such a cheat. They didn’t even need to have visited the place they’re looking for. Just by being able to differentiate between Monsters and People, they could find the way towards a destination through instinct alone. In the game, it showed up as a small arrow pointing in a vague direction. Of course, the downside was that unlike the Wayfinder trait, you’d be oblivious to the monsters and traps that lay in your wait.

  Except that Stole also had the [Wayfinder] trait in addition to the [Pioneer] trait.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Plus being a Beastman, her [Scent] and [Hearing] stats were already higher than the rest…

  Some people have all the luck in the world.

  With complete faith in Stole, Aurora saddled up next to her. We took our positions without discussion. Kyrian dragging Darwin next to Aurora where they’d be the safest. Then Skaris and I right behind them, ready to leap out at a moment’s notice as well as bringing up the rear which was the most vulnerable.

  Damn, if Darwin was an actual capable healer, this would be an actual Party.

  Throwing my worries aside, we descended deeper down.

  Stole sat an easy pace, her wolf-ears swiveling.

  “I’ve never met a Master Smith Dwarf before.” Kyrian whispered.

  “Well, a Mage wouldn’t really need the services of a smith.” I commented absently.

  During the low-levels, a Mage might be able to get away shopping at the local Armory. But just like Adventurers would need the services of a Smith as they got stronger, a Mage needed the services of an Artificer or Enchanter in the later levels. Technically, a Mage could become an Enchanter themselves, but it’d take up precious time to train in such an art. It wouldn’t add to your combat prowess at all.

  “Yes, but it’s always been a dream of mine to meet a Master Smith.” Kyrian answered. “After all, all the tales of the ancient Warriors have them.”

  “Your people have talessss of warriorssss?”

  Kyrian nodded. “Every child grows up with them in the Empire. It is stories of how our empire was founded after all.”

  “I would hear thesssse talessss.”

  “I’m curious too.” I admitted.

  “Oh, truly? I can’t speak to how true they are… but I can try my best. Which tale would you like to hear?”

  “Sssssomething about warriorssss.”

  “Maybe a story concerning the Master Smiths?” Perhaps there was a hint in them about the history of the Dwarves. Something that I didn’t know about yet.

  Maybe something there that could help with the quest ahead of us.

  “A story about a Master Smith…” Kyrian trailed, “Hmmm…”

  “There is that one tale about the Master Smith, who created the Four Great Weapons.” Aurora chimed in.

  “Ah, yes. There is that.” Kyrian cleared his throat and began.

  “Before the Royal Family was the Royal Family, and before the Great Houses were the Great Houses, there was a time when they were simply four comrades, looking for a place to settle down and plant their roots.” Kyrian began, “They traveled the continent, looking for a place that was not only safe from monsters, but was blessed with Fertile Soil. But no matter how long they looked, they could not find such a place. Every square inch of this continent had been claimed by monsters so strong that they could each be considered a King.”

  “Field Bosses.” I muttered, being absorbed into the story.

  “Ah, yes. We call them Field Bosses. But before the rules of adventurers and the terminology for monsters and expeditions were set by the Adventurer’s Guild which had yet to be created, there was no kingdom of men and no one to call King. The land was ruled by monsters; hence the only Kings on this barren wasteland were monsters.”

  Hm. That was interesting.

  It kind of sounded like all the people in MSS were weak back then, that no one dared to challenge a Field Boss. Either that or…

  Or the Monsters were stronger.

  Now that was a thought that would haunt me. The last thing this game needed were more horrifying monsters. Geesh.

  “Then they were approached by the Light, Flame and Shield.”

  “...in a Dream?” I asked.

  Kyrian shook his head. “No. The tale says that they met the Light, Flame and Shield. In person. In the flesh.”

  Gods? In the Flesh?

  And here I was, worried about monsters.

  “The Light, Flame and Shield led them to a land. This land belonged to an Ancient Dragon, an Ancient Dragon by the name of Terronax.”

  “Terronax?!” I blurted out.

  “...Have you heard this story before?” Kyrian asked, slightly annoyed. “Would you like to tell it, Lock?”

  Aurora sent me a faintly disproving look.

  Fuck, I knew the name Terronax. But where? Freaking MSS and their stupid artifacts with one-liner descriptions, leaving me to piece together lore from scratch. They couldn’t build a library in the game or something?

  Instead of voicing my thoughts, I said instead, “I’m sorry. Please continue, I won’t interrupt.”

  Sheesh. I knew Mages were nerds but didn’t expect Kyrian to get so sassy on me during his little presentation.

  Kyrian cleared his throat again. “But there were already others trying to slay the Dragon. Namely, the Dwarves. However, the Dawrves had been trying to kill Terronax for decades with no luck, for they had no great warrior among them. The humans on the other hands, had great warriors but no Arms strong enough to pierce the Dragon’s scales.”

  “So the Light, Flame and Shield proposed a solution to the Master Smith: to create Arms worth of the warriors that could pierce the Dragon’s scales. And the Master Smith agreed, as long as his people could be avenged –for Terronax was responsible for the death of his entire family line.”

  “The Master Smith forged four weapons. A greatsword, a pair of Daggers, a Bow and-”

  “The Lance and Shield.” Aurora whispered, ignoring Kyrian’s annoyed look.

  “And with those four weapons, the four Warriors felled Terronax, finally creating a home for themselves.”

  “A poor sssstory. Not enough blood.” Skaris blurted out.

  Kyrian raised his hands in exasperation. “You asked for it, Skaris.”

  “A poor ssstory nonethelesssss.” Skaris shot back.

  “No, it was good.” I said.

  Aurora gave me a look, as if to say ‘truly’? Being from Turina herself, it looked like Aurora herself didn’t think much of the story.

  “Though there are some things the story leaves uncovered. What happened to the Dwarves? And what was the name of this Master Smith? Don’t Dwarves take their family names pretty seriously?”

  “I… I reckon that they went home.” Kyrian answered. “And as far as I know, the story does not mention the name of the Great Smith.”

  “It i’s well that it does that mention.” Aurora chimed in. “A family like that would have much power, being able to produce arms of that magnitude. Especially if it was strong enough to kill a Named Dragon.”

  “Right. A Named Dragon.” I muttered but I didn’t buy it.

  Four adventurers killing a Named Dragon just because they got some shiny new weapons? That was impossible. The stats of a Dragon, a Grade-S boss-class monster… well, by that point you should have your own clan or have enough of an influence in one to call a Dragon Raid. Even then, every one of them should be decked out in their own Legendary Gear with optimal builds. Add in the fact that it’s named, you’d be dealing with a Grade-SS Monster at that point in all but name.

  Did Kyrian and Aurora really not see the holes in their little story? Or were they brainwashed by Turina on a level so deep that the thought never occurred to them?

  In MSS, nothing was ever just a story. They were all clues. Lores. Something to be discovered.

  This story was either telling me that there were Four Weapons that were so powerful that it was literally game-breaking or…

  ‘Or that there’s something hidden about the Founding of the Turina Empire, and that hidden something has to do with Dwarves.’

  My gamer sense was tingling.

  “Uh, if you guys are done with storytelling-time, we’re here. Is this the door, Mister?”

  Promising myself to look into this later, I turned back to the present.

  The slabs of angular rock fashioned as double-doors. A hallway chiseled into the caves, so clean that it had to have been wiped down everyday. Every inch of it smooth and even, speaking to Dwarven Architecture.

  This was it.

  Before I could even walk towards the door, there was the rumbling of rock as they slid open. A homely dwarf stood between them.

  “Doror’s waiting for ya.” The Dwarf said. He was wearing a viking’s hat, the one with horns on either side, and had orange hair and bead that hung to his chest. His overalls and gloves were both made of leather and worn with signs of use near open flame, the sure tell of a black smith. Without another word, he spun and walked into the village.

  “To think a place like this was underground…” Aurora commented. We weren’t walking in formation anymore, the sense of being so near civilization giving us that feeling of safety. She slid her hands over the walls, feeling the precise smoothing technique.

  At her voice, the Dwarf in front of us turned and fixed Aurora with a look. “Keep yer fingers to yerself, ye hear?”

  Aurora didn’t even bat an eye. “I apologize if I offended you, Master Dwarf.”

  The Dwarf just harrumphed and continued walking.

  He led us to the opening and I watched my comrades take in the sights. It was only a few days ago that I had been here but I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. A whole underground city, burning with forge fire and strewn with magical lights. Dwarves running from one end of the city to another, both the elderly and children alike. It was something straight out of a fairy tail.

  Contrary to the Dwarf’s harsh demeanor, he let us stay and take in the sights. I chalked it up to Dwarven instinct: they couldn’t help but show off their handiwork. And by all right, they had every reason too. This place was beautiful –even for me who thought I saw everything behind the Computer Screen…

  These Dwarves were something else.

  “Alright, c’mon then you lot.”

  Soon we reached Doror’s Forge.

  “This is where my job ends.” He turned and spat on the floor in our direction. “Don’t know what Old Man Doror wants with you lot. But I hope you all disappear and never come back.”

  Kyrian frowned. “Have we done something to offend you?”

  The Dwarf looked at Kyrian. “Does ye truly not know? By the forge, ye humans-”

  But it was Aurora who answered.

  “Thank you for leading us here, Sir Smith. May we know your name, so we know who to thank for leading us here?”

  He swallowed whatever insult he had been about to spit out. Finally, he said, “Futir. Futir of the Stonehammer Clan.” He started walking down the hill.

  Kyrian scowled while Skaris put a hand on the Mage’s shoulder. Skaris shook his head.

  “He was rude.” Kyrian stated.

  Skaris simply shook his head. “You musssst think of the thingssss that thesse dwarvesss sssssuffered at the handsss of your people.”

  “That was centuries ago.”

  “Dwarvesssss live long livesss.” Skaris answered back.

  Kyrian frowned.

  But he didn’t answer.

  Sighing, I turned to Doror’s Worshop. In there, the Master Smith was waiting for us. And only the gods knew what quest he was holding on to.

  “C’mon then you lot.” I said, imitating Futir who just left. “Let’s see exactly how much the Dwarves hate the humans.”