The Dwarf’s Workshop (1)

Dwarves.

Inner Lunatic is a fantasy world, and as such, it is home to many different races.

Among them, there are a few major players with unique characteristics.

One such group is the dwarves, who are known for their nocturnal behavior, and it's not hard to find information about them in Inner Lunatic.

'They are nervous, have a high heat tolerance, and love ... crafting items and money.'

While these are typical fantasy game dwarf traits, Inner Lunatic's dwarves have one thing that sets them apart from other games.

The dwarves have an extreme aversion to being called by their race name.

'To make matters worse, the game keeps calling them Dwarf 1, Dwarf 2, and so on, as if to tease them. They're the easiest race to tease and the most rewarding. That's the dwarves of the Inner Lunatic.'

So I was really looking forward to meeting them.

I wanted to see with my own eyes whether they actually reacted that way or not.

And here we are.

"I wonder if the other races hate us dwarves that much? When they see us, they call us 'Mr. Big Moustache' or just plain old dwarves."

'Absolutely!'

I heard Arsson mutter, confirming that at least my knowledge of the game wasn't wrong.

I feel more at ease now.

Relief floods through me, realizing that my gaming knowledge is still relevant in this world.

These are the Dwarves I remember, after all.

"Arson, how many other nobles from the Academy have been in this workshop besides me?"

"No, so. Arson, not a dwarf… Eh? What did you say now?"

"You told me not to call you a dwarf, so I did. Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, please don't make me go back to square one…!"

At Arson's plight, Zitri nodded with pride.

"Our master is a man of common sense."

"Haha! I suppose so, noble, we've had a few visitors… but you're the second one to bring any materials."

"Second?

I felt a twinge of annoyance, but I managed to ignore it.

First, I had to make sure he was the Arson I knew. First, I pulled up Arson's status window.

__________________

[Basic Info]

Name: Arson

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Race: Dwarf

Primary Element: Earth

Achievements: [Savvy member of the dwarven royal family]

[Traits]

Positives: [Artifactmaking genius] / [Dexterity genius (corrected by 1 level due to the Dwarven King's blessing)] / [Positive] / [Obsessed].

Neutral: [Speedy Stance Change] / [Simple]

Negative: [Weak] / [Inferiority complex] / [Entitled] / [Overwhelmed] / [Forgetful]

[Stats]

Physique: 14

MP: 2

Luck: 9

Willpower : 14

Charm: 6

[Skills].

Passive Skills: [Blessing of the Dwarf King].

Active Skills: [Hammer Swing] / [Blunt Strike]

__________________

His skills were evident.

First of all, he had two genius traits.

While this is possible for a production worker, it doesn't make sense in the first place. It was possible because he was a special case.

Since he is a direct descendant of the Dwarven King, he was blessed with a blessing that elevated his [Dexterity] to genius. As such, he is in many ways a unit I must capture.

'I'll do whatever it takes.'

I stare at him, trying to hide my greed.

Not knowing why, Arson continued, as if he was excited.

"Haha, I guess being a noble isn't all bad after all, so… what did you say your clan was?"

"Reinhafer."

Stagger.

(uttug.)

Suddenly, Arson's stride stopped.

Why?

Nothing else.

'Once upon a time, a dwarven king emerged from his crypt to wage war against them. Naturally, it was a disaster, and... the man who defeated them the most was my father. Theo von Reinhafer.'

Thus, the name of House Reinhafer is one that dwarves have come to fear.

They may be proud, but history proves their defeats, and the Arson before me is one of their own.

That's a story for another day.

At this point, one might ask: Is this a fantasy world?

In a fantasy world, aren't dwarves supposed to be pretty strong, as long as they're good at making equipment? You might ask.

But this is a conventional wisdom that sadly doesn't hold true in Inner Lunatic.

'Sure, dwarves are good at making weapons, but they didn't have this technology back then. Nor did they have the innate strength to hunt down demons.

There's a reason why they were so unskilled in warfare, and why they were bound to lose.

"Something must be wrong."

I said calmly, as if I didn't care.

Only then did Arson wake up and lead me to the workshop waiting room. I'm sure I'm mistaken when I notice a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead trickle down his back. I didn't do anything to deserve this.

'This is ... golden opportunity.'

I finished mentally calculating the profit and loss and sat down at the table.

I plopped my butt down on the couch and crossed my legs, thanking Theo from the bottom of my heart.

Arson sits down across from me, eyeing me warily.

"I… I was wondering what equipment you need...?"

"Why the sudden change in tone?"

"It's how I usually talk. Haha...."

"Zitri. Dwarves seem to change their speech frequently. Make a note of that."

"Yes. Understood."

Zitri, not knowing the background context, diligently takes notes on my story. Arson looks like he wants to say something.

After a while, he gives up.

'Okay. This is the perfect opportunity to rip someone off.'

Seeing the change in his demeanor, I put one arm across the back of the couch. Then I glanced at Zitri, who sat next to me.

Then, as if waiting for me, she handed me a dossier.

Technically, it was a parchment notebook, but whatever.

"I want to make armor like this."

"This… is certainly interesting."

Looking at the unfamiliar object with the drawings on it, Arson finally seemed to relax a bit.

His polite tone remained the same all the while, but....

Dwarves are dwarves after all.

"Two griffin hearts, three feathers, a stone golem that only lives in the eastern part of the Chasers, and the core of an iron golem… Even I've never thought of something like this...! Isn't this… too extravagant?! If it doesn't work, no, no… I think it will work...."

His tone became more and more agitated, but soon returned to normal. I decided not to pay much attention to him, as he was always this boisterous....

I watched Arson's expression as he pored over the drawings. My eyes meet his as he fidgets with his hands at one point and looks up.

A small sigh escapes his lips.

"Heh… I have to admit, it's a brilliant idea. You've used two griffin hearts to bring the 'wind power' to the extreme, you've used feathers for swift movement, and you've balanced it out perfectly with the golem's core. It's not something even the most intelligent dwarves would have thought of."

"I see."

"It is. No Dwarf can deny that it's difficult for a normal person to get the balance right…!"

'...I honestly don't know what he's talking about. I'm glad he seems to think it's a good idea, but I still don't understand....'

In fact, this production method was discovered by accident as a result of a luxurious grinding (?) of various things as a deceased person. {TN: Basically author is saying haven't we all spent way too many hours grinding for a roll that's maybe 5% better}

The manufactured armor. It probably has such great performance that even the dwarves in front of it will be embarrassed, and at least it can be used until the beginning and middle of the story.

Beyond the midpoint, you have to tackle more advanced demonic materials, so it's still too early to get it.

'Demons that are resurrected from a corrupted Spirit Stone don't even give you materials in the first place… Proof of that is the last time you captured an Archduke Paimon, I got nothing and almost lost my life.'

It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I had to keep it from being a game over, and I've since recovered most of the vitality I lost, it's no big deal.

In many ways, things aren't so bad now.

First and foremost, with this armor, I'll be able to get my hidden stat Agility to its full 10, which will once again extend the duration of my genius.

Perhaps, I'll be able to get it right up to 10 minutes. Probably.

Arson exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, then, if you have the materials right now, I'll start crafting this artifact…!"

"Wait."

It was then.

Somewhere along the line, my crisis sensors turned on.

My gaze immediately follows the direction of the voice.

Just as expected.

There was a familiar face there.

Auburn hair and distinctive blue eyes.

And standing there with her arms crossed, a sour expression on her face.

A girl with colorful jewelry.

An unnerving name popped out of my mouth like a spinal cord reflex.

"…Eleanor."

"This transaction is null and void, because we at the top of Rivalin requested this 'Dwarf 1' first."

"...?"

I looked at Arson with an unintelligible expression.

Then, as if suddenly remembering, his expression stiffened. This asshole... was lying about dwarves having brains after all.

'I shouldn't have believed him in the first place, but... damn it.'

He ran a hand through his hair as if he couldn't help it and said in an annoyed tone.

"I'll wait for the second order, then, how many days?"

"Well, that's the thing...."

"I'm sorry, but we at the top of Rivalin have placed a large order for equipment from this 'Dwarf 1', so I'd say a month or so, and then you should be able to have it made, right?"

"Ha, but I want to make this thing first…."

As Arson muttered, Eleanor moved her hands from her arms to her waist.

Then, in a slightly murderous tone, she continued.

"Haven't you already written a contract?"

Murderous.

It's a new feeling, but as a trader, Eleanor is scary.

In the original, she would never have moved so quickly to establish contact with the dwarves, but she's so quick on her feet.

This is probably....

'It must be the butterfly effect of my intervention in the case.

It's a big deal, by the way.

Unless you're Arson, who has both [Artifactmaking Genius] and [Dexterity Genius], you can't make this equipment in the first place.

What am I supposed to do with this?

"Apparently, Nox, you also want this dwarf to craft items, don't you?"

That hit the nail on the head.

Eleanor wanted this guy in the first place. She assigned Arson to make artifacts because she had a special eye for those with genius talent.

Why didn't I tell you before.

She is extremely generous with her golden talents.

Except for one, Nox.

I need this....

I sigh inwardly.

I can't lie in front of Eleanor, so there's no way I can fake it.

I decide to go out with a bang.

"Well?"

"Let's have a constructive discussion."

"Discussion?"

"Is that so. On the condition that you sell us the monster materials that the 'Nox Merchant' has secured in large quantities, I will amend the contract so that you can make equipment first." {1}

'Oh là là'

I exclaimed inwardly.

'Apparently, Eleanor doesn't have all the materials yet, and she's running up a blank check. Until she does, she'll refuse to accept requests from others to craft, but we'll pay her more money.'

It didn't make sense from the start.

In the early to mid-game, almost all of the materials for beasts are derived from Chasers. How could she possibly have that many gear crafting requests when I was dominating that region?

She never had any to begin with.

Besides....

I said, crossing my legs again.

"I see why you called me earlier."

"You knew, and you didn't answer on purpose…!"

I shrugged off Eleanor's voice.

It had been a long time coming, and the time had finally come for my old trick of negotiating.

"Sit down, this is going to be a long story, and so are you, Arson."

With that, Zitri stood, looking from one side to the other, quickly assessing the situation.

Eleanor looked puzzled, and could only utter.

"You… memorized all of the dwarves' names?"

Arson's crumpled expression was a sight to behold.

It's details like this that make Inner Lunatic so appealing. I stifled a gasp of laughter at the thought.

{1} : Totally don't remeber the name Nox came up with Grine for their merchant as they were leaving the Chasers for the first time.