CHAPTER 21
The fortunate thing was that he remained conscious; he was simply exhausted after exerting the entirety of his mana during the intense struggle.
After allowing himself a brief moment of rest to stop the world from spinning, he sat back up and crossed his legs to meditate so he could begin the process of replenishing his lost energy.
Meanwhile, the short man was busy carving into the carcasses and extracting the crystal cores from the dead beasts, while occasionally glancing back at Grey, who remained stationary with his eyes closed.
'This human... Why does he possess powers so similar to those people?' the man thought, his brow furrowing as he worked.
He kept extracting the shining crystals while continuing to watch Grey out of the corner of his eye.
'Is it beginning once more? Will history repeat itself after all this time? Is he truly one of them? If so, I must keep a close watch on him for the well-being of our race. And if I eventually deem him a threat, I will wipe him out of existence,' the man thought with grim resolve as he finished his grisly task.
He stood up and walked toward Grey with the bloody crystals gripped in his hand.
When he reached the boy, the man tossed one of the pulsating cores toward him; it landed squarely on his lap, causing Grey to snap his eyes open and stare at the shimmering object.
"Here, that one is yours," the man said gruffly.
Standing up slowly, Grey took the crystal and hid it away securely in his pants pocket while looking at the short man skeptically—his gaze lingering specifically on those rabbit-like ears.
"Quit staring at me like that, you human!" the short man barked.
"Human?" Grey raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Aren't you also a human? Well... I think you are."
"Do I look human to you?" the short man asked, his voice rising in anger.
"Certainly not. Not with that stature and those ears, you don't," Grey chuckled.
The short man clenched his fists in fury, and a visible vein began to throb prominently on his forehead.
Seeing the man's volatile reaction, Grey quickly regained his composure and raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.
"I'm so sorry for making light of your appearance. I didn't realize you were so sensitive to jokes," he apologized.
The man took a deep breath, visibly forcing himself to calm down.
"Humans and their predictably stupid nature," the man said, shaking his head in disgust.
'Again with the "human" comments. Looking at him closely, I know for a fact he isn't human.
So, what race does he belong to? Have I truly been thrown onto an alien planet?' Grey thought worriedly, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his sides.
'I have managed to gather just enough mana to cast at least three small spells. In case a fight breaks out, I could potentially distract him with a fireball, then quickly fly off toward the cave and activate the magic circle so I can return home,' he thought, a small smile appearing as the plan formed in his mind.
"Looking at that smile of yours, I can guess you have just formulated a plan that will facilitate your escape," the man said.
The smile on Grey's face froze instantly as he looked at the stranger with wide, startled eyes.
"I suppose my hunch was correct. Anyway, I don't think you will be needing that plan just yet, as I'm not in the mood for a skirmish; I simply wish to talk. So, how about we head somewhere private and a bit more friendly?" the man asked, a more approachable expression finally touching his face.
"And why exactly should I trust you? I don't even know your name or what your motives are," Grey said, his brow raised in suspicion.
"Right, that is a fair point. Fine, let me introduce myself; I'm Randin. I will explain who I am and which race I hail from once we move elsewhere.
This forest is currently filled with predators and isn't safe if we don't depart soon. I can see you are currently too weak to even hunt a level 1 beast, let alone a level 3."
'He is right. I can't even cast more than three spells; there's no way I can defend myself if more trouble arrives. I just have to trust him for now,' Grey thought, his heart racing.
"Fine, let's go," Grey said.
Randin turned away from the wooded area and began heading back toward the direction of the mountain caves where Grey had first arrived.
"Why aren't we heading the other way?" Grey asked, gesturing toward the deeper part of the woods.
"If you wanna be beast food, then be my guest," Randin replied without turning around.
"Isn't that where you came out from?" Grey asked again, trying to keep up with the shorter man's surprisingly brisk pace.
"I chased the beast from earlier in that direction while we were fighting. It's crawling with the rest of its pack now," Randin replied shortly.
"So where we are headed... is that where you live? Because I can only see mountains and caves around here. Where are the rest of your people?"
"They are all dead. Only a few of us are left, and we are scattered all around the Bronze Continent," Randin replied, his voice dropping an octave as a shadow of grief passed over his face.
'What?! How can an entire race be almost wiped out like that?' Grey thought, a cold shiver of worry running down his spine.
They walked for a while longer, and after a series of sharp turns, steep climbs, and scaling rocky ledges, they finally stood in front of a massive cave.
The cavern stretched about twenty meters deep and ten meters wide, allowing for a significant amount of living space.
Grey could see various types of sophisticated equipment scattered around the floor.
Specialized tools lay haphazardly near a cold forge, and a small bed made out of sturdy wood and soft, unidentified materials was tucked away in a far corner.
"Welcome to my humble abode, where I now live alone," Randin said.
He moved to his bed and sat down heavily, while a small, surprisingly comfortable chair was produced for Grey to sit on.
"So now, before I begin my story, I need to know what a young human like you is doing in a place as dangerous as this," Randin said, his eyes boring into Grey's with intense curiosity.
With a heavy sigh, Grey decided to tell the truth; he felt that lying to someone who had just saved his life would be a poor way to start an alliance.
"I'm Grey Dawn. Guessing by how this place used to be inhabited by a different race, I'm assuming this is a completely different world.
I come from a place called Earth. Where I'm from, my family is quite poor and I needed a way to survive, so I studied and drew a magic teleportation circle that brought me here.
I figured I could hunt beasts and sell their crystal cores back on my planet to earn enough money for us to get by," Grey explained.
"Hmm," Randin grunted as he stroked his small, braided beard in contemplation.
"That's quite a plausible story, considering the state of the realms. Anyway, since you have answered my question, let me also answer yours."
"I'm Randin, and no, we certainly aren't humans. We are our own species—or race, whatever you prefer to call it. This planet is called the Bronze Land. And we are a race known as Dwarves."
"Dwarves?!" Grey asked, his voice cracking in surprise.
He had read about such beings in old myths, but seeing one in the flesh—rabbit ears and all—was another thing entirely.