CHAPTER 22
"Dwarves?!" Grey asked, his voice cracking with astonishment.
The primary reason for his utter shock was that he had read extensively about dwarves in ancient texts; he had always assumed they were merely a myth or had long since become extinct.
That was precisely why, when he first laid eyes on Randin, he felt a nagging sense of familiarity, though he couldn't quite wrap his head around where he had encountered such a description before.
"Yes, dwarves. And before you ask where the rest of my kin are, like I stated earlier, we were almost entirely wiped out.
Consequently, we have been scattered all across the Bronze Continent, with only me occupying this specific region," Randin explained, his long ears drooping slightly.
"Why haven't you tried to reconnect with your kind? Surely there must be a way," Grey asked, leaning forward in his chair.
"Do you think I haven't attempted to do so? But no matter how extensively I search or how many peaks I scale, I am utterly unable to find a single trace of them," Randin replied with a heavy, weary sigh.
Grey was seen stroking his chin, which was his habitual thinking pose, when a sudden, pressing question popped into his mind.
"You said you were all almost wiped out... by who or what exactly?" Grey asked with a raised brow, his curiosity piqued.
"I don't know who they truly are," Randin replied gloomily.
"All I know is that they physically resembled humans, but they also referred to themselves by another name."
'Humans? Is that why he addressed me that way immediately after seeing me? But why would humans travel all the way here and decide to eradicate an entire continent? I saw Randin fight earlier, and he is incredibly potent.
If his race is as naturally strong as he is, I doubt anyone would give them much trouble—not even a yellow-colored fire mage.
So, who exactly are these humans that were powerful enough to almost completely annihilate the dwarves?'Grey mused inwardly, his mind racing with possibilities.
"You mentioned they called themselves another name. What did they call themselves?" Grey pressed.
"Uhm, I can't really recall perfectly; it was quite a long time ago, roughly five hundred years ago," Randin said, waving a dismissive hand.
"Five hundred what?!?" Grey shouted, nearly falling out of his seat in shock.
"Just how old are you?"
"Me? I am eight hundred years old," Randin replied nonchalantly.
Grey felt as if he might pass out after hearing Randin's actual age.
'Calm down, Grey. I shouldn't be so surprised. I read in those old scrolls that dwarves possessed an incredibly long lifespan, so this is technically understandable,'Grey thought.
He was suddenly startled by a loud, sudden shout from the dwarf.
"Yes, I remember now!" Randin bellowed, slamming a fist into his palm.
"Remember what?" Grey asked, his heart skipping a beat.
"The other name those invaders called themselves. They referred to themselves as the Otherworlders."
"Otherworlders?" Grey asked, feeling a heavy, rhythmic thump in his chest.
'Aren't they the very people that mysterious mage was so terrified of? The people he insisted I should get stronger for? Who the hell are they? And how are they so overwhelmingly powerful that they could wipe out an entirely different race?' Grey thought worriedly.
'Come to think of it, the book the mage gave me regarding runic circles and portal magic... it was from those pages I drew the circle that transported me here.
Was that intentional? Had that mage visited this world before? Was it here that he originally discovered the threat of the Otherworlders?
I suppose my questions will remain unanswered until I meet that mage again, and I highly doubt he will show up anytime soon,' Grey sighed inwardly.
"Anyway, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you desire. Your company is very much appreciated.
It is truly refreshing to have the companionship of a sentient being to converse with, because I have been going slightly crazy staying here all alone," Randin said with a chuckle.
'And I can finally have enough time to study you.
I need to see how your strange powers work and figure out how to counter them, just in case I encounter those Otherworlders again so I can finally take my revenge.
You will be my perfect test subject, oh little Grey,' Randin thought, a secretive smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"So, what are you planning on doing with your crystal core?" Grey asked, gesturing to the shimmering item.
"I plan to make equipment," Randin replied simply.
"Equipment? For who? You just said yourself that there aren't any people left here, so who exactly are you forging equipment for?" Grey asked, genuinely confused.
'I had almost forgotten that dwarves supposedly loved crafting equipment and developing different types of intricate technologies,' Grey reminded himself.
"I'm used to the labor already. We dwarves forge equipment, weapons, and complex machinery all the time. It is a fundamental part of our identity, especially mine," Randin replied.
"Wow! You actually forge weapons? And I can already see you are incredibly skilled with the sword," Grey said, his eyes scanning the forge tools.
"Yeah, in this harsh world where beasts roam freely, one needs to be skilled in combat in order to successfully hunt their cores," Randin stated firmly.
"Anyway, I will be here for at least two weeks before I will need to return home," Grey said.
'Two weeks? That is actually a sufficient amount of time for me to observe and analyze him,' Randin thought, his smile widening as he looked at his new guest.
"Well, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want. I'm off to go forge some more weapons," Randin said as he exited the cave, leaving Grey to his own devices.
As soon as the dwarf was gone, Grey quickly sat up and crossed his legs in a meditative posture.
"Time to absorb this crystal while he is away," Grey mumbled to himself.
He brought out the shimmering crystal core and began the process of drawing the mana and essence from it, carefully adding the new energy to his own internal core.
As Grey initiated the absorbing process, the crystal lit up with a brilliant, pulsing light.
The radiance gradually grew dimmer and dimmer the more essence he siphoned from the stone.
Finally, the light was extinguished totally, and Grey simply tossed the spent husk away, watching it tumble out of the cave entrance.
"Time to check how many points I managed to get," he said, activating his Appraisal skill on himself to check his updated affinities.
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Seeing his revised affinities, his eyes gleamed brightly with satisfaction.
"The core gave me twenty points?! It has even surpassed my wind attribute, and now I'm no longer limited to the Earth in my hand. I can finally control the Earth around me," Grey said, smiling excitedly at the surge of power.
"How do I test this new theory out now?" Grey mumbled, scanning the environment until his eyes landed on the jagged wall of the cave.
"Time to get to work," he smiled, his fingers already twitching with the urge to mold the stone.