Chapter 56: Accepting the Mission
Life in the dwarf city was quite boring.
Mainly, you couldn't expect the dwarves to have entertainment venues like humans in later generations.
Here, there were mostly forges and blacksmiths' shops. The constant ring of hammers on anvils echoed through the stone streets from dawn to dusk, punctuated only by the occasional burst of laughter from a tavern.
Occasionally, there were a few item shops, but they only sold various dwarf speciality items and equipment, which Kurtz wasn't very interested in. The craftsmanship was impressive, certainly, but nothing caught his eye as particularly useful for their group's needs.
Moreover, he wasn't used to the wine brewed by the dwarves.
Kurtz was repulsed by red wine, as the brewing methods of this era were unbearable to witness, and although the dwarves also had distillation techniques, the alcohol content was too high.
The first sip had nearly burned his throat raw, leaving him coughing while the dwarves roared with laughter.
It was almost as strong as white spirits from his previous life.
Few among their group could handle a second cup, not to mention that there was even a dwarf who was allergic to alcohol. Somo had discovered this unfortunate fact the hard way, spending an entire evening with hives covering his arms.
But fortunately, there were scattered monsters near this dwarf town, so when Kurtz and his party had nothing to do, they would go out and kill monsters to improve their strength. In doing so, they gained the goodwill of the dwarves in the city.
After all, a group of powerful adventurers clearing monsters for free would certainly make people feel good.
In the early morning, Kurtz and his party arrived at a canyon outside the dwarf city.
According to the dwarves in the city, a group of Rock Armour Beasts resided here, possessing hard scales that ordinary weapons could not damage. The morning mist still clung to the canyon walls, making the rocky terrain appear even more treacherous than usual.
The most crucial thing was that they often attacked dwarves who came to mine, which greatly troubled the locals.
Besides monsters, this world also contained many unique races.
The dragons that Kurtz and his party had previously killed were also included.
Compared to monsters, which had nothing useful on them, these creatures could produce many valuable materials.
The scales of these Rock Armour Beasts were the best material for making shields, and for this, the dwarves even offered to pay Kurtz and his party to take action.
This made their group feel like NPCs accepting quests at an adventurer's guild.
But it felt pretty good.
Hidden behind a large rock, Serie observed the Rock Armour Beast group in a nearby cave and instructed everyone.
"The only weakness of these beasts is their central abdomen, with no scales covering it. Kurtz, you can aim your magic at these spots."
As the only team member who had heard of this creature, Serie reluctantly took on the role of commander. Her tone carried that familiar note of superiority, as if explaining basic concepts to children.
"Do their scales have magic resistance? Why don't I just aim directly at the scales?"
Kurtz wondered why they needed to go through so much trouble. The only creatures with innate magic resistance they had encountered so far were the Demonscale Beasts from the swamp and the stitched monster created by the Demon Race.
Most creatures couldn't withstand a round of his Light Arrow attacks.
"Perhaps they want to keep the scales as intact as possible, after all, isn't our mission to acquire more scales?"
Norn tentatively explained from the side, and Serie nodded, acknowledging his statement.
"Somo, you are responsible for attracting the attention of these beasts."
Dwarf Somo nodded to indicate he understood. Here, besides Kurtz and Serie's magic barriers, his defence was the strongest.
He hefted his battle axe with practised ease, the weight familiar in his hands.
Moreover, Kurtz's improved magic barrier could now be cast on himself, which could be said to be strength on top of strength.
"Eric, your magic power probably isn't enough, so try to aim..."
With Kurtz's current strength, he could directly blow these beasts to smithereens with magic, but Eric couldn't.
The latter still had a longsword hanging at his waist, clearly indicating that before his magic fully matured, he did not intend to give up the warrior profession.
That's why Serie specifically instructed him, but unfortunately, the impatient Eric did not intend to listen.
"Don't worry, I understand what you mean, just watch!"
Serie, whose words were interrupted, snorted coldly, and a small Light Arrow suddenly shot from her fingertip, accurately striking in front of Eric.
"Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking!"
To anyone other than Kurtz, she always showed little mercy. The small crater where her arrow had struck still smouldered slightly.
It was only because Eric was a teammate that she was willing to say a few more words, but he ended up interrupting her.
Serie was naturally angry.
Feeling that disaster was imminent, Eric quickly cast a pleading look at Kurtz. His face had gone slightly pale at the proximity of Serie's warning shot.
Seeing this, Kurtz could only rub Serie's head and comfort her. "Alright, it's not the first day you've known this guy."
"Don't touch my head! You damned human!"
Serie suddenly shook her head and flung Kurtz's hand away, but the anger in her heart quietly disappeared with his comfort.
Her cheeks held the faintest hint of pink, though she'd deny it if anyone dared mention it.
...
The group began their action. Norn drew his longsword, and Somo carried his battle axe, the two leading the way, silently advancing towards the Rock Armour Beast group.
Kurtz and Serie were in the middle, and Eric brought up the rear.
However, this time Serie did not intend to make a move, preparing to leave everything to the others. She crossed her arms, watching with the detached interest of someone observing a training exercise.
After all, in her opinion, these beasts before them were not worth her effort.
The group entered the cave, and Kurtz controlled his magic to release a small illumination spell.
It wouldn't attract the attention of the Rock Armour Beasts, and it would allow the team to see clearly. The soft glow barely penetrated the darkness ahead, just enough to reveal the uneven cave floor beneath their feet.
"There are twelve ahead, and six more at the left fork," Kurtz reported using his detection magic.
"There's a large one deep in the cave, with a powerful signal. It's probably the leader of this group of beasts."
Through the enhanced detection magic, creatures with particularly strong magic or life signals could be detected, which was akin to marking the location of a boss on a map.
With Kurtz's intelligence support, everyone began to clear the Rock Armour Beasts before them systematically.
Clang!
Norn's longsword struck the Rock Armour Beast's scales, making a sound like colliding steel, and the shock force made Norn's wrist ache. The vibration travelled up his arm, leaving his shoulder tingling uncomfortably.
"Such hard scales!"
Norn was secretly shocked. Although it couldn't compare to that dragon's, as he couldn't even penetrate its scales, still, the resistance was far greater than he'd expected from the dwarves' descriptions.
And now, his full-strength sword strike only made a shallow wound.
This hardness was truly astonishing.
"Let me!"
Dwarf Somo took over as Norn retreated, swinging his axe, unleashing all of his dwarf brute strength, and fiercely chopping onto the Rock Armour Beast.
He directly cut a deep, bone-visible gash on its body, and the Rock Armour Beast immediately fell to the ground, unable to get up again.
Dark blood pooled beneath the creature, its final breath escaping in a low wheeze.
"That's truly impressive, as expected of Mr. Somo."
Norn praised sincerely, which made Somo embarrassed. "Just call me Somo. This thing is much easier to deal with than a dragon."
"Agreed."
"You two, stop praising each other. Next time, please try to aim for the abdomen, okay?"
Kurtz looked at them helplessly. What a good Rock Armour Beast! The scales that should have been their prize were now cracked and useless, marred by deep gouges.
Unfortunately, it was first struck by Norn's sword, then almost split in half by Somo's axe, rendering all its scales worthless.
If it were that simple, he would have acted long ago. Why go through all this trouble?
The two chuckled awkwardly and resumed dealing with the remaining Rock Armour Beasts, but this time they all aimed for the abdomen. Their movements became more precise and calculated as they adjusted their strategy.
Kurtz, meanwhile, remained in the centre, ready to intervene if the others couldn't handle a Rock Armour Beast.
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