He was broader than the doorway, with a beard that was braided with literal silver wire and soot covered leather overalls that looked tougher than Riku's old bulletproof vest. He was carrying a crate of raw ore as if it was the weight of a feather.
"Still talking to the cat, Riku?" the man grunted. His voice was like a landslide. "I already told you a few times, that feline won't give you the secrets of the forge, no matter how much you bribe it with fish."
Riku froze. "I don't know this man but my brain is screaming Earl, this must be Earl. I assume someone I must have worked with in this world?"
[System Notification: This is Earl, your Blacksmith Master. You have been his apprentice for a few months]
"I… uh…" Riku started, his mind racing to find the right tone. The sudden appearance of another person and the system threw him off. In the Yakuza, you always deferred to the Senior, but you never showed weakness. "Just checking the structural integrity of the wardrobe. It was… faulty."
Earl set the crate down with a crash that made the floor vibrate. He squinted at Riku, his eyes buried under brows as thick as caterpillars.
"Faulty? You kicked the doors off the hinges, boy! I heard the wood scream from the larder." Earl stepped closer, sniffing the air. "You look different. Stiff. Like you've got a poker up your backside. Did you hit your head on the anvil again?"
"Something like that," Riku muttered, rubbing his sore forehead.
"Well, quit your moping," Earl said, waving a massive, scarred hand toward the door. "It's Solstice Eve. In the Upper World, the giants used to call it Christmas. Down here, it means I'm closing the forge so I can drink enough ale to forget your terrible hammer-form for at least twenty-four hours with some of my old buddies."
Riku blinked. "Closing? But… I'm pretty sure I am supposed to be working and learning how to use the forge properly?"
Earl laughed, a sound like a chest of gold coins being shaken. "Work? Lad, you've been glued to that anvil for six months straight. You're the most boring apprentice I've ever had. You don't drink, you don't gamble, and you don't flirt. You're making the rest of us look bad. If I see you touch a hammer today, I'll smelt your boots."
Earl reached into a pouch and tossed a small leather purse at Riku. It clinked with a heavy, metallic weight.
"Go to the tavern. Get some foam in that beard of yours. Find a girl.. or a boy, I don't judge and act like you're actually alive for once. That's an order from your Master."
[Objective Updated: Visit the Rusty Tankard Tavern.][New Passive Skill Unlocked: Cultural Fluency of Realm (Aselguard)]
Riku caught the purse. It was heavy. "Master Earl… about my identity. I mean, who am I exactly in this town? Besides your apprentice?"
Earl stopped at the door, looking back with a strange expression. For a second, the gruffness faded, replaced by something like pity. "You're Riku. The lad who showed up at the Upper World gate with nothing but a broken hammer and a look in his eyes like he'd seen the world end. You're the hardest worker in this hold, and the loneliest. Now get out there before I change my mind and make you coal-sweep the furnace."
Earl stomped out, leaving Riku standing in the silence of the workshop.
"Lonely, huh?" Riku whispered. He looked at his hands again. Back in Tokyo, he was surrounded by people, but he was always alone. A tool among other tools. It seemed like some things didn't change, even if you switched dimensions and lost eighteen inches of height.
"Hey, Hot Head! You coming or what?"
A new shadow fell across the doorway. Riku looked up and kept looking up.
A younger dwarf stood there, but he was… somewhat wrong. He was uncomfortably close to being taller than Rikudespite his young appearance, lanky, and awkward, like a human who had been stretched on a rack but kept the dwarvenfacial features. He had a mop of messy brown hair and a tunic that was clearly too small for his long torso, with a cheeky smile.
"Jakub?" Riku asked, remembering the name from his fragmented memories.
"The one and only," the tall dwarf grinned, showing a missing tooth. He leaned against the stone doorframe behind Riku. "Earl says we're off duty today. I've been waiting an hour to take you out. You look… well, you look like you just saw a ghost. Or a salad. Come on, let's go before the good ale is gone."
Riku walked toward him, feeling like a toddler standing next to a basketball player. "Jakub, why are you so… tall? And aren't you a bit young for ale?"
Jakub's grin faltered for a micro second but he bounced back quickly.
"Bad luck and big genes, Riku. You know what the elders say. 'Not forged right.' But hey, I can reach the top shelf without a ladder, and the girls like it so realistically.. who's the real winner? I'll just have a bad back when I'm older from all the crouching. Also, the village doctor said I'll end up being 6 foot! Not that much taller than you. You're also quite tall for a dwarf so no need for the bullying."
Jakub slung a long, awkward arm around Riku's shoulders, nearly knocking him over.
"You're acting weird today, Riku. Even for you. Did you finally decide to stop being a monk? And you already know I am a tall kid? You must have whacked your head quite heavy back there lad. I heard some of the Elven traders were asking about the 'Stony-Faced Sato' at the market. They think you're mysterious. I told them you're just constipated."
"I'm not constipated," Riku growled, his Yakuza pride stinging. "I'm… observing."
"Yeah, yeah. Observe the bottom of a flagon," Jakub laughed, dragging Riku out of the workshop and into the corridor. "That's what today is for!"
As they stepped out, Riku's breath caught in his throat.
They weren't in a cave. They were in a city of stone that defied every law of physics Riku knew. Massive pillars of carved granite stretched up into a darkness so vast it felt like a night sky. Ribbons of glowing blue crystals (called mana-veins), crisscrossed the ceiling, providing a soft, ethereal light. Buildings were carved directly into the walls of the cavern, stacked on top of each other like a chaotic, beautiful puzzle that just worked so well. The air was warm and smelled of earth, spices, and the distant, rhythmic beat of a hundred forges.
It was loud and alive.
"Why do you looked like a slapped fish? You've seen this place before!" Jakub creased and giggled, gesturing to the sprawling underground metropolis. "Let's go and get ourselves into some trouble."
Riku looked at the crowds of dwarves, elves, and humans mingling in the streets. For the first time since he died, the "Iron Dragon" felt a spark of something other than anger.
" If I can't kill anyone" Riku thought, his hand tightening on the purse of gold, I might as well see if I can still run a room.
"Lead the way, Jakub," Riku said, a small, dangerous smirk tugging at his red beard. "I think I need a drink after today. It's been a long day for sure"
He didn't know yet that he was the most handsome man in the mountain. He didn't know that his "clean" living had made him a legend of mystery among the local women. And he certainly didn't know that by the end of the night, he was going to be in debt.