Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 174

"Did you hear?"

"If you suddenly ask if I heard, what should I say I heard?"

"Didn't they say that Lord Karl and our Majesty emptied an entire oak barrel yesterday?"

"What!"

"The two of them emptied an entire oak barrel, you say?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"Amazing!"

"An entire oak barrel is honestly a tough task even for me."

"Hmph, you get drunk after just 10 mugs and get dumped somewhere, what gives you the right to brag."

"Ha! What are you talking about!"

"Even if I look like this, I!"

The dwarven race had three inviolable prides.

One was being the best craftsmen.

Another was that they produced the best beer.

The last was that they could drink that beer better than anyone else.

Even for them, two people emptying an entire oak barrel was an almost impossible feat.

On average, if they set their minds to it, they could drink about 20 mugs of beer, around 20L, and those called monsters drank 40-50L.

In the world of dwarves, being able to drink beer well was as glorious as being a craftsman.

Being able to drink beer without end was undeniable proof of a hero.

"Well, I knew His Majesty was amazing, but Lord Karl is also an amazing person, isn't he?"

"Was it a 150-liter barrel, they said?"

"It was."

"They said it wasn't a 100-liter one."

"Huh."

All the dwarves fell silent.

It was an expression of awe and respect for people who had reached an unattainable realm.

"If Lord Karl comes, I'll have to show him everything in our shop."

"It's a proud thing to be with such an honorable human."

"That's right, that's right."

"I hope an opportunity to share a beer together comes someday."

Karl was completely unaware, but since that day, Karl's favorability in the dwarven world had soared to its peak.

[Mission: Friend of the Dwarves (Favorability: 60%)]

That day, Karl had only drunk beer, but he had solved more than half of the mission.

***

The time spent in the dwarven kingdom was, for Karl, a kind of healing time.

They were always cheerful, joyful, and kind.

Especially to Karl, they were exceptionally kinder.

When he went to a restaurant, they were anxious to give him more of something.

And they always hoped he would leave a token of his visit after the meal.

So Karl, borrowing from his past memories, left them a signed memento of his visit.

[A place that provides the best food and the best alcohol. - Karl Reitz Arthur Meyer-]

The restaurant where Karl's sign was hung became a hot topic among the dwarves the next day and turned into a popular spot.

‘I feel like I’ve become a celebrity.’

It was Karl, feeling a strange emotion he had never felt before since coming to this world.

‘Hmm.’

Volker, walking with slumped shoulders, came into Karl's view as he was invariably looking around the kingdom.

The soul had drained from the eyes of the fellow walking around the streets looking exactly as he had when he left the king's great hall the other day.

Karl slowly walked behind Volker, who was trudging along.

Volker loitered here and there before moving to a place where craftsmen's workshops were gathered.

Tang! Tang! Tang!

The craftsmen, regardless of whether Volker came or not, continued their hammering, focusing only on the items they were making.

Listening to the steady sound of hammers, Volker simply continued to watch the working craftsmen.

"What are you doing here, Your Highness?"

One of the craftsmen, who seemed to be of considerable age and rank, stood next to Volker and spoke to him.

"Master Elmaer."

"If not hammers or anvils, what else could make you all venerable?"

"I am not unaware that the soul of a dwarf lies in the hammer and anvil."

"But I do not believe that necessarily means the king must wield a hammer."

"I too share Your Highness' thoughts."

"What?"

"You think so too, Master Elmaer?"

"That is correct."

"Among past kings, there were many sufficiently great craftsmen, but there were also many who were not."

"I am opposed to everyone doing the same thing even if they are better at something else."

"However, my father is resolute."

"He will never listen to my words."

"Your Highness must find the way to persuade the King."

"There is no way we can help you with that."

Volker nodded at Elmaer's words.

He received much comfort just from Elmaer's supportive statement.

"I will find the way."

"Thank you even for your words."

Volker left the blacksmith's forge on that path and walked to another place.

The place Volker moved to was a training ground that everyone could use.

There, Volker lifted an axe instead of a hammer.

1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, time continued to flow, but Volker showed no intention of stopping.

"Huk… Huk… Huk…."

He swung the axe until he was out of breath, unable to hold it properly, and then collapsed on the spot.

"Good…."

"Swinging so mindlessly will not allow you to go higher."

Volker, who was lying on the training ground floor, shot up at the suddenly heard voice.

"Master…?"

"Your thinking is as immature as your axe wielding."

".…?"

"What do you think you are?"

"Pardon?"

"You are a prince, and eventually, the king of the next generation."

"What does a king do?"

“…”

"Eventually, when your era comes, Dertrungen will change according to your thoughts."

"What you need to do is not change the current king's era."

"It's to prepare for your era."

"So that the changes you decide on do not proceed in the wrong direction."

Volker's head flashed as if struck by a hammer.

-Nothing can be done with words alone.

-The king's decision is the kingdom's decision. Eventually, this kingdom will change by your decision. You have only spoken of ideals, but you have no way to realize them.

His father always added a postscript to his words.

Volker had thought of it as nagging from a father and a king.

He had dismissed it merely as the talk of someone who led an old era.

But it wasn't.

He had just been whining like a child.

His father was saying things that could awaken him, who would become the next king.

Things one can do well.

Volker hoped everyone could do such things.

He had always felt that the current situation, where one had to hammer unconditionally just because one was a dwarf, was not right, that it was always unreasonable.

If so, instead of whining to his father that it was unreasonable, he should have constantly thought about how that unreasonableness could be corrected and moved in a rational direction in his own era, and sought ways to improve it.

‘This was it.’

Volker, feeling his head clear, shot up to thank the master who had shown him the way.

"Where did he go?"

However, Karl had already disappeared from before him.

Volker, his head cleared, immediately walked towards the castle where the king resided.

***

"Are you thinking of distributing weapons to those who attended the banquet?"

Ultore nodded at his retainer's question.

"Distributing items of medium grade should be sufficient."

"Considering the level of weapons created by humans, that is."

"Occasionally, the items of those called great craftsmen were not lacking even when compared to ours."

"Well, there were some weapons that surprised even me with their excellence, but would there be even 10 such treasures on the continent?"

"So, there shouldn't be a problem."

Ultore, having thoroughly investigated the weapons existing in the human world beforehand, was full of confidence regarding dwarven-made weapons.

"And… Lord Karl's item, how about…?"

At the retainer's words, Ultore's expression became extremely serious.

In his hundreds of years as a dwarf, he had never dreamed that he would find a drinking buddy among humans.

Among the dwarves, there was no one who could properly match him in drinking.

Ultore was someone who, whenever he drank, was the only one sober while others got drunk, so he never had a friend to share drinks with until the end.

To such a man, a friend to share with had finally appeared.

"Lord Karl is a great drinker."

"An ordinary gift is…."

"Karl is a friend of the dwarves."

"My most precious friend, and a great drinker."

"Presenting a medium-grade weapon to such a person is disrespectful to our dwarven ancestors and an ignorant act that loses our dignity as dwarves."

All the retainers present nodded in agreement at his words.

For the past week, Ultore and Karl had emptied a keg of beer every night.

It was so much that on the fifth day, Ultore had inversely proposed taking a day off.

"He, a great drinker and knight, needs a weapon befitting him."

"The sword the Lord uses is also said to be a weapon existing in legends."

"It is said to be absolutely unbreakable, and its weight and sharpness are unparalleled."

"What if we take his sword and exert our utmost effort?"

"It will not be an easy task."

"It is already a legendary weapon in itself."

"But can we, the great dwarven craftsmen, give up on that?"

“…”

The craftsmen's eyes instantly blazed with fire.

"And… Your Majesty, the Fiery Forge has begun to run rampant… Measures are needed."

"...What about Draco?"

"We must consider him effectively awakened."

“…”

The faces of those who had been laughing brightly just moments before rapidly turned grave.

"Shouldn't we at least ask those who gathered according to the original plan?"

"To them, you mean?"

"...Please ask Lord Karl, at least."

"If he is the great Grandmaster."

"He might be able to stop Draco."

"What reason does he have to risk his life to help us?"

"If he too considers us friends…."

The reason the dwarves had initially invited powerful humans was not simply to strengthen friendships.

It was to request help in stopping the monster dwelling in the Fiery Forge, which could be called the heart where dwarves forged weapons, deep beneath Dertrungen.

However, the combat power of those who had actually arrived here was insufficient to control Draco.

Even if all of them were led there, only death awaited.

‘Lord Karl is indeed the only hope.’

A human who had reached a realm so loftily high that even his eyes, those of a great craftsman and a great warrior, could not dare to perceive it.

Only a transcendent being who had surpassed the supreme state of Master was the sole card to stop Draco.

"Please call Lord Karl."

The retainer bowed and left, and not long after, Karl entered the king's office.

"Wasn't today a day off?"

"I did not call the Lord today to drink."

"You seem to have something to say."

"That is so."

"I shall speak frankly."

"Please help us, the dwarven tribe."

The king stood up and bowed from the waist, just as he had offered thanks on behalf of his son the other day.

"Tell me what the request is, at least."

Ultore took a deep breath and opened his heavy lips.

"Beneath this Dertrungen, where it is situated, lies the hottest lava in this world."

"The lava is the most perfect place for us dwarves to smelt iron."

"And we have continued countless works here until now."

"However, a few years ago, abnormal signs began to occur in the lava."

His face darkened as never before.

"Several craftsmen died."

"They were skilled craftsmen, closest and most familiar with fire."

"It made no sense that they melted in lava."

"So, an investigation was conducted to uncover their deaths."

"And then…."

An item was held in Ultore's hand.

"We learned that Draco lives in the Fiery Forge."

Draco.

Dragon, Drachen, called by various names, but ultimately meaning dragon.

Dragons did not have a very good image in this world.

They were beings who stole treasures and preyed on life forms living on the continent.

"Over several years, we made various attempts to understand that dragon."

"We tried using newly developed weapons, and at times, we performed actions that might displease the dragon multiple times."

"What we learned through that was that the dragon was hibernating."

Dragons slept for quite a long time.

They slept for hundreds of years at the longest, and over a hundred years at the shortest, recovering their energy and growing a little more.

"And, through continuous observation, we are feeling that the time for the dragon to awaken from hibernation is not far off."

"His movements are greater than ever before."

"And the cycle of lava eruptions is becoming faster."

"The temperature has also become hotter."

According to their story, the dragon existing beneath this place seemed to be a type of fire dragon.

It was impossible to guess its age or its strength, but it was clear that the dwarves alone were no match for it.

"I know this kind of request is absurd."

"We who ask are also aware that we are shameless."

"Nevertheless, no matter how much I think about it, there is no one else to ask but you, Lord."

"Please help us."

The king pleaded once more.

"Alright."

“...!”

Ultore's eyes widened at the too-easy acceptance, and he stared at Karl.

"Did you just say alright?"

"Well, I'm not saying I can eliminate the dragon."

"But just taking a look shouldn't be too difficult."

Having set foot in the realm of Grandmaster, Karl recognized that there weren't many things in this world that could kill him.

He didn't know how strong the dragon was, but just going to take a look wouldn't be difficult.

"Since we're on the subject, let's go take a look."

"Please assign me a guide."

“…”

The king, seeing Karl who had shot up from his seat, was rather flustered and began to ramble.

"Alright."

"I shall assign you a guide."

Unlike the king, Karl, with the same nonchalant expression as before, followed the guide towards the underground forge.

Thus, the king, left alone in the office, was still so dumbfounded by the unbelievable situation that he gulped down cold beer by himself.