Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 175

Karl descended the stairs in the dark cave, which seemed to continue endlessly.

The stairs were so large and wide, and facilities like luminous pearls were well-equipped, so the way down could be considered pleasant.

"Why did you decide to help?"

Emok, a dwarven craftsman and one of their outstanding warriors, looked at the human walking silently beside him.

From the beginning, he was a strangely likable man.

And his magnanimity in emptying beer mugs on par with the king also made him a human one felt an affinity for, not like a stranger, but still, there was no reason for him to help the dwarves.

"Just, no particular reason."

“…”

Emok had always found the human before him peculiar, but now he thought so even more.

"From here on is Draco's territory."

"Due to the heat, it is difficult for me to advance further than this."

"Go back and wait."

If someone else had said it, he would have told them to be careful as they could die.

But strangely, he felt he could trust Karl's words.

"Please take care of yourself."

"I will see you upon your return."

So Emok, praying he would meet Karl again soon, briefly finished his farewell.

After Emok retreated, Karl pushed himself into the cave from which an unbearable heat emanated, making it difficult to even breathe.

Upon entering, bubbling lava was boiling beneath a well-made structure.

To the side of the space filled with reddish lava, which seemed ready to melt its surroundings, machinery to discharge the lava outwards was installed.

It appeared to be a structure made with mages, and despite the immense heat being emitted, it was still functioning.

Amazing.

Although the period wasn't very long, Karl, who had been steadily acquiring magical knowledge, could tell that the level of magic embedded in this facility was considerable.

Kurururururung.

As Karl slowly looked around, he felt a subtle vibration in the ground and the surrounding energy becoming turbulent.

“…”

It was a thrilling sensation he had felt for the first time after transcending Master.

‘Amazing.’

It wasn't for nothing that dragons were the strongest in this world's setting.

For the surrounding energy to tremble this much.

Kuuuuuuung!

At that moment, with a sound that shook the earth, something felt like it was collapsing, and a giant body rose, parting the center of the lava.

Suuuuuk!

The body, which seemed to be tens of meters long, pierced through the lava and floated up into the sky.

About 10 pairs of wings were attached to its back, and its body was covered in red scales.

Its eyes were yellow, with black pupils embedded within the yellow irises.

-Who are you.

"Karl, a Free Knight."

The full name Karl Reitz Arthur Meyer held no meaning for the dragon currently airborne.

-A Free Knight, you say. It's been a while since I've heard that nostalgic name. I am Freljord Cornelius Stephano Agnitus.

"Your name is long."

-You may call me Agnitus.

For some reason, Karl, who had thought a fight might start as soon as the dragon appeared, felt the possibility of conversation upon seeing the unexpectedly calm dragon.

-Well then, human… why have you come to this place.

"Do you know that the kingdom of dwarves is here?"

-The little folk, you mean. I knew they had settled here a few hundred years ago. I was about to sort them out because of the racket they made building their kingdom, but I got sleepy and let it be.

It was truly arrogant talk, but Karl, facing the aura emanating from its body, thought it was quite possible.

Agnitus' aura, accumulated over such long years, was that immense.

-Human, you are a being who has achieved a great realm, the likes of which I have not seen in a truly long time. I pay my respects to your achievements. It has been a very long time since I saw one who is human yet not human.

"Thank you for the compliment."

"What do you do when you awaken from hibernation?"

-First, I must eat.

The dragon, after saying it would eat, opened its mouth wide and began to draw in the surrounding energy.

It felt as if all the heat from the burning lava and the energy of the surrounding atmosphere were being sucked into the dragon's belly.

Kuuuuuuuuu.

The energies, being sucked in to an unknown extent, at some point began to gather outside, riding along its body.

Then, they gathered in Agnitus' opened mouth, and a giant light shot up into the sky.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

A torrent of fire, erupting like a giant beam, pierced the ceiling and created a hole, and steam billowed from Agnitus' mouth.

"Eats well."

No other expression could describe it.

-As expected, an amusing human.

"So, now that you've eaten, what will you do?"

-Well, I have no plans yet. Whether to go out and see the world. Or rest a little more.

"Do you have any intention of destroying Dertrungen?"

-I have no such perverse hobby of slaughtering dwarves.

Karl laughed hollowly.

Although he hadn't been particularly tense on his way here, it wasn't as if he hadn't considered a battle with the dragon.

-You seem disappointed. Did you want to fight me?

"Rather than wanting to fight, I came thinking I might have to fight."

-Shall we have a go? A path has opened up too.

As the dragon gestured towards the sky with its chin, Karl nodded as if he had been waiting.

He wanted to test the limits of how much stronger he had become.

It would be impossible with others, but it seemed quite possible with the ancient dragon before him.

A human and a dragon rose into the sky.

The two beings, standing in mid-air, looked at each other and took their respective stances.

"It won't take many exchanges. One strike should be enough."

-A good stance. Let me receive the sword of a transcendent being after a long time.

Karl drew Léctĭo and slowly raised his sword towards the dragon.

The sword, gripped by Karl with both hands, was swung diagonally.

[Karl Meyer Style. Transcendence. Sky Severance.]

A single slash.

The unprecedented, immense energy contained within it cleaved everything that stood before Karl.

Hwooooooooong!

At that moment, a red, formless barrier was created in front of Agnitus, and the barrier clashed against the energy of the slash.

The barrier dented and was cut, but it regenerated and blocked the slash.

This process repeated several times, and then, at some point, silence fell upon the surroundings.

There was no particular change resulting from the clash, but the energies around where the two stood had vanished in an instant.

"I thought it might be blocked."

"As expected, huh."

Karl's sword was a strike prepared for the being that had drawn him here.

He thought he had put his all into it, but as expected, he still couldn't cleave the sky.

-That was a magnificent strike.

"Even so, it was a blocked sword."

-...You are merely a human who has lived for only a few decades. I am an ancient dragon who has lived for a full 5,000 years. The fact that you made me feel threatened means you have already far transcended human limits.

"For someone saying that, you blocked it without a single change in expression."

-Aren't you being too greedy, trying to take on the world so easily?

"It's because I don't have much time."

In any case, it was a good experience.

Confirming the existence of a being that he couldn't defeat even by giving his all was good nourishment for growth.

"Should I understand that you won't touch the dwarven kingdom?"

-Of course. I plan to leave this place, so you don't have to worry about that. Then, I look forward to the day we meet again.

Agnitus exchanged a blow with Karl and vanished from the spot without any lingering attachment.

Karl, left behind, remained in that spot for a long time, recalling the blow just now.

Agnitus, moving away from Karl, looked at the scratch mark on the scales near his heart.

-A truly dangerous human.

The dragon, murmuring thus, had completely disappeared from Karl's vicinity before long.

***

"Father…!"

"Are you alright!"

Volker, startled by the tremendous roar and the giant pillar of fire that erupted from the Fiery Forge moments ago, had raced to the great hall like a madman.

"Don't make a fuss."

"...What happened?"

When Volker arrived, Karl was sitting opposite the king, still with an expressionless face.

"I don't know how to repay this kindness."

"It's nothing to be called kindness."

"Agnitus was planning to leave this place from the beginning, anyway."

"Even so… if it weren't for you, sir, we might have faced a disaster."

"Don't mind it."

"It was beneficial for me too, after all."

He nodded, recalling his clash with Agnitus just moments ago.

"Even so, I cannot let it be like this."

"Entrust your sword to me, sir!"

"No matter what happens, we will make your sword a greater sword than any other!"

"It's alright."

"Weapons already hold little meaning for me."

"It is a goodwill we wish to bestow upon the benefactor of the dwarves."

"Please grant us our request."

Seeing Ultore's gaze, filled with worldly seriousness, Karl let out a deep sigh and handed over his sword.

"Here you go."

Karl summoned Léctĭo and immediately handed it to Ultore.

It was a user-bound sword, so it would usually be unsummoned if it went into another's hand, but Karl reflected his will and adjusted Léctĭo so it wouldn't be unsummoned.

"Indeed… amazing."

Ultore stared intently at the received sword, examining every nook and cranny of it.

"Leave it to me."

"I will definitely repay you!"

"Do as you please."

Ultore, patting Karl's shoulder a few times after Karl replied casually, jumped up and shouted loudly.

"To the friend of the dwarves!"

"To the benefactor of the dwarves!"

"Let us raise our hammers for the great drinker!"

"Uwoooooooh!"

"Tonight, we hold the Festival of the Anvil!"

"Bring your beer and come out to the plaza!"

"Uwoooooooh!"

The dwarves shouted in excitement.

And that night, one keg of beer per dwarven household was provided in the plaza.

The invited humans, initially bewildered by the sudden festival, eventually followed them out and enjoyed the festival with them.

Of course, not long after the festival began, they were rolling on the floor, soaked in alcohol.

"Uwahahahaha!"

"A toast to the great drinker!"

A dwarven craftsman excitedly ran up to Karl, clinked his mug against Karl's, downed it in one shot, and then collapsed sideways.

The next craftsman also clinked mugs with Karl like that and collapsed somewhere on the floor.

The dwarven women were small and truly cute, but their actions were no less than the male dwarves, as they lifted large beer mugs with their small hands and gulped them down.

"Enjoy the festival!"

"This entire festival is held for you!"

"For Karl, the friend of us dwarves!"

"I didn't do much."

"Did you not fight the fire dragon Agnitus for us!"

"Did you not share drinks with us!"

"Then how can you say you did nothing!"

"You are our most precious bond!"

Ultore let out a hearty laugh and clinked mugs again.

After dozens of rounds of drinks, the dwarves clinked mugs according to their individual drinking capacities and collapsed here and there.

In a way, it was an absurd and funny sight, yet their appearance, laughing heartily and collapsing with happy faces, didn't seem so bad.

Moreover, it was even more so with this unbelievably delicious and refreshing beer.

‘The taste of the alcohol brought from each house is different.’

Even the usually taciturn Karl couldn't help but feel his spirits lift in this unbelievable paradise of beer.

"The taste of the beer is all different."

"I can feel the differences in fermentation levels and ingredients."

"Truly amazing."

"...!"

"As expected of you!"

Love once again emanated from Ultore's expression.

That day, the two of them, even when everyone else had passed out, endlessly drank beer from the kegs of this house and that, sharing drinks until the sun rose the next day.

"Let's drink, eat, and then drink some more!"

"Hahahaha!"

Even on that morning when everyone had collapsed, the two continued to tilt their mugs, and they were still tilting their beer mugs when the collapsed ones opened their eyes.

"Huh…."

The dwarves looked at them with astonished faces, and the humans, after watching the two drink, rushed off somewhere urgently and bowed their heads.

"Uweeeek…!"

Even by the time they returned after vomiting for a long while, the two were clinking their beer mugs just as before and emptying them.

“…”

"Lord Karl is definitely a Grandmaster, it seems."

"From now on, I won't even piss in the direction where Lord Karl is."

That was not a human.

It couldn't be a human.

How could a human drink dwarven beer like that?

Thus, creating incredible legends and numerous rumors, the dwarves' Festival of the Anvil came to an end.