CHAPTER 258: HOW TO CAPTIVATE THE DWARVES

Tartaros.

A land filled with scorching heat.

The sulfurous smell and the pungent odor that stung the nose with every breath were nothing short of a warning to humans not to enter this place.

‘Tartaros is much worse than Watopia.’

While Watopia was once open to the outside, Tartaros had never had such a history.

This was because dwarves were not a race that enjoyed interacting with others.

‘Everything the dwarves want is in Tartaros.’

So for the dwarves, welcoming someone was just a hassle. They’d rather spend that time hammering one more time.

A crack appeared in such a Tartaros.

“Damn it! We don’t have time for this!”

“Can’t we just smash it all up?”

“Then the crack will widen and more monsters will come out. They’ll destroy all our forges.”

“Ah, this sucks.”

The massive underground city of Tartaros.

As soon as Ethan entered Tartaros, he heard the dwarves’ complaints. The dwarves’ voices were so good that even from quite a distance, the content was very clear.

“What? A human?”

“Is it connected to human cities too?”

As Ethan emerged from the crack, bearded dwarves looked puzzled.

“Looks like a merfolk, right? There must be scales under his clothes.”

“Do merfolk look so human-like these days?”

Ethan didn’t bother to correct them that he was human.

“But if he’s merfolk, won’t it be difficult to move properly in our Tartaros?”

“Young merfolk! Go back!”

“Hello.”

Ethan said with a brief greeting and explained why he was here.

“You came to check the crack?”

“It’ll be hard to see it all, you know? It’s enormous.”

“Damn, it’s appeared near our forges too. So we’re hammering monsters instead of steel, you know?”

Cracks had appeared in Tartaros too, but the damage here seemed much less than in Watopia.

This was because individual dwarves were much stronger than merfolk.

‘Dwarves are born with strength and stamina so great it’s said they grab hammers as soon as they’re born.’

Without the stamina to keep up, it would be impossible to swing a hammer in the hot heat of the underground.

Also, they instinctively knew how to identify excellent ores, and there was a strong emphasis on strength training, saying that these ores must be handled perfectly. РἈɴò฿ΕS̈

‘Of course they’re bound to get strong.’

Their strength and stamina stem from their desire to create good things.

“Still, the monsters from the crack drop some interesting materials.”

“Ah! That’s good!”

“I hope some rare monsters come out.”

Even if monsters appeared, there wasn’t much damage, so the atmosphere in Tartaros was much more stable compared to Watopia.

Some dwarves even welcomed this crack as an opportunity to obtain materials not usually seen underground.

Ethan approached the dwarves and greeted them politely.

The dwarves here, like Sigma, showed surprised reactions.

“Oh, you. How does a merfolk know our greeting so well?”

“Bruunir Kahart.”

Ethan replied with a smile in the dwarf language. The dwarves’ expressions brightened considerably.

They hadn’t expected a merfolk from Watopia to use the common language of Tartaros in response to a dwarf greeting.

‘Pronunciation is the most important. Rather than being fluent, it’s better to be slightly awkward.’

When a foreigner you’ve just met speaks Korean fluently, it’s just surprising at best.

But when you see a foreigner trying hard to use Korean despite awkward pronunciation, it often creates a strange sense of familiarity.

That feeling of “Look at this guy?” Ethan aimed for that familiarity.

And it worked perfectly on the dwarves.

“Hmm? You even know our language?”

“The pronunciation is pretty good for this level!”

“Wahahahaha! Yeah, welcome! If you can use our language, we can consider you a dwarf, right? Of course, you’ll need to grow a beard though.”

“Thank you for welcoming me.”

Some might say that dwarves are wary, but that’s just what people who don’t know dwarves well say.

‘They are wary, that’s true, but it’s easier to break down than you’d think. And once you break down their wariness, it’s not difficult to get close.’

“Actually, besides checking the crack, I’m here to find an item in Tartaros.”

Ethan didn’t bother to mix in any lies.

“An item?”

“You mean equipment?”

“No. Great Hammer said it was an item imbued with sacred ancient power.”

“Ah!”

“I think I’ve heard of that. Isn’t that the one passed down through generations from Great Hammer?”

“But why are you looking for it?”

Suddenly, the dwarves showed obvious wariness.

Some dwarves gripped their hammer handles tightly.

The atmosphere suggested that if he said the wrong thing, he might get a hammer massage right there.

The hot air made it difficult to breathe on top of that.

“I asked why you’re looking for it.”

The warm atmosphere from just a moment ago had suddenly turned cold.

“Because it will help with my business.”

“Business?”

“Yes, my beer brewing business.”

“…Beer?”

The dwarves’ wariness disappeared. Their eyes had already returned to friendly gazes.

No, beyond friendly, the eyes of all the dwarves present were burning with anticipation.

“Did you say beer?”

“Did he just say beer?”

“What… what did he just say?”

“What did he just say!”

“Didn’t he clearly say beer!?”

Ethan’s one word had an enormous impact.

The surrounding dwarves immediately approached Ethan.

As dozens, no, hundreds of dwarves suddenly rushed in, even Ethan found it difficult to manage his expression.

‘Sweat smell overcoming the sulfur smell, huh.’

But Ethan gritted his teeth and went back to managing his expression.

“I’m trying to make proper beer using magic. I heard from Great Hammer that the crucial ingredient would be here in Tartaros, so I came to check the crack and look for it. Do you perhaps know where it might be?”

“Pro-proper beer, you say?”

“Hohohoho, have you ever seen such a bold human!”

“So you’re saying you came all the way to Tartaros on an expedition to make the best beer?”

“Make way!”

“Take him to the elders immediately!”

***

Power in Tartaros comes from skill in handling the hammer.

The selection criteria for the king of Tartaros, called Great Hammer, was skill in handling iron and hammer.

As a result, when a more skilled king is elected, the one called Great Hammer in Tartaros steps down from the throne.

At the same time, they gain a new position, which is the elder’s seat.

In other words, the elders of Tartaros were once called Great Hammer and showed overwhelming skills within Tartaros.

‘I’m nervous.’

These elders were the core of Tartaros.

The items they made had options that far surpassed S-grade in terms of ranking.

‘Whether it’s weapons or armor, anything they make is suitable for use by Swordmasters or Archmages.’

Normally, these weren’t people you could meet so easily, but the situation had worked out well in many ways.

‘The 5th Apostle actually helped me.’

Whoosh!

With a burst of hot air, three dwarf elders entered the room.

They all had solemn expressions, but the Eye of Horus clearly showed their emotions.

‘They’re expecting something.’

The ultimate beer Ethan mentioned.

They were all captivated by it.

“Ahem, you said your name was Ethan Whiskers? We hear from the children that you’re making beer?”

“Not just making beer, but making a rich and deep-flavored, that.”

“The children downstairs said you’re trying to make the ultimate beer.”

The three elders’ eyes sparkled while maintaining an unnecessary solemnity.

Everyone becomes a child in front of something they like.

“Yes, that’s my dream.”

Beer was actually one of the good potions. It especially had the effect of aiding mana circulation, and the better the beer, the faster it made mana circulation, helping with mana recovery.

‘It’s a kind of mana potion.’

Of course, feeling good was a bonus.

“Hmmmm, but they say that the item you’re looking for is full of sacred power.”

“All such items in our Tartaros are in a storage passed down through generations to Great Hammer. But that storage isn’t a place just anyone can enter.”

“Even Sigma, the current Great Hammer, couldn’t enter. Sigma, who had shown no interest until now, suddenly said he wanted to enter, you see.”

At the implication that it would be difficult, Ethan stood up cleanly.

“Then there’s no helping it. It might be better to travel the continent a bit more and gain more experience.”

Instead, the dwarf elders showed signs of dismay.

“Wait, Ethan Whiskers! We might be able to open that storage with our authority!”

“But there’s a condition.”

“You said you’re doing a beer business, right? If you say you’re going to make the best beer, you must be confident in your skills.”

“We need to taste your beer once. Only then can we consider your request.”

The three elders grinned simultaneously.

Ethan also responded to that smile.

“By all means.”

***

The ingredients for beer are simple.

Barley, hops, water, yeast.

‘All four can be easily obtained in Tartaros.’

But pure beer made using only these four would be difficult to appeal to dwarves.

‘That’s why I use herbs.’

Currently, Ethan had a technique to make herbs special.

The power of Asclepius. Radiant Herbal Arts.

Through this technique that draws out all the power contained in herbs, he could maximize the flavor of the herbs going into the beer.

‘I didn’t expect to use this technique for making beer. But abilities are meant to be utilized in various ways.’

Originally, beer goes through various processes and finally undergoes aging at the end.

‘Luckily, there’s a magic specifically for aging.’

It was magic that could be used freely even with Ethan’s little mana. Moreover, Ethan was extremely proficient in this magic.

‘It’s magic that utilizes brule, after all.’

Ethan started making beer in the room provided by the dwarf elders.

‘Rather than a traditional working method.’

It could be seen as the process of making a beer potion.

Ethan quickly got to work. It was quite enjoyable to make beer potions after a long time.

“Hmm.”

Ethan created a beer potion through two fermentations.

Gulp gulp.

“The taste is proper. It’s good even though I made it myself. Especially with the help of the Radiant Herbal Arts. Isn’t this perfect for making herbs to go into beer?”

Clearly, the power of Asclepius played a big role.

This bitter yet deep taste was only possible because it drew out all the potential of the herbs.

‘Actually, this was made without considering the unit price. Of course it’s delicious.’

But now was not the time to think about unit prices.

Ethan stood before the dwarf elders with the completed beer potion.

“That was fast. You can make it this quickly?”

“Even with magic having advanced…”

“As I said, my dream is to make the best beer. I don’t just shout about romance without having this kind of technique.”

At Ethan’s confident attitude, the three elders stroked their chins and smiled subtly with satisfaction.

As befitting a master craftsman, one should have such an attitude. As blacksmiths, they were quite satisfied with Ethan’s demeanor.

The three simultaneously drank the beer Ethan handed them.

Gulp gulp.

“This can’t be.”

“This taste…”

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