Chapter 17: The Long Road to the Imperial Capital – Part 29
The next day, I visited Village Chief Lianos to formally place my order for my mace, Larni’s longsword, and Sakurahime’s naginata. I also requested a sufficient number of mithril gauntlets.
When I showed Lianos the Beast King’s Fang as a reference for Larni’s longsword, he once again erupted into excitement. It seems that even the dwarves recognize the exceptional quality of the Beast King’s Fang.
By the way, I learned that I could specify certain effects to be imbued into the weapons. However, the extent of these effects would depend on the weapon’s overall quality. Moreover, if an exceptional weapon is crafted, it may become “Named,” which grants it particularly high effects. The notion that having crafted a “Named” weapon is a status symbol among dwarves piqued my interest.
“The concept of ‘Named’ weapons is quite fascinating. Does that mean the gods bestow the name upon them?” I asked.
Lianos stroked his beard thoughtfully as he replied, “Indeed, it is said that the God of Blacksmithing names them. One of our goals is to create a ‘Named’ weapon. In this village, there are not even ten who have succeeded in crafting one. Rest assured, I am among them.”
“Of course, I am grateful that the Village Chief himself will be working on it. I look forward to your craftsmanship.”
“Ah, it is an honor for me to be entrusted with the weapon of a hero who can slay dragons. I shall forge a weapon worthy of a lifetime!”
Lianos flexed his muscles and grinned widely.
Now, all that remained was to wait for the completion of the weapons. He mentioned it would take about two weeks, which was indeed a rushed job.
Just as I was about to leave the Village Chief’s residence to return to the inn and discuss our future plans with the team, a dwarf came running in, panting heavily.
He clearly bore the signs of an emergency.
“Village Chief! An accident has occurred in the mine! A massive rock has fallen from the mountain and blocked the entrance to the tunnel!”
“What? Are there any injuries?” Lianos asked, his expression turning grave.
“It seems no one was near the entrance when the rock fell. However, there were about a hundred adventurers inside the tunnel.”
“That’s serious. We must gather the villagers and head to their rescue immediately. You, ring the bell. Signal for everyone to gather at the north gate.”
“Understood!”
It seemed that everything had been going too smoothly until now, and as expected, the usual chaos had arrived. Dorozitte was sending me a meaningful glance, likely believing this was a result of the skill’s influence.
When I turned around, my companions were already nodding, giving thumbs up, and smiling, clearly understanding the situation. The only ones who seemed a bit confused were Geshura and Sakurahime. However, given Sakurahime’s fidgeting, it was clear she had no objections to going to help.
“Village Chief, we should also respond to this. We were planning to head to the mine anyway,” I suggested.
“Ah? That would be helpful. With Soushi here, we should be able to move that large rock quickly.”
Depending on the size of the rock, using the Item Box should make the removal process relatively straightforward.
Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this might not just be about a simple rockfall… I was indeed more concerned about that possibility.
The northern mine, which was essentially a dungeon, was half a day’s journey on foot for adventurers.
We set out ahead of the Village Chief and his party, arriving just before evening.
Before us stood a town surrounded by walls made of stacked rocks, home to about 500 residents.
I had heard about it beforehand, but it was a mining town with inns, eateries, blacksmiths, and tool shops surrounding the rocky mountain where the dungeon was located.
While these facilities were likely meant for adventurers acting as miners, it seemed that quite a few adventurers had settled here, as there were around fifty ordinary houses. It was enlightening to see that adventurers could lead such lives.
Dwarven guards stood at the castle gate, but upon identifying ourselves as adventurers, they allowed us to pass without issue.
However, they did inform us, “The entrance to the dungeon is currently blocked by a rock. You’ll have to wait until help arrives from the village to clear it.”
Once inside the town, I expected a tense atmosphere, but instead, it was eerily quiet. Perhaps everyone had gathered at the accident site.
I urged my companions to head towards the towering rock mountain ahead. A signpost indicated the way to the mine dungeon entrance, and we easily made our way there.
It was a plaza located halfway up the mountain, about the size of a baseball field, resembling a stone quarry.
To the north, there was a towering cliff formed by rock excavation, with a fresh collapse visible on part of it.
Beneath it sat a boulder the size of a house, surrounded by countless smaller rocks and stones. The entrance to the dungeon must be beyond that massive boulder.
Naturally, over two hundred people—mostly dwarves—were gathered at the collapse site, working to remove the rocks.
However, despite the scattered smaller rocks, the crucial boulder would be nearly impossible to move by mere human strength… even a group of average adventurers would struggle. That size was likely over a thousand tons.
“This is more serious than I expected. It looks like it will take considerable effort to remove that rock,” Shizuna sighed as she assessed the situation, prompting Larni to perk up her ears.
“That can be done easily with Soushi’s Item Box. He can fit a dragon, a house, and a ton of lumber in there without issue.”
“That’s true. If we empty out what’s currently inside, it seems possible… What do you think, Soushi?” Sfenia asked, her eyes filled with expectation.
Feeling a bit bashful under their gazes, I replied, “In terms of weight, it should be similar to what’s currently inside, so if I empty the Item Box, it should work. However, we will need space to unload the items and a place to move that boulder.”
“Then we should first speak to the person in charge. Let’s clear some space,” Larni suggested.
Following the advice of Grand Master Dorozitte, we searched for the dwarf directing operations at the site.
It didn’t take long to find him. He was a larger dwarf among the crowd, standing in front of the boulder, discussing matters with several other dwarves and directing the surrounding workers.
“Excuse me, I am Soushi, here on behalf of Village Chief Lianos,” I introduced myself.
“Hm? My brother’s request? Is he on his way here?” the dwarf replied.
It seemed this dwarf was Lianos’s brother. I could see the resemblance, though it was hard to tell due to his thick brows and beard.
“Yes, he is on his way here. However, I believe we should remove that boulder as soon as possible.”
“Well, there are about a hundred people trapped inside, so if we could move it, we would. Ah, sorry, I’m Gostera, the representative of this town and a blacksmith. So, what are you planning to do, Soushi?”
Gostera looked at me skeptically, stroking his beard.
“I will remove that boulder. I would like to request your permission for that, Gostera.”
“Remove it? You and… those girls are going to do it?” he asked incredulously.
“No, it will be just me. I believe I can remove it using the Item Box.”
“Are you serious? There’s no way you can fit that into an Item Box. We were just discussing how to break it down.”
“Please, just let me try. However, I need a spacious area to unload everything currently in the Item Box, so I would like to temporarily halt the work and clear some space.”
“You really seem to be serious about this,” Gostera said, stroking his beard and narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
Anyone familiar with the Item Box’s mechanics would likely think it impossible, but if I could pull out a dragon, they might believe me.
“Well… if my brother put in a request, I suppose I can let you try. Hey! Everyone, stop working for a moment! Gather over here!”
Gostera shouted loudly, walking away from the cliff. The dwarves who had been clearing the scattered rocks followed his orders, moving away from the cliff and gathering towards the entrance of the plaza.