I and the other dwarves originally lived in a cavern system at the foot of a mountain range. However, after some events, we ended up moving to a human-built village in the nearby wasteland.
Our new life at the village was very comfortable.
Having spent many years of our lives inside the caverns, the sun’s light felt unsettling for us. Considering that, the village chief decided to make a residential space underground specifically for us.
Also, unlike back in the caverns where we could eat mostly only snakes and insects, we could eat all sorts of delicious food here.
Water could be used freely, so everyone in the village including us took a bath each day. Thanks to that, we were always so clean.
But perhaps the thing that delighted us the most was the alcohol. Back in the caverns, we ever so rarely drank alcohol, but in the village, we could drink to our heart’s content. On top of that, the alcohol here was extraordinarily delicious.
The village chief forbade us from drinking alcohol outside of our underground residence though. We had absolutely no problem complying with that and have been drinking among ourselves almost every night.
…for some reason though, we always wind up undressing ourselves.
All that being said, it wasn’t like we were freeloading off the village.
We did various things to contribute. Some helped in making our beloved alcohol, while some did hard labor by making good use of a dwarf’s strong body. Unsurprisingly though, most of us contributed through blacksmithing.
Our skillful hands have produced the majority of the weapons and equipment here in the village.
Materials were easy to come by here unlike in caverns, so it was easy enough to mass-produce high-quality equipment. And because we sold the equipment for a reasonable price, merchants and adventurers alike would always be in shock at first.
“What!? This sword only cost this much? Is that supposed to be a joke or something? You do know that something like this cost at least 5 times in royal capital, right!?”
A particular visitor, an adventurer based on his looks, was shouting so loudly.
“What’s going on in this city…how the heck can regular citizens hold their own against me in sword fighting, and why in blazes are there so many macho men everywhere!?”
In that particular adventurer’s hand was one of the mass-produced equipment we made. Those mass-produced ones were generally made by the dwarves who didn’t have a [Smithing] Gift.
Naturally, an equipment made by someone who had a [Smithing] Gift or something similar was far better. It wasn’t only in terms of sharpness or ease of use; most of the equipment they made were enchanted by a skill of some kind.
For example, an equipment with [Indestructibility] would make an equipment barely lose durability, while an equipment with [Enhance Body] would make the user’s body become stronger.
Recently, the dwarves with Gifts have been producing these special weapons and equipment one after another in hopes that theirs would be better than the others’ works.
“What’s going on? Why is there so much noise from the workshop today?”
I thought so when I was near the workshop for smithing.
Unlike the usual where everyone was quietly devoting themselves in their work, the atmosphere within the workshop was completely different.
“Dolan! W-we have…something!”
“What, what is it?”
“I-it’s…for now, follow me this way! Dona!”
“Mhm.”
The one being called was Dona, a dwarf who has just recently turned 12 years old.
Upon coming of age, she received the [Weapon Craftsman] Gift. Ever since then, she has developed many new kinds of equipment. To name but a few: special swords that could transform into whips; prosthetic arms that could be moved like the real thing and even be used to swing a sword; and shields and armors that reduced the damage received by absorbing the shock.
Apparently, that girl has made something new again.
“Am I missing something? It looks like nothing but a normal sword to me…?”
However, what she held in her hands looked nothing more a perfectly ordinary sword. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was again something like that sword that could turn into a whip.
“Ei!”
“~~!?”
After Dona shouted and swung the sword, a bright light assailed my eyes while a thunderous sound assailed my ears.
A moment later, when my vision returned to how it was, I saw the floor burning.
“W-w-wha…that lightning just now…did it come from the sword…?”
“Mhm.”
“Then that means…no, it can’t be…”
In contrast to me who was in shock, Dona was all matter-of-factly.