Chapter 216

The EXP boost event benefited every player enough that it more than made up for the frustration caused by the sudden cancellation.

Newbies who were still getting used to the virtual reality world jumped at the news, and casual players who were happy with their current level did the same. Although this crowd usually spent more time enjoying virtual life than grinding monsters, they all dug out their long-rusted gear and headed back into the hunting grounds.

As for the hardcore gamers, there was no need to even mention them. They charged into hunting zones with the clear intention of not wasting a single second for the entire duration of the event.

“Are you sure this is the place?” The youngest member of a party frowned.

“How many times do I have to tell you? If we keep climbing, we’ll get there!” the party leader snapped back without hesitation.

“I’m saying this because I’m pooped as hell. Try playing a mage for once and you’ll realize walking this much is fucking brutal.”

“Well, who told you to roll a mage in the first place?”

As the tank and the eldest sister, the leader had no patience for whining. Tanks boasted absurd stamina, so she couldn’t understand the misery of mages, who were infamous for being fragile as hell and built like wet paper.

“If it weren’t for Do-Jin...” the youngest muttered bitterly. She’d switched to mage around the time Do-Jin’s videos started circulating and won over an entire generation of players.

“Oh! There’s the Yeti!” The party’s second member spoke up as she pointed uphill. As a ranger with sharp eyes, she’d already spotted a small figure moving through the snow in the distance.

“I told you! Nobody comes here, and this place is crawling with Yetis and white Ice Trolls!”

Most of the hunting grounds and dungeons that had recently become hotspots for the Level 80 to 120 range were fire-themed. Because of that trend, materials dropped by Yetis and Ice Trolls had shot up in price. Fire-resistant gear was in high demand, so those materials were selling for whatever price the seller felt like asking.

“The terrain’s shit, but that’s exactly why no one comes here. Since nobody’s around, all of this is ours!” the eldest shouted confidently as she slammed her shield with a loud smack.

The rest of the party followed behind her and trudged uphill in a line. Although the hunt was going smoothly, something began to feel off.

“Wait, aren’t we way too far up? I can’t even see the path we took anymore!”

The snow-covered mountain swallowed them. Relentless winds erased their footprints, and the scent of humans spread through the peaks. That scent reached the mountain’s native inhabitants, attracting monsters to them. The party realized that staying put meant a guaranteed wipe, so they hurried off in what they hoped was the right direction downhill.

“M-monsters are coming up from below too!”

Dozens of Yetis and several Ice Trolls were closing in, already cutting off the escape route and refusing to let a rare batch of prey slip away. They tightened the circle as they prepared to tear the humans apart.

Then all of a sudden, a fire erupted. The scorching heat washed over them even from a distance, roasting all the monsters alive.

“Holy shit!”

“What the hell was that? What just happened?”

They whipped their heads around in a daze to see a vaguely familiar wolf charging toward them.

“Oh, that’s...!” the youngest trailed off as the wolf tore through everything in its path, smashing monsters to pieces as it sprinted forward without slowing down.

A moment later, a human appeared looking completely out of place in the snowy mountains. Using the flames wrapped around his body, he cleanly burned away the monsters the wolf had left behind.

“No way!” The youngest screamed. She might’ve been a victim just now, but she’d also once been a die-hard fan of that mage.

She hurriedly fixed her hair and clothes, messy from all the rolling around. The golden mana spilling out between those spells gave it away. It was definitely Do-Jin who stood before them now.

W-what do I even say first? Would he ask me if I was okay? Then... I should tell him I’ve been a huge fan and thank him properly.

Those thoughts barely finished forming when Do-Jin blew past her. He was wrapped in magic and moving at a ridiculous speed. Up until that moment, the youngest and the others figured he was just cleaning up the upper area and would come back down. At least that was what they all thought. Instead, Do-Jin wiped out the cluster of monsters, picked up even more speed, and then disappeared farther up the mountain.

“What?”

“He’s leaving?”

Being cool had its limits. At this point, he was even colder than the wind blasting through this snowfield.

“Um... that was him, right?”

Someone asked the question that was all on their minds, but nobody answered. The answer was too obvious to bother saying out loud.

The youngest scrambled to her feet. She’d just missed the idol of her dreams right in front of her eyes and, without thinking, she started heading uphill.

“You crazy bitch! We barely survived, and you’re going up there instead of down?”

That brilliant idea got shut down immediately.

***

Do-Jin climbed back onto Anemone, drew in his magic, and mumbled, “What the hell are these idiots doing in the absolute worst spot this place has to offer?”

The place they’d wandered into was practically the heart of the monster habitat, a location so deep and nasty that one would struggle to find it even on purpose. Luckily, Anemone had picked up the scent of humans and gone to check it out. The number of monsters she’d plowed through just clearing a path could’ve filled an entire truck.

“They should be heading down by now.”

“They are. The scent’s fading,” Anemone responded.

“Yeah? Either way, you basically saved them.”

Her ears twitched as she ran. She was clearly proud of the praise.

Do-Jin tapped her mane a couple of times and looked ahead, where Mountain Tigrek came into view. The last time he’d passed through here, the place had been a complete nightmare, but now he could push through without much trouble. Both Do-Jin and Anemone were on an entirely different level from back then.

No, that’s not the point. The problem is why the hell I have to take this route again in the first place...

Do-Jin’s irritation was more than justified. The last time he’d come here with Maglo, he’d created a new route for the dwarves living inside Mountain Tigrek. It had been a magic portal left behind by Silvermoon, but it still counted as a proper route.

Yet when he tried to enter Steelpeak Village, the teleportation Magic Circle was inactive. Thanks to that, he was now slogging through the same snowy mountains again, just like he had with Maglo.

This better not be something serious.

Setting aside the errand that brought him here, Do-Jin genuinely hoped the dwarves were safe.

“Anemone, let’s pick up the pace.”

As if she’d been waiting for those words, Anemone surged forward and increased her speed.

***

In the end, nothing was wrong with the dwarves at all. If anything, they were doing too well.

Steelpeak Village, which had once occupied only part of a cavern inside the Mountain Tigrek Range, had grown to a completely absurd scale. Every building looked newly constructed, and the entire place gave off the polished vibe of a modern industrial city.

“Huh?” As Do-Jin approached the village, a gatekeeper dwarf recognized him and jolted in surprise. “Mr. Mage, isn’t that you?”

Do-Jin was the one they owed their lives to. It hadn’t been long, so every dwarf in the village knew exactly who he was. Word spread through the village, and a familiar face showed up almost immediately.

“Hey, you little shit!” Maglo charged over the moment he saw Do-Jin, his temper flaring as brightly as ever. He pumped his short legs furiously as he shouted, “I was about to forget what your face even looked like, you bastard!”

Do-Jin looked him over and replied, “What the hell happened to you?”

Seeing him again was nice, but everything about his appearance felt off. The outfit looked completely wrong on him, and the glasses only made it worse. They didn’t even look like they had real lenses in them. He’d trimmed his beard so neatly it almost felt wrong, and the mustache stood out the most, styled into that ridiculous, iconic Kaiser shape. He’d even slicked his hair straight back.

No matter how he looked at him, Do-Jin couldn’t find a single trace of the down-on-his-luck blacksmith owner he remembered.

“That’s the first thing you say after all this time?” Maglo clicked his tongue and continued. “You think I had a choice? This is what running a business looks like, asshole.”

He fiddled with his outfit and hair for a second, then added, “Do I look that weird? I mean, my mom made me wear it and all, but still...”

“I’m joking. You look pretty clean.”

Pulling out the mom card was just unfair. Do-Jin didn’t have a choice but to change his tune.

“Haha, anyway. Way to kill the reunion mood, you little shit.”

Maglo stuck out his hand, and When Do-Jin grabbed it, he gave a vigorous shake with his thick hand. “You been doing alright?”

“More or less. But the Magic Circle wasn’t working. Did something happen?”

“Oh, that? As you can see, business is booming. We just pushed out a huge shipment and brought in a ton of raw materials, so the whole system overheated.” Maglo tilted his head mid-sentence. “But how’d you even get in? The circle shouldn’t be usable until tomorrow or the day after.”

“I came the way we did last time.”

Maglo’s face twisted into something deeply unsettling. It was the exact look of someone thinking, This guy is insane.

While they were talking, a crowd of dwarves had gathered nearby, openly staring at them.

Maglo noticed and lowered his voice. “Let’s head somewhere quiet first. I’ll get you some tea.”

So he really had turned into a businessman... to offer tea instead of booze.

Do-Jin followed Maglo back to his place. The moment he stepped inside, he could tell the house was ridiculously lavish. Maglo personally poured the tea and set the cup down in front of him. When the smell hit him, Do-Jin realized immediately that there was alcohol in it. The bastard had actually spiked the tea.

Do-Jin took a polite sip anyway and finally spoke, “I saw the forge turned into a warehouse. You said you were going to keep running it.”

“Things just worked out that way. Once the work piled up, I stopped having time to swing a hammer.”

Maglo shook his head slowly, then looked back at him. “So. Let’s hear why you’re really here. Don’t give me that bullshit about coming to see my face.”

“We’re getting straight to it?”

“Tsk. I prefer getting it out in the open. Running a business instead of pounding metal’s a pain in the ass. It’s nothing but negotiations and headaches all day. I don’t feel like doing that kind of crap with you too.”

Maglo downed the hot, booze-laced tea in one go.

“Just say the word. If it’s something I can handle, I’ll help,” Do-Jin offered. “We’re brothers, aren’t we?”

“Tsk. Don’t tell me you’re judging me by my looks.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You said it with your eyes, you little shit.”

Do-Jin let out a quiet chuckle. Maglo had changed, but at least he’d changed for the better. The fake glasses and slicked-back hair were still going to take some getting used to, though.

He opened his inventory and finally got to the point of this trip in the middle of the EXP event. “Well... why else would a human come looking for dwarves? I’m here for a crafting request.”

The reason Do-Jin had come looking for Maglo, or rather the dwarves, was the Bloodbound Cursed Stone he’d just obtained.