Chapter 103


    The foes we had painstakingly vanquished vanished like fog.


    It was a baffling and somewhat frustrating oue.


    Maybe it was a situation that could lead to the demoralization of all 15 party members.


    But that didnt happen. Thanks to a remarkably absurd adversary who sprang up right on the spot.


    "What were you doing that you arrived sote, you damned fools!"


    Right after we had defeated the Nightcrawler squad.


    A squatty old man burst out from a corner of the base camp, squawking at us.


    "Do you know how many days its been since these ouws took over the camp?! You should have driven them out faster, darn it!"


    "...?"


    Everyone looked at this old woman in confusion.


    His head waspletely bald. Big, round eyes with a beak-like nose the size of a fist.


    Beneath that was a gray beard sticking out in all directions.


    "Those frozen scoundrels havepletely extinguished my forge fire! Cant you see my precious metaldies shaking with cold?! Huh?!"


    The party members were still stunned by the sudden appearance of the dwarf old man and his squawking.


    However, I recognized the opponent immediately and felt a sense of relief.


    The magical cksmith. Its Kellibey!


    Kellibey, the always avable NPC who protects this base camp.


    Hes an Elder Dwarf adventurer who came into the dungeon in search of rare ores and never left.


    His disposition is absolutely friendly.


    Hes a reliable ally who will side with the yer no matter what they do.


    "You useless, good-for-nothing, worm-like adventurers! Cant you hear me?! Light the fire in the camp now! Are you children of the dark?!"


    ...His mouth is a bit crude.


    Anyway, a lot of yers dislike him because he is a no-break gentleman who curses andmands from the first meeting.


    Im used to it because Ive seen him so much.


    Lucas looked at me with a Shall we get rid of him, my lord? kind of expression. I chuckled and opened my mouth.


    "Okay, everyone! I know this is a bit confusing, but for now, lets follow the old mans instructions."


    Surprised by this response, Kellibey widened his eyes and looked at me.


    I looked around the base camp.


    "This camp will be our base from now on. We have to light the fire as the old man instructed, and restore the ces that the enemies have messed up."


    "Ho ho, ho ho!"


    Kellibey, who let out a strange exmation, came to me, huffing and puffing.


    "Well, well, theres a clear-headed worm here! Whats your name?"


    "Im Ash, Master Craftsman."


    "A friend who sticks to basics. I like it, I like it!"


    Lucas was eyeing Kellibey as if he didnt like him.


    "How dare he be insolent to my lord..."


    However, to my surprise, Kellibey snapped at Lucas instead.


    "Hey, cant you hear your captain?! Light up the fire now!"


    "..."


    Lucas looked at me with a face like a wronged puppy. I waved my hands, breaking out in a cold sweat.


    "...Lucas, go light the fire for now."


    Just listen to this old man for a moment. Ill make it up to youter.


    "Yes, my lord..."


    Shoulders drooping, Lucas went off to light the fires around the base camp. Im sorry, pal...


    Eventually, all of our party members began lighting fires and cleaning up the debris at Kellibeysmand.


    "Um! Um!"


    As Kellibey watched the scene with satisfaction, I cautiously approached him.


    "May I ask for your name, sir?"


    I know his name, but I need to ask. For the sake of futuremunication.


    "Normally, I only reveal my name to trustedrades."


    Kellibey, who had cockily shrugged his shoulders, introduced himself.


    "You seem promising, so Ill tell you. My name is Kellibey. I am the best cksmith in this world."


    If someone deres themselves the best, its usually seen as arrogant. But this old man certainly had the qualifications.


    After all, he was the only one capable of crafting the exclusive equipment of SSR grade characters.


    He was also the only one who could create a certain type of magical weapon.


    I need to create the equipment necessary for Stage 5 through this old man.


    My judgment was quick, and my tongue was smooth, spitting out ttery.


    "Indeed, your appearance is extraordinary...! It is an honor to meet you in person, Kellibey, a name I have only heard in legends."


    At my ttery, Kellibey chuckled and stroked his beard.


    "A legend? Its been 50 years since I entered this dungeon, and my name is still known in the outside world, eh?"


    "Indeed. In our countrys smithies, you are revered as a god of furnace and anvil, sir Kellibey."


    "Puhahaha! Is that so? Is that so? Of course, the weapons I made must be pretty impressive!"


    Hepletely believed my tant lie.


    As I continued to tter and handle him carefully, Kellibey soonpletely opened his heart to me. Such an easy-going old man.


    "Alright, alright. Seeing how nicely youre treating me..."


    When I handed over the entire bag of emergency rations, he gratefully epted it.


    In front of the smithy at the corner of the base camp, Kellibey, sitting on a chair, stroked his beard and winked at me.


    "Seems like you want something, huh?"


    "Yes, sir."


    Theres no need to beat around the bush. From here on, its a conversation between a cksmith and a client.


    I went straight to the point.


    "I need a Star Silver weapon."


    Suddenly, the topic of top-tier equipment came up, causing Kellibey to flinch.


    "How many... are needed? Theyre not exactly easy to make..."


    "Fifteen."


    Kellibeys eyes bulged out of his head. I shrugged.


    "I might need more."


    "Are you mad?! You want me to forge fifteen Star Silver weapons?"


    "Cant do it?"


    I crossed my arms and snorted.


    "You talk big, but it seems like youre all talk."


    "What... what did you say?!"


    "So, all that talk about being the best and a legend was all bluff, huh? I guess its typical for old tales to be exaggerated."


    Kellibey turned red at my sudden change in attitude and provocation, squawking in protest.


    "Star Silver weapons are top-tier exorcism items! Even forging one requires tremendous effort. I dont know what youre nning to use them for, but how can you need fifteen-"


    "The Vampire King."


    The words I spat out made Kellibey fall silent.


    Staring into the darkness at the other end of this dungeon, I dered firmly.


    "No Life King Celendion will soon descend upon us. These are needed to stop him."


    There are many ways to deal with vampires, but the easiest one is to use weapons made of silver.


    Because silver is said to have the ability to purify what is unclean.


    In the game, this was simply reflected as a double damage effect.


    However, even the effect of silver weapons is halved against high-ranking vampire entities like nobles.


    The special silver weapon to deal with these noble bastards is the Star Silver weapon.


    It turns all damage dealt to vampires into true damage, bypassing any defense.


    It can only be forged here in this magic forge.


    You usually can only forge Star Silver weapons midway through the game.


    And rightly so, because noble vampires usually appear midway through the game.


    But things got twisted. The Vampire King appeared at stage 5.


    Hence, the need to bring out high-tier equipment that doesnt match the progress.


    "...Celendion, hes invading the outside world?"


    Kellibey, who had been silent for a while, stammered out a question. I nodded.


    "Yes."


    "...Huh."


    Kellibey, sighing deeply, stared at the extinguished forge furnace.


    "You know, kiddo, when I first entered this dungeon, I came in with my two brothers."


    This was the first time I was hearing about Kellibeys past. I blinked in surprise.


    "We kept finding rare minerals in this dungeon that wed never heard of or seen outside, and we got excited."


    Kellibey stuck a pipe in his mouth, struck a match, and drew a puff.


    "So we ventured deeper into the dungeon in search of rarer minerals, fearlessly."


    A flicker of fear passed through the eyes of the proud and overconfident dwarf cksmith.


    "And there, we encountered them."


    "By them, you mean?"


    "The Vampire Lords."


    Kellibeyughed bitterly, puffing out a cloud of smoke.


    "And, of all things, Lord Celendion himself."


    "...!"


    "It was our fault for delving too deep in search of minerals. By the time we realized we were no match for them in the dungeon depths, it was already toote."


    The cksmiths massive hand was shaking faintly.


    "Eventually, I was the only one to escape, leaving behind my brothers sacrifice. I never dared to enter the depths of the dungeon again."


    "..."


    "Do you know why my brothers chose to die in my ce?"


    It was a sudden question. I answered cautiously.


    "Because youre the most skilled cksmith, arent you?"


    "Exactly! Because Im the best at crafting weapons to kill those monsters!"


    Jumping up from his seat, Kellibey marched into a corner of the cksmiths shop, opened a safe, and brought out something.


    Even in the dim light, it shone like a moonlit eye, a white metal.


    "This is a shard of sacred metal, acquired deep within the dungeon through my brothers sacrifice. Its astral silver, fallen from the stars."


    Thud!


    "This is all I have."


    Kellibey, cing the sacred shard on the anvil, red at me.


    "Youre asking me to turn the lives of my brothers into a weapon. Are you prepared to pay the price?"


    I grinned.


    "Of course."


    "Oh? And what will you pay with?"


    My response was concise.


    "The head of Celendion."


    "..."


    "If needed, Ill bring his blood and hide as well."


    Kellibeys mouth dropped open slightly. I gave a confident smile.


    "It will make a great soul-stabilizer and an excellent material for equipment, wont it?"


    "Hahaha! I thought you were a decent guy, but yourepletely insane, arent you? Youll give me Celendions head?"


    Kellibey,ughing and covering his eyes, took a deep breath and looked at me.


    "I havent asked your name yet, you promising worm."


    "Ash. Ash Born Hater Everck."


    "Ha! No wonder there was a sinister smell, youre a member of the Everck royal family!"


    Kellibey pped his hands loudly.


    "Alright, scion of the human royal family. Ill make it. But fifteen is too much. I dont have enough sacred metal."


    The dwarfs thick fingers held up three.


    "Three. Ill craft three of the finest Star Silver weapons. Hows that?"


    I nodded eagerly.


    "That sounds good. Lets do that."


    "We have a deal! Good, then Ill start preparing to make the weapons right away..."


    Kellibey, pulling out a sheet of parchment from his pocket, picked up some coal lying near the hearth and scrawled some hastily written words. He then tossed the parchment towards me.


    "Fetch the rest of the materials!"


    [A Limited Equipment Creation Quest has been activated!]


    I casually nced at the parchment before stowing it away. I couldnt make out his messy handwriting, but it didnt matter since it was already updated in the system as a quest.


    "Ill be dropping by frequently, Master Craftsman."


    "Of course you should. Youll need to make this ce your base if you n on going forward."


    Kellibey let out a chuckle, looking around.


    "Next time, youll see the local old-timers hanging around here. Theres no ce asfortable as this in the dungeon. Youve dealt with those gangsters wearing the damn masks."


    Dealt with, huh.


    I thought of the Nightcrawler Squad that had vanished like mist.


    Could I really say I had "dealt" with them?


    "Bring the materials as you gather them. As long as I have the materials, I can get straight to forging."


    "I will do so."


    After hesitating for a moment, I opened my mouth.


    "May I ask you something, Master Craftsman?"


    "Huh? Youre quite curious, huh? Its the age to be curious about the world, after all. What do you want to know?"


    "Its about..."


    I mentioned the incident when we had defeated the Nightcrawler Squad.


    Despite having killed them, they had turned into mist and disappeared.


    What on earth had happened?


    Wouldnt the adventurer Kellibey, who had lived here for decades, know the reason?


    When I asked, he replied,


    "They didnt die and disappeared like mist? Thats because of the curse they received."


    Kellibey gave me the answer far too easily. I widened my eyes in surprise.


    "A curse...you say?"


    "Aha, you didnt know? The three curses that were cast upon the Lake Kingdom?"


    Kellibey chuckled, stroking his beard with his fingertips.


    "I dont know about two of the three curses either. But one of them, I know well. The surviving citizens of this country who asionally emerge, they all suffer from that."


    "And what is this curse?"


    "The curse that has those ghost-like beings crawling at the bottom of thiske for centuries. What else could it be?"


    Kellibey made a gesture as if strangling himself with his thick hand.


    "Of course, its the curse of immortality!"