Chapter 102: A Relic to Transport the Village

After Ryan swept the area with the power of his skills, they noticed that a basement had been exposed beneath the tower.

They decided to investigate. But what they found was actually the location where the slaves Ivis had mentioned were being held.

"All of them... they’re dwarves, right?" Karol asked as she illuminated the center of the room with her fireballs.

"I didn’t think we would find them in this place..." Irina remarked while remaining by Ryan’s side.

’But... that means I was on the verge of killing them all... if I had aimed that attack directly at the ground, that power surely would have pierced right through it...’

"Karol, Irina, free them."

"Yes!"

They went immediately, removing their chains and gags.

Once the dwarves were free, they began asking all sorts of questions and thanking them.

According to what they said, they had been locked up there for at least fifteen days.

Their clothes were filthy; it was hard for Ryan to tell their ages. However,

he counted at least twenty-two dwarves.

But something distracted Irina for a moment.

"Could it be that you are... Lady Irina?"

"Eh? Who are you?"

"It’s natural that you don’t remember me. But your father used to visit the house of the lord I served."

The old man spoke calmly.

"Back then, you were just a little girl. You’ve grown up well. Your father must be proud."

Irina clenched her fists, then relaxed her hands.

"So, you’re saying you served Frederica’s family? Is she alright? Were they kidnapped too? How did you end up here?"

The old man laughed softly in a controlled manner.

"I will answer all your questions, but calm down a bit; there’s no need to speak so fast. Lady Frederica is fine, but she no longer lives in the city. They left a few years ago."

Irina locked eyes with Ryan.

Then she lowered her head and whispered,

"I’m sorry... it seems she isn’t here..."

"You don’t have to apologize. It was a possibility I had already considered, but at least be glad that she’s still alive."

"But we needed her to craft that relic. What will we do now? It will be very difficult to find someone willing to come with us."

Irina kept her fists clenched.

"Hey, about what you’re discussing..."

The voice came from one of the dwarves who had been chained earlier.

Ryan and Irina turned toward that voice.

A dwarven woman with red hair. And quite muscular.

"What is it?" Ryan asked without looking away.

"It’s just that you said you need a relic blacksmith, right? Maybe I can help... what do you need?"

Ryan and Irina exchanged glances, then looked back at her.

"Do you really know how to create relics?" Irina asked incredulously.

"Of course. I’m very skilled."

"Ha ha ha," the old man interjected. "That’s true. She is undoubtedly very talented, but she was fired from her job, and while she was begging, she was somehow kidnapped."

"Hey, don’t tell them that..."

Ryan walked over until he stood in front of the old man.

"And why was she fired? If she’s so talented, why would they let her go?"

The old man stood up but gestured for Ryan to lean down.

It was annoying for Ryan, but he did it.

The old man whispered into his ear.

"The thing is, she’s actually crazy."

"What do you mean, old man?"

"Dwarves usually have the mission to manufacture what the kingdom needs, but she just spent her time idling away, saying that wasn’t enough. In her eagerness to create unique items and relics, she ended up neglecting her work. That’s why she was kicked out. She’s a very obsessive woman, but not in a good way."

’Wait a second, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, maybe that interest in creating things that would normally seem impossible could be something that benefits us...’

"What are you two whispering about so much?" the red-haired woman asked.

"Hey, what’s your name?" Ryan addressed her.

"I’m Runa. And again... thank you for saving me."

"I see. Don’t worry about that. But would you really be interested in working for me for a while?"

"Yes. In gratitude, I can forge whatever you want, even for free."

"There’s no need for you to work for free. The only catch is that it’s not in this city. You’ll have to accompany me to another kingdom, and it will be a journey of a couple of days."

She stood there thinking for a moment.

’I knew it. She’s going to refuse.’

"Alright, I accept."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I don’t have a home here anyway, nor do I feel tied to this place. If you give me steady work, I could even stay in that kingdom you’re talking about."

"I think that might be even better. If you’re really as talented as you say, I’ll put those skills to use. You won’t have any time for idling," Ryan said, extending his hand toward her.

She took his hand in a firm grip.

"I hope so!" she said with a smile.

After finishing the talk, the dwarves left the basement while following Ryan.

Once they stepped outside, everyone began looking for the tower that had been there before.

"That’s strange. I was sure there was a massive tower here before."

"Could they have teleported us while they had us gagged and blindfolded?"

Karol burst out laughing upon hearing them.

Then Irina chimed in on their guesses.

"Actually, this is the same place. It’s just that Liam destroyed it along with the bandits who were holding you."

"Are you serious? But that tower was enormous." The old man looked around.

There was no trace of the tower left, only a kind of trench that stretched as far as his eyes could see.

"There’s no doubt. That’s the mark of that powerful attack..." The old man looked at Ryan with intense curiosity.

"I had the impression you were someone strong, but this leaves me impressed."

Ryan walked through them.

"That doesn’t matter anymore. But you all need to head back to the city. Since Runa is coming with us, it’s time for us to leave. So... if possible, when any of you report what happened here, let them know we won’t be returning to the mines."

Ryan paused.

"After all, we only came to try and recruit a dwarf to help us with an important task."

"Alright, leave it to me,"

the dwarf said, and they said their goodbyes. Then the entire group of dwarves set off back toward the city.

The sun was starting to rise.

And the whole area was completely illuminated.

"It looks like everything turned out well," Karol said, hugging Ryan’s arm.

"Yes, it’s time to go back. I just hope nothing happened in our absence."

"Don’t worry. Mirian is very strong. No matter who might have gone to cause trouble, it won’t be a problem for her."

’I think so too, but I can’t help worrying. Our enemies are many...’

"Ryan, I’m glad things turned out well, hehe."

"Ryan?"

"No, no, I said Liam."

"Ah, well... it’s just that I thought I heard ’Ryan,’ though I don’t know where I knew that name from before... how strange."

Ryan sighed.

And he looked at Karol, still clinging to his arm.

"It’s time to go now, so leave that for later."

Ryan looked intently at Runa.

"I’m counting on you. But I’m telling you now, it won’t be an easy task. What we want to do is a bit complicated."

"Now I’m curious. Tell me what you’re planning."

"Well, you’ll find out when we get there."

"And how will we go? I don’t see any transport."

"The trip would be too slow that way, so we’re going to fly."

"Flying?"

"Karol, we can leave now."

"Yes." She smiled and let go of Ryan.

When Karol prepared her magic, everyone began to float. The journey would be long, but they would move as fast as possible.

Because Ryan didn’t want to stay in the dwarven city any longer.

They departed immediately.

However, after half a day, they were already hungry, as they hadn’t eaten anything.

So they stopped in a small village they found along the way.

While they were in the village, they also decided to buy clothes for Runa, as her garments were very worn out.

Then they went for food.

It was funny for Ryan to see Runa’s expression when, inside the establishment where they were eating, she saw one of the posters showing the name she couldn’t remember earlier.

Even so, she didn’t seem to notice that Liam was actually the Ryan from the poster.

Although he had used that name hastily because it was the first thing that came to mind, it had served him very well so far.

They set off again in flight toward the elven village.

Though now it wasn’t just the elven village, but his own village.

When the island of the elven forest was finally visible.

They stopped for a moment in mid-air.

"We’re finally here," he said with a faint smile.

"Eh? It’s here? But that place... it’s just an empty forest."

"Don’t worry, the entrance is hidden."

She looked at Irina with curiosity.

"Now that I think about it, since there’s an elf here, could it be that we’re going to that place everyone’s been talking about lately...? A village persecuted by the Church!"

Ryan smiled.

"Eh? Of course not. Besides, don’t worry about that right now."

"To tell you the truth, I don’t care much about that. But are you going to tell me what you want me to forge? If you tell me it’s just simple weapons, I’ll be disappointed."

Ryan looked at her seriously.

"I don’t think it’s anything that simple. What we need is, A Relic to Transport the Entire Village"

"What!?"

Ryan began to look up, directing his gaze toward the clouds.

"But first, let’s see if Helen and Beatrice still up there."