As I emerged from the dark cave, a basin surrounded by rocky mountains appeared before me. I squinted against the harsh sunlight. Even though there were torches in the cave, it had been quite dark inside.

Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness, two dwarves waiting at the cave's exit approached me.

"It's been a while since an adventurer broke through the cave. Hahaha! Looks like you smashed everything inside, huh?"

"S-Sorry about that."

"Don’t worry! The golems are meant to be destroyed anyway. They'll reset on their own."

After all, it’s an instance dungeon. The golems will respawn when I re-enter, and since the dungeon also serves as a passage, I could return through the exit if needed. I could also use a return scroll to go back to the imperial capital.

I finished recording the path of the maze. The next time I come here, I’ll be able to quickly navigate to the chamber for faster grinding. When it’s time for continuous hunting to level up, I’ll use the exit to go back and forth.

"Make sure to greet the village chief. The dwarf at the entrance will guide you inside the village."

The dwarves of this settlement, who interacted with humans, didn’t seem to be particularly wary of adventurers. After all, each of them was a skilled miner and a tough warrior, confident in their own strength.

[*Verbeia Dwarf Settlement*]  
[*Reputation: 5*]

A system message popped up as I exited the cave.

I suspected that if I raised my reputation with the dwarves by impressing them, I’d receive useful items or equipment upgrades.

This was the first non-human village that adventurers encounter—the dwarf settlement.

This village, infused with dwarf culture and lifestyle, lay against a towering rocky mountain. The mountain rose sharply into the sky, and I could see various mine entrances scattered from the foothills to the peak. This was where the dwarves lived and worked as miners.

*Clang, clang!*

In what appeared to be the dwarves' workshop, blacksmiths hammered away tirelessly. The blazing heat and smoke from the furnaces showed the intense labor and activity in the area.

Following the guide at the village entrance, I was led to an impressive structure carved into the peak of the mountain. It looked like some kind of town hall.

The stone building was grand, built with both beauty and durability in mind. Even compared to modern buildings, it didn’t seem lacking. Clearly, it was designed to endure the test of time.

Inside, I was greeted by an elderly dwarf.

With their thick beards, it was hard to guess a dwarf’s age, but the deep wrinkles on his face and the whiteness of his beard suggested he had lived for quite some time.

Sitting in a stone chair, the old dwarf looked at me, his eyes glinting with interest.

"Welcome, little adventurer. I am Ironstone Drugel, the village chief of this dwarf settlement. Feel free to call me Chief Drugel."

"Hello, Chief Drugel."

I bowed politely.

I needed to make a good impression on this village chief if I wanted to earn the high-quality items the dwarves were known for crafting.

"Our village has been interacting with humans for over a hundred years now. Though I may seem like an old man stuck in this room, living for over 200 years gives you certain insights, even from the comfort of your chair. I can see you’re one of the adventurers from the stars."

His gaze deepened as he spoke.

The continent’s inhabitants referred to players like me as ‘adventurers from the stars.’ Even the chief of this dwarf settlement, who interacted with humans, was aware of our existence from another world.

"Our once-isolated dwarf settlement opened up to humans because we sensed the stirring of ‘evil.’ You may have noticed them appearing across the continent recently."

"Yes, I’m aware."

"As expected. It's unfortunate that *Astra* must now rely on the power of adventurers from the stars, but with the gods abandoning this world, there isn’t much we can do. Maybe the gods of your world took pity on our forsaken land."

I recalled the ruins of the Church of the Main God, which I had visited before.

*Astra*, a world abandoned by its gods.

Chief Drugel also knew that this world had lost its divine protection. As the elder of the long-lived dwarf race, he had knowledge that was close to the truth of this world.

Why had this world, lost to the gods, appeared as a game on Earth? That, I still didn’t know. As an NPC, Chief Drugel probably didn’t know either.

The outpost, *Aspiro Fortress*.

Though we hadn’t yet reached the point where half the continent was covered in darkness like a thousand years ago, the resurgence of evil meant that this world was once again in danger.

It was clear that the mission of the players was to stop the rise of evil across the continent. Whether the two largest nations, the Alpharion and Betarion Empires, cared about this threat while they used adventurers for their own power struggles was another matter.

Even non-human races wouldn’t be free from the influence of evil. The dwarves were doing their part to fight back in their own way.

That was the lore, anyway.

It didn’t really concern me right now.

As long as the game didn’t shut down, this world wouldn’t be destroyed. I had lost everything in the past, and demanding a sense of duty from me was ridiculous.

What I sought here was thrilling adventure, a sense of vibrant reality, and enough wealth to enrich both this world and Seulbi on Earth.

With plenty of players to fulfill the role of heroes, there wouldn’t be any apocalyptic bad endings in this continuously running online game. I didn’t need to actively save the world.

"Soon, more adventurers from the stars will arrive here. I can’t provide exceptional equipment to just anyone, but if they earn our trust, that’s a different story."

Ah, so this was the start of the "reputation grind." If I wanted to get help from other non-human races in the future, I’d have to go through a similar process with them.

If I earned the dwarves’ trust, I could obtain items useful for fighting the forces of evil. Building that trust would involve completing quests, grinding for minerals, or other such tasks.

I didn’t have much to say in response, so I simply watched Chief Drugel in silence.

The edges of his white beard lifted slightly as if he was smiling.

Then, unexpectedly, he said something that caught me off guard.

"Isn’t that right, swordmaster of silver and obsidian?"

"...!"

My eyes must have widened in surprise.

Did he notice my reaction?

The Swordmaster of Silver and Obsidian. I remembered hearing that name before.

No one on the continent of *Astra* had hair like mine—white with a silver sheen. While some players had similar character customizations, the feel of my silver-white hair was something that couldn’t be easily mimicked. I quite liked it, personally.

Silver-white hair, like polished silver, and deep black eyes, like obsidian.

That was what a certain dwarf had said when he compared me to the minerals he so admired.

But that dwarf...

He would have lived a thousand years ago.

*Ding.*

[*Verbeia Dwarf Settlement*]  
[*Reputation: 100*]

---

*Tap, tap.*

*Crunch, crunch.*

Following the chief’s guidance, I was now making my way into a hidden cave halfway up the massive mountain. This was a secret cave within the dwarf basin that only those within the village could access. Standing before what seemed like a sheer rock wall, Chief Drugel had operated some hidden mechanism, and the cave entrance had opened.

The walls of the cave were polished smooth, straight and clean as if cut with a blade. It felt more like a temple than a cave.

However, I had no time to admire the view. My mind was swirling with questions.

How could Chief Drugel, a dwarf of this era, know the name used by a hero from a thousand years ago?

"The passage of time erodes nature itself. Memories fade, and paper rots. When the will of the world, unknown to mere creatures, intervenes, even questioning the lost memories is often forbidden."

*Click, rumble.*

At the end of the cave, we reached a dead-end. Once again, the chief operated a hidden mechanism, causing the wall to open.

"But some things remain unchanged, even after a thousand years. And we dwarves are capable of creating things that last a thousand years."

A vast chamber opened before me.

On the far wall, carved into the stone, was a massive relief.

It depicted a dwarf.

"..."

A strong face full of determination. In his hand, he held a giant battle axe.

A long scar cut across the left side of his face—a scar that was familiar to me.

Standing before the relief, lost in thought, I heard the chief’s voice behind me.

"Long ago, when evil began to sweep across this continent, there was a dwarven hero. Before his final battle, it is said that he traveled the land, rallying the surviving dwarves. It seems his existence has been forgotten by other dwarf clans."

The dwarf from the hero’s party had left us briefly before the battle with the Demon King to gather the surviving members of his kin.

"Our ancestors carved his likeness into this wall to remember him. For some reason, his name was lost to time. But the words he left with our village’s ancestors have been passed down through generations of chiefs."

- If you ever meet the Swordmaster of Silver and Obsidian, treat them as a friend of the dwarves.

"Of course, you’re not that swordmaster from

 a thousand years ago. But it’s an honor to fulfill the wish of our hero, even after all this time."

The dwarf from the hero’s party, always cheerful and fond of his ale.

I raised my hand to touch the carving of his face.

And then, I spoke his name.

"Ain, old man."