ALL NOVEL Chapter 316
Alright, let’s talk about the Dwarves.
First off, it seems that the Dwarves, who originally settled around Sagarmatha, digging mines, significantly increased in population over the course of 300 years.
Before I fell asleep, some Dwarves would leave the caves and mountains to settle in other areas, but most mingled with humans, often living in their villages.
However, during my slumber, it appears the Dwarves that multiplied chose to migrate differently.
Ranging from a few dozen to several hundred, they banded together and left the surrounding ranges of Sagarmatha for other mountains, digging down to find new veins of ore and setting up shop to mine them.
Their choice likely stemmed from the fact that… the population growth of the Dwarves had been all too rapid.
Unlike humans or other races, the Dwarves had seen a drastic increase in their numbers. This surge originated from living in a safe environment, free from external threats.
Essentially, Dwarves residing inside the mines were proficient at protecting themselves from external enemies.
It’s no wonder they don’t even call their villages villages anymore, but rather Dwarf Fortresses!
The entrances are cleverly concealed or sealed with hard-to-open doors, and only a few can enter at once; the pathways are narrow and intricately tangled within the Dwarven stronghold.
If an outsider enters without a proper map, they often find themselves lost for days, only to be rescued by a patrolling Dwarf.
All of this is a result of the Dwarves digging down for good ore, but still, thanks to the defensive capabilities of the town deemed a fortress, the Dwarves could remain safe from external threats.
Occasionally, monsters that burrowed from the ground would pop up, but even the most chaotic of monsters couldn’t touch a sturdy Dwarven Warrior wielding fine weapons! They typically only managed to take out a handful of miners at best!
Sure, there were incidents of cave-ins or earthquakes that caused parts of the caves to collapse, but… in other words, if a pesky accident didn’t occur, the Dwarves were safe.
Furthermore, thanks to the moss and mushrooms acting as food sources in the caves, food limitations weren’t an issue, coupled with advanced techniques for finding water, they had no issues in that department, and active trading with the outside world made it easy to bring in any necessary supplies.
So it was no surprise their population continued to soar!
With this massive population increase, the Dwarven society started to creak under various pressures, leading to one solution… relocating Dwarves inside the mines to different locales.
Initially, they selected volunteers, identified suitable relocation sites through merchants familiar with outside information, and provided sufficient support to help the Dwarves settle, but… that process took a lot of time and cost a fortune.
As the internal issues escalated in the Dwarves, culminating in bloody incidents, the ruling class could no longer tolerate it. They forcibly relocated individuals who had committed sins, caused pesky problems, or opposed their authority.
Those who were forcibly relocated largely couldn’t create proper mines due to the lack of support, but still, some Dwarves managed to mine successfully after enduring hardships.
Thus, Dwarf Fortresses began popping up in mountains other than Sagarmatha.
After that, they started maintaining a proper ratio of internal expansion and population growth within the mines, but… well, you probably don’t need an explanation for that, so let’s move on.
Thanks to the Dwarves spreading throughout, their mining products that were once regarded as rare began to circulate, eventually leading to a situation where only iron would sell… Ah, except for Lizardmen. They don’t like iron much as it rusts.
In any case, as the Dwarves dispersed, the overall level of smelting technology rose.
Sadly, that led to a few mountains and forests disappearing to garner firewood for the forges, almost igniting a war with the Elves! But fortunately, war never broke out. Phew!
Instead, an angered Elf had the Dwarves face a grand humiliation in the Elf-Dwarf racial battle, only to get swept away and stomped on, while they kept trying to build their skills but ended up losing, losing, and losing some more—like a team that can’t even make it to the fall playoffs, just repeatedly beaten!
Ultimately, in their humiliating defeat, they even found themselves going down on their knees and asking the Elves what the hell had gone wrong!
The chaos that stemmed from their overpopulation back then was definitely the biggest factor, but the ignorant Elves believed it was due to the lingering spirits of the trees the Dwarves had burned!
Logically, that reasoning was absurd, but some desperate Dwarves thought, “Could it really be?” and set out to find ways to stop using wood for fire.
The Dwarves then tried various alternatives to firewood.
They hired Mages to use magical flames for smelting, sought alternatives to burn instead of wood, and crafted tools that emitted flames using Mana Stones. A rare few even borrowed an Elf’s power to summon fire Spirits.
When they hired Mages, they had to abandon it due to the Mages’ magical power limitations, while the tool utilizing Mana Stones had decent heat output, but didn’t fit budget constraints, leading to either repurposing it into a weapon or reducing its heat for home use.
Some Dwarves, who had ties with Elves, had them summon fire Spirits to assist in the forge, which indeed yielded noteworthy results, but then again, there weren’t many friendly Dwarves around to begin with.
Amidst these trials, a rumor began circulating among some Dwarves.
They said that occasionally a black stone discovered in the mines would catch fire and blaze furiously.
It goes without saying, they were referring to coal.
Soon after, the Dwarves started using coal instead of wood, leading to a decline in trips outside the fortress for firewood. However, there were also accidents due to toxic gases emitted from coal.
So, here we are: today’s Dwarves have adopted coal for their smithing!
Oh, and of course, they’re mindful about ventilation. Seeing moss densely growing around the forge is a bit funny, but what can you do? You can’t just open airways from deep underground!
Anyway, with no need to venture out for firewood, the Dwarves stopped burning trees, leading to a minor improvement in relations with the Elves—but that’s just a small thing!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“You seem to be doing well.”
“Yep! Welcome back, Eomma.”
Sagarmatha, ever quiet, flashed a small smile as she opened her arms, and I chuckled, giving her a gentle hug.
This kid truly hasn’t changed at all!
“Eomma, did you get enough sleep?”
“Of course! 300 years is plenty, right?”
I could have slept more if I’d wanted, but… well, now that I’m awake, I guess that’s that!
“What’s been going on lately? Any problems?”
“Not really. The Dwarves are fine, and so am I.”
“Is that so?”
Initially, Sagarmatha had looked down upon the Dwarves—the ancestors who dug beneath her feet, viewing them like pesky insects, but now, she was observing them with quite an interesting gaze.
One could almost see a faint affection in her eyes!
“I never get tired of watching them.”
“I’m glad it seems enjoyable.”
Honestly, Eomma is probably watching the Dwarves like a kid observing an ant farm.
Well, at least she wouldn’t flood the anthill or pour molten aluminum over it! She’s just watching! That’s practically friendly, right?!
“By the way, Eomma, is it okay for you to be here?”
“Hm? Why do you ask?”
“I heard a rumor that your avatar is very angry with you for not doing your job.”
Hm? Asherat? Angry? With me?
Seems I got on her bad side by slacking off…
“It’s alright.”
My avatar can’t harm me, that’s for sure.
It would just be… um… clingy to the point of forcing me to work, and that’s about it.
“After I take a look around to see how the world has changed in 300 years, I’ll head back on my own. If Asherat asks you anything, just tell her that.”
I doubt Asherat, busy with work in the temple, would even come looking for Sagarmatha, but still, it’s a story I can share!
Just some lip service, though!
“Alright. I think I’ve checked on Sagarmatha and the Dwarves enough… now where to next?”
“How about heading to meet Yggdrasil? Eomma?”
“Yggdrasil? I met that kid before I met you.”
In that instant, I felt the air around us freeze momentarily.
Then Sagarmatha turned to me with a stiff, doll-like demeanor, her voice devoid of emotion as she said,
“Why? Why did you meet Yggdrasil before me?”
“Because I was nearby?”
“Nearby?”
“Yep. It wasn’t anything special.”
I said that and gently patted Sagarmatha’s head, causing her frozen expression to finally thaw.
“Okay. If you say so, I’ll believe it.”
For some reason, Sagarmatha looking slightly scared was a bit unsettling.