I'm currently standing next to an open door while staring at a filthy dwarf who is grumbling about 'kids these days'. I have a very strong urge to step back and close the door, but I've already gone this far to meet him, which is why I proceeded to initiate a conversation.

 

"Hello. My name is… actually, nevermind that. Are you the blacksmith of the slums?"

 

"I don't do no smithin'. Shoo!"

 

I would've believed the dwarf if not for the fact that there is clearly a furnace in the other end of the room. Maybe he thinks that I'm just a random kid who came to beg.

 

"Then I must be in the wrong place, after all. It is such a shame after going out of my way to get a silver coin for an orde-"

 

"Why the hell didn't ya say you had money from the start!? Make it quick, rat. I ain't got all day for yer idiocy."

 

The dwarf's slouched body quickly shot up and his eyes turned bloodshot when I brought out a silver coin. I wonder how he'd react if he knows that I've got way more than one. Now what approach should I take...

 

"You see, I'm interested in dwarven weapons, and not any random weapon. I want something capable of being used against magic effectively."

 

Suddenly, the dwarf lost all his energy then gave a heavy sigh.

 

"Another weaklin' lookin' for a non-existent method to fight mages. Look 'ere kid, donno 'bout what ya heard, but dwarves 'ave nothin' special to fight mages. Yer just gonna lose money in a wild goose chase. And don't get me started on the legends 'bout the dwarven kingdom! That was decades ago. Magic advanced quickly, so nothin' which worked before does now."

 

The dwarf had a forlorn expression on his face, one which I assume is filled with nostalgia judging from his tone when mentioning the dwarven kingdom. I can't give up now, however, no matter how sad he gets.

 

"Look here. Even if they are ineffective, I will still pay you for whatever information you can give me about the weapons your kind has used. I have personal experience with cannons, which are very impressive. I just want to know if there is more from where it came from."

 

"Cannons? Bahahaha! From the dozens o’ bootlickin' beggars comin' here, I 'ave never heard one praise a cannon. It's slow n' clunky without the ability to hurt a mage through their stinkin' shield."

 

This is my chance!

 

"What if I told you there is a way to circumvent this problem?"

 

I walked towards a dusty wooden table before opening my pouch and pouring some null dust on it. The dwarf lazily approached then touched the black powder with his left index finger. He stood there for a while examining the null dust which stuck on his finger, then he turned towards me, flustered.

 

"How in the world did ya get that from!? No... Who sent ya 'ere? Answer me or I'll snap that flimsy neck of yers!"

 

"H-Hold on a moment! This is something I've made myself with the help of a dwarf blacksmith in Osmium. It's the truth!"

 

Naturally I didn't mention any specifics, nor did I say a word about the cursed book. However, I'm confused on why he's acting so aggressively now. The blacksmith back in Osmium didn't give a reaction like this at all.

 

"Ya made it? Impossible! Null dust is a secret weapon known to be made under very specific conditions. Not only that, storing it is also incredibly difficult 'cause it's naturally unstable. Null dust could only be made in the royal dwarven forge back in the good ol' days. This ain't somethin' a rat like ya can make."

 

"But I really did make it! You get a dwarf to melt magnetite with volcanic ash which produces the null dust. I can show you how it's done if you have the materials."

 

"...Huh? Ya made null dust with just that? Wait… What's yer Soul Depth score?"

 

"It is negative seven."

 

The midget opened his eyes in realization then fell on the dirty floor while hysterically laughing. I frowned; does he also have a thing against manaphobes? I thought dwarves knew better than that since they inherently can't use magic.

 

"It all makes sense now! Ya crazy bastard! I never actually believed some mad man with manaphobia would make what looks like useless powder n' then test it out against magic. Yer even more insane than that wacko alchemist!"

 

"Wacko alchemist?"

 

"That ain't important! What matters is that yer a third-party capable of makin' null dust who's completely out of sight of the watchdogs. And for ya to come 'ere on top of all that, this must be fate!"

 

I don't understand half of what he's saying. He seems happy, though, so it must be something good. However, I think I should interrupt whatever he's talking about before I get completely lost.

 

"Ahem. I hope you can help me build a weapon which can synergize with null dust. Although I haven't run into much trouble, I have a big goal which is currently not feasible with what I have right now."

 

The dwarf gave me a grin then walked to the stone furnace where he punched the wall beside it, really hard. So hard, in fact, that his hand started bleeding, but also the wall broke and a large crack was exposed. The building won't collapse, would it?

 

Seemingly unperturbed by his own self-inflicted injury, the dwarf pushed his other hand into the crack and started to search for something.

 

"Found it!"

 

He loudly proclaimed as his arm pulled out a seemingly normal-looking rock out of the crevice. Before I could question his weird actions, he used the same injured hand to punch the rock, both of which broke on impact, or so I imagined from the loud 'crack' I've heard.

 

"Here ya go, boy! This is all I have from back when I worked in the army. Ain't much, but ya surely would make use of it."

 

From inside the broken rock, a large piece of paper had a diagram drawn on it which must be a blueprint for some sort of weapon. Other than that, my eyes were locked onto something that made my body shiver.

 

A pistol. A very crude and antique-looking one, but still a pistol.

 

I remember… The officer who killed me used a pistol. The pain of death still haunts me to this day. All my brethren who stood by my side must've all suffered the same fate as I have…

 

*Slap*

 

"Ouch! Why did you do that!?"

 

"Ya were standin' around like a fool! I ain't got the patience to wait while ya took yer sweet time admirin' my masterpiece."

 

Ugh, you didn't have to slap me, though! That dwarf has the strength to smash through a stone wall, he could've easily slapped my head off of my neck if he wanted to.

 

"This beauty is a pistol. Think of it as a crossbow, but, instead of arrows, it uses bullets. Here, lemme show ya how it works."

 

He then proceeded to show me how to load the gun. As expected, no matter how many times the dwarf praises it, the pistol is very primitive since it can only have a single bullet loaded at a time. However, it is still a gun which means that I actually have the means to defend myself other than null dust.

 

"Putting the pistol aside, the blueprint is more important. It's got the manafacturin' method for bullets n' a better cannon that uses explosive shells rather than some iron ball as ammo."

 

"Oh, so now I can mix null dust with the ammo, right?"

 

"No ya daft punk. Ya can't target specific magic formulae that way, so ya gonna need an extreme amount of null dust to brute force yer way with it. If it was that easy, the dwarven kingdom would've been the greatest nation out there. What a shame."

 

A shame indeed. That being said, I've only unlocked four pages out of the entire cursed book, which means that there's still a lot left unknown about anti-magic. I'm still happy that I learned something new without resorting to using the book…

 

Hold on, the book never mentioned anything about needing a manaphobe to make null dust! Did the stupid author intentionally leave this part out just to spite people, or was the book specifically written to only benefit manaphobes. Or… the book was meant just for me?

 

"Aight kid, I still wanna have my nap in peace, so scram!"

 

"W-wait, I still haven't paid-"

 

"I said scram! No one wants yer stinkin' money!"

 

*slam*

 

The door was closed on my face as I held my money pouch in my hand. Oh well, I can just find the location of a big enough crack on the building to stuff all 29 silver coins in it. He deserves it after all.

 

After finding a conveniently wide crack, I emptied my pouch in it before leaving with the blueprint carefully folded in my pocket and the pistol strapped to my belt, hidden under the cloak. As I was happily strolling thinking that this is the best day of my life, a blond elf wearing an orange robe reminded me why this is definitely not a good day.

 

"Did you finish your business with Derick?"

 

Derick? Oh right, that must be the name of the dwarf which I didn't ask about fearing he'll want mine in return. Good to know… Why is Persi inspecting me so meticulously?

 

"Hmm, he didn't do anything to hurt you, right? He definitely wouldn't, but I heard some loud sounds in there, so I just have to make sure… huh? your cheek…"

 

Persi paused for a moment and I felt some killing intent for a moment before she returned to her normal smiling face.

 

"Looks like I should visit Derick later for a long conversation. Don't worry, I'll do that tomorrow since I still have to guide you back, after all."

 

I can't let this psycho elf mage murder my ally after all he's done for me.

 

"... Derick did not do anything wrong so don't- Ah!"

 

Persi yanked my hand and pretended not to hear what I was trying to say. Damn clown! I refuse to falter just because you are a little scary!

 

"Like I said, Derick is a friend of mine who helped me out. I would be grateful if you keep that in mind."

 

"Is that so! I'm so happy that you've got a friend. I just wonder if your friend is related to why your money pouch is empty?"

 

Oh crap, the crazy elf is making all sorts of misunderstandings.

 

"That is because I ordered something expensive from him."

 

"You did? I remember that you had paid for this quest using a silver coin, meaning that you had more than 62 copper coins in that pouch… Nothing made in a forge inside the slums should cost more than 50 copper coins."

 

The more I talk, the worse her expression becomes. I apologize, Derick, staying quiet is the only choice I have to not implicate you any further than this.

 

We made our way out of the slum district and headed towards the… wait, this isn't the direction of the adventurer's guild! I knew it, Persi had ulterior motives after all! I slowly move my right hand towards the pistol, ready for her to pounce at me and reveal her true colors at any moment.

 

Contrary to my thoughts, the elf stopped in front of a building next to a church and gave me a warm look.

 

"You must've been living a very sad life, getting exploited by all kinds of people out there. Don't worry though, here, you can live the rest of your childhood free of any worry!"

 

SHE IS TRYING TO SEND ME TO AN ORPHANAGE

 

"L-Let me go! You are having a very big misunderstanding going on. I am not a poor orphan; I am the rich son of a noble! Besides that, I am 14, which means that I've already reached adulthood!"

 

"14? You clearly look under 12. Could it be that you're malnourished! It's alright, you can still stay here since I know the owner of this orphanage. I'm sure she'll understand."

 

I still haven't hit my growth spurt yet! It also doesn't help that I've lived a sheltered life throughout my childhood. I must escape before things get out of hand.

 

"Eh? Miss Persi, look over there!"

 

Just as the elf turned her head around, I immediately began legging it as far as possible. However, a vine entangled my left foot, and I couldn't forcefully get it off. Looking behind me, I see Persi slowly walking towards me while casting a spell. You dare use magic on me!

 

My hand swiftly took a pinch of null dust and I touched the vine, which weakened just enough for me to break free from its grasp. I didn't waste any time as I ran for it without looking back.

 

"Uh, wait! I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm doing this for you, so please come back!"

 

Her pleas fell on deaf ears since there is now way that I'd willfully listen to this crazy elf mage. I made sure to go through several sharp turns before mixing with a crowd. After making sure she lost me, I let out a sigh and made my way towards the noble district. It's easy to locate since I just have to walk towards the direction of the castle. I'm a bit worried since the sun is going down and Sisley might want to check up on me if I don't make it before dinner.

 

I couldn't just walk past the guards blocking the gate to the noble district, but I had my family's emblem, so they'd let me through without a question. The rest was backtracking the way back to the same window I jumped out of. Thankfully, the door was still closed with no signs that Sisley had entered. I even left a book leaning on the door which was still in the same spot.

 

I can safely say that my mission has been accomplished with minimal issues. I take out the pistol and put it on my desk; with this, I'm a step closer to eradicating magic from this world.