Chapter 49 – OP (1)
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The game was simple - you paid a fixed price. You could then draw a slip of paper with a number and got a bag according to it. Most bags held less worth than the price, obviously, but some were much higher.

“Wanna play?”, the dwarf snickered, rubbing his hands together. “No blanks. Every draw gets something.”

...Which dev had had fun with that again?

“Only once”, Ice awkwardly gave in.

He paid a full gold to reach into the sack with paper slips. There was no way to increase his chances anyway, so he simply pulled out whatever he grabbed and revealed the number to the dwarf.

Twenty-one. 1Awwww, Ice!!! you completely botched that throw!!!

The dwarf rummaged around for a while before getting the correct bag. They weren’t worried about getting cheated, this was a dwarf’s honour anyway. Considering he didn’t have much experience, Ice simply handed the bag to Blackstone, whose face turned disappointed.

“Oh well”, she said sadly. “I guess this is a lesson that even the lucky people shouldn’t waste their money on gambling.”

“It’s definitely better to take your fate into your own hands”, Little Droplet agreed.

“How about another try? Just one more…” Bloodless Sunset was still staring at the stall. Ice found the wolfman’s tail wagging and couldn’t help but smile. He placed a hand on the other’s shoulder without a word, but Bloody got the message and his ears drooped.

“So where are we supposed to fi-eeeeee!!!!!

Blackstone squeaked.

It made everyone flinch. It was a perfect, movie-worthy excited-young-lady-shriek. Blackstone was shaking her hands back and forth, continuing to squeak. Never had they seen such an expression on her face before.

Bloody squinted his eyes as he followed her gaze. There was a store on the other side of the street, an almost painfully sharp smell wafting over to them. “That’s…?”

“Extra spicy hotpot!!! Extra extra spicy hotpot!!!”

“Is that… so weird?”

Blackstone looked downright murderous as she glared up at the beastman, who went into hiding behind Ice.

“Do you know? Do you know?! Do you know how many calories chili base hotpot has?!” Several nearby women seemed to pause at her exclamation and nod to themselves. “Haven has no calories! Haven has no calories! Repeat after me, Haven has no calories! How often do you think am I allowed to eat hotpot given my job?!”

Ice had a rough idea, because he knew how his parents’ diet had been watched when they had been actively working. Not to mention that overly spicy food was forbidden - what if they hurt their stomach? Or their lips swelled? No way. No spicy food!

“I don’t care what you people are doing but I am going to go over there and I am going to eat, and not even a dragon will stop me right now. I’ll call you guys later once I’m done eating.”

In truth, none of them wanted to try stopping Blackstone with how dangerous she looked.

Pleased at not getting a rejection, Blackstone put her hands into her waist. “Spiderlily, do you want to come along? It’s not often that we can eat like this without worry!”

Spiderlily might have turned a shade paler, but she nodded.

“Okay, cool, we are off then! Just poke me in the chat when there’s something important - byeeee!” Blackstone was already walking off as she talked. The bright red of the store didn’t seem to scare her at all, contrary to Spiderlily, who Ice had a feeling stopped to turn down her pain synchronization level.

“Guess it’s just us four left.” Bloody peeked out from over Ice’s shoulder. “Any idea where we can find Machinas? Do they have a convenient town hall here too?”

“No.” Little Droplet shook their head. “All official facilities don’t allow Foreigners and visitors. We will have to ask around.”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

Little Droplet lifted a… leaflet.

Dead Rabbit took it, glancing over the pages. It held a lot of information that was useful for visitors to know. “There’s such a convenient thing?”

“They sold it at the entrance.” Ice had seen Little Droplet buy the leaflet, so he wasn’t surprised.

“They did?”

“Yes.”

“...Oh.”

“Anyway, the Machinas are a family of blacksmiths or researchers, no? I’d guess that the smiths around here know each other.” Little Droplet placed the leaflet away and pointed down one of the main roads.

Dwarven cities were very orderly divided into quarters with straight streets, making it easy to find places.

Given that the Ant’s Nest was underground, all buildings that caused such a high amount of smoke such as forges were placed in a single quarter. The ventilation system must be absolutely intricate… or not existing at all and the game developers were simply hiding that fact.

The blacksmith quarter was quite well-visited by players. Many players were running around, making orders or comparing prices for materials and armor or weapons they wanted to buy.

The sound of hammers hitting metal created a symphony, often so synchronized that the dwarves must have been working in the same rhythms on purpose. Passing by some open stalls, you could hear them hum along to the beat of their work.

“I like these songs”, Dead Rabbit whispered, watching with fascination.

“Work songs can increase productivity. They stave off boredom, make it easier to keep a rhythm, and spread a feeling of comradeship.” Their little healer raised a finger, explaining like a teacher. “They’re often used to accompany hard work such as farming and can be just a melody or include lyrics.”

“It feels like it’s a tourist attraction, too. Just look around how many players are simply listening.”

Bloodless Sunset was correct. When they looked around, they found a number of players simply sitting at the side, talking quietly or eating.

Well aware they’d disturb someone during their work one way or another, the party stopped at one of the earlier forges. A younger dwarf stopped her work of cleaning swords to approach them with a smile. “Can I help you?”

“Hi. We are searching for a family with the name of Machinas? Do you happen to know where we can find them?”

The dwarven lady leaned her face into her hands and gave them a sheepish smile. “Machinas? Are they expecting you?”

“N-No…”

“Then it’ll be hard for you to meet them, I fear. Do you know about the exhibition going on right now?”

Collective shaking of heads.

“If you go down the street the other way, you’ll get to a rather large building. There’s signs everywhere, too. We are having a yearly exhibition to showcase the best works that this city has - relics, newer ones, everything is included. The Machinas family was involved in creating some of these, including the latest addition. They’re in hiding because so many of you Foreigners tried to find them. Not that they’re fond of people, anyway.”

“What did they make?”

“They used some of the Red Wyvern’s head scales and some other materials to create armguards”, the dwarf kindly told them.

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