“……”

Pavranium made judgments and moved on its own. Even so, Grid always believed that the pavranium had no emotions. All the judgments and actions of the pavranium was based on its instinct to be of service to its master. It was a type of system so pavranium was treated as a machine.

However, his thoughts changed at this moment. The God Hands’ action of pushing away the dwarf king hugging it and raising their middle finger had a clear emotion.

‘They might’ve often pointed or raised their middle finger at the enemy, but...’

This provocative action was intentional, not coincidental. The God Hands approached Grid and hovered around him. It spun faster and more fiercely around Grid. It felt like they wanted to leave this place.

“M-Mom... no, Mother.” Tears filled the dwarf king’s eyes as he was pushed back by the God Hands. The crown fell from his head due to the impact of the fall and he seemed reluctant to believe the current situation.

“Me... have you forgotten me?” The dwarf king’s question dispersed in the air. There naturally wasn’t an answer. The God Hands couldn’t speak. The dwarf king glared at Grid, who was afraid to move due to the bad atmosphere. For Grid who wanted to communicate with the dwarves, this hostility was unwelcome.

“You are the rumored Grid? You are Pagma's Successor and received the recognition of the blacksmithing god?”

“Correct. I am also king of the Overgeared Kingdom.”

It was a polite introduction because they were both kings. However, the dwarf king just cried out with a runny nose, “I don’t care about your identity!”

Charles, the dwarf king with his sparkling golden name, shouted, “Release my mother right now! Only then will you be able to survive this place!”

Pagma was the demon who killed Empress Maribel and trapped her soul in a mineral. He was the greatest enemy of Talima. For Charles, Pagma was the enemy of his mother. The dwarves outside Talima might admire the capabilities of Pagma's Successor, who was acknowledged by the blacksmithing god, but the situation in Talima was completely different. He hated Pagma's Successor more than Fire Dragon Trauka.

Charles’ cry was a signal. The dwarf warriors armed with hatchets entered through the doors of the great hall and swarmed. They were wearing golden armor and looked as glamorous as any other royal guards. The unusual thing was that they used axes as a weapon. They were somewhat less ordinary than royal guards armed with swords, but they were more threatening. The beard and ferocious appearance made people think of mountain bandits.

‘I can’t guess the level.’

Dwarf warriors were rare. Due to the nature of the dwarves who worshipped labor over strength, the total population that were warriors was said to be less than 1%. There were almost no records of the dwarf warriors because they didn’t act outside. They only defended the dwarf palace.

Well, there was no need to be vigilant anyway. Grid had no intention of fighting. Grid was already planning to liberate the empress’ soul. Grid had a great ambition to communicate with the dwarves and learn various skills to pass on to the Overgeared Kingdom’s blacksmiths. From his perspective, there was no reason to cling to the empress’ soul.

‘It is uncomfortable to use it in the first place.’

Grid had thought the ego in the God Hands was a magically created system. Then it turned out to be someone’s soul... it was a burden and he didn’t want it to be with him. He planned to give the God Hands a new ego. It was by harnessing the power of the ego crafting method taught by the dwarves.

“I'll give it back,” Grid answered softly and gestured to the God Hands. Then the God Hands slowly approached Dwarf King Charles.

Charles was flustered. “You will give back my mother’s soul?”

“It was what I intended from the beginning. My purpose is to become friends with Talima so let’s just say this is the price.”

“Ohh...!” Charles’ eyes filled with tears again. He was thrilled that his mother would be able to end the suffering of having her soul stuck to the cursed mineral. He stretched out his arms to hug the God Hands. Then the God Hands flicked his forehead. Charles’ head fell back severely from the power of the God Hands that had inherited some of Grid’s stats. It was a shocking sight considering that a dwarf’s neck was twice as thick as a human’s neck.

“……”

“……”

The royal palace fell silent again. The first person to break the silence was Charles. His forehead was red as he shouted at Grid, “You! You deceived me! You aren’t just Pagma's Successor! You are the same as Pagma!”

“……”

Grid didn’t speak carelessly. It would just be taken as an excuse if he defended himself in the current situation.

“What are you doing? He is a traitor who tried to fool me and use the empress’ soul as a hostage! He is like Pagma, trampling on the longing of a son for his mother! Catch him right now and bestow the justice of Talima!”

In the end, it wasn’t a situation that could be resolved with talking. It was a misleading situation even for Grid.

‘In this case...’

A question and answer dance was the best choice. He couldn’t tolerate it silently. First, he had to dominate the other party before leading the conversation. Grid made a decision and pulled out his weapon.

The Enlightenment Sword was drawn from its sheath and it absorbed all the radiance of the gold from the palace. They might be warriors, but they were still dwarves.The dwarf warriors recognized the value of the Enlightenment Sword with their innate discerning eyes and made expressions of shock and admiration.

This only lasted for a moment. It was embarrassing if the first attack hit them.

Grid’s surprise attack was blocked by a dwarf warrior’s axe. The axe of the big warrior seemed like it could split the moon in half, and it showed excellent defense.

‘It is a great response... I thought they were dull, but they are very agile.’

Grid admired the warrior’s ability to block his attack. Then he recovered the sword that had deflected off the axe and countered.

“Ugh!”

The axe wielding soldier was stabbed in the waist and groaned.

[The target has received 13,300 damage.]

‘The defense is also high.’

Grid was amazed to see that the dwarf warrior’s health gauge was barely reduced despite being stabbed by the Enlightenment Sword. This was truly Talima. The level of armor worn by the dwarf warriors was very high. It seemed to be unique rated at the minimum and Grid found it hard to subdue them with only basic attacks. He started the sword dance in earnest.

“Restraint.”

“......!”

The dwarf warriors were taking a formation after realizing Grid was a formidable opponent. This soon collapsed after Grid used Restraint. Grid dug into the center of them and caused a wave of sword energy.

“Wave.”

“Aaaack!”

The dwarf warriors were hit by the sword energy and stepped back. They screamed in pain but as Grid expected, there were no serious injuries.

‘Amazing.’

It might be a single sword dance, but how many royal guards could resist Grid’s current attack? Even the empire’s royal guards would spit out blood if hit by Wave. The dwarves didn’t shed a single drop of blood when hit by Wave. Their body itself was very strong, and combined with their items, they boasted a defense that was beyond the average level.

‘Their attack power is also good...’

Grid dodged the dwarves’ counterattack and once again admired the axe that was stuck deep in the ground. It felt like he would experience awful pain the moment he allowed an attack.

Talima—their great potential was the reason why this city-state was able to survive tenaciously among the powers of the continent.

“Get out of the way. Step aside!”

New warriors emerged. They seemed to have come running after hearing the uproar, but there was one particularly conspicuous figure. Antrino—his black beard was tied, and he was wearing red armor unlike the other warriors. The reason he seemed more brilliant than everyone else was because his name was golden.

“Pagma's Successor? Look at him moving like a butterfly!”

He knew Pagma's Sword Dance well. The pressure around Antrino was terrible as he scoffed at the characteristics of the sword dance. Grid confronted the attack of the dwarf holding two axes larger than his own head.

“......!”

Grid’s eyes shook. His arm muscles spasmed as he held the Enlightenment Sword. He was being pushed back in strength. Grid’s arm was paralyzed after he failed to defend himself and lost a bit of health.

“You are better than that slender Pagma!”

Antrino was amazed by the sight of Grid gritting his teeth and standing in place. However, he was very familiar with fighting using innate strength. The axe in his other hand swung without hesitation and aimed at Grid’s paralyzed arm. A God Hand flew over and blocked Antrino’s axe.

However, the God Hand was also unable to cope with Antrino’s attack power and became stiff. Antrino didn’t miss this chance. He swung his short leg and kicked Grid’s abdomen. Then his two axes descended at the same time.

Grid was trying to dodge it only to stop.

“Stop! Stop it!”

It was because the lion-maned Pelot stepped forward. He stepped into the battle to protect Grid. He stood there glaring at Antrino before shouting at King Charles, “Don’t be rude to the distinguished guest! I am the one who guided Grid to the royal palace! Grid really wants to liberate the empress’ soul!”

The king shouted back, “He is the one who played a trick and had the empress flick me!”

“It is clear to anyone that it was the will of the empress... Hum hum, in any case, believe in me once. Please allow Grid to enter Pandemonium!”

The ability of the dwarf’s royal family to interact with their work was unmatched. Most of the works they created had egos and the type of egos was as diverse as human personalities. Sometimes it meant that evil spirits were born. Pandemonium was the place where those failed works were sealed. In this place, there was a sleeping being who could liberate the empress’ soul.

Antrino snorted. “Even if Sir Pelot’s words are true, this person can’t enter Pandemonium. Don’t you know? The door to Pandemonium is the heaviest in the world. Even I can’t open it with my strength. How can he enter Pandemonium?

'You must prove your qualifications in order to enter Pandemonium.'

The person who wanted to enter had to open the door themselves. The dwarf royal family can easily open the door with their bloodline, but for outsiders to open the door of Pandemonium, they have to prove that their ability doesn’t lose to anyone. In other words, it is the process of proving your qualification not to be swayed by the evil spirits sealed in Pandemonium.

The king opened his mouth, “Sir Antrino is right. He isn’t eligible to enter Pandemonium. If he truly wants the liberation of the empress, he will have to hand it over to me.”

“Don’t you have to check if I am eligible or not?”

Grid heard the words and stepped forward. The God Hands were rejecting King Charles so Grid had no choice. He had to open the door of Pandemonium himself. After all, his rune now contained the power of Eccentric Duke Saleos.