Syl

Chapter 172: Dhoggurum

Chapter 172: Dhoggurum

As if answering his own question, Thern suddenly looked at the pouch on my hip. The bag made out of ornate-looking leaves was still an unresolved mystery. He hummed in thought, perhaps thinking that the bag was potentially an artifact. Honestly, I was beginning to think it may be as well, as despite my advancements in skills and traits, including my profession, I couldn't make heads or tails of the bag.

'I wonder if the bag is soulbound to Sylthaeryn? If it's at all like my hat, then that would explain a lot. Although... Then why did she ask me to give it to another elf? Is it perhaps soulbound to the elven race specifically?'

Thern chuckled. "It's my fault. I should have asked how much you have stored away personally, especially after what I've seen you pull out from harvests."

"You also should have explained the emergency procedure," Thessa grumbled. "You bloody nearly drained yourself dry trying to do it yourself..."

Thern looked quite embarrassed as he sighed. "You're right. Sorry, Syl. I hope it didn't drain you too much."

"It didn't seem that bad..." I answered honestly, which caused both Dwarves to stare at me in astonishment.

"I know you brag about your Mana capacity a lot, but even so... It should have been horrible since the conversion ratio is so poor," Thern said, scratching his beard in thought.

"What would have happened if we didn't pay the Mana?" I asked.

"Your storage bag would have exploded," Thessa answered. "The teleportation platform has safety measures that ensure it teleports anything living first."

'I wonder how that works for my [Core Storage]...' I couldn't help but wonder with morbid curiosity.

"But enough of that!" Thessa said cheerfully. "Come, come. Let's get you unpacked and settled in."

Before we left, Thessa claimed the keystone from the platform and gave Thern another scolding, saying that the first security measure was to immediately remove it after teleportation. Under his mother's verbal thrashing, Thern could only sigh and nod. Then, we both followed her out of the room after each grabbing a chest. I got an abrupt notification when I first stepped beyond the door.

"Dhoggurum?" I muttered and activated my [Mapping] skill.

Suddenly, the room swayed, and I nearly fell over. As if expecting that Thern caught me before I fell. I could only thank the gods my [Sub-Cores] handled keeping my disguise intact.

"Ha! Lisa owes me a bottle of whiskey!" Thern joked.

My vision stopped spinning, and my [Mapping] skill seemed to finalize what it was trying to do. It zoomed out drastically, and I saw we were to the distant north—absurdly far from Kaerlin.

"What... Happened?" I murmured, confused.

"Your [Mapping] skill updated with a new distance. I bet you had never traveled this far before, but Lisa said she was sure you had." Thern explained. "First-time teleporters usually experience this."

"Some... Warning would've been nice." I grumbled.

"Aye. But then, I wouldn't have won my bet." Thern smirked.

Once I had recovered, we continued out through multiple stone doors that slid into their holding like the previous one. The security was very impressive compared to anything I had seen in the human city.

After following her through passageways, we eventually came to an almost familiar sight: an Adventurer's Guild reception. The layout was eerily similar, except nearly everything was carved from stone, and barely anything was made from wood. And it went without saying that almost everyone present was a dwarf, except for a few humans scattered about.

Thern gestured for me to follow him to one of the reception desks, where we needed to register our arrival. The receptionist was a little surprised to see me hand over a Gold tag.

"Blimey. I thought you were escorting an elf ambassador or something. I can't believe one actually joined the guild." The dwarf said as he twirled the tip of his pointed beard.

"Ha! Wait till she starts doing some quests here; then, you'll be in for a real shock and surprise!" Thern bragged and gave me a big wink.

Then we followed after Thessa again, who was tapping her foot impatiently. One thing I was immediately grateful for was the dwarf's attitude towards me; I could see they would look a bit surprised at my appearance but then almost immediately pushed it aside and went about their day. On the other hand, the few humans blatantly stared and promptly started gossiping with their companions, as I had grown reluctantly accustomed to.

Exiting the Adventurer's Guild, I was welcomed to the sight of the city.

"This would make some mighty fine armor... And you harvested this yourself?" Thessa asked, examining the rocky carapace.

"You should've seen it back in the guild. A room full of stuff this good." Thern chuckled.

"Why the bloody hell are you running around killing monsters then?" Thessa asked, flabbergasted. "You could sit safely in a room and make a fortune."

I couldn't help but grin before I answered. "But where would the fun in that be? Where's the adventure? I get to explore, kill monsters, and level up."

Thern burst out with laughter. "Aye! Spoken like a true adventurer!"

Thessa sighed deeply. "I really don't understand you lot. Stick me in a forge all day, and I'd live a happy life."

"Well... Think of it this way. Without people like me, you wouldn't get to see and use stuff like this." I replied.

"Don't you start using facts and logic to dissuade me now," Thessa chuckled. "A mother wants her son to stay safe and sound."

"Ma!" Thern grunted, looking mightily embarrassed.

"Hush you. You'll always be my baby boy no matter how big of a beard you grow."

It was a relaxing and pleasant time, and later in the afternoon, Thern's father arrived home. He looked nearly identical to Thern, except his beard was groomed to perfection and even had some braids and jewelry tied into it. He was almost the spitting image of a well-off merchant and had a bit of a beer belly going on.

While Thern and Thessa were quite boisterous, Darmod was polite and a little reserved. It seemed Thessa wore the pants in the relationship. However, when he saw the barrels I had brought and sampled some, there was a twinkle in his eye, and he suddenly became very enthused and energetic.

"Syl. We are going to make a fortune!" Darmod said enthusiastically.

"Well... I'm honestly more interested in a silver core than money." I answered.

Thern again couldn't help bursting out with laughter. "My pa didn't believe me when I said you wanted that."

Darmod grumbled a bit at being caught off guard like that but nodded. "Well, it's a good thing my son convinced me otherwise. I should be able to requisition your silver core by lunchtime tomorrow."

"Yes! Please do!" I said, unable to hide my excitement. "And please let anyone know I'm willing to work for more, even doing some hunts." I made sure to point out the rocky carapace I had harvested.

Darmod couldn't help but blink in surprise. "Yes... I'll be sure to do it. Just to confirm, this will be a dead slime from a common metal."

"Yes. Anyone is fine. Why would that matter?" I asked.

Darmod fiddled with one of his braids before asking his own question. "How much do you know about slimes eating other slimes?"

"When a slime eats another, it becomes purer," I answered.

"Alright, that's good, so I'm not accidentally revealing a dwarven secret." Darmod chuckled nervously. "Silver slimes, when they eat another, not only become purer, but they also take on any metals the other slime accumulated."

"Why is that an issue?" I asked.

"Because if you have a slime that can produce gold, why would you want to contaminate it with tin?" Darmod responded. "The slimes are stupid, so they mix all of their absorbed metals together."

"Ah... So they create unexpected alloys."

"Yes. That's why if any slime with a common metal is found, it is usually swiftly disposed of. We dare not risk it being consumed by another and causing a contamination."

We continued to chat into the evening before finally calling it a night. Despite my glorious bed, I felt like I would struggle to sleep because of my unbridled anticipation.