Chapter 127 127: The Dwarf Village [Pt1]



"Welcome to the village of the dwarfs. I know it is not much to look at but I hope you enjoy yourself here as much as you were doing it outside of here."

In the end, the dwarf ended up leading them to a small opening in a remote tree. From outside, it looked as if the tree branch had fallen hollow and it had nothing inside. But once you entered the hole, you were transported into a different space.

Small dwarfs were running everywhere. Some took notice of them and stopped running while the others simply kept on running around, not taking notice of them at all.

It was a nice atmosphere for a place that was hidden so well in the forest. Just being in this place made Keith feel relaxed. It was as if nothing could get to him in such a place and he was feeling much more relaxed.

'This is a nice atmosphere. I wonder how long it will last. Nice things never last long once they meet humans such as himself. And this place seemed like no exception.'

Keith knew very well what happened in the games when a supernatural place like this was in human territory. It was a disaster for everyone involved.

"Are you sure we can come in? This place looks very nice and I do not want it to face any trouble because of us."

Shimi and others were thinking the same thing as well. The only one who stepped inside with confidence was Clair but she was not fully human so that did not count.

"You people are thinking too much. Nothing is going to happen just because we found this place. For all we know, we might not be the first people to come in here at all."

Clair spoke with confidence and that was what caused everyone else to consider her words as well. Finally, they all decided to walk in with confidence and enter the clearing.

As soon as they did, small and big dwarfs began to pour out like rain. They looked at Keith's group with interested eyes and started to approach them.

"Human."

"There are humans here."

"Big people. So scary."

The dwarfs were curious but they were also cautious. They kept their distance from Keith and others while approaching them at the same time.

Keith found the situation a little weird but he decided to not think about it too much. He did not need to worry about these dwarfs and their associations too much.

Especially not when he would be out of here soon enough.

"Kids, back off. Do you not remember what I said about approaching humans so freely? You do not want to be in trouble, right?"

The kids looked a little worried and freaked out. They instantly backed off, almost as if they were burned by the dwarf's words. 

The dwarf who had led them there coughed into his hand and looked at Keith's group with an apologetic expression on his face.

"I am sorry for the enthusiastic little ones. They did not mean to offend you, people. They are just a little on the edge right now is all."

The dwarf was being polite suddenly and it was raising alarm bells in Keith's mind. He suddenly wanted to back away slowly and not think too much about it.

"N-No, it is alright. It was not your fault that these kids are such a handful. And kids are great so I do not mind."

Shimi quickly assured the dwarf to show that it was not his fault the kids were such energetic things. But she was also the only one who seemed happy or even satisfied to see kids. No one else liked the people bugging them.

The dwarf noticed this and dropped the topic. The less that was said about this, the better it would be for everyone involved.

*Sigh*

"For now, let us head toward the place where you can rest. We can discuss the rest later once we have got you a little settled into your beds."

ραпdα- n૦νe|`c,0m The dwarf promised as he led the group toward the only building that looked to be made in their size.

Keith was surprised to see such a practical home in the middle of a dwarf civilization.

"Do not look so surprised. We, dwarfs, were not always such an isolated race. Believe it or not, we did have a lot of human neighbors once upon a time before things happened and we were forced to go into hiding."

The dwarf replied as he noticed the looks of surprise on his visitor's faces. It always amused him to see such a thing in people.

It was not often that their civilization got visitors. Most people had forgotten that their race even existed at this point.

"So, what happened? Did the human just stop visiting you suddenly one day? Or, was there any other change?"

Master Fushi asked the question Keith wanted to ask. There was so much to unpack in this world and the origins of MMO had never touched on these things. The more Keith looked, the more secrets he was able to find.

"Change? Oh, nothing. Our god just went mad and the other gods decided to cast him aside. As a result, our race was made to go into hiding and never be seen again. It was what things came down to."

The dwarf's words were calm but no one missed the tense undertone he was keeping in check. The dwarf was not happy with what he was saying but he did not want to offer the humans who had shown him kindness either.

Keith noticed this and he instantly signaled Clair to interfere.

"By the way, how do you people maintain your village? Where do you even get your food when there is no other civilization nearby? What about other necessities."

Clair quickly changed the topic from the gods to public amenities. Keith could see that the dwarf was glad at the change of topic as well.

"Hmm, we manage to get by on our own for the most part. But sometimes become a little problematic for us from time to time. But we are the children of the forest and it provides everything for our needs."

The dwarf assured, now happy to forget everything that had happened in the past few minutes. He did not want to talk about upsetting topics with the humans.

Keith allowed the dwarf to speak for the time being as he looked around the forest. 

Hidden behind the bushes was a temple, Keith. There was a tug of power coming from the inside and Keith felt the need to chase it.

Thankfully, Clair stopped Keith before he could take any unnecessary steps and cause a problem for the other party.

"Grandmaster, are you alright? What are you looking so hard at? Is there something out in the forest?"

Clair asked the question, now looking in the direction Keith had been looking at. But unlike Keith, she did not spot anything.

When Keith looked back at the spot he had just been looking at, there was nothing there as well. It was an empty mass of land and nothing else.

'Huh, was I mistaken? Or, did I see it wrong? What is going on here?'

Keith rubbed his eyes as he tried and failed to notice what was happening. His brain was not working at its full capacity today and Keith needed to snap out of his delusions if he wanted to maintain his peace.

"It was nothing. Let us continue moving."

Keith shook his head to get the unnecessary thoughts out. But he did it subtly so that no one else would be able to tell.

The only ones who noticed this were the dwarf and Clair. And the dwarf seemed interested in Keith. The way his black eyes looked at Keith seemed almost as if they were looking right through his soul.

"Here is the place you can sleep tonight. Do let our people know if you need anything and they will try to provide it for you."

The dwarf left them alone and Keith was somehow not surprised to see all the necessary items in human size.

"Wow! For a place that is in the middle of nowhere, it sure had nice pillows and blankets. Now, I do not know about you all but I want to go to sleep. I need my rest if I want my skin to look gorgeous."

Shimi complained before she took one of the rooms and dragged her necessities behind her back. As soon as she touched the bed, Shimi was asleep and out for the count.

Everyone else shook their head at Shimi's behavior. It had been expected of her to be rude and to consider her beauty above all. As such, she prioritized her sleep and no one could blame her when they knew her this well.

"Well, looks like we should turn in for the night as well."

Clair said and dragged herself into her room as well.