“We’re in a dungeon!” I protested as Garnet continued to walk.
“What about it? She asked.
“You can’t continue to live here!”
“Why not?” She asked, seemingly curious.
“Wh-why not?” I shook my head, completely floored that she’d even ask that question. “Because it isn’t real?”
“Do you think it isn’t real? Then is the treasure it produces not real? Are the people here not real? Hey, are you real?” She looked at a portly male walking by.
“Huh? What are you saying? Crazy Dwarf.” The male snorted and then quickened his step.
“Garnet, this place is filled with miasma. Over ti, it will start to affect you, change who you are. This dungeon will turn you into part of itself.” I tried a different approach to convince her.
“It doesn’t bother so much…”
She turned, entering an open hut. The feel of heat emanating from it imdiately told that this place was a forge. A man in a thick apron and the sounds of hamring only confird it. I stopped at the entrance, watching as Garnet casually tossed on her apron.
“You’re back again, little miss?” The Blacksmith said. “You work almost as hard as I do, I feel bad I’m not paying you.”
“You’re letting use your items and supplies?” Garnet responded, “That’s enough for .”
“Garnet…” I protested.
“Out there, I was a slave, or I was ignored. In here, there is a war and need for Blacksmiths. Old man Smith here has orders backed up for months. I can keep working in peace without the risk of being arrested or enslaved. A slave mark is aningless when your Master exists in another world.” Garnet shrugged.
“Is this guy bothering you?” The Blacksmith asked, making sure to glare at and show the girth of his arms, which were almost wider than my waist.
“It’s okay, he’s an old friend,” Garnet responded. “You are a friend, right?”
That question seed to have more aning than that. It seed to imply that a true friend wouldn’t press her or make her leave.
“I’ll be trying to defeat this dungeon. If I complete the terms, I’m not sure what happens when this place is destroyed. Normally, you’d just be expelled, but since this place is in a bubble not connected with our world, you may end up… sowhere else.”
I was going to say that she might end up dead, but I didn’t know what happened if you fell between worlds. Despite having once traveled across dinsions, I knew nothing about them.
“If that happens, it happens.” Garnet shrugged. “Besides, I have a once in a lifeti opportunity. In two weeks, there will be a shipnt of Silvthril.”
I blinked. “What’s Silvthril?”
“it’s a magical tal like Mithril, but this one is imbued with divine strength. If Orichalcum is a tal created by dungeons, having properties of darkness and miasma, then Silvthril is the exact opposite.”
“He’s a Magic Blacksmith?” I asked in surprise.
“Hmph!” He snorted.
“He is! Isn’t that lucky?” Garnet grinned. “When Master shoved in here, I had no clue where I’d end up. However, I was found by the blacksmith here, and he’s been helping learn magic blacksmithing. I’m already a level four Magic Blacksmith. It took a few years, but I figured it out!
“I thought you were twenty-two years old! Wait, you’ve been in here a few years?”
I felt stupid as soon as I said that. One day equaled one month, and she was in here before I was. No wonder she didn’t want to leave this place. She had already been here for around 30 months, or over two years. telling her this place would be gone in two months probably didn’t seem real.
“Why, Deek, I am twenty-two!” She responded, grinning as she picked up the hamr. Just because ti moves differently in here doesn’t an you age faster. Interestingly, it would have taken years to be a Magic Blacksmith, but now I’ve achieved it in less than a month. Imagine how far I can go if I stay here? So, I hope you understand why I need to stay?”
“Yeah, it’s funny how things work out.”
I ended the conversation with her and walked away, but I had a frown on my face. The Demon Lord didn’t do anything on accident. What if Garnet was dropped in this world exactly to beco a Magic Blacksmith? Just what was that guy planning?
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