Let’s Play Minecraft in a World of Swords and Spells
Volume 6 Chapter 6: A Magnificent Citadel

Volume 6 Chapter 6: A Magnificent Citadel

The dwarf woman who jumped out of the armored giant turned around and took out a key from her pocket, using it to activate the metal door behind her. With the sound of mechanisms operating, a corridor appeared before us.

As we passed through the metal door, I felt a slight sensation, and it wasn't until I saw a magical ripple that I realized I had passed through a magic barrier.

"This is a barrier designed to block directional teleportation magic, made to cover the entire city. Although the probability of accurately locating this place is very low, even if there's a slight possibility, it must be extinguished," the dwarf woman walking ahead said, without turning her head, but I knew she was addressing me.

The security measures here are really well-done— Just the tunnel we traversed for days required Chuck's badge to open, and now here we are encountering another metal door that requires a special key.

As for the key, I saw her take it out of her pocket just now. That means we'd have to defeat or find a way to pry open that armored giant, right? Hmm... It seems quite difficult to force our way through this door, just from that perspective.

Chuck and I walked through the corridor, eventually stopping in front of a small door. The dwarf woman pulled open the door to reveal a small space about two cubic meters in size, with an unidentified machine in one corner.

"Although it's a bit late to say this now, welcome home, fellow dwarf," she turned around and said to me.

"I still have three days left on my shift. After it's over, I'll come find you," she waved casually at us before leaving.

Chuck waved back at her, then closed the [Iron] door.

"...That was close, almost blew our cover," I finally relaxed in this enclosed space.

"In reality, I also doubted whether you were one of our kin, Walson. After all, all aspects of your characteristics match," Chuck turned to look at me, his gaze meaningful. "...Whether it's that [Metalforge Manipulation] or your height."

"I already told you, it's not [Metalforge Manipulation] but my unique ability. And if you make fun of my height one more time, I'll break your nose."

I didn't tell Chuck much about being a [Mutant], after all, I don't know much about it myself. Besides, saying too much might inadvertently drag him into strange situations.

...But even the dwarf guards didn't suspect my height. Although it's good that I didn't blow my cover, this incident has subtly wounded me psychologically.

"But Walson, you can indeed manipulate multiple metals, a characteristic shared with our [Noble Dwarves]," Chuck continued.

It's not that I don't want to break his nose, it's just that he's wearing a helmet, so I can't. Dammit.

...As for the [Noble Dwarves] mentioned earlier, hold on, let me introduce it to you now.

As you all know, above [Elves] are the [High Elves], but what people outside don't know is that above [Dwarves], there's actually a rank above them called [Noble Dwarves].

I mentioned [Metalforge Manipulation] earlier, which is a unique skill of dwarves. They can choose a specific category of metal for manipulation. For example, if a dwarf chooses [Iron], after using it, the status bar will show [Mineral Affinity Selected - Iron]

What makes [Noble Dwarves] remarkable is that they can select multiple types of metals for manipulation. However, the number of metals they can choose depends on their personal aptitude and the types of metals involved... Hmm, that might sound a bit vague. Let me give you a small example. It's similar to distributing skill points in a game.

Suppose a [Noble Dwarf] has 100 aptitude points. Allocating points to [Iron] requires 30 aptitude points, to [Copper] requires 40, and to [Mithril] requires 100. In this case, they could choose to allocate points to [Iron] and [Copper] or solely to [Mithril]. (So, saying that they can manipulate multiple metals is a general term, as some [Noble Dwarves] may only manipulate one type of metal.)

Additionally, besides metals, it seems they can also manipulate minerals like sandstone. However, it seems there aren't many dwarves willing to waste their talents on this, as their situation is a bit more complicated. While I used the analogy of distributing skill points in a game, they have no idea how many aptitude points they actually have. In such a situation, choosing a mineral would be more cautious— After all, once chosen, it cannot be changed.

"...If you're really one, Walson, you're likely the first dwarf in history to manipulate [Orichalcum], which is the main reason I brought you here," Chuck said.

"Regardless, I'll do my best to assist you— By the way, how much longer do we have to stay in this small room?" I asked.

"We're leaving now. Wait a moment, let me show you something interesting," Chuck said as he walked over to the strange device in the small room.

The machine was made of brass-colored metal with many gears and numbers inscribed on it, resembling some sort of combination lock. Chuck turned the five-digit number on top to "50125" and then pulled down a lever beside it.

The sound of gears operating densely filled the air, and suddenly, the small space shook. I felt a strange sensation of floating, but I couldn't quite place it. It felt familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd experienced it...

"Take a good look! This is something you won't get to see outside!" Chuck laughed, pulling open the [Iron] window in the small room.

...When I first saw the Water Capital, Teigitan, built atop a labyrinth, I said it was the most magnificent thing I could ever see. But in reality, I was wrong.

What appeared before my eyes now was beyond the scope of "magnificent"—It's simply preposterous.

So, the small room where Chuck and I were staying turned out to be a box! It was actually a mechanical arm several tens of meters long! It descended from above, clamped onto the small room, and with the sound of steam and gears, it agilely transported us through the air!

So this is the "Dying Steel Citadel"? Damn, is this what they call a citadel!? It's the first time I've heard of a city being built inside a stalactite cave! Now, where we are is an incredibly vast and expansive stalactite cave. When I say vast, I don't just mean in terms of area, but those stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling, each one of them is like an inverted mountain!

Stalactites resembling small mountains, some hanging, some standing tall, covered the entire cavern. At the tip of a particularly stout stalactite, there was a small hole emitting a crimson glow, unmistakably a volcano!

An underground "river," unseen end in sight, flowed through the stalactite formations. Not only that, in the distant "sky," there was an exceptionally huge purple-blue crystal ore emitting a soft yet dazzling light, like a purple sun, providing illumination for the entire underground world.

Damn! It comes with its own ocean and sun!!!! Do you know that the undulating stalactite ground beneath, covered with patches of green, is not moss but vegetation and trees—? This is insane! It's like a self-contained world!

Apart from the terrain, we could see numerous pipelines and metal passages of various sizes connecting "mountains" and "mountains." The stalactites and stalagmites were dotted with brightly lit small caves, where many dwarves lived. And the mechanical arm carrying us was just one of the dozens of arms moving between the hanging "mountains."

I was stunned by the sight before me.

"Although it's a bit late to say this, welcome to our homeland, Walson," Chuck said proudly with a smile. "Welcome to the capital of the Dwarven Empire, Mahamatra — Dying Steel Citadel."