Ch 22- Dwarves

Two weeks have passed since Glacé set off with his party to find new homes for the elf and dwarf. At this moment he faced a small dwarven village and showed them an extremely stiff smile.

"We'll thanks for being so hospitable guys! But it's really time for us to get moving on to our next destination". Glacé looked anxiously at the crowd of dwarves who all stared at him with eager eyes.

They dropped off the young elf at a hidden village just three days after setting off. Then after trekking/ flying, they arrived at this dwarf village a day later. This village however wasn't as enthusiastic about accepting outsiders, so they decided to hold a test to see whether they'd allow this new dwarf name Bessel to join their village. That is where all of Glacès nightmares started; the dwarf he picked up was exceptionally talented in his craftsmanship. Ever since Bessel first saw Glacés natural form in its full glory he had already mapped out several designs that'd suit him; he was itching to work.

The test the dwarven chief gave him was rather simple; he had two days to come up with his best creation possible. Along with him five of the best younger craftsmen of the village would also craft to the fullest of their capabilities in two days. If his product was better than any one of their promising talents then they would accept him into the village.

To Glacé's surprise in a short two days, Bessel created what could be said to be a masterpiece, the whole village was stunned by his finished work. The dwarven race prides itself on work and crafts; most of their focus tends to be on weaponry, armor, and magical accessories. Bessels finished product however didn't fall under a usual category, but that didn't take away from the 'judge's' eyes.

What Bessel made looked like it could be part of a wedding ensemble. It was a mesh, pure white mantle embellished with starling silver and amethyst-colored magical stones. At first glance, one would simply think that it was a beautiful cloak. However, upon closer inspection, the true worth would surely be revealed. The 'mesh' wasn't made from any type of cloth but rather an extremely light and durable metal called "Shimmering cobalt". It's an extremely precious and useful metal; known for its ability to withhold against various physical and magic attacks. It's extremely strong but also extremely hard to manipulate and work with, those who can successfully create with it are without a doubt genuine talents.

Seeing how Bessel was able to finesse the cobalt so well that it not only formed a see-through mesh but also turned from cobalt blue to white; thoroughly proved his skills. In all reality, if Bessel had only finished manipulating the cobalt into a mantle and left it, he still would've won by a landslide. But the mantle itself wasn't enough to satisfy his drive and passion, so he used the amethyst and silver embellishments to add various unique qualities and properties to the cloak. Making the final look glamorous and almost holy, while also adding many useful properties for Glacé specifically.

Upon the end of the trial, many asked where he got the crazy idea to work shimmering cobalt of all things into a magical mantle. Bessel simply smiled and pointed a finger at Glacé.

"If you saw his true self, you'd find inspiration just like me. Too bad he won't show it to you all". Bessel talked smugly to these new neighbors who originally looked down on him. After the group heard his words they all started to pester Glacé; wanting to see his "true form".

Eventually, Glacé sighed and gave in; the whole village came to a boil. The moment he appeared as a winged unicorn the dwarves dragged him around everywhere; for modeling, drawing, you name it. They all went crazy; blinded by the desire to make the best work for the best masterpiece of nature they'd ever seen. The dwarves couldn't stop praising him and wanting to look at him; so like this Glacè was dragged around the dwarven village as a "walking inspiration" for the following week.

The evening before leaving Glacé tiredly walked to his temporary housing and went straight toward the bed. There he saw Bai and Tera sleeping like the dead and gave a small smile.

"Heh, at least I'm not the only one suffering from these dwarves' crazed state". During this time some dwarves also hounded the fox kits to gain some inspiration for the future. All in all, it was a hectic week for the team.

Glacé sat on the couch and stretched his body out before opening his system panel. He held his chin in his hand as he looked over all his gains from the past two weeks.

'Haha. Well even if I didn't do any active quests I really gained a lot from this short trip. I got the magic stones gifted by the elves and all sorts of various gear from these crazed dwarves; even gear specifically for Bai and Tera'. Glacé gave a satisfied smile before giving a slight pause. 'Hmm? What's this?'.

Glacé noticed a small notification next to the character tab, he opened it and spotted that he had earned his first title.

'Character name- Glacé

Character title(s): Darling of the Dwarves'

Glacé stared at his new title expressionlessly and clicked on it for more information.

"Darling of the Dwarves- You are an inspiration to all dwarves, just one look at your majestic body can reignite their passion for creation. Just show yourself and they'll obsess over you.

Added effects- Even when in human shape as long as it's a dwarf it will have a positive first impression and goodwill toward you. If you are in your unicorn form they will worship you like a God and could become a faithful allies. *Please take note that some may take extreme measures to keep/hoard you".

'May take extreme measures to keep/hoard you? WTF?!'. Glacé thought back to his situation this past week and felt that that was actually a highly likely possibility and felt a bit scared. ' At first, it seems like a great title since dwarves are such rude and unfriendly characters typically. However it's not really a good thing at all, they're obsessive, and if not careful things could go south easily'. Glacé tapped his finger against his temple and sighed ' I really don't know if I'm lucky or not. This game is so contradicting, I mean just look at these stupid descriptions. I wonder if everyone has it like this. Ugh!'.

Glacé held his head in both hands and suddenly had an epiphany. 'It's already been two weeks since the launch, but since I've been so focused on the elf and dwarves I haven't paid much attention to the world'.

Glacé moved over to his social tab which had long been silent since he concluded the ending of his streaming contract (which the CEO heavily tried to dissuade him from doing). He moved his eyes over the Lichen online forum and sat on the sofa scrolling through the section of 'concerns and complaints'.

Two hours later Glacé exited the social tab with a bitter face. 'I must've looked through over 2000 different topics and yet saw nothing. Absolutely nothing about these weird and perverse game detail descriptions. Is it really just me?? Am I being targeted by the developers or the main brain?'.

To put it bluntly, Glacè felt betrayed 'all my loyalty and hope toward Gaia Tech and all I get is… this? A weird game experience that isn't like any others?'

The more he thought the angrier Glacé became 'and I also still haven't even been offered a chance to leave the game yet! What do I have to do? Finish the World tree's quest?'. Slowly Glacé's anger mellowed down and all he felt was dejection. 'This game isn't quite what I expected'. He gave a big sigh and stared up towards the ceiling with a blank expression and eventually before he knew it, fell asleep.

-

"Sir, here's the latest report from the analytical department".

Art waved his hand and sent his secretary out.

'Well, the game is being received very well by the populous; not much surprise there'. He quickly skimmed through the document before casually tossing it aside. He leaned his head on a fist and tapped his fingers slowly on the table before calling his secretary. After the first ring, Alice's figure was soon displayed before him. "Alice, I want all the information regarding the first six players. Send it up immediately".

"Understood, sir".

Art leaned back in his chair 'two weeks have passed, I wonder if they've acted like I predicted since the other players arrived. Art gave a minuscule smile thinking of the possibilities, his mind traced back to Glacè; the odd player who he couldn't understand through his analytical analysis. 'I wonder if he's fully adjusted to the game now?'.

Shortly after Art received an email from Alice containing all the video and digital information of the six players' movements during the requested time. Art quickly viewed the first five and wasn't too surprised by his findings, two players had already taken advantage of their head start and started bullying and killings new players. 'Ugh, human nature is always repulsive'. Art stared expressionlessly as he continued checking over the other players. The others focused more on quests and were handling them very well, one even decided to open the first player-based guild. 'Hmm good, it seems to be going just as I anticipated'.

Art decided to look at Glacé last and his face soon turned black as the bottom of the pot. He hadn't even done hardly anything in these two weeks, and yet his charts were once again all over the place. Art pinched between his eyebrows and stared at Glacès face; frozen on the screen. 'This won't do'. Art shot up and calmly walked to his virtual cabin and once again signed back into Lichen, setting a goal for himself.

-

Glacé stared at the Dwarves gathered round the village entrance the whole scene seemed stale. Glacé stared nervously; Bai and Tera were hiding behind Glacè and Glacé forced a smile as he said his goodbyes to the reluctant dwarves. At this moment Bessel rushed forward and fervently shook Glacés hand then stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest showing a straight and upright posture. "If you ever need any kind of gear or material, I will always welcome you here. I won't claim to be the best smith but I'm pretty damn near close, so if you ever have a need try to come to me first, alright?". Bessel showed Glacé a wide toothy grin and lightly stretched his hand out to hand him the mantle he made before.

Glacés eyes widened he knew how precious this mantle was and didn't expect Bessel wanted to give it to him for free. Glacé looked at him incredulously for a moment before stretching a hand out to receive the mantle and smiled with a bright smile. "Haha, of course, I'll come to you first, you take care Bessel, just please don't tell any more dwarves about me. Your kind is simply too scary to me. Also thank you for this mantle, ill use it well and treat it as a treasure. Thanks for this, you take care of yourself".

Bessel stroked his beard "hmm well, I may brag about the unicorn I once met but I won't give your information away. You have my word, please come see us again".

Glacé nodded, then he turned and ran as fast as he could. Once he felt he was far enough away he finally heaved a sigh of relief, he slightly turned back in the direction of the hidden village and gave a genuine and soft smile. 'Although a bit crazy, the dwarves really weren't too bad people' He thought simply.

"Alright guys! We're free now! I think it's time to go back to Mole and master; before we decide what to do next". Bai and Tera nodded in understanding and lightly rubbed against Glacé's face. Glacé smiled again and pulled out the compass and map and they started their journey back toward the kingdom of Lesha.