Chapter 94: Test of Stone
As the sun sank behind the sea and night bled over the island, the air between them thickened, heavy and unyielding. It felt like the world itself was holding its breath.
The Forgemaster's aura pressed against him, dense and suffocating. A C-rank at his peak, possibly B, easily strong enough to tear through a party of users as a dungeon boss. Seo-jin could picture it, armor cracking, bodies breaking. But he didn't flinch. He'd already put his plan on the line; the next few words would decide everything.
Thragdur's stare burned through him. The old dwarf didn't move, didn't blink...just watched, eyes glowing dimly under the weight of silence. Around him, the others tightened their grips, knuckles pale against dark metal.
Then came a sharp clink, the sound of steel meeting steel as Thragdur crossed his arms. The motion rippled through his men. Grumbling, they lowered their weapons, but not their guard.
The Forgemaster's voice came low and measured, like stone grinding against stone.
"What is your plan?"
Seo-jin exhaled before he could stop himself. The faintest twitch passed over the dwarf's face, one raised brow. The only sign of life he'd shown so far.
Clearing his throat, Seo-jin steadied his tone.
"It's simple. We play along with the spider queen until she's done her part. Once the Snake Tribe's gone, you build the boat. Then we kill her. You take the island, and my people on the mainland become your partners—food, medicine, metal, all of it. You forge for us. We both walk away richer, and your people don't starve."
When he finished, nothing changed. The Forgemaster's expression didn't flicker. No anger. No interest. Not even breath. Only his men began to stir.
'Bastard could outstare a corpse.'
Thragdur's only movement was a tap of one finger against his gauntlet. The faint metallic click carried more weight than any shout and instantly brought silence. He stood there unmoving, thinking, before finally speaking. Slow and deliberate, each pause scraping at Seo-jin's nerves.
"Your plan sounds simple. You speak with conviction. But I am not convinced. The Snake Tribe is strong. So is the Spider. You alone will not change the balance. Shard or not."
Seo-jin could tell the old dwarf was stubborn. Words alone wouldn't move him.
"Then let me convince you."
Two sharp, guttural screeches tore through the forest. The sound cracked the night open, scattering birds and freezing breath. Dwarves flinched, weapons raised. Even Thragdur unfolded his arms.
Behind Seo-jin, wet gurgling built to a retch. The Twinback growths heaved and vomited out half-digested slabs of meat, splattering across the dirt. The smell hit hard, iron, bile, and the sharp sting of acid. A few dwarves stumbled back gagging. One raised his hammer to crush a twitching chunk near his boot, but froze when he met Seo-jin's eyes.
"I wouldn't do that."
The glow of his gaze deepened, bloodlight leaking from the corners like smoke from a forge as he warned the dwarf.
Scattered meat began to twitch, tendons pulling, reforming into solid shapes.
With a final convulsion, two gruesome figures stood. Pain and Panic.
Flames licked from Pain's horns, his body heat bending the air. His breath came out like bursts from a furnace, and when he exhaled, embers rolled across the ground. The dwarves stared—fire was sacred to them, and Pain burned like a cursed god.
Panic's grin cut across his face like a knife. His body was thinner, wrong, constantly twitching. He reached into his throat and drew out a dagger slick with blood, letting it drip from his fingers. The dwarves murmured, uneasy.
Then, from above, another shadow dropped, heavy and silent. Snare landed between his brothers in a crouch, staff in hand.
The dwarves stepped back, the weight of predation pressing on every heartbeat. Seo-jin didn't need to look to feel their unease. He could practically smell it.
All three broodlings lowered to one knee, heads bowed.
"All hail the Broodfather."
"All hail the Broodfather."
"All hail the Broodfather."
Their voices hit like a ritual, guttural and unified.
Even the forgemaster's composure cracked. His brows lifted completely, the first major shift in that stone face.
"Impressive."
Thragdur's voice lost some of its cold edge.
"Not even I sensed him above."
Snare grinned beneath his bow, his jaw tight with pride.
Seo-jin motioned for his broodlings to rise, then nodded toward the forgemaster.
"I kept him hidden for good reason. I'm sure you understand."
He then lifted his hand, summoning a potion in a flare of crimson light. The potion pulsed between his fingers, glass catching the glow. While the light burned out, he stood amongst his Brood, showing his hand with a show of force.
"I can shift the balance. You're a leader who thinks before he swings his fists, I can see that. So think on this—my strength grows like a user's, and so does my brood. Every kill feeds me. Every death swells my power. Don't fear me for being a demon. I'm not the kind you've known."
The vial vanished in another pulse of red. He let the silence hold before finishing.
"Stand with me, and your people live. Forge for me, arm my forces, and you'll thrive. Refuse…"
He tilted his head slightly, voice cutting low.
"And you'll join the others in ruin. So—are we friends, or are we enemies?"
The tension hit like a spark in dry air. The dwarves stirred, auras building. Even the broodlings shifted, claws flexing, tails lashing as their fangs dripped.
Thragdur didn't move. He stood like carved stone, unreadable. Seo-jin braced himself, linking his thoughts to the brood.
'If he shows bloodlust, run. Once I use Rotmark, you'll sense my—'
The thought snapped short as the old dwarf suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
'...Huh?'
It was a harsh, guttural sound, like metal dragged through a sewer pipe. The broodlings growled low, muscles tightening, but the forgemaster only steadied himself, grinning wide.
"Big balls for a demon. You must sire many sons!"
Seo-jin blinked, his mind bouncing between irritation, relief, but mostly confusion from the abrupt shift from Thragdur.
"Glad you appreciate that. Now, as I was saying—"
"Tradition first!"
The barked interruption stopped him cold.
"...Tradition?"
The dwarves around them broke into laughter. Brundar stepped forward, bowing slightly to the Forgemaster.
"I'll take my men and sweep the perimeter. We'll keep any intruders off your backs."
Thragdur waved him off with a grunt.
"Good, good. Now, Broodfather, we dwarves hold to certain customs—even I am bound to them."
The scarred dwarf sighed, nodded once to Seo-jin, and led his men off, their disappointed voices fading into the dark.
Thragdur ignored them, his tone dropping into something almost reverent.
"Before two enemies can forge trust, the stone must witness it."
Seo-jin frowned. Snare mirrored his confusion, his head tilting in sync.
"Do we really have to? We shouldn't be wasting time if it's not necessary."
Ignoring him, the Forgemaster stepped forward, knelt, and pressed two of his four hands to the ground. His voice rumbled through the dirt.
"Tradition must be honored. Without it, the forge breaks. The hammer falls without purpose. We add our blood to the stone—and in that blood, the pact is sealed. There is no other way."
The old dwarf's voice landed like a hammer. Seo-jin could feel the line drawn. Thragdur wasn't backing down.
[My database holds no information on this. Sounds like he wants to do a blood rite. Maybe you gotta drink each other's blood.]
'I'll play along. Spilling a little blood won't bother me...or drinking it.'
He watched Thragdur, puzzled by the stillness as the forgemaster kept his hands on the earth.
Sensing the doubt, the old man spoke without looking up.
"Just a moment longer. It is almost here."
"What's almost—"
The ground answered him. A low grinding rolled underfoot, the sound of rock being chewed. Then the earth split and a slab of black rock pushed free in front of Thragdur. Eight feet tall, three across, a block of stone that radiated something older and colder than the island itself.
Thragdur rose, serious, and stripped off a gauntlet. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, denting the earth.
"This is Heartstone. The hardest ore of our world, pulled from the deepest veins, closest to the core."
The other dwarves closed ranks, voices threading with wagers and murmurs.
Thragdur slammed his bare fist into a metal palm, a small smile cutting his weathered face as he looked at Seo-jin.
"To prove our truth, we each strike this stone three times with everything we possess. No holding back. If either side is judged to have shirked even an inch, that side forfeits their life. This is our way. Show us that we can trust you."
Boom!
He struck his palm again, the sound exploding out like a concussion.
Seo-jin rolled his eyes, the irritation dull and heavy. Still, he couldn't deny the simplicity of it—an old-world test of strength and will. On the surface, it was about endurance, about suffering to prove your word. In truth, it was a quiet demand to bare one's fangs. To show your strength.
"Who goes first?"
Thragdur's expression shifted again, the grin gone as if carved off with a blade.
"I will. It is tradition."
Seo-jin stepped back, watching the dwarf square up to the stone. His brow creased.
'I can't get a read on this geezer.'
[He's doing it on purpose.]
'I know. Doesn't make it less effective. This fucker's gonna be a problem. Let's just finish this—Lilid's probably twitching in her web by now.'
He clasped his hands behind his back, forcing calm. If nothing else, this would show him the old man's limits.
Then the air broke.
Thragdur's aura surged, dense, suffocating. His muscles coiled and thickened like cables drawn tight against a ship's mooring, the metal of his gauntlets groaning. The air bent around him. The ground moaned.
For a moment, Seo-jin pictured the Heartstone splintering to dust.
Then came the strike.
The sound cracked through the clearing. Raw, physical violence condensed into a single note. The ground didn't shake. The air didn't move. But Seo-jin felt it in his being. This disparity caused his mind to stir, his curiousity peaked.
"The stone absorbed it?"
"It did not absorb it."
Thragdur withdrew his fist. The knuckles were dark, swollen. Purple and already spreading.
"Heartstone reflects what it takes. You endure your blow—and the stone's answer. That is the rite."
He wound up again, the air thick with power. The second hit landed like thunder. Blood sprayed across the stone, painting its black surface in red. His skin split, but the dwarf's arm held firm.
'His defense is monstrous.'
Seo-jin couldn't help but admire him.
'And that's not a normal fist—it's forged steel wrapped in meat.'
The third strike fell. Bone cracked, a sharp, solid sound, and Thragdur took a step back. Blood ran down his arm. He turned to face Seo-jin, his breath even, his eyes bright with fire.
"My heart is sincere! Who among you doubts me?"
No one answered. Even Seo-jin couldn't lie through that kind of conviction.
Thragdur nodded, lowering his ruined fist.
"Now prove yours, Broodfather. Show your words have weight."
All eyes turned to him. The dwarves stood still, breath held. His brood hummed across the link...restless, eager, hungry.
He tuned them out.
Stepping forward, he stood before the stone. Its surface was smooth, polished like obsidian. The longer he stared, the deeper it pulled him in, a void waiting to swallow what he offered.
He could feel the forgemaster watching. This wasn't just a trial, it was judgment. The beginning of whatever fragile trust or looming war would follow. If he faltered, he'd lose more than their respect. He'd give them the upper hand in all future negotiations.
'I can't hold back.'
He planted his feet, digging into the dirt until it cracked beneath him. Veins corded up his arm as muscle tightened, each fiber pulling taut like drawn wire.
Heat rolled off him in waves. The dwarves felt it, saw it, the faint shimmer of bloodlight. They muttered low, their earlier scorn fading into quiet respect. Even Thragdur's eyes narrowed, the faintest nod marking that he understood the weight of what was about to happen.
Seo-jin drew a slow breath through clenched teeth, the air whistling between them. His back arched. His body coiled.
He struck.
Then his arm exploded. Flesh and bone shredded into mist.