Chapter Fifty-Seven: Cursed

Retainc never let down his guard, hostility still burning in his eyes.

"Are you from the Safro Kingdom? How could you possibly know about these matters? You even seem to understand them better than we do!"

With that, Retainc turned to Luric, his tone serious yet tinged with bizarre confusion as he asked, "Yata, why—why would you so easily place your trust in a human?"

To him, this was utterly absurd. Everything this human displayed reeked of suspicion.

"Given all these suspicious behaviors from the human, I have every reason to suspect that this so-called plague curse might even be orchestrated by him behind the scenes."

Retainc spoke bluntly, holding back none of his disdain.

"Shut your mouth. That is not how Gray Mountain treats its friends."

Yet clearly, this dwarf named Retainc held a different status compared to Gurtari and his peers.

Faced with Luric's reprimand, he showed no fear. Instead, he furrowed his brows and shot back stubbornly, "This matter is of the utmost gravity! Why trust a human so blindly?

Everything you experienced and witnessed along the way might simply be an act he put on to win your trust.

It is all just far too convenient."

He pointed an accusing finger at Gurtari as he continued, "This idiot got drunk, was captured by goblins, and just happened to be rescued by this human.

Then, he happened to run right into that disaster, and upon returning, he coincidentally found you at your wits' end and led you straight to this human.

And on top of that, the human just happens to know all about these affairs. Do you not find this far too coincidental? You have been blinded, Yata."

Their heated argument caused Gurtari to fall into deep contemplation beside them.

"It certainly is quite a coincidence, but I believe Kana is no wicked soul."

"You believe?" Retainc, looking for anywhere to vent his frustration, pointed straight at Gurtari and cursed, "You useless sack of lard! You managed to get yourself captured by goblins, what good is your belief worth?"

Gurtari's face flushed red with anger, yet for a moment, he could find no words to retort. Being captured by goblins would forever remain the most effective weapon anyone could use against him.

"Those were no ordinary goblins. All those patients here were inflicted with curses by that very pack of goblins.

If not for Gurtari, you wouldn't even know the cause behind your curses. You have no grounds to use this against him."

Kana chimed in with a calm, flat tone.

Hearing Kana step in to defend him, Retainc glared with malicious intent. "Human, do not think you can pull wool over my eyes. I am a warrior of the mountains, and any plot of yours shall be ground to dust beneath the great stones!"

"Shut your trap, you short-stature fool! How dare you show such disrespect to His Royal Highness!" Aliris snapped, her fury erupting as she drew her blade and stepped directly in front of Kana.

Reddened veins had already begun to crawl around the contours of her neck.

Her eyes gleamed with a faint, bloodshot radiance.

The atmosphere in the room instantly tightened to a breaking point. The afflicted dwarves who had been gathered around, listening to the quarrel, began scrambling to find whatever weapons were at hand.

"Enough!"

"Boom!"

The roar carried the ferocity of rolling thunder.

Luric's body was already wreathed in flickering arcs of electricity as he drove his towering, man-height warhammer straight down into the floor.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from his lightning-charged frame instantly silenced every dwarf in the room.

Kana also reached out and gently pressed a hand down on Aliris's shoulder to calm her.

Bobot was clearly irritated as well, glaring daggers at the defiant dwarf while muttering under his breath, "I must write a book about these Gray Mountain dwarves—to think they would treat those who wish to help them with such hostility."

As the room finally quieted down, Luric spoke up. "I trust him. I vouch for his friendship in the name of Gray Mountain."

Retainc closed his mouth, though his gaze remained hostile as he stared fixedly at Kana, clearly remaining deeply suspicious of him.

Yet since Luric had spoken thus, he could only relent with a nod. "The will of the mountains."

The other dwarves lowered their heads in unison, murmuring, "The will of the mountains."

"Very well, rest well everyone. Let us head outside."

With that, Luric led the group away, walking all the way to the command post situated within the stone tower.

This appeared to be Retainc's personal office.

Aside from Retainc, Luric summoned a few additional dwarf commanders.

Unfurling a map of the mountain range, Luric began, "Aside from the Flat-Peak Outpost, all four peripheral outposts have kinsmen afflicted by the plague curse.

And we—we crawled out of a pit located just a hundred meters away from this very outpost last night. A tunnel running straight from the goblin caves at the base of the mountain leads right up to our doorstep, so close to the outpost, yet not a single soul noticed it!"

As he spoke, Luric's anger flared anew; after all, a mere hundred meters was practically right beneath their eyelids.

Retainc lowered his head in shame and replied, "The fault is mine. I had the patrols start their routes a full mile away from the watchtower.

It never crossed my mind that an enemy-dug tunnel could exist in such proximity."

Kana watched him silently from the side, having roughly deduced Retainc's exact position within the hierarchy.

Barring any surprises, every single dwarf across the entire northern expanse of the mountain range answered to him.

He had just referred to himself as a warrior of the mountains—a title that represented both a specialized combat class and a prestigious honor.

It could be said to be the pinnacle of ferocity among warriors.

Yet the problem was that Kana had no recollection of him.

Someone of such prominent status was impossible for Kana to not recognize, let alone remain unfamiliar with or never have heard of.

While it was normal not to recognize ordinary dwarves like Gurtari—considering there were easily one or two thousand dwarves residing here—Luric, a towering figure of high status, was someone Kana had instantly recognized in his heart after trading a few words and learning his name.

Yet as for this Retainc, Kana could not conjure up a single shred of information concerning him, right up until this moment.

This meant that at the very least, once the main plotline of the game officially commenced, this dwarf was likely already gone—with a high probability that he had perished.

The meeting continued.

"Now, I want every single one of you to thoroughly inspect the perimeters around all watchtowers and unearth every tunnel opening leading down the mountain.

I shall go rally more warriors. It is time to let these damned servants of the evil god taste the wrath of the mountains."

The assembled dwarves nodded gravely, accepted their orders, and filed out of the room.

Retainc cast one final, lingering look at Luric before turning his cold gaze to Kana. "May the mountains bless you, and beware of treacherous plots."

Without waiting for a reply, he strode toward the exit. As he passed Kana, he shot him a final sideways glance, let out a cold snort, and brushed past him into the hallway.

Luric let out a heavy sigh, turned to Kana, and offered an apologetic smile. "Forgive me, friend. Retainc is a guardian, a warrior of the mountains; I beg you to pardon his offense.

He must maintain an unyielding vigilance to safeguard Gray Mountain. I am certain that in time, he will feel deeply ashamed of these foolish words he has uttered."

Faced with Luric's apology, Kana remained unbothered. Instead, a faint smile played on his lips as he remarked, "He likely will never feel ashamed of his words."

"What?"

Kana glanced down at his own status window.

[Status: Corruption Mark]

[Corruption Mark: You have been marked by the followers of the Corruption Sovereign. When engaging in combat with followers of the Corruption Sovereign, this mark may trigger, inflicting you with a plague curse.]

This was getting interesting. No wonder this name had never surfaced in the later stages of the timeline.

No wonder this entire incident had never been spoken of among the dwarven clans.