The foes we had painstakingly vanquished vanished like fog.

It was a baffling and somewhat frustrating outcome.

Maybe it was a situation that could lead to the demoralization of all 15 party members.

But that didn't happen. Thanks to a remarkably absurd adversary who sprang up right on the spot.

"What were you doing that you arrived so late, you damned fools!"

Right after we had defeated the Nightcrawler squad.

A squatty old man burst out from a corner of the base camp, squawking at us.

"Do you know how many days it's been since these outlaws took over the camp?! You should have driven them out faster, darn it!"

"...?"

Everyone looked at this old woman in confusion.

His head was completely bald. Big, round eyes with a beak-like nose the size of a fist.

Beneath that was a gray beard sticking out in all directions.

"Those frozen scoundrels have completely extinguished my forge fire! Can't you see my precious metal ladies shaking with cold?! Huh?!"

The party members were still stunned by the sudden appearance of the dwarf old man and his squawking.

However, I recognized the opponent immediately and felt a sense of relief.

'The magical blacksmith. It's Kellibey!'

Kellibey, the always available NPC who protects this base camp.

He's an Elder Dwarf adventurer who came into the dungeon in search of rare ores and never left.

His disposition is absolutely friendly.

He's a reliable ally who will side with the player no matter what they do.

"You useless, good-for-nothing, worm-like adventurers! Can't you hear me?! Light the fire in the camp now! Are you children of the dark?!"

...His mouth is a bit crude.

Anyway, a lot of players dislike him because he is a no-break gentleman who curses and commands from the first meeting.

I'm used to it because I've seen him so much.

Lucas looked at me with a 'Shall we get rid of him, my lord?' kind of expression. I chuckled and opened my mouth.

"Okay, everyone! I know this is a bit confusing, but for now, let's follow the old man's instructions."

Surprised by this response, Kellibey widened his eyes and looked at me.

I looked around the base camp.

"This camp will be our base from now on. We have to light the fire as the old man instructed, and restore the places that the enemies have messed up."

"Ho ho, ho ho!"

Kellibey, who let out a strange exclamation, came to me, huffing and puffing.

"Well, well, there's a clear-headed worm here! What's your name?"

"I'm Ash, Master Craftsman."

"A friend who sticks to basics. I like it, I like it!"

Lucas was eyeing Kellibey as if he didn't like him.

"How dare he be insolent to my lord..."

However, to my surprise, Kellibey snapped at Lucas instead.

"Hey, can't you hear your captain?! Light up the fire now!"

"..."

Lucas looked at me with a face like a wronged puppy. I waved my hands, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"...Lucas, go light the fire for now."

Just listen to this old man for a moment. I'll make it up to you later.

"Yes, my lord..."

Shoulders drooping, Lucas went off to light the fires around the base camp. I'm sorry, pal...

Eventually, all of our party members began lighting fires and cleaning up the debris at Kellibey's command.

"Um! Um!"

As Kellibey watched the scene with satisfaction, I cautiously approached him.

"May I ask for your name, sir?"

I know his name, but I need to ask. For the sake of future communication.

"Normally, I only reveal my name to trusted comrades."

Kellibey, who had cockily shrugged his shoulders, introduced himself.

"You seem promising, so I'll tell you. My name is Kellibey. I am the best blacksmith in this world."

If someone declares themselves the best, it's usually seen as arrogant. But this old man certainly had the qualifications.

After all, he was the only one capable of crafting the exclusive equipment of SSR grade characters.

He was also the only one who could create a certain type of magical weapon.

'I need to create the equipment necessary for Stage 5 through this old man.'

My judgment was quick, and my tongue was smooth, spitting out flattery.

"Indeed, your appearance is extraordinary...! It is an honor to meet you in person, Kellibey, a name I have only heard in legends."

At my flattery, Kellibey chuckled and stroked his beard.

"A legend? It's been 50 years since I entered this dungeon, and my name is still known in the outside world, eh?"

"Indeed. In our country's smithies, you are revered as a god of furnace and anvil, sir Kellibey."

"Puhahaha! Is that so? Is that so? Of course, the weapons I made must be pretty impressive!"

He completely believed my blatant lie.

As I continued to flatter and handle him carefully, Kellibey soon completely opened his heart to me. Such an easy-going old man.

"Alright, alright. Seeing how nicely you're treating me..."

When I handed over the entire bag of emergency rations, he gratefully accepted it.

In front of the smithy at the corner of the base camp, Kellibey, sitting on a chair, stroked his beard and winked at me.

"Seems like you want something, huh?"

"Yes, sir."

There's no need to beat around the bush. From here on, it's a conversation between a blacksmith and a client.

I went straight to the point.

"I need a Star Silver weapon."

Suddenly, the topic of top-tier equipment came up, causing Kellibey to flinch.

"How many... are needed? They're not exactly easy to make..."

"Fifteen."

Kellibey's eyes bulged out of his head. I shrugged.

"I might need more."

"Are you mad?! You want me to forge fifteen Star Silver weapons?"

"Can't do it?"

I crossed my arms and snorted.

"You talk big, but it seems like you're all talk."

"What... what did you say?!"

"So, all that talk about being the best and a legend was all bluff, huh? I guess it's typical for old tales to be exaggerated."

Kellibey turned red at my sudden change in attitude and provocation, squawking in protest.

"Star Silver weapons are top-tier exorcism items! Even forging one requires tremendous effort. I don't know what you're planning to use them for, but how can you need fifteen-"

"The Vampire King."

The words I spat out made Kellibey fall silent.

Staring into the darkness at the other end of this dungeon, I declared firmly.

"No Life King Celendion will soon descend upon us. These are needed to stop him."

There are many ways to deal with vampires, but the easiest one is to use weapons made of silver.

Because silver is said to have the ability to purify what is unclean.

In the game, this was simply reflected as a double damage effect.

However, even the effect of silver weapons is halved against high-ranking vampire entities like nobles.

The special silver weapon to deal with these noble bastards is the Star Silver weapon.

It turns all damage dealt to vampires into true damage, bypassing any defense.

It can only be forged here in this magic forge.

'You usually can only forge Star Silver weapons midway through the game.'

And rightly so, because noble vampires usually appear midway through the game.

But things got twisted. The Vampire King appeared at stage 5.

Hence, the need to bring out high-tier equipment that doesn't match the progress.

"...Celendion, he's invading the outside world?"

Kellibey, who had been silent for a while, stammered out a question. I nodded.

"Yes."

"...Huh."

Kellibey, sighing deeply, stared at the extinguished forge furnace.

"You know, kiddo, when I first entered this dungeon, I came in with my two brothers."

This was the first time I was hearing about Kellibey's past. I blinked in surprise.

"We kept finding rare minerals in this dungeon that we'd never heard of or seen outside, and we got excited."

Kellibey stuck a pipe in his mouth, struck a match, and drew a puff.

"So we ventured deeper into the dungeon in search of rarer minerals, fearlessly."

A flicker of fear passed through the eyes of the proud and overconfident dwarf blacksmith.

"And there, we encountered them."

"By 'them', you mean?"

"The Vampire Lords."

Kellibey laughed bitterly, puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"And, of all things, Lord Celendion himself."

"...!"

"It was our fault for delving too deep in search of minerals. By the time we realized we were no match for them in the dungeon depths, it was already too late."

The blacksmith's massive hand was shaking faintly.

"Eventually, I was the only one to escape, leaving behind my brothers' sacrifice. I never dared to enter the depths of the dungeon again."

"..."

"Do you know why my brothers chose to die in my place?"

It was a sudden question. I answered cautiously.

"Because you're the most skilled blacksmith, aren't you?"

"Exactly! Because I'm the best at crafting weapons to kill those monsters!"

Jumping up from his seat, Kellibey marched into a corner of the blacksmith's shop, opened a safe, and brought out something.

Even in the dim light, it shone like a moonlit eye, a white metal.

"This is a shard of sacred metal, acquired deep within the dungeon through my brothers' sacrifice. It's astral silver, fallen from the stars."

Thud!

"This is all I have."

Kellibey, placing the sacred shard on the anvil, glared at me.

"You're asking me to turn the lives of my brothers into a weapon. Are you prepared to pay the price?"

I grinned.

"Of course."

"Oh? And what will you pay with?"

My response was concise.

"The head of Celendion."

"..."

"If needed, I'll bring his blood and hide as well."

Kellibey's mouth dropped open slightly. I gave a confident smile.

"It will make a great soul-stabilizer and an excellent material for equipment, won't it?"

"Hahaha! I thought you were a decent guy, but you're completely insane, aren't you? You'll give me Celendion's head?"

Kellibey, laughing and covering his eyes, took a deep breath and looked at me.

"I haven't asked your name yet, you promising worm."

"Ash. Ash 'Born Hater' Everblack."

"Ha! No wonder there was a sinister smell, you're a member of the Everblack royal family!"

Kellibey clapped his hands loudly.

"Alright, scion of the human royal family. I'll make it. But fifteen is too much. I don't have enough sacred metal."

The dwarf's thick fingers held up three.

"Three. I'll craft three of the finest Star Silver weapons. How's that?"

I nodded eagerly.

"That sounds good. Let's do that."

"We have a deal! Good, then I'll start preparing to make the weapons right away..."

Kellibey, pulling out a sheet of parchment from his pocket, picked up some coal lying near the hearth and scrawled some hastily written words. He then tossed the parchment towards me.

"Fetch the rest of the materials!"

[A Limited Equipment Creation Quest has been activated!]

I casually glanced at the parchment before stowing it away. I couldn't make out his messy handwriting, but it didn't matter since it was already updated in the system as a quest.

"I'll be dropping by frequently, Master Craftsman."

"Of course you should. You'll need to make this place your base if you plan on going forward."

Kellibey let out a chuckle, looking around.

"Next time, you'll see the local old-timers hanging around here. There's no place as comfortable as this in the dungeon. You've dealt with those gangsters wearing the damn masks."

Dealt with, huh.

I thought of the Nightcrawler Squad that had vanished like mist.

Could I really say I had "dealt" with them?

"Bring the materials as you gather them. As long as I have the materials, I can get straight to forging."

"I will do so."

After hesitating for a moment, I opened my mouth.

"May I ask you something, Master Craftsman?"

"Huh? You're quite curious, huh? It's the age to be curious about the world, after all. What do you want to know?"

"It's about..."

I mentioned the incident when we had defeated the Nightcrawler Squad.

Despite having killed them, they had turned into mist and disappeared.

What on earth had happened?

Wouldn't the adventurer Kellibey, who had lived here for decades, know the reason?

When I asked, he replied,

"They didn't die and disappeared like mist? That's because of the curse they received."

Kellibey gave me the answer far too easily. I widened my eyes in surprise.

"A curse...you say?"

"Aha, you didn't know? The three curses that were cast upon the Lake Kingdom?"

Kellibey chuckled, stroking his beard with his fingertips.

"I don't know about two of the three curses either. But one of them, I know well. The surviving citizens of this country who occasionally emerge, they all suffer from that."

"And what is this curse?"

"The curse that has those ghost-like beings crawling at the bottom of this lake for centuries. What else could it be?"

Kellibey made a gesture as if strangling himself with his thick hand.

"Of course, it's the curse of immortality!"