Chapter 56
“…So what do you plan to do now?”
In the mine, Dmir set down his hammer and looked up at me.
“You told me to give it my all, so I did…”
It wasn’t just a matter of giving effort.
He was practically a machine.
A weapon-manufacturing machine.
“You’ve worked hard, Dmir.”
I sincerely admired him.
And I wasn’t the only one.
Dagnard stood beside me with a look of awe, clearly intoxicated by his ancestor’s skill.
“Alright.”
I clapped my hands.
“Now that we’re mostly ready, it’s time to join forces with the elves.”
Having handed out weapons to the Dwarves so far, I’d been running a bit of an experiment.
And the result? These guys would believe me if I told them soybeans could be mashed into paste.
That meant we were done with prep.
The ingredients were ready—the real cooking could begin.
“Sunny.”
I called out to Sunny standing behind me.
“Yes, my liege.”
“Was it tomorrow?”
“That’s right.”
Sunny, with his spear upright, bowed slightly as he responded.
“Eldrin said she’ll assemble the entire elven army at the front lines tomorrow.”
Sunny was serving as the messenger pigeon.
With no phones or emails here, he was the only way I could communicate with Eldrin.
“Oho, they’re finally gathering?”
Dmir’s eyes filled with anticipation.
He must have felt incredibly frustrated all this time.
It made sense. With the seal on the great dragon about to break, he’d been hammering away without a proper plan.
“Yeah, time to get started.”
My goal was to gather every race in this world into one place.
But Dmir still had questions.
“Hmm. Even if your popularity is through the roof, you’re still from another race… Would the Rock Tribe really gather under your command?”
“…”
Honestly, I didn’t know.
Even if they liked me.
That didn’t guarantee they’d all unite at my word.
But it didn’t matter.
There were other ways to gather them.
“…An outsider, huh?”
Dmir pressed for an answer.
“Are you really sure about this? There’s not much time left.”
“Well, time’s not a big issue. One way or another, we’ll have our answer by tomorrow.”
I replied calmly.
“Dmir, there’s nothing more you need to do now. If anything, just help reveal the truth.”
“…The truth?”
“Five hundred years of hatred and conflict have built up. That’s an insane amount of time. At this point, elves and dwarves alike are filled with deep-rooted hostility.”
“…True. I’m bitter about it myself.”
“To bring people like that together… hmm, I can only think of one way.”
“And that’s revealing the truth?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“It has to be clear and undeniable. Just look at Dagnard—he changed after learning the truth.”
I turned to glance at Dagnard.
He nodded solemnly.
“Exactly. The truth is the best way to counter misunderstanding and slander. The problem is…”
He stroked his chin.
“Just like the ancestor said, even if the elves are convinced, how do we gather all those dwarves?”
“Exactly. That’s what I’ve been wondering too.”
The dwarf agreed with Dagnard’s concern.
“Hmm.”
I smirked.
“Dmir.”
“Hmm?”
“How about a little wager?”
“A wager?”
Dmir tilted his head, hammer dangling in hand.
“Yeah. Let’s bet on whether or not all the dwarves will gather by tomorrow. Loser grants the winner a wish.”
Dmir would be my summon soon enough anyway.
But having him obey me fully was a different matter.
Even if he did, there could still be tension with Sunny or my other summons.
So it was best to set the terms now.
“Hmm?”
Dmir twitched his fingers.
“I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m ready to sell my soul to a demon if it means slaying that dragon.”
“Alright. Deal.”
I plopped down cross-legged on the ground.
Now, all I had to do…
Was wait.
There was no need to rush.
The bait had already been cast via Eldrin.
‘They’re talking about war—like they’ll just sit still?’
I inhaled slowly and began reciting a verse from the Supreme Azure Mind Method the old man had taught me.
—
How much time passed?
An emergency erupted in the once-peaceful dwarf city.
The bait had finally been taken.
“The elves! The elves are gathering at the front lines!”
“How many are there?!”
“T-Tens of thousands! So many that it’s impossible to count them all!”
“What the hell? Are they insane?!”
“Is the High Elf Queen out of her mind?!”
News of the elves’ sudden large-scale mobilization threw the dwarves into a panic.
“This is bad! Their numbers are far beyond anything we’ve seen before!”
“We have to gather too! We need to unite!”
“Where’s the Chairman?! Where’s the Chairman?!”
No matter how odd his behavior had been lately…
To them, there was no dwarf more reliable than the Chairman.
He was the strongest dwarf in the world.
However—
The Chairman was gone.
“No response from the Chairman! He’s disappeared!”
“What? What do you mean?!”
“Then what do we do?!”
“What do you think?! We group by city and prepare for battle! We can’t just sit around and wait to die!”
The council members from each city called for the mobilization of troops.
“Let’s fight! You think some elves can beat us?!”
“Yeah! And we’ve got weapons!”
“Weapons?”
“That’s right, weapons! The ones Joo Donghoon made for us!”
Was this the power of 100 affinity?
The flow of thought naturally shifted toward me.
“If the elves have their queen, then we’ve got Joo Donghoon!”
“Right! With Joo Donghoon, what do we have to fear?!”
“Joo Donghoon! Joo Donghoon!”
Crisis breeds fear.
And fear looks for new heroes. A new leader.
“Then… should we appoint Joo Donghoon as acting Chairman?”
In the emergency meeting without a Chairman, one council member spoke up.
“Hmm, but he’s from another race.”
“So what? Has anyone from our kind ever done as much for us as he has?”
“That’s true! We’re only asking him to lead until the Chairman returns, right?”
The result of the emergency meeting—
Unanimous approval!
“Gather! Assemble!”
“Move to Titan!”
The dwarves grabbed their hammers and rose.
Step, step.
Treading over stone, the entire Rock Tribe marched toward the city of Titan.
Council members from every city led their troops and arrived at the mine entrance.
Twelve council members representing the Rock Tribe in total.
All standing before me.
Tens of thousands of soldiers were busy preparing outside the city.
“Hmm…”
Dmir murmured in disbelief.
“Incredible. I didn’t think your influence would be this great.”
“I expected a lot, but not this much.”
I smiled.
I’d won the bet.
That wish voucher would surely come in handy.
Clink!
All twelve council members knelt on one knee before me.
It was a majestic sight.
“Joo Donghoon!”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“As you know, our race is in grave danger! We believe only you can lead us—will you lend us your aid?”
“Aid, huh… What’s the compensation?”
A true gentleman never helps for free.
No false humility.
Grabbing what you can when you can—that’s the real virtue.
“You seem particularly interested in that mine! We’ll give you all the ore currently stockpiled! It’s far too much for one person to carry anyway—our tribe will help you haul it all!”
“Deal. Sounds great.”
These guys…
They really know me well. As expected of 100 affinity.
“From now on, I am your acting Chairman.”
“Wooooah!”
The council members roared.
The cheers spread to the thousands of dwarves outside the city.
“Joo Donghoon! Joo Donghoon has joined us!”
“A mysterious race stands with us!”
The unified cheer of that massive army was a spectacular sight.
And just like that—
I casually became the acting Chairman of the Rock Tribe.
—
Rumbleeee!
The dwarf army marched in a long line, forming a military front.
Their strength represented nearly half of this world.
They advanced like a tidal wave toward the forest.
However—
Even with all their might, they were forced to halt their advance.
“The elves!”
“Those damn elves are forming ranks! Spread out!”
“Keep your distance! Don’t get hit by stray arrows! Raise your shields!”
Countless elves lined the forest front.
Because elves specialized in long-range combat, they needed proper formation before charging in.
“Huh?”
“…?”
But then they noticed something odd.
The elves, who should’ve been glaring with hostility…
Were quiet.
And then—
Drip, drop.
They were all crying.
But it wasn’t from sadness.
It was tears of rage.
What the…?
Tens of thousands of dwarves furrowed their brows in confusion.
“What’s with them?”
“Hmm, are they holding some kind of ritual? The forest folk are known for their mystical rites.”
“Looks like they’re just crying?”
Yeah, this is enough.
Not blind rage—but curiosity.
That meant they were ready to hear the truth.
“So… Eldrin. You really told them everything in such a short time?”
Dmir was impressed.
“Alright, Dmir.”
“…You called?”
“Everything’s ready.”
“It’s real, huh. You gathered all these people in under a week.”
“Yeah. Didn’t do much, but it worked out.”
Seriously, I barely did anything.
Just raised my affinity to 100.
And used Eldrin to spread the sense of crisis.
“Now, it’s time.”
“To reveal the truth?”
“Yes. The Rock Tribe deserves to know what’s been hidden for 500 years.”
Before the confused dwarves—
Step.
Dmir and I walked forward.
The end was finally in sight.
—
– Hello.
– Members of the Rock Tribe and the Forest Tribe.
– I am Joo Donghoon, acting Chairman.
Thanks to Dmir’s spell scroll and the A-rank skill [Amplify], my voice boomed across the battlefield.
“J-Joo Donghoon?”
“The Chairman! He’s the acting Chairman!”
“The acting Chairman is about to issue the attack order! Prepare!”
The dwarves cheered at the sound of my voice.
Man, these guys…
They really love me, huh?
But what I was about to say…
Was going to hit hard.
– I’m afraid I’m not here to order an attack on the elves.
– What I’m about to say concerns 500 years of fabricated history built on lies and manipulation—the truth.
– The elves were never your true enemy.
My calm voice spread across the front lines.
Naturally, the dwarf camp erupted in murmurs.
“What are you saying, acting Chairman?!”
“The elves aren’t the enemy?!”
“Is he crazy?! Joo Donghoon’s gone mad!”
“Still, let’s at least hear him out! It’s Joo Donghoon, after all!”
That’s the power of 100 affinity.
Telling them the elves aren’t the enemy is as crazy as saying soybeans make paste.
I continued bombarding them with facts.
– Do you know the history of Eldrin and Dmir?
– Do you know the true identities of Serphin, the High Elf Queen, and Volcanus, the Chairman?
From forgotten tales of two heroes—
To how the sealed great dragon spent 500 years manipulating both races.
I laid it all out.
Naturally, the dwarves didn’t believe me.
Murmur, murmur.
For those raised from childhood to see elves as enemies, my words were pure madness.
“Wh-What is this…?!”
“Even if it’s Joo Donghoon, he can’t slander the Chairman we’ve fought under for 500 years!”
“This is too sudden to believe!”
“Is he a puppet of the elves?!”
I nodded.
‘Figured as much.’
I never expected to convince them easily.
“Dmir.”
I called out to him.
“And Eldrin.”
Eldrin approached from the elven side as well.
There was only one way to reveal the truth.
Seeing is believing.
Better than a hundred words.
“Can you bring the great dragon here?”
If they don’t believe it?
Then show them.
The Chairman’s true form.
“Oh, so that’s your plan…!”
Dmir was impressed.
“After we show them the dragon, we can deal with everything at once!”
Eldrin also nodded.
“It’s not hard. The seal is physical. If we just move the arrow, it’ll have no choice but to follow.”
Good.
Now the only thing left—
Is slaying the dragon.
‘Maybe I’ll get a Dragon Slayer achievement or something?’
I felt a twinge of excitement.
It might be a cheap trick—
But who else in the world could say they’ve fought a dragon?