I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

336 - Power of the Temple 1

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: Posted in discord

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As they moved away from the place where shouts and screams mingled with curses, the city quickly grew quiet. Sitting atop a building, looking around anxiously, was a harpy in casual clothes, which made it clear how vast the capital of the Empire was.

Adding to the vastness of the city was the harpy's discriminatory arrogance, making infiltration surprisingly easy. It seemed that the harpies believed that no one could invade the capital, even though they knew the city below had been destroyed.

It was like how people in an American slum would duck and pray to God when they heard gunshots, but in the middle of Seoul, they would think it was just fireworks. From the harpies' perspective, they wouldn't believe that humans could climb up from underground, or that it would take them only a day to walk a distance that would take several days to fly. Perhaps the Harpy Empress, busy idolizing herself, had also controlled the flow of information.

If it were me, I would also think it was nonsense if I read on the internet that a gate had opened in Gangnam and an orc warrior had come out and killed citizens.

"Strangers, where are you from?"

"From that place where chaos broke out."

"Really? I have no idea what's going on...."

As we headed towards the workshop district where the stone dwarves were, according to the harpies, carrying boxes, we drew their attention. Unlike the harpies who didn't care about second-class citizens or slaves carrying goods, the stone dwarves were interested in seeing humans for the first time.

Some stone dwarves, focused on their work in the workshops despite being exploited, and others, sitting idly in front of their workshops, spoke to us.

Grace and Katie, seeing this, started whispering to each other, their earlier tension about the infiltration gone.

"At least, it's not an unbearable environment?"

"Seeing how they just leave the bodies around, they must be treating them like high-quality magic tools. Use them nicely when they're useful, and discard them underground when they lose their performance...."

"High-quality, expensive magic tools? That kind of makes sense when you put it that way."

Han Se-ah looked around like a meerkat, as if she was determined to find something even though the workshop district for stone dwarf slaves was being gradually recorded on the minimap.

The quest log showed no movement.

To be honest, we've probably missed a lot already, considering we practically skipped floors 47 to 49, just killing harpies and rushing through.

But if Han Se-ah fails, I fail too, so the more negatively I think, the more anxious I become. Last time, someone arbitrarily updated the quest for us; I wonder if we can expect such luck again.

The only thing we could rely on now was that mysterious someone who had modified the quest related to the 40th-floor boss, changing the requirement from hunting to finding.

This person, who gave me the reward when the skeleton boss's gimmick malfunctioned, was our only hope.

Worried about failing the quest and quickly changing the quest conditions, I wondered if this person might be favorable to me, considering that the only penalty for failing the quest was limiting my internet usage time.

"Hanna, if we need to find some clues... how about asking the stone dwarves?"

"How are we supposed to search this vast place on foot... right?"

"If the stone dwarves built this city, they would know about secret spaces or suspicious places. Even if it's been so long that no one remembers, these craftsmen usually have apprentices to who they pass down their skills and stories."

While trying to alleviate our anxiety, Irene tugged at Han Se-ah's sleeve and suggested this. Indeed, there was no reason for the five of us to wander around foolishly when we had already come this far.

Because of our anxiety, both Han Se-ah and I had narrowed our vision so much that we hadn't even considered the simple idea of asking around.

But we couldn't react as if we didn't know. It was enough for the viewers to make fun of Han Se-ah. As soon as I heard Irene's suggestion, I reached out to Han Se-ah as if I had thought the same thing.

"Hanna, do you have any stones left in your inventory?"

"Oh, wait a moment? I packed some just in case."

-She's really a versatile porter, keeping all sorts of quest and miscellaneous items in her inventory, lol.

-It's standard to gather everything in a corner when playing RPGs. If you don't have it, you might have to go back to the village.

-Storing stones in the inventory, seriously, lol.

-She's obsessed with maps and loot. Definitely a hardcore RPG player.

-Hey, it's not just stones, it's gourmet food for the stone dwarves, you featherbrained bigots.

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Raei Translations

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Han Se-ah had various stones in her inventory. These were not for crafting or refining equipment but were edible rocks collected from various regions for a stone dwarf who loved gourmet food.

So, they were 'edible' stones.

"Wow, I can't believe there are squishies carrying things like this. What do you want to know?"

"Is there an architect who built this city?"

Most creatures let their guard down when you give them something tasty. Even if the harpies provided workshops to create various items for themselves, there's no way those discriminatory harpies allowed their slaves to enjoy gourmet food.

Even if tastes differed, the fresh stones from our inventory were enough to loosen the tongues of the stone dwarves, who were used to eating only the stones they were given while confined in the city as slaves.

Though some dwarves were wary of humans, who were third-class citizens rather than slaves, they were no exception. Just like how people in training camps would go crazy for a can of cola in just a month, stone dwarves wouldn't be any different.

"Building the city? That old woman Shasha over there knows all about that."

"What about old man Gugu?"

"He returned to the earth last month."

Irene asked the idle stone dwarf in front of the workshop gently, and information flowed out easily. She must have taken care of more than just children at the temple, as her manner with the elderly was excellent.

Old Sasha's mentor built the city.

Many squishies look down on stone dwarves.

Flappers like anything that shines.

Occasionally, they confiscate masterpieces to present to the queen. I don't know where the stones they give us to eat come from, but they taste bad.

It's hard to believe all this information came from a pile of stones in the inventory. Irene bowed politely in response to their kindness.

"Thank you. We'll be going now, elders."

"What a polite squishy."

"We should be thanking you. It's been a long time since we tasted stones from home."

-Heuuuung, Mama… Heuuuung, Mama… Heuuuung, Mama… Heuuuung, Mama… Heuuuung, Mama… Heuuuung, Mama… Heuuuung, Mama…

-I expected something tense and thrilling since it was a stealth mission, but this is heartwarming.

-Why does it suddenly feel like a human drama?

-So where do the harpies get their stones from?

-Maybe feeding them stones taken from the place where they hunt tentacle monsters to dispose of the waste?

Perhaps it was because they became lonely with age, or maybe because their lives were harshly exploited. The stone dwarves, eager for a good conversation partner, poured out all the knowledge they had, making the chat noisy.

After all, we were infiltrating the 50th floor. Even a passing citizen's words could be a clue to the quest, so every piece of information felt precious.

The stone dwarves seemed to want to help the kind Irene. They shared trivial information like what the neighbors were making today or that an adventurer hadn't returned after leaving his sword for repair, but we cut off useless information to save time.

"Go to the southeastern district and tell old Shasha that Grandpa Brube sent you. Got it?"

"Even though the districts are different, they all know each other. How long have they been here...?"

"Maybe it's because all the dwarves from the city on the 50th floor were captured and brought here?"

Grandpa Brube, the stone dwarf, handed us a small bag, saying it would be uncomfortable to carry the box. The leather bag, which Irene could easily carry with one hand, rattled with uncut gems inside.

They said showing this would prove that Brube sent us. Did the stone dwarf craftsmen recognize each other's work even with just a tiny crystal? As I was thinking about this, people suddenly appeared from the alley, blocking our path.

...People?

"Wait a minute! Are you by any chance the Hero? Hero Hanna and Roland, the wielder of the Holy Sword! Is that correct?!"

"...?"

A small person with a gray robe pulled over her head, almost completely covering her face. From her build and voice, it was clear she was a woman, but the robe, possibly enchanted, hid even her jawline under its hood's shadow.

Following her out of the alley were people in identical gray robes, watching us cautiously. There were at least a dozen of them, so it was clear they weren't just an adventurer party.

Mysterious humans suddenly appearing in the city. Our party instinctively took combat positions, adjusting stances naturally.

Katie moved forward, hand on her waist, while Grace backed away to take a shooting angle at the alley's group. The woman who spoke to us panicked.

"Wait! I'll take off the robe! The robe!"

Frightened by the imminent threat of swords and arrows, she raised both hands high. Not a combatant, she fumbled clumsily with her hood, struggling to remove the enchanted garment until she finally succeeded.

Revealed was soft, brown hair reminiscent of freshly baked bread. Her hair, which looked blonde in the sunlight, and her beautiful, delicate face made the viewers cheer.

"...What's this? Another saint candidate?"

"Sister Laurencia!?"

Han Se-ah and Irene exclaimed as well.

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