Translator: CinderTL
According to scattered records in ancient texts, the Astral Plane is not the universe or starry sky as commonly understood, but rather a silver void connecting countless planes of existence—the primordial tapestry beneath the fabric of reality.
There, direction and gravity hold no sway, nor does time flow in the conventional sense.
Thought itself becomes the vessel navigating this space. A single, intense intention is enough to propel travelers across the boundless silver void, streaking through the cosmos as distant planes glow like stars.
Legends say it is littered with the remains of deities, lost kingdoms, and wonders left by ancient faiths, yet it also harbors indescribable dangers.
Among these are the astral whale, which feed on travelers' emotions and memories, and other even more bizarre and unpredictable entities.
For most mortals, the Astral Plane is a mysterious dimension glimpsed only when their souls leave their bodies.
The shell ship, however, is one of the rare legendary creations capable of carrying material bodies and safely traversing this sea of thought.
If one could board it to reach Aetheron, it would indeed be far swifter and more reliable than any mortal vessel.
Roland didn't refuse Durga's proposal, but he did raise a practical question.
"Durga, do you know how to operate a shell ship?"
"Of course!"
The Gray Dwarf Leader confidently patted the iron gauntlet on his right hand.
"Friend, you should know that our people endured a thousand years of slavery under the mind flayers. Though those years were filled with suffering..."
A flicker of mixed bitterness and sorrow crossed his eyes, but he quickly regained his resolve.
"...we also learned much from those otherworldly scum during that time, including the methods to operate a shell ship."
Perhaps emboldened by the confirmed location of the shell ship, the Gray Dwarf Leader's spirits were high, and even his eyes, usually burning with resentment and fury, seemed clearer.
"Once we find the shell ship, leave the rest to me. You have nothing to worry about!"
Seeing Durga's unwavering confidence, Roland temporarily suppressed his doubts and nodded in agreement. He then turned to ask:
"The dwarves of the Stone Kingdom will likely learn of what happened here soon. How do you plan to counter their retaliation?"
This wasn't an unfounded concern.
Although the outbreak of Stone-Tongue Syndrome had led to the sealing of some mine tunnels, the dwarves, whose lives revolved around ore, would never stand idly by while Stone Furnace Fortress—one of the kingdom's most vital mining strongholds—remained occupied by outsiders.
"Hmph! Those 'Duga' dwarves are nothing more than toothless pups now. They pose no threat whatsoever!"
"Duga dwarves?"
"In our ancient tongue, 'Duga' means 'liar' and 'traitor.' We use this term to refer to our surface-dwelling kin."
Durga's tone dripped with undisguised contempt.
Seeing his unwavering confidence in the situation, Roland asked no further questions.
After briefly settling Bronson and the others, he immediately took on the role of temporary guide, assisting Durga and his grey dwarf subordinates in pinpointing the shell ship's buried location.
Logically, due to violent tectonic shifts in years past, the shell ship should have been buried extremely deep—perhaps even near the Earth's core, as the mind flayer had claimed. This should have made it nearly impossible to locate.
However, after Roland meticulously detailed the mind flayer's testimony and pinpointed the exact location, Durga appeared utterly confident.
He swiftly assembled several hundred grey dwarf warriors and decisively ordered them to begin excavating.
As the rhythmic clang of pickaxes echoed through the mine, a wide and sturdy tunnel took shape in less than half a day, steadily advancing deeper into the earth.
As the excavation progressed, the surrounding rock strata began to change. The once frigid stone walls gradually grew scorching hot, and the air filled with the acrid stench of sulfur.
The rock at the tunnel's depths glowed with a dark crimson light, and the intense heat made the air shimmer and distort.
Finally, after a forceful strike, the rock face ahead collapsed with a thunderous crash, revealing the slowly flowing, molten lava beneath.
A wide underground river of magma stretched across the tunnel's end, its orange-red glow illuminating the entire cave like the interior of a furnace.
"You few, go scout ahead."
After dispatching several elite subordinates, Durga turned to Roland, whose face was now solemn due to the lava, and let out a rough laugh.
"Relax, old friend. We grey dwarves have lived deep within the earth for generations, we're used to these molten rivers."
He shoved a wineskin into Roland's hand.
"Take a swig. 'Lava Blood' will ward off this heat."
Roland gazed down at the slowly flowing lava river, confirming it wouldn't surge upwards for the time being. Only then did he let out a small sigh of relief and take a sip from the wineskin.
As the fiery liquid slid down his throat, the discomfort caused by the intense heat vanished without a trace.
To pass the time, the two fell into casual conversation, which inevitably turned to Stone-Tongue Syndrome.
"Speaking of which... why is it that surface dwarves who contract Stone-Tongue Syndrome become grey dwarves?"
"Stone-Tongue Syndrome?"
Durga scoffed and shook his head.
"That's just a fantasy of the ignorant. For thousands of years, the grey dwarf bloodline has slumbered within every dwarf, never truly vanishing."
He raised his right hand, the iron gauntlet gleaming with a dark, metallic sheen in the lava's red glow.
"As for me... through a series of fortuitous circumstances, I happened to awaken a part of the grey dwarf bloodline, which led me to this..."
Durga gently stroked the ancient runes on his gauntlet, his voice low and resonant.
"This is a holy artifact of the deity our people worship, Durag the Soulforger. When I broke its seal, the dormant bloodline began to awaken among my kin."
"So, you're a chosen one?" Roland pressed.
"Chosen one? That's a human term," Durga replied, a proud curve forming on his lips. "Among us grey dwarves, it's called the Chosen of the Forge."
The glow of the lava illuminated his stern face, casting dancing shadows.
Roland gazed at the gauntlet, which seemed fused to his flesh, and asked curiously, "You said earlier that you awakened your grey dwarf bloodline by chance?"
"That's right," Durga nodded with a hint of self-mockery. "You might not believe this, but before I awakened, I was a renowned forging master among the surface dwarves. But when the mine collapsed, I was left idle day after day, growing increasingly restless."
"One day, while wandering the streets, I happened to meet a human alchemist."
"An alchemist?"
"Hmm..." Durga stroked his chin in recollection. "The man claimed he could brew a potion that would awaken bloodline power. At the time, I scoffed at the idea and bought a bottle to expose his scam. But then..."
The Gray Dwarf Leader spread his hands, revealing his rock-like, grayish-white skin.
"That guy's potion actually worked."
As he said this, Durga shook his head gently, a complex expression flickering in his eyes.
"Perhaps... this was fate's arrangement."
"Wait... are you talking about the potion that awakens bloodline power?" Roland's expression turned peculiar as he asked tentatively. "The alchemist's name... isn't it... Danny?"
"How do you know?"
Seeing Durga's undisguised astonishment, Roland rubbed his forehead.
This is truly...
Back in the Golden Valley Kingdom, it was thanks to that alchemist's potion that he had successfully fused with the dragon bloodline, allowing him to become a dragonborn.
Afterward, he had tried to recruit the alchemist, but due to the Golden Valley Kingdom's unstable situation, he had asked him to wait in the River Domain Nations for the time being.
However, everything that followed...
Civil war, the Abyssal Invasion, demon rampages...
These events had swept him into one conflict after another.
By the time everything calmed down, he had long forgotten about the alchemist.
"How did Danny end up in the Stone Kingdom? Maybe... because the River Domain Nations and the Golden Valley Kingdom were at war back then."
Recalling Danny's wrinkled, perpetually worried face, Roland couldn't help but smile wryly.
"So, Durga, where is that alchemist named Danny now?"
"So that weirdo Danny is your friend, huh..."
Though Roland hadn't explicitly said so, Durga had already guessed part of the truth from his expression.
The Gray Dwarf Leader let out a booming laugh and clapped Roland on the shoulder.
"Haha! Old friend, it seems you've helped me out once again!"
"Don't worry. That weirdo is safely tucked away in Stone Furnace Fortress. I'll take you to see him as soon as we find the shell ship."
"I appreciate it."
As they spoke, the Gray Dwarves who had been sent ahead to scout returned safely.
With the path confirmed, the party resumed their excavation.
In the lightless underpass, the concept of time blurred into meaninglessness.
But as they dug deeper, Roland's psionic connection to the shell ship grew clearer. This anticipation fueled everyone's tireless efforts.
During this time, Roland had few specific tasks beyond interrogating mind flayers and guiding the way.
So he decided to focus his energy on strengthening his own power.
As the excavation deepened, the tunnel began to meander downward toward the Earth's core.
The ordinary ores on the rock walls gradually gave way to bioluminescent crystals that shimmered with a faint blue light, and the pungent smell of sulfur in the air was replaced by a crisp, metallic scent.
They passed through vast jungles of giant crystals, their prismatic forms having grown silently in the depths for tens of millions of years, emitting a cold light that illuminated their path.
Among the crystals, pale ferns stubbornly spread through the rock crevices, their fine spores drifting slowly through the light like dust.
After an indeterminate amount of time—perhaps days, perhaps months—the tunnel suddenly opened into a vast cavern.
A massive underground chamber stretched before them, its dome studded with shimmering crystal clusters that resembled an inverted starry sky.
In the center of the chamber, a massive, distorted silhouette was faintly visible, half-buried in the rock.
Its surface was covered with an unnatural, chitinous material that glinted with faint points of light in the dim depths.
(End of the Chapter)
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