Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 128: Power of Dwarven Tech

After that, they walked together across the bridge. Ard and Eva led the way alongside Hardim, while the others trailed behind, observing Hardim closely. They had never seen a dwarf before; he was only half Ard’s height, yet his body was far wider and stouter, and he wore protective gear that looked like a simple shirt, pants, and a cloak, but was actually made entirely of chainmail. However, what caught everyone’s eye—especially Mirea’s and Ainsley’s—was the weapon Hardim carried: a long-barreled flintlock rifle with a flared front and two crystals acting as its triggers.

"What kind of weapon is that? It’s definitely not a sword," Ainsley muttered, adjusting her glasses and whispering.

"I don’t know, I’ve never seen a weapon like that before either... this is interesting," Mirea whispered back, keeping her eyes on the weapon slung over Hardim’s shoulder.

"Hmm... how does it work? Is it for close range... or shooting... or is it like a magic staff?" Ainsley asked in a whisper.

"I want to ask, but I’m afraid it would be rude," Mirea replied.

Suddenly, Adeline walked past Ainsley and Mirea. They were startled to see her move but didn’t have time to stop her. Adeline stood right behind Hardim, who was slightly shorter than her, and then she grabbed Ard’s arm from behind, making him turn around.

"What is it, Adeline?" Ard asked.

Hearing Ard’s question, Eva and Hardim naturally turned back to look at Adeline. As Hardim turned, Adeline leaned down slightly to observe his face from a close distance.

"Um... Mister, can I ask how old you are?" Adeline asked.

The atmosphere went dead silent for a moment. Ard and Eva’s jaws dropped as if they had hit the floor, while the others were speechless—though they were secretly eager to hear Hardim’s answer. Rosalind looked panicked and started walking forward, intending to pull Adeline back.

"Me? Hmmm... this year, I am 210 years old," Hardim answered with a friendly smile.

"Wow... I thought you were younger than me since I’m only 13, but it turns out you’re really old," Adeline said casually with a smile.

"Hey... Adeline," Ard scolded.

"It’s alright, Ard. It’s natural for them to be curious; it’s their first time seeing a dwarf like me, isn’t it?" Hardim replied easily.

"I’m sorry, Guild Master," Ard replied.

In the end, Adeline’s innocence broke the thick wall of ice between them and Hardim. Everyone began firing question after question at him because they were all curious and wanted to know the story of dwarves like Hardim. Naturally, Hardim explained everything happily and kindly. He even held up his rifle to show how it worked, though he didn’t fire it yet, and explained that the gun was dwarven technology commonly used in their destination kingdom. This certainly answered the questions of Mirea and Ainsley, who grew even more enthusiastic as they listened, wanting to know what other dwarven technologies existed.

They continued walking across the bridge, which still seemed to have no end in sight. But suddenly, "Graaaaah!" "Boom!" Ard and Eva stopped; they drew their swords and stood ready. From the lava, a humanoid creature that looked like molten lava and stone jumped from the side of the cliff onto the bridge, right in front of them.

"Hmm... a magma golem... let me handle this," Hardim said.

Calmly, Hardim stepped forward. He removed a red crystal from his rifle and installed a blue crystal in its place, then aimed his barrel at the monster that was slowly walking toward them. "Blam!" Sparks flew from the tip of the gun as it fired and—"Crack!" In an instant, the monster that was hit immediately froze. All the magma in its body suddenly cooled and gave off steam, and then the monster crumbled into a pile of pebbles in front of them.

"So, that’s how it works," Hardim said to Mirea and Ainsley.

"Wow... so that weapon is for shooting... truly fascinating," Mirea muttered.

"I really want to study how it works and build one," Ainsley muttered, clutching the frame of her glasses.

"Once we get there, you’ll see other dwarven technologies. Let’s continue our journey, we’re almost there," Hardim said.

They continued their journey, and as they passed the pile of still-smoking rubble, everyone swallowed hard and turned to look at it. A monster that they believed would be difficult to defeat with a sword had been easily destroyed by the advanced weapon they had just seen.

After walking for an hour, they finally reached the end of the bridge. Ard, Eva, and the others gasped as they saw a massive, magnificent gate with two enormous dwarven statues standing on either side, as if guarding the entrance. The gate looked like it had been carved directly into the colossal cave wall, appearing to be a seamless part of the mountain they were inside.

"So this is the gate," Ard muttered, looking up in awe.

"It’s huge," Eva added, also looking up in amazement.

"Indeed. This gate is the border between the Kingdom of Grimgrath and the surface world. Come, let’s go inside," Hardim invited.

They walked toward the gate immediately. Once they reached the front, it turned out there was a special, normal-sized door built into the structure of the massive main gate. Hardim took a key from the bag he was carrying and inserted it into the keyhole. Then, the sound of moving machinery echoed from behind or within the door. "Click," the lock snapped open, and one side of the door in front of Hardim slid aside.

They all walked inside. To their surprise, behind the gate sat a building that looked like a mining station, filled with machines, gears, and steam—reminiscent of Earth’s Industrial Revolution or something straight out of a steampunk movie.

Hardim told everyone to stay quiet and not move because there were traps all around them. He then turned to the side and raised his key high, as if showing it to something or someone.

Immediately, the steam engines in front of them groaned to life, making a deafening noise. It turned out those engines were the power source to move the rail platforms in front of the building that looked like a mining station.

Hardim immediately invited everyone to step onto the rails, and they began moving into a tunnel on a platform that moved on its own, just like an escalator. Naturally, everyone was in awe, feeling a sensation they had never experienced before in their lives.

Claudia and Irina looked so terrified they dropped to all fours on the ground until Milia, Patricia, and Irwin had to help them up, while Mirea and Ainsley enthusiastically studied how the rails worked, seemingly powered by steam.

The tunnel they were passing through looked like a massive pipe, with walls made of iron plates secured by large, sturdy, rusted bolts. Long yellow crystals were mounted along the walls, serving as lights for the tunnel. When Ard and Eva saw this, they immediately turned to look at each other.

"This... it’s just like Earth, isn’t it?" Ard asked Eva in a whisper.

"Yeah, you’re right. It’s exactly like it. Is it possible dwarves actually come from Earth?" Eva asked.

"Impossible. In all my time on Earth, I never saw any race other than humans," Ard answered.

"Hmm... you’re right. Even though there are plenty of stories or legends mentioning other races, none of them were ever actually around us," Eva replied.

"Hardim’s rifle is the same as the ones on Earth too, right? I mean, our era felt much more advanced, but the basics are the same," Ard replied.

"Yeah. I wonder if the dwarven technology that’s been down here all this time is just like Earth’s," Eva muttered.

"It’s likely. And it makes total sense why they keep to themselves and hide everything from the outside world. I can’t imagine what would happen if their tech fell into the hands of the humans currently at war on the surface," Ard added.

They fell silent again and stared ahead, watching to see where the noisy, moving rail platform they were riding would take them. Meanwhile, the others behind Ard and Eva were chatting enthusiastically with Hardim, who seemed happy to answer all their questions, even though he occasionally looked overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

In the end, they all sat down on the self-moving platform, relaxing as they waited to reach their destination. After thirty minutes, they arrived at a station at the very end of the tunnel.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Grimgrath,"

The eyes of Ard, Eva, and everyone else widened as they saw a massive, sprawling underground city. It was filled with glowing yellow lights and many mini zeppelins equipped with propellers flying overhead. Buildings clung to the cave cliffs like apartment complexes, and steam-powered carriages that resembled cars moved about. There were countless dwarves—both men and women, all bearded, stout, and short—walking casually through the streets going about their business. The entire city was fenced in by fortified walls that looked incredibly sturdy, with ballistas atop every tower pointing outward. In the back of the great city, a towering, multi-layered palace stood tall.