I feel like I'm roleplaying as a corpse. Remember the fridge hidden in the wall? Well, there is a guest bed too. Yes, very much like the containers at a morgue.

I'm not even complaining it's kinda great. There is sound isolation and total darkness. I'm still not too sure on how air even passes through but that's a detail. I slowly get out. On the ground is the old mage. He's lying flat on his belly. Sometimes spasming a bit. I gently kick him.

[Wakey wakey, it's morning!]

He finally gets up grunting. Wow. It seems his roleplay is even better than mine. His body is acidic a bit. On the ground, he left a trace. An indentation following the exact shape of his body. It's not white chalk but it gives the same vibe.

I can see the wife scowling at him, but with reason haha. Guess what we have for breakfast? Same exact same thing as yesterday. She also insists the mage eats everything this time around.

He has no choice to comply as she's gloating on the side. She's totally getting revenge for her floor haha. Meanwhile, he is looking both hyper from the spiciness and listless. Like he's given up on life. I feel like this will be a source of trauma for him later. For once a problem no amount of acid will fix.

We finally leave the house.

[Why are there no dwarves beside your wife and servant?]

"Uh? Oh, this is my place!"

He gestures all around. All the way to the ceiling of the large cave. Oh! So the entire hot spring is his domain?! Damn, he's actually loaded!

He brings us to a small dwarf size door. We lower our head to pass through. On the other side are tons of dwarves cheering and screaming messages of encouragement!

"Iron Hammer rocks!"

"Show them all who's the best!"

"Beat them all until their own clans can't recognize them!"

These guys sure are happy. Except that all the cheers suddenly die down when we appear. Hey, this is almost hurtful! There is the initial processing delay, then they all look at Iron Hammer awaiting an explanation.

"Do not worry haha, these are my guests. They are historical allies of ours. You guys remember that Abyss Devourers incident? Well, they are from that village."

"Abyss devourers!? Oh my god!"

"Don't tell me these things are back!!!"

"Of course we remember the continent almost getting destroyed!"

"Is there another apocalypse about to begin?!"

Wow, just wow. How is it that everyone and their mother know about these creatures except me? Actually, that's a rhetorical question.

"Calm down people. Everything will be fine. Now, glory awaits!"

*Cheers*

We slowly walk followed by the crowd. This is clearly a power move. Every step building momentum. My dwarf friend is looking resolute and valiant. Well, my presence does destroy this a bit. At least now I'm wearing clothes. They quickly made me some yesterday.

The old mage is waving to the crowd as if some sort of prince. The weird thing is he actually looks decent doing it. He looks…princely. Either he was telling the truth about some sect leader being his father or he's a talented conman. Honestly, I'm betting on the second option.

We powerfully walk all the way to a huge double-doors in a wall. It seems to be made with some kind of red-glowing rock. There, our group meets two other groups. I'm wondering how they even got the timing right to all arrive at the same time.

I'm expecting the other leaders to inquire about my presence, but nope. They exchange a glance and simply proceed.

The interior is spacious. No, spacious doesn't render it justice. It is big enough to easily hold all the dwarves and still look empty. By the way, there are hundreds of them. The floor, walls, and even ceiling all are pieces of art.

This is impressive as hell! It's so gigantic and yet the tiniest details are finely chiseled. For instance, when we pass near a supporting pillar I can see tiny dwarves carving. They seem to be hunting some sort of creature.

We keep going. There stands a god. A statue, but I can safely say this is the most beautiful and epic thing I have ever witnessed. Including possible past lives!

It represents a giant dwarf. Around him are hovering a hammer, an anvil, and a furnace. There is also a fire quietly raging under the dwarf's touch.

He seems to be creating some sort of legendary weapon that glows with a powerful aura. The kind that would send the entire world in a frenzy for it any time. Except, from the look of the statue, it isn't anything special.

From its gaze, I can feel the will of an artisan. One that loves what he is doing. One that is giving his all yet remains calm. Steady and accurately striking the metal. I can relate to this god.

I do not know a single thing about forging but I do respect the grind. There is a sort of aura emanating from the being too. I'd say it is humble dignity.

From one that considers himself a simple craftsman yet will not bow down to any king. This what I can gather from one look.

The skills of whoever created that statue are insane! I have trouble expressing emotion with tons of words, yet here a lifeless statue is doing just that wonderfully.

I can't help but nod in appreciation. Both for the artist and for the god. For some reason, I have the feeling I've seen him before. Probably was from a game or a show in another life.

That is when I realize that all the dwarves around me are kneeling. I stand out like a sore thumb. The logical part of me says I should imitate them, but for some reason, I don't feel like it.

It's weird, I've had no trouble kneeling in front of the statue of the abundance goddess, right before murdering all her followers. But I don't feel like kneeling to this statue.

Ah, actually I know why. When I am baking myself, I'd hate for people to do that. It is not a time for vanity, that would ruin the mood.

The other dwarves are perplexed as they simply see me smile. But they don't voice any displeasure. They simply kneel for an hour, then stand up and slowly exit the place.

It seems there is no talking allowed in this place. Guess this whole event is now officially started. What comes first?