Birth of A Hero and Power That Could Reach the Gods – Part 04

Hikaru opened up his own Soul Board.

【Soul Board】Hikaru
Age: 15 | Rank: 43 | 0

【Vitality】
【Natural Recovery】1
【Stamina】1

【Magical Power】

【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】4
【Weapon Mastery】
【Projectile】4

【Agility】
【Power Burst】6
【Flexibility】1
【Balance】3
【Stealth】
【Life Cloaking】5 (MAX)
【Mana Cloaking】5 (MAX)
【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)
【Assassination】3 (MAX)
【Group Cloaking】3

【Instinct】
【Instinct】3
【Detection】
【Life Detection】1
【Mana Detection】5 (MAX)

The last time he had allocated any points was in the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, when he boosted his Projectile stat.

I should probably assume Stealth won’t work.

Hikaru remembered how Talis had seen him anyway.

If basic Skills don’t work… then it probably means the Blessings from the guild card don’t work either. Could it be that Talis and Brigid’s Soul Boards have ridiculously high stats?

It was entirely possible. Humans gained one point per year, but for Man Gnomes it seemed to be one point every three years. Even if it took Brigid and Talis even longer to earn a single point, their long lifespans more than made up for it.

What if they had an unlimited number of points? They could train endlessly. All their stats would be high, and they could master every Skill. If their base physical abilities were that high, they might be able to see through Stealth even if it were maxed out. But if that were true, wouldn’t the only people capable of opposing Brigid be long-lived beings like Talis? Ugh, that’s not the conclusion I wanted to reach.

He was at his wits’ end.

If there’s another possibility…

Among all the Soul Boards Hikaru had seen so far, the one that stood out the most was that of Lawrence, the commander of the Knights of Ponsonia. He had 6 points in the Greatsword stat under Weapon Mastery, and from there, one point branched into a skill called Heaven Sword. Hikaru didn’t know what it did. If it were his own Soul Board, he could read the Skill’s description, but with someone else’s, that wasn’t possible. That was frustrating.

Even if I started raising my Soul Rank now, it would take time.

Thinking he was out of options, Hikaru arrived at the aid station and noticed a crowd had gathered there.

The group was made up entirely of Dwarves, both men and women. It didn’t seem like anyone was seriously injured; no one looked grim. On the contrary, they looked excited, full of curiosity.

Suddenly, golden flames burst up from the center of the crowd, causing a wave of murmurs among the Dwarves. But in the next moment, applause broke out.

“What’s going on here?”

A male Dwarf who heard Hikaru muttering turned around. “Ah, i-it’s Hikaru!”

“What?!”

“The guy himself is here! Make way for Hikaru!” a Dwarf shouted as they parted the crowd.

They looked like members of the Orange Ox, Yellow Tiger, and Black Goat clans. But still, this reaction was excessive. It was like some huge troublemaker had shown up. The female Dwarves who didn’t know the context just looked puzzled.

Hikaru spotted a familiar face in the open space beyond the crowd.

“Huh? Lavia, what are you doing?”

“Hikaru.”

“You’re late!”

There was Lavia, Serika, and…

“Sorry for causing a scene.”

…Gilma looking embarrassed.

“Gilma just gave us a demonstration of the Flame!” Serika said. “It’s lunch break anyway.”

“Ah. And you mages are watching.”

“Yes, I begged them,” Gilma said. “And the meeting room felt so cramped.”

Now that he looked, Hikaru saw that even some of the clan chiefs were mixed into the crowd. Dodorono was there too, raising a hand in an apologetic sort of wave.

“So, did it go well?” Hikaru asked Gilma.

“No, not quite.”

“It looks like something close to spellcasting, but she seems to have trouble controlling the firepower,” Lavia said. “Maybe using a magic staff would help.”

The ground was scorched black where the flame had hit.

Come to think of it, Hikaru remembered that Lavia always used a staff when casting spells. Hers had been made by that stylish elf, Leniwood, from the satellite town of Pond.

“Huh?”

“What is it, Hikaru?”

“Ah, sorry. Something just tugged at my mind. What was it?”

Dodorono came up. “Gilma, it’s about time. Shall we head back?”

“Okay,” Gilma replied a little gloomily.

The reason for her gloom became clear to Hikaru later that evening, after the meeting had ended.

---

Gilma didn’t show up for dinner at the Gittan building. Apparently, she didn’t have much of an appetite, and on top of that, she had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. Outside the window, the sky was painted in dusk, and smoke from cooking fires rose here and there.

“The meeting didn’t go well at all.”

Dodorono showed up looking equally worn out. There had also been plans for a dinner with the other clan leaders, but Dodonno had taken that on in his place.

“Dodonno seems like he’ll make a fine chief for the Red Rat clan,” Hikaru said.

“It pains me to think about how my brother must feel.”

“You’re quite beloved, Dodorono.”

“Stop making fun of me. I really am troubled by all this, you know.”

“Haha, sorry. So, why didn’t the meeting go well?”

Dodorono began to explain. His appetite, at least, hadn’t waned. He was eating something like a pizza, topped with minced meat and herbs.

After hearing what he had to say, Hikaru nearly let out a sigh. So the Dwarves hadn’t changed one bit. The confusion and chaos among the Dwarf race were exactly what Brigid had been hoping for. It felt like they were all dancing in the palm of his hand, and Hikaru couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

“But I do understand how the clan chiefs feel,” Dodorono said. “They can’t go back to the city until the volcano settles down.”

“What did the scouting team say?”

“It looks like lava has flowed into the center of the city. One person collapsed from gas inhalation, and a few others made it back ahead of the rest.”

It still sounded dangerous for the time being.

“For now, two or three more days might be fine, but beyond that, things will get dicey. Everyone fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, so of course they want to go home. And we’ll start running out of food.”

“They all just want to go home.”

“Many are praying to Lord Brigid. Honestly, most Dwarves still believe he’ll somehow make everything right. Even if we tell them he’s the cause of our problems, they won’t believe it.”

“But they can’t go back until the volcano settles, right? They have to start a new life somewhere else. There are issues of health and hygiene too.”

Just using the toilet alone was a problem. Most Dwarves had to walk a long way to makeshift latrines by the large river. At this point, it might be better to relocate the base entirely over there.

“They’re still clinging to the hope that the volcano will calm down,” Dodorono went on. “Maybe a month, at least. No, I bet they’ll hold out even longer. Their homes, their lives, their history—it’s all in Ironforge.”

It was a tough situation.

If Gilma moved elsewhere, many would probably follow her. But if that happened, the Dwarves would end up completely divided.

“That said, the most immediate issue is food. At this rate, our stores will run out in less than ten days. We don’t even have much gold, so buying from other nations isn’t a long-term solution. We’re even considering forming a suicide squad to retrieve food from the Purple Horse clan’s warehouse, but reports say lava’s flowing around the area and it’s inaccessible.”

Dodorono let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Ah, that won’t be a problem,” Hikaru said.

“Hm? What do you mean, not a problem?”

“They’ll be fine for a while. I’ve already asked for help from the right people. What really matters now is the future of the Dwarves. I have an idea. Would you be willing to hear me out?”

“Sure, but… you’re making a rather wicked face.”

A wicked face, really?

When Hikaru glanced to the side, Lavia smiled sweetly at him. Apparently, he was making quite the wicked face.