Chapter 79: The Stranger Who Escaped to a New World (2)

At Raion’s question, Calsios bowed his head and spoke.

“These are dwarves who escaped after being enslaved under mercenaries called the Crimson Ants of Rozarin. Until just now, they were chasing them.”

“Slaves?”

“The Crimson Ants are a mercenary group known in Rozarin for raiding non-human villages and selling the captives as slaves.”

“Is that so? What happened to those mercenaries?”

Raion asked since he could only see dwarves around him.

Calsios answered with a grave expression.

“They were all executed. They…”

He was about to explain further.

But Raion cut him off.

“I’m sure you handled it appropriately. No need for explanations.”

“Still…”

“Was there anything wrong with what you did?”

“No, sir.”

“Then it was a matter of life and death.”

Raion approached the dwarves and reached out toward their wounded bodies.

At that moment, Varka stepped in front of him, glaring.

Varka was afraid too—but he couldn’t stand by and watch his kin suffer any longer.

“You’re going to let them die?”

“…W-What could you possibly do for them?”

Srrng…!

Calsios, hearing his tone, drew his sword.

However, Raion raised his hand and stopped him.

“I’ll ask again. Are you going to kill your own kind?”

At that question, Varka stared straight at Raion.

The golden ring glimmering within his red pupils shone with a strange brilliance.

It wasn’t as if Raion had forced anything on him, but there was a mysterious sense of trust in his gaze.

Slowly, Varka stepped aside.

Raion approached Deirka and reached toward his wound.

He first pulled out the arrow that had broken off inside, and blood immediately poured out.

“Restoration.”

A faint light flowed from his hand and began to envelop the wound.

The injury closed rapidly, leaving only a faint bloodstain around it.

Then Raion moved on, healing the wounds of the other dwarves one by one.

“H-How is that possible…?”

Varka couldn’t comprehend the unbelievable sight before him.

“Your lives are safe now.”

Raion rose to his feet, muttering as he headed back toward his tent.

“Now go.”

At his words, Varka quickly spoke up.

“Is there nothing you want from us?”

Raion stopped and turned his head to look at them.

“What should I want?”

“If you healed us, surely there must be something you wish for in return.”

“Do you think I healed you expecting something?”

At that moment, an overwhelming pressure burst forth from Raion’s body.

Varka’s shoulders instinctively shrank under a weight even more suffocating than what he had ever felt from the Crimson Ants.

“Who are you, to command knights of such caliber? Are you perhaps the Lord of Kanas?”

Even at a glance, Raion’s presence was clearly that of a leader over knights.

However, since Calsios only called him “Master” instead of a title tied to a specific position, Varka couldn’t be sure.

“I’m not a lord.”

“Then…”

“I’m merely the one responsible for these people. If I had to say my position…”

Raion trailed off, and Patrick stepped forward.

“This is His Highness, the Third Prince of the Canel Kingdom, Raion Canel.”

Varka’s eyes widened in shock.

“A p-prince? Are you truly a prince?”

“Would that suddenly make you owe me something?”

“Please use us! We’ll do anything! We can’t just die after coming this far!”

At his desperate cry, Raion glanced around.

“Hm… Dwarves must be skilled with their hands, I presume.”

“Yes! That very craftsmanship is what the mercenaries coveted—they enslaved and sold us because of it.”

In many nations, the enslavement of non-human races was tacitly tolerated.

Rozarin was one of those countries, where dwarves often lived in hiding only to be captured and sold as slaves.

They were usually sold to nobles, skilled merchants, or master artisans for high prices.

Of course, Raion was well aware of their rarity and value.

“So… you’re asking me to make use of your skills?”

“If you could just give us a place to live, we’ll do anything!”

His cry echoed through the gorge.

As everyone’s attention turned toward them, the tent flap lifted and Dike poked his head out.

Dike had been staying with the knights, discussing how to establish the village in Drak Gorge.

He blinked blankly at the dwarves—then froze in surprise when he saw Varka and Deirka.

“Uncle Varka? Uncle Deirka?”

“Wait… Dike?”

“Uncle!”

Once they recognized each other, Dike ran to them.

“H-How are you here?”

They clearly knew each other well.

Tears welled up in Dike’s eyes as he threw himself into Varka’s arms.

“I was alone in the village and was about to be sold as a slave, but His Highness helped me and brought me here. What happened to you, uncles?”

“Is that true?”

It was hard for Varka to understand how a prince of the Canel Kingdom could have helped Dike, who had been in the Edina Kingdom.

But since Dike was here now, he had no choice but to accept the situation.

“And you, uncles?”

“Our village was raided, so we fled south to Rozarin. We settled there for quite some time, but the mercenaries attacked us—and now, here we are.”

It had suddenly turned into something like a reunion between long-lost family.

Watching the scene, Raion approached them and crouched down.

“You know each other well, it seems?”

Varka then explained everything.

Since Raion already knew Dike’s circumstances, he could understand their story.

“So that’s how it was.”

“Hmm…”

“As I said earlier, we’ll do anything.”

“Your Highness! I’ll help too! So please, could you let Uncle Varka and Uncle Deirka stay and help them?”

Dike had heard bits and pieces of the story while he was in the tent.

So he looked at Raion with an earnest expression, waiting for an answer.

Raion, who had been silently observing, reached out and gently patted Dike’s head.

“Do you really think I couldn’t grant you such a small request?”

“Then…”

Raion turned toward Varka and Deirka and spoke.

“I’ll give you a place to stay and work to do. Of course, you’ll be paid properly for your labor.”

“If you’ll just protect us, we’ll do whatever you ask!”

“You’d have me be a shameless prince who exploits people without pay?”

“T-That’s not what I meant…”

Feeling the weight of Raion’s pressure again, Varka couldn’t even open his mouth properly.

Seeing this, Dike wiped his tears and stepped forward.

“His Highness has a ton of gold coins! He gives me over a hundred gold coins every time he asks me to make something!”

At Dike’s words, the dwarves’ eyes widened, and they swallowed hard.

“Hah…”

“I don’t like making anyone work for free. So make sure not to misspeak again. Ah—by the way, are there any dwarves with skill in construction?”

Although he had already discussed the matter extensively with Dike, there were parts that required specialized knowledge they lacked.

At Raion’s question, several dwarves raised their hands.

Among them was their chieftain, Varka.

“That’s fortunate. From now on, you’ll focus on building a village here. As for the rest, Derek will take them to the Lord’s castle tomorrow. His Lordship will assign them appropriate places.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the orders were given, the dwarves sat there dumbfounded.

Then Varka turned to Dike and asked,

“Dike, who exactly is that prince? How can he use healing magic when he’s not even a priest?”

“I don’t know either. But His Highness can do anything!”

“…”

To the dwarves, Raion was an incomprehensible mystery.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of days passed.

Thud! Thud! Tak tak tak tak!

In Drak Gorge Village, tall outer walls and gates were already completed, and houses were beginning to be built within.

It wasn’t small either—a perfectly square village stretching one kilometer across and one kilometer long.

But thanks to the engineers Raion had gathered, along with the newly accepted dwarves, construction progressed rapidly.

The houses were already taking shape, and before long, people would be able to move in.

“The construction seems to be finishing faster than you planned, Master,” Patrick said in admiration.

“Indeed. At this point, I could probably install the magic barrier.”

“Is that really possible?”

“The experiment worked. But this one’s larger in scale, so I’ll have to see for myself.”

Raion and Patrick arrived at the village plaza, which was positioned at the very center.

Unlike the surrounding terrain, it was dug out into a square pit—five meters wide and five meters long, with a depth of three meters.

Descending into the pit, Raion opened his Storage in midair and took out eight Steeloud logs, each two meters long and about thirty centimeters in diameter.

He drove them into the ground in an octagonal formation.

Thunk! Thud thud thud!

Only about ten centimeters of each Steeloud log remained above ground.

Raion then traced a magic formula with his finger and aimed it toward the logs.

“This depth should do. Engraving!”

[The formula suitable for engraving has been completed.]

[Please designate the target to engrave the formula.]

It was a Third Circle defensive spell—Energy Wall.

But that wasn’t all.

Through continuous training, he had gained new abilities.

[Status Information]

Name: Raion Canel

Age: 17

Occupation: Third Prince of the Canel Kingdom / Regressor / Arcane Sorcerer

Life: 999 / 999

Stamina: 4,230 / 4,230

Mana: 12,220 / 12,220

Abilities:

Synthesis (合成) Level 10

Decomposition (分解) Level 10

Extraction (抽出) Level 10

Emission (放出) Level 10

Engraving (刻印) Level 10

Formation (形成) Level 10

Analysis (分析) Level 10

Storage (倉庫) Level 10

Detection (感知) Level 10

Concealment (隱蔽) Level 10

Restoration (復舊) Level 10

Fusion (融合) Level 1

Decomposition–Synthesis (分解合成) Level 10

Specific Analysis (特定分析) Level 10

Synthesis–Formation (合成形成) Level 10

Extraction–Synthesis (抽出合成) Level 10

Engraving Expansion (刻印擴張) Level 8

Remote Engraving (遠隔刻印) Level 7

Form Transformation (形像變化) Level 6

Conditional Formation (條件形成) Level 1

True Martial Art (眞武道) Level 10

Raizen-Style Swordsmanship Level 10

Tip:

You can synthesize abilities to create new combinations.

Tap an entry to view detailed information.

When more than 20 abilities reach Level 10, new powers are unlocked.

His stamina and mana had greatly increased.

In addition, with fifteen abilities reaching Level 10, two new powers had been unlocked.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep