Chapter Ninety-Four: The Dwarves of Kurast

After about ten minutes, Reina was the first to react. A pale blue bee flew up in front of her, hovering and darting up and down as if it was conveying a message.

At this moment, Reina displayed a side of herself quite different from her usual playful demeanor—a remarkable depth of knowledge. She could actually understand the language of bees. Watching the bee’s movements, she interpreted its dance, translating each signal word by word.

“Up ahead… found… a different… amber… not the same… as the one… you gave… earlier.”

A flicker of surprise appeared in Liu Zong’s eyes. He looked at Reina, as if he wanted to ask her something. Just then, news came from Lu Shang’s side as well. He called out loudly, “I’ve found a large amount of amber, and it’s very peculiar.”

Reina and Lu Shang exchanged their findings and realized that the locations they’d discovered were not the same. One was closer but had a rough path, while the other was farther away with an easier road.

Now, it was up to Liu Zong to decide. He didn’t make a decision right away, but instead asked for more details. In this respect, Lu Shang was more thorough than Reina. He explained the situation of the amber’s location in great detail, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Such a careful account stirred Liu Zong’s interest. At last, he said, “Let’s check out the place Lu Shang found first. If there are no clues, we’ll go back to where Reina discovered hers. Reina, have the bees keep watch there. If anything changes, let us know immediately.”

With the decision made, Reina didn’t say much more. She raised her right hand and gestured to the bee, her fingers mimicking the bee’s earlier movements—a clear sign she was communicating in bee language.

This discovery earned Reina a measure of respect from the group; at the very least, she had shown a skill no one else possessed.

Soon, Lu Shang guided them to the spot he had found. When they arrived, they understood why he thought this place was so unusual.

It was merely a small section of the forest, yet countless pieces of amber hung from the branches. The amber had already hardened, and the trees were not pines—clearly, they weren’t native to the area. Moreover, the group noticed that beside each piece of amber were several leaves from different species of trees, arranged deliberately.

It was evident that intelligent creatures had carefully placed them, though Liu Zong could not tell exactly what kind.

Here, Reina’s value became apparent. She studied the arrangement of amber and leaves with great seriousness, flipping through her book, until she managed to find something relevant.

“This method is typical of the Kurast Dwarves,” she explained, “but look here—the use of these leaves is not part of their usual custom. This must be the work of some variant of the Kurast Dwarves, though I’m not sure what kind of mutation it is.”

As Reina spoke, Liu Zong’s brow furrowed. He had heard of the Kurast Dwarves—a fairly common humanoid species, sometimes called Flayers or Man-eating Tree Spirits. They stood about as tall as a human’s shin, living in forests or up in trees.

Their skin ranged from pale gray to deep black, and their eyes were so narrow as to be nearly invisible. Their faces were often painted with a variety of colors.

They wielded slender spears, rapiers, and blowguns, making equipment from human skin or leaves. But these traits were not what made them notable; otherwise, they’d be nothing more than practice dummies for players, not a memorable race.

Their most distinctive feature was that once they reached Level 1, they would enslave their own kind, standing atop the heads of their peers to fight. In their philosophy, the warriors dealt only with combat, leaving all else to their servants.

Those beneath them accepted this arrangement, focusing not on battle, but on finding ways to move faster through the woods.

Thus, the more powerful a Kurast Dwarf, the taller it appeared—not because it grew taller, but because it sat atop several layers of its own kind.

Legend had it that the strongest Kurast Dwarf ever seen in the game was five layers high: at the very top sat a totem imbued with divine power—the object of faith for all Kurast Dwarves in the region, perhaps the entire map. Below that was the king of all Kurast Dwarves on the map, able to command every one of them. Next was a wizard, who could resurrect ordinary Kurast Dwarf warriors. Lower still were the fighting warriors, and at the bottom, the ordinary Kurast Dwarves who ran errands.

Such a Level 5 entity was rare; even on enormous maps, one might never encounter one. Most players only ever met Level 2 Kurast Dwarf Wizards, so few paid any real attention to the species.

The so-called variants and subspecies of Kurast Dwarves were defined entirely by their habits. “Flayers” referred to those who used human skin for equipment, while “Man-eating Tree Spirits” were those who looked more like trees.

Liu Zong found the appearance of Kurast Dwarves surprising. According to the school’s records, there was supposed to be only one intelligent species in this region: the Yadara Bugmen. All others were monsters; no other intelligent creatures should exist.

Therefore, the Kurast Dwarves might be the neutral intelligent race of this map, and perhaps its original inhabitants.

With this in mind, Liu Zong looked at Reina, recalling that she had mentioned before how the native inhabitants had separated two warring races.

If this was true, then the Kurast Dwarves might know something important.

Liu Zong swallowed, then turned to Lu Shang. “Can you get the earliest version of this battlefield’s map—the one before the Yadara Bugmen and the Karya Demons appeared—in the shortest possible time?”

Lu Shang didn’t answer right away. He thought for a long time before replying, “I can try, but I can’t guarantee I’ll find it. I don’t even know if what you’re asking for actually exists.”

“How much time do you need?” Liu Zong asked directly.

This time, Lu Shang was more confident. “Three days. Wait for me here in three days. Whether I find the map or not, I’ll come back and tell you.”

Liu Zong nodded firmly. “Be careful. We’ll search around here first. If we don’t find new clues, we’ll head to the spot Reina discovered. If you don’t find us here in three days, go check there.”