Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties

Liam opened his mouth, finally deciding that standing around staring at the miserable interior of the shop wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

"Hello?"

He barely managed to get the word out.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr..."

A loud, rumbling snore suddenly came from somewhere behind the counter.

Everyone froze.

Liam’s eyebrows slowly rose.

"Huh?"

The sound came again.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr... snorrrrrrr..."

Liam slowly turned his head toward Gregor.

Gregor was already looking at him.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.

They simply stared at each other as though silently asking whether the other had heard the same thing.

Irina, however, had already started moving.

She walked toward the counter with cautious steps, her boots making faint sounds against the dusty wooden floor. The counter itself was tall enough that none of them could see what was behind it from where they stood. Irina reached the edge, placed one hand against the wood and slowly leaned forward.

She peeped over.

Her expression immediately changed.

She froze.

Liam noticed.

"What?"

Irina didn’t answer.

She simply looked back at them and gestured for them to come closer.

There was something about her expression that made Liam suspicious.

It wasn’t fear.

It wasn’t exactly surprise either.

It was more like she had just discovered something so ridiculous that she wasn’t sure how to explain it.

Liam exchanged another glance with Gregor before walking toward her.

Tatiana followed.

Leonid followed.

Mary came after them.

Soon, everyone was gathered around the counter.

Liam placed his hands against the edge and looked over.

Then he understood Irina’s expression.

A man was lying on the floor behind the counter.

Calling him a man almost felt generous.

He was a dwarf.

A very large dwarf.

His body was short and incredibly broad, with an enormous belly that rose and fell dramatically with every breath. His arms were thick, his hands calloused and covered with old scars, and his legs were buried beneath a pair of filthy trousers that looked as though they had not been washed in years.

His beard was enormous.

It spread across his chest in a tangled mass of brown and grey hair, with several strands stuck together from what appeared to be spilled alcohol. His hair was equally unkempt, sticking out in every direction as though he had spent years fighting with a comb and eventually decided that the comb wasn’t worth the effort.

His face was red.

Not slightly red.

Deeply, violently red.

His nose had the swollen appearance of someone who had spent far too much time drinking, and his cheeks were puffy. His mouth hung slightly open as he slept, releasing another terrible snore that made his entire belly shake.

"Grrrrrrrrrrr..."

His fingers were wrapped tightly around a leather wine pouch.

Even unconscious, he refused to let go.

Liam stared.

The shop was silent for a moment.

Then Leonid looked down at the dwarf.

"Is that the blacksmith?"

Liam immediately shook his head.

"No."

Leonid looked at him.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Liam looked back at the sleeping dwarf.

"We’re not in some fantasy novel where every important blacksmith has to be a dwarf with a massive beard who forges legendary weapons while drinking from a barrel."

Gregor slowly raised a finger.

"Have you met Thor?"

Liam’s head turned.

"What?"

Gregor looked completely serious.

"Thor."

Liam stared at him.

Gregor continued as though he were making an entirely reasonable argument.

"A dwarf forged his weapon from a dying star."

Liam’s mouth opened slightly.

Then closed.

He slowly lifted one hand and slapped it against his own face.

Smack.

The sound echoed through the dusty shop.

He kept his palm against his forehead for several seconds.

"I can’t believe we’re having this conversation."

Gregor looked mildly offended.

"I’m just saying."

Liam lowered his hand.

He looked at Gregor.

Then Leonid.

Then Irina.

Then finally Tatiana.

Tatiana wasn’t looking at the dwarf with the same skepticism Liam was expecting.

She was actually standing slightly closer to Gregor.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"You too?"

Tatiana glanced at him.

"What?"

"You actually think this guy could be the blacksmith?"

Tatiana looked down at the dwarf again.

Her expression was thoughtful.

"We shouldn’t underestimate him just because he’s drunk."

Liam stared at her.

For a second, he wondered if everyone in this group had suddenly lost their minds.

"You’re getting it wrong."

He pointed toward the sleeping dwarf.

"I’m not underestimating him."

He gestured around the shop.

"Look at him."

The dwarf snored loudly.

"Look at this place."

Liam waved his hand toward the piles of rusted metal, broken tools and dusty equipment.

"And smell this place."

Everyone instinctively breathed through their mouths.

The stench was genuinely horrible.

There was the overwhelming smell of strong wine, stale sweat, old metal and something far worse that Liam was fairly certain he did not want to identify.

He pointed toward a dark corner.

"I swear that smells like piss."

Irina grimaced.

"It probably is."

Liam looked at her.

"That doesn’t help."

He turned back toward the dwarf.

"Does this look like the blacksmith a goddess would send us to?"

Tatiana crossed her arms.

"You said yourself that the map brought us here."

"I know."

"So maybe there is something we don’t understand."

Liam opened his mouth.

Then stopped.

She had a point.

He looked around the shop again.

The place was disgusting.

Abandoned-looking.

Nearly everything inside seemed ancient and useless.

But the goddess had specifically sent them here.

That couldn’t be meaningless.

Liam’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the dwarf again.

Maybe he really was the blacksmith.

Maybe this was some kind of disguise.

Maybe the dwarf was powerful.

Or maybe...

"Grrrrrrrrrrr..."

The dwarf snored again.

Liam’s expression flattened.

"Or maybe we’re wasting our time."

Then the dwarf moved.

Thud!

His enormous hand slammed against the floor.

Everyone jumped.

The dwarf’s head rolled slightly to the side.

His beard dragged across the dusty floor.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then his eyelids twitched.

Once.

Twice.

His eyes opened halfway.

They were bloodshot.

He stared into the darkness with the unfocused expression of someone who had no idea where he was.

His mouth opened.

A terrible smell immediately filled the room.

"Who..."

His voice was incredibly deep.

Not simply deep.

It seemed to come from somewhere beneath the floor.

The wooden boards trembled faintly beneath their feet.

"Who the hell..."

He struggled to push himself upright.

His massive belly made the effort considerably harder.

He planted one thick arm against the floor and pushed.

His body rose several inches.

Then dropped again.

Thud!

He groaned.

His hand immediately searched for the wine pouch.

He found it.

He hugged it against his chest.

"Who the hell is making..."

His words became slurred.

"Such noises..."

He blinked several times.

His head swayed.

He seemed to be trying desperately to keep his eyes open.

Finally, he managed to lift his face toward the group.

His eyes moved from Liam to Tatiana.

Then Irina.

Then Leonid.

Then Gregor.

He squinted.

His expression became suspicious.

"Who... are you people?"

Nobody answered immediately.

They were too busy staring at him.

The dwarf tried to stand.

His legs trembled beneath him.

He grabbed the counter for support.

For one moment, it looked like he would collapse again.

But somehow he remained upright.

His beard hung down over his chest, his clothes were filthy, his face was red from alcohol and his entire body smelled like a tavern that had been abandoned for twenty years.

Yet there was something else beneath the drunkenness.

Something Liam noticed immediately.

The dwarf’s hands.

Those hands were covered in scars.

Not ordinary scars.

Burn scars.

Cuts.

Deep marks that looked as though they had been left by molten metal.

The kind of scars a man could only acquire after spending years working around things that could kill him.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

The dwarf lifted his wine pouch toward his mouth.

Then stopped.

He stared at Liam.

His bloodshot eyes suddenly seemed slightly clearer.

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