Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 113: Dwarven City

Merriheim

10th Muriel, 1093.

Kashi leaked a smile as he hummed along to the sounds of laughter and music bouncing around the icy dome. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted Lunette dancing in circles with her arm hooked around some random adventurer, their feet desperately trying to match the rapidly increasing beats of several drums donated by Diegel. Once again, Kashi found himself heavily indebted to the beautiful songstress. Her ability to wow crowds had saved him and the Maggots from a sticky situation.

As one would have expected, after being trapped for more than six hours with no way to know how much longer they would have to wait, murmurs of discontent began to arise in droves. With the situation deteriorating exponentially, Kashi's gaze slightly narrowed, his head already calculating the fastest method to take down the opposition when Lunette placed a hand on his arm and shook her head with a smile.

At the time, the daeben had stared dumbly at her, only realizing her intentions after she spoke to the triplets and had them donate any spare instruments they had. Luckily, Diegel was a bit of a hoarder, so there was an abundance of drums that were relatively easy to use instead of the technique-reliant string and wind instruments.

Thirty minutes and a few songs later, the hostile atmosphere had all been destroyed, leaving people laughing and cheering. At some corners, eager men and women had stripped to tops and pants before wrestling with each other, affected by the mood. Some people, drawn by curiosity, had attempted conversation with the reticent dwarves. And although at first, there was no sign of progress, when Lunette personally held a dwarf's hand and clasped it with a young halben, both men found their guards drop a little and engaged in terse conversations. Soon after, the two loudly guffawed while debunking each other's exaggerated adventure tales.

Although Kashi was also affected by the jubilant atmosphere, he quickly found himself an excuse to avoid being called up to join in the festivities. The unholy trinity learned a thing about dancing when Razznik was required to attend a noble's ball as a reward for clearing out a group of devils. At the time, Suzuki was taught formal dancing from Ayumi, but if Kashi dared join these adventurers to dance wildly, he would only end up making a fool of himself.

To avoid this embarrassment, Kashi was guarded by dwarfs as he focused on the almost finished painting before him. It depicted the merry scene before him, with a little exaggeration on his part. Even though Kashi regarded the picture as an experiment, he had still given it everything he had, as he had long since learned that the amount of 'heart' inserted into a painting heavily affected its overall score.

Kashi released a sigh of relief as he finished the final detail on a flying shirt, then raised Rosario. He gazed at the painting, then nodded, satisfied. As if sensing his satisfaction, the system asked for a name. Kashi glanced at the singing crowd, then murmured, "The Mess Hall." 

Kashi glossed over the stats, his gaze only pausing at the Essence of Art prompt. It was as he thought. He had tried a few pieces before this one, but the Essence of Art prompt did not appear, nor did his Dimensional Artist skill proficiency increase. He hesitated, then muttered, "Essence of Art."