Chapter 2: System and Clansmen

"What a newborn calf that's not afraid of the tiger," the player sighed.

"That's the Belly-King of the Mist Mountain, a legendary lord who overturned the Empire and Waaagh'd all the way to the High Elf territories in the sea; and a mere Administrator dares to face him head-on."

"Hmm, from now on I am Snorri Thorsson. Rest in peace, uh, no, rest assured and return to the embrace of the Ancestor Gods. I will take your place to revitalize the glory of the Dwarfs and make this name known throughout the entire Old World and even the Warp."

Relying on the psychological foundation laid by countless transmigrated-into-a-book stories from his past life, the player quickly accepted his new identity and pulled himself together.

"Next is time to check the cheat. System, system?"

"It's voice-activated, smart enough," Snorri muttered to himself while lying on the stretcher.

Automatically filtering out the muttering of several veterans nearby—"If the beard hasn't grown out, they're just a nervous wreck," "Did the wound on the chest go to the brain? Back in my day, I took a mouthful of Dragon breath head-on and still..."—

he began to familiarize himself with his system. The system content was quite simple:

Thorek Ironbrow's Artifact Vault and Ironbrow's own skill interface, except the top row of lines had been replaced by the four skills of the Mountain King from Warcraft III: Storm Hammer, Thunder Strike, Heavy Strike, and Avatar of the Gods.

Except for a beginner welfare section, the remaining parts were still in a locked state.

The Mountain King is known as a "Lord" in the Aizesilasi world; they are the most powerful Dwarf warriors living at the foot of mountain ranges. Unlike their kin who are keen on manufacturing machinery and mining ore, Mountain Kings are born for battle.

They can violently throw their warhammers to stun their enemies in one hit, or strike the ground to damage surrounding enemies and slow their attack and movement speeds;

Heavy Strike is a passive effect that gives the Mountain King a certain chance to deal extra damage to the attack target and stun the target;

By awakening the Ancestral Power within their bodies, they become tall and strong, and their appearance also turns into that of a stone-carved statue. In this form, they are immune to magic and all their abilities are greatly improved.

"An unexpected surprise," Snorri smiled in his heart:

"With so many crowd-control skills, not only have I become stronger in duels, but I can also keep people in place. Since Dwarfs don't have cavalry, chasing down enemies will have to rely on my little hammer."

Suddenly, he felt the sunlight shining on his face and struggled to sit up from the stretcher. He looked around; behind him was the troop continuously pouring out of the tunnel, and in front of him was a high mountain with its peak submerged in the clouds—the Dwarf capital, the Everpeak Karaz-a-Karak, had arrived.

Halfway up the mountain was a gate a hundred meters high, which looked as if it were embedded into the mountain. The mark of the Ancestor Goddess Valaya was carved on the gate, shining with the light of Rune Magic.

Unexpectedly, the gate did not open; the troop in front wound around toward a small side door.

"Uncle, why don't we take the main gate with such a large troop?" Snorri asked in confusion.

"Child, you didn't really hurt your brain, did you? The gate of the Everpeak only opens when setting out on an expedition or returning in triumph. This trip..." Longchui paused,

"Nearly a thousand of our kin have returned to the embrace of the Ancestor Gods, and there are about that many who are seriously wounded. Heh, another Grudge added against the Greenskins."

He took a sip of wine from his flask.

"But these Grudges will eventually be settled," the old Dwarf hammered his own breastplate, as if telling Snorri, and also as if muttering to himself.

"They will. I will revitalize this fortress and even the entire Mountain Kingdom!" the player, who had already accepted his new identity, said from the bottom of his heart.

The old Dwarf glanced at him, "Hmph, you brat actually have a chance. Not only did you awaken the Ancestral Power to become a Rune Smith, but you also received the divine grace of the Mother Goddess on the battlefield. Back in my day, I chopped..." Encouraged by the alcohol, the old Dwarf started muttering again.

The troop entered the fortress in the mountain with heavy steps, their grumbling complaints covered by the sound of iron boots stepping on the ground.

Snorri pulled up the system and saw that the faction's Grudge severity had reached forty-eight, the third level of severity—the so-called "widespread grievances" level. No wonder his kin were starting to grumble.

Snorri was carried all the way back to his bedroom located on the upper level of the fortress. As the son of the High King, he had his own independent room.

Lying on the hard stone bed, he began to ponder again: Isn't Thorgrim-Grudgebearer known as the last High King? I've never heard of his offspring? Perhaps there is some unknown story hidden in the old papers;

And Thorgrim has served as High King until the End Times; there's no hope of succeeding to the throne normally. As a young Dwarf, how can one quickly gain enough power to change the course of history among a stubborn and conservative clan?

Two days later, Snorri's serious injuries had recovered somewhat due to the divine grace, but he still hadn't thought of an answer to those questions about his future.

Just as he was unable to clear his head and was tossing and turning, the door of the room was kicked open with a "bang," and a middle-aged Dwarf dressed in luxurious clothes with a very neatly groomed beard burst in.

"Snorri, what did I advise you?" he shouted while wiping the sweat from his head.

"How long has it been since our Drazkrad Clan had a member who awakened a Rune talent!"

From his memory, Snorri knew that Drazkrad was the name of the Dwarf Clan that ruled the Everpeak, meaning "Stone Armor." It originated from the clan's ancestor who, because he couldn't afford metal armor, forged a suit of armor for himself out of granite and wore it to make a name for himself. This also became that ancestor's nickname, which in turn became the name of the clan he founded.

"Nara said you charged straight at those damned Greenskins. If the Mother Goddess hadn't manifested, you would have returned to the embrace of the Ancestors directly. Do you not want your life?"

The Dwarf took a deep breath, "Give me some beer to moisten my throat! As soon as I heard the news, I rushed back from the front lines of Karak-Varn. A Rune Smith should stay at the anvil in the Forging Room; enchanting weapons and equipment for everyone is fine enough..."

Listening to the Dwarf's nagging in front of him, Snorri quickly searched his memory. This was his eldest brother, Genuomu-Suiluozhe, a Dwarf warrior in his prime.

He had recently led a troop to engage in a tug-of-war with Goblins at Karak-Varn by the Black Water Lake to protect an exploration team mining meteoritic iron.

In Dwarf society, every Dwarf's form of address consists of a first name, surname, clan name, and nickname.

In private or in familiar, close relationships, Dwarfs often address each other by their first names; in more formal occasions, they use their surnames or nicknames.

Dwarf nicknames have many sources; personality, achievements, physical characteristics, technical expertise, etc., are usually the material for nicknames;

Some nicknames are passed down through generations in the clan, and some Dwarfs inherit nicknames from their teachers. These nicknames obtained from predecessors are often not easily changed, and the successors will strictly demand of themselves to live up to the nickname itself and its historical honor;

Of course, there are also some derogatory nicknames that Dwarfs will try their best to avoid. If they really obtain an unseemly nickname, they will strive to wash it away, even at the cost of taking an oath to become a Slayer.

The old Dwarf's nickname, Longchui, mentioned earlier, was obtained when he fearlessly swung his hammer to attack a Dragon that was harassing the Shanbao;

Eldest brother Genuomu's nickname, Suiluozhe, was obtained when he smashed the head of a Goblin warlord with a hammer on the battlefield.

Currently, Snorri does not have a nickname. For young Dwarfs who have not obtained a nickname, everyone addresses them by their surname.

The clan name is not commonly used and is only mentioned on important occasions such as sacrifices.