They were our ancestors.

Our ancestors were curious beings.

Our ancestors were creators of new things.

They were explorers who sought unprecedented new answers amidst the heat where flames and ores mingled.

They were the hungry ones, craving more knowledge, more materials, more discoveries.

Thus, our ancestors roamed the world in search of new answers and grasped pickaxes to uncover the faint answers buried in the ground.

At the moment when the silver wisdom of foresight found those wanderers, they became pioneers treading new paths.

They were Dwarves.

So, descendants, pick up the hammer. Take up the pickaxe.

We are pioneers forever illuminating the dark path ahead.

Until the silver wisdom of foresight finds us again. We will walk eternally.

That is who we are, Dwarves.

- A Dwarven Proverb.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“So, you went into the caves because digging through the ground was hard?”

“Th-that’s right….”

I rubbed my throbbing head as I looked down at the humans prostrating before me.

[Mom. I really want to annihilate them.]

“Didn’t I say that’s not allowed. Just stay put.”

[As expected, Mom is too kind to humans. You play favorites.]

Just be quiet, Sagarmatha. I’m aware of it myself now.

I'm realizing that it's not good to show too much favoritism.

Maybe I should help other races when I have time….

“To recklessly dig through caves. Don’t you know the meaning of moderation?”

“But…. It was difficult to carve through the rock with our stone pickaxes. If it’s a soft cave, we can dig through it as much as we want….”

The human speaking more fluently than others I’ve encountered probably has superior intelligence.

Well, it’s much more comfortable than listening to stuttering.

“Then you could have just dug around the nearby hills. Why come all the way to this mountain? Don’t you know that if this mountain gets angry, all of you will be buried in the ground, becoming a handful of dirt?”

[Yeah. Just a slight pressure and it’s annihilation.]

“Sagarmatha. Be quiet.”

I’m talking right now.

“But…. Is there a mountain greater than this one?”

[Yeah. That’s true.]

Let’s ignore Sagarmatha chiming in.

“We seek something completely new. Something that could change the world. If such a thing exists, we thought it must be within the greatest mountain.”

Hmm…. Considering the current humans are around the Bronze Age, what they are looking for is probably iron.

But they don’t have to find iron in Sagarmatha. There are plenty of places with iron ore.

But did these humans just dig through Sagarmatha’s caves thinking [Since this mountain is the greatest, we can find it here!]?

Should I call this smart or dumb?

[Yeah. They have quite the eye.]

Sagarmatha. Be quiet.

I sighed softly and looked at the humans.

Humans covered in dirt and filth. Humans who wandered and dug through narrow caves with torches.

Their appearance was truly pitiful to describe.

“It’s fortunate you haven’t gone too deep yet. If you had gone deeper, you all would have died.”

Especially since they lit torches inside the cave. If fresh air hadn’t continuously entered from somewhere, they might not have lasted long before suffocating.

“There were a few times when the cave was at risk of collapsing. Fortunately, we were able to evacuate without major harm.”

“That’s not the point. If you light something like a torch in an enclosed space, you’ll suffocate. You’ll die from lack of air.”

“Suffocate…?”

Hmm. They really don’t know anything.

“Doesn’t it feel stuffy? Isn’t it hard to breathe deep inside the cave? Don’t you feel the air is different inside the cave compared to outside?”

“That is…. Indeed, it was.”

“Deep inside the cave, the air necessary for humans to breathe becomes scarce. Foolishly entering the cave. It seems your lives are as numerous as eight.”

The humans had no particular response to my words.

"Even carrying torches and stirring up dust with pickaxes inside the cave. If I hadn't come, a few corpses would have been cleaned up in a few days."

"Aren't torches only dangerous because they're hot?"

At one human's question, I slightly shook my head.

"A torch needs more than just wood to burn. It contains something that makes fire burn well in fresh air. And that very thing is also necessary for breathing."

There's no need to explain oxygen in detail. Just a rough idea that such a thing exists should suffice.

"Does that mean... if we put more of that breathing-necessary thing into the fire, the fire can grow bigger?"

"Um? Yes, that's right."

"Then, if we make the fire even bigger, can it become hotter?"

"Well... yes, but..."

"Then, with a hotter flame, can we melt more things?!"

What's with these kids, really.

"You can melt things, but..."

"Then we might be able to melt various ores that we couldn't melt before!"

"If we melt those ores, we might find something new!!"

"Let's postpone digging the ground! Melt the ores first!!"

Really, what are these guys.

I sighed, feeling a slight headache coming on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fortunately, the ores they had did not melt.

With the current advancement of human civilization, they couldn't create a flame hot enough.

At best, they could fan a bonfire a bit. That's not enough to melt all sorts of ores.

Well, a few ores did melt.

"A bit hotter... we need to blow more wind..."

"But how? Everyone's arms are falling off from fanning!"

"Ugh... we need to find a way somehow... it's not easy."

"Wouldn't it be better to dig caves and mine useful ores? Maybe there are other ores that melt in the flames we've fanned."

"That's true, but..."

The humans, who were having a meeting, glanced at me and then started whispering among themselves again.

"If we try to enter the cave, that person stops us. She says the mountain will get angry."

"But... why would that person stop us?"

Exactly. Why am I stopping you guys.

Risking your lives without a care.

Should I just stop caring whether they live or die and leave? Sigh.

[Mom.]

"Hm? Why do you call? Sagarmatha. Are you doing well in stopping those humans from digging through your cave?"

[For those humans, I'll allow the surrounding mountains.]

"The surrounding mountains?"

The towering Sagarmatha and the several peaks that rise around it.

Is that what she means by allowing them?

[As long as it's not me.]

"That's quite a selfish thing to say."

[It's okay to dig through the other peaks. And... those fools. They do have quite the eye.]

At Sagarmatha's words, I let out a small sigh. Is she acting like this just because she heard a bit of praise? How did this child become such an easy mountain.

[Of course, I won't allow myself.]

"Alright. I'll convey that then."

Well, even if they start digging through the mountains, it won't be easy.

The issue of oxygen supply and various other problems haven't been solved yet. And they can't properly smelt iron since they don't have the firepower.

So... um...

Wait.

If I... tweak these humans a bit...

Could they become Dwarves?

I thought for a moment.

They like digging. They're curious. They like things like metal smelting.

Really, with just a little tweaking, I could create the Dwarves I'm thinking of?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Creating a race from scratch isn't easy, but if there's another race that could serve as a base, it's not that difficult.

It was the same with Elves.

Even if I don't intervene, races like Giants or Beastmen might emerge unexpectedly. But that's almost like a disaster.

"Therefore, using my power, I can change you."

I brought up the topic in front of numerous humans.

It was those who had attempted to dig through Sagarmatha, and the numerous humans who followed them.

"There's the issue of becoming a bit shorter, but your bodies will become much sturdier, and your strength will increase. If there's anything more you desire, I can apply it. How about it?"

A benefit that other races haven't enjoyed? Have I ever openly offered to change them like this? If there's a needed ability, I can bestow it as much as needed?

It seems like without doing this, the Dwarves I'm thinking of couldn't exist!

Short but sturdy and strong, bearded Dwarves! If there are Elves, there should be Dwarves too!!

At my words, murmurs started among the humans.

"Even if you offer to change us..."

"What are you suddenly talking about..."

"It's difficult for us to accept such words..."

Hmm. It seems it wasn't easy for them to accept after all.

Honestly, it's unlikely they could easily accept such suspicious words.

"It's good to become sturdier, but becoming shorter is indeed a problem."

"Wouldn't being shorter make it easier to explore caves? I see it positively."

"If we become stronger, would we become more skilled at using pickaxes?"

Amidst the murmuring humans, a hand was raised.

"I lost one arm in a cave-in accident. If I accept your offer, can you restore my lost arm?"

A one-armed human. A human filled with the desire to regain what was lost.

Seeing such a human, I nodded and said.

"It's entirely possible. Sacrificing height in exchange for the bodies you desire is an opportunity."

I drew upon my magical power, enveloped the human who raised his hand, and regenerated his severed arm.

Several humans were horrified at the grotesque sight of the skin at the amputation site disappearing and the bone and muscle regrowing, but the one being regenerated watched the regeneration of his arm as if it was a wonder.

After a very short time, as the arm was regenerated, he clasped his restored arm and said, choking up.

"Thank you... I'll do anything. Height is not a big deal."

The miraculous sight of a severed arm being regenerated. At that sight, people one by one raised their hands and said.

"Can you make us withstand hot flames better?"

"Of course."

"I like making things, can my craftsmanship improve?"

"Absolutely."

"Lighting a fire is difficult, is there an easier way?"

"My uncle was severely injured by being crushed under a rock! Please make it so rocks don't injure us!"

"Fan-blowing to stoke a fire is hard, isn't there a better way?"

Really, these humans have so many desires.

"Such greedy creatures. Fine. I'll grant you as much as I can."

Thus, they were reborn anew through my hands.