Serum

“Next stop, the Haven. It’s about damn time.”

Pandora sighed while speeding down a smooth trade route. 

After driving from landmark to landmark for nearly three weeks, bypassing a few cities in the process, they were finally getting close to the Dwarven Haven. 

By now, they had put themselves on a trade route, which meant the roads were smooth. But the terrain was becoming mountainous, meaning the car was having a harder time driving. 

Still, they were on track to arrive within three more days, which would put them at the three week mark since leaving. 

Perhaps unfortunately for Dirk, he had to deal with being sealed in a car with Pandora for three entire weeks. Three weeks of complaining, of mild sexual harassment, and blood sucking. 

During all this time, Dirk spent his hours in the back of the car working on his armor. Since he forged all the wire he needed, he just needed to put it together. There was no need to bring out the vault and work on a huge forging table. 

But in order to keep Pandora on the wheel and let him work, he had to make some concessions. The biggest of which was his blood. 

Pandora thought his blood was the highest delicacy, so she desired it immensely. But he couldn’t be sucked dry, so in exchange for her driving, he had to give her a sip every three days. 

Or, it started at every three days. After a while it became every two days. Then every day, but she would take smaller sips. Now, when they went to bed for the night or were ever in close proximity, she was practically gnawing on him. 

Dirk tolerated it, and two things made it easy to do that. 

One, his armor continued to come together nicely. While putting holes in scales was still a major pain in the ass, he still managed. With that, it was only a matter of time. 

It only took two weeks to get everything from the neck to the waist finished. After that was the legs, and he was only moving faster than before. 

He was close to finishing. 

The second thing that made him excited was progress with muscle destruction. 

It took greater and greater amounts of rich anima, but thankfully he didn’t lack any bones that were filled with it. By now, Dirk’s muscle destruction was over 75% finished. He would be able to finish a week or two after arriving at the Haven. 

Many of his muscles were already completely refined, and from them he could feel seemingly unlimited strength. Not only that, but the amount of energy and anima in his body multiplied a few times over as it became more and more saturated. 

He was definitely much more powerful than before, and he was eager to fight something. 

Well, after three weeks of driving, he was eager to do anything. He’d been sitting around for too long. 

Pandora was the same. The only thing she had to keep her occupied was her Book of Life and Dirk. 

So they were both looking forward to arriving at the Haven. 

Fortunately, the time came soon. 

Or, perhaps sooner than they thought. 

It was a day before they were supposed to reach the Haven, when suddenly, they encountered a massive army. 

……

“Hey, Dirk.”

“Hm.”

“Come look at this.”

“Hm.”

“...”

Dirk hummed, but as he was immersed in building his armor, he didn’t actually hear what she said. 

Turning around with narrowed eyes, Pandora pointed, letting out a gust of frosty air. 

It froze the back of Dirk’s neck, causing him to jump a bit and turn around with a grouchy face. 

“What do you want? You had blood only 8 hours ago!”

“I told you to come look at this! I’m starting to think you’re developing selective hearing.”

“More like selective ignorance. Now what is it?”

Dropping the armor and crawling to the front, Dirk looked out the window. 

Currently they were peaking over one of the many mountains in the area, and in the distance, Dirk could see what he could only guess was a large army. 

Problem was, that army was right in their way. They seemed to be entrenched in makeshift fortresses. 

Since it was early in the morning, nothing seemed to be happening. But the encampment was no doubt preparing for battle. 

“The dwarven army? Probably preparing for monsters.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Unfortunately for them, I’m not spending another few weeks fighting monsters. We’re going there, but we’re going to find our way straight to the capital afterward. I might need to talk to whoever is leading this army though. I don’t need to drive into a swarm.”

“Whatever gets us out of this car.”

Dirk sighed before getting comfortable in the passenger seat. 

Their approach didn’t go unnoticed. Even before they arrived, the army had mustered a small force to greet them. 

“Halt!”

A voice rattled the car from afar, causing it to stop. With that, Dirk and Pandora got out. 

After Pandora stowed the car in her ring, the two walked over. And seeing as how they weren’t monsters, the soldiers lowered their guard. 

What looked like a captain rode out on a large beast resembling a mole. He greeted the duo with a few attendants. 

“This road has been closed off. Identify yourselves.”

“My name is Pandora Vanadis, Royal Princess of the Dark Kingdom.”

“Princess?”

The captain was shocked. Without another word, Pandora retrieved an item and tossed it. 

The captain caught what looked like a small medallion. However, the magical aura the medallion emitted along with the intricate design and complex enchantments made him realize Pandora wasn’t kidding. 

“I-I see. Please, follow me Princess.”

The two were promptly led into the encampment. They were taken straight to the leader. 

Along the way, Dirk observed the dwarves. 

The dwarves were definitely shorter than the average human. However, it seemed like the more powerful dwarves were taller. The captain who led them, for instance, still reached Dirk’s shoulder in height. And with those robust muscles, he definitely seemed stronger than Dirk. 

Perhaps getting more powerful really did make them taller. 

Their skin also seemed to get darker with more power as the captain had grey skin compared to the others who had bronze skin. 

And the hair…

Dirk was astonished as they finally met the leader of the encampment. 

It seemed like all the unique aspects of dwarves came together with this man. 

Taller than Dirk, with steel grey skin and so much hair it could form a wool blanket. 

It was a good thing Dirk’s eyes were covered, because he couldn’t hold back his awe. As for Pandora, she could act unfazed in any situation. She smiled brightly while shaking the man’s hand. 

He greeted them more enthusiastically than they thought he would. 

“Greetings Princess! I’m thrilled to meet you! In fact, a few of my superiors have been expecting your arrival for a while now!”

“It is likewise a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And their expectations make it easy to follow through with my next steps. Do you perhaps have a way for me to make haste toward your Capital?”

“Of course! Please, come with me. I’ll have you be on your way soon.”

The leader led them toward the eastern gate of the encampment. He seemed happy as he did so, not afraid to make conversation. 

“I must say, I’m excited to hear news of your propositions, Princess Pandora.”

“Is that so? Have my discussions reached that many ears?”

“Indeed! Your technology is revolutionary! Smiths across the entire Haven are amazed by your work. They’ve been studying it for months! They say it will open up a whole new world of magical engineering! Oh, I happen to be a blacksmith myself you see. I’m also enamored by your work.”

The leader scratched his neck as his passion spilled forth. Pandora was all smiles. 

“I thank you for the praise. And I figured that the dwarves, known for their genius in the field of magical engineering, would enjoy the fruit of one of my inspirations.”

“Haha, you know us dwarves well. Indeed, we’ve gone crazy. In fact, there are many who are trying to replicate your technology. They say it can be used all across the empire, especially for things like mining.”

“Well, they wouldn’t be wrong. And if your nobles agree, I would be more then happy to engage in the widespread use of my railways. After all, these days are not like they used to be. Everyone needs all the efficiency they can get when battling these monsters.”

“Truly.”

The leader nodded solemnly. And with that, they arrived. 

The east gate was opened, revealing a long trail through the mountains. This was the final stretch toward the capital.

“With a carriage, it would take no more than 6 hours to arrive. Do you need a ride?”

“No, thank you. We have our own.”

“Very well. I wish you safe travels. Be wary of stray beasts. Some like to wander away from their generals.”

“Noted.”

Nodding, Pandora summoned the car, and the duo jumped inside. With that, they left as fast as they came. 

Pandora was pleased by the smooth passage. 

However, Dirk was a bit concerned by some of the leader’s words. 

“Hey, they say they’re trying to replicate your trains.”

“Of course. They’re dwarves.”

“And is that not bad for you? If they start building their own, you won’t get the economic control you wanted.”

“That’s true. You could say that it's a race to see who builds the railways first. And we haven’t even finalized the deal yet. Unfortunately, I’m a few dozen steps ahead of them.”

“How so?”

Pandora looked at Dirk with a victorious smirk. 

“I’ve already begun building, and my railway is already halfway complete. Even if they began building now, they wouldn’t own more than a quarter of the railway, and that much only amounts to what’s in their territory anyway. The rest is mine, so in the end, I control it entirely anyway. Plus, only I have the proper train engines. So, you could say they’ve lost the battle before it even started.”

“...Oh.”

Dirk was a bit amazed. He knew Pandora was building railways throughout her empire and preparing to build towards the Haven, but he didn’t know it was already halfway done. 

And her economic opponent didn’t know this fact. 

It was an understatement to say that Pandora’s opponent during negotiations wasn’t going to have a fun time once they found out. Though, she would only tell them after the deal was completed, no doubt. 

And she would enjoy every second of victory. Even now she was humming to herself in glee, thinking all about how much better she was compared to them. 

Dirk sighed. 

It was going to be an interesting trip, at least.

……

Soon, the duo arrived before a pair of utterly massive gates. 

The entire side of the mountain they were at the base of had its walls replaced with two huge doors, both of which were engraved with countless images and embedded sculptures. It was a work of art unto itself, a mural of all dwarven artistry. 

It was even encased in metal, making them impossibly heavy. Dirk even recognized the metal. It was Geode, a metal filled to the brim with earth mana. And naturally, Geode was the toughest metal you could get your hands on. 

Of course, it depended on how pure the Geode was, but regardless…

Those two doors were worth incalculable amounts of money. Not just for the material, but for what they represented. They were one of the icons of the entire Dwarven Haven. 

But those two doors were closed. That definitely wasn’t normal considering how difficult it was to move them even an inch. They were no doubt closed due to the recent outbreak of war. 

Thankfully, those two doors weren’t the only entrance. To the side there were barricaded entrances that were much smaller and constructed like fortresses. 

The duo rode up to one of these entrances, and like before, they were forced to jump out and announce themselves. 

Hearing who it was though, they were quickly ushered in. 

A General even came to meet them personally. 

“Princess Pandora! I am General Varmite. I have sent word of your arrival. Allow me to accompany you to the central palace.”

“Thank you, General Varmite.”

“Of course. And this is…”

General Varmite looked at Dirk, who was similarly looking back. 

For a while, Dirk tried to figure something out. 

Was this General Varmite a male or female?

The General’s voice wasn’t as deep and acoustic as the other dwarves. But his or her stature was just as large and strong, making Dirk unable to immediately figure it out. Plus, with all the luxurious furs and the huge skull on the shoulder of his or her armor, any signs of gender were completely masked. 

“This is Dirk, and he’s my consort-”

“Escort.”

“-on this trip.”

“Hmm…”

The general narrowed his or her eyes at Dirk, who continued to stare at them even while correcting Pandora. 

Eventually, he or she leaned forward. 

“Hey, kid.”

“I’m 16.”

“And I’m 122. But you don’t catch me staring at other ladies.”

“Oh…”

With that, Dirk confirmed his thoughts. 

It was a girl.

General Varmite smirked. 

“Wondering how a female dwarf managed to become a General? It’s because I’ve got more balls than the men and I’m not a brainless fool! Isn’t that right?!”

“Yes, General!”

All the nearby dwarves roared in response, causing Pandora to smile. 

Dirk remained still though, as if he didn’t hear any of the rock shaking roars. It caused the General to smile more.

“You’ve got an interesting aura around you, kid. It feels sharp, even for me. But, you’re traveling hand in hand with the Vampire Princess. So I guess it’s not too surprising.”

“...Not hand in hand.”

Dirk grumbled in retort, but it only made the general laugh. 

“Hah! Dense as a star! Isn’t that right?!”

“Yes, General! Dense as a star!”

All the dwarves roared again, causing Pandora to laugh herself. 

He just shook his head. 

Perhaps if they knew what kind of person Pandora was, they’d all turn tail and run. 

“Anyway, the nobles are waiting for you. And even their politics can bust my balls! So I’d rather not keep those big noses waiting. Come.”

With a wave, the general ushered them over to a carriage. 

After stepping inside, it quickly took off. 

Dirk observed everything from above. 

The Dwarven Haven. 

It was the largest single city among all the empires, and it was constructed entirely underground within one of the largest mountains in what was dubbed the Geode Mountain Range.

And truly, it was a sight to behold. 

Buildings that were built up to the ceiling, bridges that connected those buildings in the air, and millions of floating lights that made everything seem like a festive party. 

It was dark yet luminous at the same time. 

Plus, it was filled with industrial engineering. 

There were elevators that could travel up the sides of buildings, and surprisingly, even little train cars that rode on railways suspended in the air. 

For a second, Dirk thought that the dwarves already had train technology. But then he realized the problem. 

Although the engineering was industrial, there was one key difference that not just these machines, but all technology in this world had from Earth. 

The power sources were all magical. 

Whether it was train cars, looms, water boilers, carriages, or any other machine, they were all run by the universal power source: mana crystals. They were the ultimate battery that could be easily obtained by hunting monsters. 

It was no wonder that dwarves were amazed by Pandora’s trains. 

It wasn’t because of the railways or trains themselves. They already had that technology. 

It was the engine that drove the train. A power source that wasn’t magical, a vehicle that could run by burning coal or wood and boiling water. It was purely material and made use of cheap substances that dwarves would normally dump away. 

It was obvious why they were so excited about the tech. It really was revolutionary. 

Still, Dirk was impressed by them. If given another several decades, perhaps there would be a few people who could make the push toward purely material power sources. That would be the catalyst that would propel the dwarves into the modern era. 

Imagine if they had computers? Imagine if they could combine such informational technology with magic enchantments? 

Imagine an Earth with magic. It was scary to think about. 

But, from what Dirk could see, the dwarves were pushing themselves in the right direction. 

With those thoughts in mind, Dirk and Pandora arrived before the Dwarven Palace.