Serum

The welcome wasn’t as grand as they thought it would be. 

The central palace of the dwarven nobility seemed incredibly busy as dozens of large men ran across the floor and scrambled into elevators. Some directly bound to the top of staircases and continued on their way. 

Dirk and Pandora naturally wanted to know what was going on, and General Varmite enlightened them. 

“Things have been getting hectic with the recent dungeon outbreaks. What’s going on is nothing short of a war against monsters. Thankfully our facilities are underground and easy to defend, not to mention how fortified we naturally are.”

“But no major dungeon should cause you this much turmoil. Don’t tell me…”

Pandora suddenly thought of something, looking toward the general with a concerned gaze. 

The General nodded. 

“It’s the Dragon Lair. That massive dungeon has been spitting out more monsters than we can count. It’s taken just about every armed force we have to defend against it. The front line of the war is centered north of the Haven capital.”

“...We’ll check out that front line when we’re done here. Perhaps we’ll be of assistance.”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Sure. Just find me. I’ll be staying here in the palace.”

The General happily agreed, much to Pandora’s satisfaction. 

After all, the deal with the railways was only half the reason she was here. 

She didn’t forget her primary objective in this War Cataclysma.

Before long, the general showed the two to a room. 

“Wait here. I’ll go notify the parties involved.”

Dirk and Pandora entered the room without complaint. As soon as they did, Pandora waved her hand, the Book of Life appearing with a holy glow. 

“Miss Record.”

[I’m here.]

Like she was her most casual friend, Pandora called upon the System itself. Dirk found it amazing every time. 

“Tell me, is the Key Artifact of Earth near that front line?”

[Not yet.]

“How interesting… But we can’t actually attain control of it, can we…”

[The Key Artifact should be completely sealed. It is no more powerful than any Tier 4 item.]

“That’s not what I mean.”

Pandora sighed. 

“If that thing sees the light of day, it's going to be a beacon for just about every damn Tier 7 and 8 dwarf in the vicinity. Without getting to it first, we’re not going to be able to grab it without anyone knowing. And the dwarves aren’t going to let such an amazing artifact go. I wouldn’t be surprised if they imprison us and threaten the Vampire Queen. And then the higher powers will get involved and this mission of ours becomes infinitely more difficult.”

Taking a seat at a table, Pandora’s fingers rapidly tapped its glossy surface, making clicking noises in the quiet room. 

Dirk just let her think. She was supposed to be the great strategist. 

Then, she suddenly stopped, her red eyes flashing as she glanced at Dirk. 

“Dirk.”

“Hm.”

“If we end up causing a diplomatic incident that involves getting arrested or being declared criminals, then you need to be ready to escape from this city with me. I’m going to give us some time between talking to these nobles and going to the front lines. You’re going to take that time to make any preparations you need to. Give us multiple escape routes.”

“What are you planning…”

Dirk frowned at her, causing her to roll her eyes. 

“Nothing yet. But we need to be prepared to do anything to secure that Key Artifact, nothing short of killing anybody that gets their hands on it. While I have a certain level of political immunity, I’m not willing to wait for my mother to bail me out and pull higher powers into our mission. So, it may come down to escaping as fugitives. Just make the preparations. Maybe we won’t have to and it’ll all end cleanly. But that’s highly unlikely.”

“...Fine.”

Dirk sighed before agreeing. Regardless of the situation, if Pandora was going to pull him into a mess, then he wanted a way out. 

………

It wasn’t long before the duo was called into another room. 

The meeting room was rather lavish, though this wasn’t surprising considering the dwarves. 

The Dwarven Haven was perhaps the richest of the major empires. They were right between the Horizon Empire and Beastkin Unity, making them a major trading center. Plus, with how much mining the dwarves did, they were the host of massive material refinement and processing. This compounded with their specialty in crafting, making the Haven the best place to get yourself a weapon or set of armor. 

So when Pandora saw the meeting room that had gold chandeliers and massive marble statues crafted by expert sculptors, she wasn’t too surprised. Dirk was, on the other hand. 

This was just a meeting room, not the king’s chambers. 

Upon arrival, besides the fancy decor, there were also the large dwarves that had already arrived. 

There were seven dwarves, and Pandora sat at one end of the table with Dirk while the others sat opposing. 

“Welcome, Princess Pandora. We’re rather surprised by your arrival here. We had thought our deal might be put on hold when the War broke out considering both of us are dealing with slews of monsters attacking our nations.”

The dwarf at the head gave his greeting, speaking with a deep and commanding voice. 

Pandora remained neutral. Her Dark Kingdom was indeed having a much more difficult time facing the monsters than the Haven. Her cities were like Horizon’s that were being invaded by monster armies. While the dwarves were the same, their cities being underground helped immensely. They were a natural fortress. 

“I’m thankful for your concern, King Greyscale, but the Dark Kingdom has since settled any initial chaos since the outbreak. Besides, there is very little that could stop me from carrying out this project with the Haven. After all, it’s too lucrative for both of us. And should things go well, I’m prepared to make it even more lucrative for you and your Haven.”

“I can’t say we’re not interested in what you have in mind.”

The dwarves beside the King all smiled oddly at Pandora, causing her to give a sweet smile back. 

As for Dirk, his senses were wholly focused on the dwarf at the head of the table. 

How could he not have seen it?

King Greyscale, the King of the Dwarves and the most powerful single entity in the Dwarven Haven. 

One of the most powerful people in the world, standing at its topmost height.

In Dirk’s senses, he couldn’t manage to make out any colossal energy source. When Spyte had seen Emperor Horizon, he had appeared in her vision as a blinding source of light, not able to be recognized at all. But this king…

He released no mana. Dirk could barely sense a light film of earth mana, and that was what the atmospheric mana allowed him to see after it glossed over the King’s skin and clothing. 

Still, even just what Dirk saw was shocking once he focused on it. 

Chest armor formed of large scales, each of which was filled with the purest compressed metal mana. 

On his shoulder, the skull of a dragon. 

On his chest, a Dragon Heart that had melted into his scale armor. 

A braided grey beard.

And a stature larger than any man Dirk had ever seen. 

He wasn’t a dwarf, but a giant. Even in his seat he towered over everyone present, his arms the thickness of a normal man’s torso. 

To Dirk, he was a confusing mass of power. He could see the mana around him that gave a glimpse of how amazingly dense and pure it was. And then there was the Dragon Heart, one that looked exactly like Uuvos’s lightning heart from the dungeon. 

But, other than superficial senses, Dirk couldn’t see the depth of his power. The earth and metal mana around him was so dense and rigid that nothing was leaked. To a certain degree, it obscured his figure, making his presence all the more threatening. 

Dirk wasn’t doubting the fact that this man could kill a dragon. 

Though, he couldn’t believe that the King himself was here to attend this meeting with Pandora. 

Subconsciously, as Pandora began to dive into the discussion, Dirk began checking the exits and searching through his rings for his weapons. He couldn’t help but be uncomfortable in front of this King. 

It almost felt like the King’s gaze was on him too.

“King Greyscale, we can keep the contents of our deal simple. There are dozens of items that can be traded between our empires, and all of it can be facilitated through the railways. If we can get an established line between us, then nothing is stopping both nobles and merchants from making trades.”

“That’s true, Princess Pandora. But one major contention we must discuss is the ownership of the railway. This ownership will heavily determine the details of the tax laws that are put into effect, as well as determine the fees for simply using the railways.”

One of the other dwarves, a noble, quickly announced one of the big issues. 

This was the crux of the matter. 

Pandora smiled. 

“This is indeed an issue, but I don’t believe it can’t be resolved easily. I’m ready to give the Haven ownership of any railways within your territory. With that, you can tax the goods on the trains as you would any other merchant.”

“Ah, but you see, we have discussed another possible alternative.”

Yet another dwarf chimed in, barely containing his smile.

“In order to save you, Pandora, from having to deal with the logistical issues of construction within the Haven, we propose that us dwarves handle any and all railway and depot construction within our territory. This naturally means that we wish to stipulate that anything constructed by the dwarves similarly falls under our ownership, including anything outside of our territory.”

“...Interesting.”

Pandora pretended to be surprised by the offer. Some of her smile faded. 

“There’s one issue with this. That is, you don’t know the specifications for the railway blueprints. And only standard dimensions were given to you for the train engines themselves, meaning constructing an efficient train depot would be difficult.”

“We’ve thought of this problem as well, and in response we want to add the exchange of blueprints for the railways and engines into our deal.”

The dwarf shamelessly laid out his desires. Normally Pandora would be enraged by such blatant greed, but she only smiled. 

“My, that’s a significant offer. And one that I will immediately reject. The technology for the train engine is the literal heart of my operation, something that I won’t be handing to anyone anytime soon.”

“You mean to say that it will be a possibility in the future?”

This time, King Greyscale asked. 

The technology of the steam engine was seriously major. Not just the King, but many nobles and just about every dwarven engineer realized that the steam engine was a revolutionary technology. They all desperately wanted it.

Pandora knew this, but she planned to get as much out of it as possible. She wouldn’t hand it over for cheap. 

She smiled. 

“Of course, your highness. I understand that this technology is something that not just the dwarves, but every empire, besides perhaps the Elves, will want. So I wont be so greedy as to insist on a monopoly of the tech forever. But this is also something I personally developed. I hope I won’t be cheated of this achievement, especially by the dwarves who are known for their policies on intellectual property.”

“Hm, I understand your worries, Princess Pandora.”

The King nodded, and the other dwarves went quiet, the smiles disappearing from their faces. 

All of the technology within the Haven, such as the lights and the magic railways and transportation systems, were all developed by a few dwarven companies. As the dwarves were a race of craftsmen, they naturally valued intellectual property. Things like patents and royalties were not uncommon here, and many patents were for magical tech. 

If they were to steal Pandora’s technology, it would be a major blemish on the Haven. All intellectual laws would be thrown into question, and even the dwarven people would riot. No matter how good the tech was, if the government were stealing it, then it would make people mad. It would undoubtedly hurt their economy. 

So they had to play nice with Pandora. Thankfully, she was also understanding of the value of her engine tech. 

She bowed toward the King. 

“Thank you, King Greyscale. But worry not. I came here expecting to offer something after much thought, an offer that will solve all your worries.”

“And what might that be?”

Pandora raised her head, her eyes gleaming. 

“Simple. After 6 months of trading with each other, I will hand the technology over to you for a price. From then on, you will own all train depots, engines, and railways within your territory to do with and expand as you please.”

“Oh…”

The dwarves all widened their eyes, surprised that Pandora was willing to make such a deal with them. 

Even the King was enticed. 

“What’s your price?”

“First, I want the Haven to subsidize all of my construction costs. Building for your territory or for the purposes of our trade will cost me nothing. And then, at the end of our 6 month time period, I will hand you the blueprints for 40 thousand Crystals.”

“Thousand?!”

A dwarf couldn’t help but blurt out. 

40 thousand crystals!

That equated to 40 billion silvers!

That was no small amount of money, for either a government or a major company. 

Even the King frowned at that number.

“That’s a significant amount of money.”

“A number that will revolutionize your entire empire, King Greyscale. Because we both know that the engines of these trains can be applied to so much more than just trains. It’s mechanized power! At the cost of mere materials like coal, you can achieve the power of thousands of mages! And these machines needn’t sleep. To be able to work all hours of the day, that’s labor that will put you ahead of all the other empires! These engines will set you on a new path. They will be the catalyst for the greatest technological jump your empire has ever made! All for the price of 40 thousand crystals.”

Pandora couldn’t help but relax back into her seat. The one thing she liked about smart people was that they couldn’t escape from the reality before them. 

These dwarven nobles before her absolutely understood the engine’s value. So they also wouldn’t be able to downplay its importance. Pandora wouldn’t let them. 

“Besides…”

Pandora continued, her tone suddenly falling, and her red eyes sharpening. 

“You must weight the cost of obtaining my technology. I can make certain assurances on my end, one’s that will secure your future with this tech. After all, nobody else has this technology. Being one of two sole beneficiaries will be a great advantage for you. But I can also rid you of this advantage. I’m not afraid of the world undergoing another seismic shift after they all discover the power of my tech, and if things go south, I’ll make sure that such a shift makes the monster outbreak look like a joke.”

“Princess Pandora.”

Suddenly, the King spoke with his deepest but loudest tone, his voice reverberating across the room. 

The aura he released was horribly deep, one that made even Dirk’s spine run cold. 

But Pandora faced the King directly. She didn’t shy away, her royal disposition carrying her seriousness and arrogance clearly. She was making it known that she was afraid of nobody, and that she held the cards in this game. 

After a short standoff, the King’s aura retracted, Greyscale settling his gaze. 

“There is no need for threats here. We are interested in your proposal. We will meet with you tomorrow with an answer and to discuss the details.”

“Of course, your majesty. I’m looking forward to a good response.”

With that, Pandora stood and curtsied before turning and walking out. Dirk followed right behind her, his steps a bit more stiff. 

The door closed behind them, and King Greyscale smiled, showing a few silver teeth. 

“Cunning witch.”