Serum

“Could you not antagonize one of the most powerful people in the world?”

Dirk scolded Pandora as they arrived back in their room. She sat on the bed and smiled. 

“What, and let them think I’m weak? All I did was force them to acknowledge the fact that stealing my tech would come with a greater cost than simply purchasing it.”

“Steal?”

Dirk frowned, his mind processing all the different ways people could steal Pandora’s engine tech. 

And he surmised that if the dwarves were willing to kill, then it would be incredibly easy to do so. 

Pandora sighed. 

“Dirk, you underestimate just how freakishly capable magic is. It wouldn’t take a skilled forgemaster more than a week to reverse-engineer my engine. So that means it's impossible to hold onto this technology forever if they decide to make a bold move. So in order to get the most out of it, I’m basically selling it instead. Besides, this one time sale will make me more money than even a couple years of international operation commissions. And they know that.”

“They know that, and you think they’ll agree?”

“Well, probably not for the entire 40 thousand, but most of it. They want the advantage I’m giving them, and if they cheat me, they know I can industrialize the rest of the world as punishment. Just giving the engine tech to the Horizon Empire would negate any advantage they had, let alone if I took it to Unity as well.”

Pandora twirled her purple hair as if in victory, a broad smile on her face. 

And Dirk couldn’t help but nod slowly. Forgemasters weren’t stupid, so unless every engine was covered and locked with intricate enchantments, there would be nothing stopping even Dirk from getting a read on its entire design with mana. 

After that, just a bit of general study would let them know everything about the engine. 

In fact, as he thought about it more, Dirk realized that it was almost too easy to steal the engine tech. 

In that case, selling it was the correct choice. 

Pandora waved.

“Anyway, you’re no longer needed here. Go ahead and prepare our escape routes. Tomorrow I’ll negotiate and finalize the deal. Then we’re off to the front lines.”

“Hmm…”

Dirk frowned at her. 

“Since when do you just shoo me off like a dog?”

“Sorry?”

“Whatever. I’ll deal with preparing our escape route later.”

Saying that, Dirk walked over to the door, leaving with a huff. 

Pandora tilted her head, staring at the closed door for a while. 

“Sorry…”

……

Dirk made his way into the city. 

Streets of stone and buildings of metal. He saw things that he had only seen back on Earth, and some things he hadn’t. 

The train cars that rode through the air on suspended rails, and buildings that touched the ceiling of the mountain. Along with all the many thousands of floating lights that gave this underground cave artificial daylight, the Haven was quite magical. 

But it was also overwhelming for him. That was because, in the event that Pandora went and pissed off the wrong person, he’d need to escape this place. 

It was a fortress bigger than any city. Dirk was thinking that hiding within the city would actually be better than escaping it, but he knew that people at certain power levels could find them anyway. They would never be able to escape King Greyscale. 

So that meant they would have to leave, but as far as Dirk was concerned there were only a few exits out of this place. 

First, the main doors. They were closed, but there were still smaller openings to their sides. But even those were heavily locked down and overseen by a General, who was on the same level as a Duke and a proper Tier 8. If they got anywhere near such a being, it would be no different than facing the King himself. 

Thinking that far, this place was no different than a prison. Dirk already felt uncomfortable, and Pandora’s previous warnings didn’t help. 

“Why am I even doing this…”

As he walked amongst many small people, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh. 

He began to recall his time at the Dark Kingdom. 

Everything had happened so quickly. 

One day, he was still just the child of a Marquess, making promises with his mother to go hunting and looking forward to possibly going back to the Academy in order to top up on some magical education. 

He was even thinking about how much he wanted to go and join Alec on whatever vigilante work he did. Dirk had heard several things about what he did while he had disappeared. 

But then, Pandora showed up. 

He was roped in, made a pact with the last person he ever thought he would, and became the center of attention in regard to her war effort. 

But that lasted all of a few hours. 

The arrival of the Dark Dragon Primordial that heralded global change and catastrophe was what really flipped everything upside down. And if Pandora’s speculations were true, then it was Emperor Horizon who used Dirk as the trigger for that event. 

And with the mission from the System itself…

Too many cataclysmic events happened way too fast. And Dirk wasn’t sure about how he felt being in the center of it all. 

He knew Pandora was both the magnet and the source of all chaos, but this was too much. 

Now he was planning an escape route in case they had to run from the dwarven nobility. 

And of course, nobles weren’t some snobby, fat pigs like in medieval times. No, they were atrociously powerful warriors and mages who could flip cities upside down given a bit of effort. Every one of them was someone to fear. 

And it wasn’t that Dirk feared them. Instead, he simply understood the disparity of power. In this place, his survival was the furthest thing from guaranteed. 

On all sides were enemies he couldn’t fight. He had been made too aware of how utterly powerless even he could be in the face of true power. 

It was irritating, like a gun constantly pressed against his head. 

Why was he doing all this? Why did he have to deal with Pandora and all her crazy schemes, bearing all the potential danger that she would inevitably lead him into?

Dirk suddenly stopped walking, looking around him. 

To both sides there were large buildings, the walls of which were totally open and showing the inside where one could see dwarves working on all sorts of crafts. 

There were booths that some dwarven girls sold crafts from, obviously working for the forgemasters within the buildings.

And there were many other races here too. 

Dirk could see elves walking through the place, many grumbling about the stifling concentration of the city. Most of them had long hair, and of course the signature long ears that stuck out from between the layers of hair. 

And the hybrids. Ones that looked like tigers, wolves, lions, even birds and reptiles. There were all kinds of hybrids that wore thick sets of armor and carried all manner of weaponry. 

Humans were abundant to, as were vampires. 

All races gathered in this city in order to get some of the most powerful, and abundant, dwarven weaponry and gear. This was the industrial paradise of the world, a place that could arm entire armies with ease. 

And no product was crummy. The dwarves took pride in their craft, so nothing shabby would be sold except by the few swindlers who worked in the dark areas of the city. 

But the place Dirk arrived in was near the center, no doubt a bustling district of trade and production. 

And he saw many powerful people. Tier 5’s walked around like they were common. The amount of people that could threaten Dirk’s life was staggeringly high. 

And it reminded him of why he was going through all this danger. Why he was putting himself at risk. 

He remembered Pandora’s words. 

Control.

‘I should be able to kill everyone here.’

His mana vision focused on several people at once. He watched them, finding weaknesses in their movements, gauging their strengths, their talents, and formulating avenues of attack. 

Such thoughts were more than habit by now. Except before those at the top of the world, he always had plans in his mind to kill everyone he laid eyes on. 

It was second nature. And he couldn’t stand not being able to do as he might need to.

“You there! With the blindfold!”

His thoughts were suddenly cut off as a voice reached his ears. 

Dirk could see the kid who was pointing to him. He was a dwarf, so he was shorter than normal. 

What was rather odd about this dwarven boy though was the fact that he was skinner than normal dwarves. Even the young teens had bodies with layers of muscle on them. But this kid was obviously thinner, though his height still reached Dirk’s shoulder. 

The bigger question though was why he was calling him. 

‘Probably trying to sell something.’

Dirk turned his head with a sigh. 

“I’m not-”

“Your eyes are hurt, right? I can fix them!”

“...”

Dirk went silent. Considering his eyes were cursed by a Tier 8 dark magician, those were bold words. 

But Dirk was still curious.  

“You can? How?”

“Human boy, don’t fall for that brat’s tricks! He’s nothing but a freak!”

“Hehe, yea. Just save yourself the time and come over here.”

“Shut up!”

Just as nearby dwarves began to berate him, the kid snarled and shouted at them. It drew attention, but the surroundings were so loud with chatter that nobody really cared. 

Dirk ignored the others, focusing on the boy. 

“How can you fix my eyes?”

“Simple! I’ll build you new ones! I call them Augmentations, and they’re body parts made with magic materials and the power of machines! If you’re interested, I’ll take a look and see if I can’t fit you for an augmentation right now!”

“Ugh, disgusting…”

“Crazy bastard…”

Other dwarves, and even nearby elves and hybrids began to cringe at the kid’s words. And they truly were quite outlandish. 

After all, Dirk was very familiar with augmentations. He knew them as cybernetic enhancements. 

Even on Earth these cybernetics weren’t super popular, and that’s when you could get an arm installed that would allow you to warp steel with your fingers. 

To actually advertise magical body augmentations in this world…

People probably thought this kid was a madman. 

But it made Dirk even more curious.

“What’s your name?”

Dirk asked, and the dwarf barely held back a smile. 

“My name is Exos Havalite.”

……

“This is my workshop. Please don’t touch anything.”

Dirk was led into a warehouse, though it wasn’t as big as the ones he saw on the main street. 

Still, it was kept shockingly tidy. Everything was aligned in specific ways and all random tools were organized precisely and on benches. The floors were sparkly clean, even the ceiling, and all the machines Dirk saw were pristine.

More than that, he seemed to have a chemistry lab, or in this world it would be an alchemy lab. There were all kind of fluids, and he even had cages with various animals in them. 

Amazingly, some of them had metal limbs, like a reptile that had a metal arm with enchanted lines all over it, or a bird with a metal wing. 

And they all worked. 

Dirk couldn’t help but look at Exos again. 

‘He’s a freaking scientist. An actual genius…’

“First, let me explain my craft. I want you to know that my Augmentations actually work.”

Dirk watched the kid approach a desk and turn around. 

“My Augmentations work by connecting enchanted devices to your bodily systems. The only prerequisite is that you have to be a mage, but even that requirement is slowly going away with my work. Those animals in those cages are proof that some augmentations don’t require any active magical input to work. Though, in order to power the augmentations long term, you still need to have a mana source which comes in the form of mana crystals.”

Exos stood straight, almost like a noble giving a lecture. And, same as the warehouse, Exos was very well kept.

Sharp clothes, white gloves, and a prim appearance. He was the spitting image of perfection. Nothing was out of place on his body. It was probably an OCD thing. 

“Thankfully, you fit my requirements perfectly. Therefore, given some time, I can construct augmentations for you.”

“Is it legal?”

Dirk suddenly asked, causing Exos to nod.

“It is. Or, it’s more precise to say that it’s not illegal. There are no laws about augmentation, however, I will need to have you sign a few magical contracts if you choose to get this work done. Naturally, I will also make you fully aware of everything I’m going to do. But, rest assured, your new eyes will give you what you don’t have.”

“...Interesting.”

Dirk couldn’t help a smile. Then, Exos reached for his glove. 

He took it off, revealing a metal hand. 

“As more proof, you can see that I’ve actually augmented myself. My entire left arm is constructed of Geode, and inside are hundreds of small components that make it stronger than any normal arm. Not even a Rank 4 could compare to the strength of this arm, and I don’t train Anima.”

He pulled up his sleeve as he spoke, showing more and more of the metal arm. Dirk could see in between some of the joints, observing various plates and only a few gears that were exposed. 

Not only that, but there were hundreds of tiny enchanted lines as well. 

He could see earth mana pumping through the arm as if they were veins, and this seemed to give it strength. In that way, his magical strength could directly translate to physical strength. 

“Along with my left arm, I’ve also augmented my right leg, managing to merge enchanted devices with my flesh and blood. The result is armored skin as well as the ability to contain a weapon, though it’s still mostly my original body.”

“You did it to yourself?”

“For the most part. I’ve only received some help from alchemists in order to concoct some important potions that allow this process to be carried out and forgemasters to construct the physical components. But I do all the enchanting by myself, which is the most important part and what allows my products to do what they do.”

“...”

Dirk was shocked. 

This kid really was something else.