VOLUME 14: CHAPTER 5

'Pathetic fools. They can't even contain their excitement. The entire Dragon tribe is visiting the royal palace – so what?'

The living legend, Gorovir 'The Divine Blacksmith' Rugard, inwardly clicked his tongue as he looked at the people around him.

From the Dwarven King Lerenon, the princes, down to the ministers, military officials, engineers, and his fellow blacksmiths. Everyone excitedly awaited the arrival of the Ancient Fire Dragon Tribe.

Honestly, Gorovir would rather continue working in the smithy than wait for hours for those overgrown lizards to arrive.

The dwarves revered the Ancient Fire Dragons as the Guardian Deities of the kingdom, but for Gorovir, they were nothing but overbearing tyrants who contributed nearly nothing to the Dwarven Kingdom.

They created the barrier currently enclosing the kingdom, sure, but Gorovir was certain they did it not to protect the dwarves, but their Lair.

Gorovir had met Vulcan only once before, but the number of unreasonable tasks given to him by the Dragon – relayed through the Dwarven King Lerenon – were uncountable.

Together with Ninirukiriri and several other prominent engineers and blacksmiths, they had expanded the Lair and installed numerous traps to protect the territory.

The payment for the installations aside, simple words of gratitude would have been enough for Gorovir – but the Dragon didn't even bother relaying words of thanks to him.

Gorovir found it absurd that the dwarves continued to exalt those lizards. By this point, it should have been apparent that the Dragons did not care much about the dwarves' lives. They treated the dwarves like maggots they could crush at their feet at any time.

How disgusting.

If given a choice, Gorovir would never come here to welcome that tribe.

Alas, no matter how glorified his title was, he was still a mere blacksmith. Gorovir was aware of the repercussions if he didn't attend this welcoming ceremony.

"Master Gorovir, I-I can't believe I'll finally meet the Dragons!" said Nofrog, the leader of the Fifth Weapons Factory. "Since I was a kid, it's been my dream to meet them one day! That's why I was so disappointed when I didn't meet the Dragon during the Trial!"

Not sharing the dwarf's enthusiasm, Gorovir simply nodded his head in acknowledgment. He diverted the topic.

"Nofrog, I heard the Fifth Weapons Factory has released a new power suit model recently," said Gorovir.

"Ah, you mean the Genesis model?" said Nofrog. Despite the name, it was the latest model of power suit being created by the Fifth Weapons Factory. "Released? No, no. Not at all. That thing is still incomplete. In order to create the Genesis model, we reduced the previous model to nearly half its original size. Of course, in order to do so, we had to remove several tempered steel plates, and we had to readjust the mithril fibers. We tweaked the hydraulics, too. Some of the pilots complained that it tends to get clanky during prolonged battles. We found out it's an issue originating from the shape of the piston. And there's the issue of the middle-grade mana stones serving as the power source."

Nofrog lowered his voice, just enough for only the two of them to hear. "You remember the Crown Prince Hafnir's defeat in the Bottomless Gorge, yes? After Prince Hafnir's army nearly got annihilated, we investigated the reason why the power suits failed to dominate the Abyss Lurkers. And guess what, Master Gorovir? The answer lies in the power source! According to the warriors' testimony, the power suits managed to hold off the Abyss Lurkers initially, but as the battle went on, the pilots ended up having to restrict their movements in order to conserve the power suit's energy. Otherwise, they wouldn't have enough power left to retreat the gorge."

Master Gorovir patiently listened as Nofrog continued with his explanation.

Although he was a blacksmith, Gorovir was also fascinated with the engineering techniques behind the power suits of the Fifth Weapons Factory.

He already knew that Nofrog would keep talking about the creations of the Fifth Weapons Factory when he diverted the topic to this.

With every word coming from Nofrog's mouth, passion could be felt.

"The prince kindly sent to us all of the power suits that survived that expedition. From scratches, to dents and claw marks – we investigated any and all kinds of damages the power suits incurred during that battle. We also found out that the tempered steel armor of the power suits lacked the power to block the attacks of the abyss lurkers. Hmm… the spikes on their serpentine tails, was it? The one the Abyss Lurkers use to climb steep slopes and cliffs. According to dwarves that survived, the attacks that came from the Abyss Lurkers' tails were capable of piercing through the power suit's defenses."

"I see," said Gorovir. "So, this new generation of power suit is meant to subdue the Abyss Lurkers of the Bottomless Gorge."

Nofrog fearlessly smiled. "That's correct, Master Gorovir. For decades, Prince Hafnir had been supporting the Fifth Weapons Factory. And after he rose to become the Crown Prince, he requested that we create power suits capable of withstanding the monsters of the Bottomless Gorge – of course, the Abyss Lurkers included."

Nofrog looked in the direction of the Crown Prince, then back to Master Gorovir. "I will say this only because it's you, Master Gorovir. It seems Crown Prince Hafnir plans on going back to the Bottomless Gorge. Is it for revenge? Is he there to look for a lost comrade, to retrieve a corpse? I don't know. The reason doesn't matter for the Fifth Weapons Factory. What matters is we perfect the Genesis model in order to repay the Crown Prince's benevolence."

Gorovir finally understood why the Fifth Weapons Factor chose to name it 'Genesis'.

The origin.

The beginning.

They named it that way knowing that the Crown Prince would use it to go back to the Bottomless Gorge someday.

"Repaying favors, huh," muttered Gorovir. "I also believe in equivalent exchange and repaying gratitude. Creating a new model… life is exciting when you're pursuing a goal. Nofrog, it must have been thrilling to wake up each day and working on the new generation of power suits."

"Exactly!" said Nofrog. "And speaking of goals, how's the project you're working on?"

Gorovir wryly smiled. "Still a blueprint. At this point, I'm already considering melting several of my creations to create its core."

Nofrog stroked his beard. "Need more adamantite, huh? What a waste to destroy those weapons, though. Although it isn't official, those weapons could be classified among the national treasures of the kingdom."

Although he was a blacksmith, Gorovir was currently working on a flying fortress. He already had an idea – a blueprint – to create it, but he lacked the necessary materials. First and foremost was enough adamantite to create the core of the engine. And second, enough elven oaks to create the base platform.

Elven oaks were capable of harnessing mana from their surroundings. Not only were they capable of conducting mana, the oldest elven oaks were also said to be nearly as hard as iron.

A flying fortress created using elven oaks would not only be lighter, they would also be sturdier and easier to maneuver.

It had been his dream since he as a child to create a castle in the sky.

How nice it would be to roam the world while riding it?

Gorovir could even go to uncharted territories throughout the world as long as he was inside it.

"Not just adamantite," said Gorovir. "I also need a lot of elven oaks if I wish to start that project. At this point, I'm even considering delving into the Poison Insect Paradise to obtain them."

Nofrog was horrified when he heard this.

Out of all the Forbidden Regions in the Dwarven Mountain Range, the Poison Insect Paradise was the most dangerous. Even during the previous Trial, none of the princes chose that place due to its difficulty.

Throughout the generations, that place had claimed countless lives of soldiers and royalty.

It was so dangerous that even seemingly weak insects and monsters carried fatal poison in them.

Even King Lerenon 'Blood Mithril' Rugard avoided that place.

"Are you out of your mind?" said Nofrog. "Don't do it, Master Gorovir! It's true that there are numerous records saying that elven oaks could be found in that area, but how are you even going to harvest them!"

"Hmm… maybe it'll be feasible if I borrow your new generation power suits?"

Nofrog shook his head. "It'll still be dangerous. Master Gorovir, although it's called Poison Insect Paradise, there aren't only insects living in that region."

"I know," said Gorovir.

"Then why?" said Nofrog. "To me, it feels like you're in an unnecessary rush."

Gorovir looked at his palm. He opened and closed it, turning it into a fist.

"I'm already eighty years old," said Gorovir. "How much time do I have left? Fifty years? Sixty? Considering that it'll be hard for me to move my body around after a few decades, I need to start this project now. I want to see its completion before the end of my lifespan."

Nofrog fell silent.

He understood the reasoning behind Gorovir's hastiness. He could feel the passion and desire within the blacksmith.

A project that big would take decades simply due to its sheer size and the scarcity of materials. If Gorovir didn't start gathering adamantite and elven oaks now, this project would remain just a pipe dream until the end of his life.

"But… does it really need to be the size of a castle?" said Nofrog. "Why not make it the size of a ship? And why not use a different material? It doesn't necessarily have to be elven oaks."

"Nofrog, a dwarf must dream big," said Gorovir. "I can compromise and create my flying fortress using ordinary materials – but what's the point of that? I mastered the art of forging solely for this dream! A flying fortress made of ordinary materials that would break when bombarded by the cannons of humans? I'd rather die than settle for it!"

"But the materials—"

"—I'll gather them! It'll be slow, but I'll definitely gather enough to complete the fortress one day!"

Nofrog no longer argued with Master Gorovir. He didn't have time to. Nearby, they heard the thrilled voices of the other dwarves.

"Above!"

"Look! They're here!"

"It's the Ancient Fire Dragon Tribe!"

Excitement and fear became palpable as the Dragons, who currently looked like dots in the sky, grew larger.

King Lerenon roared, "I expect everyone knows the proper etiquette when facing the Dragons by now! Prostrate on the ground!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

On cue, everyone knelt and slowly prostrated on the ground after seeing the group flying toward the royal palace.

With Vulcan at the lead, the tribe of Dragons and the delegates from the Kingdom of Lukas landed near the royal palace's entrance, just several meters away from King Lerenon and his sons.

Using the corner of his eyes, Gorovir peeked at the Dragons. Even for him, this would be his first time seeing all of them in person.

Nofrog noticed what Gorovir was doing. "Master Gorovir!" he whispered, "What are you doing! Do you want to get killed!"

Gorovir didn't respond.

He always wondered why they weren't allowed to look at the Dragons unless given permission.

Shouldn't a Guardian Deity be benevolent enough to allow them that much?

While he was wondering this, unusually kind words came out of Vulcan's mouth.

"For how long are you all going to prostrate on the ground? You're making my guests uncomfortable. Stand up."

Even King Lerenon seemed baffled by this. Everyone, including him, didn't immediate heed Vulcan's command.

"Should I repeat myself?" said Vulcan, a hint of anger within his voice.

"No, Great Guardian Deity," said King Lerenon, flustered.

With King Lerenon at the lead, the Dwarves started standing up one after another. Some dwarves accidentally made eye contact with the Dragons, but to their surprise, the Dragons didn't mind.

And the reason behind this benevolence seemed to be the delegates from the Kingdom of Lukas who stood behind the Ancient Fire Dragon tribe. Blackie, polymorphed into seven old men, were with them. The seven heads openly showed their displeasure at the Dwarves but chose to remain silent.

Lark took several steps forward and greeted, "It's a pleasure to finally meet the Dwarven King."

King Lerenon cautiously gazed at Lark, unsure of how to respond. Although he matched the description of the King of Lukas based on their intel, King Lerenon was afraid of greeting the wrong monarch.

"He's the man in the revelation," said Vulcan. "Your priests received it, too, no? The King of Lukas. An important guest of mine."

The revelation of the gods spanned the entire continent, the Dragons and dwarves included.

After the portals connected to the demon realm opened, the Dwarven Kingdom also received the same revelations as the humans.

Hearing Vulcan's explanation, King Lerenon quickly greeted back, "It's my first time meeting a human king. The pleasure is mine. King Lerenon, King of Rugard, the Dwarven Kingdom."

Lark held out his hand.

The two shook hands.

"Lark Marcus, Regent King of the Kingdom of Lukas. Your Majesty, thank you for allowing us to set foot in the royal palace."

***

After entering the dwarven royal palace, the Ancient Fire Dragons gathered all of the prominent individuals of the Dwarven Kingdom in the throne room.

Unlike before, Vulcan didn't sit on the throne. The throne was empty, and Vulcan and Vesta stood next to it.

"You can sit here, King Lark," offered Vulcan.

Lark refused, "I understand the hierarchy within the Dwarven Kingdom, but I can't do that."

Since the contract between Lark and Vulcan was that of a master-servant, technically, Lark held the highest position in this room right now.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to shamelessly sit on the throne of the dwarven royal palace.

The dwarves probably won't protest against it since it was the Dragon's will, but they would abhor him secretly.

If he wished to forge a friendly and equal relationship with one of the most powerful nations in the continent, he needed to show his sincerity.

Since Lark was uncomfortable seeing the royal family of the Dwarven Kingdom kneeling or prostrating before him, he also asked Vulcan to let them stand up during this meeting.

"Is that so?" said Vulcan. "Very well. Dwarves, all of you may rise."

The dwarves in the room said in unison, "Yes, Great Guardian Deity!"

"Now that we're done with the introductions," said Vulcan. "It's time to discuss the reasons for our visit. The first reason is because King Lark here wishes to see the kingdom in person."

The dwarves who'd met Vulcan before during the Trial noticed he was unusually talkative. Back then, the leader of the Ancient Fire Dragons simply gave his commands without consulting the dwarves whether or not it was feasible to accomplish them.

Vulcan's gaze landed on Crown Prince Hafnir, "Hmm… Hafnir Rugard, is it? It seems the blessing I've given you has properly settled in your body."

"I-It is as you say, Great Guardian Deity."

After receiving Vulcan's blessing, Crown Prince Hafnir grew as strong as First Prince Margaro. He was probably the second or third strongest warrior in the entire kingdom right now. Of course, he was still a far cry compared to his father.

"It takes me around a decade to condense an essence," said Vulcan. "Be grateful that a mere dwarf like you has been given the chance to obtain a portion of my powers."

Prince Hafnir lowered his head. "I am forever grateful, Great Guardian Deity."

"Hmph," snorted Vulcan. "As for your previous request, I've decided to grant it."

The fear within Prince Hafnir's eyes vanished momentarily. He said happily, "Really?! Thank you, Great Guardian Deity!"

Vulcan infused some mana into his voice, making it fiercer and louder than before, "In exchange for the information about the adamantite deposit given to me by the dwarf called Hafnir, I, the Ancient Fire Dragon Vulcan, hereby declare that the losers of the Trial in this generation shall no longer be executed."

First Prince Margaro and Fourth Prince Orgro's eyes widened. They looked at Crown Prince Hafnir, unable to immediately comprehend what they'd just heard.

Executed?

So, all of the candidates that lost in the throne competition were supposed to be killed after the Trial?

Noticing their expressions, the wife of Vulcan amusedly smiled.

"Oh my~" said Vesta. "It seems the other princes aren't aware of the deal made to us by the Crown Prince? You see, your brother pleaded us to spare your lives in exchange for giving us information regarding a massive adamantite deposit in the Dwarven Mountains."

"H-Hafnir…," muttered First Prince Margaro.

Fourth Prince Orgro, who'd mocked and cursed Hafnir repeatedly before, couldn't utter a single word.

The two of them finally realized that the Second Prince really had no intentions of keeping them locked up in the dungeons.

He even went as far as plead the Dragons to spare them from execution.

"The adamantite deposit is located deep within the Bottomless Gorge," said Vulcan. "My son, Agnus, already confirmed its existence when he went to that place back then."

Agnus nodded. "It's a massive adamantite deposit, father. Probably enough to fill the heart of the Lair. The problem is there are too many Abyss Lurkers living in that place."

It was a shocking news.

For the dwarves who loved drinking and forging, the existence of a large adamantite deposit was irresistibly enticing. Now that its existence had been confirmed, even without the Dragon's help, they might go to the Bottomless Gorge themselves to attempt to mine it.

This was especially true for Master Gorovir who needed a lot of adamantite to complete his engine.

"G-Great Guardian Deity, I have a request!" shouted Gorovir.

Everyone was stunned upon seeing a dwarf speak up without asking permission first. And seeing that the daredevil was the legendary blacksmith, the dwarves were terrified.

That fool!

Even the dwarven royal family wouldn't be able to do anything if the Dragons decided to execute him on the spot!

"Gorovir!" snarled King Lerenon. "Are you out of your mind!"

"I must do this, brother," said Gorovir. He repeated, "Great Guardian Deity, I have a request!"

Vulcan squinted, "I remember you. The dwarf revered as the greatest blacksmith of this generation."

Vulcan looked at Lark, then at the legendary blacksmith. For some reason, the Ancient Fire Dragon didn't immediately kill him on the spot. King Lerenon decided to use this opportunity to show contrite.

"Great Guardian Deity! This is my oversight!" said King Lerenon. "I apologize if my brother overstepped his bounds! Gorovir! What are you doing? Kneel and apologize!"

Vulcan shook his head. "It's fine."

"…Eh?"

Today was really filled with surprises. King Lerenon couldn't understand why the Dragons were so lenient today.

What's going on?

Although revered as the guardians of the kingdom, Dragons weren't known for their patience and tolerance. King Lerenon was pretty sure they would have blown off his brother's head by now.

"Speak," said Vulcan.

Gorovir breathed in deeply. After firming his resolve, he knelt, "Does the Great Guardian Deity wish to mine those adamantites?"

"That's correct," said Vulcan.

"Then… please allow me to spearhead the mining process," said Gorovir. "I know the most efficient way to mine adamantite since I've been researching about it for decades."

Vulcan observed the blacksmith. "I can see you are not doing this out of goodwill. Tell me. What do you want in exchange for this?"

Gorovir hesitated for a moment, "In return, please give me some of those adamantite, Great Guardian Deity."

Heavy silence fell on the throne room, broken only by the occasional nervous gulps every now and then.

Adamantites were precious metals whose worth couldn't be measured in gold.

And this blacksmith dared to ask for some of them from the Dragon?

Everyone thought that Master Gorovir had pushed his luck too much. They thought that soon, he would incur the Dragon's wrath. Even King Lerenon seemed to have given up. The Dwarven King closed his eyes as he readied himself for the aftermath.

But to their surprise, Vulcan said, "What do you think, King Lark?"

Instead of answering the blacksmith, the leader of the Ancient Fire Dragons asked the opinion of the human king.

"Master Gorovir," said Lark. "I heard that in the entire Dwarven Kingdom, your skills as a blacksmith are unmatched."

Master Gorovir also didn't expect this turn of events. He'd spoken his thoughts out loud, prepared for the consequences. He'd never expected that instead of getting furious, the Dragon would pass the conversation to the human king.

For the first time, everyone realized the human king's true standing.

"Not just in the Dwarven Kingdom," said Gorovir confidently. "I believe that my skills are unmatched in the entire continent."

Lark smiled in satisfaction when he heard this. "Then, take a look at this."

Using wind magic, Lark handed Gorovir a stack of blueprints.

Gorovir quizzically looked at them first before flipping through them. As he read through the blueprints, Gorovir's eyes started widening. His shoulders shook, unable to believe what he was reading.

The blueprints contained the directions on how to convert a human's bones into adamantite. It contained the instructions on how to infuse mithril into a human's muscle fibers, strengthening them severalfold and enabling them to break through their limits. The first few blueprints were basically guides on how to reconstruct a human's body into something similar to an indestructible machine.

"T-This…."

And that's not all.

The other blueprints also contained instructions on how to create a floating castle – no, a floating city – using adamantite, steel, mithril, and elven oaks.

Although the texts indicated that it was a floating castle, the size alone was enough for it to be considered a city. It contained a residential area, a garden, an engine room, barracks, a small castle, defensive turrets and cannons, and even maintenance golems.

Gorovir said to Nofrog before that a dwarf must dream big, but this one was on a different league entirely!

There were also blueprints about moon sigils – large, defensive cubes made of adamantite –, portable magic towers, armors, and magic-nullifying weapons.

"How about it?" said Lark, "can you create them?"

Gorovir's hands holding the blueprints trembled. He understood the implications of those words. In exchange for creating these items, he would be granted the adamantite he was asking for.

But seeing the blueprints – especially the floating castle – his desire to obtain adamantite no longer mattered.

This project was basically an upgraded version of his dream fortress.

There was no longer a need to think of his answer.

Gorovir would even abandon his smithy and work for free as long as they would allow him to work on this floating castle.

"This… is too detailed," said Gorovir. "Your Majesty, d-did you make these yourself?"

"That's right," said Lark.

"May I ask… based on the size, the floating castle would require a lot of eleven oaks as the material. How do you plan on procuring them?"

"There's an untouched forest inside a labyrinth that I know of," said Lark. He was pertaining to the labyrinth where he found the golden statue. "Hundreds of elven oaks that grew near a Dragon Vein, absorbing its mana for over a millennium. Although I have no intention of cutting all of them down, even a third of them would be enough to create two or three floating castles."

"E-Elven Oaks that grew in such conditions?!"

Gorovir almost lost his mind when he heard this. Even a branch from such a tree would cost an astronomical amount of money, and this human king was saying there was a forest full of them?

Gorovir nearly salivated.

"So, Master Gorovir," said Lark. "Are you able to create them?"

It did not even take a split second before the blacksmith replied, "Of course! And forget the adamantite I asked for! King Lark, please let me work on the floating castle! Even working for free is fine!"

Out of his own volition, for the first time, Gorovir prostrated on the ground.

If he didn't grab this opportunity, Gorovir knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.

He said in a loud voice, almost pleading voice, "I believe I was born to work for you! Please allow me to work on all of these projects! Allow me to serve you, King Lark!"

Gorovir felt it from his very soul.

If fate truly existed, then this must be where it was guiding him.