Chapter 40

It was difficult to fully accept this information. This was way beyond anything I had been expecting to find when I came to research. Nothing in here even says how large the floors are! Given the information written here, it’s obvious that these floors are way bigger than what would be evident from the outside appearance of the tower. These are only the known floors up to floor 26 as well! No one knows what is beyond this Thunder Wyvern boss monster. I’m positive that my gun could take it out, but how long would it take me to get that far inside? A few days? A week or more? How long would it then take me to get back out? No matter how much I desire to conquer the dungeon, I can’t justify wasting that much potential time in there. Plus I really, really can’t afford to have Lynn go on the warpath after me. I can already visualize the devastation she would cause to this capital if I was really out of contact that long.

I sighed. It looked like my dungeon conquering plans were over before they even got a chance to begin.

“What’s the matter, young lady? Troubled by how dangerous the dungeon is?” The old elf asked.

“I’m more worried about how long it would take me to actually move through the dungeon.” I responded. “For example, how long would it take me to get back out once I get as far as I can?”

The old elf looked surprised for a moment. “Young lady, can you give me that book for a moment?”

“Sure.” I handed it across the table to him.

He flipped through the pages briefly before closing the book with a grumble. “I should have looked at this before I gave it to you. I’m going to have to amend it. It left out one of the more important details of the dungeon. In the dungeon at the entrance of each floor is a gateway that will take you back to the entrance. If you then take the gateway at the entrance, you will be returned to the floor you were last at.”

“So if I got to the 5th floor and took the gateway, I’d be back at the entrance and able to leave the dungeon. Then the next time I visited the dungeon, I could immediately start back out at the 5th floor again?” I asked to make sure I fully understood the process.

The old elf nodded. “Exactly. It’s very convenient. The only exceptions are floors where bosses are located.”

I was surprised and yet at the same time I realized how idiotic it was for me to keep being surprised by magic. Hadn’t I already just come to terms with the absurdity of it? These gates though sounded very similar to teleportation. I had regrettably never been able to get the knack down for teleporting using psi. It was a pretty rare ability to see anyone able to use due to the complexity involved with doing it without maiming yourself. I wonder if I can study these gateways and figure out my own magical method for teleporting. Possibly using magical enchantments? That would be a very helpful thing to have. If I created a system like that I could carry something with me that would let me immediately return to the ship. Getting back to where I was previously might be more of an issue though. I wouldn’t really want to leave something behind to teleport back to. It seems like that would have some obvious downsides if someone else stumbled upon it while I was gone. I could probably rig some security devices on it to keep it from being meddled with, but there was always the chance of something going wrong. Nothing was perfect after all. It’s not a risk I feel comfortable taking.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a short bark of laughter. I returned my attention to the old elf and he had a grin on his face as he gazed at me. “Young lady, I can tell by the look in your eyes that you’re thinking of studying the gateways aren’t you? You don’t have to answer, you wouldn’t be the first one to try. Wizards and Sorcerers have attempted to duplicate them for centuries. Even before this Empire existed and when there was only a small city here surrounding the dungeon, they were trying.” He released another bark. “I should know. I was one of those very fools that came here for that very reason! Despite all our collective effort, we have not even the slightest result to show for it.”

I didn’t bother answering. I merely shrugged. “Anyway, thanks for the help.” I was about to get up and leave when I remembered something else I might be able to find information about here. “Are there notes about certain kinds of beasts?”

“We have a number of bestiaries, yes. What specific beasts were you interested in?” The old elf stood up and walked back near the shelves.

I placed my hand up to pet Coa. “First, I’d like any information on serpent dragons like this child here. Taming her was a bit of a fluke so I could really stand to get some facts about her species. I only know a little and that’s mostly from first-hand experience since I tamed her. The other beast that I’m interested in are demon wolves.”

“I can understand your dragon, but I’m curious about why demon wolves in particular?” The old elf asked.

“I had a run in with a pack in the past and had to escape. Any knowledge would be nice if I ever see more of them in the future.” I replied. It was a good enough excuse and was even basically the truth!

“I see. Demon wolves can indeed be quite difficult to deal with.” The old elf. He started running his hands along the shelves. After a moment he pulled out one book then bent down to grab another. He came back to the table and place them side by side in front of me. “This book contains information on demon beasts.” He indicated the right one. “Demon wolves are recorded therein and more general facts about the types. The other has information about the various known species of dragons.”

“Thank you.” I focused on the book about demon beasts first. According to this, demon beasts are created when a beast is exposed to a rare miasma and doesn’t lose their life to it. Usually a number of beasts will get exposed to it at the same time and all change together, especially if they’re pack animals like wolves. Once a beast had changed, it no longer felt any connection with its previous species and would even attack former packmates. The beast would also lose it’s mana and no longer be able to use magic. It would not be able to regain that ability either. I wonder if the miasma uses the creature’s mana pool to fuel the transformation?

On demon wolves in particular, the book only mentioned that they had odd bone growths that started appearing outside of their bodies, starting at the head and then gradually going along their entire body. It noted that the older a demon wolf got, the larger it would grow, while also becoming more intelligent. The largest one ever recorded had been approximately seven meters from head to tail. Sirius was about two and half or three meters, I believe. I hadn’t really looked at Sirius’ status beyond a glance so I checked it to see how old he was. Thirty-four years old huh. That’s quite a bit older than I was expecting. How old was that one recorded here if it was that much larger?

A more troubling fact that I have learned from this book is where the miasma comes from. It sounds very similar to a geyser, except according to this, the geyser location is never in the same place twice. So there’s just this random eruption of this gas that changes beasts into stronger monsters and no one knows any pattern to it? It could erupt by my ship or underneath my feet and there’s nothing to predict that? I doubt that greatly. These people probably just lack the necessary equipment to do so. It does open a new question about what’s underground, inside this planet, if something down there produces this odd substance that causes these mutations.

I tapped my finger along the information about the miasma eruptions and Lynn got the hint. “I’ll set up some underground sensors, Mistress.”

That reassured me quite a bit. Considering the number of demon wolves that were in that area, there are probably miasma geysers somewhere in that forest. Either that or the wolves somehow congregated together there in that place. I don’t have a way of knowing unless I can ask them when I get back to the ship.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I went through the whole book pretty quickly after finishing the section on the miasma. Lynn could save all the information without me bothering to actually read any of this. None of it was really currently relevant anyway. I then moved on to the book about dragons. I was sadly very disappointed upon looking through this book. The information was very, very sparse on most of the breeds of dragons. Even the winged serpent ones like Coa had little information I didn’t already know. The two main pieces of information being that they are migratory and that they fully develop their mana pool at around one year of age. While they do possess a mana pool, they don’t know how to actually use magic, so a beastmaster would have to teach them. So Coa will probably develop a mana pool before me, but I won’t be able to really teach her to use it because I won’t know how yet. I’ll get Myura to do it, I suppose. Probably. Kind of an interesting tidbit was that they process things emotionally and it’s also how they communicate. They broadcast their emotions along with their voice. I’ve definitely experienced that phenomenon with Coa only a day or two ago.

I glanced down at Coa who, just like I had been, was looking at the book. Not like she could read it though. She seemed to become aware that I was watching her and raised her head to look me in the eye. She warbled and I picked up that she was confused. Was she confused about why I was looking at her or just confused about the book? “Coa, this book has information about you.” I tapped the book and her head turned back around. “It says you’re a very cute, little dragon.” Her head shook a bit side to side and she crooned. Happiness. Ahh, she’s so adorable! I flipped through the book rapidly while keeping one hand petting her head.

The old elf had a slight smile on his face as I returned the books to him. I could take the time to read even more here, but the festivities start tomorrow, so I should be able to get into the imperial library and gather information there instead. I had other things on the agenda I needed to get done today too.

With my business at the Adventurer’s Guild finished, I left after asking for directions to the Merchant’s Guild. Along the way there, I checked out shops. I was hoping to find an alchemy shop selling potions and also a good tailor. While I had Fiona’s recipe book saved, I wanted to get some healing and mana potions, for them to get analyzed back at Lullaby. As for the tailor, that was because I was still after a pair of pants, also possibly some other changes of clothes. Having multiple sets of identical clothing was a bit odd. I managed to find an alchemist and purchased a small variety of potions, including a few antidote potions. They only cost me a few silver coins, so no big deal. I don’t plan on using them anyway. I wonder if I could get Lynn to come pick them up with one of the drones?

I debated that idea for a few moments before I gave it up. I’d have to travel quite a distance from the city, probably all the way back into that forest to leave the package. The area around this city was just too open and visible.

The Merchant’s Guild, as described by the directions I was given, really was a small castle overlooking the wharf. I was a bit taken aback by the sheer size of it in comparison to the other guilds I had seen. Then again, they seemed to be processing all the goods coming into the city, so it’s quite possible they do indeed need that much space. I was watching as crates and barrels were coming off some of the ships, being loaded up on carts and then taken through a gate in the side of the guild wall to the inner area.

I walked up to one of the gates I saw people entering by. As I approached, the guards stopped me. “Please display your guild license.”

“I don’t have one.” I answered honestly.

“Then I must ask you to use the gate further down this way.” He pointed along the wall to my right. “This gate is for members only.” The guard explained.

“I understand.” I said and then moved to find this other gate. It actually wasn’t all that far, just thirty meters further away. I wasn’t prevented going through and was directed down a hall to a small foyer. At the foyer was a few men talking amongst themselves along with some desks set up as well. Other than the three men there was no one else here. This entrance and path did seem pretty deserted. Maybe only guild members regularly visit so this area is relatively unused?

When the men became aware of my presence, the one on the right who looked to be some type of beastman, took a step away from the other two and beckoned me over to one of the desks. The other two moved away and continued their conversation.

After we were both seated, he spoke. “Good afternoon, Miss. What may we, the Merchant’s Guild, assist you with?”

“I’m looking to procure some materials. I have samples of what I require. So far I’ve had no luck finding a supplier.” I explained.

“What type of materials specifically? I can bring one of our specialists to help you if I cannot.” The beastman replied.

“They’re metals, or ore would be okay too if the processed metal is unavailable.” I said.

“That’s definitely not a good I’m familiar with, but may I see one of your samples before I get a specialist for you?” The beastman asked.

“That’s not a problem.” I didn’t take out the adamantite and instead pulled out the titanil that not even Huvreck was able to identify. I showed it to him and he gave it a hard stare for a moment before shaking his head.

“Indeed, I have no clue what that material is. I’ll get a specialist for you to do business with. Just to be upfront, there is a charge for making use of one of our specialists. You did say you were intending to purchase more of the goods though, so some of the cost can be waived by the commission fee for the products.” The beastman explained.

“How much of a charge are we talking about here?” I asked warily.

“Normally it costs five silvers, but I’ll reduce it to three silvers this time. The commission fee will be decided by the specialist if you choose to place one.” He answered.

“I can accept that.” I had been worried it might cost more than a gold. I slipped out a few of the silver coins. “Here’s the fee. Do I just wait here or are we moving to some other room?”

The beastman nodded. “Yes, I’ll take you to a waiting room and then get the specialist for you.”

“Alright then. Lead the way.” I stood up and he did likewise. It wasn’t a far walk, only about ten meters further down the hall from the foyer area, he opened a door and waved me to enter.

When I stepped in, he spoke up for a moment. “Would you like me to send someone to bring you a drink while you wait?”

“No thank you. I’m good.” I replied. If I was going to be negotiating with some merchant, I didn’t need the risk of them slipping me some magical concoction.

The room was pretty much in the same vein as the other business rooms I’ve been in at the various merchant guilds I’ve been too so far. This one is a lot more upscale and luxurious to be fair. The other detail that made this room stand out is the variety of magic effects my psi was picking up and they weren’t just the obvious lamp on the table. One was a spot on the left wall and there was another on the ceiling above the table. They definitely don’t feel like any magic I had detected before. Magical security cams possibly? That shouldn’t be a problem if so. The entire reason I’m even here talking about these materials isn’t because I expect the guild to actually be able to help me. I’m just here to use them to spread more information about myself for that organization to pick up. I had to bait my hook properly if I wanted to tempt them into biting.

While I waited, I scoped out the building with my psi, giving everything in my reach at least a cursory examination. I found that all the rooms in this general area had those same magic locations. There were lots of people moving around in the area underneath me. If I’m connecting it together right, that should be where the carts from the docks were coming in at.

I felt the presence of that beastman from earlier coming back with another presence. The new one felt kind of familiar, but I couldn’t place exactly how. It hadn’t been that long and it seemed like the beastman was hurrying the other presence along. The beastman stopped away from the door and let the other presence come alone the rest of the way. Oh! I know how what it feels like now. It feels similar to Huvreck.

Sure enough, it was indeed a dwarf that came thundering into the room. He was less muscular than Huvreck, but still bulky and also a bit taller. Probably within ten or fifteen centimeters of myself. “Damn it all. I was just about to enjoy a late lunch with a pint of my favorite ale. Stupid mutt, bothering me with petty matters.” He sat down with a thud and I could hear the chair creak under his weight. “Alright, hurry it up girl. Show me the goods so we can get this over with.” He ordered me gruffly.

I guess this beats wasting time at least. I pulled out the titanil first, followed by the chromanite and then finally the etherenite, or adamantite as it was known here. To my surprise the dwarf entirely ignored the etherenite and focused on the other two. He had whipped out something that looked like a jeweler’s magnifying glasses. There was some magic flowing through them as he examined the titanil and chromanite.

He took out a small hammer and was about to hit the chromanite when I yanked it back away from him. “Huh?” He looked around. He seemed surprised that the object of his interest had suddenly disappeared. He finally spotted it in my hand. “Miss-” Being respectful now? “- name a price. I will pay anything for these two metal samples.”

“Not for sale.” I instantly denied.