"I am interested in the Frost Wooly Giant, but it will take me a week to acquire the funds for it," I inform Mia.

"I'm sorry, but we do not make reservations. It will be sold to the first customer who can pay for it," Mia replies.

"How often do you get big spenders like that in here?" I ask.

Mia looks back at the Necromancers in the store, eyeing the Giant Soul with deep longing.

"It has been hard to find a customer who can afford this Soul, but we will not make reservations even for the ones who can afford it in the future, or everyone would ask for that privilege," Mia replies. It should still be available in a week.

"Thank you for your time. If it gets sold by then, I will instruct my business Contact to buy another Giant or Titan Elemental Beast soul." I turn to take my leave, but I find Timun staring at dozens of soul figurines of Dwarf warriors on a shelf.

"Where did you get these Dwarves?" Timun asked Mia.

"We cannot reveal our sources, but these Warrior Dwarves were Mercenaries for the Adventurers Guild when they lived long ago," Mia explained.

"Is this all of them, or are there more?" Timun asks.

"There are 32 on the shelf before you, but we have 268 Dwarf Warrior Souls in storage. Are you interested in them?" Mia asks.

That's 300 Dwarf Warrior Souls! It could be all the ones that died as mercenaries over the century. Is the Adventurer's Guild collecting all the souls of the dead adventurers and selling them through this soul store?

"I am, but how much does each one cost?" Timun asks.

"1 Mana Crystal per Dwarf Warrior Soul." Mia offers.

"Why are they so cheap? Are they not worth the same as the Human souls or the other creatures?" Timun asks. I internally scream for him not to make her increase their price.

"The Curse that plagued the Dwarves in life still affected the souls in death. The Soulmancer collective spent years trying to free them so that their value would increase. Last year, we decided it was time to sell their souls to whoever could use them before their value dropped into the Gold coin category," Mia explains.

Timun was furious about the treatment of the Souls of his Dwarves and was about to say something nasty, so I decided to intervene.

"What if their souls were used to create creatures of a different race? Wouldn't the curse be lifted?" I interrupt to ask.

"They would indeed retain their memories and lose the curse. But their Dwarf souls will adapt to the new vessel and gain skills according to their new race unless it is something like a Golem or an Automaton. Their inorganic bodies will adapt to the soul and regain access to their old skills. Since you both are Dwarves looking for souls, you must have either of those recipes with you." Mia pointed out. I could sense the other customers overheard her and looked at us more curiously.

"Automatons?" I asked Mia for clarification, but Timun answered it for me.

"He is a Dwarf born in the Overworld and doesn't know much about the Underworld. Listen up! Automatons are metal mechanical constructs powered by a Lightning Core. They are the same as Golems, except their bodies can transform between Human and Beast forms. Some can have cannons on their shoulders or their arms that can fire Elemental Cores that explode when they strike the enemies." Timun explained, and I was stunned. They sound like Transformer Mechs to me!

Timun then addressed her question about our interest in souls.

"It's common knowledge that exiled Dwarves were stripped of Golem Recipes. Only Chingar, the New Dwarven Emperor below us, holds Automaton Recipes. We are interested in souls because we wish to be Necromancers who use Dwarf souls," Timun replied with a cover story.

"Ah! I never thought a Dwarf would be interested in Necromancy. Doesn't your kind consider it taboo unless the souls are turned into Golems and Automatons?" Mia asked.

"Yes, there is a general rejection of Necromancy, but times have changed, and a few of us have greater ambitions than following traditions. That is why I am willing to break taboos to get what I want. I only have a few Mana Crystals with me right now. However, I am a Monster Trader willing to exchange my Monster collection. If you will accept them as payment," Timun points out.

"The Soulmancer collective will approve if we judge their value as appropriate payment. Where have you kept them?" Mia asks.

"In time capsules. If you can take me to the back of the store, I can bring them out for you to judge," Timun suggests, and Mia accepts. Timun then looks at me.

"I will wait for you in the carriage," I reply and Timun nods.

Half an hour later, Timun exits the Soul Store and enters the vehicle.

"Did you get them all?" I ask.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I had to trade the 16 Mana Crystals I received from you and all my creatures except for 5 Bats. But I don't mind being broke if you turn the Dwarf Souls into Golems," Timun requests.

"It will take some time to mine all the stones for 300 Golems. But once I summon them, they will be my Golems. Are you alright with that?" I ask.

"Every Dwarf wishes to become a Golem in their afterlife, either naturally or artificially. I would rather them serve you as Golems instead of a Necromancer who will turn them into Skeleton Warriors or Zombie Dwarves. But, I want to add a line in the Mana Contract that allows Golems with Dwarf Souls to prioritize the protection of the Dwarves in your Dungeon against all threats, including your Imps or any other creatures if they try to harm us." Timun requests.

"Wouldn't it be a problem for me if I need those Golems to fight the Dwarves who break the rules?" I ask.

"Dwarves who haven't broken their Oaths to me or broken the Mana contract rules should not be harmed and must be protected. You can do what you want with the Oathbreakers and Rulebreakers. You send the new Golems out of the Dungeon to fight whoever you wish, as long as it isn't Dwarves who are Anti-Chingar. In the long run, I hope to convert them into my subjects to make myself a proper Primarch that leads tens of thousands of Dwarves," Timun requested.

"There is limited space in the Dungeon. I don't think it's suitable for a Dwarven Kingdom." I remind.

"True, but I am not giving you these three hundred Dwarf Warrior souls for free. When they reach Gold Rank, I want their help to carve out a small territory in the Underworld to build an army base. I will have the Non Combat Dwarves switch back to their original Combat Classes and raise their ranks by fighting in the Underworld with your subordinates. When everyone is at Gold Rank, they will be strong enough to rally the 10000 exiled Dwarves in the Overworld to my banner, and we can launch a campaign to conquer Arya's Underworld," Timun requests.

"Won't it be Chingar's territory that you will be attacking? You mentioned in the store that he has Automatons that have more firepower than Golems," I point out.

"I have closely watched Underworld expansion over the years. Chingar is currently on the other side of Artrea, engaged in a 15-year war of attrition with the local Primarch, who managed to create a confederacy against Chingar. Because of the resource drain, his territory under Arya only has a few legions of loyal Dwarves guarding it. All the Golems and Automaton are prioritized for the frontlines. If I build an army to take them down, I can become the Primarch of Arya's Underworld." Timun explained.

"Even if he is on the other side of Artrea. What's stopping Chingar from sending a dozen more legions to take it back from you?" I ask.

"There are no underground lands under the seas. Ancient passageways built by the forgotten empire connect the Underworlds of each continent in Artrea. In every one of them, one control tower can seal or unseal the passageways that link the Underworld together. No Dwarf, Golem or Automaton can break through those passageways if they get sealed," Timun explains.

"Why haven't the other Primarchs sealed the passageways to prevent chingar's expansion?" I ask.

"It's like asking frogs to turn a lake connected by several rivers into an isolated pond that could dry up one day and kill them all," Timun explained.

"Ah! So, no one wants to cut themselves off from the world, even if it means being invaded." I reply.

"Exactly! But I will do it to save the Dwarves in the Overworld and Underworld of Arya if you lend me the Golems you make with these Souls when that time comes," Timun requests.

"Alright! We will update the contract when we get to the Dungeon. Now let's get to the Non-Human Market." I instruct and urge the horses forward. Nazrat and his bear followed us down the main road until we arrived at our destination, which I had come to Rodwin for. The sun sets on the horizon, causing the sky to turn Purple and Orange. The crowds were shopping for non-Humans more than afternoon.

"There you are, Rai! We were wondering if Nazrat's bear couldn't find you." Whiterock appeared behind me as if he had teleported there.

"Damn! How did you get behind me?" I ask.

"Being stealthy is the main requirement for my work, and why are you so scared to see me? Is my mask that frightening?" Whiterock asked.

"No, I just got spooked. Where are your brothers?" I ask.

"They went in to arrange all the Clay Rank Imps in our warehouse so you could select them without being seen by everyone else in the market. I will drive the carriage there, so get in_ oh? You have a passenger in there?" Whiterock asks and takes a better look inside the carriage to see Timun in there.

"You must be the Black Market Agent that Rai told me about. Whiterock is it?" Timun offers his hand to shake.

Whiterock recoiled and looked at me.

"Who is this, and why did you tell him about us?" Whiterock demanded.

I then apologized for not making the introductions and requested Timun to use the Peep-me-not before I explained our new relationship and showed the Mana Contract.

Whiterock studied it and then spoke to Timun briefly to get his word of secrecy before sighing.

"Let me inform my brothers about your contract with the Dwarf when we get to the warehouse," Whiterock replied as he took over the driver's seat and drove the carriage to the Triplet's warehouse.

Several minutes later, we arrived at a large warehouse where Imps of all castes had been lined up in a dozen rows with Redrock's whip. Through the carriage window, I counted five hundred Imps in total. They all looked slightly different from Nazrat and the Imps brought to my Dungeon. It's probably a different Imp tribe. None of them looked disciplined and growled at Redrock whenever the whip struck them or the ground near them. I could see their bodies differed according to their castes, but overall, they looked like Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees, Mandrills and Baboons with Goat Horns, Goat Eyes and Arrow Tails.

The only Imps that lined up correctly were the Human Imps in the front, who were the most distinct. There are twenty of them in total, and half are female. Unlike the other Imps, they wore black towels around their waists and shawls over their chests. Each one has a slave mana tattoo on their forehead. They are all six feet tall. Their faces, hair, and beards are the same as those of humans, apart from small goat horns on their foreheads, black pupils, and long arrow-tipped tails. The rest of their body is Human, with soft skin absent of body hair. Their bodies are all muscular and well-toned as if they had been working in the gym for several months doing intensive workouts. When I saw the Human Imps around the Adventure's guild, they were all covered in armor or robes, so I could only see a bit of their faces. Now I understood why the Redhead Blood mage warned against slave masters who exploited Human Imp bodies for pleasure.

Whiterock went over to Blackrock, who called in Redrock to inform them about my deal with Timun before he returned to the carriage to call us both out. We followed him to his brothers, who greeted Timun with a nod.

But Timun seemed frozen in shock when he got a closer look at Redrock's Bronze Mask.

"Are you the one who taught me the Time capsule skill? Or are you related to him?" Timun asked.

"There is no point hiding it since you will reside in the Dungeon. Yes, I gave it in exchange for your Bats and Geckos about a hundred years ago," Redrock admitted.