System Nemesis - Chapter 83 Melting

Derrick’s way back to the gold mine was way longer than he anticipated, of course due to the fact he had just used Io as a missile… He was sure the creature would have many grievances when it would be called upon in the future…

He met a few monsters on his way, but quickly disposed of them, not even bothered to collect their corpses. These beasts were simply too weak to harvest and weapons made of their remains would fall short of his standards.

It took him a few hours before arriving at the river, and when he got near, he was immediately intercepted by an orc, which quickly recognized him. He was rather impressed by how tight they had secured the perimeter, and he congratulated the guard.

The orc puffed his chest, filled with pride. They were a proud race, and being told they did good by a stronger entity was fuel and motivation that made them strive to get better.

“Lead me to your leader”

The orc didn’t dawdle and led Derrick to Agronak. The river still looked beautiful, and its surroundings seemed peaceful, creating a stark contrast with its dangerous nature.

Derrick arrived at a newly erected camp, where rudimentary houses were set up and where basic amenities had been built. At the center of it all was a fire where meat was being roasted, and the smell made Derrick’s mouth water. He never knew orcs could be such good cooks!

“Welcome, Master”

He was brought back to the present when he heard Agronak’s familiar voice, and he saw the bowing orc.

“At ease. I suppose you already know why I came here?”

The orc straightened up and a smile came on his face, which raised Derrick’s expectation.

“We’ll bring everything right away, Master. Meanwhile, would you like a piece of meat? It’s a boar we managed to hunt down. It’s pretty tasty!”

Derrick had to say he was hungry after that insane spar, which caused him to readily agree. The piece of meat was as delicious as its smell and it melted in his mouth, causing him to regret not having a personal chef at his side. Of course, it would be a massive waste of money since he barely ate anything to begin with.

After a few minutes, five orcs arrived, all carrying large, leather bags. Derrick was honestly flabbergasted by their sizes, and when they dropped them to the ground, the loud thump made his heart quiver. Was this really all gold!?

Seeing his amazement, Agronak smiled.

“This is indeed all gold. We were slowed down by the construction of our site, but now that it’s over, we should be able to increase our harvest next time”

Derrick was excited, and he immediately asked the System to evaluate the production. It hadn’t been able to do it last time due to a lack of variables, but that should’ve been taken care of now.

[Gold production : Half a ton / week (10 000 gold coins / week). Exploitation rate until depletion : 2 months]

Another thing that almost made him go mad was that this was only a medium-sized deposit… How much did the large ones contains…?

While reigning in his emotions, he took the five bags into his magical pouch before turning back to Agronak.

“Great! You’ve all done well. Once everything’s melted and processed into coins, I’ll come back and pay you all your dues. The road’s construction should begin shortly, so you won’t have to live frugally for too long”

The orc bowed once again, with all the other ones behind him as well. Their pitiful lives finally had meaning after being banished from their Empire, and the person in front of them had given them this opportunity. At this point, it didn’t matter if he was their Master. They just knew that every slave would envy their current position.

Derrick didn’t stay longer than he had to, and he left for Akata. Even though he was in possession of all that gold, it was currently worthless in its current shape.

It took him an hour to arrive at the forge, where he was met by Fomamli and Reyna. Their relationship seemed to get better and better with each passing day, as they had to collaborate constantly due to their humongous project of the iron doors.

“Welcome back, Master!”

The two slaves bowed, and Derrick immediately put them at ease.

“How’s the project advancing?”

Fomamli was the first to answer.

“It’s going well for now, but Reyna here seems to have some issues AH!”

The high-elf punched the dwarf in protest, unhappy that he had mentioned her troubles.

“Oh? Do you need anything?”

After a few seconds of fidgeting around, Reyna finally sighed and spoke up.

“Master, I can enchant the doors like you asked me to, but it’ll only be temporary. To make the effect permanent, I need stones that can store magic”

Derrick’s previously happy demeanor changed into one of pain. He remembered the price of those stones in the last auctions, and he could tell that it would be a massive investment. With a heavy heart, he continued.

“How many do you need?”

“10”

“Fine, I’ll try to come up with them. Do you need anything else?”

The duo shook their heads, and Derrick finally took out the five leather bag, which piqued the curiosity of Fomamli.

“This is all gold. I want you to process it into coins by tomorrow”

Derrick was straightforward, and Fomamli was shocked to learn that the big bags were all filled with the precious metal.

Derrick didn’t wait for his answer and promptly left, still annoyed by the magical stones. He didn’t have any on hand, which meant that using his Discovery spell was pointless. It was another item he would have to add to his shopping list.

He started wandering in Akata, and noticed new stalls that weren’t there before. Of course, he had donned his cloak to avoid all the unnecessary attention he would get without it. From their design and the diminution of the putrid smell, he guessed they were the design decided by Jack. The man truly worked faster day after day!

Derrick suddenly remembered his two researchers, and decided he should pay them a visit. If they needed anything, it would be good to know now rather than when he couldn’t go back to Terra. He was also wondering if they had made any progress in their research.

He first arrived at the facilities of Merlin, the man in charge of improving their ways of transportation. The slave was disturbed at first, but when he noticed the visitor, he immediately bowed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not coming to spy on you. I just want to know if you’ve made any progress in your research?”

“Master, I have indeed made some! Would you like to see it?”

Derrick nodded and the man led him to another room where a spacious carriage was built, although only with wood and iron. It wasn’t luxurious, but it definitely seemed more robust than the ones he had previously built.

“This carriage is 20% more durable, can carry 10% more weight, and can safely reach an extra 5 kph in speed”

“Well done! Do you need anything to further your research?”

“Not for now, Master. It’s too early to use better materials”

The man was proud and Derrick was impressed by the results. The research was still far from Terra, but they were getting there steadily.

His next stop was honestly the most important one, which was the researcher in charge of the teleportation magic.