The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 831: Mainland Leaders Trade Talk 2

“We can provide as many runesmiths as we can without disturbing the markets heavily.” Alex offered.

“That’s given. And it won’t be for just the limited project—if you want things done, you will have to loan them to me for at least six months. If your orders are bigger, then for more time.” Damian clarified.

“But that’s just a basic condition; that doesn’t even cover half of the compensation,” Torvin added.

Damian assumed the man would be too nervous to talk before such high-profile individuals. But as if the pressure of mana was the only thing holding him back, he remained just as indifferent as he was in the House of Lords.

That’s the quality Damian had truly come to admire in the man. He wasn’t acting brave; Torvin was indeed slightly scared. Every third ranker in the hall could faintly hear his raised heartbeats. But his face never showed any hints of his constant efforts not to let his fear of powerful people drown his voice.

Most people, especially mundanes, would not dare to offend anyone after they had gained a specific position of power. They would work hard to keep themselves in the good graces of the truly powerful. But Torvin never did that.

“Will Gold not work?” Hellstorm asked.

“If you paid with gold… Markets will collapse with the influx of gold they are already getting and will start earning after the dungeon entry opens in five days.” Mindseer analyzed.

“And we are in no real need of money,” Evrin added.

“Why haven’t you paid your mother back then?” Ilvanya asked, eyeing her.

“I will soon! Is this really the place to talk about this?” Evrin’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

A wave of soft laughter spread across the table.

“I would have asked for dungeon materials and relics, but now even those are numerous with us,” Damian revealed his thoughts.

“There has to be something we can ask of them,” Lucian said. Then, after the second, she added,

“How about freedom of recruitment for civilian jobs, including runesmiths and blacksmiths? If someone chooses to be employed by Sanctum through the receiver job announcements, no lord or lady of any region from the three countries will resist it. If someone does it, it must be considered a crime. Constant repeats, and we stop sending the flying platforms for that region.”

The gathered individuals stared at Lucian. Unlike other heads of Sanctum, she rarely took part in chatting. She had not given that many speeches compared to others as well, and those were all revised by multiple people. Her blunt and straightforward suggestion, fearing not a single power in the hall, was indeed something only talented young transcendents, confident in their abilities, could do.

“Seems fair to me.” Damian nodded.

It would boost their runic item production by a lot. And they could give jobs to people from all over the mainland. With jobs will come cultural transformation, and it will set a different standard for living in their hearts. Making Sanctuary a very desirable land compared to the restrictive, noble ruled regions. Damian added,

“But in this, only the receiver system and the flying platforms will all of you get. The platforms will be in full control of Sanctum personnel—above the platforms, only the Sanctum rules will apply. It is not a gift but simply a transportation service that we will offer for your people. It will come down every 50 kilometers at specific places. For the sake of not complicating it, any one carrier will not cross more than two borders—including Sanctuary. After a round trip, it will take a sea path or barren land path to return to Sanctuary.”

“Our pathfinders will already be swarming here, and now you also want our civilians?” Emperor narrowed his eyes.

“If my things are yours, then your people are mine as well,” Damian said with a smile.

A highly strained smile appeared on several faces.

Ilvanya sighed. “We accept that condition. Even without us allowing it, slowly the runesmiths will come here looking for that runic mold tool.”

The emperor and his wife exchanged glances, and so did the three from the Faerunia. The Highsword had only one island, so they didn’t have to participate. The receiver tool will also not work on the island in the presence of another such tool. The two light signals will interrupt one another.

One by one, all three countries agreed to the exchange of men for flying platforms and fancy runic tech. When it ended, Land-breaker spoke up,

“This exploration of our world you mentioned, do you seriously believe there are other intelligent species alive on this world? I have gone far and wide numerous times, but apart from a few pieces of land, I have found nothing. There was no one out there to be sensed.”

“It’s just a possibility – very small one at that. I do want to connect all land with waygates, though. Maybe we could get a place with quality soil that can grow plenty of crops. It will solve the food issue at least. And the map of the world will indeed be a useful thing to have.” Damian replied.

“And you will be collecting dungeons on the way like flowers on mountains, huh?” The cheeky emperor interjected again. Meanwhile, the others were nodding slightly in approval. The food problem was indeed something all of them had tried to solve, and had not achieved good results.

“Only this part has over a hundred dungeons. There is a real possibility the number will reach a thousand by the end of the exploration.” Hellstorm, muttered. The slight hesitation very real in his eyes just thinking about the possibility.

“Higher,” Land-breaker commented. “Unlike us, this brat can even sense dungeons ten kilometers under the ocean and land.”

“That is impossible!” The queen of Faerunia and Ilvanya said in sync.

Both were scholarly types and knew what the sensory type pathfinder’s limits at different stages of ranking truly were.

“Go fly from here to the island of dungeons. You won’t sense even twenty dungeons. The demons themselves had no idea their ocean had so many dungeons nearby.” Voidshaper said to Ilvanya.

“Let’s not get distracted here. What else was on the discussion list?” Damian steered the conversation back to the topic.