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"I must thank you once again Mr Momon, this day has been fascinating" said Daniel Jackson walking next to the dark warrior toward the house that was assigned to his team "I have to admit that the dynamic that I observed in the Dark Tower Senate, was very surprising for a feudal state. The involvement of the central authority is usually much more important and it looked like every intervenant genuinely wanted to cooperate, instead of competing for favors. It's also a surprise that our presence in this world was officially announced, it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary if the whole situation had been kept a state secret. It could even make me wonder if all this display was just a show".
Letting out a small chuckle, the dark warrior answered "You are forgetting that you were encountered above our capital, there are thousands of witnesses of your struggles with Shalltear and rumors started to spread. However I can assure you that this was a pretty much normal session, our prime minister and governors did a great job to shape this institution. Of course there had been some problems in the beginning, but once everybody understood that Nazarick didn't want to intervene in the daily life of the citizens besides a certain point and that they would avoid scrutiny by playing nice together, pretty much all leaders agreed to do the best they could for their people and the kingdom".
"From what I learned of the local history so far, it couldn't have been easy. I have seen and even was part of several seemingly impossible negociations, but I have a hard time understanding how this kind of assembly can be functionnal; it's composed of mortal ennemies; former slaves and masters, almost immortal and young species, religious and disbeliever, even former predators and preys. A discussion between two parties with just one of these problems is already very hard in practice". Wondered the archeologist out loud.
Daniel's understanding of the context was obviously flawed and limited, but he learned enough to realize that most of the officials he saw working together, had a long and cruel history with one another. Several of the species and culture they represented, even experienced a short and devastating conflict with the Sorcerer Kingdom, but seemed to have accepted the new rule and the changes it brought along.
With his noble voice, Momon explained "The answer is pretty obvious when you think about it. The functioning of this world has always been based on sheer power. The age of dragons, when giant and powerful creatures dominated every other by brute strength. The first users of magic, called the six gods by some, who defeated the dragons and tried to rule with their powers. The chaos created by the Greed Kings, who used more powerful magic to destroy and appropriate everything, before turning on each other. And the age of mortals, when empires waged wars to enslave, eat or conquer each other. The Sorcerer King is the first truly able to break the cycle and give hope to all; strong enough to rule, wise enough to make the world prosper and flourish, benevolent enough not to shortsightedly pick a side and more important, immortal".
The tall warrior's explanation was full of implications and Daniel felt this was heavy of sense. After considering the circumstances in his galaxy and even a couple of others, he wasn't sure how this planet and its king fitted in the grand scheme of things. Was it an anomaly? Usually, monarchies and authoritarian states were obviously flawed and something that he loathed. But so far, all he had seen was that this civilization was thriving, that the population was incredibly diverse and that almost every citizen seemed genuinely free and happy.
He had a lot to ponder, it had been four days since the group of earthlings came into this universe and three since they started to explore it from the ground. Besides the monarchic government, which wasn't a first in their explorations, they had other surprises which the team wasn't sure of what to think about. One of them was the fact that the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown, was an important part of the local pantheon. In their experience, this was a clear indication of an at least problematic, if not abominable situation, like in the case of the Goa'Uld or the Ori. However, the local case wasn't that clear, not only this faith wasn't mandatory, but other religions were still practiced and authorized.
Daniel and Teal'C, both by curiosity and distrust, had started reading the official 'Book of the Undead King', which seemed to be the main scripture of this faith. It was obvious that this book had been written by true believers and the philosophy it conveyed was pretty strange. Atypical lessons, such as why being right and just was useless without being strong enough to act on it, short fables like how the end justifies the means and weird quotations from Ainz Ooal Gown going on an array of subjects from war to business. More originally, the book contained some direct interviews with the 'God' himself. Not only did they all felt reluctant, but incredibly they were also direct explanations from the Sorcerer King on why he was not a god, mainly that he was neither the creator of the universe or world, nor was he omniscient or omnipotent.
They were all sure that like any society, this one had serious issues. They knew for example that there had been and still are, wars and crusades, notably on the other continent. However, since the official goal was the pacification of wild sentient species killing and eating each other, they all agreed that one way or another, something had to be done about it.
For the moment, the team guessed that even if they were granted a long enough leash to explore and discover this world, it was still a leash and the information they had been given so far, were carefully selected. Wondering if he would be able to even discover the dark sides that surely exist, he guessed that it won't be as easy as in other cases to honestly make his mind on the situation. All they could do for the time being, was to continue to explore this world and study the inhabitants.
"Can I ask what is the mysterious 'arbitration' that was used by some in the senate? It looked a lot like a veiled threat as a means to find an agreement, I was impressed how every blocking point in the discussions seemed solved immediately after it was proposed by either party" asked Daniel. He had questioned several persons in the Dark Tower, but either he has been looked as if he was crazy or people laughed nervously before diplomatically retreating.
Slowing slightly his pace, the giant man in armor glanced at the earthling walking next to him and started to talk "The arbitration is a procedure that appeals to Nazarick in order to solve a problematic matter. The problem is submitted to administrative liches in order to resolve it in accordance with the law and current policies".
"I'm guessing that's not all, I have talked with a few of these liches and from my few interactions with them, I can tell that even if they are not friendly, they seemed very efficient workers. I would even dare to say that as far as I understood, as summoned undead, they are probably incorruptible and most likely neutral, at least as long as the matter is not a problem for the kingdom." continued to probe Daniel.
With a defeated sigh, Momon resumed his explanation " You are right, however if the problem is not solved to the satisfaction of all involved parties, the file is forwarded higher. Usually, this type of deadlocked arbitrations are entrusted to the Prime Minister, Albedo-sama, only second to Ainz-sama himself. She is, without a doubt, the best administrator in the whole world, but she is also known for ferociously enacting the King's will, law and order. She is seen as a force not to be trifled with and someone not to disturb because of incompetence or stupidity. The political problems that I evoked earlier were almost all solved by her talking privately to the reluctant leaders and most of them choose another career soon after".
"I believe I've read this name a couple of times while studying your history, is she the Guardian Overseer that killed several Dragon Lords from the Argland Council ?" Tried to remember the Doctor "I am not sure how much credit I can give to this kind of account, but if I recall correctly, she was attacked during negotiations and slayed everyone involved".
Nodding, Momon told him "This story is mostly accurate and I know it is hard to believe or picture without seeing it first hand. However you met Shalltear Bloodfallen and Cocytus, they are Guardians and are Albedo's direct subordinates as Guardian Overseer. Since they all have as their first duty to protect Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown, they are amongst the greatest combatants in this world".
"Yes, I see what you mean. Since we met this little knight, Teal'C, Sheppard and Mitchell are kind of obsessed with learning how a single person could be so strong. I hope they can satisfy their curiosity without it being a problem". Said Daniel.
Laughing, Momon answered Daniel while putting his hand on his shoulder in a reassuring gesture "Don't worry about your friends, today I organized a tour of the adventurer guild for them. This is the closest thing we have as a paradise for those who wish to become stronger. More so, in here it is always looked favorably to seek to learn and improve".
"Talking about organizing tours, I would very much like to go back to the public library tomorrow. I will probably finish most of the books that I borrowed tonight and I'd like to get some more" the archeologist said.
"I think it will be possible, however it will be on a tight schedule. I kept it as a surprise for you and your friends so far, but tomorrow is the semi final of the annual arena tournament and you are all invited to the festivities. This is probably the most appreciated event and it will be a great occasion to observe the peak of what one can achieve with enough potential and dedication".
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"Yes Ainz-sama, the prototype is finished and fully functional. CZ Delta and Doppel-Rodney are currently running furthermore tests with the craft over the Theocracy's Wasteland" announced proudly Demiurge adjusting his glasses "In the end we were not able to duplicate the inter-universe traveling module itself nor the weapons, but we successfully repaired and adapted both on our new spaceship".
"This is very impressive Demiurge, how long did it take you, relatively speaking?" asked Ainz sitting behind his desk.
"Your idea of utilizing time manipulating spells and items was worthy of the supreme leader of Nazarick my lord!" commenced the archdevil with a wide grin, totally ignoring the fact that the idea itself, was one of his. The method had been proposed and used when facing the most elite groups of the Slane Theocracy. The objective then had been to make sure they couldn't put their eventual World Items to good use. Of course the operation had been a complete success and Demiurge's plan was attributed to Ainz's genius in full. "We were able to reduce a little more than six months of work in a mere three days."
The overlord started to read the report of the project, but he realized that not only was the whole thing hundreds and hundreds of pages long, but worse, that he couldn't even understand the first pages of the glossary. That's why he decided to use one of his favorite proven methods. Putting down the small stack of papers, he started to directly question Demiurge. "In addition to the written report, I'd like to have a recap directly from you. How much did you learn, what are the fundamentals of our new prototype, how much did it cost us and so on".
After less than a second of thinking, Demiurge imagined several dozens of reasons for why his master was making this request. The most optimistic one was that this was an interview of some sort, before appointing him at the head of the next phases of the project. The most pessimistic one was that after a few seconds of reading, his master already noticed problems with his report or worse his methods. Once again impressed by his master, Demiurge started to resume his last months of work.
"It would be my pleasure Ainz-sama. I have to say that even if we barely started to scratch the potential of such an advanced technology, with our work and this first construction, Nazarick can now be considered space capable. The study of the ship had been a difficult task, but once we understood the basic functionalities; propulsion, controls, energy distribution, weapons and so on, we made giant leaps forward. Furthermore, the discovery of new materials had been particularly interesting and thanks to the work of the chief blacksmith later helped by Doppel-Rodney, we were able to find ways to build our prototype and even make improvements from the original".
His curiosity piqued, the overlord interrupted the devil "You discovered new materials ? Tell me more about it".
"Of course my lord. The first new element is called Naquadah; it is a metal that can be used in alloys in its basic state as well as an energy source once it is refined, to our knowledge it is nonexistent in both Yggdrasil or this world. We found a suitable replacement to build our version of the power core, using the more than ten times more potent Celestial Uranium. The second new element is called Neutronium; it is an important part of the functioning of the inter-universe traveling device. The element itself is fascinating and could have many applications, so far we were able to replicate some of its properties using Silver Star, but some others such as its density are still out of our reach. More simply we also learnt that the Earthlings are using words that are ill-translated, for example they call Trinium, Adamantite and Titanium, Mithril. This is most likely due to the natural magic that is present in our universe, the only noticeable difference so far, is the mana that these ores absorb and that makes them much more easy to work with".
"This indeed seems interesting, we always had problems with the dwarven Heatstones. If we had a better way to produce energy at large scale with this Naquadah, that would be a huge boon for our industry" Wondered Ainz out loud.
"You are absolutely correct Ainz-sama, this material has a great potential for power generation, also it is most likely cheaper and more accessible than our reserves from Yggdrasil or what we found in this world so far. Although, with our engineering, electrical and electronical progresses, I believe we could already dramatically improve most of our projects and industry with Heatstones power generators." Added Demiurge with a wide smile and once again, adjusting his glasses.
Troubled by what he just heard and wondering if he really understood it, Ainz asked further, "Electronics, we can make computers and such ?"
"For this kind of specific project, further work will be required, but we indeed made major breakthroughs. With the help of CZ Delta and at great cost, we were able to hack into the ship's system rather quickly. From then, we discovered that this technology is based on a curious form of crystals that is very different from what we are used to. CZ Delta Automaton's functioning, which is based on mechanics and magic, required extensive modifications before being interfaceable. For the moment we emulated and appropriated the practical applications by programming data crystals from Yggdrasil, but we lack the production ability to make a simpler version and the stock can't be replenished easily." Answered Demiurge. A little disappointed in himself for not having worked harder on the computer possibilities that seemed to be of interest for his master. He noted mentally that he would have to work harder in the future.
"What about weapons, I heard that you took theirs instead of making a new version or adapting what we already have" question Ainz curious about this part of the project. Demiurge had probably been the most destructive guardian since they all came to this world, so the overlord had prepared himself to an overkill armament that would have to be rein in.
For once, the cunning and highly intelligent Demiurge looked a little embarrassed while explaining "Unfortunately Ainz-sama, we were unable to produce weapons that could respond to our needs. Studying their 'drones' as they call it, we realized that they were a technology so advanced that they couldn't be produced without a massive modern industry, even with the help of magic. All our attempts were, in the end, failures. We tried several approaches, making a purely physical device, an entirely magical one, various combinations of both and so far the experiments all produced results massively inferior to the original in some ways. I have forwarded what we learned to Titus Annaeus and Fluder Paradyne in the hope that with more time and a fresh regard they would be able to find something, but for the moment it seemed more cautious to use their weapons directly. Of course we still added a few surprises, in particular we added a data crystal that will allow us to cast any buff directly on the ship".
Ainz Ooal Gown could feel sweet dripping from his face, of course it was totally impossible without the flesh and blood necessary to do so, but from time to time his mind played this kind of trick to his body. He wondered how seriously the Nazarick's denizens took his sentence: 'no matter the cost', especially if they had tried and failed to do something in this context. "Is there a detailed sheet of what we spent and used in this project?" he asked the Archdevil.
"Yes Ainz-sama, there is one for the study of the technology and the ship itself page one hundred eighty seven and another one for the construction of the prototype page four hundred thirty two" expertly precised Demiurge.
Reaching for the pages in the paper stack, Ainz started to check if his fears were justified. Several magic items had been depleted and consumed, but could be replaced or recharged one way or another. The basic metals, at least for Nazarick, like Adamantite, Orichalcum and Mitrhil were the biggest part that had been used. Especially the twenty eight tons of Adamantite that were looking impressive on paper, however on the Sorcerous Kingdom scale this wasn't a problem. The replacements of traditionnel work by a mix of undead and technical advancement had resulted in massive amounts being produced. The increase had been so important that during some years, the market almost crashed several times, forcing Nazarick to buy and stockpile an increasing part of the production to solve the problem.
Looking at the Prismatics Ores that had been invested, the reality was completely different; twelve ingots of Celestial Uranium, six ingots of Silver Star, twenty ingots of Scarletite and two or three of each for the other ones. Although the quantity didn't seem a lot, the reality was that it was enough combined with other components, for seven or eight Divine class items. More so that they ever spent in this world since their arrival and not a trivial quantity of their overall stock.
Even more concerning were the Data Crystals, seventy five of various levels had been used already. Of course the majority were low levels and could be collected back from the impressive collection of items that had been gathered in Yggdrasil, the problem was the few legendary and divine level ones. It was simply out of the question to craft them back by destroying the amazing equipement from his friends and couldn't be easily replaced.
"This has already cost us much more than I thought it would, in the future we will have to keep the most precious resources for long term uses. I guess this is the necessary expense for this level of technological advancement, but we quickly have to figure out other ways to build and improve our knowledge. We won't be able to hold this rate of consumption for a long time" said Ainz with a deep sigh. "Finish the tests for our new spaceship and once you are done with it, arrange for a meeting in the throne room. All guardians, area guardians, pleiades members and key craftsmen of Nazarick will attend. We will decide what are the next steps from there".
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Hello everybody :)
This has been some time but finally here is the next chapter. It took me longer than it should since wordpad doesn't create a temporary file in case your computer crashes, so I've had to rewrite a good portion of this T_T.
I hope you enjoyed it and see you around for the next :)