“There should be other sources of Celestial Uranium besides the one which Ainz Ooal Gown (we) discovered. For all we know, they actually have other mines for it, and they took ours in order to keep it hidden from outsiders,” he had said.
However, he quickly refuted his own deduction. That was because he learned that the guild in question had used the World-Class Item [οὐροβόρος][1] to banish Ainz Ooal Gown from that mine. “Even if they wanted the ability to reliably produce the [Caloric Stone], was it really worth expending one of the World-Class Items known as The Twenty?” he had wondered.
Ainz shook his head, chasing away the memories of the past from his mind. Even so, he could not fully eliminate the idea that had come to mind.
…Even if there’s no prismatic ore there, the Dwarves might know about other metals. What if there was knowledge there which had not spread to the outside world? If I used a charm spell or the like — oh, I’m being too hasty. I shouldn’t let my imagination run wild. Still, this does involve runes as well. As I thought, this is a top priority and should be addressed immediately.
Just then, Ainz noticed the Lizardman sneaking peeks at him. Apparently he had been lost in a world of his own.
“…It seems I was lost in my contemplation.Tell me, who told you about the Dwarves?”
“Your Majesty, that would be Zenberu, a former tribe leader like myself.”
“Hoh! That Zenberu, hm?…Umu. Are you saying that Frost Pain was also a creation of the Dwarves? Was it a gift Zenberu gave to Zaryusu as a sign of their friendship?”
He had heard about the origins of the sword from Zaryusu. However, it would be wise to ask others about it as well.
“That was an heirloom from days past, and it did not come from Zenberu.”
“Is that so…”
It was exactly as he had heard. However, there might be something there which the Lizardmen did not know about.
There are many weapons in this world which could not be made in YGGDRASIL. For example, there’s that weapon with the passive ability to cut through defenses…
The magic weapons in this world were made by having a magic caster enchant a weapon produced by a blacksmith. In other words, a skilled magic caster was more important than a skilled blacksmith when it came to making a powerful magic weapon.
However, there were exceptions to that rule. Fluder could make the stilettos which Clementine carried through his magical knowledge, but the same could not be said for Gazef’s sword.
“Perhaps,” Fluder had begun by saying, “Gazef’s sword was spontaneously created by the natural absorption of mana, or perhaps through the magic of the Dragons.”
Still, I can’t be certain that he was correct. There’s many things Fluder himself does not understand. Could the Dwarves make a weapon like that as well? While I know I’m looking forward to this a little too much…
YGGDRASIL’s weapons — Guild Weapons and a few others aside — possessed a data capacity that was determined by the value of the materials used in their construction and the skill of their maker. This data capacity limited the number of data crystals which could be added to it. Thus, rarer metals allowed for the creation of a correspondingly more powerful weapon.
The smith was also a key part of the equation. Much like it was in this world, the humanoids called Dwarves in YGGDRASIL had bonuses to craftsman-type classes. Therefore, Dwarves were very popular among those people who wanted to play weaponsmith or armorsmith characters.
That being the case, would they possess weapon-crafting knowledge which Fluder did not?
Does that mean runes are part of it? Mm. Taking control of the Dwarves… Not bad. The Head Librarian and Demiurge are conducting experiments with scrolls. Nfirea is working on potions. Fluder is handling magic items. Then I shall let the dwarves take charge of weapons manufacture.
All sorts of experiments to strengthen Nazarick were taking place concurrently. Ainz smiled in satisfaction as he thought about them. And then, he realised that if the Six Great Gods really were players, then Ainz might well be 600 years behind them.
We may need to spend the next few years, no, the next few decades on technological development. We can’t be careless here.
For all he knew, others may have noticed those things which even he had picked up on. As a leader, he had to eliminate the baseless notion that he was special or unique.
If someone was thinking along the same lines as me, then there’d be a higher chance of discovering something useful among the Dwarves. Other players might have asked the Dwarves to help develop technologies or commissioned weapons from them, and in the process they would have learned about their application of runes…Should I get Albedo and Demiurge’s opinion on this, and ready our forces for a full-scale operation?
An hour ago, he was still thinking about visiting the Dwarven Kingdom with just himself and Aura for company. However, given that the Dwarven Kingdom had just gone up in priority, the plan for that excursion had to be remade.
He had to learn about the Dwarven Kingdom and ensure that his spy could gather information in a clandestine manner. At the same time, avoiding magical surveillance was very important.
The problem now was how long all this would take.
If the player who brainwashed Shalltear was hiding there, it would be extremely dangerous to give the opposition too much time. If he took a passive stance, the enemy might well pick the most opportune moment to launch an attack. In order to avoid this, they had to take the initiative and make the first move.
…So this will be a gamble, after all. An ambassadorial party, hm. We will establish diplomatic relations with the Dwarven Kingdom. If a player launches an attack, it will be a casus belli for us to mount an invasion in turn. We can then dig out the necessary information from the debris.
Ainz enumerated the things he had to do after meeting the Dwarves.
One: verify the presence or absence of players.
Two: investigate the runes and their origins.
Three: Obtain information and samples of their metallurgy and ores.
Something like that.
However, they would hardly tell all of that to Ainz up front. It was only natural to conceal one’s technological prowess. Information was more valuable the more hidden it was.
If there were YGGDRASIL players who let their knowledge leak out all over the place, Punitto Moe would surely give them a vicious tongue-lashing.
…Also, what if I could get them to export weapons to the Sorcerous Kingdom so our adventurers could acquire them at a lower price? Pretty attractive, no? But in order for that to take place, I’ll have to be on good terms with the Dwarves. While I could always take them as slaves within Nazarick, that will be a last resort. I’d like to make my words to Ainzach that much more convincing.
Still, all this was ultimately nothing but a conjecture.
“…Lizardman. Does Zenberu know about the Dwarven city?”
“Yes. He told me that he had lived in the Dwarven city for some time.”
“Is that so. Do you think Zenberu would take me there?”
The Lizardman fell into thought, and then tilted his head.
“My deepest apologies, but your servant cannot answer that question. Of course, I am certain that if Your Majesty orders something, Zenberu will strive eagerly to fulfil it. However, it has been several winters since he returned from the Dwarven City, so I am not sure how much he still remembers…”
“Really now… Well, if that’s the case, I can deal with it using magic. It’ll be fine.”