CHAPTER 213: KINGDOM REPORT

The familiar white light of the Simulation Chamber faded, replaced by the soft mana-powered lighting of Adrian’s private chambers.

He reappeared on his bed, the place from which he had entered the Factory nineteen days ago. Nineteen days of obsessive study. He had held off on starting new major projects, instead investing every second of his Factory time in studying the principles of formation magic.

Witnessing the complex, self-sustaining necromantic array in the Elven forest had shown Adrian a gaping hole in his own knowledge.

Unfortunately, after days of poring over every of his knowledge, and running countless simulations, he had made very little progress in deciphering the core of that dark magic.

This led him to a frustrating hypothesis: the formation was likely reliant on a unique energy signature from its operator.

It was possible that "Julian," or the entity controlling him, had been the key component, the living catalyst that made it all work. But without more data, he couldn’t be sure. He knew far too little about true, high-level formations.

"Boss."

A calm, familiar voice cut through Adrian’s thoughts. He looked ahead to see Charles standing patiently beside his bed, a note in hand.

Adrian wasn’t surprised to see him. He had called for him, after all. Charles had been requesting a meeting for days, citing several issues, and Adrian had finally consented, telling him a time to arrive when his Factory cooldown would kick off.

Adrian didn’t rush to the "pressing issues" Charles wanted to discuss. He first inquired about the state of affairs. "Give me the general report. How is the kingdom?"

Charles smiled, his usual professional calm returning.

"Everything has been running perfectly, boss. The first Gauntlet is officially concluded. The champions have all been selected and are being processed for their new roles. The educational reforms are in full swing. The people are hopeful. Morale is at an all-time high."

Adrian nodded his head, a sense of satisfaction washing over him. "Good. Good." He then asked, "And Princess Nyra? Is she getting along well?"

The look on Charles’s face shifted after the question. He hesitated for a moment with a strange expression forming on his features.

"About that..." he began, "That girl... she’s not human."

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "She’s an Elf. Of course she’s not human."

Charles realized his error and let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Right, right. What I was trying to say is that... she’s a monster. A monstrous genius... She has made a lot of progress in mastering the knowledge you transferred to her. And even worse..." His voice dropped. "...she’s now a Transcendent."

Adrian was surprised when he heard the last part. He had guessed that the Elven princess was close to a breakthrough, even before he made her a Vassal.

But it was still shocking that she was able to achieve it so quickly. Although Elves had the privilege of discovering their affinity from the tender age of five, it didn’t make her talent any less remarkable.

After all, he himself was still technically stuck at the 9-Star rank, a fact largely due to his own lack of focus on personal cultivation in favor of his projects.

He didn’t feel any jealousy from the news; it made him delighted instead. It was always great news to hear his people were making progress.

He didn’t get distracted and said, "That’s excellent news. But I believe it’s not the ’pressing issue’ you came to me about."

Charles took a deep breath. "Yes. The other human kingdoms, Lorvain and Valtheim. They’ve been monitoring us for a while, sending diplomatic probes. Now, their Kings want to meet with you. The King of Lorvain, who is himself a Transcendent, has officially called for a summit of the ’Three Kings’ to discuss the future of the continent... an alliance, I believe."

When Charles finished speaking, Adrian simply stared at him for a long moment with an unreadable expression. "Okay. What am I supposed to do?"

"..."

On Charles’s confused silence, Adrian continued, "I thought we discussed this before, Charles. You don’t need to involve me in most of these trivial decision-making processes. As long as you and the council know you can handle it, then you have my full authority to go ahead and take care of it."

Charles scratched his head, struggling to find the right words.

"Boss, with all due respect... this is a meeting between the three most powerful rulers on the continent. I never expected you to consider it ’trivial’."

Adrian had never been truly interested in the other human kingdoms. He planned on acquiring them, of course, but it wasn’t something that felt like a challenge.

From what his intelligence network had found, they were stagnant, preferring to be left alone. That was why they had refused to interfere during the war with the Elves.

For them to be interested in an alliance now meant that they saw something special in his new, unified Zarion. They saw strength, and they wanted a piece of it. Adrian didn’t plan on giving them the privilege of negotiating as equals.

’They are not my equals,’ Adrian thought with cold logic. ’They are stagnant pools, while I am a rising river. An alliance suggests parity. There is no parity here. For me to attend their summit personally would be to legitimize their position and to grant them a status they have not earned. They must understand the new hierarchy of this world.’

He looked at Charles with his decision made. "Tell them we are not interested in an alliance. An alliance is a pact between equals, and their kingdoms are not our equals."

Charles’s mouth opened, about to protest the sheer arrogance of the statement, but Adrian cut him off.

"Your mission is to convince them of the overwhelming strategic and economic benefit of coming under our banner and rule. Explain the plan of merging the three kingdoms into one, unified human state under my sovereignty. Make them an offer they cannot refuse, not with threats, but with the undeniable promise of a better future."

Charles was left with his mouth open, stunned by the sheer scale of his boss’s ambition. He was about to protest again, but Adrian was already moving on. "I believe this isn’t the only news you had for me."

Charles readjusted, shaking his head to clear it. "Oh, yes. I almost forgot. The Dwarven delegation arrived yesterday. The first shipment of metals was deposited as well. The crafting department is currently analyzing it."

Adrian nodded, his interest piqued. "Right. Arrange a meeting with them for me. I’ll be meeting them soon enough."

’Ooh, so the Dwarves are worth your time, but the human kings aren’t,’ Charles thought wryly to himself. He, of course, didn’t voice his thoughts out loud and simply conceded. "Alright, boss! They’ve been assigned a residence in the new Stone District. I’ll inform them you’ll be visiting."

Adrian gave a curt nod, and Charles left, leaving him alone in the room. While Charles got the meeting ready, Adrian decided to attend to a more pressing personal matter. He hadn’t had a bath in days of non-stop work.

He sniffed the air around himself. "I should really put more care into my hygiene," he muttered.

Less than an hour later, Adrian, now showered and dressed in clean, simple clothes, walked to the newly constructed Stone District on the western edge of New Haven.

It was a project he had personally directed, a district built not of the usual pre-fabricated alloys, but of sturdy, masterfully cut granite, designed to make the dwarves feel at home.

As he entered the district’s main plaza, he found the entire dwarven delegation, led by Damien himself, standing in the center, simply looking around with wide, stunned eyes.

They were surrounded by the marvels of his city. Clean, paved streets free of mud and filth. Magically-powered lamps that stood ready to banish the night.

Buildings carved with a precision that even their best stonemasons would envy. For a people accustomed to the spartan, soot-stained functionality of a mountain fortress, the sheer, orderly prosperity of New Haven was a profound shock.

"Damien," Adrian said as he approached.

The dwarves turned, their awe momentarily replaced by a deep, respectful deference as they saw him.

"King Adrian!" Damien boomed, his voice full of a genuine wonder. "We have been here but a day, and already my mind reels. I have never seen a human city so... orderly. So clean!"

He ran a calloused hand over the smooth granite of a nearby retaining wall. "And this stonework... this is true craft. You have built a proper home for us here."

"I wanted to ensure my allies were comfortable," Adrian replied with a small smile. "Welcome to New Haven." He gestured for them to follow him. "Come. I have something to show you."

He led them through their new district, pointing out the features he had designed for them. He showed them the spacious residences with magically purified running water and the communal mess hall with heaters that cooked food without smoke or fire.

Each piece of simple, quality-of-life Magi-Tech was a source of amazement for the dwarves, who were used to a much harsher and more laborious existence.

Their tour culminated before the largest structure in the district: a massive, windowless building with a towering chimney, its great iron doors sealed shut. The Grand Forge. It was cold and silent.

"A fine building," Damien said, his expert eyes appreciating its solid construction. "But a forge without a fire is just a cold stone house."

"A forge is nothing without its Forgemaster," Adrian corrected gently. "I was waiting for you."

He materialized the metallic datapad from his [Inventory] and handed it to the Dwarven Lord. Displayed on its glowing screen was the complete, detailed blueprint for the Geothermal Forge.

"This is the heart I have designed for your new home," Adrian explained. "It harnesses the planet’s core heat. With it, this forge will burn hotter, cleaner, and more efficiently than any in Daragut."

Damien and the other Forgemasters crowded around the datapad, their eyes wide with disbelief as they traced the impossible, ingenious schematics.

As they were marveling at the blueprints, a group of young Academy students passed by the plaza, their voices buzzing with excited chatter that carried on the wind.

"Did you hear?" one of them said loudly. "Princess Nyra actually did it! She broke through to the Transcendent realm! They said the whole magic tower flared with a light you could see from the city walls!"

Damien overheard the snippet of conversation, his head snapping up from the datapad.

"A Transcendent, you say? It seems your Alliance is not short on power, King Adrian."

Adrian, meanwhile, was surprised to what could have made the Princess so popular, even to the Academy students that occupied New Haven.

He left them to their work, his mind now focused on the news about Nyra.

’I should go and see this for myself,’ Adrian thought with a small smile on his lips.