Chapter 46
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The changes to the city left everyone shocked and lots of citizens lost a part or even all of their homes. In total, I'd have to round about 10% of the populace either lost their homes or they were damaged. Naturally, this caused a lot of turmoil within Haven and I had to send out many field operatives to calm the masses.
In order to try and fix this problem I would have to rebuild the capital city but while doing this there would be many citizens without homes and this will cause dissatisfaction within the populace. Thus in order to avoid this possible threat, I rounded up everybody whose home was either damaged or destroyed and placed them on some of the floating islands hovering above the capital.
These islands were the main locations for Haven's wheat fields and animal ranches. Along with these were storehouses and other warehouse building. With a little bit of remodeling, I was able to place everyone in these locations. Now, however, a day has passed and I only barely quelled the problem but I didn't solve it at all.
--Inside Yu's study--
Besides the faint sound of breathing, and also the sound of rustling papers my study was completely silent in my study. I sat in my chair behind my desk, while Kuroka and Shirone napped on the couch with little Kunou in their embrace. I for one, however, was wide awake trying to come up with ways to rebuild the broken city.
Building from scratch would take too long, but leaving this be was also out of the question. The main problem stopping me from starting from scratch was that while magic did make the building process easier it would still take a year or more to bring the capital back to its former glory.
A part of me wanted to just let everyone build their own villages but that would disrupt the system I was trying to make. What I needed was fast builders who can finish the job, sadly nobody in Haven could meet my expectations.
Dragons, Vampires, and Yokai while proficient in battle they were lacking in construction skills. I'm not saying they can't do construction work it's just that they're slow.
*Knock**Knock*
Yu - It's open.
Taking my eyes away from the varies reports on my desk I looked at the door and say Yasaka holding a file.
Yu - What did you find?
Yasaka said nothing and simply handed me the papers. After giving her a questioning gaze I started to read the information inside the file.
The file was a report from last year on a certain dying faction located in the Himalayan Mountian Range. The members of the faction consisted of mostly Dwarves a dying race that was rumored to have a high affinity with earth magic. From the report, I found out the some of my operatives tried to enter the faction's compound but would be forced out by a variety of traps step up throughout the mountain's surface.
Yu - [Now that I think about it Magari did mention something about permission to investigate a site of interest a couple of months back.]
Strange while the operatives in charge of monitoring this faction were able to get a decent amount of information through varies monitoring devices none were able to look inside the compound in person.
Yu - Interesting... What do you think about this Yasaka?
Yasaka - Hm~ well from multiple history sources Dwarves we excellent builders, and that they were one of the four races that had a guardian spirit bestow upon them a blessing.
Yu - Four races... guardian spirits what are those.
Yasaka - The guardian spirits were the four spirits comprised of the four major elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Gnomes represented earth, Undines represented water, Salamanders represented fire, and Sylphs represented wind. The races that received a blessing from one of these spirits were the Dwarves, Mermaids, Flame Drakes, and Elves.
Yu - Then shouldn't those races be pretty strong why is the Dwarf faction on the verge of collapse.
Yasaka - When those races received their blessing their strength aligned with that of the guardian spirit's strength. If the guardian spirit was strong then so was the blessed race. However, because of the years of pollution humans have been creating these spirits have weakened.
Yu - ...So the cause of their collapse is all the pollution in the world huh... Do we have any information on the other four races by any chance?
Yasaka - No, we could only find information on the Dwarf Faction, as for the others it is possible that they have either gone into hiding or they have died out.
Yu - Hm~
Contemplating what to do next I processed everything I just learned. In order to solve the problem with Haven, I could have the Dwarves rebuild the city but I'm not sure they'd agree. Forcing them was out of the question because they weren't my enemy. I could talk with them but I don't know if they wield hostility towards humans.
Yu - *Sigh~* Well f*** it let's just go and see what happens.
Yasaka - You're going to go meet them?
Yu - Ya, they could be useful workforce Haven needs and I might have a way to bring them back to their former glory.
Yasaka - Do you mind if I come along?
Yu - You just want to get out of office work, don't you?
She didn't answer me and simply looked away.
--3 Hours Later--
The trip to the Himalayan Mountain Range itself wasn't long but the trip towards the Dwarf Faction was. The area surrounding the entrance was covered in spatial interference, and illusion formations. Traps were even laid out as far as the eye could see.
Yu - The Dwarves sure are cautious, aren't they?
Right now I was with a small group of people 20 people. Besides me, Kuroka, Shirone, Yasaka, Magari, and Genbu the rest were field operatives who were experienced in passing through these defenses.
The further we ventured the colder the air got, towards normal people this would be cause them to return and come back with better equipment but for us, it was only annoying but not life-threatening. Besides Genbu everyone wore fur coats that Nekoshou Seamstresses enchanted with cold resistance enchantments. If not for these coats I think many of the people in this group would've already given up and returned home.
Kuroka - How did they even find this place anyway. It's so cold~.
Genbu - I read the report only recently Lady Kuroka, but it seems that many field operatives that we proficient in illusion magic spent nearly 3 weeks inside this barrier. It took them 2 weeks to find the faction compound and around 1 week to safely leave the barrier. In fact, I'm surprised no one died in this operation.
Kuroka - Oh~
Magari - Actually over the past few months I've had multiple groups come here to map out the area but sadly whenever a new group comes in to collect information on the faction we discovered that the information on our maps doesn't match the location of the traps.
Yu - That's because the traps are always moving from one place towards another.
Shirone - How is that possible?
Yu - [Actually even I don't know the specifics.]
When we first entered this barrier I spread my domain to scout the area, and when I did this I was able to point out most of the traps, while also getting a relative size of the barrier. To my surprise, though the place I thought was the entrance was covered with a strong barrier that blocked my domain. If I was closer this wouldn't be a problem but since I was too far away there was nothing I could do.
As for the traps while we were walking towards the entrance I noticed through my barrier the all the traps would move every 10 minutes. This wasn't a normal back and forth movement it was more like every 10 minutes all the traps would move in random directions without order.
This discovery caused my interest in the dwarves to grow. As a runemaster, I obviously wanted to know how they did this so I can improve my own formations but I first had to meet them. Time went one and after around 5 hours we were getting really close towards the dwarf compound but then standing in front of us blocking our way was a group of men.
They were short maybe around 140cm and full of muscle. Some were hairier than the others but all of them had either a sword or a hammer strapped towards their backs. Leading this group was an older looking man he had grey hair in contrast to the other's brown or black hair, and he carried an iron staff in his hand.
When our 2 groups were about 10 meters from each other the leader of the dwarves and I stepped forward to greet each other. Once there was only around one and a half meters separating us the Dwarf leader was the first to speak.
Dwarf Leader - I am Grant leader of the Dwarf Faction.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
The changes to the city left everyone shocked and lots of citizens lost a part or even all of their homes. In total, I'd have to round about 10% of the populace either lost their homes or they were damaged. Naturally, this caused a lot of turmoil within Haven and I had to send out many field operatives to calm the masses.
In order to try and fix this problem I would have to rebuild the capital city but while doing this there would be many citizens without homes and this will cause dissatisfaction within the populace. Thus in order to avoid this possible threat, I rounded up everybody whose home was either damaged or destroyed and placed them on some of the floating islands hovering above the capital.
These islands were the main locations for Haven's wheat fields and animal ranches. Along with these were storehouses and other warehouse building. With a little bit of remodeling, I was able to place everyone in these locations. Now, however, a day has passed and I only barely quelled the problem but I didn't solve it at all.
--Inside Yu's study--
Besides the faint sound of breathing, and also the sound of rustling papers my study was completely silent in my study. I sat in my chair behind my desk, while Kuroka and Shirone napped on the couch with little Kunou in their embrace. I for one, however, was wide awake trying to come up with ways to rebuild the broken city.
Building from scratch would take too long, but leaving this be was also out of the question. The main problem stopping me from starting from scratch was that while magic did make the building process easier it would still take a year or more to bring the capital back to its former glory.
A part of me wanted to just let everyone build their own villages but that would disrupt the system I was trying to make. What I needed was fast builders who can finish the job, sadly nobody in Haven could meet my expectations.
Dragons, Vampires, and Yokai while proficient in battle they were lacking in construction skills. I'm not saying they can't do construction work it's just that they're slow.
*Knock**Knock*
Yu - It's open.
Taking my eyes away from the varies reports on my desk I looked at the door and say Yasaka holding a file.
Yu - What did you find?
Yasaka said nothing and simply handed me the papers. After giving her a questioning gaze I started to read the information inside the file.
The file was a report from last year on a certain dying faction located in the Himalayan Mountian Range. The members of the faction consisted of mostly Dwarves a dying race that was rumored to have a high affinity with earth magic. From the report, I found out the some of my operatives tried to enter the faction's compound but would be forced out by a variety of traps step up throughout the mountain's surface.
Yu - [Now that I think about it Magari did mention something about permission to investigate a site of interest a couple of months back.]
Strange while the operatives in charge of monitoring this faction were able to get a decent amount of information through varies monitoring devices none were able to look inside the compound in person.
Yu - Interesting... What do you think about this Yasaka?
Yasaka - Hm~ well from multiple history sources Dwarves we excellent builders, and that they were one of the four races that had a guardian spirit bestow upon them a blessing.
Yu - Four races... guardian spirits what are those.
Yasaka - The guardian spirits were the four spirits comprised of the four major elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Gnomes represented earth, Undines represented water, Salamanders represented fire, and Sylphs represented wind. The races that received a blessing from one of these spirits were the Dwarves, Mermaids, Flame Drakes, and Elves.
Yu - Then shouldn't those races be pretty strong why is the Dwarf faction on the verge of collapse.
Yasaka - When those races received their blessing their strength aligned with that of the guardian spirit's strength. If the guardian spirit was strong then so was the blessed race. However, because of the years of pollution humans have been creating these spirits have weakened.
Yu - ...So the cause of their collapse is all the pollution in the world huh... Do we have any information on the other four races by any chance?
Yasaka - No, we could only find information on the Dwarf Faction, as for the others it is possible that they have either gone into hiding or they have died out.
Yu - Hm~
Contemplating what to do next I processed everything I just learned. In order to solve the problem with Haven, I could have the Dwarves rebuild the city but I'm not sure they'd agree. Forcing them was out of the question because they weren't my enemy. I could talk with them but I don't know if they wield hostility towards humans.
Yu - *Sigh~* Well f*** it let's just go and see what happens.
Yasaka - You're going to go meet them?
Yu - Ya, they could be useful workforce Haven needs and I might have a way to bring them back to their former glory.
Yasaka - Do you mind if I come along?
Yu - You just want to get out of office work, don't you?
She didn't answer me and simply looked away.
--3 Hours Later--
The trip to the Himalayan Mountain Range itself wasn't long but the trip towards the Dwarf Faction was. The area surrounding the entrance was covered in spatial interference, and illusion formations. Traps were even laid out as far as the eye could see.
Yu - The Dwarves sure are cautious, aren't they?
Right now I was with a small group of people 20 people. Besides me, Kuroka, Shirone, Yasaka, Magari, and Genbu the rest were field operatives who were experienced in passing through these defenses.
The further we ventured the colder the air got, towards normal people this would be cause them to return and come back with better equipment but for us, it was only annoying but not life-threatening. Besides Genbu everyone wore fur coats that Nekoshou Seamstresses enchanted with cold resistance enchantments. If not for these coats I think many of the people in this group would've already given up and returned home.
Kuroka - How did they even find this place anyway. It's so cold~.
Genbu - I read the report only recently Lady Kuroka, but it seems that many field operatives that we proficient in illusion magic spent nearly 3 weeks inside this barrier. It took them 2 weeks to find the faction compound and around 1 week to safely leave the barrier. In fact, I'm surprised no one died in this operation.
Kuroka - Oh~
Magari - Actually over the past few months I've had multiple groups come here to map out the area but sadly whenever a new group comes in to collect information on the faction we discovered that the information on our maps doesn't match the location of the traps.
Yu - That's because the traps are always moving from one place towards another.
Shirone - How is that possible?
Yu - [Actually even I don't know the specifics.]
When we first entered this barrier I spread my domain to scout the area, and when I did this I was able to point out most of the traps, while also getting a relative size of the barrier. To my surprise, though the place I thought was the entrance was covered with a strong barrier that blocked my domain. If I was closer this wouldn't be a problem but since I was too far away there was nothing I could do.
As for the traps while we were walking towards the entrance I noticed through my barrier the all the traps would move every 10 minutes. This wasn't a normal back and forth movement it was more like every 10 minutes all the traps would move in random directions without order.
This discovery caused my interest in the dwarves to grow. As a runemaster, I obviously wanted to know how they did this so I can improve my own formations but I first had to meet them. Time went one and after around 5 hours we were getting really close towards the dwarf compound but then standing in front of us blocking our way was a group of men.
They were short maybe around 140cm and full of muscle. Some were hairier than the others but all of them had either a sword or a hammer strapped towards their backs. Leading this group was an older looking man he had grey hair in contrast to the other's brown or black hair, and he carried an iron staff in his hand.
When our 2 groups were about 10 meters from each other the leader of the dwarves and I stepped forward to greet each other. Once there was only around one and a half meters separating us the Dwarf leader was the first to speak.
Dwarf Leader - I am Grant leader of the Dwarf Faction.
The changes to the city left everyone shocked and lots of citizens lost a part or even all of their homes. In total, I'd have to round about 10% of the populace either lost their homes or they were damaged. Naturally, this caused a lot of turmoil within Haven and I had to send out many field operatives to calm the masses.In order to try and fix this problem I would have to rebuild the capital city but while doing this there would be many citizens without homes and this will cause dissatisfaction within the populace. Thus in order to avoid this possible threat, I rounded up everybody whose home was either damaged or destroyed and placed them on some of the floating islands hovering above the capital.These islands were the main locations for Haven's wheat fields and animal ranches. Along with these were storehouses and other warehouse building. With a little bit of remodeling, I was able to place everyone in these locations. Now, however, a day has passed and I only barely quelled the problem but I didn't solve it at all.--Inside Yu's study--Besides the faint sound of breathing, and also the sound of rustling papers my study was completely silent in my study. I sat in my chair behind my desk, while Kuroka and Shirone napped on the couch with little Kunou in their embrace. I for one, however, was wide awake trying to come up with ways to rebuild the broken city.Building from scratch would take too long, but leaving this be was also out of the question. The main problem stopping me from starting from scratch was that while magic did make the building process easier it would still take a year or more to bring the capital back to its former glory.A part of me wanted to just let everyone build their own villages but that would disrupt the system I was trying to make. What I needed was fast builders who can finish the job, sadly nobody in Haven could meet my expectations.Dragons, Vampires, and Yokai while proficient in battle they were lacking in construction skills. I'm not saying they can't do construction work it's just that they're slow.*Knock**Knock*Yu - It's open.Taking my eyes away from the varies reports on my desk I looked at the door and say Yasaka holding a file.Yu - What did you find?Yasaka said nothing and simply handed me the papers. After giving her a questioning gaze I started to read the information inside the file.The file was a report from last year on a certain dying faction located in the Himalayan Mountian Range. The members of the faction consisted of mostly Dwarves a dying race that was rumored to have a high affinity with earth magic. From the report, I found out the some of my operatives tried to enter the faction's compound but would be forced out by a variety of traps step up throughout the mountain's surface.Yu - Now that I think about it Magari did mention something about permission to investigate a site of interest a couple of months back.Strange while the operatives in charge of monitoring this faction were able to get a decent amount of information through varies monitoring devices none were able to look inside the compound in person.Yu - Interesting... What do you think about this Yasaka?Yasaka - Hm~ well from multiple history sources Dwarves we excellent builders, and that they were one of the four races that had a guardian spirit bestow upon them a blessing.Yu - Four races... guardian spirits what are those.Yasaka - The guardian spirits were the four spirits comprised of the four major elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Gnomes represented earth, Undines represented water, Salamanders represented fire, and Sylphs represented wind. The races that received a blessing from one of these spirits were the Dwarves, Mermaids, Flame Drakes, and Elves.Yu - Then shouldn't those races be pretty strong why is the Dwarf faction on the verge of collapse.Yasaka - When those races received their blessing their strength aligned with that of the guardian spirit's strength. If the guardian spirit was strong then so was the blessed race. However, because of the years of pollution humans have been creating these spirits have weakened.Yu - ...So the cause of their collapse is all the pollution in the world huh... Do we have any information on the other four races by any chance?Yasaka - No, we could only find information on the Dwarf Faction, as for the others it is possible that they have either gone into hiding or they have died out.Yu - Hm~Contemplating what to do next I processed everything I just learned. In order to solve the problem with Haven, I could have the Dwarves rebuild the city but I'm not sure they'd agree. Forcing them was out of the question because they weren't my enemy. I could talk with them but I don't know if they wield hostility towards humans.Yu - *Sigh~* Well f*** it let's just go and see what happens.Yasaka - You're going to go meet them?Yu - Ya, they could be useful workforce Haven needs and I might have a way to bring them back to their former glory.Yasaka - Do you mind if I come along?Yu - You just want to get out of office work, don't you?She didn't answer me and simply looked away.--3 Hours Later--The trip to the Himalayan Mountain Range itself wasn't long but the trip towards the Dwarf Faction was. The area surrounding the entrance was covered in spatial interference, and illusion formations. Traps were even laid out as far as the eye could see.Yu - The Dwarves sure are cautious, aren't they?Right now I was with a small group of people 20 people. Besides me, Kuroka, Shirone, Yasaka, Magari, and Genbu the rest were field operatives who were experienced in passing through these defenses.The further we ventured the colder the air got, towards normal people this would be cause them to return and come back with better equipment but for us, it was only annoying but not life-threatening. Besides Genbu everyone wore fur coats that Nekoshou Seamstresses enchanted with cold resistance enchantments. If not for these coats I think many of the people in this group would've already given up and returned home.Kuroka - How did they even find this place anyway. It's so cold~.Genbu - I read the report only recently Lady Kuroka, but it seems that many field operatives that we proficient in illusion magic spent nearly 3 weeks inside this barrier. It took them 2 weeks to find the faction compound and around 1 week to safely leave the barrier. In fact, I'm surprised no one died in this operation.Kuroka - Oh~Magari - Actually over the past few months I've had multiple groups come here to map out the area but sadly whenever a new group comes in to collect information on the faction we discovered that the information on our maps doesn't match the location of the traps.Yu - That's because the traps are always moving from one place towards another.Shirone - How is that possible?Yu - Actually even I don't know the specifics.When we first entered this barrier I spread my domain to scout the area, and when I did this I was able to point out most of the traps, while also getting a relative size of the barrier. To my surprise, though the place I thought was the entrance was covered with a strong barrier that blocked my domain. If I was closer this wouldn't be a problem but since I was too far away there was nothing I could do.As for the traps while we were walking towards the entrance I noticed through my barrier the all the traps would move every 10 minutes. This wasn't a normal back and forth movement it was more like every 10 minutes all the traps would move in random directions without order.This discovery caused my interest in the dwarves to grow. As a runemaster, I obviously wanted to know how they did this so I can improve my own formations but I first had to meet them. Time went one and after around 5 hours we were getting really close towards the dwarf compound but then standing in front of us blocking our way was a group of men.They were short maybe around 140cm and full of muscle. Some were hairier than the others but all of them had either a sword or a hammer strapped towards their backs. Leading this group was an older looking man he had grey hair in contrast to the other's brown or black hair, and he carried an iron staff in his hand.When our 2 groups were about 10 meters from each other the leader of the dwarves and I stepped forward to greet each other. Once there was only around one and a half meters separating us the Dwarf leader was the first to speak.Dwarf Leader - I am Grant leader of the Dwarf Faction.
