Chapter 130: Orders for Sander

Leaving Ayda with the fresh addition to the ranks of my personal retainers, I moved to the nearby area where Sander's workshop was located. Just as expected, even before I could even enter the huge hall where he was working on the magic stones, the sound of various machines working in their full swing was already bothering me. 

Just imagining how that middle-aged craftsman had to endure this noise for hours upon hours…

Pushing the doors open, I stepped inside the hall. Now, the awful noise of the running machines became even harder to bear. At this point, I just couldn't help but wonder just how much electricity did this single hall of the entire compound consumed. 

But no matter how I looked, there was not a single, living soul within the room. After a short tour during which I could see how the process of crushing the stones already relied on the magic-stone powered machine, I had no other choice but to give up.

After all, no matter how great I was, I couldn't find someone in the place they were not in. 

"Just where the hell did he go…" 

Muttering under my breath, I looked around the place for the last time before picking up the pace and leaving. Exactly as I told Ayda before, right now there were simply too many matters for me to attend to dare to waste time on just strolling in the empty room. 

Just as I was about to move back exactly the same way that I came here from, I noticed a small hue of light coming from under the edge of the doors located on the opposite end of the hall. According to my memory, only a small storage room should be hiding behind it… But given the constant noise in the main room of the workshop, I could already guess what was hiding behind those small and simplistic doors. 

"So here is where you have been hiding…" 

Whispering more to myself than to the craftsman as soon as I opened the doors, I could feel all the energy leaving my body. Just a single look at the man's disposition was enough for me to tell that there was no point in trying to talk to him. With his eyes focused on the machine he was working on, his attention was completely committed to the task he was currently working on.

After a single moment, I felt that Sander was really taking his time. After a few moments, I started getting irritated. After what seemed like an hour, when my boredom was already getting to me, the middle-aged man finally raised his head from above the machine. 

"It's finally done…" 

Speaking to himself, Sander required a few more moments to notice my presence. Once he did, his eyes widened as he nearly jumped from a simple chair he was sitting on.

"Your excellence!" 

So startled by my sudden appearance that he referred to me with my official title, Sander even went as far as attempting to bow down, only for me to stop him in the middle of his motion. 

"You know there is neither a reason nor the time for you to act like this. First, how is the progress with the job?"

In the end, it was Sander who was the most crucial link that connected all my plans. Depending on how quickly he could push the manufacturing of the magic stones from the level of handi-work to a proper factory-style line-production, all my other actions and idea either be implemented or just abandoned as there would be no reason to invest in them any longer.

"In general, we are on a good track. If I hurry up and focus just on the mass-production, I should be able to start the first automated production-line within a single week… But the stones created by it won't be anywhere close to as valuable as the ones created by hand. On the other side, I can focus on what I was doing right now, creating higher-level artefacts… But as you saw yourself, the process of doing so is not only extremely time-consuming but also heavily taxing."

From how Sander already dropped the honorifics, it was clear that his mind was back on its proper track. In the end, he was the one who understood the importance of the stones to my faction the most after me. It wouldn't be an overestimation to claim that he already knew more about this technology than Ayda or most of the people from her world. As such, he simply couldn't be bothered to act as if he was concerned with my social position at all.

Because he was perfectly aware of how little I thought about stuff like social standing.

"Good. For now, I need you to create a single stone that will be greater than anything we have right now. The thing is, it needs to be powerful, but the caster who will wield it won't be even nearly as strong as I am… So that's another factor you need to account for when planning what to do."

Relaying the orders to the craftsman, I allowed the corners of my lips to raise a bit, before adding with a gentle sneer.

"Also, the more flashy its effects will be, the better. In fact, it doesn't even need to be all that powerful, just make sure it won't be anything but an illusion. As for the next job for you…"

Taking a moment to think about the situation, I quickly discarded all the doubts about another decision of mine. Right now, I didn't even bother to have any doubts about Penne's capabilities. With Ayda as his teacher, his potential was bound to skyrocket. In the end, learning witchcraft itself wasn't that huge of a burden, especially for someone who was already used to using the energy that his body absorbed.

All that would be left for him to shine as the hero of the dungeon, would be to possess a weapon that absolutely no one else in the world had, one that would be apparently procured from the dungeon itself.

This idea served three distinctive purposes.

First off, increasing the prestige of Penne as soon as we would start marketing him. By adding a simple element to his outfit that would make it easier for people to recognise him, we could make the advertisement campaigns that much more effective on simple-minded people.

Secondly came the matter of promoting the adventurer's guild itself. By having Pavlo be the face of the organisation, investing in other aspects of his image would force those interested in his rise to start looking for the source of his sudden growth.

Lastly, there was a matter of incentives. As long as Penne would claim that he obtained this weapon that I just ordered Sander to make from the dungeon, everyone would jump at the opportunity to obtain one for themselves. 

In short words, the entire purpose of creating this single, powerful stone, was to promote the dungeons. But the reason why I needed their popularity to explode, wasn't just to establish the adventurer's guild. 

"As soon as you are done, I will need you to switch all your attention to establishing the magic stones factory. I already saw the crushing machine you did, so I think the hardest step is already behind us. You have two weeks for the first mass-produced magic stones to start appearing. Do you think you can nail it?"

No matter what kind of orders I would give to Sander, he wouldn't be able to break through the problem of lack of time. Even though I said two weeks, I was perfectly aware that it was Sander who would ultimately be the only one capable of giving the more or less realistic timeline.

"Two weeks? Are you sane?"

Hearing my order, the craftsman looked at me as if I was some kind of crazed hobo who somehow made its way to the core of the faction building directly from the streets.

"What's wrong with that term? I know it will be hard, but we are really pressed for time…"

Before I could even finish, Sander slapped his face right into his palm. Once his spread-out fingers grasped the skin of his face, only deep breathing could be heard for a moment. 

"Two weeks… It's way more than necessary. I can have the mass production started in a week tops. Just that… The quality of the stones… Basic barrier and lighting stone will be the limit of what this kind of primitive assembly line could produce."

Rather than seeing a problem in hastily setting up the factory, Sander's face twisted in a peculiar grimace when he brought the matter of what kind of stones this kind of primitive setup that he could create would be able to produce.

"It doesn't matter at all. What's important, is to flood the market with cheap ware that only we will be capable of producing. And that means I have one last task for you to think about while making both that ultimate magic stone and setting up the factory for the simple ones."

Moving back towards the door, I looked behind before gracing Sander with one of my rare, truly honest smiles.

"Make them as hard to replicate as possible. The longer it will take for others to decipher the way to craft them, the more profits we will obtain. And that also means…"

Taking one last break in my sentence as I pushed the doors to this storage room-turned workshop open, I allowed my smile to degrade out of my face.

"... more money and prestige to everyone who will be behind the production of them."