Chapter 663 |
“You don’t need to worry, we are not about to limit how much you can delve.” The archduke was quick to follow up when he saw Ajax’s face. “We are more concerned about a few different factors.”
“And what are those?” The prince asked.
“First and most important of all, you are not to do anything to try and destroy the dungeon.” Archduke Goldenmouth started with something that shocked Ajax. Was the Republic aware of how dungeons were destroyed? “The Republic has records of old dungeons in the Wild Lands that Shadow here tried to find but wasn’t able to, far fetched as it might sound it isn’t impossible that there are ways to destroy dungeons.”
“That’s a crazy idea.” The prince laughed politely while turning to look towards Ajax. “There is no way to destroy a dun…” The prince’s voice trailed off as Ajax’s poker face still left a lot to be desired against someone like Archduke Goldenmouth.
“You know how to destroy a dungeon.” Shadow’s words weren’t an accusation, merely a statement of fact. While everyone was aware of that, the information was extremely explosive.
Ajax was extremely surprised that the prince hadn’t known about that little bit of information. He had already shared the same thing with Xandor and his father, though the conversation took quite a turn after that. They were probably dealing with a lot with all the pressure the other Houses were trying to exert on the royal family and preparing for the war that letting him know about that might have just slipped through the cracks.
“I do know how it can be done.” Ajax confirmed knowing there was no reason to hide it. “I can also confidently say nobody I am aware of in humanoid lands can do it to any dungeon in a single delve.”
“How is it done?” Shadow asked.
“I haven’t shared that information with Gryndor’s royal family yet.” Ajax cut it off. “The king and crown prince are aware I know it but they didn’t push me for it.”
“Still I have nothing against signing that requirement.” Ajax moved to push the conversation past this topic. “What else?”
There was a moment of silence where the archduke looked towards Shadow to see if they would just move past the monumental news like that but it seemed today wasn’t the day to deal with it.
“The second stipulation is much more standard for delves.”The archduke continued. “You and everyone entering the dungeon must relinquish any national strategic resources extracted from the dungeon, should there be any, upon your exit.”
This was a much more standard request though it wasn’t normally codified in a written agreement because almost all delves would usually have people from that host nation along to collect any such treasures. Considering how far Ajax was looking to delve and Mana density on those floors the Republic couldn’t just give up any national strategic resources Ajax might happen upon, especially if it happened on some of the higher floors.
Ajax and the prince had no issues with the second point, the same however could not be said about Aurexion. “You want us to surrender our rightful gains from the dungeon?” Aurexion asked.
“Only those marked as national strategic resources.” Shadow answered, not flinching in front of the massive dragon’s stare.
“So the rarest ones.” Aurexion didn’t back down.
“Just those that would have a marked effect upon an entire kingdom to an oversized degree.” Shadow pointed out. “It’s not so much the value we have an issue with as the destabilization of the nation a single House can cause through their use at an inopportune moment.”
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“Then we should be compensated for their value fairly.” Aurexion wasn’t all that worried about anything that could be gained under floor level two hundred and fifty unless it happened to be another Mythic Mana type, but from Ajax’s previous reaction humanoids knew nothing about those so they couldn’t be classified like that. “From anything above floor one hundred we bring out.”
Archduke Goldenmouth might not be a dedicated merchant but he was a political mastermind and saw it was his turn to take over the conversation now that it was a negotiation instead of leaving it up to Shadow. “Anything over floor one hundred and fifty.”
The archduke and the dragon spent ten minutes arguing before they eventually settled on every national strategic resource from floor one hundred and thirty and above going to the Republic but Ajax and Aurexion specifically would receive a fair value payment for them regardless of who brought them out.
“I’m surprised you didn’t fight that.” Ajax said as he turned towards the prince.
“This is still a negotiation with a foreign kingdom and I am here as a representative of Gryndor.” The prince shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll get our piece in the taxes you have to pay on anything you gain since forced or not you are selling something to a foreign nation.”
Ajax just let out a long sign, it seems that even after dying and reincarnating in a world with magic, taxes were still another immutable part of life. Aurexion however snapped his neck to look at the prince.
“Don’t look at me like that” The prince was quick to cut Aurexion off. “I can’t negotiate you better terms, the rules around that are already set, speak to my brother or father once we get back, maybe they might cut you a bulk discount if you find something valuable.”
“Third term.” Shadow had gotten bored with the extended discussion on the second point and was looking to move on. “The champions joining you cannot leave until the floor boss of the furthest floor has been killed. They must all leave at the same time. You cannot delve to a further floor once they do leave. You must fully clear the floor before you exit the dungeon.”
The third part of the contract was a lot more detailed, having specific timings for each subpoint to ensure the Gryndor champions didn’t waste too much time before rejoining the war. That they were rested when they did so. And a lot of other minutia that spread out over a full two feet of parchment despite the neat small writing.
Ajax was a little worried about the part of the contract that said he wasn’t allowed to leave the dungeon before it was cleared even if he was in mortal peril but since Aurexion didn’t seem troubled by it after a quick discussion they accepted the term. At worst it would only mean he would have to push himself to deal with whatever was causing issues with his newest Skill and then wait to recover from pushing himself.
“Final part.” The archduke said. “Conclusive proof of any death in the dungeon must be presented upon exit.”
There was no real argument there. They couldn’t just risk having a champion left behind in the dungeon ready to cause a dungeon break at some point in the future under the ‘they died in there’ excuse.
Once Ajax signed the contract he could feel it binding him in a similar way the deals he made with the sidhe had done. Unlike his experimentation with the sidhe magic however Ajax didn’t try any of his Skills on the magic binding the deal as part of the small print was that he wouldn’t try and mess with the binding of the agreement.
Aurexion also picked up on the similarity to sidhe magic but he wisely kept it to himself knowing that sharing any of what he knew about the other Ascended race and this topic at this time would only work against them.
With the agreement signed Ajax and the prince departed from Shadows manor and started to make their own preparation for the delves while the rest of Gryndor’s champions arrived to join them.
Once Ajax and the prince left Archduke Goldenmouth and Shadow were left alone with their copy of the signed agreement. “Such amazing Dexterity.” The archduke still looked a little awed by Aurexion’s signature at the bottom of the contract. The dragon had dipped his claw in ink and while it did take him almost a minute had managed to sign it without damaging the parchment.
“We are in agreement?” Shadow ignored the comment and asked what was on his mind.
“Yes…” The archduke let out a sigh. “No mention of Ajax’s knowledge of how to destroy a dungeon until he is done with his delves.”
“Why do you still seem worried?” Shadow asked when he saw the look the archduke was giving the parchment.
“Because I am afraid this isn’t binding enough.” The archduke showed a little of his frustration. “But our position in the war is too bad to not go through with this as it would almost surely mean Gryndor withdrawing their support.”
“Why wouldn’t this be binding enough?” Shadow asked.
“Aurexion had to practice his signature a few times.” The archduke motioned to the previous attempts the dragon made on scraps of parchment. “Yet he had no reaction when he signed this. You and I both know how contract magic feels. Ajax clearly doesn’t have experience with one so powerful, after all ten scribes and merchants above level one hundred worked together and fed more than ten thousand Mana into crafting this, and it showed in his reaction when the binding was made.”
“But Aurexion didn’t seem disturbed by it.” Shadow caught on as he quickly went over his memory of the dragon’s reaction to the binding magic taking hold. “So he either felt it before, which is unlikely since he couldn’t sign his name without practice, or the Ascended have something similar. And if they do, they might know things about it that we do not.”
“Best not mention this to the rest of the Council either until after he comes out.” The archduke said as they packed everything up.
“You’re not worried about Ajax?” Shadow asked as he moved to walk the archduke to the door. “About how he might turn on us?” It was a feeling that was held by a few councilors.
“No I am not.” the archduke shook his head. “After all, in a few centuries when our petty squabbles amongst ourselves will be over, he will still be humanoid.”
The archduke’s parting words caused Shadow to freeze. The champion realized that the archduke’s expectation, that the humanoid kingdoms would have to unite in a few centuries as the overall increase in power and their expansion caused them to go into conflict with the Ascended races, seemed inevitable to him.
