53 Knowing the Boss

"I don't understand. Why doesn't your dungeon lock work due to costs of all things? Can't it run off of a mana pool like everything else around here?" Galahad asked while inspecting the device very intently.

"You think everything I've got runnin can work off a single mana pool? Yeesh, I'm wondering why that old fool wants me to hire you."

"Well I figured this would operate similar to crystal resonance with enough mana orbs in a big pool. Wait, what's this about hiring me?" Galahad was so concerned with using the machine that he didn't even realize the last remark. He didn't have time to fully interpret it into anger either.

"The letter." He gestured to the paper he started incinerating under the jet blue flame of one machine. "Swittar sent you to Diagon with the letter requesting to have you act as my new assistant. Did he really send you all the way without telling you?

Although, I'm not sure as to why. Do you even understan that the purpose of such a device is practical but almost impossible to fully operates? If you can't tell me that much, then I think I'll have to deny his request. It wouldn't be safe to have incompetency running around my workshop."

The little dwarf seemed rather smug and rude with words, but as one of the few of his race in Diagon, it wasn't hard to notice that he truly wanted to talk with someone that was capable of understanding the machine he's created.

Galahad somewhat understood the reasoning for such indirect demands. Frederick, Brett and his father were rather similar to this case, they'd talk for hours at a time about methods to crafting and any tweaks they would think to make on such ideas. It was something almost everyone wants to do when discussing their field of expertise. Even Galahad and Rosetta used to talk about the ways they'd manipulate mana in the atmosphere or dirt for their magic skills for hours on end. Everyone needs an intelligent conversation every once in a while, it's a way to feed our social hunger.

Galahad was more than willing to give the dwarf what he wanted, but not without returning the smugness.

"So you've made a machine that can supposedly detect a karmic crystal in the dungeon, yet failed to create a machine that can with the mix the power qualities of various mana orbs? I would have thought you could run it like every other standard piece of equipment on this planet, considering your massive intellect that comes with your race and class." Galahad gave a heckling chuckle to add.

The dwarf disappointedly shook his head at the comment, clearly waiting for the simple-minded, verbal attack. "Clearly you've never managed to see the structure of any crystal tower. They're the only exception to such rules of mana power because they're constantly interfacin with thousands of different pulses of magic energy from karmic plates. Then they'd only hold onto them pulses for a fraction of a second, they don't need to be concerned with quality of the power between each pulse because it resets."

He walked over to the machine and patted the runes along the side of the wall. "Where as this pup doesn't have the luxury of mixing different forms of mana orbs. She needs a constant stream of continuous high power for location, identification, and holding a tether in place."

Galahad looked at the machine and realized the little bowls at the bottom were in fact, empty mana pools, they were just small enough to stand in with a concave ring of runes around the base. Half of the runes he had never seen before, clearly designed for something uniquely different.

"But I don't get it, forge fires and other devices like your blue flame over there don't run on a constant stream of mana. Why don't they need this high concentration your talking about."

"Ahh, see there is where you're mistaken about the proficiency of a mana pool. If you have a consumption rate of mana that's weaker than the amount given of supply given, you can mix in a bunch of higher grade gunk to get this result. A level five orb is the minimum for that burner right there." He gestured at flame before moving it away from the dangling tubes of another project.

"The problem with the Dungeon lock is its power rate requires something massive and nonstop. Otherwise everythin resets itself and then she'd be useless."

"How massive?" Galahad was starting to realize what the mana orb requirements were entailing. He needed orbs big enough to power the machine in one run; they had to be powerful enough that the consumption wasn't immediate and wasted. He couldn't just toss in a few small ones like in the forges or little machines.

'Bigger the machine means bigger the orb purity. I think Frederick used to say that quite a bit with dad, now it's starting to make more sense.'

The dwarf seemed rather confused why the fixation still remained in Galahad's mind, but he didn't need to lie. Telling the human about the reality of his machine and it's situation would surely stop him from pushing any further.

"Considering how much time it takes to travel through the dungeon and how far into the depths the karmic plate is located. You'd need about three level two-hundred mana orbs at least."

Galahad's jaw nearly hit the floor at that statement. His old team encountering level eighty monster seemed more rare than the idea of Casmus attempting priesthood. His team of friends never when too far into the dungeons depths as the monsters would get increasingly more dangerous, so they never encountered something like that. Level two hundred seemed almost nonexistent at that point.

"And what about mana crystals? Could you get enough to naturally charge up enough to run it?" Galahad asked.

Mana crystals were similar to mana orbs only in certain aspects. They were naturally produced crystalline material that formed in the dungeon where there was a lot of heat, pressure, and mana condensed in one spot.

They didn't come directly from the demons beneath the dungeon either, so it wasn't toxic to magicians when they interacted with them. The mana in crystals energy patterns weren't static like the orbs, either. They slowly absorbed the natural mana in the air or earth like a little siphon. The absorption rate and capacity of an mana crystal depended entirely on the size and purity of the crystal itself.

Once a crystal is refined and applied to an array that produces spells, they can be used to craft magic weapons or armor. The downside is the ability to wield augmented skills and magic is they depend on the rare crystals that can be found only in certain regions of the dungeon's infinite maze.

The dwarf stroked the braid of his beard before giving another thought. He had considered a long time ago for a lot of his machines could use a substitution of mana pools with crystals, but they couldn't be close together. Getting too many crystals in one space would bleed the area dry and hinder the rate they refill. The problem for the Dungeon lock was how scarce any mana crystals were in Diagon, let alone one bigger than his fist that could power a fraction of the machine.

"Rarity of crystals aside, this machine doesn't just push out an exact location. You'd need a lot of charged crystals that would take probably years to run a full cycle. Its simply not worth the effort."

The dwarf was starting to get the feel of the boy's intelligence in the field of crafting, it was surprisingly thorough as Galahad told a quick rundown of his family dynamic, he learned a lot from his magician teachers and his father's constant need to shove the info down his gullet. While Galahad talked, the dwarf never stopped going through his machines and run various tests in a matter of minutes.

Galahad was hoping the discussion was going well; it seemed so, but the dwarf's angry wrinkles were in a flux of intensity. He couldn't tell where his true emotions were, reminding him of the affects the orb seemed to have on his own mind. When Galahad finished talking, the dwarf stopped staring at the stone slate once again and walked straight up to him.

"You seem to have a fraction of sense when it comes to being an assistant in crafting. For that I can commend a magician for that much." He said while wiping his face with a somewhat clean cloth.

'So the Count mentioned my class in the letter, its a shame I didn't try to read it before he burned it. I would have at least liked to at least known what he knew.' Galahad thought as the short-tempered dwarf only seemed to get closer.

"Now as for insults you've thrown at me for my race, I can let pass. But you questioning my abilities as a creation class will certainly not!" The dwarf whipped around and pointed a stubby index finger at Galahad.

"No one ever understands the advantages of a creation class, its all about summoning fancy little beasts or blowing smoke from your eyes, dumb shit like that does not amount to the greatest strength of a creation class. Do ya have any idea what that might be?"

Galahad really hope the dwarf would say body wash and oral hygiene. At such a close proximity, He couldn't stop the burning stench of the dwarf's sweaty clothes from making his eyes start watering.

"An extensively large imagination."

Galahad was lost, doesn't every in-depth thinker have an expansive imagination? Well, maybe not some of the simpletons he remembered from Teramore.

"You see, its all about power or abilities with everyone else, its never about the original creation of something never thought possible. The creation class specializes in thinking about much more unique ideas than that of an average mind. My memory never fades and I am never stopping to doubt the impossibility of my mind. They are some of the greatest abilities one should ever ask for."

"Is that the same kind of thinking that could get you orbs big enough to run the dungeon lock?" Galahad asked.

"Let me tell ya, finding mana orbs that big would surely cause a commotion in this town, no scratch that. Half the kingdom would up at arms if even a single level two-hundred was found in the dungeon let alone three of them" A little dwarven hand shook out three dirt smudged fingers and made another angry face.

Galahad watched the dwarf's extreme reactions before he starting staring quietly at the machine and not turning back to speak.

"But if I managed to bring you some, as long as they were greater than two-hundred, they don't have to be exact then?" He was dead serious in his tone, throwing the dwarf off.

"Ah, no offense kiddo, but you're not exactly the kind of man who can find anything that rare and powerful. It would take half the city's adventurers to work together and manage bringing something of that size down. Its would like asking for the powers of the gods. Its just not worth the time or value to run the machine, she's just too hungry."

The dwarf was motioning his eyes at the bandages along Galahad's sleeve when referring to the lack of strength.

Galahad wasn't listening to the idea of failure, he instead kept estimating how long it would take to reach that level of unknown power. "But if you had the orbs, could you get it to run then?"

The dwarf turned and looked up at the much taller human before him. He rubbed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, seeing that Galahad's ideals weren't easily shaken.

"Maybe, but again, not very useful if you don't have the firepower to get an orb big enough three times over."

"Well I'll just have to invest in looking for such items when I'm not working here, or shall I assume your gonna deny the Count's request?"

"Hmmph, someone's rather cocky for only managing to annoy me just three times. You're lucky my last assistant set fire to my alchemy stand and just blew up my door. Standards have hit rock bottom this week."

The dwarf stuck out a hand covered in grease, indicating a handshake that Galahad immediately regretted taking.

"Congratulations, you've now put yourself in the payroll of the only dwarf in Diagon. Regin Prodo, also now know as 'Boss' or 'Sir' to you." The dwarf shook his hand back as his new assistant was just now hired.

*****

A few things were negotiated as Galahad wanted a few special terms added in. He discussed to have day or two out of the week to go into the dungeon for more than just a few hours at a time. In exchange, he had his payroll set at some fairly standard wages, giving Galahad mostly money for just food, housing, and a little spare change for gear. Mana orbs would hopefully pay for anything more extravagant, the problem now was getting in.

Galahad and Regin talked for a little while after and decided three days were enough to let Galahad find a place to rent, settle in, and then start working. He had to promise after that to not complain about the disgusting jobs that were soon to follow. The stars and dual moons were already out before Galahad finally left the underground workshop.

He left with a strange take on the whole situation. Despite the suppressed feelings of emotions, his chest was tingling like he was practically giddy to know the machine existed and didn't need completed. His new problem was the concerns about was how long it was going to take him to become powerful enough to nab the orbs and get to use the machine. He had no idea how long it would take before the spriggan or blemmyae would use his team to feed a new black orb.

Then there was Count's rather deceitful promise.

'I don't understand why the count wouldn't mention the completion of the Dungeon lock or explain the job request. I can maybe understand the passing of time destroys details, but he was certainly hiding what he knew with the whole job agenda. I swear if Solteer decided to blab with the local power to get rid of me, I'm gonna be tasting fried hawk when I get back.'

Galahad made his way to an inn for the night, spending a massive chunk of money on sadly the cheapest room he could find. He slept that night with nothing but plans filling his head. He had a lot to do in just three days.

*****

Galahad quickly checked out that morning, feeling that imaginary singed hole in his pocket from spending over three hundred credits for one night in a flimsy cheap bed and a meal.

He left and made his way to a building he spotted the day before when adventuring, it was right between the shopping and living districts. It was a small brick office building with one floor and a few glass windows. It was a tenant agency that maintained quite a bit of the nearby area.

He went inside to apply for housing and ended up filling out an application. He gave them his contact rune to speak later and was told to wait for a call back on availability. The process didn't take too long so he began roaming the city to gather cheap food for the next part of his day.

When he walked around the crowds, felt the bandages on his arm kept coming loose. The wrapping beneath his jacket sleeve had definitely seen better days, he was gonna have to get rid of it soon.

He started to look at buildings for a trash can before a tavern strange sign caught his eye. It wasn't unusual for place to have strange names or signs to become memorable for patrons, yet the image was what caught his view. The dangling sign had a faded name and a bare-chested warrior depicted on the top.

Galahad whipped his head back at the shifty looking establishment to read the sign again. He needed to be sure it wasn't his mind making shit up.

Sure enough the sign read: "Spartan's Porter"

'That can't possibly be the place I'm about to figure out this class.' He thought before entering the rundown establishment.