Chapter 2

The mornings were always the most frantic parts of the day. Who knows what sort of new crazy scheme found its way into Pero's head. Kaijin and Kurobe were sitting in the central planning room of the building that was slowly becoming the central hub of Tempest's industry.

"Hey boss, I wanted to thank you for the skill you got for me." Kaijin said as he was approached by his employer, who, at this point, was closer to being his master.

"Sure thing, pal. I thought it would come in handy for your line of work." Pero said with a cheerful laugh. Convincing Momonga to add the dwarves to |Nazarick| wasn't that hard, especially considering how influential they had become to the development of Tempest. After that, all that remained was to let Pandora's Actor do his job and distribute some useful skills around, the chief among them being |Inventory|.

"Anyhow, Kurobe and I gathered enough iron for testing." Kaijin continued his report with an air of indifference, but there was this twinkle in his eyes that betrayed his excitement. If Lord Peroronchino wanted to test something personally, it was bound to be interesting.

A day ago, the Avian Lord had ordered them to gather as much iron as both Kurobe and Kaijin could store in their inventories and wait for him in the morning hours. It was surprising for someone who was, by all means, one of the royals of Tempest to be out and about just after the sunrise.

Lord Momonga was rather inconsistent with his appearances, and often sent servants to make his orders known. Lady Buku, on the other hand, by her own brother's admission, was a night owl that rarely made public appearances before noon.

"Great, let's head to Veldora's cave first." Pero said nonchalantly.

"V-V-Veldora's cave?" Kaijin stuttered in disbelief.

"Yeah, do you have a problem with it?" Pero asked, tilting his head in response to Kaijin's reaction. Kurobe seemed just as anxious at first glance.

"B-but wouldn't Lord Veldora mind us going in there?"

"Naah, he and I are best buddies. If he gives you any problem, I'll deal with him." Pero said dismissively.

"...Sure, boss." Kaijin responded after a beat, unconvinced by his superior's reassurance. After all, it was the Storm Dragon Veldora they were talking about. Even if he was the protector of Tempest it didn't mean he would be above turning its denizens into ash if they as much as looked wrongly in his direction.

This assumption may have been based on the times before the dragon's imprisonment, but his reputation as a force of destruction was well earned, and well known.

Seeing that his words didn't calm down the pair, Pero pulled a colorful pack out of his inventory and tore it open, filling the room with the sweet smell of chocolate.

Out of nowhere, a tall blonde man appeared and snatched the pack out of Pero's hand.

"You could at least say hello, you fat lizard!" Pero said with mock shock.

"Hhm." Veldora hummed, his mouth already filled to the brim with chocolate. He gulped down and then shouted. "Who are you calling fat, you overgrown chicken?" He only then noticed Kaijin and Kurobe standing with their mouths open and eyes bulging, casually adding. "Oh, hey fellas."

"For fucks sake man, turn your aura down. Someone might shit their pants in your presence." Pero said while glancing at the shivering pair.

"It's not my fault that I am this awesome!" Veldora said and pushed chocolate pieces into his mouth in an overly gluttonous manner.

"Here, at least put this on. I don't want to have a lecture from Momonga about not watching after you." Pero said and gave him a ring with a small green gem.

Veldroa glared at Pero for a moment at the threat of being snitched on and put the ring on. "Feels weird. Like I can barely breathe."

"It's a ring of false data. It will hide your aura completely and you don't even have to think about it." Pero said and glanced at Kaijin and Kurobe who had not changed their expressions. "See, I told you we are best buddies."

"We would be if you didn't hide all this stuff from me!" Veldora hissed and dropped the last pieces of chocolate in his mouth.

"If you weren't such a glutton I wouldn't have to. I actually called you for a reason… hmm, right. Do you mind if we dump some piles of raw ore and other materials near your prison? I need to test how fast large concentrations of magicules change the properties of materials."

"Sure, I don't care." Veldora said as he shook the empty packet of chocolate on his hand.

"Fine, but only this time." Pero let out an annoyed sigh and pulled another pack from his inventory. To not waste any more time, he quickly opened a gate directly to the cave.

Shalltear, of course, was always eager to cast the spell for him but it was long overdue to learn it for himself. After all, there weren't any class restrictions restricting him from doing so anymore.

He motioned for Kaijin and Kurobe to follow and walked through the gate, with Veldora going right after him while snacking on the delicious treat whose source Pero was hellbent on hiding from him.

Kaijin and Kurobe looked at each other and nodded as if to affirm that both of them had seen the same thing. The Storm Dragon Veldora was not only able to manifest outside his prison but indeed acted like a close friend of Lord Peroroncino.

A moment later, all four stood before the true form of Veldora, who looked asleep in the prison.

"Didn't you have to work on breaking the prison from inside?" Pero asked.

"I'm doing that. I can multitask easily." Veldora said, curiously watching as Pero started to dump piles of various materials on the floor.

"Yeah, sure." Pero remarked with a sarcastic tone and then turned his attention to the kijin and dwarf who both were seemingly in a daze.

"You can put half of the iron ore over there."

"Half? I thought we gathered it all for testing?" Kurobe asked with an audible strain on his voice. Being so close to the dragon's unrestricted aura was overwhelming for him, to say the least.

"Sorry, I completely forgot!" Pero exclaimed and waved his hand over both of his subordinates, putting shields around both of them. "Better?"

"Much better, boss." Kurobe said as Kaijin let out a long sigh of relief.

"That's good. So yes, we will use only half here. I have permission to use Nazarick's eighth floor for testing as well. You know, it's not like Veldora will be sitting here forever."

"I want to come too!" Veldora shouted almost childishly at the mention of the fabled eighth floor even Nazarick's NPCs couldn't visit.

"Huh? I'll run it by Momonga and see if he gives me the go ahead." Pero said.

{ Hey Momo, do you think we can let Veldora see the eighth floor? } He messaged the Overlord.

{ I would prefer not to, but he is already whining about the lack of trust we put in him on a regular basis. Do you think it is a good idea? } Momonga's tone sounded indifferent as usual.

{ I don't think he would ever go against us. The name we share should be enough right? }

{ I guess, I can't deny the link we all share now. Just in case, do not let anyone from the eighth floor fight him. }

{ Oh that's a given. I don't think the Tomb would survive that. }

"Ok, Momonga told me you can come, but you are not allowed to fight anyone from that floor."

"Fine…" The dragon let out a disappointed grumble.

Pero just chuckled and opened the gate directly to the eighth floor. Beyond the gate, the scenery shifted to a barren land with few patches of grass breaking the monotony of sand and rock. All four immediately turned their attention to an eagle of immense proportions sitting on a rocky hill in the distance.

The eagle was watching them intently but making no move. "Be at ease. No one is going to attack us." Pero said to his two subordinates, who looked one step away from a full-blown heart attack. Veldora, meanwhile, was sizing up the bird with a wide grin on his face.

"Let's go." Pero said and started walking towards a valley in the distance. The sandy surface proved to be hard terrain to navigate, and the group reached the valley after around twenty minutes. There were four cave entrances visible with two on each side.

As Pero stopped to look around, the air started to fill with dread.

"B-Boss? W-what is going on?" Kaijin asked, shaking in his boots.

"Nothing serious." Pero handwaved, and then shouted. "Hey, show-offs, come out and stop scaring my subordinates."

The oppressive atmosphere quickly dissipated, and from each cave came out a dragon. All four of them could almost rival Veldora's true form in size.

"Apologies, Supreme One. Our duties dictate to show off our might to all newcomers." Said a gentle female voice.

Pero had not been directly involved in the creation of the eight floor beasts, but he at least knew their names and abilities, as they were the prime defense of the tomb. The voice belonged to Tiamat the Sky Dragon, also known as the primordial Goddess of the Heavens.

The dragon with shining silver scales was an embodiment of grace. She casually stepped forward and bowed her head before Pero.

"We cannot leave a bad impression on the friend of the Supreme Ones." A deeper voice filled with envy rumbled, which came from a dragon Pero recognized as Leviathan, the Ruler of Watery Depths and the Demon Prince of Envy.

The wingless dragon with azura-colored scales stepped forward and mimicked his peer.

"It is rare to meet another of our kind, and a powerful one at that." Said the third voice belonging to Bahamut, the Holder of the World and the Keeper of the Earthly Riches.

The massively built black-scaled dragon also bowed his head.

"How can we be of service to the Supreme One?" A fiery female voice asked, belonging to Ayin, the Primordial Fire.

The fire-red dragon stepped forward and tilted her head in a polite gesture. As the leader of the Four Dragons, she deemed herself important enough not to bow even before the Supreme Beings.

Pero wasn't sure about the origins of the creatures as they weren't exact replicas of Yggdrasil bosses, but he recalled Tabula rambling something about mythologies.

"I need to test how various materials react to your unrestricted auras." Pero said in a casual tone and started taking out the ores from his inventory, dropping them on the ground, and then pointed to one of the cave entrances. "Kaijin, Kurobe, drop the iron ore over there."

Veldora, meanwhile, walked closer and sized up the four dragons. "Of course, you are not on my level, but all of you are strong enough to be at least recognized as dragons by the majestic me." He said with a boisterous laugh.

"Shall we put it to the test? I'm sure the mighty Veldora would be able to make short work of us." Ayin said with a mocking tone and stepped forward, spreading her gargantuan red wings that looked as if they were engulfed in dark flames.

"Bring it…"

"No fighting!" Pero roared and then added. "If any of you make more provocations I will make sure that Albedo or my sister will make your lives a living hell!"

The threat worked like a charm, with all five dragons visibly deflating and looking away from the angered avian.

"Apologies, Supreme One!" The four dragons chanted in unison, as Veldora looked back at Pero with disdain, "No need to go that far. I was only joking around."

"Yeah, and it's my ass on the line if the five of you destroy the eighth floor. Who do you think would have to report it all to Momonga, huh?" Pero then took a moment to exhale, visibly calming down. Then, he added in his usual, calmer tone, "Guys, I don't want to be that guy, okay. Just remember what each of you can do in an all-out fight."

As the dragons exchanged apologetic glances at each other, Pero took out a small chest from his inventory, put it on the ground, and unlocked it.

Inside were small samples of all seven prismatic ores, which were pretty much the highest-grade materials available in Yggdrasil, only surpassed by the caloric stone which was a world item on top of being a combination of all seven.

"I will need one of you to guard this box and concentrate your aura on it." Pero said as he took another glance at the ores to double-check if there were samples of all seven of them. Then he closed the box and picked it up.

Ayin immediately turned into her human form. In this form, she had long red hair, yellow eyes, and light brown skin. Her slim but curvy figure was clad in a flowing red dress that moved around like real flames. She walked up to Pero, took the box out of his hands, "I will guard this treasure with my life, Lord Peroroncino." she said with determination.

The rest of the dragons followed her example and turned into their human forms as well. Tiamat turned into a tall slender woman with fair skin, golden hair, and sky-blue eyes, dressed in a simple white dress decorated with golden linings.

Bahamut turned into a man with dark brown skin, short, pitch-black hair, and dark brown eyes. He was clad in plate armor that resembled a carapace made out of obsidian.

Leviathan, unlike his peers, turned into a fallen angel with long blonde hair, and green eyes and was dressed in a sea-blue tunic. His six wings were clad with pitch-black feathers.

All three stood beside Ayin and said with a bow. "We will assist our leader in her duty. No adversary will lay hands on this treasure."

"It's not that serious. Just don't lose it, that's all." The material, although rare, could be synthesized with |Creation skill|. The problem was that the energy requirements were far too high for any of it to be mass-produced efficiently.

Also, there was little chance that anything would get past the eighth floor in one piece. The four dragons combined should be able to overpower even a true dragon like Veldora.

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After the nerve wracking experience of not only meeting Veldora, but four other dragons that in his mind were just as powerful, Kaijin sat in the tavern, gulping down a bottle of brandy. It was still somewhat of a luxury, but someone with a salary like his could afford it on special occasions.

The sun was already setting and the tavern was filling up with patrons, most of whom Kaijin was on a first name basis with.

"Hey, you look like you're one step in the grave. Did something bad happen?" Rigurd asked. The massive hobgoblin had taken the liberty to sit down at the same table as him.

"Nah." Kaijin said and took another large gulp. "Just a very eventful day."

"Did you meet the Storm Dragon Veldora by chance?" Rigurd asked with an understanding tone.

Kaijin looked around and then said in a hushed tone. "Not only him. There are more dragons like Veldora inside Nazarick."

Rigurd gulped and asked. "What do you mean more dragons?"

Kaijin ignored the question and continued. "They almost started a fight. If not for Lord Peroroncino… Those were my favorite pants."

Kaijin took another large gulp and sniffed. "I had to burn them afterward. Couldn't let my wife see that."

"... Good thing that they are on our side." Was the only thing that Rigurd could say as a response.

Proofreading by I AM THE STRING CUTTER, Sad_Smiles, Somnium Hypnos, and Kazuma.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.