Balkan slowly looked around the Upperhills Workshop. It had been quite some time since he first came here, but the sight before him was astonishing every time he saw it.
Clang! Clang!
A giant power hammer shook the ground as it pounded steel. The kind of power that would require a dwarf blacksmith with decades of experience to strike with all his might was being repeated so easily by the power of a machine. Next to it, the mana stone furnace, which had even been mistaken for ‘Vulcan’s fire,’ was blazing away.
It was a monster that spewed out immense heat with only mana, not a single lump of coal. And in the hands of the dwarves were the new marvels provided by Isaac, ‘welding machines.’
Szzzzzzzzzle!
There was no fire, but the head of the welding machine and the iron plates in between melted. He tried to hear what the principle behind it was, but he couldn't understand it at all.
"Maybe I should have studied a bit of magic...?"
If Balkan had dedicated just a part of his long life to studying magic, he might have understood the principle behind that thing. But Balkan soon dismissed the thought. He wasn't confident he could stay awake if he actually opened a magic book.
Balkan watched the welding work, which was now almost finished.
"Well, I'll be..."
He had used a welding machine when making the currency minting machine, but he was amazed every time he used it. With that, it would be a great help in making the fuel section of the ‘flying cannon (rocket).’ Of course, now there was no need to make the flying cannon itself.
Instead of a cannon that killed and injured people every time it was fired, one could just ride an airship. Nevertheless, the applications of that technology seemed endless. The hydraulic system of the suspension Isaac had designed would also see its production efficiency increase severalfold with this technology.
The changes in the world were astounding. 'Long ago, in the days when we interacted with humans, none of this technology existed...' Balkan stroked his beard.
'Does a larger population lead to faster innovation?' He was lost in thought for a moment. If so, was the decision for isolation at the grand council wrong?
Had we fallen behind because we locked ourselves within the mountain range? If we find the sky island and return, could that decision be overturned? But Balkan soon shook his head.
'No... that Isaac fellow did all of this by himself.' All this innovation did not stem from the characteristics of the human race, but from a single mutant genius named Isaac Upperhills. It wasn't because we cut off ties with humans, but simply because a madman like that didn't appear among us.
A moment later, a young dwarf approached Balkan.
"Sir Balkan. May I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"About this welding machine... can we take it to the Iron Mountains to use later?"
Balkan smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Probably not."
The core of this machine was magic. It was so complex that it was difficult to make into a magical device; Isaac had to come every morning to re-enchant it. To Balkan's words, the young dwarf replied.
"Then... how about we just take that fellow with us? After all, he's a kindred spirit who loves iron and fire, isn't he?"
Balkan's eyebrows twitched at the young dwarf's words.
"... You there, do not speak so carelessly of that elsewhere."
"Why? Isn't it good for us, and good for him too?"
"Haaah..."
Balkan let out a sigh. He recalled the day he, the princess, and Isaac had a three-way meeting. He knew just by the way the princess looked at Isaac.
Isaac was already a talent who had captured the heart of the Empire. Trying to take him was tantamount to a declaration of war against the entire Empire. But there was no way his kin, who had only hammered iron their whole lives, would understand if he explained such human reasons.
'Kids these days.' In Balkan’s time, they had learned about the world by haggling and bickering with human merchants, but it seemed living amongst themselves in the mountains had led to this.
"For now, just know that it's against the rules."
"Tsk. I understand."
The young dwarf smacked his lips. Balkan said to him.
"By the way, have you finished your work for today?"
"Of course. All of today's iron ore has been processed."
"Haha..."
Balkan let out a hollow laugh. In the past, they would have had to work through the night just to hammer in each rivet, but thanks to the welding machine, the work speed was dozens of times faster. It had reached a point where the supply of materials couldn't keep up with the work speed.
To think they would finish work in a flash in the morning and then spend the whole afternoon blankly waiting for iron ore.
"They need to send it over faster so we can do more work. My hands are itching to do something."
"Clear your mind and rest. It's only two years, anyway. It'll pass quickly."
"They say we can go to the sky island once this is complete, so how can we rest! We need to finish it a day sooner and leave."
Balkan chuckled at the words of the vigorous young dwarf.
"You there. How old were you again?"
"Seventy-four years, if you only count since I started holding a hammer."
"Just a sprout. The time I've spent researching to go to the sky island alone is 150 years."
"..."
"..."
Thump, thump.
Balkan patted the young dwarf on the back. A fearsome sound was heard, but it was encouragement, not assault. Balkan said to him.
"If you really have nothing to do, try wandering around human society a bit. To broaden your horizons."
"Why bother? It's a place I'll never come back to once I return home."
"..."
"..."
Balkan saved his words. It was just a gut feeling, but he thought that once they found the sky island, the Dwarf Kingdom's isolationist policy would also be lifted. When that time came, they would need someone who knew about the human world.
"Like this workshop, maybe there are surprisingly many interesting things in human society."
"Hmm... well, I understand. I guess I'll start by looking around the places our comrade Isaac runs."
The dwarf answered lukewarmly and stepped back. Balkan thought to himself as he watched his retreating back. He had pretended to be calm in front of the kid, but in truth, Balkan was just as excited about the trip to the sky island.
He had a hard time keeping his beard from trembling. A 150-year wait. And now, only two years until its end.
The dream he had dedicated his life to was almost within his grasp. 'I should ask if they can send the iron ore a little faster.'
An iron ore mine near the Imperial capital. There, a man covered in dust was grinning like a madman.
"Hehehe..."
It was Hyde, the Earth Element Mage. In front of him was an ore cart piled high with iron ore. Without lifting a finger, Hyde was pushing the cart, which weighed several tons, with only telekinesis.
Clatter, clatter.
The cart glided along the rails. Just then, the mages from the next shift, who had finished their work at the iron workshop, entered the mine.
"Huh? Hyde, you haven't left yet? The shift change was a while ago."
Thanks to Isaac's new technology, the work at the iron workshop finished early, so the spare manpower would often come to support the mine.
"Has it been that long already?"
"Yeah. Hurry up and go rest. We'll take care of the rest."
Hyde firmly shook his head at his colleague's words.
"No. I'm going to stay here longer."
"Hmm? Why? It's not like you're short on money."
"This... is a trial."
Hyde's eyes shone with tragic determination. Trials are only given to those who can endure them.
"Sir Isaac must have assigned me this arduous mining job because he saw my potential."
"..."
"..."
"Human growth is about overcoming one's immature past. If I back down here, my growth stops."
His fellow mage clicked his tongue.
"Alright... do as you wish. I'll take care of adjusting the work schedule."
"Thank you."
Even after his colleagues left, Hyde quietly continued his work. To be honest, it was despairing at first. To think that he, who thought himself an elite mage, was doing nothing more than a miner's job.
But the more he worked, the more he felt a strange sense of pleasure. Normally, his mana would have leaked out every time he used telekinesis. Hyde's affinity with telekinesis was not good.
But after steeling his resolve and thoroughly reading Isaac's [Principia], his mana efficiency changed. He had become better at using telekinesis by utilizing Isaac's formulas. Of course, it was more like finding a special solution for the specific case of a rail cart with a limited size and repetitive work, but it was fine either way.
Now, pushing a single ore cart was no big deal. 'As expected of Sir Isaac. To see through my weaknesses and place me in the optimal position to overcome them.'
Moreover, when mining iron ore, he could fully utilize his aptitude for earth magic. After moving all the iron ore, Hyde went to the excavation site and helped mine the ore. Deep underground, feeling the vibrations of rock and earth to search for veins of ore.
It was a job that, surprisingly, suited him well as an Earth Element Mage. As time went on, his senses grew sharper and sharper. To the point where he could feel the weight of the metals breathing within the earth.
Then, suddenly. Flash.
From an unremarkable wall of the mine tunnel, he felt a heavy energy. 'This feeling... it's not iron.' A metal far heavier and denser than iron.
Could it be? With a trembling hand, Hyde shot a spell toward the wall.
BOOM!
The rock shattered and fell away, and from within, a golden luster flashed.
"... Gold?"
He had heard that the gold veins near the capital had run dry decades ago. As if possessed, Hyde approached and picked up a fallen piece of ore. The yellow metal was embedded in particles between the stones.
It was undoubtedly pure gold. The miners who were watching from the side gaped in awe.
"S-sir Mage! Th-this is...!"
"Good heavens... I've never seen gold in an iron mine, let alone a copper mine, in all my life."
One miner whispered to Hyde.
"Sir Mage, why don't we just pretend we didn't see this and slip it into our pockets. Let's just quietly dig out what's around here and leave."
"..."
It was a tempting offer. If it were the Hyde from before he met the Isaac in his heart, he really would have done it. But Hyde was a new man now.
He shook his head firmly.
"What nonsense! This is a matter that must be reported immediately!"
"... Pardon?"
"Sir Isaac foresaw this and placed me in this position. I cannot betray his trust!"
"..."
"..."
Hyde looked around at the mine workers. They were staring at him as if he were a madman. 'These people... they'll get their hands on the gold vein as soon as I leave.'
It seemed he needed to silence them. He didn't know yet how Isaac would use this gold. Hyde said to the workers.
"Everyone here will immediately be placed under the 'protection' of the Imperial Guard."
"What?"
"Surely you're not disobeying? A mage may not have a title, but we are semi-nobles."
"N-no, sir! We'll go right away!"
Hyde handed the mine workers over to the Imperial Guard, then took the gold ore and headed to Isaac.