Too Stubborn to Die

The moment they were away from the battlefield, Aaron wanted to sit down and discuss mana anchors. But that would have to wait. Ernest led him through the main settlement of the World Alliance, a bustling city the likes of which Aaron hadn’t seen since the integration.

Huge walls had been constructed, and lined with turrets and guards, dissecting the massive city into quarters for different Professions and Classes. It was all rather orderly, despite the crowded streets. And more importantly, there was just about every Profession one could think of.

He even spotted monsters roaming the streets, which Ernest informed him were monster tamers. These kinds were quite common in the city, and they had even formed a guild that took great pride in collecting monster types. Apparently, there was an entire science that went behind evolving beasts and monsters, and everything from what they ate to the kinds of monsters you hunted with them could alter the outcomes.

As they neared the inner district, Aaron found himself gawking at everything they had achieved. There were far more people here than Dober. And as they chatted and walked through the streets, Ernest explained why.

From the sound of it, this site had always been destined to become a great city. Thousands of people found themselves in this very place as their starting point after the Tutorial.

There had been a few fights and power struggles at first. But knowing the dangers that lurked out in the world, people had come together to build the World Alliance rather quickly.

The World Alliance was quite unique. Unlike the other major factions, it didn’t seem to have a single stand-out powerhouse. There were a few decently high rankers amongst their influence, including a few who had fought in the dungeon amongst their world’s top ranks.

To settle the disputes that had raged when first arriving on this new world, the people had come together and elected a council to lead them.

Even Ernest, for as strong as he was, wasn’t a leader of any shape. He wasn’t even considered a citizen, Aaron learned. They were happy to have him fighting alongside them, and living in the city, but rules were rules. And not even top elite rankers got to jump the line without first following the bureaucracy this alliance had built up.

Honestly, their dedication to bureaucracy was rather impressive. Most people were probably out killing monsters, while these guys had spent their time creating an impressive amount of red tape. And he could only imagine the nightmare of paperwork and government clerks that awaited the Alliance’s future if they had already achieved this much in so little time.

But Ernest didn’t seem all that bothered. He had an axe to grind, and until he had dealt with Darius, the man didn’t seem to care in the slightest about some faction’s approval.

They passed several checkpoints, moving into the inner core of the city. Despite officially having no rank within the city, Ernest clearly had pull. The guards didn’t even try to stop them, moving aside and saluting as he led Aaron into the heart of the faction.

He was led to the council, who were held up in a parliament-like building. Aaron didn’t recognize any, but there were a couple in the top 100 ranks, which wouldn’t have been quite impressive for just about anybody else.

“Aaron Dober,” one of the councilmen said. “I have watched your rise for some time. Quite impressive. And I’m sure everyone else here is well aware of at least some of your achievements. And now I hear that you’ve helped us push back the undead. Cleansing their rot and helping us claim several obelisks. We are extremely grateful for that.”

“No worries, mate.”

Some of the council shared confused glances.

“It is always good to see more resistance against that foul corruption. But we must ask for what reason you have come here?”

Aaron explained his situation, his plans for Darius, and talked about Dober and their spreading settlements.

“I see. Of course, we want no confrontation with you. But we have a different way of doing things here. The World Alliance has a very specific view of how we want to improve people’s lives. And how we intend to govern. Our scouts have traveled far, and we know how the world runs beyond our walls. But here, we don’t just bow to the strongest person. This is a democracy. And we are its council, elected by the people, for the people.”

Aaron didn’t push the subject. If they wanted to do things their way, but were friendly, that was fine. Although he did feel that, considering the circumstances, playing politics seemed a little distracting, and he was, quite frankly, glad to leave the council building when they finally got done talking.

He couldn’t blame them for wanting democracy; most people did. But at the same time, it all seemed a little petty with everything going on. They didn’t seem to have a solution for Darius, and he was the tip of the iceberg. There were gods fighting over worlds, and these people were bickering over who got to decide local policy.

The thought of electing local politicians when the entire world could be snuffed out by a single immense power just seemed too absurd for him to entertain.

Luckily, they were happy to have him around as long as he wasn’t sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. And he had no interest in doing that.

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Ernest showed him around a little longer before leading him to the metalworking quarter, where he had some errands that needed doing.

“Your guns need more backbone,” Ernest said, snapping his fingers. The man who had been following them around pulled out all of Ernest’s busted guns from a spatial storage and started dumping them on the counter of the gunsmith’s workshop.

“All of them? You’re going to make me cry!” The barrel-chested gunsmith said.

“Eh, it ain’t all bad; they are gettin’ better. Though, you still got a bit of work to do,” Ernest said, taking a chair and lighting up a cigar.

“You’re just going to sit and watch?”

“I’ve time to kill.”

Aaron had seen so many workshops on his way into the gunsmith, and he was beyond eager to check them out.

“I might leave you here,” Aaron said. “I want to take a look around.”

“You do you,” Ernest waved.

Aaron had never seen anything like this place, at least not since the integration. Smoke billowed out of every building, and the clinks and clanks of metalworking smiths could be heard throughout the entire quarter.

As he walked around, looking through buildings, he wondered if there were more people working at their Professions in this one quarter than there were in all of Dober.

Even if the Alliance had no interest in joining them, trade routes with a place like this would be invaluable.

After a little wandering around, he spotted an absolutely massive smithy. There was a huge range of armor types, with various items lining the displays, and he spotted some high-rarity items, making his brows perk with excitement. This might just be exactly what he was looking for.

“Gork and Morks? Odd name, but it looks impressive,” Aaron muttered, craning to get a good look at all their gear.

Inside, an oddly human-like goblin female stood behind a benchtop, standing almost as tall as Aaron with a wide smile.

“May I help you—ooohoh! Oh my, you are—Gork, Mork! We have a V-VIP!” She stuttered.

“Hi there! This is a smithy, is it?”

The goblin nodded nervously, teeth chattering, and appearing lost for words.

“Snot for brains! Work you fucking thing! I’ll turn ya damn mother into a breeder if ya don’t!” Came shouting from out the back.

“Gork, we can hear you!” The assistant said, hissing through the side of her mouth. “And we have a VIP!”

“I don’t give a—bah! Bastard! Why won’t you work!”

“Because you’re doing it wrong, shit for brains. Get your stinky fingers out. We need to do it like this!”

“Shut up and let me work! Can’t focus with your yapping!”

“I would if you’d do it properly!”

“Alright, you do it. Mr Wiseguy!”

“Gork! Mork! Can you heeeear me? I said we have a VIP! And he’s waiting here patiently for you!”

“It’s fine, really. No rush,” Aaron said.

A lull came over the two arguing voices reverberating from a back room, and a moment later, two little green figures completely wrapped in bulging muscles came waddling out.

“What are ya—oh. I see.”

“Shut up, and let me do the talking, wart face. Hello there, humy! Let me introduce myself. I’m the great Mork, and this here is the retard, Gork!”

“Why, you!” Gork grabbed his brother by the neck.

“Mork, Gork! Remember, inside manners!” The assistant squeaked.

“I can come back another time…” Aaron said, slowly backstepping.

“That’s not necessary! Mork, Gork, please, control yourselves!”

Pulling at each other, the goblin brothers finally managed to break apart, glaring at each other for a moment before finally turning back to Aaron.

“So, um, you fellas are the smiths, I understand?” Aaron asked, a little taken aback by the two roided-up goblins.

“Best armorsmith in town,” Gork thumbed his chest.

“Nuh uh! Best weaponsmith in town,” Mork thumbed his chest.

“Ooookay. Well, that’s handy, because I’m looking for both,” Aaron said. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what was all that yelling back there?”

“This snot for brains doesn’t know the first thing about metalworking!”

“Like you can talk, ya bugbear breeder!”

Suddenly, they were right back at each other, and Aaron was a little worried they might start swinging.

“How about you show me?”

The two looked at each other mid-swing, and then in unison at Aaron. “Why would we do that?”

“I dunno, I might be able to help?” Aaron shrugged.

“Remember, he’s a V-I-P,” the assistant hissed again, as if trying to remind them. “It’s Aaron Dober!”

“Get your hand off me.”

“You first!”

“How about you both do it at the same time?” Aaron suggested, and the goblins glared, and then simultaneously released each other.

“Fine, we’ll show you about. But I don’t know what ya can do if you don’t know metalworking.”

“He couldn’t be any worse than you, wart sucker.”

“Why you–”

Aaron stepped between them before their fighting could flare up again. “Hey, what’s that? I can feel aether,” he said, pointing to several sets of armor.

“Huh?”

“That’s what we’ve been working on. Armor for the troops. Something to keep the corruption out. But this dumbass keeps fucking everything up.”

Aaron walked over as the two goblin brothers watched and picked up a piece of the metal armor. “Hmm. Interesting. I can feel a little aether in it, but it feels wrong. Almost like it's been forced into the metal.”

“Told ya you were doing it wrong, piss for brains!”

“Like you could do it any better!”

“Can you two calm down for a moment? I might be able to help,” Aaron interjected. “Look, I’m no smith. But I know a thing or two about aether. I’d be happy to stay and work with you. Show you what I know about aether, maybe help you understand how the energy works. That is, if you’re willing to help me.”

The goblin brothers look at each other.

“Alright… But what do ya need help with, pink skin?”

“I’m actually looking for someone who can work with aether rock. Like I said, I’m on the market for both a weaponsmith and an armorsmith.”

“Aether rock? We ain’t never heard of it. What the fuck is that?”

“Here, take a look. I brought a sample,” Aaron said, producing a small piece of the rock. “What do you think?”