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The atmosphere in the imperial palace of the Volcan Empire was chillier than usual. The servants and knights knew that the emperor was in a foul mood. Fortunately for them, currently, Mite Volcan was in his bed chambers. With the emperor sleeping soundly, they could take a break from the edge.

"Damn it…!" Mite cursed silently inside his bedroom.

Well, he was supposed to be sleeping soundly but as of late, he was having trouble sleeping.

The news of the failure down in the Bosque Kingdom had just been delivered to him a couple of hours ago. Even after spending so many resources… The damn king of Bosque was alive and well! Not just that, but the army of his noble \'ally\' was eradicated by their tactless subordinate\'s rash actions.

Azrael was not incompetent. He was more unhinged than he used to be, but he was not incompetent. He was in fact rather talented. The people of Bosque simply didn\'t have a way to realize this talent, which lay in the element of space. With some experimentation, they even got it to work with the death element. This was exactly what infuriated Mite Volcan.

"They are all talented individuals, so why…!" The power that he raised in the shadows was facing walls after walls, and he could not blame anyone. No one at all!

Mite was starting to think that maybe, maybe, he was the incompetent one. Was his foresight so lacking? The insurrection he performed went smoothly, the build up of power before that also went smoothly… Why were his plans crumbling now?

Unable to sleep and unable to come to terms with his failure, Mite left his chambers. His subjects greeted him without a word as he left the cold palace.

"What a beautiful night" The night was bright thanks to the moon\'s ray reflecting off the brilliant white snow.

"I could use some hot chocolate…" Mite muttered feeling the cold outside the palace. After admiring the scenery for only a couple more minutes, he started his trek up the mountain with mixed emotions.

The cold winds buffeted the young emperor\'s face as he scaled further and further up the mountain. Even so, he remained unflinching. His body even let off an oppressing heat. He was used to climbing the mountain already. This mountain was the Volcano where Pyre resided after all.

After about a good amount of arduous travelling, Mite was finally face to face with the dragon. He liked to stare at Pyre right in the eye. The dragon had a bit of looking down at him, the young emperor couldn\'t take it lying down.

But today, Mite clenched his fists and looked down at the rocky ground.

"They- No, I… I failed again" Mite confessed.

The mighty red dragon Pyre lifted his body off of the pool of lava. His piercing yet enchanting draconic eyes looked straight at the sorry looking Mite who keenly averted his gaze.

"Did you really?" Pyre asked in an uncaring manner. He noticed that the young man was avoiding his gaze, so he moved beside the tiny Mite and laid down.

Even though the great dragon was now beside him, Mite could not muster the courage to look at Pyre.

"I did…" Mite remembered every word Pyre had ever uttered. Well, not really, but he did remember every single moment that mattered.

"I can\'t help make a place for dragons…" He couldn\'t even make a place for himself in this world. He was the emperor of the Volcan empire! It sounded nice on paper, but was that really all he managed to achieve?

Mite wanted his deeds to go down in history. He did not believe that his status as emperor alone could immortalize him for eons to come. Actually, his name might be all that was remembered.

When future historians run through a list of kings of the old, perhaps fallen, Volcan empire… There they would find the name of a young emperor. Mite Volcan. Did he die a grizzly death in this future? Or did he go out peacefully, never attaining anything? Would even these small details remain?

The possibility of success no longer existed in Mite\'s eyes. At this rate, he would be remembered solely for massacring his family.

Pyre looked at the boy. A simple glance and one could tell he was visibly stressed and frustrated.

"I\'m sorry" The unexpected happened, Pyre apologized. The dragon\'s voice shook Mite out of his sorrow and anguish.

"I overestimated you" Pyre was a dragon. Until recently, he only knew dragons. So how was he supposed to raise the young Mite Volcan if not according to draconic standards? It was funny, since the task of raising him was not supposed to fall under him.

Mite choked up. Pyre was definitely disappointed.

"I held you to the standard of a dragon" Pyre said in a deeply apologetic tone of voice. Mite\'s thoughts were now in disarray. Was this a compliment?

For ordinary people, being held to this standard was plenty high. Pyre always had a sense of superiority when it came to humans. So to be recognized, even if subconsciously… was he doing a good job before?

"Let\'s go" Pyre then said to the pensive emperor. But he was in a trace and appeared to have ignored the commanding voice.

The ground suddenly shook.

"Let\'s go" Pyre\'s wing had knocked down on the ground, it now looked inviting.

"Go… go where?" Mite said despondently.

"Let\'s settle this ourselves" Pyre said brusquely. If sending capable subordinates was not working, the big bosses themselves had to appear. It was common knowledge.

"But, I need to inform my subjects first" Mite told Pyre who only scuffed at his response.

"So you prefer to walk down this mountain?" The old dragon asked with disdain.

Mite was astounded by the question. Was Pyre putting aside his pride and acting as a flying carriage?

"Not at all!" Mite responded before running over to Pyre eager to fly on his back.

***

Sanctuary was lively as always. Yet, the atmosphere this time was different. It wasn\'t chilling, nor was it happy per se.

"Shel! Another one ready for assembly!" An orc hollered as they swept sweat off their forehead. The heat of the forge and the many orcs present was making the orc sweat bullets.

As to why they were working so hard... they were making cannons. The current atmosphere encouraged hard work and discipline. Everyone was contributing to something in Sanctuary.

The council meeting last time was not disclosed to anyone. Not publicly anyway. If word got around by itself, that was a separate matter. What did matter however was that Ed showcased his work to the orcs of Sanctuary.

The reactions of the Sanctuary orcs were mainly surprised ones. But this reaction was not towards the ships Ed made, they were towards the moat. How did he make it so quickly? They didn\'t know the significance of the ships Ed made until he explained it to them.

He explained that the boats were useful for battling in the water, which was a moot point to the orcs. Once Ed informed them of the cannons on board, however, the council orcs\' attention was finally bought.

"Wow!!!" "Hehehe" Ed even taught the orcs how to ride these ships. They all seemed to enjoy racing in the rather narrow moat.

Ed could consider making the moat larger to allow for racing as a new festivity.

Anyway, after the fun came time for work. Ed showed the orcs the new cannons. These were truly fascinating for them since they understood them plainly. The destructive power enamored them. The distant trees were not enamored, though.

Ed ended up tasking the orcs with the reproduction of these cannons. Those involved in the smithing process were all for it. They were curious about how the cannons worked to begin with. The fact that Ed was giving them a chance to find out meant no one opposed.

But the smithing and mining industry could not be responsible for the hardworking atmosphere alone. Ed also asked Sharog to teach some orcs to make potions. The pay was handsome and the benefits were wondrous for the orc and goblin alchemists.

"Kikiki" The squeals of hardworking goblins could be heard in the smithy.

Ed and Sharog spread the goblins into various fields of work. This was all part of integrating them into society. The original amount of goblins didn\'t really allow for this, but Ed took the liberty to modify more of them.

If he didn\'t add any new materials to their bodies, he at least grew their consciousnesses and skill pool.

With potions becoming more mainstream, the orcs were now able to purchase them from newly opened shops. The effects weren\'t very varied, but some potions helped strengthen or revitalize the orcs.

With newfound strength, they could work harder on personal projects or even just continue working well into the night. If this phenomenon was to be compared to something…

Ed would compare it to coffee in his past life. When it was first globalized, it did wonders to the attitude of the citizens. Coffee fueled creativity and in the process allowed for new business ventures, literature, music, etc.

Potions were magical than some simple beans, the effects on the orcs were even more notable.

\'I think I should be able to return to the swamp soon\' Ed thought as he finished building another ship. He was the only one who could realistically do the ship building.

Ed would be returning with potions and weapons for the lizardmen. This period in Sanctuary would be brief but very fruitful.

\'Eon is going to have a bad time\' Ed was looking forward to it.