"I think it's time to return," I said fifteen minutes later, when the mana reserves of the dungeon had recovered significantly, breaking our conversation about the operational details of our strategy.
"Lead the way," Rosie said. "So, we've agreed on the general plan."
"I build a new factory underground, and you and your team handle the scouting, simple," I replied. "Just give me some time to forge you a new armor, and new weapons. Do you have any preference for a ranged weapon?"
"I won't say no to a crossbow, maybe some decent arrows," she said.
I nodded. "Do you have a mana attack, or should I optimize the arrows for vitality strikes."
"Vitality," she said with a despairing sigh. "Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to acquire a fitting mana skill that could have helped me to transform my class," she said. "There are some methods to override a developed class skill, but not without significant drawbacks."
I paused, realizing that the discussion of my own mana variant had been diverged before I could answer properly. "And, what if I had a method to upgrade the class skills to their mana variants," I asked.
That earned a deep inhale. "It would be a game changer," she said.
"Then, we'll start working on it the moment we have dealt with the danger," I promised. "It should be done in a few days at most."
"You're really full of surprises, aren't you?" she said.
"It's a good thing you kept me alive for the last three years, then," I said. Technically, she didn't come out and admit it, but reading between the lines, it was obvious that I owed not only my survival, but also my opportunity to develop to her.
There was a good chance that I would have been dead if I joined an expedition like I had been planning to.
"You're not bad company," she replied, her tone somber. I didn't blame her, as the last half an hour had been filled with many changes and revelations.
Once again, silence stretched until we returned to the dungeon. Another portal, and I stepped into the fourth floor, but not before I picked some materials. The class from the larger lizards was one, but I also dragged the two sets of claws I managed to get from the boss monsters with me. Rosie followed. "A bit dreary, isn't it," she asked once she stepped onto the fourth floor.
"It's the best way to ensure some privacy," I replied even as I touched the forge, a flare of mana enough to create ten different types of daggers. "Which one is your favorite," I asked and I turned my attention to the next task, forging a crossbow, some arrows, and even putting together a decent armor set. All that work barely took a minute.
"You work fast," she said and showed me the dagger she had picked.
"Not a bad choice," I said. One stiletto, perfect for stabbing through armor, and a wide knife that could almost pass for a short sword. Another minute, and I forged her the epic variants. "Don't get too attached to them," I said.
"Why, are you going to deprive a poor innkeeper of her weaponry," she said with a sudden playfulness.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sudden switch. If I was meeting with her for the first time, it would have thrown me out of a loop. Like I needed any reminder that, despite having a shared objective, she was a dangerous woman.
She had been, long before the Cataclysm. I was proof that proper education could provide a decisive advantage. She had one such education, one that earned her a post as an international undercover spy. Combined with the System …
I was just glad that I didn't have to experience it firsthand. Observing her as she wreaked havoc on the enemies was excitement enough.
"Well, if you don't want their superior versions, created from even better materials…"
"Fine, spoil my fun," she replied playfully once again, then her expression turned serious. "What now?"
"You start with your patrols, while I handle the design of the factory," I said and opened a portal, and once again carried us to the first floor, my mind already busy with the plans of the larger furnaces and other systems that I could design.
Then, I summoned Harold.
"Harold, this is Rosie, the reinforcements we had been hoping for," I said once Harold arrived.
He looked suspicious while Rosie gave a playful nod. "Yes, sir," he said. "How will the command work?"
"You still have the overall command," I said. "But, Rosie will be acting independently. In case of any problem, feel free to alert me," I said.
"And, where will you be, sir," Harold asked.
"Redesigning the defenses," I said. "Apparently, the dungeon is not safe anymore."
That was enough to widen his eyes, and the following explanation, summarizing what I had learned from Rosie, didn't solve his shock. "I understand, sir," he said. "I will go over the evacuation plans."
"That would be fine," I said. They departed, already discussing the details of the defensive, while I summoned Liam, who was effectively working as the foreman of the design efforts. And, while he was on the way, I was already working on the rough plans.
"Sir —" he greeted, only to gasp when he noticed the sprawling plans. "Are these —"
"The emergency plans to turn the mountain into an impenetrable fortress, yes," I said.
"I see…" he murmured. "The amount of metal we need to properly build them…"
"Is a lot. That's why we need to build these steam-powered machines in an instant," I said, showing him the general outline of steam-powered drills, sorters, and other devices. "I'll also open portals from every discovered mine to transfer the ores to the surface, where you can process them."
"Understood, sir," he said. "Should we also dig the mountain for mineral deposits?"
"Maybe," I said. "What do you think about putting together some tracks, enough to put some trains," I said. It was an impulsive thought, but one that had certain advantages, particularly if we expand it to every direction.
Either Thomas would be forced to mobilize again to deal with it, or we would have a way to move around our forces without forcing them to split. It would be even better if we could load the cannons on the railroad, gaining a limited ability to strike from a distance without sacrificing our assets.
Also, building the railroads would give me an excuse to install better transmission lines for tainted energy, which would be useful in case of another attack.
Several other artisans had joined us, and what followed was a long discussion to completely overhaul our production line and defenses, including the best ways to move a staggering amount of material and reinstall the entirety of our defenses.
What followed was a frenzy of activity as I turned my attention to construction, leaving the planning duties to the others, as my ability to take shortcuts by using mana proved critical to hasten construction, especially when I started cannibalizing the existing defenses, the metal reshaping under my command like clay.
With that, we steadily dug under the mountain, replacing the stone and earth with metal, including the installment of even better weapons that would turn any grand horde into minced meat.
The first set of railroads was installed. While they merely went two miles in every direction, it was enough to send workers to collect the broken remains of claws and other loot, a critical material to smelt all the metal we required.
At the same time, the evacuation efforts were already underway, emptying the dungeon of anyone except the miners who were busy digging through every single deposit they had discovered, already busy building a living space deep underground, forcing me to close down the dungeon gate I created for the moment, wanting to keep that ability a surprise for some time more.
One welcome news during all that proceeding was that the blocker that was preventing me from using external skills had faded on its own, but without assistance from leveling, it almost took four hours.
All the while, there had been a few attempts to harass our construction efforts, but Harold was able to handle almost all of them, with no problem. Two of them had had potential to be dangerous due to elites that had been hidden among the forces, but Rosie dealt with them with ease.
All the while, I continued to drain the thick cloud of tainted energy to fill the mana reserves of the dungeon to the brim, building another arsenal against the potential attack of Thomas.
When the night had finally arrived, I returned to the dungeon. The new defenses were nowhere near complete, but enough of it was in place to finally turn my presence from a necessity to a "nice to have".
I returned to the dungeon.
I had students to visit — who I had yet to evacuate — and experiments to conduct.