Chapter 268 B4 Chapter 24 - Negotiate

Vivi ate the last bit of meat with only purple soup remaining. She eyed it, while also wondering how she’d reply to Adalene.

“I’m more than glad to help you survive…” Vivi said. “But just sharing the method to build a slingshot launcher is dangerous. I just talked about this with some… philosophers. If a weapon to destroy levelstone is readily available to every nation, someone could destroy the world itself. Wars would become deadly.”

“Yes…” Adalene said. “The age old problem, from when runeswords were first invented. Should weapons even be advanced at all? Would it merely lead to death?”

“This might be different, though,” Vivi said. Not that the slingshot launchers would destroy the world. But the foundation is there. If the enhancement strings are developed further, and people start inventing their own skills…

The room was silent for a moment. “I understand your point,” Adalene said. “Shivenar is currently in control of the greatest runesmithing in the world. Sharing your methods would weaken your hold. But the truth is, the storm season is destroying cities right now.” She cast a heavy look at Vivi. “I don’t want to call your caution selfish, but right now, you are my hope to potentially save the lives of thousands of my people.”

“Don’t let her push guilt into you,” Lucius said, frowning. “We shouldn’t make this decision based on what she tries to trick into us.”

She’s probably right, though, Vivi thought. People are dying all around the world. Runesmithing could help them.

“What would convince you,” Adalene asked, “to offer your help to my people?”

All attention was on her. Vivi almost wished she could talk with Lortel in private. She could probably offer some good advice. But it wasn’t like Vivi could just dump every problem she had for Lortel to deal with.

“I would need two things,” Vivi said. “First, I want six of my friends to be teleported back up to Shivenar.”

“Easily done,” Adalene said. “You will be there within days.”

“And second… I want security.”

Adalene raised her eyebrows.

“If I share a weapon to clear calamity-level monsters and destroy levelstone, I need the security that Norfolm won’t use it for war. I need to know that the people in charge will actually use it to defend themselves, not to abuse it for their own benefit.”

“I see,” Adalene said. She sipped wine again. “Wise words. I see how you’ve earned your reputation, Vivian.”

“The problem is,” Vivi continued, “that it’s impossible for me to trust your word. You can promise everything now, but when I’m gone…”

“Also a valid issue to bring,” Adalene said. “I obviously do promise just that. I have no intention of ever bringing Norfolm up from the tenth level. Our history should be proof of that. For over five thousand years, the Stormkeep and Norfolm have existed as the protectors of the abyss. This is the world we live in. The ninth level does not suit us. We are not people that attack others.

“Lortel, is that true?” Vivi asked.

“It is,” Lortel said. “Norfolm has not attacked another nation, ever.”

“Individuals are harder to control,” Adalene said. “If runesmiths all around the world learn how to develop such weapons, controlling their impulses is harder. I imagine this is a problem for you in Shivenar as well.”

It wasn’t a problem yet. But Vivi could imagine it developing into one. If one person was dissatisfied in the ballistics crew, they could steal a slingshot launcher and fire it somewhere they shouldn’t.

“I do want to stay on friendly terms with Norfolm, and I want to help you if the storms are a problem,” Vivi said. “But I need a moment to discuss this with my allies before making a decision.”

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“Yes, this isn’t something you should rush to,” Adalene said. “It’s getting late. My maids will lead you to your accommodations. You may spend the night in the palace. Tomorrow, I would love to witness your runeswords in action, Vivian.”

Vivi bowed. She didn’t need to, but if she was speaking to people who weren’t complete nutcases, she would happily show respect back to them. “We will see you tomorrow.”

Vivi and her friends finished dining, and the maids led them through the hallways, to the beds that Norfolm considered noble.

***

“Ahh,” Cael said, plumping down on the couch. “That was nicely done, Vivi. The Queen matched your energy during negotiations. She respected you a lot.”

Vivi gave a light smile, but she didn’t really feel accomplished. All of the problems still remained, like Essi, Patryn, and Anthony being potentially stuck up on the surface. The good news was that a quick way home was at least possible.

The room they’d been given was more like a whole house in itself. They had one larger parlor with a couch, tables, potted plants, and books that looked foreign to Vivi before Lucius had translated them. The curtains were red and the furniture was black, giving the room a rather imposing look. The large window gave them a perfect view of the city of lava islands below. Four doors were connected to the parlor, all leading to private bedrooms.

“What do we think?” Vivi asked, directing the question mostly to Lortel.

“Is your goal to become the next big power of the world?” Lortel asked.

“No? I just want to make sure nobody else wants to become the next big power.”

“Then, I think Norfolm is one of the safer allies we could pick.”

Vivi bit her lip. Who would have guessed that runesmithing would give her this much power…

If the world wasn’t being torn apart by ether right now, Vivi would have absolutely focused on discussing the safety of her invention. But right now, she needed to get home. She had friends who needed help. Maybe Adalene had friends like that, too, or someone in her city did, and those friends could be saved with slingshot launchers.

“I think I’ll take the deal,” Vivi said. “But I’ll sleep first and clear my thoughts.”

Lortel nodded. “I have no objections to that.”

“Our opinions probably don’t matter,” Alda said. “But I agree.”

“That’s what we’ll do, then. Let’s try and rest well.”

***

Norfolm’s beds weren’t anything to complain about, at least not the one provided to Vivi. Nice and firm with smooth blankets. They hadn’t asked for preferences, but somehow, they’d gotten quite close to what Vivi preferred at home.

So she couldn’t blame her bed for the lack of sleep. How long had she rolled around for now? I really suck at sleeping without the connection to Paradise, huh?

Lucius blinked awake in her core. “Did you say something?”

That drew a snort out of Vivi. Even her spirit, who didn’t need sleep at all, was better at spending the night?

She kept trying, and failing. Cael was right in saying that the ability to fall asleep on the spot was one of the best parts of being a hunter. If only that feature wasn’t actually just a side-effect of another feature that Vivi didn’t have access to right now.

Not much to do other than roll around. Which she did, for probably an hour, until she began sensing something outside the window.

At first, it started at just a slight buildup of ether in the city below. It grew, and Vivi suspected a storm had broken out. But it kept oozing in through the window. Lucius directed a firm frown at the feeling. She tried to ignore it for a moment longer, but couldn’t. Vivi slid out of her blankets and peeked out from the curtains.

The bright lava of the city made her squint first. Norfolm was always lit. The feeling of ether was coming from further away, though, at the very edge of the city.

Wisps rose to the air from one of the lakes of lava. Something was ascending from within—like a large mound rising, pushing lava off of the lake’s edges, onto the streets. Thick black obsidian formed its surface. From afar, Vivi knew ordinary runeswords would be rebounded right off.

Ether continued burning from its head, rising to the sky. The sides of the mound cracked, and hands lifted out, like thick stone sticks with rotation points spread across, making it slither like a snake.

Deep orange eyes opened, and its ethereal aura blew outward, sending a chill down Vivi’s spine.

“What the hell is that?!” Vivi blurted out.

“A magma mound?” Lucius said. “A really strong one.”

The alarm horns flared right after across the city. The first one was distant, powered by ether for Vivi to hear it all the way here. A second one came closer, until a horn flared right inside the palace, loud enough to wake everyone up.

Not ten seconds later, footsteps rushed outside Vivi’s quarters. She saw knights running downhill, out of the palace and toward the monster. They had a long walk to go.

Ballistas within the towers all around the city turned to the monster. The first one fired, leaving a trail, but the impact didn’t seem to do anything to the monster itself.

Vivi rushed for her raincoat. It still hadn’t been properly cleaned, but that could wait. She snuck into her boots. Norfolm will struggle with that. It’ll destroy at least a few streets.

Bursting out of her room, she found Lortel just coming out of hers as well. “Let’s go! Where’s the fastest way down?”

Lortel glanced at the door first. A mess of hallways would meet them there. Then her eyes turned to the window. She didn’t even look for hinges before pushing ether to her fingers and driving it through the window, shattering it to a thousand pieces.

“They’ll repair that,” Lortel said. “Let’s go.”

Vivi smiled awkwardly, but they had bigger worries. She jumped down and after the monster.