Chapter 71: Honorbound Duty
On the first floor, the manager, now promoted to a level 39 Senior Executive, finally had his own office. The space was sleek and minimalist, with smooth stone walls and a single, light stone providing illumination. He oversaw three new departments after Karl expanded the first floor: an administrative department with nine staff and one executive, an accounting department with also nine staff and one executive, and a marketing department.
The accounting department was a sophisticated hybrid of managing traditional accounts, budgeting, and listing sold products, as well as tracking raw material imports, total company finances, and inventory. It also handled the complex logistics partnership with the Rogina Merchant Company, ensuring all transactions and supply chains were meticulously documented.
The marketing department, in turn, handled all promotional strategies, organizing events at the Necro Market, and other similar tasks to draw in new customers and maintain the company’s public image. While the company’s bureaucratic side wasn’t fully complete, the three departments shared all necessary tasks, forming a streamlined, if unconventional, corporate structure.
The senior executive was finally given a name by Karl himself: Leo. For him, the name was a the highest reward from his lord, though his name was late to be given, it didn’t matter. To be given a name was a great honor, it meant he was acknowledged among the many skeletons his lord summoned. It was a rare and precious distinction that set him apart from the other nameless skeletons.
He was slightly envious that his lord’s personal security had been acknowledged with the name Rook, though his lord hadn’t personally granted him that name. This was enough to make him and the other skeletons envious. But now that he had given him a name, he was proud to wear the name Leo.
With that single act from Karl, everyone worked even harder, believing that they, too, could one day be promoted and earn a name. Having a name meant that they were now closer to him, a personal connection that went beyond servitude. As much as they feared being unsummoned, their ultimate goal was to become an irreplaceable subordinate, a trusted confidant who was indispensable to their lord. It would mean that their hard work would surely be rewarded, not just with power or a new rank, but with true recognition.
Unbeknownst to Karl, he was now in the foundry, supervising. He had simply grown tired of the long, cumbersome title of "the manager" and found himself giving the skeleton a name out of convenience. But realizing how much his minions liked being given a name, he made it a promotion system that if they worked hard enough, they would be given one.
For Karl it was easy to recognize how one worked hard on their role, he would recognize each skeleton’s progress by the levels above their head with along with a specified role they had in the dungeon. Once a skeleton reached level 35, they would be give a name appropriate for their role, though level 35 was a significant milestone that proved their dedication and expertise.
As Karl watched, he noticed the master blacksmith suddenly level up two levels, from 33 to 35, the moment he completed his small project. A small, internal smile creased Karl’s skull as he thought, He must’ve completed the project. The master blacksmith rushed toward Karl, clutching something long and crude wrapped in a cloth. "My lord!" he said. "I’ve completed the weapon!"
Karl’s smile widened as he took the crude, first prototype railgun. It was a blocky, oversized affair, a heavy weapon made from a special kind of hybrid steel. "Though the design is quite large and heavy, it’s the first iteration after all," Karl said, his voice calm and reassuring. "So why don’t you tell me how this works exactly?"
"Yes, my lord," the blacksmith said, his voice filled with pride. "The weapon is made from shock steel. I made a hybrid steel of shock steel and earth steel, which is not only a great electrical conductor but also incredibly durable. The elemental artisans helped me with tweaking the arcstone properties connected to the weapon, which would stabilize the powerful magnetic field on the rails."
"They also developed a new type of mana stone, called a shock stone, that would power the weapon. The weapon has three shot energy options: an eco shot, which loads less energy but fires quicker; a standard shot, which loads more than the eco but needs a bit of charge to fire; and an overcharge shot, which loads a vast amount of shock mana from the stones and needs a full three seconds of charge to fire, making it our most powerful shot."
Karl nodded, a spark of genuine interest in his eyes. "Interesting. Now what about the ammo, or how many shots should one be able to make per shock stone?"
The blacksmith said, "Yes, my lord. One shock stone should handle five eco shots, two standard shots, and one overcharge shot."
Karl thought to himself, That’s too low, but what about the range and velocity? He asked aloud, "What about the range and velocity?"
The blacksmith said, "We don’t have an accurate answer yet, as it would need a field test, but our quick estimate should be: the eco shot would be around 1,290 - 1,350m, the standard would be 2,400 - 2,550m, and the overcharge would be 3,650 - 3,750m. The velocity would be around 1,000-2,000 m/s."
Karl thought, The downside of these would be that they are costly to use since shock stones aren’t exactly cheap to produce and would need more raw mana stones to infuse. And not including the slugs, steel isn’t exactly the best type to go around with, since it’s light. Lighter mass means, the wind would easily make the slug wobble mid-air, making it quite inaccurate. He asked the blacksmith, "What about the slugs? Their light nature would make them susceptible to the winds, making them inaccurate, no?"
The blacksmith, concerned, said, "That would be a problem, my lord. If we use a pointy shape slug, the over-penetration would reduce the stopping power, but it’s good against armored targets. And if we use a curved shape, the winds would make it inaccurate due to the aerodynamics."
Karl thought, That’s fine. We can adjust the power distribution from the arcstone. Though there would be trade-offs, it would fix our critical problems with energy consumption. Lower range and velocity would mediate the problems with the slug’s aerodynamic issue. Karl smiled and said, "But either way, good job."
The blacksmith blushed slightly, his jaw clenching and unclenching in a gesture reminiscent of a dog wagging its tail. He said, "Thank you, my lord. I will do my best to improve the design."
Karl then said, "Now, For the next iteration, I want you and others, to make it smaller and more compact. Tone down the power and make the slugs elongated and balanced rather than sharp. Also, if you can, make a magazine mechanism that would load the shock stones and slugs. It would make it much easier to use. Until we can find sulfur, we can only rely on producing these expensive and costly weapons for emergencies. Spending so much raw mana stone on a weapon isn’t exactly economical since we use mana stones daily."
The blacksmith then said, "My lord, I’ve also completed the elemental sword you asked for, my lord." He handed Karl a double-edged sword with a light blue stone at the center of the crossguard. The blacksmith said, "I’ve used shock stone as an element for the sword since electricity is effective against anyone with flesh. When clashing with the other swords, the energy would travel from the shock sword to the opponent’s sword and towards their arm, shocking them. However, for us, we are immune to it." Karl swung the weapon and activated it, and the electricity flared.
Karl smiled and nodded. "Nice." Then an idea popped onto his mind and said, "Why don’t you make a baton powered with shock stone? You can use an arcstone to control the output. Our security needs a non-lethal weapon that will discourage violence, rather than using their hands. They’ll be able to utilize the stun baton, without further lethal issue that may arise if they use too much strength. Also, make it so that they can adjust the power output."
The blacksmith nodded. "Yes, my lord."
Karl then said, "Good. For your efforts and work..." The blacksmith got excited, his empty eye sockets lit up with a mix of hope and anticipation while his fellow skeletons looked at him. Karl smiled and said, "I shall name you, Dolrik." The skeletons working cheered for their leader. The master blacksmith, now named Dolrik, nearly cried and said, "Thank you, my lord, and I shall serve you with the greatest honor you have bestowed upon me." He bowed.
Karl puffed his chest with pride. "Then I shall look forward to it, Dolrik." Karl turned and exited the foundry, letting the blacksmiths enjoy their moment.
In the canteen, however, the skeleton master chef, dressed in a white uniform, wasn’t exactly bothered. He was focused on supervising the kitchen with so many orders from the canteen piling up. Instead, of being pressured, he loved having more customers. The pride of serving many customers who loved his food made him swell with pride, which also goes for the other skeleton chefs and kobold assistant chefs.