One month ago, the Blackstone Range was a desolate graveyard of jagged rocks and howling winds. It was a place where travelers hurried past and mapmakers left blank spaces.
Today, it was the engine of the future.
I stood on the observation deck of my private airship, the Gilded Hawk, looking down at the transformation below.
The silence of the mountains had been replaced by the rhythmic, thunderous heartbeat of industry. Massive steam-golems, imported from the Dwarven Kingdom at exorbitant rates, marched in lines, hauling tons of black rock from the deep earth.
Smokestacks rose like stone trees, venting harmless mana-steam into the cold air. Maglev rails—prototypes I had rushed into production—snaked through the valleys, carrying ore carts that floated on cushions of magnetic force.
It wasn't just a mine. It was a city. Vayne City.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I murmured, swirling the ice in my glass.
Seraphina, standing beside me in a new, streamlined combat suit made of black leather and mithril weave, looked down with a critical eye.
"It's loud," she noted. "And it smells like ozone. But the output reports are terrifying. We're pulling more ore out of Sector Zero in a day than the Imperial Mines produce in a month."
"And the best part?" I grinned. "The Empire still thinks we're mining useless gravel."
The airship descended, docking at the private landing pad atop the central command spire.
We were greeted by the roar of machinery and the shout of foremen. I walked down the ramp, my boots clicking on the metal grate.
A short, stout figure with a beard braided with copper wire was waiting for us.
Brok, the Chief Engineer. A dwarf I had hired—poached, really—from the Iron Empire. He was expensive, rude, and the best mining expert on the continent.
"Boss!" Brok shouted over the noise of a crusher. "You're late! The yield in Shaft 4 is spiking again! My scanners are going haywire!"
"Good morning to you too, Brok," I said, walking over to a cart filled with fresh ore.
The rocks inside weren't just black. They were veined with a pulsating, sickly green light. To the uneducated eye, it looked like cursed stone.
To me, it looked like Mana-Uranium.
In the game lore, this was the catalyst for the Magitech Age. It was fuel. Just one kilogram of this refined ore could power the entire capital city for a week.
"The Empire thinks this is waste," I said, picking up a chunk with a gloved hand. The Geiger counter built into my suit ticked softly. "In six months, Brok, I won't just be selling them a cure. I'll be selling them electricity. I'll be selling them the future."
Brok spat on the ground. "Aye, if we don't blow ourselves up first. But that ain't why I called you down here, Boss."
The dwarf's expression turned serious. He wiped his greasy hands on his apron.
"We hit something in Shaft 4. Deep. Past the bedrock."
I raised an eyebrow. "A gas pocket?"
"No," Brok said grimly. "A door."
Shaft 4 was the deepest point of the mine, a kilometer beneath the earth. The air here was hot and tasted of ancient dust.
We took the high-speed elevator down, the cage rattling as we descended into the dark.
When the doors opened, the scene was chaotic. Miners were huddled near the elevator, refusing to go back to the work face. Some were shaking.
"What happened?" Seraphina asked, her hand drifting to her staff.
"They heard screams," Brok grunted, leading us through the tunnel. "And then the rock started bleeding purple."
We turned the final corner.
I stopped.
Embedded in the wall of the mine wasn't rock. It was a massive, seamless gate made of a silvery metal that didn't exist in this time period. Runes of neon violet pulsed rhythmically across its surface.
The rock around it had been blasted away, revealing the entrance to something ancient and decidedly not geological.
[ System Notification: Hidden Dungeon Discovered. ]
[ Dungeon: Tomb of the Forgotten King (Precursor Vault). ]
[ Difficulty: Hell Mode (Level 60+). ]
[ Reward: +1,000 Destiny Points (Exploration). ]
I let out a low whistle.
"Jackpot."
In the game, this dungeon wasn't supposed to be found until the Third Expansion Pack. It contained the technology of the Precursor Civilization—the race that existed before magic declined.
Seraphina approached slowly, shivering as she touched the cold metal of the gate.
"This mana..." she whispered, her breath catching. "It's not from this world. It feels... artificial."
"It's a vault," I said, the greed already rising in my chest. "And a laboratory."
"We need to call the Adventurer's Guild," Brok said nervously. "This is way above our pay grade, Boss. If monsters come out of there, they'll tear the mine apart."
"No," I commanded sharply.
I turned to them. "If we call the Guild, the Empire gets involved. If the Empire gets involved, they see the Uranium. If they see the Uranium, they seize my land for 'National Security.'"
I tapped the sleek, rectangular case slung over my shoulder.
"We clear it ourselves."
"Ourselves?" Brok looked at me like I was insane. "Boss, I'm an engineer, not a warrior. And you're a Baron!"
"I am a Void Capitalist, Brok. There is a difference."
I snapped my fingers.
"Nero."
The shadows of the tunnel elongated, and Nero, the Abyssal General, rose from the floor. His obsidian armor scraped against the low ceiling, and his purple eyes illuminated the dark tunnel.
Brok shrieked and fell backward. "By the Stone! What is that?!"
"Security," I said. "Seraphina, you're on crowd control. Nero, take point. Brok, seal the tunnel behind us. No one enters until we come out."
We stepped through the breach.
The inside of the dungeon wasn't a cave. It was a hallway of polished chrome and glass. Lights flickered overhead—electric lights, thousands of years old.
"It's... clean," Seraphina noted, her voice echoing.
CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.
Heavy, mechanical footsteps echoed from down the hall.
"Contact," Nero growled, his voice deep and metallic.
A figure emerged from the shadows. It was a Clockwork Guardian—a ten-foot-tall construct of brass and gears, holding a spinning saw-blade shield and a steam-cannon.
[Enemy: Clockwork Guardian (Elite)] [Level: 45]
"Intruder detected," the machine spoke in a monotone, grinding voice. "Exterminate."
It raised its steam-cannon.
"Seraphina!" I barked.
Seraphina didn't hesitate. She slammed her staff down. "Flash Freeze!"
A wave of ice encrusted the Guardian's joints. It slowed, the gears grinding against the frost, but it didn't stop. It began to aim.
Nero charged. He slammed into the machine like a freight train, his obsidian sword catching the spinning saw-blade. Sparks flew as the two titans locked weapons.
"Now," I whispered.
I swung the case off my shoulder and opened it.
Inside lay my newest creation. Crafted from the first refined batch of Mana-Uranium and the finest dwarven steel.
[Weapon: Vayne Corp Magitech Rifle (Prototype)] [Ammo: Condensed Mana Cartridges]
I lifted the rifle. It was heavy, sleek, and hummed with a dangerous green energy. I shouldered the stock and looked through the mana-scope.
I aligned the crosshair with the glowing blue core in the center of the Guardian's chest.
"Parry this, you filthy casual."
I pulled the trigger.
ZREEEEEE-CRACK!
It wasn't a bullet. It was a beam of superheated, concentrated radiation and mana.
The beam punched straight through the Guardian's armor plating, melted its core, and exited out the back.
The machine went rigid. The lights in its eyes died. It collapsed into a heap of smoking scrap metal.
Seraphina stared at the smoking rifle in my hands. "What... spell was that?"
"Physics," I replied, ejecting the steaming heat-sink cartridge. "Applied aggressively."
We stepped over the wreckage.
Ahead of us lay a massive, circular door, intricately locked with puzzles and magic. The entrance to the inner sanctum.
I ran my hand over the cold metal. I could feel the treasures waiting inside. Blueprints. Ancient tech. Weapons that could win wars before they even started.
"This isn't just a tomb," I said, a greedy smile spreading across my face. "It's an R&D department."
I turned to my team.
"Crack it open. I hate leaving money on the table."
[ System Notification: Secret Dungeon Breach Successful. ]
[ Difficulty: Nightmare. ]
[ Objective: Loot the Vault of the Forgotten King. ]
The industrial revolution had just found its armory.