Traveler: Derek Walker 2
Right after returning, I was receiving Mason Elfer's skilled vacuum fellatio. It had been ages since I'd been back in the Solary World. I'd spent a good chunk of time in the Soul Community World too, and there'd been all sorts of incidents in the Extreme Sword Heavenly Immortal World and back in reality. Coming back like this made Mason Elfer's vacuum fellatio feel all the more welcoming.
"Fuuu…. Good."
"Churup! Slurp! Slurp! Smooch!"
The way she meticulously licked the groove between my shaft and glans with her tongue was nice, and so was rubbing her face against my rough pubic hair like a cat. Her throat was perfectly trained—no gag reflex even when I shoved it in deep enough for my pubic bone to kiss her face. I fully enjoyed Mason Elfer's throat pussy.
"Puhaa! Are you satisfied, Master?"
Looking up at me with my pubes plastered on her face and asking that, I couldn't hold back my lust anymore. I'd just had a six-way orgy with my women before heading in, but maybe because my body had changed, my sexual desire hadn't diminished one bit. I pulled Mason Elfer into my arms.
After some sloppy, drenched sex, I straightened my clothes and headed to Lienna Coolong's office. She hadn't had one originally, but I'd set it up for her. Right now, she was the one actually running the Coolong Territory. Naturally, she needed a proper office for it. The more I slacked off, the harder she had to work to cover for me.
"You've arrived. Is it about that matter?"
I'd come because I missed Lienna's pussy, but her suddenly mentioning "that matter" threw me for a loop. I racked my brain trying to figure out what she meant. But it had been so damn long—long enough that I'd even forgotten the feel of her pussy walls—that nothing came to mind. Sure, it might've been just a short while for Lienna, but from my perspective hopping between worlds, it was a whole different story.
"It's the mithril mine. Though from the look on your face, it doesn't seem like it."
"Ah, I just came because I missed your pussy."
"Ahem! It's office hours right now. Save that for tonight…."
"I couldn't hold back for shit. When your husband's cock is raging like this, doesn't a wife have to do her duty? Anything less is unacceptable."
I grinned and fucked Lienna. She must've been secretly hoping for it too, since she didn't push me away. Luckily, her important work seemed mostly wrapped up. I pounded her sloppy for a full hour before finally letting her go. My raging cock only calmed down after thrusting deep into her pussy for ages. She was utterly spent—there was no way she'd get any more work done today.
"Haa…. Haa…. The mine thing…. I need to handle it soon…."
Feeling a twinge of guilt at her reaction, I glanced over the documents she'd been working on. Supply orders for the magic tower, trade agreements with other territories, development plans for the Mithril Mine we'd gotten as war reparations from Ernest Territory—that sort of thing. It was ancient history at this point; I'd totally forgotten about it. But I'd heard there were hitches in developing the mine. We'd scored a golden goose like the Mithril Mine and couldn't even cash in properly. What a fucking mess.
"Hiring dwarves?"
"Yes. No one's more qualified for mine development than dwarves."
Lienna was spot on. Dwarves were the ultimate manual laborers in any fantasy world. No race beat them at mining weapons or developing mines. But hiring dwarves wasn't as simple as it sounded. Humans and dwarves had this awkward relationship.
*-*-*
As far as I knew, there weren't many fantasy stories where humans and dwarves got along great. Plenty of fantasy fans probably agreed with me. Sure, outright sword-and-hammer wars between them were even rarer, but mostly, they were in this weird in-between—not enemies, not allies.
Like an NPC going, "We don't pretend to be buddies, but if you want our help, do this pain-in-the-ass favor first!"
Dwarves. Race of fire and iron, incarnations of the blacksmith, earth's little folk. Endless titles, but one word nailed their essence: blacksmiths.
The Solary World, like other fantasies, leaned hard into dwarves as blacksmith characters. Most forge NPCs were dwarves. You might think, "Hey, doesn't that mean humans and dwarves get along pretty well?" Nope.
The nuanced dynamic between humans and dwarves—and humans and non-humans in general—was fleshed out in detail in the Solary World novel. You could scour the continent and maybe find one buddy-cop pair of human and dwarf, but mostly they kept each other at arm's length with lingering wariness.
Humans had shitty relations with pretty much every non-human race to begin with. They were the undisputed top dogs ruling the continent, with a population rivaling all other non-humans combined. Hell, the very split between "humans" and "sub-humans" screamed human dominance.
And that wasn't all. Humans' biggest claim to the continent was the Solar Hero. Only humans could produce one—the beacon of hope for the continent. The land the hero saved? Human turf.
Super human-centric view, of course. Ask any non-human, you'd get a different story. But humans at the center? Undeniable fact.
So yeah, no room for cozy ties with other races. Dwarves were about as "good" as it got among non-humans. Head toward elves—those classic fantasy pricks—and relations were rock bottom. Border skirmishes still flared up between the eastern elven kingdom and human realms. Orcs? Even worse. Some places didn't even count them as sub-humans, just wilderness monsters. Here in Miles Kingdom, orc treatment ranged from monsters to slaves depending on the territory.
Dwarves at least blended into human lands like neighbors. Relatively speaking, anyway.
Dwarves had a tight-knit clannishness by nature. Probably unavoidable for surviving in outsider societies. Like Koreans forming Koreatowns abroad. Their bonds were ironclad—no needle could pierce 'em. Even in human society, you couldn't fuck with them lightly. Mock their solidarity, poke the bear wrong, and suddenly every dwarf shop boycotts you. Good luck buying a single blade then.
Dwarves didn't cross lines themselves, though, keeping the subtle tension simmering as status quo.
From the human side, dwarves were prickly outsiders, high-skill foreign laborers. From the dwarf side, humans were stuffy locals, cold-hearted bastards without blood or tears. Or so the Solary World novel laid it out.
Anyway, that was the backstory behind these dwarf shits going on strike.
Strike, my ass. These little fucks needed a beating.
"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Mogulro, branch manager of the Blue Flame Guild's Coolong branch."
A shortstack with a bushy blue beard bowed to me. We were in the reception room of the Coolong lord's castle. Flashy yet subdued decor, a small desk between us as we sat facing each other. Lienna was at my side.
Personally, I wanted this settled without any harsh words flying. A dragged-out strike hurt us more. These were premium skilled labor; couldn't just lop off heads willy-nilly. They were getting cocky precisely because they knew that.
Still, I held the knife in this room. As the untouchable power broker in Coolong Territory, I naturally talked down to him.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Derek Walker, head of the Walker Merchant Guild."
Mogulro took the condescension in stride. Leading hundreds of dwarves as guild head, this level of posturing didn't faze him. A hothead would've been easier; no one was trickier than an ice-cold negotiator. I'd pegged him as the fiery type from dwarf stereotypes, but that blue beard must've cooled him off.
"I heard you summoned me about the mithril mine."
True to dwarf form, he skipped the bullshit and cut straight to it. Suited me fine. Was this guy reasonable?
"Yeah. Let's be direct. We can't meet the Blue Flame Guild's demands. Four silver a week? You know damn well that's unrealistic."
The mithril mine we'd snagged from the territory war was a treasure trove waiting to be cracked open. Ramp up development, and profits would rain down—no question. Lienna had crunched the numbers: once fully operational selling refined mithril, it'd boost territory income by over ten platinum a month. Would take one or two years to get there, sure.
From our side, delay wasn't an option. Dwarves were the undisputed pros for the job—their work speed blew humans out of the water, and their skills skewed heavy toward mining and metallurgy. Coolong wasn't a mining territory, so local manpower was scarce. And this was a high-difficulty mine; even in the game, it was a hands-off resource hoard.
Had to team up with dwarves. Problem was, these greedy little shits knew it too.
Hence their absurd wage demands. Per Lienna, human mine workers pulled fifty copper to one silver a week—standard labor rates. Skilled hands or overseers got a fifty-copper bonus. Top end, two silver maxed you out.
Dwarf premium or not, four silver was highway robbery. Where the fuck did this nutjob get off?
I widened my eyes and glared the dwarf down.