The Developer Reborn As Archmage

The Belkian Shipyard was a giant abandoned fort with a small city on top of it. It was said to be three thousand years old, built to weather the worst of storms and fluctuating sea levels.

Due to its location to the south of the Red Crescent archipelago, it was sitting comfortably in the middle of trade routes that circumvent cross-hemisphere hotspots.

The Shipyard was known for its excellent shipbuilder guilds and renowned shipbuilders who created legendary ships. In the VRMMO, this used to be the major hub of all maritime player activities.

It had narrowed in scope for RLP, but it still retained the cross-cultural charm that Darya remembered from her playthroughs. Everyone with a ship passed through the Shipyard at least once every few years. This naturally created one of the greatest markets for anything and everything imaginable.

The first half of shopping with Seris was mostly uneventful. It was almost exactly like Galtea. They dressed as mages, got a room in one of the cheaper buildings, and explored the Belkian city markets.

The guild hall was mostly prioritized for shipbuilders, but they managed to find a smaller branch of White Wings and used their Dovarist credentials to reserve ten interviews with their top mages.

Darya made sure to add a non-disclosure clause for both the interview and the mission. Seris cleverly swept it under the rug while recovering a top-secret Dovarist artifact that had been stolen. It was a good idea to keep their story consistent in case of a future investigation.

The first five hours were spent at various spots in the city talking with the mages. Seris checked them for mana compatibility with herself and their knowledge of reinforcement, warding, and shielding spells.

Only three made the cut. One older woman who wasn’t too fond of speaking, one young man too eager to prove himself, and a dead-eyed middle-aged man who looked like a permanently sleep-deprived Fominel.

All three had something the other didn’t, either mana capacity or a useful spell. It was impossible to cut it down to three. Darya decided to hire all three of them and informed them of the mission briefing after they accepted their advance payment, which bound them to the non-disclosure clause.

Only the young mage was shocked by the mention of sea monsters. As far as Darya was concerned, that was the right reaction. The silence from the other two was actually uncanny.

They’re like mage machines. They don’t care where they go or what they have to do anymore.

After making sure they knew where to regroup after twenty hours, Darya and Seris began converting some of the gems into gold. They had to be careful not to look too rich. They sold random assortments to various jewelers until they gathered ten thousand gold.

It was ten at night when they finished. The streets were quickly getting unsafe for two women to wander alone, even if they were powerful mages.

Darya didn’t want another Drakva-tier incident on Belkian; she was here as a proper tourist, to hoard some valuable supplies and trinkets.

They retreated to their room and began early the next morning. Eight hours passed before they even knew it.

Seris was enamored with dresses, and Darya was enamored with seeing Seris in all kinds of revealing dresses. At least a thousand gold vanished in that direction, and they both agreed never to mention the exact amount to Fominel.

Magical supplies cost three thousand seven hundred gold. They had to split up to gather everything needed from mana globes to dried goblin fingers for potioncraft. Darya quietly spent some money on trinkets that caught her eye, some things that she intended as gifts for her crew. She made sure to use whatever stolen gold remained to keep Seris from figuring any of that out.

After at least twenty other stops at various shops, they ended up at the most important place in the Belkian shipyard. Darya only connected the dots when she saw the craftsmen working inside.

Besides ships, there was one thing that Vainfall couldn’t live without. Wands and staves. There was no other place in this hemisphere of the world where so much wood-based talent gathered in one place.

The place was known locally as the crafter district, and entry was strictly prohibited for civilians. Seris had wisely packed Darya’s archmage authority seal. They received a welcome fit for royalty from the gates. Things got even more out of hand when they figured out her actual title as a princess.

Darya received a gold-trimmed carriage with a dedicated group of servants to tend to her at every step.

Despite the formalities and such annoying hurdles, she finally made it to the district.

It was Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for Darya, who wanted to find a good Mancer for her dreaded clash with the sea monsters. A polite old servant took them to the district’s finest collection.

“This is the section we reserve for high magi of your stature.” The old servant gracefully gestured at a twenty-foot-tall wall with weapons fixed to it from one end to the other.

“Holy…” Darya exclaimed when the curtain was pulled apart to reveal two other walls. She saw everything from pocket knives to great swords. Small twigs of wands to staffs with mana crystals the size of human heads. “You really do have everything.”

The old servant smiled confidently. “Whatever we do not have, we will shake heaven and earth to deliver to you. Rest assured, your satisfaction and the success of your mission are our priority.”

Spoken like a weapon-dealing fanatic, alright. They’re probably heavily allied with the Goliante. Money is not a problem for them.

“What interests you, princess?” the servant asked with a smile.

“I have some unique requirements. My mission involves sea monsters,” Darya said, looking at the wall.

“May I suggest a mana sword? We have several that could discourage sea monsters. I’m assuming this is not about hunting them; in that case, I’d have to refer you to the shipyard for the highest caliber harpoons.”

“Manablades?” Seris asked curiously. “We already have a warlock who wields two of them.”

“Unfortunate. Adding another one could tilt your group dynamic and roles. What fits your style best, Princess?”

“Range is not a problem. Mana flow and the durability of the weapon are. I’ve broken several.” Darya clenched her fist. “Definitely need something near indestructible for my hands.”

“You intend to brawl with a sea monster?” The servant asked, a surprised smile playing on his lips.

“Something like that,” Darya said with a smile. “I’d also need a medium-range weapon. A short staff with a focus crystal. It should be sturdy enough to swing.”

“I must see you in an arena, my word, an archmage planning for a berserker build!” The servant clapped his hands, gesturing at several workers with ladders to bring suitable items from the walls.

Darya sat down on a red velvet couch, waiting for them to arrange it all for presentation. They had tall glasses of pomegranate-like juice to keep themselves occupied and exotic snacks.

Seris noticed something when they were discussing which Manacers looked most promising. Her head swiveled to the left, and her hand went up as if she were trying to ward off an attack.

“What?” Darya asked, almost ready to leap into a Terminate just in case.

“Think I saw someone—“ Seris mumbled, narrowing her eyes.

“Princess of Karossa,” an unusual voice startled them both.

“Eeh!” Seris yelped, pulling her wand out. Darya had no idea what to do. The person kneeling before her looked like nothing she had ever seen on Earth or Vainfall before.

“What the hell are you?” she asked, leaning forward curiously. It was almost certainly a man. He was covered in a large dark green cape. None of his movements made any sound, which was exceedingly odd.

The man was made of metal.

Frickin tin guy from Oz in here as well? What race even is this? Is it a cyborg? Don’t tell me RLP put the Terminator in my pirate game!

Looking closely, the man wasn’t made of tin or shapeshifting sci-fi alloy. His skin looked more like corroded copper. He resembled a miniature version of the Statue of Liberty.

If it wasn’t for the light reflecting off some exposed areas, she would’ve assumed this was a full-blown stereotypical goblin from a mobile game with a more model-like perfect physique.

“We meet yet again, Princess of Karossa.”

“Again? Do you know who this is?” Seris asked, swallowing hard. “Where in the world did you meet an assassin?”

“Assassin?” Darya raised an eyebrow. “Don’t remember. Maybe you have the wrong princess?” She suggested to the metal man.

“I had my suspicions. Then it is true. You have been resurrected. No one who meets one of my kind ever forgets it, perhaps not even left alive to tell the tale.” The metal man said with a grin. His teeth were polished copper. “We had a much more amicable relationship, however. I wasn’t going to kill you.”

“H-he knows about the resurrection stone?” Seris muttered. Gripping her wand tightly. Darya had seen her afraid before, but not as helpless.

The reason was clear when she paid more attention to her surroundings. Everyone else in the room was floating an inch above the floor like puppets hung up to dry with invisible strings.

Oh crap. What the fuck is this guy? Do I hear him out or throw everything in this room at him?

She gestured at Seris to stay quiet. She wanted to get over this without escalating it further.

“You already know I lost my memories. Why don’t you start with our amicable relationship? What is it?”

The metal man stood in complete silence. She didn’t even hear the cape brushing against the carpet.

“I bring you artifacts. First, it was a book written in arcane script. It cannot be burned, so I had to burn half the library to find it. Next, it was a rare resurrection stone. I stole it from a southern tribe who protected it for centuries.”

“By the light, y-you paid a—“ Seris gasped. “You have a Volarian serving you?!”

“A what now?” Darya asked. That was an entirely new word.

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