The Developer Reborn As Archmage

“A Volarian?” Darya muttered under her breath, looking at the corroded-copper-man kneeling before her. This wasn’t a fantasy race that she ever remembered seeing in Vainfall. She would’ve remembered if she ever saw one this unique.

The unique ones we added were overworld and underworld races. We didn’t need any metal people.

Something about RLP had evolved this race at some point during the nine thousand-year history of Vainfall. She was fascinated, but she couldn’t afford to be too surprised by the circumstances.

She also couldn’t come up with something to say to either Seris or the metal man.

“I—” she cleared her throat awkwardly. “Did I send you on a mission?” she asked the metal man.

“Indeed. This was supposed to be our meeting place,” the man said with a shiny smile.

“This exact place?” Darya asked, gesturing at the rest of the shop. “I planned this to happen?”

“Perhaps not the exact destination, but we were supposed to meet in Belkian marketplace. In any case, I wouldn’t call any of our meetings a coincidence. Fate bends around those awakened, and you are certainly one of the best.” The metal man gestured at her respectfully.

Fate bends around what?. I’m missing a giant chunk of information, and it’s too weird to ask now.

Seris was staring at her as if she grew a second head. There was a whole discussion to be had later about Volarians and secret missions. Something told her Fominel wouldn’t be too pleased himself either. Hiring a Volarian seemed to be a big deal.

“What do you have for me today?” Darya asked, unable to bury her loot-curiosity. The other two trinkets that she had gotten out of this Volarian had been rare and valuable.

“Information,” said the Volarian. He dug into his metallic robes and pulled out a brown leather tube.

[Inspect]

Item: Ritual Scroll of Almordena

Rarity: Relic

“Oh?” Darya exclaimed, opening the knots that held it together. The leather tube unfurled into a cream colored topological map drawn with golden ink.

“The artifact you seek is under the Almordena grand ruins. It was entombed with a nameless king four thousand years ago.” The Volarian crossed his arms. “You wanted me for retrieval, but the artifact is bound by blood. I cannot touch it without it becoming mine. I hope the map is enough.”

Artifact bound by blood. What is this thing? Why do I need it?

She remembered something she saw in the /dev void a while ago. Nellie Strum, the reverend mother of light, had scattered several artifacts in Vainfall. In the message that she read, she was supposed to find them to solve the ending of Vainfall.

The Volarian had been looking for artifacts under her orders. This meant that Darya Altazark had figured out certain things she had no business knowing.

The oracle book on her bed with English words, and the stone that Seris and Fominel used to resurrect her. She didn’t know what the connection was.

Wait. There resurrection stone. I never saw it. Was it part of the list of artifacts? Is that how I got resurrected with privileges I shouldn’t have?

She didn’t have all the answers. Having the ability to force-quit the game itself was a broken privilege for any individual to have. She couldn’t imagine others walking around in the world with the same level of access that she had. Giving such power to anyone except a developer was a recipe for disaster.

The artifacts that had already been delivered to her had brought her back from her dead and given her this developer privilege. There had to be others out in the world with similar slices of power and privileges.

“Do you know any other awakened?” she asked curiously.

“I only know two others who were ever successfully resurrected,” the Volarian said, eyeing Seris. “One is in Rhakali.”

Seris let out a squeak at the mention of her home. She probably hadn’t expected a metal man to know that about her.

“Queen Seris the Undying, and Belkor of Red Wings. Goliante council second seat.”

“What is this? You’re a queen?!” Darya looked at Seris.

“No, that’s great grandma,” Seris said in a hushed voice as if people in Rhakali could overhear it. “I’m Seris the third!”

“Ah!” Darya laughed, patting her shoulder. “I forgot they make a new you every generation.”

Seris rolled her eyes meekly. It was definitely a touchy topic.

Understandable. I’d be pissed if my name was a model name like a car.

“You can’t die either, can you? Does that make you an awakened?” Seris asked the Volarian, trying to sound brave despite clearly not being fond of his presence.

“We are always awakened, Lady Seris,” the Volarian said with a shiny smile.

Darya examined the map, tracing the gold lines and a recently drawn chalk circle at the center of a complicated labyrinth. “Your payment was handled?” she asked as she rolled it back up.

“Yes. You make such a great client,” the Volarian said with a glint in his metal eye.

Darya dug into her money bag and pulled out three gold cylinders. “Find me another one. How much do you need?”

The Volarian gathered the three cylinders and extended his hand. Darya had to give him four more. Seris was doing her best to tell her not to pay too much, but Darya knew not to haggle with an exotic assassin. Finding the artifacts was an important part of her life in Vainfall. It was worth more than money.

The gold disappeared into the Volarian’s metallic robes. He bowed respectfully. “Until we meet again, princess of Karossa.”

Darya nodded, waving at him. She expected him to leave the shop the way he came in. It was then that she noticed how she never even thought about it.

Everyone else in the shop had remained frozen like statues for the entire duration of their interaction. The man sparked once in a thin bolt of lightning. He disappeared as if he was never there, unfreezing everyone else at once.

The blue flash shocked Darya, sending her flying off the chair as if she was electrocuted.

“Holy shit—” Darya stood up, shaking from head to toe.

Seris gulped, helping her get back on the chair before everyone else noticed anything.

“Alright, what the hell is a Volarian?” Darya asked, shoving the map into her bag.

“You forgot all about that too?” Seris asked with a half smile. “No one knows where they’re from. They’re assassins. The fastest there is. You can’t really fight a Volarian and win. They can’t die.”

“Invincible assassins?” Darya asked. “That shouldn’t be allowed.”

“Take it up with the Gods, wasn’t my idea,” Seris said. “Anyways, I’ll pretend this never happened. That’s how you’re supposed to handle seeing a Volarian. That resurrection stone brought you back to me, so I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Darya nodded in agreement. She was glad Seris didn’t start poking holes. She had no answers to give her regarding the artifacts. She never wanted to let the pretty elf know her princess was a new creature between Darya Altazark and Nellie Strum.

“Let’s just pick some Manacers and get going,” Darya said, gesturing at the weapons laid around her.

They spent the next hour and a half testing things out. She went through no less than fifteen different Manacers and their combinations before she settled on two.

She intentionally held off on buying another staff like the warblade since she was going to find the original soon.

The first one she picked was a strange thing between a wand and a short sword. It was about the length of a forearm with blades on either side. The wooden handle doubled as a wand. It had been twisted like a vine around a glowing yellow crystal shard.

[Inspect]

Weapon: Solar Spear of Dorak

Rarity: Relic

Grade: 43

ATK: 1,120

Status Effects: Stun, Burning

The ‘spear’ part of the weapon was made from projected mana. The wooden handle loosened the crystal when gripped at a certain pressure. The crystal shard and the blades extended nearly twelve feet, almost like Fominel’s manablades.

Darya found it easier to handle in the longer form. It was likely her body’s muscle memory of having wielded the warblade for years.

The second Manacer was entirely different. It surprised both the shop owner and Seris. Darya picked dragon scale gloves with metal frames and red mana crystals.

[Inspect]

Weapon: Deakern Gauntlets.

Rarity: Relic

Grade: 48

ATK: 1,460

Status Effects: Bleed, Disarm

They were usually reserved for frontliners like berserkers, but she already knew these were going to see a lot of use with her current abilities. At least now, she didn’t have to break her fists trying to punch things.

The dragon scales grew with mana, and she could easily coat her forearms with a red layer of mana protection with a clench of a fist. She checked the impact both with mana and without mana and was quite satisfied with the level of protection and shock absorption.

Leaving the Belkian marketplace with all their supplies, they reached the shipyard where they left the Desert Rose in the late evening. Fominel and master Lam looked utterly exhausted as if they hadn’t slept a wink since they parted.

The ship was in pristine condition with the new cannons fixed and their ammunition already loaded. Nerima and Lurim had snuck back in once the shipbuilding part was finished. Luckily, no one had caught a glimpse of Nerima’s tail thanks to Sarka keeping them occupied deep underwater.

Darya started giving the presents that she bought everyone.

“I got you something!” she said, digging out two wooden boxes from the bottom of her haul. She gave the first one to Seris.

“A gift for me?!” Seris asked, opening the box. The contents made her face glow orange. She pulled out several pieces of jewelry with yellow and green gems. “By the light! When did you even buy this?!”

“When you weren’t watching,” Darya said, handing the other box to Nerima.

She let the box stay where it was, eyeing it curiously as Darya tossed two glittering dresses on top of it.

“That’s all for you,” Darya said, pushing it towards her.

“M-me?!” Nerima stammered, mouth hanging half open. “But it’s a waste—”

Darya poked her on the cheek. “A girl’s got to dress pretty!”

Her face caught blue reflections from the jewelry box. They were bolder designs than what she got for Seris. The dresses looked beautiful paired with Nerima’s fish tail, which in itself was exotic.

“This is for you,” Darya handed a square box to Lurim. It made the boy run around in pure excitement. It was a knight’s helmet made of silver, complete with the visor and red feathers.

She had a separate bag for Fominel and master Lam, twelve bottles of expensive Belkian whiskey and gold-wrapped cigars.

“And I thought cannons were as good as gifts could get!” Fominel said, checking a label with a wide smile.

“Oh, you got the most expensive gifts of all, then,” Darya laughed. She hadn’t even checked the bill for cannons yet. It had to be multiple hundreds of thousands just based on how shiny they were.

She saved the best present for last. The recipient of the gift was sleeping on a cushion on the living room table. Everyone looked at her when she pulled out a mess of golden wires and quickly assembled the world’s most expensive cage.

“Don’t tell me that’s for—” Fominel leaned in.

“This is for Enta!” Darya said, laying a tiny velvet cushion inside it.

“Unbelievable,” Seris scoffed. “Is that all gold?!”

“That’s right, my baby gets a golden house!” Darya said, gently transferring the sleeping wisp into his new luxury home. He squeaked sleepily and rolled into a ball, immediately getting comfortable on the velvet pillow.

Once everyone was warmed with their new gifts, Darya placed a second bag on the table.

“Are those more gifts?!” Seris asked.

“These are for Emil and Rossarie,” Darya said, placing the bag firmly on the table. “Let’s go find them.”

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