Several minutes later, Kashi gazed out of the car's windows, eyes wide as the train exited the tunnels, running across a track elevated several meters above the ground. Down below, the underground dwarven city spread out, illuminated by mage lights hanging from the ceilings above. The daeben watched the busy dwarfs going about their day, with only a few casting momentary glances at the train. Evidently, the dwarfs had gotten used to the sight, and no longer found it as novel a sight.

The train-tracks were supported by large pillars that lined the length of the city until the tracks dug into another tunnel. Kashi noticed structures that resembled train stops along the tracks, but they were not yet in commission. Later, with the help of these stops, the dwarfs would be able to travel from their city to the one aboveground with ease.

The city eventually disappeared from view as the train burrowed into a tunnel. The underground dwarven city utilized tunnels to keep sections of the city away from each other. This design was to ensure the entire civilization was not jeopardized in the event of a 'cavern collapse'.

Moments later the train exited the tunnel into a spacious cavern with hundreds of dwarven blacksmiths rushing about with metals and materials for forging. Off to the side, a giant cauldron tipped over, pouring molten iron into a large metal cast with a depression that took the shape of a boat's keel.

Kashi breathed in the pungent stench of burning metal and cupped his ears to the deafening clanging of metals. These were the telltale sounds of a dwarven forge, a place Kashi was all too familiar with.

The train came to a stop at a raised platform. Kashi and the Maggots exited the train and saw Otto Knutsen waiting with a wide grin. "Kashi-dono!" Otto greeted with boisterous laughter as he ran forward and grabbed the daeben in a bear hug. "You're back!"

"Not for long, I'm afraid," Kashi stated as he patted the dwarf's back. He waited for Otto to release him, and then said as he pointed at the vehicle behind him, "I see you finally got the trains working."

"Of course!" Otto rubbed his nose with a proud snort. "There's nothing a dwarf cannot craft with the proper blueprints and time." The dwarf grinned as he added with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "The trains aren't the only things we got working."

"No way." Kashi exclaimed as he grasped Otto's shoulders. "Is it really done?"

"Completed final tests yesterday," Otto confirmed. "You want to see it, don't you?"

"Do I want to see it?" Kashi mockingly repeated. "Let's go at once!"

*cough*

Kashi looked over his shoulder, only then remembering he'd come with a group. He mentally thanked Leila for the coughing prompt or it might have been embarrassing. "I'm going to inspect the new skyboat," Kashi informed the others. "You can come along if you want, but if not, feel free to look around the forge. There are lots of cool weapons to pick from. You can even order a custom-made item and I'll foot the bill."

Kashi waited for a few seconds, but seeing as no one made any move to leave, he turned to Otto and said, "Looks like everyone's coming. Please lead the way."

"No one would want to miss something like this," Otto replied, as if chastising the daeben's question. He then turned around, and walked down the stairs, calling over his shoulder, "It's this way."

Otto led the group through the forge to a massive seven-meters tall and three-meters wide iron door. The dwarven craftsmaster knocked on the door, and it swung open from the inside with a loud, grating noise. The thick doors opened into a new cavern, one which had been blocked off from the rest of the forge as a result of the secret nature of the experiments within.

This cavern differed from the forge in one major way. There was a body of water at the opposite corner, large enough to fit two football fields. A line of small boat-like vehicles were moored at a pier, however, these were not the most eye-catching things in the cavern.

No, that honor belonged to the 68-meter-long (223 ft.), boat floating above the small lake. The magnificent vehicle looked something like a cross between Victorian-era frigates, and early airplanes. A pair of spinning vertical propellers at its sides kept the boat in the air, while a stationary, horizontal propeller at the boat's rear lay dormant. Evidently, this propeller would have been in charge of pushing the boat forward.

The large boat also utilized three mast sails, which at the moment were not drawn to catch the wind and aid flight. Finally, a pair of wings made from tough sails hung just above the propellers. Currently, the wings were 'tucked' into the skyboat's sides. This was to avoid getting caught by the propellers' sucking draft. They would unfurl when the skyboat was in 'forward flight' mode. At that time, the vertical propellers would rotate in place until they were horizontal, adding to the forward momentum. The wings would catch the incoming draft, forming an uplift to keep the boat airborne.

Modern-day VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircrafts inspired this design, although the dwarfs had taken a lot of liberties through the aid of magic to simplify its use.

Otto proudly described the ship's design to the stunned Maggots as Kashi stared longingly at the flying craft. When Otto finished his explanation, Kashi pointed at the flying craft and cheekily requested, "Can I get on that?"

Otto's eyes shone as he pointed at a machine that closely resembled a crane. But on closer inspection, the 'arm' was a series of stairs. "We could go that way, or," he then pointed at the little dinghies, "we could use those."

Syèl eyes bunched together as he stared at the boats, "Wait, isn't that the boat Jade used to fly over the arena?"

"Yes! Yes, it is! We call them skycars." Otto affirmed with a delighted nod. "I can't put in words how proud we were to see that boat flying over the arena." The dwarf pulled on Kashi and Syèl's arms as he half-walked, half-jogged over to the boats. "Come, come! You have to try it out for yourselves."

Kashi and Syèl let themselves get dragged by the dwarf to the pier, where five boats awaited them.

The mini skycars were beautiful, with a deep black coat and red highlights, the official colors of the Hopeful Maggots. Peculiarly, the boats were crafted with metal, unlike the wooden skyboats. The skycars housed a single, leather seat at its center and a large fin-like tail behind it. Unlike the skyboat, there were no signs of any wings or propellers, on the skycars leading the Maggots to wonder how they functioned.

That is, except Kashi, who already knew how these worked, as the skycars were made from an earlier draft originally intended for the skyboat. However, he let Otto have his moment, as the dwarf explained to the rest of the Maggots.

"I know you're wondering how these work," Otto said as he gestured at the boats. "It's simple. The engine utilizes mana to power a levitation array which allows the skycar to ascend or descend, depending on how much power is sent to the array." Otto then pointed at the skycar's sides. "You cannot see them currently as they are submerged underwater, but there are exhausts at either side of the skycars which expel air backward, which in turn propel the vehicle forward." Otto rubbed his nose as he then added, "If you want to stop or slow down, there are exhausts near the front of the skycar that expel air forward... and you get the rest."

Catching a problem, Syèl couldn't help bust ask, "Hold on. If you can use the levitation spell, why not use it on the big boat? What's with the propellers?"

"I'm glad you asked," Otto replied with a grin. "We were wondering the same ourselves, but after a few tests, we ran into the answer—"

"Energy consumption is too large on the skyboat," Kashi said with a smile, causing Otto to nod with excited eyes.

"Yes, exactly, Kashi-dono!" Otto praised and then turned to Syèl as he further explained, "Casting Levitate on a small skycar doesn't require too much energy, compared to the monstrous amount required for a skyboat laden with passengers. Also, the amount of windforce needed to push the skycar is peanuts compared to the skyboat."
"Oh, I see," Syèl muttered in understanding.

"If the propellers are more economical, why not replicate them on the skycars?" This time, it was Leila who asked.

"This design is much cooler," Kashi answered without hesitation. "Propellers are clunky and ugly on small vehicles."

"Ah, beauty over efficiency," Leila replied with a nod. "I can understand that thought process."

Kashi nodded. "Besides, propellers are dangerous. We wouldn't want our customers accidentally chopping off people's heads, or gods forbid, their own."

Leila nodded and then looked at Otto. "How long until you can mass-produce these?"

"Well, we can begin mass-production at any time," Otto responded. "But we will need a new facility dedicated to exactly that. Also, acquiring materials and workmen will be costly."

Otto's words confused Leila who was under the assumption that Kashi and the dwarfs were in a working agreement. Why would they need workers?

Kashi noticed Leila's frown and explained, "My agreement with the dwarves was to help design the prototypes for the trains and skyboat for free. Beyond that, the Maggots'll have to foot the bill for continued construction."

"Of course it's not like we'll leave you high and dry," Otto quickly added so she did not get the wrong idea. "The dwarven royal family will definitely invest heavily in the facility so they can reap a portion of the profits, but the dwarfs and other workers need to be paid."

Kashi nodded. "In order to make things clear and transparent, we'll create a company dedicated to crafting the skyboats and trains. As for its name... Hmm..." Unbeknown to Kashi, the Maggots visibly cringed as they awaited his decision. "How about... Franky's Water 7 Forge?"

Otto blinked, confused as the Maggots visibly and mentally facepalmed. "Who is Franky?"

Kashi patted the dwarf's shoulder. "The greatest shipwright in history, and the first man crazy enough to make a boat fly. I'm praying all our ships will be as sturdy as the Sunny-go."

Leila stifled a self-deprecating laugh. She must have been a fool to think Kashi would come up with a good name on his own. "Fine, but is the seven necessary?"

"Franky's Water Forge?" Kashi spelled out, looking at Leila like she had lost her mind. "Does that even make sense."

Leila mentally threw her arms in the air as she surrendered to fate. "Yes, you are absolutely correct. Without the seven, it makes no sense. How could I have possibly thought otherwise."

"I hear your sarcasm," Kashi replied with a snort. "But I'm going to pretend I heard nothing, since you're obviously wrong here."

"Okay, I suppose we are calling it Franky's Water 7 Forge," Lunette said, struggling to hold back the laughter bubbling up her throat. She figured she would never get over Kashi's inane naming sense, which was such a contrast to his badass figure when fighting.

Meanwhile, Shadow tugged on his sister's sleeves. When she turned around, he whispered, "I did tell him, he's scariest when he's not fighting. Who knows what other crazy stuff he'll get into next."

Kashi, choosing to ignore the increasingly loud snide commentary, climbed into the cockpit of one of the skycars. As he took his seat, he marveled at just how comfortable the chair actually was. The daeben spotted a seatbelt and clicked it around his waist, the looked at the control panel in front of him.

The skycar's dashboard, which remained dark, had a slot which resembled a keyhole. Kashi looked at Otto and the grinning dwarf presented him with a crystal key which had been carved into an intricate design. The daeben inserted the key into the slot, and then twisted it.

Hummmmm!

Kashi grasped a pair of handlebars sticking out of the skycar's hull as the skycar came to life with a low hum. The dashboard then came to life, revealing a set of trackers, which kept track of the speed and altitude of the skycar.

Next, Kashi used his feet to check out the four pedals underneath, two per feet. The two inner pedals governed the ascent and descent of the craft, while the two outer pedals determined its speed. Finally, a steering wheels sticking out underneath the dashboard controlled the large fin behind the craft which substituted as the skycar's rudder. This changed the rudder's direction, which in turn, changed the skycar's direction.

Following Kashi's lead, Syèl, jumped into a skycar, leaving only three. At this point, the Maggots realized that not all could get in, so they decided to double up. Kashi set down the skycar, allowing Lunette to get on and seat in front of him. Meanwhile, Syèl and Shokō paired up, leaving Absalon, Shadow and Larsial looking at the last two boats (one was reserved for Brock as a guest).

Shadow and Absalon were the quickest to react, with each grabbing a skyboat before Larsial could think. Larsial, still not feeling completely in tune with the rest of the guild, felt like she had the right to be there, especially when she looked at the magnificent skyboat.

The Hopeful Maggots were a guild that never ceased to create miracles. Furthermore, each miracle seemed to exist only for the betterment of the continent. Compared to them, what had she been doing all her life? Simply looking out for her survival. It did not matter who had to die in the process as long as she lived.

But these Maggots were not like her. A mind that could think of creating something like the skyboat could not be a selfish one.

Larsial hesitated, then began to take a step back, but a voice suddenly reached out to her, like a lantern amidst the darkness.

"What are you waiting for? Get in."

Larsial looked up, shocked to see Shadow's cold eyes glaring at her.

The white-haired assassin did not mince his words as he harshly repeated, "You're keeping us. Get in already."

However, to Larsial, those mean words were some of the warmest she had ever heard. That was because she could see that at this moment, Shadow was not looking at her as a potential threat or enemy, but rather a guild member who was making Kashi wait.

Speaking of which, Larsial turned to see Kashi with a lazy smile on his face. The Hopeful Maggots' Guildmaster nodded as he mouthed, "You're one of us now, aren't you?"

Tears poured down Larsial's eyes as she nodded and walked over to Shadow's car. She took her seat in front of the assassin as she affirmed her conviction in her heart. "I am a Maggot now."

"Now?" Shadow said as the skycar slowly levitated off the ground. "You became a Maggot the moment you fought to save both mine and Kashi's lives..."

Larsial's heart skipped a beat, causing her to look over her shoulder into Shadow's ice-cold grey eyes. "Thank you."