"Well, shit..."
Swearing for the umpteenth time, Duncan rubbed his brows, tired from all the bad news coming to him today. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn that the world was out to get him. Damn it! Forget about building the hull of the spaceship and the foundational rods. To stabilise the Dungeon, we need to create safety barriers to ensure that there are sufficient safety protocols in place to prevent the Dungeon from going into a stampede. We're barely breaking even! So how on Earadun are we going to actually get the raw ores necessary without burning through our budget faster than a Goblin warranty!?
Sighing in defeat, Duncan sat back down, leaning heavily on his chair. They needed a substantial amount of steel to complete the basic infrastructure for their needs, but the issue was that their steel production capability was not as high as on Earth, and the quality was much, much lower. Such difficulties made it nearly impossible for Duncan to acquire the materials needed to withstand the tremendous weight of the rocket, as well as the necessary thermal capabilities to ensure that they would not melt from the ensuing heat generated by the rocket boosters' ignition. But the issue here was that there were no any sort of Engineers on this Godforsaken planet (the closest things to them were the Arcan Engineers, and Holy hell were their inventions fucking unstable (they were mostly used for warfare)).
But there was one race that had the possibility to build the steel they needed
Dwarves are the only race on this planet that could possibly help us get the quality steel we need, but they're still stuck with their medieval-level mindset. I can solve this issue with the Library of Alexandria, but the critical infrastructure must still be built by them. Now the issue here is that they're one of the most stubborn races in the entire planet, and the only viable method here is to either give them a ton of highly concentrated alcohol, or have them owe you a very huge favour (they heavily emphasise returning favours)...
Despite having a clear idea on what to do, Duncan's frown just dug deeper
I would go myself (being one of the top 5 richest corporations does give you credibility), but...haah.
They hate Elves with their guts
"Hey, don't Dwarves have the highest attainments in metallurgy? Why don't we go with them...?"
Lewis broke the silence in the room by saying what was going through Duncan's mind. Deadeyed, Duncan stared at Lewis for a long time, so long that Lewis began sweating nervously. "Don't you know Dwarves and Elves have one hell of a grudge? Goblins are seen as unstable maniacs, blowing up everything in their quest for bigger and more. Demons are seen as 'see one, burn one'. And Orcs, well...Orcs are seen as something mythical, existing only in stories at this point..."
"And Humans...?"
"They're seen as somewhat reliable, but here's the kicker- you don't even belong here! If the Dwarves find out you're from another world, who knows what they'll do to you! Who on Earadun can go and convince-"
As the group began bickering on how to get the steel they needed, with fights nearly sparking every so often, one person sat quietly in a corner, twiddling nervously. Just when everything was about to blow up, they stood up, stopping everything in their tracks.
"I...I have a way that can help us get the Dwarves to help us."