The Fifth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  Yawen’s sword sprouted flames as he cut the vine down. It dropped to the ground, writhing around.

  “Move!” Niemm yelled.

  Storbon kept running.

  They were being attacked from every angle. The entire forest seemed to be working together to try to kill them.

  The rushing water got closer until Storbon saw trees being torn apart in the distance.

  “Cover your eyes!” Egbert’s voice rang through the floor.

  Storbon ducked, seeing water that had been formed into spinning blades cutting through the forest, carving a path through it.

  His body went cold as one of the blades passed him by centimeters. He could feel the cold water vapor from the blade slamming into a tree, splitting it apart. More blades followed, the forces destroying any sign of the tree.

  “Move!” Egbert said as the blades continued going. There were more blades behind but they were running down the sides of where the first blades had cleared a path.

  Storbon looked at where the different members of the team were. They all started running and Storbon took up the rear to make sure that no one fell behind.

  “Keep an eye out for any more attacks!” Niemm yelled as the spell started to fade.

  Storbon looked behind him. “Damn. The forest is starting to regrow!” Storbon yelled.

  The roots of the trees were starting to move through the soil. The trees moved into these new open areas to draw in more of the Earth-attribute mana, growing quickly. The path started to fade behind them, reclaimed by the forest.

  The trees and plants started to move to claim the best spots.

  Deni fired with a grenade launcher, tearing the plants apart and keeping their path clear.

  They finally burst out of the forest and into the open area around the camp. They slowed down as they made it through the gate.

  “Fucking killer forest,” Lucinda said, trying to control her breathing.

  Glosil marched over to them. “What happened?”

  “The forest attacked us—the trees, the plants, a few small beasts all tried to kill us. The entire thing is one massive trap,” Niemm said.

  “Shit. All right, debriefing in ten,” Glosil said.

  “Sir.” Niemm nodded.

  Glosil looked at them all, checking that they were okay before he headed to the wall in the direction that they had come from.

  ***

  Delilah sat in the Sky Reaching Restaurant, drinking tea as she read the latest request from Glosil.

  “He wants to have the alchemists make a poison to kill the plants and the authority to do so?” she asked Fehim, who sat opposite.

  “Yes. After further study, it looks like the beasts of the Earth floor are not the ones in power but the plants,” Fehim said.

  “What do you think about this?”

  Fehim frowned and pressed his lips together. “If we use a poison on the plants right now, then they will allow the army to move forward. But afterward, we don’t know how it will affect the plants that we want to put down.”

  “Do you have another option?”

  “I was thinking explosives, but the amount needed would be massive. Though, fire is highly effective against Earth-attribute life-forms. Also, once fire defeats Earth life-forms, the Earth attribute only becomes stronger. Think of forest fires. Once a forest is destroyed, then the plants grow back even faster.”

  “So we need to start a fire?”

  “We need to start a fire through the entire floor and make it spread rapidly, so I thought of explosives again and wondered if there was a way to make a concoction that is flammable rather than explosive and that will set fire to a large area. I talked to Matt. He said that there was a concoction called napalm, or a device called a fuel air bomb that used fire to clear a large area. He agreed with me—said that if a poison was used, there was no knowing what the effects might be on the land, on the plants and people if they consumed them. Said that there was a military that used chemicals; it was effective in war, but then the people in the area are still paying the price,” Fehim said.

  “Were you able to develop any of this napalm or fuel air bomb?”

  “I haven’t yet. I wanted to bring this to your attention as soon as possible,” Fehim said.

  “Create the poison as well as the fire concoctions. If you complete the fire devices within seven days, then we will use them. If not, then we will go with the poison,” Delilah said. “We can’t keep the First Army stuck in the Earth floor for too long. They have other duties.”

  “Understood.” Fehim nodded.

  “I’ll motivate the alchemists here as well and see if they can create the concoction.” Delilah stood. “It’s good to see you, Fehim.” She smiled.

  “I wish it was for a better reason.” Fehim stood and let out a dry laugh.

  “Alva demands a lot from all of us,” Delilah said.

  ***

  Delilah walked up to the mission counter within the Division Headquarters. She presented her talisman that had been given to her by Old Hei. She had been given the temporary rank of probationary Journeyman alchemist. She was just waiting for an internal test within the Alchemist Association to get an official medallion from the association.

  It wasn’t enough to accept missions, but she could still create them.

  “I wish to put up a mission, for a concoction formula. The concoction should be a liquid or a powder and it must be highly flammable, without being consumed too quickly. Is that possible?”

  “That should be enough information.” The woman at the counter smiled. “The reward?”

  “Thirty Mortal mana stones, due within seven days.”

  The woman at the counter nearly choked as she looked at the medallion on Delilah’s chest again. “Very well.” She noted down the details and made a new posting.

  Chapter: Adventurer’s Guild Bares its Fangs

  Blaze was looking at his reports, checking the new contracts that were coming up. There were always some complaints from a trader who had had a perfectly safe trip but because the Alva adventurers hadn’t begged and scraped, he reported them to Blaze. He swiftly tossed their messages in a separate bin. Their information would be collected and the association would never do work with them again.

  He heard a commotion downstairs and then pounding on the stairs.

  Blaze sat back in his chair as he grabbed the axe underneath his desk and ran his fingers over the button that would activate the formation that had been built into the room.

  The door was opened by one of the Elites.

  “Dammit, Din! I about near threw my axe at you. What’s up?” Blaze asked.

  “A group was taking a convoy from the Third Realm to the Second. They completed the job and were coming back when they were attacked. There are only four survivors,” Din said, pulling off her scarf.

  “Who hit them?” Blaze asked, his eyes focusing as he set his jaw.

  “Looks like some group from the Willful Institute,” Din said.

  “That sect has been playing on my nerves time and time again.” Blaze had heard the stories from Erik and Rugrat on their actions before. He didn’t think that he would have to deal with them but in passing while he was running the association.

  “They say enemies walk down a thin road together.”

  Blaze stood and looked out of the window that looked down on the training area. With their funds, they had been able to set up a headquarters in a regional headquarters in the Third Realm. They trained people from across the Mortal realms, with people hiring them out as guards, known as a status symbol to the Elites and deadly fighters to all others.

  “What will we do?” Din asked, unable to remain silent.

  “We send them a message asking them to look after this issue, then we see what they do.”

  “What about higher?” Din asked.

  Blaze frowned. Din had been one of the few people who had gone to the true Alva to train. She had found a home there and acted as an agent of Alva and one of Bla
ze’s direct subordinates within the association. There were more people heading to Alva to train every month. When they came back, they were changed; their strength in skills, cultivation, and combat standards were leaps and bounds stronger.

  “I will inform them of the matter. There is no need to involve them at this time,” Blaze said.

  “What if the Willful Institute doesn’t give a satisfactory answer?” Din ventured.

  The air around Blaze seemed to congeal. He might be the leader of the Alva Adventurer’s Guild but his strength had only increased. He continued to go for meetings in Alva, training there for a few days and spending all the coin he had on Body and Mana Gathering Cultivation aids. He had been able to open his twelfth mana gate and reached Body Like Stone.

  “Then we inform higher,” Blaze said.

  ***

  “Who do they think they are? Demanding that we repay them for what? Dying? They killed twenty-four of our students as well!” one of the Willful Institute elders yelled, slamming his hand against the table.

  “I agree with Elder Tsi. This is not the first time that we have run into these troubles. Why do we need to lower our heads to some association? Are our students not people that have been accepted into sects of the Sky realm? They should be pleased that we aren’t seeking retribution for the ones that they killed,” Elder Dean said with a deep look around the hall.

  “The ones who survived—I have heard that they made breakthroughs in their cultivation?” the elder head asked.

  “Yes, Elder. That is correct,” Elder Tsi said.

  “Well, it looks like whatever they had was valuable. They attacked in the Second Realm, not the Third. The Alchemist Association won’t care. There was no traders with them nor were they under anyone’s protection, so it is only the Alva Adventurer’s Guild we need to worry about.” The elder head let out a snort and stood.

  “Since they have asked for us to repay them, it looks like they want money. Tell them that if they want to continue to do business in the cities under our control, then they best remember their position. Those who carried out the ambush, see that they go to the Fourth Realm if they are able to. There is a new war brewing and the more bodies we can send the better. Tell this Adventurer’s Guild that this was done because of them. Make sure that they know their position and threaten that these people will come back from the higher realms to deal with them if we ask.”

  The elder head walked out of the room, shaking his head. “If another one of you brings up a matter like this before me again, I’ll have you stuck in meditation for a month to reflect on wasting others’ time!”

  Chapter: To the Fifth!

  Rugrat and Erik were underneath the pillar again. Rugrat was lying down, a grimace on his face. Erik had purchased tempering pills for him from the Division Headquarters and made those that weren’t available for sale.

  It was uncomfortable, but it was made to temper Rugrat’s body without putting him in danger. Erik using poison to temper his body was much more painful and stressful. If he didn’t have enough healing concoctions, or if he couldn’t cast a healing spell, he could have died. These pills took care of breaking down Rugrat’s body and rebuilding it.

  Erik was on the other side of the room, located next to the formation that brought in all of the mana filled with all kinds of impurities.

  Erik had read the manual on increasing the size of his mana core and reviewed it once again.

  “Draw in mana through your mana gates; circulate and compress them before guiding them through your mana veins, compressing them from vapor, to mist to drops that when combined together will create your mana core,” Erik let out a breath and shook his head, trying to relax and get comfortable.

  He closed his eyes and started to concentrate, focusing on his mana system. With a thought, the mana resting in his mana veins was stirred up. It started to compress and flow toward his dantian. He compressed it as it went, combining the mana together.

  Sweat started to appear on his head as he concentrated on keeping drops together, the energy held within his mana veins, within those few drops.

  Erik smiled, thrilled by the challenge, by the power he felt within his body.

  “Come on!” He pushed forward. The mana around him was stirred up, following the circulation path he had created.

  It’s like negative air pressure or when you siphon liquid from one tank to another—because I’ve pulled mana through here, it is pulling more mana through my mana gates and along my circulation path.

  Erik focused his mind again and he continued to circle his mana drops and the small feeding streams of mana through his dantian. He used the liquid mana creating threads like yarn with them and he looped them around one of his mana drops and the three combined drops, he increased the power of the mana yarn exerting his own control over the drops as he forced them closer.

  Sweat started to appear on his brow from the strain, it was harder each time to combine the drops.

  Erik circulated the mana within his body, compressing through his mana veins, which was doing part of the work for him. Streams of mana could be seen entering his body.

  It took all of his concentration to make sure that all of the mana was utilized, to make sure that it didn’t become stagnant making him run out of mana.

  It’s like I’m manually having to control my entire circulatory system.

  Erik continued for nearly two hours, finally the drop met up with the three combined drops.

  There was a rush of mana through his body as more mana was drawn in, as the four mana drops were fused together, the fifth and final mana drop retreated as far as it could from the four combined drops. Erik felt a wave of fatigue rush over him, he released his control over his mana system and laid back. Holding his head, he let out a groan.

  “Damn, that was about as fun as holding a damn plank for ten hours,” Erik complained.

  “Nrrghhff!” Rugrat grunted in the corner, staring at Erik.

  “Oh, what are you complaining about? I did that already!” Erik said but he rolled over and went to Rugrat, checking that everything was okay.

  “See, you’re fine, ya big wuss.” Erik turned his sight back to his mana veins and his mana core. The mana in his veins had calmed down but his mana core was darker, filled with impurities.

  Erik paid attention to his mana core and felt the Fire-attribute mana slowly leaving his mana core and entering his body, tempering it.

  He let out a cough as he compared how big his mana core was from before to how big it was now. It had barely increased in size and was actually reducing in size as the Fire-attribute energy entered his body.

  It purifies my mana and makes my core denser. But losing even a little bit, even if it is for a good reason, hurts. I’ll need to take some time to allow my four drops to stabilize and then attempt to combine my last mana drop, going to take a lot of power.

  “It’s not a battle—it’s a war.” Erik pulled out a pill bottle that contained the stronger version of the tempering pills. He held the bottle up and tapped one pill out. It rolled in his hand, looking like a small gumball.

  Erik moved to a formation plate embedded in the floor and pulled out several pieces of paper.

  “Okay, so if I turn this there and then put down this formation plate and then these flags around where I’m sitting, it should isolate the Earth-attribute mana.” Erik read the instructions that Julilah had created and checked the formation plate that she had made.

  He put it down and then set out formation flags in a circle. Then he moved to the main mana circle and turned a circular formation.

  The mana had been collected and then shot down into the ground to the dungeon core hidden underneath. Now all but the Earth mana was being sent down into the dungeon core to be refined.

  It was as though he had diverted a waterfall. When looking at the water falling, one might think that it wasn’t that much water. But a jet of Earth-attribute mana slammed into the formation that he had laid down. It glowed brown
as the Earth mana rapidly spread out like a geyser. It shot out everywhere before it reached the formation flags, where it stopped, like hitting an invisible wall, and started growing in density quickly. The air above the formation flags looked like a dust plume.

  Erik looked at it, a bit alarmed, and then looked over to the restrained Rugrat, who was sweating and in clear pain, but he was looking at the formation and Erik.

  Erik gave an awkward smile, having second thoughts about stepping into the formation.

  Well, I can’t bow out now—Rugrat wouldn’t let it go. He’s tempering his body and I already made fun of him.

  Gritting his teeth, Erik stepped forward and stepped into the Earth-attribute formation before he could think about it too much.

  The Earth-attribute mana started to enter his mana channels.

  Erik sat down and pulled out an IV. He hooked himself up before pulling out the pill. The Earth-attribute mana rushed toward the pill, drawn in by it.

  “Damn.” Erik cast Hallowed Ground, increasing its strength, taking nearly all of his mana pool to do so.

  Erik threw the pill back and swallowed it before he laid down.

  His body started to break down and he couldn’t even scream. Before, his body had been broken down; now it was as if it were crushed completely. The Earth attribute all around him was drawn into his body and he healed up, breaking it down further and further—his body, the healing solution in his veins, and his Hallowed Ground rushing to heal him up.

  Erik felt the pill wearing off and he took another.

  I need to make a breakthrough. If I’m not able to, then it will only be harder next time. Bottlenecks are like elastic bands: it’s easier to break them in one shot, instead of stretching them constantly and then hoping it will break one time.

  Erik’s body cracked and broke again, but it was getting stronger each time. More of the Earth-attribute mana around him was drawn in, increasing the effects of the pills.