“This was the gnomes’ real goal?” Erik asked.
Jia Feng shrugged.
“It must have been. They built the entire dungeon with this formation at the core,” Delilah said.
“So, what the hell happened to Egbert?” Rugrat asked.
Mana drifted toward the skull. Lines and patterns appeared as parts looked like polished jade.
Glosil cleared his throat. “It didn’t kill him. He’s asleep. At least, we think he is. New runes that were not previously activated have now been activated and repaired. Davin grabbed him from the Water Floor. I stored the rest of him to make sure the runes don’t continue to progress.”
“I was the last person to talk to Egbert. He seemed as surprised as I was,” Delilah said.
Erik raised an eyebrow at Glosil.
“He was a big driving force behind recovering the dungeon,” Glosil explained. “The blast of mana that shot out has put a target on the Beast Mountain Range. He’s also, conveniently, asleep. I trust Egbert, but with these new runes and changes, I’m not sure that we can trust whatever wakes up. He controls all the power in the dungeon and can use it in his spell casting.”
Erik nodded. He would have done the same with limited information.
“It probably has something to do with the First Realm quest.” Erik sat back, lacing his fingers behind his head, thinking.
“I saw that somewhere.” Rugrat opened his screens and went through the recent deluge of screens.
“Quest?” Erik asked.
“Tap into the ley lines and make a mana well. Shit, those Gnomes had cojones,” Rugrat hissed, interrupting Erik. His eyes raced through the description and started again.
“What are we dealing with?” Elan asked.
“Mana, shit tons of it.” Rugrat was still reading. “Ley lines come in two categories, according to Tanya’s research: pure and attribute. Usually, they’re not that far down. They get too pressured, and they release their stored mana back into the Ten Realms, or create gems, mana stones, dungeon cores, and so on.”
“In the First Realm, there have been very few instances of Ley Lines. They’re rare as hell down here. Well, it looks like we found one. Though it is buried deep. I guess it makes sense, though. Mana isn’t that dense, but as it goes down, the density increases and the pressure of the world would increase. So then… Shit. It’s possible that it is stronger than any amount of mana we’ve seen before, denser, purer. Depends on how long it has been down there. Over time, it could have made massive mines, could have dungeon cores all over the damn place.” Rugrat said.
“How do you know this?” Erik asked.
“The best smithies are located on or near Ley Lines to channel that power into the forge or into the weapons. I do read.”
“When it comes to making pointy things,” Erik muttered.
Glosil cleared his throat, stifling a grin. “So, what happens when we tap into this ley line?”
Rugrat opened his fist. “Bang? I’m not sure. There is no knowing how pressurized it is, or how much mana we’re dealing with. Anything like that. We should get Tanya and some of her people looking at it. Easy way to think of it? Ley lines are to the realms what mana channels are to us humans.”
Silence fell on the room; it was a lot to take in.
“We closed off mana storing formations where we could. We have teams removing the cornerstones. That is slowing it down, but any excess mana is being funneled through all the floors into the drill,” Delilah explained. “Before you ask, we have no idea how long until it reaches these ley lines. Without knowing the current depth of the ley lines, we have no accurate way to guess. That is up to the experts to figure out. We have our own worries. When the mana changed direction, the massive influx of mana smashed into the ground and created two ripples; one was dense and short-lived, and the other lasted much longer and went further out.”
“How exposed are we in the First Realm?” Erik asked.
“If every leader in the First Realm doesn’t know about the mana wave coming from the Beast Mountain Range by now, they either have no friends or are on the other side of the planet,” Elan answered.
Erik’s body tensed, hot blood pumping through his chest.
“Have they taken action?”
“We haven’t seen anything on the surface. People are talking to one another. Secret meetings are going on. We need to come up with an excuse and quick,” Elan said.
“Aditya wants to change how people view this. Use it as an opportunity to promote the Consortium and get the interested parties to fight one another rather than the people of the Beast Mountain Range,” Elise quickly interjected. “We need to get ahead of this.”
Erik nodded, his head still resting on his hands as his eyes flicked to Glosil.
“All units have been activated and are on high alert. All reserve force members have been placed on notice.”
“If we need to evacuate everyone from the mountain range?” Rugrat asked.
“We can evacuate them within fourteen hours, less if we move more people out now.” Delilah sighed.
Elise shook her head. “Most of our people in the mountain range are traders. If we evacuate them, the whole economy will collapse. People will panic. We’d kill the Beast Mountain Range.”
“We’ll only do it if there is no other option,” Erik agreed.
He took in a deep breath and let it out through his nose. They were already fighting one war across the realms. They didn’t another one on their doorstep. His eyes fell on Blaze.
“For now, we cover it up, increase the trade, increase the number of mercenaries allowed into the area. Send out patrols to ‘discover’ what happened. What am I not thinking of?”
“We should keep the outpost leaders in the dark,” Elan said. “It will make sure that people don’t see through them. Have the Consortium step up. We need them to show their power. Have more people with powerful backgrounds join the school. I know some people in the First Realm whose children would increase the school’s popularity.”
“If the Trader’s Guild puts out a message that joining the school will be harder than becoming a nation’s King?” Elise gave a shadow of a smile.
“We can send more Adventurer’s Guild members, have them back up what Aditya and his people are saying,” Blaze added.
“We need something for them to discover,” Yui said. “Something that will interest them, but not crave it so much that they are willing to take it at any cost. This is still the Ten Realms.”
“Okay, what can we do?” Erik asked.
Delilah tapped her finger on the desk, thinking. “Release some of the weaker beasts we raised into the surrounding area without contracts. That way, other forces will think about the losses they will take if they want to exploit the range. Second, release a small dungeon. This will gain interest, but admittance is low. So even if one power was to take it over, while they would get some benefits, it wouldn’t be massive.”
Erik nodded. The plan was risky, but it gave just enough benefits and hindrances that it should work.
“If we release all those beasts, more people are going to die,” Delilah said.
“The routes to and from the different cities and towns are heavily protected, and there is little chance of any beasts entering. The mercenaries and guilds have increased in strength enough that there’s little to threaten them. This will allow the beast mountain range to increase their stock in beasts, and there are always people willing to take some risks for money. It is the way of the ten realms,” Glosil said.
“When we tap that ley line there is no knowing what will happen,” Rugrat said.
“Does anyone have any ideas?” Erik asked.
Jia Feng raised her hand.
“Go on.”
“Prepare a story now for the people in the Beast Mountain Range. Have the formation masters work on creating mana-focusing formations. There are mana-storing formations on every level of the dungeon. We need to repair them, put in earth or sky man
a cornerstones if we can. They should weaken the release of mana. The dungeon was created for this a few hundred years ago. We need to expand as fast as possible. The dungeon cores are growing faster than before. Increase the floors, upgrade them. I can direct the schools to help. Alva school will do the practical, the other schools the theoretical. With everyone working on the problem, we can figure it out.”
“This is Alva, after all. We don’t need to do everything ourselves,” Rugrat grinned.
“Elan, your people will have their work cut out for them.”
Erik smiled, seeing Delilah take charge. She didn’t even look to him for confirmation. She’d truly grown into her role.
“Yes, Council Leader,” Elan smiled.
“Seems to me that there is nothing that we can do in the short term, so we might as well deal with the second matter. The Willful Institute,” Erik said, changing the subject.
Elan cleared his throat. “Head Foster of the Willful Institute has made it clear that he’s not happy about the inner strife inside his group. He might be the Head, but he is just one person, and the Institute is made up of thousands of people, which works well for us. The Willful Institute’s factions are still fighting one another. With their focus internal, it has allowed us to make external advances.” Elan opened his hand to Glosil. The two men worked closely together, operating as a single unit.
“Meokar was the opening we needed,” Elan continued. “As soon as the Third Realm city collapsed, groups that were on the fence realized that the Willful Institute isn’t as strong as it once was. With the work of the different teams, the Adventurer’s Guild, crafters, the traders, and intelligence department, we’ve been gutting their bottom line, creating tensions and breaks in their alliances.”
“With war upon them, they’re isolated with few friends or lines of support. I think it is now time for phase two, as Captain Kanoa calls it: Operation Doomsday. A crippling strike against any Institute vulnerabilities, our final attack before the Institute has the time to put up their defenses.”
Delilah glanced at Erik and then looked away with a pale expression.
“How extended are we?” Erik asked.
“We have two battalions deployed under Colonel Domonos, a battalion of the Air Force, and seven Army battalions in reserve. That doesn’t include the reserve forces, which number forty thousand strong—traders, teachers, healers, farmers, and people in the Adventurer’s Guild. The Adventurer’s Guild has grown and matured. Those that operated in Meokar will reinforce the new units that are heading out to fight the Institute,” Glosil explained.
“Have some veterans among them to stiffen them up,” Rugrat recommended.
“Creates better command and control. So we’re not just relying on the Alva Military members. I reduced the hiring costs for the Adventurer’s Guild. That should allow us access to more battlefields,” Blaze said.
“How are things within the Guild?” Erik asked
“Do I dare say, excited?” Blaze sighed and sat forward, resting his bulk on the table. “They were angry for a long time. All of them knew the story. Knew what the Institute did to us. Now, they want to get their own back. Want to fight for one another. Want to show that we won’t be stepped on. Recruiting is through the damn roof. A guild taking on a sect? People love an underdog story.”
“What do you think?” Rugrat asked.
“I think that we’ll need those veterans. We’ll need to introduce them slowly. War isn’t something to rush into. If we take in green units, they’ll collapse. As you said, the veterans will know what to expect somewhat. Give them a spine and make sure they don’t go do something stupid.” Blaze shrugged.
“How many people can you call on?”
“A hundred and fifty thousand fighters across the lower realms. We can get another two hundred and fifty thousand fighting in a couple of weeks,” Blaze answered.
“Fuck, man! Really?” Rugrat sat forward, raising an eyebrow.
“Everyone is a fighter in the lower realms. No other path. Death is cheap and everywhere, unlike the higher realms. Eighty percent of our members come from the first two realms. Given resources and training, they’re more loyal than the higher realm members. You give the order and they’ll do what needs to be done.” Blaze looked Rugrat dead in the eyes.
“Near thirty-five thousand are sworn to Alva, many of them are reservists.”
The weight of command and the power that came with it settled on Erik. Glosil, Yui, Elan, Elise, Jia Feng, Delilah… Everyone in that room would follow Erik and Rugrat wherever and carry out their orders to their last breath.
It was a heavy burden and was never easy to shoulder.
“We need to decide what to do if the guild is attacked directly,” Erik said.
“The Intelligence Department, the traders, and the military have come up with a plan for the people connected to the Adventurer’s Guild,” Glosil said.
“What do you mean?”
“The Willful Institute might be wounded, but they are not broken. If they want to, they could attack the guild members or their loved ones to influence you. We have picked out cities and locations for the Adventurer’s Guild dependents to move to, away from the Willful Institute’s eyes. Those sworn to Alva can use our network of locations, but those who are not, we have a plan to protect them as well.”
Blaze nodded. “Makes sense, sects only have so much honor that you can see on the surface. If my people are worrying about their loved ones all the time, they won’t be effective.”
“We’ll get together afterward and go over the details.” Glosil and Blaze nodded to one another and looked back at the rest of the table.
“Very well, then. The next thing to talk about is recruits,” Erik said, looking at Colonel Yui. He had taken command of all training since his brother was leading operations against the Willful Institute with Kanoa and his Air Force in support.
“At the end of the month, we will have nearly four thousand recruits turned into soldiers and a thousand into Air Force members. Every three months, we should have the same amount of people graduating. We are also secretly training the people of the Beast Mountain Range Military. We’re teaching them similar to how we train the Adventurer’s Guild; working on smaller unit tactics and with class abilities. So, ranged and melee units,” Yui said.
Erik’s eyes slid to Glosil and Elan. “What do you need to begin phase two?”
“Permission.” Glosil seemed unaffected but there was a hunger, a cold determination, in his eyes.
Erik looked at Rugrat.
“Fuck ‘em. We give them more time they’re going to pull together. Operation Doomsday needs to be carried out sooner rather than later,” Rugrat said.
“If we get discovered?”
“Tracing it back to us is going to be fucking hard. They might know that there is someone in the shadows, but when they have someone beating down their front gate, they can’t care about the person stealing their apples from behind. We hit them now while they’re trying to find their balance, and we open up a new hole in their defenses.”
Erik grinned without an ounce of joy in his frigid blue eyes. “You have permission, Commander Glosil. Gut them.”
“Sir.” Glosil nodded.
“Rugrat and I will take care of our resident skeleton—”
“Erik—” Delilah started.
“We don’t have a special team to waste on watching over him. We also have a binding contract with the sack of bones. We need him to recover as soon as possible.”
“But—”
“Trust in us old men. We might not look like much, and our skills might have fallen behind, but there isn’t anyone in Alva stronger than us,” Rugrat reassured her.
“When did I say you were old?” Delilah muttered and blushed.
“You mean devious.” Elise snorted with a smile.
“Stubborn more like,” Blaze muttered.
“Like bulls.” Glosil sighed and shook his head.
“Somewhat s
mart, at times.” Elan’s passive expression split into a smile.
“Did you hire this lot?” Erik said behind his hand to Rugrat.
“I thought you hired them?” Rugrat hissed back.
Delilah let out a breath through her nose, but there was a smile on her face.
“Look, Rugrat has wanted to kidnap Egbert for years. Made a belt and everything.”
“Don’t tell them about the belt!” Rugrat glared at Erik.
“Well, we only need his skull.”
“All right.” Rugrat pulled out a loop of chain with a formation on it with a meek smile.
“Go grab it,” Erik closed his eyes. How in the hell did I get lumped with this idiot?
Rugrat pulled Egbert’s skull off. As soon as it was off the table, the mana entering it increased. The speed that the new runes were created on his face increased. Rugrat activated the formation on the chain and stuck it to the back of Egbert’s skull. He looped the chain around his belt, like a redneck barbarian with a magical skull on his hip. Just need some furs and a club.
“And on the plus side, he can’t wear his short shorts because they don’t have a belt loop,” Erik added.
“Done. You can have Egbert’s skull!” Jia Feng smacked the table. There was a semi-serious nodding of heads.
Delilah raised her eyebrow. “Very well. So, what will the two of you be doing?”
Rugrat adjusted Egbert’s head, pushing his shocked jaw closed. He kept doing it, and it kept opening until his jaw fell off. He looked around in a panic, holding Egbert’s jaw.
Erik cleared his throat. “I need to finish my metal tempering. I’m useless until that’s done. Rugrat is combat-ready and capable. If you need him, Glosil, he’s a motivated and powerful individual.”
Rugrat pulled out some Alva rip tape and with a loud noise he tore off a long strip. Everyone looked over at his awkward smile and back to Glosil.
Rugrat Duct-taped the jaw back in place.
“You might both be too powerful. If you show up on the battlefield, you might be too strong. You are our trump card. We don’t want to show you off right at the start.”
“Our people are fighting for us. We’re not going to sit in the rear,” Erik’s said resolutely.
Seventh Realm Part 1: A LitRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 8) Page 3
