Seventh Realm Part 1: A LitRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 8)

by Michael Chatfield

  She cleared her throat, bringing the smaller conversations to silence.

  “All right, this is probably one of the rare times that we can meet like this in the coming months. Let’s make sure that we’re all on the same page. We’ll go from Jia Feng, to Elise, Commander Glosil, Lord West, and Egbert.”

  “Thank you, Council Leader.” Jia Feng bobbed her head. “The Vuzgal academy staff is working within the city, taking on jobs to create the supplies needed for the Army. The Kanesh Academy has been working with the military to give the soldiers the best information possible. We’ve streamlined our courses to get them done in a few days instead of weeks. Those that are not teaching have been drafted under Taran. He has taken over the operation of the factories. Or they are under Melissa Bouchard and Hou Jun to increase the soldier’s cultivation.” Jia Feng looked at Elise.

  “The traders from across the realms are returning to Alva,” Elise said. “Most of them have outside help operating their companies. There are three major fronts we are working on. First is moving materials to Vuzgal and Alva in support of the crafters, then getting the finished products into the hands of the people that need them. Second is moving supplies to the Adventurer’s Guild and Beast Mountain Range. Finally, supporting the Intelligence Department. A lot of our traders are also intelligence agents, so they have remained in place.” Elise turned to Glosil.

  “The sects in the Fourth Realm are testing our defenses,” Glosil said. “They have not made any major attacks. They are gathering support for the next assault. The Dragon Regiment has been reinforced with a division of reservists and two battalions of fully trained regular service riflemen. We have thousands of people undergoing reserve training to get them up to speed as fast as possible in Alva. All of Tiger Regiment has been turned over to training these people.

  “The Adventurer’s Guild has made small advances in their different battlefields. The Willful Institute is consolidating their forces, and that has made them harder targets. First Realm kingdoms have gathered their forces and are marching on the Beast Mountain Range. We expect them to arrive at the external outposts in one week. They are supported by the Willful Institute. We are not sure what their aims are at this time.”

  Glosil sat back.

  Erik shrugged. “No change for me. I have to wrangle a beast and head to King’s Hill after this. I think now is the time to reveal that there is a power behind Aditya to the other outpost leaders.”

  A ripple ran through the room as people sat up and looked at Erik.

  “How much information and why?” Delilah asked.

  “Get them into a contract to support Aditya or get out of his way. Consolidate the leadership there. Just showing up, throwing out some power, and saying that we support Aditya. Don’t tell them anything about Alva or otherwise.”

  “Commander?” Delilah raised an eyebrow at Glosil.

  “The range has been Alva’s cover since we got the binding contract with Aditya years ago. Colonel Yui has been giving me reports on the situation that Aditya has been sending to you. The outpost leaders are in a panic. They’re collapsing. This move will tie them to us.”

  Erik nodded and looked at Delilah. She took in a breath, organizing her thoughts.

  “The situation in the Beast Mountain Range is mostly with the outliers. Aditya has done well to integrate people into roles that they fulfil and excel at.” She sent a silent apology to Aditya. “Do what you did to Elise and I.”

  “Install him in power and step back?”

  “Yes, throw him into the deep end.” Elise gave him a wry smile. “He has the support, and he knows everything that is going on. This just allows him to exert greater control. Have him form a council to spread the load: trading, army, banking, the consortium, the farmers, the healers, and the mercenaries. He will need to make more offices instead of fewer to fit in the different outpost leaders. Then, over time, he can trim them. For now, it doesn’t matter; he just needs the control.”

  Erik nodded. “I have a question.”

  Delilah indicated for him to go on.

  “Where are the family members of the Adventurer’s Guild?”

  Delilah looked at Elise.

  “Before the Guild went to war, they were moved to secure cities,” Elise said. “They are living and working in those locations across the realms.”

  “What about the back-up dungeons?”

  Glosil cleared his throat. “They are all up and operational. They have plans to extend themselves as they gather enough power. We were able to capture a few more than expected.”

  “Do we have the capacity for all Alvans?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “What about the Guild member’s families?”

  “You’re thinking of bringing them into Alva?” Delilah asked.

  “They have been fighting for us. The least we can do, if it comes to it, is give them and their families refuge. If nothing comes of this, I still want more of the Guild to get access to Alva. We have been hiding for so damn long and they have proved their ability.”

  “I agree.” Delilah nodded after a few moment’s consideration. She looked around, seeing the general agreement. “Then I guess it is my turn. Egbert?”

  He rose from a chair in the corner of the room. Back to his complete form, the formations tattoos had spread down through his bones and he’d gotten a new robe, black on the outside, blue inner layer with lots of sown in formations in the material.

  “You learn anything else from your memories?” Erik asked.

  “Some things are coming back to me. I know more about the dungeon, what it can do, and the things that were built in.”

  “Anything immediately useful?”

  “A range increasing formation. It stretches out for kilometers. It was broken, but I can pour power into it and it will repair and increase the range that the dungeon cores can link.”

  “Link?”

  “You know how we have to be within the dungeon’s area of influence to control it? Well, I was annoyed with being restricted to the dungeon, so I created an extending formation. It allowed me to travel kilometers outside of the dungeon on the surface and not collapse.”

  “How far are we talking?”

  “About twenty kilometers in any direction, but more importantly, it works above ground level. Look at Vuzgal. The dungeon core has a range of ten kilometers, but the undead can’t go higher than two kilometers and they can’t go out more than seven and a half kilometers on the surface. This formation increases the sphere of influence above ground. It does not increase the range of the dungeon’s influence below the ground.”

  “Okay, so you can then move around and provide support above ground?”

  “Yes, also, you can draw on the dungeon’s power above ground.”

  “Draw on the dungeon’s power. I remember seeing that, but won’t that burn through me?”

  “Yes,” Egbert contemplated. “You’d be like a bug in a lightning formation if you tried to do it when you first arrived. Now, you’ve tempered your body and your mana; you can cast spells reinforced with external mana. This is like that, but on a larger scale. You complete your spell and use your body like a conduit. Mana pours through your body and into the spell, going from using your personal power to a portion of the dungeon’s power. Thankfully, you have me because I can limit it so you don’t explode like popcorn.”

  “Lovely.”

  “Bite me.”

  “You’d like that.”

  “Wah, uhh I’m bones! Are you a dog?”

  “Anything for you, Baby.”

  “I—jus—y-you!” Egbert wagged his finger, full of impotent, confused fury.

  If a skeleton could have turned red or melted into a puddle, Egbert would have. Erik broke out into a big grin.

  Delilah worked her lips to hold her smile at bay. Clearing her throat. “Egbert, you were saying?”

  “Otherwise, I’ve been working with the formation masters to create a battery buffer system. And I found Alva’s
defenses.”

  “Defenses?”

  Egbert shivered at Erik’s tone but continued. “Most of them were destroyed, but I have all their plans and can modify them with what I have learned.”

  “So, we can add tactical attack spell formations to our command center?” Glosil asked.

  “Yes, the key part is the targeting. That has been our problem with adding them ourselves. I was a rather good formation master, and my friends were good at it as well, so we fixed that issue. Also, the cooling problem and creating super massive formations. There is a reason the water floor is the size it is and freezing, and why we carved power formations into every damn floor. Alva dungeon is a massive battery.”

  “What?” Jia Feng asked as everyone looked at Egbert.

  “Yeah, you know how I changed the whole Beast Mountain Range, and diverted a river? That’s why there are ships in trees around here. Well, I was double casting. I can use a lot of the Dungeon’s power, but not all of it. Like, I tore apart the ground, crushed an army. This was all plains. There is a reason that the mountains are a hellish landscape. I was using forests and mountains as weapons.” Silence fell over the room.

  He said that he had altered the area, but not to this degree.

  “Pre-tty sweet,” Egbert said in the silence. “Never been curious as to how I lost so much damn power, and why there is a random mountain range in the middle of nowhere, and the kingdoms aren’t around here much? Those that attacked us seemed to have forgotten what happened here. Short memories. I think I’ve been down here a lot longer than I realized.”

  “Just how strong is the dungeon?” Erik asked.

  “Well, if we were to turn off everything and only power the attack formations…” Egbert looked up, his skull turning in a slow circle. “Yup, a lot of power.”

  “How much is a lot?”

  “Dude, we have a freaking laser that is cutting through the damn planet!”

  “What?” Erik reeled.

  “Sorry, I’ve been around more of you Earthers, learning things. But the drilling laser is a precise combination of elements and mana combined into what is effectively a spell. Looking at you, Tanya… Sorry, off-topic. Ahem. That laser is cutting through stone and iron buried tens of kilometers in the ground. On Earth, the deepest you went was twelve kilometers, from what I’ve been told. The plan for the drill is to punch a one-meter-wide hole down a hundred kilometers.”

  “How deep is this thing?” Elise asked.

  “We’re at like fifty kilometers deep. With the power we have, we could make it through a kilometer a day and still support the dungeon.”

  “Anything else?” Erik asked.

  “Nope, I think that’s about it. All the other memories seem to be personal stuff.”

  Delilah felt a stab of pain. All of those memories coming back decades, centuries later and knowing that no one survived. That must be hard.

  “Well, you’ve made some new memories. You are an Alvan. If you need something, reach out, you hear?” The rest of the room nodded, reinforcing Erik’s words.

  Egbert lowered his eyes. “Thank you,” he said in a small voice.

  “Don’t worry about it, Brother,” Erik said. “These attack formations, how long to bring them online?”

  “A few weeks, I’d think. We can create smaller versions to speed it up. It depends on what you want to do. If you want to increase the range, then we can focus on that. But it will take up resources that other projects would need.”

  “So, either we do the range extender, or we do attack formations. If we want the attack formations, then we have to put the ranged formations on hold. Or else, if we do them both at the same time, they’ll take longer?”

  “Yes.”

  “I would vote for the extender. You and Egbert are already powerful enough by yourselves. We’ll look at the drill and the attack formations next,” Glosil said.

  “You want to start the drill up again?” Delilah asked.

  “If we need it. I want to make sure it is ready. It is a fallback for Alva.”

  “I was doing it out of desperation, but if we were to use the dungeon to carve in formations, it would be more effective, and we could channel the power more easily. But yeah, more engineering formation talk,” Egbert said.

  “Do we have permission?” Glosil asked.

  Erik looked at Delilah who turned it back to him.

  “Do it. Any way we can gain power, and increase our security, as long as it doesn’t go against our core values and laws,” Erik shrugged.

  “Yes, sir.” Glosil made a note and Erik looked at Delilah.

  “I guess I am last. All of Alva has returned in the majority. We have expanded housing on all the floors. Most of our population is training in the army or working in industries related to our mobilization. While this is going on, I have been working with the Alva administrators to prepare for what might happen after these fights, and working with the council on the predictions.

  “Otherwise, mostly all I’ve been doing is putting loans on hold. We’ve started a ration point system so we don’t cut into our mana stone supply. Everyone gets rations for food. We have plenty.

  “Wandering Inns and Sky Reaching Restaurants continue to operate. Most of their staff is external now. They continue to grow with our other businesses, allowing people’s savings to grow continuously. We have spread out the bank’s reserves across the first four Realms. Even if we lose one, it won't cripple us. All essential services have been backed up. While all the Alvans are working on the war effort, there’s a lot of money to be made and traders have networks across the lower realms that don’t know about Alva. The dungeon cores are expanding faster in Alva with so many powerful people around,” Delilah checked her notes. “That is all.”

  “You make it sound so simple.” Erik smiled and looked around the table. “Thank you all for what you have done. I can’t put into words the thanks for your tireless efforts.”

  “There is always more to be done. Is there anything else?” Delilah asked, clearing up her papers.

  No one said anything.

  “Okay, then I call the meeting to an end. I’ll see you all, but good luck and keep doing what you’re doing. You do Alva proud. And you, Dungeon Lord, need to go scare some outpost lords.”

  “Just have a quick stop on the water floor first.”

  Erik headed to the armory and quickly added his new attribute points putting all five into his strength.

  ==========

  Name: Erik West

  ==========

  Level: 67

  Race: Human-?

  ==========

  Titles:

  From the Grave II

  Blessed By Mana

  Dungeon Master V

  Reverse Alchemist

  Poison Body

  Fire Body

  City Lord III

  Earth Soul

  Mana Reborn

  Wandering Hero

  Metal Mind, Metal Body

  Earth Grade Bloodline

  ==========

  Strength: (Base 90) +58

  1554

  ==========

  Agility: (Base 83) +80

  937

  ==========

  Stamina: (Base 93) +35

  2016

  ==========

  Mana: (Base 37) +94

  1336

  ==========

  Mana Regeneration (Base 60) +61

  76.02

  ==========

  Stamina Regeneration: (Base 162) +59

  47.46

  ==========

  After his nap, he and Storbon’s Special team headed to the Water floor.

  “Place is huge, still.”

  “We’re going to need the room,” Storbon said.

  Erik grunted.

  Around the teleportation pad, a small town had grown out of the snow and ice.

  “Clothing used to be a rarity and a pleasure, but people can buy it so easily now. My sisters keep going on about their differ
ent outfits nowadays,” Yuli said.

  “Isn’t that a new casting robe?” Lidenowski asked.

  Erik’s lips twitched. He didn’t have to turn around to feel the glare Lidenowski was getting. “Rather nice still.” Erik walked forward. The village dwellings were made of stone. Carved formations kept out the weather and decorated the walls in blue hues. It made the village feel lively. Snow clung to the roofs of the houses, falling occasionally, dissolving before reaching the ground.

  They passed a park where people had turned off the formations, creating ice sculptures that dotted the area as children ran and threw snowballs at one another. A group of parents nearby drank warm drinks leaving dragon breaths of steam in the air as they talked.

  Water wagons and wagons with Alva’s alchemy symbol rolled through the streets, heading to the other floors.

  They reached the edge of the village, walking out onto the paths.

  “The formation masters really didn’t want anyone to slip and fall,” Storbon muttered.

  “All the roads across all the floors are formation-enhanced to make sure that they can withstand the test of time.” Erik looked out over the snowy expanse. Snow fell in the distance, covering a forest of trees made of sparkling ice.

  Hills wove together, creating ranges that stabbed into the sky. The light of the sun shone off the dark cold waters that covered most of the floor.

  “It’s the same harbor the Tiger Regiment launched from to take back the floor.” Storbon followed Erik’s gaze. Proper docks had been added, with roads and loading equipment.

  The sheer cliffs the Tiger Regiment had used to launch from when originally taking the water floor had been carved down.

  Set with stairs, overhanging lifts, and a sprawling warehouse district, a proper fishing village had grown around the icy harbor.

  A fishing ship that had returned from its early morning departure moored across from the warehouses. The crew moved to secure the ship. Formation-enhanced rollers and cooling boxes were brought out as the warehouse crews and fish buyers talked with the fishermen, joking and laughing with one another as they brought in the day’s haul.

  Traders that had come from the other floors, mainly the Kanesh Academy, and the restaurants and taverns on the living floor eyed the fish coming off the boat.