“You know, there aren’t many healing houses around. I thought there would be more in the higher realms,” Yao Meng said.
“Medicine pays,” Erik said. “A healer’s position in the lower realms is much higher than up than here. A healer or an alchemist in the Fourth Realm is like a damn lord. Up here, they’re hangers-on. Without war and the fear of dying, healers don’t make as much. People who temper their bodies are few and far between.”
“People aren’t willing to endure the pain of tempering, so they only focus on their Mana Cultivation.” Tian Cui shook her head.
“Alvans are a more determined lot. We’ll take anything we can get. Up here, they can choose. Anyway, healers, they’re retainers. A clan or family will train them to extend people’s lives, but alchemists have more power. That is why there isn’t a healing association. Alchemists can create potions for any kind of cultivation and give you pills to increase your power in a time of peril. Heal you when there are no healers around.”
They wandered through the streets and, for the first time in a long time, just watched.
“The cities are so big that the large carriages have their own roads to connect the city,” Storbon said.
“Those beasts must have been raised just to run these routes. There are no drivers; they’ve been trained to run from stop to stop. They even have aerial beasts. Look at that tower.” Lucinda pointed at a spire that jutted into the air with circular discs at different heights.
A large aerial beast flapped his wings. Slowing his momentum, he landed on the disc and disappeared.
“Raising aerial beasts is much harder than ground beasts. I wonder how they raise them.” Lucinda spoke aloud.
“Look at the lower levels. The beasts going in there are a lower quality, worked hard. If I were a betting man, I’d say they were trader birds,” Yao Meng said.
“Why do you think that?” Erik asked.
“Harder worked. They’re hardier, and they’re landing lower. Also, look at their backs and legs—they’ve got gear hanging off them. The higher-up fliers, they don’t have things hanging off their legs.”
“So?”
“So, who is liable to hang gear packs from the sides of their carriages: the wealthy transport carriages or the merchants? If they can sneak in more goods, they’d do it.”
“Aerial beasts are expensive, and traders all move by ground,” Lucinda rebutted.
“Cost versus profit. Look at how many towers there are around the totems. Remember those warehouse districts?” Yao Meng said.
“Yeah.”
“Bet they offload their goods there, put them on birds, and transport them across the city. Other places, a clan might have stores in a city, probably in a few cities because they’d cut into their own profits with too many stores in one place. Here, there are multiple stores under the same clan. All of them need items to sell, so the supply system changes. Carriages move large quantities; birds do smaller quantities over short distances because it’s not as packed as the ground. Maybe they only move expensive items. Birds are expensive beasts, after all. Though, if someone is willing to pay, sure thing! They can get it faster.”
“Mana stones make the world turn,” Tian Cui quipped.
“And I’m in deep need of something to drink and eat. Keep an eye out for good food places,” Rugrat said.
“The foodie of the South,” Erik said.
“I like my food. Drinking Stamina concoctions gets boring fast.”
A general grunt of agreement rose from the group.
The group found a restaurant.
“So many restaurants, completely different from the Fourth Realm. There are a few of them in each city in the Fifth,” Tian Cui said as they waited for the waitress to come back with their orders.
“Even have beer packed with damn medicinal ingredients. Feels like it’s doing more good than bad.” Rugrat frowned, staring into his cup.
Yao Meng tapped his cup against Rugrat’s and then the table. Rugrat tapped his as well.
“Tastes way better than the swill from the lower realms.” Yao Meng grinned, tilting the beer back.
“Not as good as the stuff back home, though. Hey! Are you chuggi—you!” Rugrat clamped his lips on the mug as he raced to catch up with Yao Meng, who was downing the beer in one gulp, a competitive shine to his eyes.
He finished with a gasp, then Rugrat a second later.
He squinted and shifted around before letting out a burp. “Tastes like beer!” He grabbed the pitcher and poured more for Yao Meng and himself.
Erik held up his cup. “You all did well. I could not be prouder.” He tapped his mug against theirs. They mashed them all together before hitting the table and drinking.
They were all visibly relaxed, as if they could only now put down some of their weight.
“So, why do you think that there are so many cooks up here?” Yuli asked Tian Cui.
“Plenty of ingredients around, ton of people looking to learn crafts. Erik said that the alchemists are a massive power up here and in the higher realms. Cooks can make a lot more products than alchemists. It might not be as potent, but it can give a long-lasting buff, can be kept for a long time in a storage ring.”
“Wouldn’t work in the lower realms. The ingredients would be too expensive compared to the regular wage, and not everyone has storage rings to keep the meals ready,” Lucinda said.
They talked among themselves, discussing the Sixth Realm, the other realms, and just general conversation.
“What’s the plan, boss?” Storbon asked.
“Check out the Sixth Realm some more. We were stuck in that dungeon for so long dealing with that orc problem. The dungeons are the frontier for the academies. I want to learn more about the academies.”
“Are you thinking of joining one?”
“Why would I want to do that?” Erik asked.
“Your teacher is a member of the Alchemist Association. If you were to join an academy, you’d get a lot of benefits…could increase your level faster.”
“You’ve got to be wary, Storbon. These academies aren’t like ours. If you join an academy, you’re not just going to learn from them. You’ll be one of them.”
“Don’t you have to leave the academy after a certain amount of time or pay a lot to remain in it?”
“Yes, but once you leave that academy, you’ll need a job, something that requires your skills. Academies make deals with powerful sects and groups in the higher realms. Say you want to be part of Sect A, then you need to go to Academy One. Sect A only hires people from Academy One.”
“So, the academies train up people and then feed them into various sects?”
“Yup. Rugrat’s analogy was pretty accurate. Based on which academy one goes to, it decides which sect they will work in for the rest of their lives.”
“What about the associations?”
“The associations are their own thing, and they have their own academies; they don’t even try to hide their intentions. They recruit some people from the lower realms. In the Sixth Realm, it all changes. They recruit the strongest fighters from the Fourth Realm. They pluck the people with the greatest potential in the Fifth Realm. Groom them in the Sixth and Seventh Realms. Beyond that, I don’t know what happens.” Erik drank from his cup.
“There must be millions of people in the Sky Realm, not even mentioning the Celestial and Divine Realms beyond.”
“And few, if any, come down.”
They sat in silence, nursing their drinks.
“So, joining an academy binds you to that academy and their allies.”
“Pretty much.”
Storbon sat up. “Boss, I don’t mean anything by this, but you and Rugrat always make it seem as if you’re weak and powerless. I’ve seen you train and fight. You’re strong. Sure, in actual combat, you use techniques or spells, relying on your rifle or on the spell scrolls. You taught us to use our consumables first. Mana, Stamina. Once it is spent, it is much harder to get back than ripp
ing a spell scroll or reloading your rifle.”
“Well, yeah, if you use all your mana and Stamina, you’re going to feel like a bag of shit. Once you consume that, your overall combat power plummets. With the weak thing…” Erik pinched his brows together.
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Storbon said again.
“I’m not angry, just thinking. If I got pissed off at every little comment of me fucking up, I’d never had made it into the army. Certainly wouldn’t have survived getting attached to a Marine Force Recon Company.” Erik showed a glimmer of a smile before he sighed. “There is always someone stronger. I heard someone say this: ‘What is your maximum weight, someone else is just warming up with.’ It has to do with exercise; whatever is the most you can lift, someone else can do it with ease. Might be because we’re competitive motherfuckers, always looking for that edge, for more strength. Other part is, well, it keeps you humble. You think you’re the strongest, the best that there ever is or was?” Erik rolled his eyes. “Couldn’t get a head that big down the fucking street.”
Storbon snorted.
“Screw the street. I just want a smithy to myself. Got a new plan,” Rugrat said.
“Blind the local population with your ‘smithing attire?’” Erik raised an eyebrow.
“Hey! Appreciation of the fine male form!”
Erik saw an approaching waitress laden with plates. Everyone started to clear the table to make way for the food.
“Beer! Oh, goddess of drink!” Rugrat said, relieving her of a pitcher of beer.
“It’s not blue ribbon. Pass it over!” Erik argued.
As Rugrat tinkered in the smithies with Tian Cui and Storbon with him, Erik and the rest of the special team collected information on the Sixth Realm.
“Well, that sounds interesting.” Erik pointed to a poster, and Lucinda took a closer look.
People in the lower realms could read, but most of their information came from criers reading out the latest announcements. In the Sixth Realm, filled with information and technique books, there was simply too much happening in the massive cities for a crier to tell everyone what was happening, so they only announced the most relevant information
Around the city, there were walls of information. Formations displayed illusions that updated with new information, a mix between television news and billboard advertisements thrown together in a hologram. Less gripping news was posted on the wall underneath.
“Great news!” a crier called out. “Young Master Wei has returned from his studies! At only twenty-two, he has become a low Expert tailor! Upon his return, he marched into the Taaj clan’s headquarters. In the name of righting previous wrongs against his clan, he has challenged any of the Taaj clan’s members five years older and younger than him! He will take them all on at once in a brilliant tailor competition! You can purchase your tickets at the Quansho arena!”
“What is the bet?” someone in the crowd asked.
“Young Master Wei has declared that he will reimburse the Taaj family four Sky mana stones if they are able to defeat him. If he is to defeat his peers of the Taaj clan, they must give up their tailor stores in the Taihe district!”
Gasps and exclamations went through the crowd.
“What do you think?” Lucinda whispered.
“The Ten Realms is not a peaceful place. The rule has always been that the strongest make the rules and take what they want. It seems that there is little fighting that goes on in the higher realms. Most turn toward crafting and cultivation to increase their levels instead of killing beasts. These competitions, it’s how the Ten Realms remains stable.”
“Maintain stability?”
“The academies, the sects—they don’t want to lose people at this level. It takes a lot of investment to raise someone up to this level and more for them to maintain or progress further. Having them die, they’d only fight one another over a matter they couldn’t let go.”
“They want to milk their people for everything they can; they don’t want them to die early. In the lower realms, they would be powerhouses. They’re pillars for the academies and sects.”
“Right. With the competitions based on any kind of skill, even crafting, it keeps the competitive state alive. Having massive arenas for others to come satisfies their vanity and allows them to show off their power,” Erik said. “It stops the sects and academies from falling apart. Probably makes them stronger as well, though it has the same critical flaw as the rest of the Ten Realms.”
“Wait, stops them from falling apart? What’s their flaw? The sects and academies have stood for hundreds of years!”
“Just take a look at the Willful Institute. On the outside, it is a powerful sect, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What about inside? Think of all the factions and clans that make up the sect. Competition, competition, competition!”
Lucinda frowned, confused.
“There is healthy competition, done for fun and to motivate people. Like how we had in the military. People mess with one another, but at the end of the day, they’d stand next to one another in a heartbeat and trust them completely. Then there is the other side of competition—a competition that is for face. Trying to make the other group lose something that is dear to them and embarrass them publicly. That kind of competition means that the strongest can only stand at the top. They need the power to suppress others and secure their position. It also means that while the people are suppressed and pressed together, there is friction. There are only so many resources, so many special techniques. Not everyone will get them. Large and small competitions lead to great feuds and issues. In the lower realms, sects regularly fall, not because of an external source, but because of internal strife. If there is not someone powerful enough to suppress all others, then the sect collapses as groups fight over everything, tearing the sect apart.”
“I understand. These open competitions mean that there are less actions in the dark between groups. The competitions allow groups to suppress one another without causing massive disruption in a sect. The sect gains more stability, though they still lead to inner strife that mounts over time.”
“Bingo. The groups are not united. They’re competing for their own interests, under the banner of a larger group, something that we have been using to our advantage.” Erik started to walk away, and Lucinda followed.
“Are you going to leave Alva?”
Erik faltered half a step. “Bit of a sudden question.”
“You and Rugrat like exploring, and you’ve given other people power. Kind of feels like we’re holding you back,” Lucinda said, no judgment in her tone.
“Rugrat and I had a hole in the ground. It was the people from the original Alva and those who joined us later who transformed Alva, Vermire, and Vuzgal into what they are today.”
They walked away from the poster-covered walls. The crier was talking about the latest competitions when the flashing formation switched to a new bulletin.
The crush of people thinned.
“Rugrat and I are not leaders. Sure, we can take a squad out, carry out a mission, and come back. That’s easy. Manage a city? All the traders, the varied groups coming in? Manage a military? Run a school? The basics, we can pitch in and help. Alva isn’t some new, meek, little existence anymore. There are teachers and other people better suited for those roles. Once the Willful Institute is dealt with—well, Rugrat and I are just two mercenaries given a second lease on life. There’s so much to explore in the Ten Realms. Best to leave the running of Alva to Alvans. We’ll be around to help if needed and to visit, but…” Erik raised a shoulder in a half-shrug.
“You want to go and see the Ten Realms. I get it,” Lucinda said. “What about the leadership? You said it—in the Ten Realms, the strongest person is the leader. That’s the case with you and Rugrat, if Delilah takes over for real.”
“If someone attacked Delilah, what would you do?” Erik stopped and faced her.
“I’d protect her.” Lucin
da didn’t need to think before answering.
“What if it was any other leader of Alva?”
“If they want to get to Delilah, or any Alvan, they’d have to go through me,” Lucinda said.
“Alva needs the best leader, not the strongest bully, at its head. The army, the academies—all of it is so Alva can stand on its own two feet, so that no matter who or what might threaten it in the future, it won’t be destroyed.”
“Is that why we’re still hiding?”
“Yes. The longer Alva can remain hidden—the more Experts it can train in crafting, in fighting—the larger its reach can become. Lord Aditya has the right idea with Vermire. Right now, we’re burrowing so deeply into the infrastructure that is the Ten Realms that removing us would hurt much more than leaving us be.”
“Has that been your goal this entire time?”
“Yes, so when the day comes that Alva is revealed, its foundations, its people are so solid that they can’t be shaken by any sect, academy, or association.”
“Thank you for being our lord,” Lucinda said.
“Just doing a job.” Erik smiled.
“You gave people a home, an education. I don’t think it’s just some job. Even if it is just a job, thank you for taking it on. You made something”—she searched for the words—“fucking awesome.”
Erik laughed. “Fucking awesome, huh? I like it. Come on, let’s go recon the Sixth. Or else Elan will have both our asses.”
“You know, like good work on those agents, but hell if I could do it. Secrets, playing people, all that? Shit sounds tiring.”
The two of them walked down the street, just two more people heading somewhere in the massive city.
7
Conqueror’s Armor
Sergeant Bai Ping and his mage squad looked around the secret testing area. Bai Ping had fled to Vuzgal after his city was attacked—a victim of yet another war they hadn’t been part of. He and several of his family members had joined the Vuzgal Defense Force looking to get stronger. Others had joined the administration, became traders, and assimilated into Vuzgal, which protected them. What had been a fresh start turned the low-powered Bai clan into a large clan in Vuzgal.
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 8
