Jasper walked with his people along the wall, looking over the area around Reynir
“Good vantage points. Heavy weaponry and spell formations. They’ve got the entire valley covered. It would be hard for them to deal with multiple smaller forces, but if one force came, they could hammer them with their large-scale weaponry,” Niemm assessed as he sat beside Jasper.
Sound-canceling formations were active so that no one could hear what they were talking about or read their lips.
“They have a detection formation that allows them to see where anyone is in their area of operations. Although it might be harder for them to deal with multiple groups, they can send out forces in the different guard houses in the valleys to deal with them,” Mister Yi added.
Even the intelligence agent in charge of the Third Realm was tagging along.
“This place is built like a war fortress. The information we have on the Grey Peak sect is accurate. They were a bunch of mercenary groups who banded together and rose through the realms. They have been able to get to this stage because they never operate on their own. They rotate people who have served in the Fourth Realm to the lower realms to prepare them for what is to come,” Niemm said.
“Their progress and position in the Fourth Realm are impressive. They haven’t entered into a fight they didn’t win. They have been hired out by all kinds of forces to bolster other sects’ power as well,” Jasper said.
“Their population is smaller than the Willful Institute. They don’t have many crafters and rely on external sources. But their fighters are strong, and many them have reached the Seventh Realm and higher.”
“Not a good group to piss off,” Mister Yi replied.
The various sects, clans, mercenaries, and others that had gathered talked and greeted one another.
“A lot of sects are friendly with one another in the Third Realm. The Alchemist Association controls the realm, and few people want to piss them off. So, they play nice. Politicizing is power here, not just one’s military might. Look over there—a representative from the Alchemist Association is here as well. Before they do anything, it needs to be okayed by the Alchemist Association or else it will be hard for them to develop in this realm,” Master Yi said.
The talking died down as a strong-looking woman with short-cropped brown hair walked into the room. She looked as if she were in her training clothes. She was missing her upper body armor and helmet.
“Well, she knows how to make an entrance.” Niemm grinned.
“How strong?” Jasper asked.
Yi moved closer to hear as well.
“Powerful. Body Like Stone stage, possibly looking to break through to the Iron? Mana Cultivation is limited. She has a half-dozen mana gates open. Vapor mana stage? She hasn’t condensed liquid to form her core yet.”
“Half a dozen in the Ten Realms is a lot,” Mister Yi said.
Niemm shrugged. In Alva, it wasn’t all that rare. Before someone stepped on the path of Mana Cultivation, they opened all their mana gates. It was one of the first tests that children underwent to find out where their mana gates were and to come up with a treatment plan to open all their gates. The assessment was free, and the cost to open the gates was small, comparatively.
Storgaard greeted the leaders as she walked through the lobby.
“Your cultivation is stronger every time I meet you, Branch Head Storgaard.”
“This humble Master was pleased to receive your invite.”
“Progress in the Third Realm?” Jasper asked Yi.
“Mixed. We have been instigating things here. It is known that Old Hei passed to the Sixth Realm, and his direct disciple had an issue with the Willful Institute. He didn’t come outright and admit there was an issue, but the Alchemist Association has been cold toward the Willful Institute. We inflated these rumors among other groups. It made them bolder, and they have made more applications to the Alchemist Association to deal with the Willful Institute. No matter the mood of the Alchemist Association, seeing so many people turning on the Willful Institute—they aren’t stupid to stand in the way of the tide. The Association has lasted for centuries because they know when to step back. They’ve turned a blind eye to it all while holding out a hand behind their back. As long as they see a return, they will be fine with a change in the Willful Institute’s position in the Third Realm.”
Storgaard smiled as she walked through the groups, greeting people here and there. She made sure to meet with them all. When she looked at the last group, her eyes tightened. The leader was talking to one of his aides, not caring about where he was.
“Adventurer’s Guild.” Her aide’s sound transmission sounded in her ear.
Storgaard’s cheek twitched. The leader, the vice guildmaster, seemed to sense her presence as she walked up.
He cupped his fists and bowed his head. “Branch Head Storgaard, thank you for the invitation.” The man’s words were simple and straightforward. There was no groveling in his tone, no display of his obedience or subservience.
“I heard of your guildmaster’s actions against Elder Mendes, and I couldn’t help but want to meet him.” She reached out her hand.
“I am sorry he is not here to meet you. I am Vice Guildmaster Jasper.” The man smiled genially.
She squeezed his hand, trying to show her dominance. His smile didn’t falter, but his eyebrow arched. It felt like gripping an iron bar; she increased her strength steadily, but Jasper looked confused.
“I heard that he is training some of your members.” She focused her Mana Cultivation and shot her aura out—it covered Jasper and no one else—looking to suppress him. She didn’t care to humiliate him; she wanted to test his limits.
Jasper scratched his neck. His breathing didn’t even change. “I am sorry about that, but we only got a few places in the top ten rankings of the Vuzgal competition last year. With the greater competition this year, we’re hoping we can hold on to those spots and get more people in the top one hundred.”
Storgaard was so focused on suppressing him with her aura that her mind was slower and turned chaotic for a moment.
“Vuzgal?” she asked as her Mana Cultivation fell on the two men standing behind Jasper.
The man in a black cloak glanced up with a dangerous look in his eye. His finger touched his ring, and the people with him became alert.
She felt as if she stared at a pack of wolves, and she was nothing but an ordinary human. The other wearing simple clothes let out a controlled breath before showing Storgaard a look of displeasure.
She quickly dissipated her aura, and the pressure eased off. The cold, killing intent disappeared from the other members of the group as if it never existed; the simple-looking man faded into the background again.
“Yes, we were lucky enough to enter the competition last year, and we even got a guild house inside the city. Have you heard of it? I heard that the Grey Peak sect is looking to enter some of their warriors into the competition as well?” Jasper said, as if nothing had happened.
“I didn’t know you were competing in the Vuzgal competition.”
“We are hoping to use it to launch into the Fifth Realm. We are a neutral party unless someone attacks our people. There are many missions that people need to be completed across the realms. We’ll take on any mission that will not anger another group.”
“That seems hard,” Storgaard said. With her background, she knew how difficult it was for independent forces to operate on their own.
“We work mainly with the associations, guarding traders from place to place, as well as crafters. There are also people who want to act in another area, but because of their position and who they are allied with, they can’t always be seen to act. We can be that intermediary.”
Why do I feel like there are more mysteries behind this association than one can see on the surface?
Her aide cleared his throat.
“Thank you for coming.” She clasped her fist.
Maybe having the vice leader here is not such a sm
all thing. They were already looking at getting into the Fifth Realm. To deal with such sensitive missions, their connections couldn’t have been small.
She headed to the front of the room and saw the person leading the Alchemist Association cup their hands in greeting to the vice leader of the guild and bow his head deeply.
Vice Guildmaster Jasper cupped his hands, showing that his position was much higher.
The Alchemist Association representative looked pleased to get even this acknowledgment.
She cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “We have all gotten information that the Willful Institute has not been calm in the last few weeks. They lost several competitions, and their treasury was emptied by an unknown force. They have been trying to pin this on my Grey Peak sect branch. Here, today, I will swear on the Ten Realms with my life that neither I nor my people stole from the Willful Institute!”
The golden light of the Ten Realms descended and then disappeared.
Storgaard stood there, unaffected, and people started to talk amongst themselves.
You all thought that we had stolen from the Willful Institute?
“If they can falsely accuse my branch, will they then accuse others in the area, using that as a reason to attack our branches? They are the ones who have said my branch attacked them. Could it not be that they created the attack themselves, using it as a ploy to attack others? Use it to show their weaknesses? In the last few days, people from the higher realms have been gathering and reinforcing Elder Mendes. The build-up is coordinated. Does it just seem like a simple ploy, or are they trying to expand their territory again?”
The murmurs and talk in the room increased before it settled down again.
“All of us are members of sects no less powerful than the Willful Institute. What I am proposing is that we create an alliance to work together and remove this branch location. It will be a fight restricted to the Third Realm. Few will care. The gains would be too much for my own Grey Peak sect branch to take, but I think that we can come to an agreement between us all under the instruction of the Alchemist Association.” She cupped her fist to the Alchemist Association representative, who stood there passively and nodded.
Grand Elder Mendes and his fellow elders all had cold expressions.
“The Grey Peak sect is shameless! They used the cover of the Adventurer’s Guild to stab us in the back and steal our treasures!” Elder Tsi slammed her fist on the table.
“How will we have the face to deal with the other factions? We are barely able to keep up our contributions.” Elder Rei sighed.
“I have sent word to the people in our faction. This is not something we can hide. Their attack might be the start of something more.” Grand Elder Mendes looked as though he had aged decades in just a few short weeks.
The door flew open, and a woman burst into the meeting room.
“You dare to interrupt!” Grand Elder Mendes’ power gathered as the anger that rested close to the surface fought to be released.
“Elder Xiao has arrived!” the terrified-looking student said.
Grand Elder Mendes’ mind ground to a stop. “He came here? So quickly?” Hui’s mind started to turn over when there was a sound of rushing wind. The doors opened wider. A group of people wearing the robes of the Willful Institute walked into the room.
“Elder Xiao!” Grand Elder Mendes bowed to him. He and the people with him didn’t suppress their cultivation. They were all in the late stages of the Vapor Mana Core to the early stages of the Mist Mana Core and in their late level forties.
Mendes scanned them. There were members from all the factions. They looked harmonious in their actions instead of the usual bickering between one another.
“Branch Head Mendes, branch elders,” Elder Xiao said.
The doors slammed shut behind the group, and formations activated so no one would be able to listen in on their conversations.
“We have been sent with a group of members from the Fourth Realm branches to make an example of this Adventurer’s Guild and Grey Peak Sect. Others are watching this battle closely. We cannot appear weak,” Elder Xiao said.
Mendes and the other branch elders peeked at one another, surprise in their eyes; some panic but mostly anger.
“We are not the only branch under attack?”
“Just a few weeks ago, one of our branches in the Fourth Realm was attacked by several sects. In just a day and a half of fighting, the city was torn apart and the sects divided it up.”
A chill ran through the room, and the elders hardened their expressions.
Seeing them all together, it makes sense. We cannot deal with this in just our factions.
“Elder Xiao, what about the Grey Peak sect?”
“They are a large power in the Ten Realms. If we show them how we deal with the Adventurer’s Guild, then they might remember their previous actions and hand back what they took—with interest.”
“Well, it looks like things will be harder in the future.” Glosil’s eyes flicked to the information coming into the command center. There were more operations going on around the clock now. People barely returned to Alva to rest before they were sent out again on a new mission.
“In some ways, yes. The Willful Institute is starting to work together. Their leader isn’t in his position just because of his Strength, it looks like,” Elan said.
“Kind of stupid to have someone as the leader just because they are stronger. People who are stronger in the Ten Realms are usually stubborn and hard-headed. They have a path to follow, and they’ll follow it; they won’t be flexible.” Glosil shook his head.
“Which is perfect for the next part of our plan.”
“When you smile like that, I almost feel sorry for them. What are you thinking?”
“The factions are working together on the surface; it will take time before to truly come together. We can exacerbate some issues, create rifts, and get the factions’ cooperation to show faults—elders taking advantage, bribes, favoritism? Assassination or at least attempted?”
34
Progress
“Consortium Leader Quan,” Lord Aditya greeted, waving him to his couches.
After all he had seen, the power backing them, he didn’t know if he should be awed, terrified, or feel lucky to have picked the right side.
“You look stronger every day! How are things with the sect?” Aditya poured Alvan tea.
“I was able to get some Age Rejuvenation potions. I look and feel like I did back in my prime. With the help of our benefactors, I opened more mana gates and used the impurities in my mana to temper my body. I would not be where I am without their efforts and teachings, or your trust in me,” Quan said.
Aditya dismissed his comments with a wave and passed Quan a cup of tea. “We are but two servants to the same master. We have both been lucky!”
Quan saw that there was nothing more to say and drank his tea.
“Things have progressed well with the sect.”
Erik sat in the Metal floor. He picked up a piece of metal and tossed it. If this were back in his days on Earth, he would have been scared of cutting his hands. Now, metal shards were like pebbles. He picked up another piece and tossed it.
Gilly let out a low yowl, nudging him.
Erik smiled and scratched her neck as he sat back. “I know, I know. I’m half-broken, can’t cultivate anymore while the Adventurer’s Guild is out there fighting for us.”
Gilly butted him with her head and glared at him.
“I know, Melissa is right. If I keep on pushing at this pace, I could tear my body apart. I wouldn’t do it intentionally!”
She butted him again, her eyes narrowing.
“Yeah, I guess you are right. I’m turning that frustration and anxiousness onto myself, trying to distract myself and get as strong as possible, so when I am needed, I can do even more. Being a lord is a pain in the ass.” Erik sighed, thoughts floating in his mind.
Maybe it was time for Alva to be o
fficially governed by the council and be made the true power. Having so much authority over everyone was kinda scary.
He sat there, absently throwing rocks and petting Gilly.
“I can’t even increase my Mana Cultivation. I’ve reached a bottleneck in forming my Liquid Mana Core, but my body, as feeble as it is right now, if I were to do it, I could kill myself.”
Erik cursed and threw another stone. “Egbert, how is work going with the dungeon?”
“Slowly. The Water floor is huge. I am using the dungeon core here to redevelop the entire floor, remaking formations as I go. Also, with all the floors back under our command, issues I didn’t notice before are appearing. I have to keep going back to fix things on separate floors. Just takes time.”
“How long until the dungeon is at one hundred percent?”
“Should be in a few weeks, like after the fighter’s competition, I think?”
“That makes me feel secure,” Erik muttered.
“You got something on your mind?”
“It’s nothing, Egbert. Just training, training, and more training while people are out there fighting for their lives, for Alva.”
“Sure doesn’t sound like you have nothing on your mind,” Egbert said grumpily. He made a noise and stopped talking.
“What is this place?” Ledell stared at the long line of people leading into a small shop.
“Is that Iron Wolf Killer Ledell?” someone in the line asked their friend as he walked up.
Ledell heard them talking and hunched over, looking more ogre than human. Scars and piercings covered his body. Studs stuck in his nose and along his ears.
“What is this place?” he asked one of the people standing in line.
“Momma Rodriguez’s Restaurant,” a bystander said before turning around; instantly, they backed up and their legs shook.
“Restaurant—is that like the Sky Reaching Restaurant?”
“I-I’m not sure.” The person shook out of fear.
Ledell grunted as he glared at the line.
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 38
