Sixth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  The people on the Special teams, they were like a sheathed sword, they didn’t look different from anyone else. They were normal, easy smiles, laughing and joking more often than not. Once they were on mission or they were given a task, much like when veteran soldiers went into a fight or new soldiers put their training to work, they came alive. They were professionals to the core, the sharpened blade in the sheath.

  Domonos went through the camp and reached Roska’s quarters, he knocked on the door.

  “Who is it?” she asked through the door.

  “Domonos!” He said.

  “Come in.”

  He opened the door, she looked like she had just come out of the shower as she toweled off her hair.

  She’s so young still.

  When they were in armor no one could see one another. They had grown up fast in the Ten Realms, training and growing with the Alva Military had only accelerated that. Alva was young by Ten Realms standards. They did have people that were two, even three centuries old, but most were under a century old in the military.

  Though I can’t really say anything I’m only a few years older than her.

  “What can I help you with?” Roska asked, oblivious to his thoughts.

  “The Willful Institute is moving in the Third Realm, Operation Black Shadow has been authorized. I have your target and your mission orders.” He pulled out an information book and passed it to her.

  “When will your trainees graduate to the Special teams?”

  “Just another week and they should be ready,” Roska said.

  “That went quickly,” Domonos sighed.

  “It rarely goes slowly,” Roska smiled.

  Domonos chuckled and nodded. “Very true. I have a feeling that things are going to heat up sooner rather than later.”

  “That’s why they pay us the big bucks.” She used the information book, a glow covering her and disappearing in seconds as the book turned to ash.

  “So it will all kick off where it started, seems fitting, I’ll have a squad move over to begin preparations. We’ll be in place and ready. I’ll confirm our escape with Kanoa.”

  “Let me know if you need anything, I’ll have a combat company ready to act as a quick reaction force around the clock and a Battalion ready to act within a two hour time window.”

  “We both know how you’ve been training your people if it was under an hour I wouldn’t be surprised. Hopefully we won’t need it, but knowing that you’re watching our asses is reassuring,” Roska used a clean spell, removing the remaining water as she circulated her mana, there was a chilling sneer on her face.

  “They fucked with the wrong group of people, now its time we taught them a lesson.”

  Domonos’ own killing intent filled the air as well, the two of them looking at one another, two weapons united in purpose and direction.

  Chapter: Taking Resources

  Blaze was wearing a cloak that hid his identity and his aura. The teleportation scroll he had used faded away as other flashes of light appeared around him. Joan and Derrick, two of the branch heads were with him as an assassin moved out of the cover of the surrounding trees.

  “Guild leader,” the assassin seemed shocked but contained himself looking at the higher echelon of the guild.

  When hearing about what the Willful Institute had done, how their students had killed members of the guild and then how the elders dismissed any punishment on their people, instead awarding them a promotion to a higher realm, the guild wanted blood.

  The Guild leader and others held them back, driving some people to leave the guild thinking that the guild wouldn’t do anything.

  When they guild started their attack it wasn’t like an attack the assassin had seen before, it was much more vicious, cutting off the Willful Institute from their funds and thus their power. The Guild had clashed with the Willful Institute here and there as they were found out, but now, it looked like it was starting to come to light.

  There were twenty people in total, all wearing black cloaks, they pulled down their hoods and the Assassin felt a shiver run through his body. He had been highly praised in his branch as being the best assassin and one of the best fighters they had.

  Seeing the elites of the guild he felt that he was lacking in skill and power.

  All of these people were at least level Thirty five and were wearing five or six pieces of Journeyman armor and a journeyman level weapons.

  Not only was their power higher than his, but the way they moved showed that their combat standards were much higher as well.

  I thought that people had been exaggerating just how powerful the guild was myself, seeing these experts just how powerful is our guild?

  The assassin controlled his breathing as he realized that the guild leader had asked him a question.

  “The Willful Institute has prepared the stage and are waiting for our guild’s representatives. They have spread the word through the city that if we are not willing to come it is because we are scared. If we don't show, then the traders that we deal with will start to think we don’t have the power to protect their goods.”

  “Looks as if they are ready for us, what about the ten fighters from your branch?” Blaze asked.

  “They are waiting for us in the city,” the assassin asked.

  Why does he want us to send people, with this group we could easily defeat the Institute’s fighters.

  “Good, let’s meet with them and go to the fight,” Blaze said.

  He waved his hand and a pitch-black panther with lightning running through its fur stood there.

  The others all pulled out mounts.

  The assassin gulped and pulled out his simple mount, it quaked seeing the other beasts.

  He smiled awkwardly, calming it down before he got on top and led the party toward the city.

  Hoods were replaced and the group once again reined in their auras and power.

  ***

  There was no hiding their presence as they reached the entrance to the city. Being in the Third Realm, this Willful Institute focused on the harvesting and processing of different ingredients to be sold on to others or used to raise alchemists within the Institute.

  The city wasn’t big enough to warrant a Blue Lotus and while it had extensive fields it was less than a third the size of Vuzgal.

  To Blaze, it didn’t stun or dazzle him in the slightest.

  They entered the line to enter the city.

  “Shadow foot, isn’t it?” one of the guards said, looking at the leading assassin.

  “Don’t think I have any record of you leaving the city, odd that,” the guard said in a dark voice, the other guards moved forward looking at the assassin, and the group with him.

  One spat on the ground, all of them were wearing the emblems of the Willful Institute.

  “Looks like you got some new friends, couldn’t handle things yourself,” The man snorted looking at the people and the beasts.

  “Scared to show your faces, once a loser, always a loser. Who knows when another group might just disappear from your guild?”

  The guard’s friends stepped forward as the people around them stepped back.

  “Bunch of weaklings,” The man said, looking at the group who hadn’t reacted other than the hands grabbing their reins.

  “Derrick, pay the man,” Blaze said.

  Derrick dropped from his mount in a fluid movement and stepped up to the guard, he stood above the guard who snarled, stepping forward.

  Derrick held out a bag of money and held a playful smile that could be seen under the cloak.

  “Kneel and I might accept it, you guild fuckers will learn your place,” the guard said.

  No one moved.

  “Get on your knees or you’re not making it in. All of you! Just like your dead group. Beg and I might let you in.”

  The guard seeing them not moving took it for fear and started to laugh, his face twisting into a snarl as he looked back at his people.

  “You know,
I heard that the group that our young master killed, they were crying and screaming out for their guild when they died like the dogs they are,” he kept an eye on the group, but he didn’t catch sight of Derrick’s hand as it rested on his shoulder, almost gently.

  The man turned back, grabbing his sword before he let out a yell of pain. Derrick didn’t seem to exert any power as the pauldron in his hand started to deform, screeching and cracking as the guard couldn’t put any strength into his hand as Derrick clamped down on his tendons.

  He dropped to one knee and then both.

  The other guards pulled their weapons out but were looking at Derrick in shock as he crushed the high novice grade armor as if it was paper.

  The scariest thing wasn’t his strength, but the way his smile never wavered the entire time.

  “You fucking dog guild!” There was a pop and a crunch, and the guard let out a scream as his shoulder was popped out of place and his collarbone broke.

  “Oh, whoops, sorry about that, well, we don’t want to trouble you too much, looks like you should go and see a healer as soon as possible.

  “Well I’ll leave this with you, thank you for welcoming us into your grand city. I hope you fellows don’t get any ideas. You see I would only be too pleased to redecorate the front gate, you see I have been meaning to use my brush recently,” Derrick’s hand, holding the money purse touched the hilt of his rapier.

  The same smile was there on his face, the confident sneers were gone as the guards looked at the group.

  Blaze could see them doing the mental calculations as they recounted the actions of the Adventurer's Guild.

  Derrick pulled his hand off of his rapier, and weighed the money bag in his hand and threw it out.

  A guard caught it and the man on the ground whimpered a bit as Derrick released him.

  The man was holding his shoulder as he fell on the ground in pain, tears of pain on his face.

  “Good choice,” Derrick’s smile remained the same as they mounted up and continued on their path into the city.

  “That is the Adventurer's Guild? I heard that they were a bunch of pushovers that annoyed the Institute?”

  “How brazen, the Institute won’t let them off easily now!”

  “I thought that the Institute would win for sure, but I’m not so sure anymore.”

  “Having a fighter that can crush one's armor with his hands, just how strong is he?”

  “All those people were wearing cloaks that hid their identities and auras. Are they really just a simple guild?”

  News quickly spread through the city and people that had been hesitant to go and watch the fight between the two groups were now getting tickets to watch the fight.

  Blaze and his group passed through the city and found themselves in an inn, as they arrived, the other patrons quickly paid up and headed out, leaving the inn to the Guild.

  Guards were posted around the building as Blaze took off his hood and looked at the ten people that were picked out by the branch guild in the area.

  Blaze studied all of them, each of them were powerful and had good potential, they were making their way through the guild’s ranks, growing their power and their contributions to the guild.

  They also had Ten Realms contracts that would keep their lips sealed on Guild secrets.

  “In one hour you will be fighting the Willful Institute people, for your fellow guild members that were attacked and killed by students from this very city. They believe that they can use resources to push us into a bad position. I don’t care for the resources, you will have to crush the Willful Institute’s people completely.”

  He looked at the ten people, they all looked at him, a mix of pride and anxiousness, they were all standing, facing him.

  One stepped forward and Blaze indicated for them to speak.

  “We aren’t switching out fighters? I know that we are strong for our branch, but we aren’t strong enough to take on the elites of the city,``the man said with a sour expression.

  “Do they have a greater will, do they have greater fighting abilities?” Blaze asked, his voice rolled through the room, all their attention focused on him, his voice didn’t have accusation or malice, just questions.

  The man gritted his hand, working up his courage.

  “We have all undergone training through the guild, we are no weaker than them in techniques, but they all have higher cultivation of the body and of mana. They will undoubtedly be wearing apprentice level armor and some Journeyman level gear. Combat standards don’t matter if we don’t have the power to land a hit that will hurt them.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Sok Young-Min”

  Blaze smiled, a breastplate appeared in his hand and he threw it to the man.

  The man looked at the breastplate that was actively drawing mana towards it, pulling on the very air.

  Sok Young-Min started to shake as he held the armor.

  Blaze knew what he was seeing.

  ==========

  Ice Knight Breastplate

  ==========

  Defense:

  241

  Weight:

  42. 3 kg

  Charge:

  10,000/10,000

  Durability:

  100/100

  Slot: Takes up chest slot

  Innate Effect:

  Strength of the user increases by 8%

  Increase agility of user by 6%

  Formation One:

  Fighter’s Instinct—Increase speed by 12%

  Formation Two:

  Ice’s Touch—Each attack has a chance to increase the numbness of an opponent( chance to paralyze and decrease speed (3-5% stacks up to 30%)

  Requirements:

  Mana Pool 21

  Agility 26

  Strength 31

  ==========

  It was a true Expert level armor. With their basic stats it would allow any of them to drastically increase their power, the Ice’s Touch didn’t sound like much, but in a long battle the effect would start to increase, decreasing how fast the enemy could move, with their speed changing from what they were accustomed to, it would throw them off, creating more openings.

  This was a task that Alva was behind, they wouldn’t skimp on the gear supplied to their people. They had a number of Expert level crafters that had joined Vuzgal and sold them their goods and multiple connections through the Trader’s Guild. With the wealth of Alva they had been able to acquire a fair amount of Expert level gear.

  Blaze continued to pull out item after item, passing them to the different members of the team.

  They were all stunned by the gear.

  “Don’t forget that the guild stands behind you. They thought that we would forget the fact they murdered our people,” Blaze snorted as the air chilled, even the branch heads shifted their weight unsteadily as it felt like an ancient beast had shifted in its sleep.

  Sending chills down their spine and setting their hair on edge.

  “You will be our fist and sword, to show them that the Adventurer's Guild will not just standby as they do as they like.”

  Everyone stood straighter, feeling the weight and responsibility of the guild resting on their shoulders.

  Those that were from the region held their gear with white knuckles and gritted their teeth.

  “Put on your gear and get used to the changes, in one hour we will show these people what we’re capable of.”

  Their hearts beat quickly, there was no nervousness in their appearance, they anticipated the fight to come. They were excited to reverse the tables on the ones that had stepped on them before.

  ***

  Elder Mendes was sitting in the highest booth at the arena, the other elders were around, they were chatting idly, their voices turning mocking when the subject came to the Adventurer's Guild.

  “I heard that they dispatched their own guild leader with only twenty or so people with him,” Elder Tsi scoffed. “If even our lowest elder wandered the streets, they
would have no less than fifty people with them!”

  “I heard that there was an issue at the gate?” someone asked.

  “It was nothing, just them raising a ruckus. I want to see how they will make noise once we defeat them in front of everyone. They won’t even be able to lift their heads,” Tsi continued.

  There was a commotion as ten people wearing cloaks walked out into the arena.

  At the same time, another group wearing cloaks walked through the arena and walked into the box’s reserved for them at the very bottom of the arena.

  Mendes’ eyes lazily moved over but there was an edge to his gaze.

  He hadn’t greeted them and even placed them in the bottom most box, showing them no respect and slapping them in the face.

  Instead of raising a ruckus, the group settled down into their box.

  A man removed his hood, his body still hidden as he glanced up to Mendes. The two made eye contact, the man’s was unperturbed as he looked away from Mendes.

  There seems to be no tension in his expression. Seems he really doesn’t know how high the heavens are.

  Mendes dismissed the Adventurer Guild leader from his eyes, he would soon destroy him and tear out his roots, making sure that there was no way for him to recover.

  “Look at them, truly ridiculous, hiding in their cloaks. must be hiding their scared expressions. There was no need for us to send out our best!”

  “Truly if we sent out our best students then it would only tarnish our reputation using so much force to defeat an ant.”

  The Elders couldn’t help but ridicule and laugh at the Adventurer Guild’s people.