The Fifth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  “That is very interesting. I’ll have to look into that more,” Evernight said seriously. Does this have something to do with the Water floor?

  “What was the news you wanted to share?”

  “Oh, Lady Sumi has sent out messages to some different people, alerting them to our alliance and she is starting to make plans. It looks like they are aiming to attack different outposts.”

  “Our people are already in place within their outposts.”

  “I have looked into them. Some of them, the ones that are usually held by a kingdom, have the interfaces. Most don’t. With an interface in Vermire, then you will be able to have things like access to trading. You can purchase building designs and gain bonuses for the outpost, upgrading it through village to town, city and so on. Another can be transplanted into King’s Hill Outpost as it will have access to the same interface. As long as its population and size grow, then the buffs will mount with it.”

  Lord Aditya sat upright, his eyes glowing as he thought about those bonuses.

  ***

  Rugrat sat underneath the dungeon core. Since talking to Matt, he had been taking his time. Erik had disappeared into the Earth floor a week ago.

  Rugrat spent his nights working on his Mana Gathering Cultivation and during the days he just studied formations. He would tinker with smithing ideas and designs, and had come up with complete designs for a workshop. Once the machines were created in Alva, people found that they didn’t need to be trained as a smith to use the machines.

  Ammunition production speed had increased by nearly two times. Weapon manufacture was up twenty percent. Formation plates, bows, shields, armor—all basic materials and components could now be made in a matter of minutes instead of taking a crafter days.

  There is art and beauty in functionality.

  Although simple items could be mass-produced, the higher level items needed to be made on a person-by-person basis to get the greatest power from them.

  He had watched Domonos and Yui sparring.

  Yui had to use his reach to overcome Domonos’s speed. Their weapons snaked out at each other and there was no awkwardness to their movements; the weapons had turned into extensions of themselves. They weren’t perfectly balanced and weighted, but they were perfect for them and their fighting style.

  Rugrat felt a disturbance in the mana around him. As he had been cultivating mana, he became more sensitive to it. He had to close off his senses last time or else he would have been overwhelmed.

  “Elan, do you walk in the capital anymore?” Rugrat asked.

  “Well, it’s faster in the dungeon.” Elan walked out into the dungeon core room.

  It was filled with mana stones now. The mana gathering formation had been working hard since they took the city. Even with the increased mana purity and density in the capital, it kept on growing.

  “I have a request to make from the First Realm. You know about the operation that is happening down there with Vermire and the King’s Hill Outpost?”

  “Yeah, connect the other outposts, control King’s Hill Outpost, take over the Beast Mountain Range?”

  “That’s it. Well, there are people who are looking to attack Vermire and its allies while their guards are clearing the road. We have people positioned in these other outposts. Some of them have interfaces, so we can declare war on the outpost and then take control. We kill off the defenders and we have another outpost. Once we have control, then all of the buffs come under our control or anything connected to the outpost.”

  “Won’t the kingdoms and such react badly if we take their interfaces?”

  “Probably. They would need time to prepare a counterattack. Which, by that time, we should have at least the road to Shadowridge completed. The road from Vermire is already under construction in secret. King’s Hill Outpost should be complete and other outposts will be looking to connect to it. If we make the captured outposts under the control of all the members of the King’s Hill Outpost Alliance...” Elan paused, as Rugrat thought.

  “They will work together to fight off the kingdom, bring them closer together, fighting external enemies. Use it as a way to tie our forces and people together more,” Rugrat said aloud. “So what else do you need from me?”

  “Well, we can capture another outpost and then move the interface, for use in Vermire and King’s Hill Outpost, or if we can give them interfaces from the beginning, they will get buffs that could aid them.”

  Rugrat tapped the interface on the ground and went through the menus. “Looks like we’ve got a few.” Rugrat looked at the interfaces. They were all ranked the same.

  ==========

  Outpost—Basic

  ==========

  This interface can be used to create an outpost. Requires 100 people to be upgraded to a village.

  ==========

  Costs: 50 Gold

  10 Low Mortal Grade Monster cores

  ==========

  Rugrat had a limit of twenty-five. He clicked on two of them. There was a stream of light as Rugrat lost one hundred gold and some cores and two square-looking bricks were created on the floor.

  “Well, that should do it,” Rugrat said, looking at them and then Elan. “Kind of anti-climactic, y’know?”

  “A little.” Elan grabbed the interfaces.

  Chapter: Embrace the Flow, Dude

  Rugrat stood in the sparring square. Niemm and his people were also training in their different fighting styles. After Rugrat had learned from Klaus how to combine spell knowledge and combat arts, they had been combining their different techniques together.

  Their combat power had increased in leaps and bounds as they became more specialized.

  Rugrat faced a mannequin. There was a sharpness in his eyes as he looked at the mannequin. Blades appeared within the air around Rugrat stabbing and slicing into the mannequin with different effects, coloring it with fire, poison while tearing it apart under the weapon’s onslaught.

  The blades disappeared and Rugrat fell into thought.

  There was a noise and everyone stopped practicing. A few minutes later, Klaus appeared at the entrance to the Battle Arena.

  “No Erik again?” Klaus asked.

  “He is busy,” Rugrat said.

  Klaus nodded but didn’t say anything. “How has your progress been?”

  “Interesting. It is fun seeing how the different spells, effects, and knowledge combine together,” Rugrat said. I’ve made it the furthest in fighting techniques. Smithing still eludes me and formations are slow for me to get but I am progressing.

  “Show me what you’ve learned.” Klaus held his hands behind his back.

  “Chains of Restraint.” Black spell circles appeared around a mannequin; chains shot out of them and wrapped around the mannequin.

  A wave of his hand dismissed the spell.

  “Then there are Chains of Stun.” The black spell circles had silver running through them as they grew in complexity. The chains bound the mannequin as lightning flashed across the chains and the mannequin’s body.

  “Chains of Adverse Effects—it binds for a longer period of time and damages over time. If they break free, then for ten seconds they will still take damage, poison, stun, and fire. Also, they are silenced. I combined the Aura of Swords into the chains; increases the damage and it hurts others who are not bound but in the area of effect. Chains of Silence silences people in the area as well; those in the area are silenced for ten seconds after leaving. Those bound will be silenced for thirty seconds once they leave.” Rugrat didn’t show the last two; their mana requirement was on his upper limit and they were trump cards.

  Klaus had an unnatural color to his face.

  “You okay?” Rugrat asked.

  Klaus coughed. “It’s nothing. So, anything else?”

  “I am still working on the Aerial Mounted Beast combat style. It will take me some more practice. The Cloud Footwork technique is useful when dodging. It created thin sheets of mana around my body to act as sails to
increase my speed and allow me to dodge attacks. Although it is good for defense and moving in the sky, it is bad for increasing my speed on the ground.

  “I used Night Vision with Shade’s Covering so that I don’t have any negative effects on myself. I can combine it with the chains to annoy my attackers but most people should have something that allows them to see through the night easily.

  “Bound Weapon is useful. I can use it on things like explosives and then pull them toward me, hitting my enemy in the back. Though I have been working with the Aura of Swords extensively. I found that it was too weak, so I kind of combined the control from the Aura of Swords with a few of my spells and well, the results are pretty sweet.” Rugrat smiled.

  “Could you show me?” Klaus asked, indicating to a mannequin.

  Rugrat created mana blades from raw mana of the five elements, imbuing them with his Silence spell. With his control over the surrounding mana, he didn’t need to look at the target to hit its weak spots accurately.

  He looked over to Klaus as his attacks rained down on the mannequin. He stopped after a few seconds. The mana drain was hefty.

  “A domain,” Klaus said in a serious voice.

  “Domain?” Rugrat asked.

  Klaus raised an eyebrow before he frowned, seemingly thinking and picking his words with care. “Domains, as you might know, are areas around you that you can sense the slightest change in and exert your control over. It is beyond the realm of what humans can do normally. People need to have a special constitution, a deep understanding of magic, their body, or a high body or mana tempering. It is rare, even with people in the higher realms. Someone can have much more powerful techniques and be at the same level as their opponent, but if their opponent is weaker and has a domain, they will win.”

  “Why?” Rugrat asked.

  “If you know everything that is happening around you, it is easier for you to anticipate attacks. You know the terrain that you are fighting on and can immediately adapt to the area around you, using it to your advantage. With your opponent in range, you can see through their openings. They have to focus on just you, but you are seeing it all and apply your power nearly instantaneously within your domain. The base of your domain must be off your Mana Gathering Cultivation. You can instantly cast spells around you and contort the mana into weapons for your use. You use external mana at the same time, greatly reducing the cost of creating the spell.”

  Rugrat felt a bit unnerved having Klaus see through him like that.

  “I won’t and can’t tell anyone. Damn, you’re a monster. Would you be interested in joining my Fighter’s Association?”

  “Um, can I?” Rugrat asked, a little alarmed.

  Klaus laughed a bit awkwardly. “Well, sure. There aren’t any rules against city lords being a member of the association. You would get these lessons for cheap.”

  “What about fighting competitions?” Rugrat asked.

  “Well, we do host a number of them. Although I am offering you a position, you would need to prove to others that you deserve the position. I cannot recruit people in my area; you have to go through qualifications to make sure that I’m impartial.”

  “Right now, I don’t have the time to go into any competitions. I will think about it in the future, though.”

  Klaus didn’t seem to be expecting Rugrat’s answer and brightened visibly before he became serious again. “I would warn you against showing off your ability with your domain. Using the Aura of Swords, and combining it with the mana blades, yes. But having the blades appear in your domain at will? It will make more people look at you closely.”

  “I am a city lord, but there are stronger people who would be interested in finding out my secrets.”

  “It is a smart idea to have some protection in place,” Klaus said, looking at the special team.

  “So what now?” Rugrat asked.

  “Now, we see just what bad habits you’ve picked up.” Klaus walked onto the stage and stood in the corner opposite. “Use everything at your disposal.”

  “Are you sure?” Rugrat asked.

  Klaus gave a smile. “I am not like those Blood Demon sect wimps who only competed a few times and only cared about levels as a measure of strength.”

  Rugrat took Klaus seriously and pulled out his rifle.

  “Begin!” Klaus said.

  Rugrat fired his rifle. Klaus walked forward and seemed to step to the side, after-images pulling together. Rugrat adjusted and fired; Klaus shifted again and Rugrat continued firing. It seemed neither fast nor slow to Rugrat but his rounds hit the barrier around the stage instead of striking Klaus, who looked as though he were walking in the park.

  Rugrat’s rifle fired as fast as a machine gun but it still wasn’t fast enough. He dropped and changed the magazine.

  He cast Chains of Darkness on the ground. Klaus dodged them as well. Rugrat jumped and used his Cloud Footwork technique, gaining a new angle and distance as Klaus kept coming after him. Rugrat sent out more of his chains. Klaus dodged one that had just been cast.

  Rugrat sent out several but Klaus somehow walked through them all. Rugrat smiled as he fired into the air beside Klaus and used his Aura of Swords to send out mana blades while he detonated the newly formed chains.

  It all happened at the same time.

  Klaus dodged the chain explosions and waved his hand. Sharp blades of wind struck the mana blades, destroying them. He advanced, flitting across the ground. Rugrat fired at him; as he got closer, he had to move his rifle more.

  Klaus closed with him. Rugrat smiled; he had been using his domain to hide his Aura of Swords as it lashed out at Klaus.

  Rugrat’s smile halted as he felt a blade on his neck. His spell froze and he looked at Klaus, who was outside his domain. He held out his hand; from it, Rugrat couldn’t see anything but he could sense the condensed air mana.

  “If you were to dispel my air weapon forcefully, then the energies would go rampant and at least severely wound you,” Klaus said as he dissipated the weapon safely.

  “Did you use an illusion?”

  “When you thought I was inside your domain? Yes. It allowed me to focus on my spell. Domains are powerful but if I can draw you into focusing on one thing, then you have as many holes as someone without a domain. Using a domain to its full effects is not easy. It takes incredible control and while resting it is easy to comprehend and use, when in a fight or active, not so much. You adapted quickly, trying to close off my movements. Made me have to use air attacks to destroy your blades. When you didn’t move as I was getting close, I knew that you had prepared something for me within your domain. Let us start again.” Klaus moved back over to his corner as Rugrat reloaded and changed the formations on his rifle.

  ***

  “How are you feeling?” Matt asked Rugrat, who was lying down in one of the Sky Reaching Restaurant’s upper rooms.

  Rugrat let out a complaining grunt from the ground.

  Matt looked to Niemm and the others. They looked away and closed the door.

  Rugrat recounted what he’d gone through. “Damn guy is a ghost. Some Matrix-ass shit, dodging bullets like that. I even increased the speed. At the highest speed I can shoot, he would just destroy the rounds with his little air tricks.” Rugrat dug into some sauce-covered meat slices. He closed his eyes, savoring the taste.

  “Damn, that’s good.” He sighed.

  Matt checked his communication device as he got a message. Matt let out an annoyed noise.

  “Go deal with it,” Rugrat said. “We can meet up later.”

  “Thanks. It’s the new renovations and building for the apartments. Someone messed up and put a wall in the wrong place,” Matt said.

  “Well, good luck,” Rugrat said.

  Matt headed off and Rugrat sat there. He ate his food and looked out of the room, thinking on fighting Klaus. Rugrat hadn’t been able to draw out any more abilities, beyond his movement technique, his formed air weapons, and him sending out air blades.

&
nbsp; His twin axes had remained on his hips.

  Rugrat had been confident in his power, but fighting Klaus, he could feel that he was riddled with flaws. Rugrat wanted to get back in the ring and fight again. Even if he was beaten up and his mana was left drained, the feeling of progress, increasing his strength was powerful.

  The best part is that I don’t need to increase my level, or my cultivation; it is just using what I already have in different ways to have a greater effect.

  Rugrat ate his food absently as he looked at Vuzgal through the windows. From where he sat, he could see into the dungeon valley, the paths that led to the three different dungeons.

  Damn, I want to go adventuring again.

  He smiled to himself and looked at the gardens that the Alchemist Association controlled. The lake where Fred and his people had stayed.

  “Even with no formation, that valley naturally draws in and contains mana. Nature is incredible.”

  Rugrat looked at Vuzgal, seeing the people move through the city, flowing through the streets, bringing it to life. His eyes went north, seeing the roads in search of other cities. The forests that had laid untouched.

  Rugrat felt something pulling at his mind, as he tried to focus on unravelling what he was thinking about.

  “Nature’s power...us imposing our will upon it...nature taking over?” He looked at one of the streams that weaved down the mountains and into the valley. “Nature’s path controls the flow of power, even without humans imposing their will on it.” Rugrat felt relaxed with that thought. He let out a deep breath through his nose, thinking of the incredible sights he had seen in nature, from waterfalls to oceans, to deserts and mountains. Forests that stretched to the horizon and trees that towered above. How Earth worked in harmony and the planets of the realms did as well.

  “Nature shapes the power of mana. They coexist together. They are part of one another. Humans are part of nature as well. All things created from the realms are part of the realms. Formations are just a way to communicate our control over mana. What if it doesn’t need to be controlled? What if it just needs to be allowed out naturally? Instead of beating out a sword through smithing, you are merely guiding the material into a balanced state—not just the weapon’s balance, but a balance between the user and the Ten Realms. Items are a way to communicate with the Ten Realms, to gather its power and use it in different ways. Humans are always looking to impose our rule upon nature, but what if we let it flow into us?”