The Third Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  Each of the four parties would turn into sections, each given a specific role and people possibly being moved around based on their abilities. They would fight in these sections, coming together as a whole four-section company for large actions.

  This was part of the system that Erik and Rugrat had created, allowing them to work mainly in small group operations but combine together easily under one commander to complete larger objectives. This would be the first test for the Alva Dungeon forces.

  Chapter: To Study, to Grow

  Erik closed the last book inside the booth and looked up. He’d finally finished them all. He put the book back into its space as he closed his eyes and sat back. There had been a number of flaws in the various ingredients’ descriptions and effects.

  He had spent hours just looking at the conflicting information and had to come to a final decision. Sometimes he had just copied the conflicting information into his Alchemy Book so that he might look at it later.

  He pulled out his medallion and pressed it to a recess in the booth.

  ==========

  Do you wish to challenge the knowledge test?

  ==========

  YES/NO

  ==========

  “Yes!” Erik said.

  The screen in front of him changed and a list of questions appeared in front of him.

  “What are the physical characteristics of the Red Polos flower?”

  Erik picked up a pen and started to write down the different characteristics; he submitted it and another question appeared.

  Before answering it, he tried to grab one of the books but found that there was a barrier over them. If someone rushed and started the test without reading the books, then their chances of succeeding would fall greatly.

  At first the questions were simple but they grew harder, with some tricks being added into the mix as ingredients that were listed in several books with different information appeared.

  He had to assess what was truth and what was not in order to answer these.

  Although remembering information was useful, now that he was being tested on it all, he felt as if his boundaries were expanding.

  There were three levels of knowledge: learning it, being tested on it, and teaching others. At each point, one’s understanding of the knowledge that they had learned would be affirmed and made stronger.

  As Erik went through the questions, he had to think and take his time more, not only thinking on the question but the logic it took to reach the answer.

  It added a depth to his knowledge and showed where his flaws lay.

  A day passed before the screen no longer showed any questions.

  ==========

  You have completed the first trial in the Path of Alchemy. You may advance to the second trial.

  ==========

  The door unlocked as Erik quickly made a number of notes on things to look up later that the questions had opened up in his mind.

  He stepped out of the booth and headed up the path. It wasn’t long until he got to the next area.

  There was a large growing area. Several alchemists were already tending to different plants.

  Erik approached a growing plot and placed his medallion on a stone pillar.

  ==========

  You have reached the second trial.

  You must grow five regular ingredients and three mutations.

  They must finish growing in three days and be harvested.

  ==========

  “They really want to test all aspects.” Erik looked at the table with different tools that were laid out before him. On it there were nearly three dozen different seedlings, saplings, and cuttings.

  “Growing three regular ingredients won’t be too hard with just the Plant Cultivation spell, but the mutated plants will be hard. I will need to combine two or more of the ingredients together, to create a plant that covers some of their weaknesses, or increases their potency, or both.”

  It would be a challenge for his mind but after spending so much time learning and going through practice, he was excited to be able to do something differently and show his ability.

  Five ingredients? Why would I only have five? I should use these and organize by Affinity and make a miniature growing array, like the one used in Alva. With the growing array, it will also be easier to grow mutated plants that might require a different environment from the other ingredients.

  With a grin on his face, Erik picked up the box and started to rearrange the different items inside.

  ***

  Rugrat had left the viewing area a long time ago. Erik had been in the Path of Alchemy trial for three days. The people of Resam turned it into an event. To them—people who were able to live hundreds of years and were used to going into seclusion for long periods of time to increase their skills or their strength—a few days for a competition wasn’t much. To Rugrat, every moment was precious.

  ***

  Old Hei looked at the board as Erik moved from the first trial board and appeared on the second trial board.

  One couldn’t tell from their progress how they had done. Erik wasn’t near the front or even the middle, ending up close to last place.

  Some people might think that the ones who made it first were the strongest. Sometimes it showed that they were true hidden dragons, but most of the time it was hot-blooded youngsters trying to use time as a qualifying factor to demonstrate how they were better.

  Most of the time, it wasn’t. It just meant that they had rushed through, getting just enough to pass into the next trial. If they had taken longer, some of the people who had failed might have succeeded and those who rushed ahead might have learned more.

  Old Hei knew that Erik came from the First Realm so the information contained in the books would probably be all new to him. For him to make it from the first to the second trial, learning all of that knowledge, showed that he had a scary ability of comprehension.

  Or he has reached the Journeyman stage. I did leave him and he was racing through the Apprentice stage and he was able to complete a Journeyman-level concoction in the second trial. Has he been able to open that book yet?

  Using his rank, he was able to look inside the Path of Alchemy trial and inspect Erik. As he did so, he watched Erik finish organizing his different plants, then laying them out.

  Old Hei’s eyes narrowed before the corner of his mouth lifted up. “Really looks like the young will overcome the old. A growing array—smart. Though I don’t see any of the mutated plants he needs to make.”

  As Old Hei muttered, Khasar looked over. Although he wanted to get a better look at this Erik, only Old Hei could use the specialized viewing stone to look into the Path of Alchemy trial. To all other eyes, it was nothing but moving colors.

  “Oh, an Earth flame? Seems that must be a constitution. Determined, simple clothes, looks like she’s had to fight to be here. Good material. This lad—who does he think he’s impressing by using all of those resources?” Old Hei harrumphed angrily.

  Khasar winced.

  Old Hei might be generous with his actions but when it came to creating concoctions, if he saw people wasting resources, then he was the first to speak up. The pill head was truly a miser when it came to Alchemy resources.

  Although the other pill heads had myriad students, as well as direct disciples numbering in the tens, Old Hei had none. He had students, but only in a slight sense. They had listened to his teachings or seen him work, but they weren’t accepted as disciples and he would teach or show people different things at his leisure. It allowed him to be more free with his teachings, giving rise to the overall strength of the division instead of just a solemn few like with the other pill heads.

  Though it also meant that none of the people under him were able to get a full heritage or information from him, only parts of it.

  Their strength couldn’t be compared to that of the other pill heads’ direct disciples.

  That didn’t mean that others wouldn’t look for his help or ass
istance. A number of peak Journeyman alchemists would come to him and look for answers, though they remained highly respectful. Old Hei was a rather simple man; if he saw something wrong, he would point it out as fast as possible so that the person might learn from it, not caring about their feelings.

  To hear praise from his mouth was surprising.

  He pulled out a pot of plants from his storage ring; this ring was special because it could hold living items and his was specialized so that the items within would actually be nourished with Mana. Though they had to be constantly tended to, it allowed an alchemist to carry their garden with them. Old Hei worked on the potted plants, that same grin on his face as he worked.

  ***

  “Rock paper scissors?” Storbon asked.

  “Fine.” Roska sighed as they sat on their panther mounts. They were just about to enter the Zatan Confederation’s territory. The panthers, like the people of Alva Dungeon, had increased their Strength and ability. On these large beasts, Roska and Storbon were playing rock paper scissors.

  “Damn,” Storbon said as he lost.

  “See you in a week.” Roska turned to her party and waved them forward.

  They rushed off toward the Zatan Confederation’s main city.

  “Tian Cui, you’re with Ian. Setsuko, you’re with Yao Meng, which leaves Yuli with me.” He pulled out a number of files and passed them to each of the groups. In the file were a list of targets, as well as their locations—commanders and people of influence within the Zatan Confederation who would be hard to replace.

  Everyone started to check their files and organize themselves, trading gear around.

  They had all been hoping to take on the main city. There was more risk with it. As soon as the leadership of the Zatan Confederation were attacked, the whole city would go into lockdown. There were twelve thousand soldiers within the city.

  Although it was more dangerous, that only excited the special teams more.

  Once they were all organized, they headed off toward their targets.

  ***

  The healer waved for Aditya to go inside the room. He had left his guards downstairs. They had argued, especially as the army from Zatan was only a few days away. Using speed buffing spells and medallions, they were able to increase their speed. It was one of the ways that they had gained an advantage over the other rulers in their area.

  Aditya had put their worries to rest. Only he knew that attacking the healing house amounted to suicide and that the strength that rested behind them was by no means small.

  He opened the door, finding a man wearing scarves and a mask. The man had the same relaxed atmosphere as the two leaders of Alva and the woman who had first threatened Aditya.

  Though this man’s power was somewhere between the two groups: much stronger than the woman had been but not as strong as the two men who had appeared, but getting close.

  Aditya began to bow when the man waved it away.

  “Lord Aditya, I have been sent to assist you in this slight problem that you have. You can call me Chen. These are for you.” Chen pulled out a box and pushed it over the table.

  Aditya sat down and opened the box.

  His breath caught in his throat. Not many people in the First Realm had ever seen a spell scroll before, but he had seen a number of them and kept a few on him, ready to use. The casting time was longer on the ones he had, so he hadn’t been able to use them when the woman had threatened him on their first meeting.

  “Those are unstable spell scrolls, twenty large-sized Fireball spell scrolls.” He pulled out several dinner plate-sized formation plates. “These are lightning barrier formations—they’re pretty nasty pains in the ass. I would suggest launching the formations, activating them as they’re on their way. When they land, they’ll create barriers in the midst of the enemy, breaking up their forces, unleashing lightning on them in a large area of effect. Then hit them with fireballs in the chaos, get them really stirred up. As that is going on, some of my people will use the distraction to land a blow on General Tabur and his command staff.” Chen’s words were clear, concise and direct but they made Aditya’s boiling blood chill.

  He talked of these things easily; he had prepared resources to carry out his plan; he was assisting Aditya, but his plans already made what Aditya planned pale in comparison.

  “What do you need me to do?” Aditya asked.

  “Stand and fight,” Chen said. Even with his face covered, Aditya could tell he was smiling.

  “You’ve used this opportunity well to bring yourself a higher position, to take eyes off the healing house and show that it and items within your trading city aren’t to be touched. We’re impressed.”

  Aditya’s face lit up. He knew that his actions when he had tried to capture Jasper had been wrong, but now he had been doing everything possible to try to repair the damage and show that he was a man worthy of their trust. He was under their contract, but he could have tried to push the boundaries. Instead, he saw the benefits of working with them and seeing that they were decent people, it made him lose the edge he showed to others. It was nice to have an ally. Yes, they controlled him and told him what to do, but it was the kind of relationship he could accept as they helped him much more than a king would help their subjects.

  “Some of my people have entered the mercenary ranks; others will cause chaos in the Zatan ranks. I will be nearby. This is my symbol to contact me.” Chen passed over a piece of paper. “The items that you are selling for us—we will let you use them for this battle.”

  Aditya’s eyes lit up. The gear that his guards used was among some of the best and he had purchased items personally from the wares he had been given. Even with their high prices, he didn’t regret it.

  Each piece of armor was of the high-Apprentice grade and his weapon was peak-Apprentice grade, just a hair away from becoming a Journeyman-level weapon.

  If he could arm his people with high-Apprentice-level armor, it would greatly boost their combat power.

  “Don’t lose now,” Chen said, dismissing Aditya.

  He bowed and smiled. “Thank you, Mister Chen. I will do my best.” A fire that Aditya had not felt in a long time appeared in his gut, as his blood boiled. It had been too long since he had last been in a fight for his life. He felt alive again!

  ***

  General Tabur looked over the army under his command. The reinforcements had caught up with them. There were one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers moving through the forests and across the roads. This prevented them from falling into ambushes and, with their background, they could move as fast through the forests as they could on the roads.

  They had also taken a speed concoction that increased the speed and length of time that they could march for. He wanted to cut Aditya off from any reinforcements, stopping the mercenaries from joining Vermire. It would also allow him to strike faster, so that the other enemies surrounding the Zatan Confederation wouldn’t know that the defensive forces were weakened until they were on their way back.

  Tabur was confident that even if their enemies attacked, they would be able to defend before the army under Tabur’s command headed back.

  He sat atop his rhino mount, hearing the noises of the army moving: their boots on the hard packed roads, the noises from the tree line, the sounds of metal hitting metal.

  He sat up straighter. With such a force under his command, he wanted to see just what Vermire was able to do.

  Chapter: Gardener

  Erik woke up and stretched, taking in a deep breath. He could smell the ingredients from his plot. The smell seemed to revitalize his soul as he cleaned himself up and started to eat some rations, moving to check on his ingredients. It was the second day since he had begun the trial. He had been planting all day and night to create the growing array.

  He’d used Plant Cultivation on the ground. The plants, using the power of the spell as well as a whole night and part of the morning to grow, had started to show little sprouts sticking out of the t
op of the soil.

  Erik’s senses toward Mana had grown more acute, allowing him to sense the changes in the Mana within the growing array.

  He ate his breakfast and studied the growing array.

  “Damn. I put the Baldur bulbs in the wrong place—need to put them a little to the left. The yellow tree twig is much more powerful than I thought. I’ll have to add in more Krea shoots to counteract it, which will increase the Mana circulation,” Erik muttered to himself.

  Once he had finished with his food, he set to work. He used Plant Cultivation to grow the Krea shoots, then he split it apart and grew a few sets of the plant and changed their position slightly, changing the flow of Mana.

  He moved the Baldur bulb and checked his work.

  He sighed and sat down, again using his Plant Cultivation spell.

  The plants started to grow slowly, the density of Affinity Mana increasing around them. As they grew, the power of the growing array only intensified in power.

  The density only increased as the plants started to move in an invisible breeze.

  “Are those plants dancing in unity?” one of the moderators for the Path of Alchemy trial asked his fellow as they stood on one of the trees that dotted the Path of Alchemy trial landscape.

  The other alchemist looked over at Erik, who had pulled out a chair and sat back, closing his eyes as if to enjoy the sunny day. His left hand was touching the ground, a spell formation underneath his plants, using a spell to increase the speed that they grew at.

  “It looks like it might be. Or maybe it is due to the spell?” the second moderator said as they watched closely.