***
Lord Aditya was looking at the walls. They had lost nearly two thousand people in total. There might have been as many as three times that if not for the help of the Alva Healing House. Now mages were working together with engineers to rebuild the wall. Instead of mortar, they were fusing the stones together, making it as if one massive stone wall. It would be stronger than ever before.
He looked back to the table, where the lords and ladies from the regions surrounding the Zatan Confederation sat. Instead of looking down on Aditya, there were hints of interest. They saw him as someone on the same level as them.
“Well, Lord Aditya, do you know anything about the attack that took out the commanders in Irdan and caused the tribes to go to war with one another?” Lady Concordia asked.
“Oh, how would I know anything like that?” Aditya smiled.
“Seems like General Tabur was also met with a blade in the back,” Lord Nuzif said, as if remembering such a fact.
“Oh well, seems that he must’ve had an accident as well.” Aditya smiled but there was a hard edge to his eyes. “I’ve been hearing that it was rather easy for you to enter the Zatan Confederation. It seems like a number of messengers met a bad fate. Truly, there are many mysteries.”
His words made a few of the lords’ eyes widen and narrow in shock. He was admitting to wiping out messenger stations and more across the Zatan Confederation without them or the Zatan Confederation knowing. Such an action was truly terrifying when dealing in information.
“What will Vermire do now?” Lady Concordia asked. The others all gauged Aditya’s reaction. He was a man who had orchestrated the fall of a power that they had been dealing with for years in just a few short weeks.
“Vermire is a simple town. We will rebuild and we will continue to host adventurers heading into the Beast Mountain Range and offering a place to buy and sell goods to our many allies,” Aditya said, as if reminding them that he had met with them out of a matter of convenience. Few of them had an alliance with him; other nations all used Vermire as a place to have conversations that they could not have in the public eye and where deals could be made that shouldn’t be known of.
To them, Vermire not only looked like a small place to do business, it was a sleeping dragon, one not to be provoked, one that could uphold its own strength. They did not use conventional means, which made them all the more terrifying. They had gained a glimpse of their capabilities, both in information gathering and acting upon it.
“I wonder if you would be able to procure a number of goods my emperor has told me he has an interest in?” Lady Concordia said.
If there could truly be a neutral party, then its use was high. They might not enter into war, but the benefits in war and peace could give them a great advantage over others. They had read the reports of Apprentice-level armor that the guards wore and the hidden wealth in catapults, formations, and spell scrolls that Aditya had used. They might just be tools, but they were strategic tools that could be used in times of need or to turn the tide of a battle. Having a way to get these items was hard to find. As Vermire was a trading outpost, there had to be a price for these items.
***
Another three weeks went past as Erik looked to increase the strength he could pull out of Defender’s Might and Ice Citadel concoctions.
He took time to rest to bring his best ability forward each time.
“Well, it looks like unless I improve my ability through another means that I’m at a roadblock,” Erik said to himself as he reached the Inscribed level of the Defender’s Might pill for the fourth time. Instead of letting it be destroyed, this time he continued on.
The iron cauldron rang as the pill formed and Erik started to retract his flames.
As the cauldron calmed down, the world that Erik had been in went white.
Erik opened his eyes, looking around at the bed that he had fallen asleep in.
While in the formation, he had not needed to eat or drink, with it placing him in a kind of stasis. Still, he drank down a Stamina potion and drank some water, feeling weak from it all. The mists separated in front of him and he gathered himself, standing up and stretching before heading along the path.
***
“Finally! Damn. If I knew that it would have taken him that long, I wouldn’t have signed up to moderate this Path of Alchemy trial,” one of the moderators who had been on watch said, standing up angrily.
The other also stood, a frown on their face. “It seems that he passed the trial, though. I wonder what grade he made?”
“Does it even matter? With the people who have had to waste their time in here, do you think that he will have an easy time with getting a foothold? Such a person might not even be able to get a low-Apprentice-level emblem. After all, he took so damn long!”
The moderators sent messages to report the end of the Path of Alchemy trial. They exited it through their own means, and went around to the grounds where the people exited from the Path of Alchemy trial.
There was just one of the audience booths with people in it, covered with a privacy screen so that they could look out but others couldn’t look in.
“Isn’t that the principal’s seat? Why is he still here?” one of the moderators asked.
“Don’t you know? The principal gave his box up to someone else. I don’t know who is in there but they have a higher authority than the principal.”
“They chose to wait all this time?”
“Maybe there is no one in there and they left the screen up,” the moderator said as they entered the area in front of the Path of Alchemy trial. They had the authority to greet people exiting the Path of Alchemy trial.
They stood there and it wasn’t long until the man appeared, stepping out from under the sign.
On the sign, his name moved from the third board to the fourth board and started to change colors.
“You have passed the Path of Alchemy trial,” the elder moderator said in a bored voice as he glanced up at the board for the grade emblem that the man had earned.
His words stopped as he looked at the man’s name changing colors.
The elder coughed as the emblem stopped.
“You are awarded with a mid-Journeyman-level emblem,” he said with a strained voice.
How can it be that this man who took so much time jumped all the way from an applicant to a mid-Journeyman alchemist? He does look older. He must’ve taken his time coming to this stage to show off his strength and awe people, but there is no one around. The moderator consoled himself as he found his composure again.
“HAH! Mid-Journeyman! Not bad, Erik!” The screen of the “empty” booth disappeared as a man stood up from his seat. With him, several guards eyed the man who had appeared with interest.
The old man jumped from his seat and landed easily on the testing grounds, the others following.
The moderator’s eyes dropped to the man’s emblem. Seeing it made of Sky-grade iron, his eyes couldn’t help but go wide.
He bowed with the other moderator toward the Expert alchemist
One of the pill heads came personally to see him? Just who is this person?
“Old Hei!” the man said with a laugh in his voice.
“Not bad. Was only, what, eight months ago you were a Novice alchemist? You’ve put this old man to shame,” Old Hei said.
The moderator wanted to spit blood. Old Hei—as in Expert Hei, the newest and the fiercest of all the pill heads? Novice just four months ago?
“What took you so long?” Hei asked.
Erik revealed how he had taken his time with the first test to increase his knowledge, the second to affirm it, and the third to improve his ability overall without worry about resources.
“Good, good! Too many of the younger generation rush ahead. I have seen one-hundred-year-olds with less patience than you! A thirty-year-old making it to mid-Journeyman—seems it won’t be so hard for me to invite you to the Division Headquarters.” Hei laughed.
***
Hei waved his hand and a gold emblem with two stripes that had dropped down from the signboard appeared in his hand as he passed it to Erik.
“What does this actually mean?” Erik looked at the emblem.
“Has no one told you?” Old Hei asked.
“Nope. Well, I haven’t asked anyone and it kind of seemed like something that everyone knew.”
“So by trying to not look like an idiot, you’re an idiot.” Old Hei sighed and shook his head as Erik gave him the middle finger, making the old man laugh.
“All right, so people who are qualified by the Alchemist Association can get these badges. Basically they certify not only your level in skill, but also your true ability. The Ten Realms might give you a skill level but this is based on the concoctions that you create as well as passing the different stages. But say you harvest a lot of really hard to harvest ingredients, then your skill level would be high. Same if you only formed pills. It is not a reflection of all your abilities, for that boils down to three things: knowledge, ability, and capability. You have the knowledge of Alchemy to be able to do things up to a Journeyman level, you have the capability physically to carry out all of the actions of a Journeyman alchemist, and the ability, or skill, to do so. This is one of the reasons that many people come to the Alchemist Association when they need to have a concoction created as they know that the failure rate will be lower, because an alchemist will have the best chance to complete the concoction that they are given.”
“So, the colors and lines?” Erik asked.
“Copper for Novice, silver for Apprentice, gold for Journeyman, Sky-grade iron for Expert. Master is made from a glowing crystal and Star-classed alchemists will have a black medallion that seems to suck in the very light, but is marked with glowing stars. The lines on all of the emblems except Master and higher show low, mid, and high grade alchemist. Though some people have the term peak. These are people who have a half-step into the next class of alchemist, so a peak Journeyman alchemist like Journeyman Wu is very close to becoming an Expert-classed alchemist. While this difference may be small, some might never cross this divide their entire lives,” Old Hei said with hidden meaning before he smiled.
“Now, since you’ve finished so late, everyone else has left. Don’t worry. I will tell the overseer for this region. Now, what are you looking for as a prize?” Old Hei grinned.
Erik’s expression turned solemn as Old Hei cocked his head to the side. He didn’t normally see this side of Erik.
“Old Hei, I see that you’re actually an Expert alchemist. It seems that you were keeping that hidden somewhat.” Erik smiled slightly before continuing on. “I will forego my reward and ask for your help in increasing my ability so that I might be able to request and make the Mana Channel Revitalization pill.”
Erik bowed deeply but Old Hei stopped him with a hand, watching his eyes.
“Your Mana channels are fine. Do you want to make it for wealth?” Old Hei asked. There was no judgement in his eyes, just curiosity.
“Rugrat, my friend the smith who I talked about—there was a problem in his Mana cultivation,” Erik said.
Old Hei stroked his chin and nodded. “Take me to him. I’ve heard much about him but still have not met him yet!” A smile appeared on Old Hei’s face.
“Sir.” Khasar stepped forward.
“Khasar, relax. Don’t worry. Rugrat and Erik are much more dangerous than you think and I know Erik is a trustworthy person.” Old Hei sighed. “Using poison? I could smell it off you. Crude, but effective. Few healers and alchemists.”
Erik scratched his head awkwardly off to the side. “Seems that Old Hei’s eyes are sharper than I thought.”
“Little escapes these old eyes of mine! I hope you have something good to drink! It’s been boring sitting up there for so long!” Old Hei laughed.
Erik’s awkwardness fell away as he smiled at Old Hei.
“Oh, I am sorry for keeping you waiting,” Old Hei said as he saw the two moderators who were still bowing. “Thank you for looking over Erik in his trial. It has been hard on you.” Old Hei gave them each a Mind Calming pill that would allow them to focus more when they were creating concoctions in the future.
“Thank you, Pill Head Hei.” One bowed deeper from the gift.
With a smile, he waved away their words and clapped his hand on Erik’s shoulder.
“So what have you been up to since the Second Realm?” Hei asked his friend as they walked away.
The two moderators looked at each other, relieved that they hadn’t said anything before Old Hei appeared. They were only high-Apprentice-level alchemists. Chastising a Journeyman-level alchemist could land them into deep trouble. One who was close to one of the three pill heads? It was tantamount to them throwing away their previous achievements and their future.
Chapter: Alchemist Trial—Complete!
Erik sent word ahead to the rest of his group and headed for the place that they were staying.
Erik and Old Hei talked as they were walking and Erik told Old Hei of some of his adventures. Khasar couldn’t help but hear them and looked at the man in a new light. It seemed that Alchemy was a secondary profession, along with healing, but he was primarily a fighter.
The way that he moved, his eyes assessing the situation and looking at everything with a cold glance, he was not just a fighter, but someone who had survived through a number of nasty fights.
They reached the place that Erik was staying. Three men waited for them.
“This is Matt, a summoner and trader; Domonos, a friend of ours and a good man with a spear; and this is Rugrat, the idiot smith I was telling you about,” Erik said, introducing them all.
“Nice to meet you, Expert Hei,” Rugrat said.
“A brother of Erik’s is my friend as well. Please! This Expert this and that can get boring! Erik has been telling me some of the trials you’ve had to go through to get to this point. It doesn’t seem like your path has been an easy one!” Old Hei said.
Rugrat grinned. “No, but it’s kept us on our toes.”
“Come on, let’s go sit down somewhere and have a few drinks,” Erik said.
They moved to the courtyard where there was enough room and pulled out food and drink from their storage rings. Erik and Rugrat pulled out their few remaining meals and delicacies from Alva Dungeon.
“This area is rather high in Mana concentration and pure,” Old Hei said.
“Well, I’ve been working on a few pieces of armor and I usually use a Mana Gathering formation. It has been a few weeks of me doing so,” Rugrat quickly explained.
“Ah, that makes sense.” Old Hei smiled.
Khasar kept his words to himself. The Mana density was really high but it was the purity of it that was shocking. The purer one’s Mana was, the easier it would be for them to do anything magically related. It was like removing the rock around a gold nugget: if it wasn’t removed, it would take up the same space but only a little bit of it would be gold; if one could remove the excess and only leave the gold behind and pile it up, then there would be much more usable gold without useless extras.
He kept his mouth shut as he and the guards moved out of the courtyard, hearing Old Hei and the others talking, laughing and relaxing as they passed around drink and food.
***
Erik was seeing Old Hei out. It was now late in the night and everyone was reaching the point where the food, talking, and drinking had caught up with them.
“It will be hard for me to do anything about the Mana Channel Revitalization pill here in Resam. Tomorrow, do you want to come with me to the Division Headquarters? All of your party can come as well,” Old Hei said, seeing Erik ready to open his mouth.
“Thank you, Old Hei. I can’t thank you enough for all of this.” Erik hugged Old Hei.
Old Hei was shocked, but quickly recovered, smiling and patting him on the back.
Erik let him go and stepped back.
“You and your party are good peop
le, one of the few I can relax around and not worry about maneuvering and games. You are also part of the reason that I have been able to get to this stage. Now, the Expert version of the Mana Channel Revitalization pill is good. The Master version is much harder, but the effects will allow Rugrat to heal his Mana channels and remove any hidden damage left behind. The Expert version will just heal his channels. To attempt a Master-level pill, I am going to need an assistant,” Old Hei said in a grave voice, looking at Erik.
“Will you agree to be my assistant?”
Erik took a deep breath. “I am not qualified to do so and I am sure there are people who are more able to do so than me. But I will do everything in my power to assist you in any way possible.”
Old Hei smiled and tapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what I wanted to hear. It will be a challenge for us both but I think a good one!” With that, he turned and left with his guards.
Erik saw them out and then went back into the manor. He passed word to the others and Rugrat handed him his armor.
Erik pinched the bridge of his nose when he saw the name of the new set, but Rugrat had already moved past that as he pulled out an ingot.
Erik’s attention was drawn to it as his Mana sense told him that this was a material that would not only allow Mana to pass through it, but it could increase the power of the Mana that passed through it.
“This?” Erik asked.
“Earth-grade iron,” Rugrat said proudly. “I think, at least. Never seen Earth-grade iron.”
“Can you make more?” Erik asked.
“Yeah, it just takes a lot of time and resources to make: five ingots, one Mana stone, and hours of work to complete.”
Erik took in a cold breath. “Not cheap.”
“Nope. But I wonder just what I can do with this. Formations would be a lot stronger and weapons would have a higher strength but their innate effects and enhancements would be stronger as well!”
The Third Realm Page 43