“Sir!” Rugrat snapped to attention.
“Please post the list.”
“Yes sir!” Rugrat yelled. He turned and moved to a wall. He pulled out a number of sheets and nailed them to the wall.
“These sheets detail the times that you are to report to the healing house and Alchemy labs. If you do not report on time to these places or resources go missing from your hands in transit, you will be removed from training and fined. As villages, towns, and cities have laws that people must follow, there are rules and laws that you are now subject to as trainees. These rules will only become stricter if you become a member of the military,” Erik said.
“Sergeants and corporals, report to the conference room! If you wish to follow another trade or join the Alchemist Association, put your name on the final list!” Erik waited for a moment and pulled himself upright.
“Dismissed!” Erik said.
Some of them knew how to be dismissed; others were newer or weren’t part of the spear units.
Erik’s eyes thinned but he didn’t say anything. The pressure only increased on these people who stood out, not sure what to do.
Rugrat followed Erik up to the conference room.
The corporals and sergeants from each of the groups appeared, as well as Glosil.
A number of them looked at him but he looked away, not sure what was happening either. Erik pulled out a number of timepieces that he had bought from the trading interface and passed them out to the others.
“This is used to keep track of time, so that when people have timings you can keep track of them. These will be passed out to everyone. Even if they fail out, they can keep these,” Erik said.
Before, everything had been more generalized into days, morning, midday, afternoon, and night. With these, they could start to add in definitive times. Their time would be set off Alva Dungeon. The realms had different time scales, some being twenty-seven hour, other being thirty-two hour days; using Alva Dungeon as a constant would allow them to have something to go off.
“While the others’ training might be starting in a few months, for all of you, your training will start tomorrow.” Rugrat moved to the desks and dropped off crates from his storage rings. Each of these crates held clothing items, as well as boots and the rest.
“You will be living in the barracks under Rugrat’s and my watch. Tomorrow, all of your cultivations will be increased. We don’t have time to wait. The day after, classes begin. First, we will go through rules of war and combat, then you will be issued weapons and armor. Then we will teach you how to use them and care for them. Then, if you have proved your ability to handle weapons, we will go through tactics, first aid, strategy. Fighting a battle isn’t everything. One doesn’t need to just kill the enemy. A military lives on their stomach: if they are cut off from water or food, they will fail. Fight the enemy when it is advantageous to you: what is the best way to fight in the open ground, the best way to fight in a closed-in area? How do you set up a casualty collection point so the wounded can be brought as fast as possible to be healed and sent back up to the front line? You are all noncommissioned officers of the Alva Dungeon military and its officers. Your task is to look at the big picture, to lead by example. A leader leads from the front; they help their people forward. I will only take leaders. I will not take people pushing others forward into danger.”
“It’s time we started training,” Rugrat said, his voice low but promising the changes training would bring.
Erik’s face held a cruel smile. Training was not kind nor was it merciful. There was no one to tell him how to watch out for the troop’s feelings. Now he would break them; he would break down everything that they thought that they knew and build it stronger than ever before.
The corporals and sergeants as well as Glosil snapped to attention.
“Yes sir!” Glosil saluted.
Erik snapped off a salute, inwardly angry. It was a point of pride for him that he had never been an officer, just a step away from becoming a staff noncommissioned officer by the time he retired from the military. Needs must, as they say.
“You will report tomorrow morning to this location at zero five hundred! Which is when the long hand is pointing to the twelve and the short hand is on the five!” Rugrat stepped forward and opened a crate.
“You will be wearing one pair of combat boots.” He slapped the boots down on the desk.
“One pair of socks.” The socks followed as Erik walked out of the room, leaving Rugrat to tell them how to dress. It sounded ridiculous but clothes were hard-to-find items in the lower realms and it was their duty to turn them into soldiers. Everything from how they dressed to their actions would have a guide, a reason. Giving them clothes made sure that they would be warm and have protection against the elements.
Erik returned to his office. People moved out of his way, creating a five-foot hole around him. He looked out of his window, seeing Rugrat dragging the leadership out to the barrack’s showers, where he would give them a guide on washing.
It sounded stupid but dysentery was a problem that happened in any military in history. A bit of soap and water used liberally, combined with brushing one’s teeth, could work miracles: stave off infection, stop them from getting a rash or chafing. It sounded simple, but if you had chafing between your legs and you had to walk for another three days, you would not be in a good way. Sure, the medic could help patch you up, but that just meant using resources that could be used on the guy who had an arrow in the chest, or got a nasty cut to their leg.
Erik didn’t want to make them reliant on possibly short resources. He wanted them to rely on their own abilities and then further enhance their strength with equipment and consumables. Teaching them about first aid, testing them on it, and then only giving them healing potions and pills later, if they could patch someone up with a bandage and salve. Erik couldn’t yet see what this kind of thought process he was introducing them to would have on them or on Alva Dungeon in general.
***
Special Team Three returned from the Second Realm just two days after Erik and Rugrat made their announcement. When they reported to the barracks, Niemm and his second-in-command Lucinda were given just two days before they had to report back to the barracks for leadership training.
The rest were added to a list to open their Mana gates and temper their bodies.
The barracks had turned into a flurry of activity and the rest of Alva Dungeon had as well. Ever since they returned from the Second Realm, Erik and Rugrat had been placing orders with people from across Alva Dungeon, for supplies for the new military. Tan Xue and Taran were working on the projects personally, everyone doing their very best to make the best equipment for their military. These were their friends and family members who looked to defend their dungeon. Nothing was spared and in the pressure, people had made breakthroughs in their individual crafting abilities.
Alva Dungeon was modernizing; processes that needed to have skilled workers were now being left to machines as the advanced crafters looked to improve their knowledge and ability, taking leaps in their skill levels instead of increasing them slowly.
Blaze and Elise sat at one of the tea shops. The atmosphere was a bit weird as they drank tea.
“So you really took up the leadership position in the Adventurer’s Guild.” Elise looked at Blaze.
“Yeah. Erik was right. It is the best place for me. More freedom and they’re a boisterous lot.” Blaze smiled. He felt younger being around the crews from the Adventurer’s Guild. The people of Alva Dungeon had a lot of character behind them and those who signed up to be adventurers were among the stranger and more eccentric, only possibly outdone by the people who joined the military, or those who devoted their time to research in their given specialty.
Elise sipped on her tea, hidden emotions and a smile as she cleared her throat. “So I take it that you’ve heard of everything that happened with the traders who went up to the Second Realm?”
“Yes.” Blaze sm
iled at her, looking across his cup at her. “Do you have a mission for the Adventurer’s Guild?” he asked playfully.
Elise was momentarily unable to say anything before she scrambled for words. She had tried to make her feelings clear but Blaze had been too busy with running the village or running the fighting forces of the dungeon. Their conversations had been all business. This was as well, but seeing the playful look in his eyes and the smirk on his face, she brushed some hair back behind her ear. She let out an amused breath, unable to hide the grin underneath as she looked into Blaze’s eyes.
“Isn’t it the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild’s job to take out business partners to dinner?”
“Dinner? Well, if we could finish off the business now, could we celebrate it with a dinner later?” he asked with a probing question.
A heat rose in Elise’s chest as she found it impossible to hide her smile. She had to look away. “Yes, the Trader’s Association would like to make a deal with the Adventurer’s Guild for protection parties to access the Second Realm and other dangerous areas.”
Blaze pulled out a piece of paper; on it were prices for adventurers.
“What are these letters?” Elise asked.
“SSS is the strongest ranked person in the association or party; SS is the second, third, and fourth strongest; S is the top ten strongest individuals or parties. In the future, there will be A, B, C class and so on. The higher the ranking, the stronger they are. They prove this through how far they can go in the battlefield dungeon and their average ranking and combat capability. Each of them have different prices. The highest rank is the most expensive. The lower their rank, the cheaper. They have daily, weekly, and monthly rates and they also have specialties so that people can find the best adventurer or party for the task required. Weapons and armor are provided. Mounts and food will be provided, as well as consumables such as concoctions. Compensation for their time and if they die on the contract, the contractor will pay half of their death benefit. The other half will be paid for by the guild,” Blaze said.
Elise looked at the information. It was all organized clearly, based off the Adventurer’s Guild and mercenary guilds from the larger kingdoms.
“Very well.”
“You can also post missions on the mission boards for a fee, as well as a set reward. You can set the lowest requirement for a team in terms of rank, but anyone of that rank or higher can accept it,” Blaze said.
“So it would be possible for people who are SSS to accept a mission that is A rank?”
“People have to eat and maybe they can complete the A rank mission while completing a S rank mission as well.” Blaze shrugged.
“Well, I guess that takes care of business,” Elise said. The profits earned by the traders who went to the Second Realm were just too large and they had been able to easily sell off the items that they could only slowly release onto the market in the First Realm.
They had supplies from the battlefield dungeon, but it wasn’t a constant stream. With connections to the Second Realm, they could get a steady stream of resources and materials.
“Also, I am aiming to open an Adventurer’s Guild in the Second Realm—give a place for the association to be based out of, gather interested parties. We won’t tell them our background, of course, and simply allow them to register to be adventurers. It’s one of Erik’s plans—he wants us to build a number of places in the First Realm as well. Give us a way to recruit more people to Alva Dungeon. Now, how about that dinner?” Blaze leaned forward.
Elise clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth and ran it across the back of her lower teeth, as if trying to see through Blaze but she found she couldn’t. “If you insist.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Blaze’s wide smile made Elise’s stomach jump, trying to hide her wide smile as she laughed at his reaction.
Chapter: A Firm Foundation
Fehim looked at the little sapling. He took out a few more pieces of material, each of them changing color as they came into contact with the soil. He checked the colors against a book and put them away.
Delilah looked at him.
“Well, it’s ready. It grew abnormally in the Temple of Earth’s Divinity. I placed it in the intersection of Earth, Wood, and Water, with a focus on Wood and Water to strengthen the silver-peak tree and allow it to regain balance in all of its associative Affinities,” Fehim said with a pleased voice as he reached down and grabbed the pot that the sapling was in.
It had taken a number of weeks but rushing it could have led to greater difficulties later.
He turned and presented the plant to Delilah. “Well, Miss Council Leader, looks like it is time you did some planting.” He smiled.
Delilah had a wry smile on her face. She still wasn’t used to the struggles that came with her position, but she was learning and she had the right people helping her. “I didn’t think that my first move as the council leader of Alva Dungeon would be to plant a tree.”
“Thankfully you have some practice.” Fehim smiled. “And it’s not the tree that is important; it’s the message you are putting behind it. The tree, being from many Affinities, assisting and growing with one another, brought here by Erik and Rugrat, but raised by us here in Alva Dungeon. Putting down roots!”
Delilah sighed. “As much as I like your view on things, I think that most other people will just see it as something to do for today. Also, the food afterward probably enticed a few of them!”
“That may be so,” Fehim readily agreed. “But I like my version more.”
He winked as Delilah laughed, some of her nervous energy dissipating.
“Come on, it’s not the first tree you’ve planted!” Fehim walked out of the plot and Delilah followed him.
They reached a large path that weaved through the alchemist’s garden. It was nearly ten times its original size now, growing exotic plants from all across the three realms. There were a mix of pleasant smells: wet dirt, fresh blooms, a smell of campfire smoke, the metallic tang of the Metal Affinity Mana.
To Delilah, it calmed her mind.
It didn’t take them long to reach a group of people waiting for the planting. A spot had been cleared in the garden already, a large corner filled with different kinds of plants hailing from multiple attributes.
Delilah looked to Fehim, who nodded to her and gave her a confident smile.
She returned a forced smile, taking a deep breath as she walked to the front of the crowd. The people of Alva Dungeon studied her. Some of them had met her before but she spent most of her time in the Alchemy gardens or in the lab, so it was a minority.
They had come to see the new person to lead them in the coming days when Erik and Rugrat went to the other realms.
All of the other leaders had made time to come out to show their support for Delilah as their new council leader.
She looked over to them. Seeing their confident smiles, she looked to the area prepared for the sapling. She walked over and put the sapling down and turned to the people of Alva Dungeon.
“As many of you know, my name is Delilah Ryan, and I’m supposed to be your new council leader.” Delilah paused. “I’m not usually one to do big speeches, or speeches at all, for that matter.” She laughed slightly, smiles appearing on the faces of those there.
“I cannot say that I will be better than Elise, or that she will have been better than me. I can only promise you that I will do my best to make sure that Alva Dungeon continues to grow. Just like this silver-peak tree. We have come from all over: from other countries, ways of life—for some, even from other realms. As we go forward, the people of Alva Dungeon will only grow, with people calling Alva Dungeon home, coming from all places and ways of life. There will be challenges, both good and bad, ahead of us, but I hope that I will have your support and you know that Alva Dungeon will support you. Our path forward is one of cooperation and sharing. This is our strength and what makes us people of Alva Dungeon.”
She looked at the people. T
hey looked moved by her words, a few nodding, others whispering to each other.
“Now let’s plant this tree!” Their thoughtful looks turned into kind smiles as Delilah checked the prepared hole in the ground and carefully removed the potted silver-peak sapling from its container.
She checked the plant and then placed it into the ground. Several alchemists and farmers stepped forward, joining her as they all used their Plant Cultivation spell.
The silver-peak grew, reaching higher as its branches spread out, no longer the half-stunted tree from the Temple of Earth’s Divinity.
It grew straight and tall. Its three-colored leaves danced in the breeze as Mana from the surrounding area was stirred up, adjusting to the new resident. The other plants all moved with the breeze as the farmers and alchemists paused their Plant Cultivation spell.
The tree stood tall in the alchemist garden, like a guardian over its smaller brethren.
I don’t know where this path will lead. Delilah looked over to the members of the council, her family who had come out, Fehim, and the people of Alva Dungeon. But thankfully I have friends and people to rely on now to help me.
***
Tan Xue and Zhou Heng were summoned to Jia Feng’s office later that day.
“Principal,” Tan Xue said. She and Zhou Heng cupped their fists in greeting.
“Haven’t we known one another long enough to not need any of that? Come, sit down.” Jia Feng pulled out prepared tea and three cups, pouring for all of them.
The Third Realm Page 58