50,100
Regen:
27.62 /s
Mana:
16,280
Regen:
66.95 /s
Stamina:
5,520
Regen:
58.90 /s
Vitality:
581
Endurance:
1,381
Intelligence:
1,768
Willpower:
1,339
Strength:
632
Agility:
1,178
Active Skill: Teleportation
Level: Master Level 3
Effect: Able to create a device to teleport across distances.
Dave closed the screen as an almost tyrannical energy seemed to be tearing him apart from the inside and re-creating him. The surge of over seven hundred stat points rushed through his body. His mind became clearer as his body’s strength increased in leaps and bounds. The runic lines across his body surged with energy; he glowed with power as his aura underwent a massive change with the increase of power.
With the interlinking of classes that were suited toward what he was doing, these kinds of surges were possible. In the space of a few minutes, it was as if he had gained over a hundred levels—a nearly impossible feat even if he was to kill thousands, but with the progressing classes it was possible to break past these barriers.
Dave was unable to do anything as his body surged with strength.
The world went dark as he collapsed, his body and mind no longer able to support him as his attributes skyrocketed.
Chapter 11: Shifts to Emerilia
Sato watched the stealth remote that was set up in the Emerilia system. Everyone within the command center was silent as they looked at the various scenes on the different screens.
There were a dozen or so stealthed remote buoys that watched the Emerilia system at all times, recording and sending back everything that they saw.
“What the hell happened?” Sato said under his breath, his face pale.
Each of the screens showed a different battle or fight happening on Emerilia.
There were entire armies that were clashing all across Emerilia. People were sieging and defending castles.
A number of the creatures had been pulled up on the Deq’ual’s database.
“Looks like the portals have been activated and all of the aggressive species that were on different planets are now connected to Emerilia and fighting it out with the Emerilians.” Adams, at his side, looked at the video feed that was nearly an hour old.
The power that was being unleashed in some of these battles could be seen from orbit.
“Adams, I want remotes within all of the aggressive species systems. I want to know what Emerilia is up against and what threats we might have to deal with in the future. Or who might be allies,” Sato said.
Even if they were attacking Emerilia right now, there might be a way to use them to fight the Jukal in the future.
Sato hated himself for saying those words but he needed to. His duty was to the people of the Deq’ual system first and he needed to deal with that. Even as much as he wanted to help out the people of Emerilia and Dave, he couldn’t, so he needed to use this to learn about his possible enemies and allies.
If he could find out something to help Dave and the people of Emerilia, then he could pass it on.
“Yes, sir.” Adams worked on her screen to organize certain stealth ships that were out providing recon and scouting the other systems around the Deq’ual and certain points that interested the leadership.
Sato watched the battles that continued to rage on, burning those images into his mind. He stood there, straight-backed, emotions roiling as he kept up a professional facade. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of people died and he couldn’t do a thing but watch.
And so he would watch as they were overrun or they pushed back the enemy, the moments of brilliance that turned a battle and all too many last moments that people went through.
He stood there like a statue, taking on those images and wishing nothing more than to reach out in help and aid.
***
Josh looked over the various maps that showed dozens of portals and the castles around them.
So far, only five of the portal locations had been secured. The rest were still being contested, with the Terra Alliance fighting to capture more of the castles or to hold what they had against the enemy.
There was a constant murmur in the room of people talking. All of these people and Shard were working to put the forces at their command to the most use.
People, like the DCA aerial forces, were being pulled from one battlefield to another to support or reinforce.
The Terra Alliance had nearly half a million people under its command, from healers in various hospital areas, to the quartermasters who moved munitions, food, water, potions, and all the materials a fighting military needed on Emerilia. Then there were the actual soldiers who could fight on the front lines against the enemy.
Using all of their strengths together and finding a place for them was difficult.
Cassie walked through the room and handed Josh a piece of paper.
He held it in his hands, frowning as he read it. “What? Is this real?” Josh asked in a private chat with Cassie.
“I just had the ambassador from Markolm give it to me,” Cassie said.
Josh didn’t know what to say for a few moments. “When will they start pulling back their forces?”
“They’ve already begun,” Cassie said, her face and voice solemn.
“Shit. All right, well, if Markolm is pulling out of the Terra Alliance, then wasting people on helping them is useless. Inform the commanders in Markolm what is going on and order them to pull back to Terra to receive new orders.”
“Got it.” Cassie reached out to squeeze Josh’s hand.
He smiled to her.
“Nothing stops the Stone Raiders,” Cassie said.
“I thought you were a golden sabre?” Josh joked.
Cassie’s eyebrow lowered, as if she saw Josh in a whole new light.
“I’m joking,” Josh laughed, squeezing her hand.
The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.
“I’ll see you later,” She said, giving him a deep look.
With that, Cassie turned around to carry out his orders and Josh contacted Lucy.
“Josh?” Lucy answered a moment later.
“Did you know about Markolm?” Josh asked.
“Is it official—did they pull out of the Alliance?”
“Yeah.” Josh sighed.
“That bitch. Damn, she’s good,” Lucy hissed.
“What happened?” Josh asked, at a loss for what had happened while he hadn’t been watching.
“The Lady of Light had Khanundra and her generals of Light step in and save the people of Markolm. They almost singlehandedly moved through the entire continent; Light teleported them from battlefield to battlefield just as it looked as if all hope was lost.
“They valiantly defended the people of Markolm in a way that the forces of the Terra Alliance couldn’t. It looks like she made the generals and Khanundra her champions. The power that it must have taken to do that would be immense, but they’re all now some of the strongest people on Emerilia.
“They sealed the portals as well. Now the people are turning to them, the angels denying that they killed anyone who might argue against joining the Lady of Light. Without those powerful figures, few are willing to deny the Lady of Light now that the people are starting to get behind her.
“The angels are calling the deaths of those people a fabrication of the truth. She was smart about it. She took out the resistance ahead of time—then, just as everyone was in a panic, ready to sell their souls to the devil, her angels rush in to save them. She has already inserted some of her people as priests and priestesses within Markolm.”
“In desperate times, people are willing to look to anyone who offer
s them hope.” Josh shook his head.
“She’s growing in power with every day the elves of Markolm are devoting more and more of their energy to her. However, she’s not the only one from the Pantheon who’s increasing their power,” Lucy said. “The Dark Lord has been oddly quiet but here and there, Dark forces have been pulled from different locations. We think this is him bringing his strength together. The Earth Lord has also been gathering creatures from Emerilia. Even if they are not the same Affinity, they are still of Emerilia and they trust the Earth Lord and his more simplistic ways, as well as bow their heads to his power.”
“So, the beasts went to the Earth Lord, the Dark Lord is pulling those who practice his arts to him, and the Lady of Light is growing her power base through the people of Emerilia, shoring up her position as she waits for her Legions of Light to return.” Josh held his head, rubbing it with his hand.
“In the meantime, we can do nothing but fight among ourselves and try to counteract all of the creatures and species that have been unleashed upon us,” Lucy said. “This is but the first wave of the war. The mortal war has started but the war of the Pantheon is about to start.”
“Well, isn’t that just lovely.” Josh looked at the chaos across Emerilia. The people had holed up within their cities, fighting off the things that came out of the wilderness or the portals. The castles surrounding portals were heavily contested in most areas.
They were in a state of chaos; the Terra Alliance was reacting and making adjustments where they could. Through this they might forge themselves into a stronger entity or they could be torn apart, too weak to resist the forces on Emerilia that were on the move or being put into play, and nothing but ants in front of the gods’ growing power.
We dance the blade, to gain levels and increase our strength fighting through this hell, only to step deeper and continue against the gods of Emerilia, always courting failure and instead being stripped of that power and once again having to climb higher to hopefully fend off destruction.
“Esa reports that her people are ready to assault the eastern castle.” Shard appeared next to Josh.
“Thank you.” Josh looked to the screen that was relaying information back from that battlefield.
Josh switched back to Lucy’s and his chat. “I’ve got to go. Keep a watch out for the gods and see if there is anything we can do to try to decrease their power gain.”
“Okay. Talk later.” Lucy ended the chat.
***
Induca and Suzy watched from above, as the rest of Party Zero led an attack on a captured castle.
They were fighting against Ooinfa, which made it hard for casters with low Willpower. With the Ooinfa’s ability with illusions, the mages were much more likely to hit their own people. Thus, the fighting had resulted in melee fighters coming to the fore.
Suzy commanded half of her creations to protect her mind from the illusions while Induca laid down supporting fire walls to block off the Ooinfa’s attacks and also limit the amount of Ooinfa that could clash with the player formations advancing toward the Ooinfa-controlled castle.
Although the Ooinfa were formidable with their illusions, their actual attacks came in the manner of sneak attacks. In this kind of straight-up fight, they might get one or two lucky hits but the players worked together to neutralize their attacks and push forward.
The Ooinfa’s hidden and weak bodies fell before the players in droves. Anna, Deia, Jung Lee, Lox, Gurren, and Steve moved through the Ooinfa like an unstoppable wave. They might not be able to see the Ooinfa’s actual bodies but their speed and strength made it nearly impossible for the illusion-loving creatures to escape.
“It seems that the world has changed these few weeks,” Suzy said as they watched over the battle. It was furious at times but without their main advantages and fighting players with a high Willpower, the Ooinfa found themselves being driven backward, the players using them to increase their skills and class levels.
“Everyone has hunkered down in cities and towns, with only player alts or massive party groups moving between cities. Markolm has pulled out of the Terra Alliance and their continent and people seem to be devoting themselves to the Lady of Light, who’s amassing her power and getting her angel generals to train up a fighting force of the more radicalized followers, or the devoted. People are flocking to Markolm in search of safety and pledging themselves to the Lady of Light in turn. It has given us more people who were originally aiding Markolm, allowing us to hold all of our castles with full strength,” Induca said.
“Don’t forget that with every minute we hold the castles, the coders are getting to work in using the soul gem constructs to reinforce them,” Suzy said.
“Even with all of this, we’ve just attained a draw. We’re stretched over far too much area. We’re growing Terra faster than ever before, with the third section being connected tonight and the fourth already about twenty five percent completed. We’ve got people pouring in from all over Emerilia who can’t fit in these cities and towns. Food is running low and while we’re building more greenhouse towers with the Aleph, dwarves, Devil’s Crater, and Terra, it won’t be enough to feed everyone,” Induca said.
“We’ve come this far. We’ll find a way.” Suzy looked to Induca as a spell formation appeared in front of her. A new fire wall cut through the Ooinfa.
“I fear that this is just the beginning,” Induca said.
***
Ela-Dorn looked to Dave, who sat across from her, bouncing Koi on his knee, who looked shocked but amused by the action.
“You want me to leave the Aleph College for at least two years, and I won’t be able to talk to anyone without first having it vetted by an AI?” Ela-Dorn repeated what he had just said to her.
“That’s about the gist of it.”
“Why would I want to?” Ela-Dorn leaned back in her chair. Her hand fell to her summoned wolf and scratched behind his ears.
“To see more than you’ve ever seen before.” Dave’s eyes shone as he smiled at Ela-Dorn.
“Sounds mysterious, but I’m used to that with you.” Ela-Dorn laughed.
“You will see things that you would have never thought were even possible. You will have resources at your disposal that make the materials that the Aleph get in a year look like mere crumbs. You will work with and create technology that rivals the portals that you’ve worked with. What we do will change the face of Emerilia. It could change the balance of power in the known universe,” Dave said.
“What have you done?”
“Come with me.” Dave smiled, standing and putting Koi on his shoulder.
“Okay.” Ela-Dorn followed Dave. He led her out of the Aleph College, and through the teleport pad to the power station.
“Are you taking me to your lab?” Ela-Dorn asked through a private chat. She knew all about the Jukal and had become extremely paranoid about what she said out of private chats and Mirrors of Communication.
“Yes. It’s gone through some changes,” Dave said.
The power station had been fully automated so that there was no one to see them as they passed through the secret passage that linked the power station to Pandora’s Box.
Ela-Dorn entered right behind, looking at the various workstations covered in different items. With her arcane sight, she was able to see what these different items were. Her eyes widened as she looked at the walls and floor. “There’s so much power going through this place. How can you have so much power and keep up power production to Terra?”
“We’ve created something called a fusion reactor. Basically, it harnesses the same energies that we find in Emerilia’s sun and uses that to create electrical power, which is, in turn, free Mana. We also have Mana wells, which give off continuous Mana and will do so for millions of years,” Dave said.
“Okay, so you’ve got all this power, but what do you need it for?” Ela-Dorn looked over missiles that she knew Frenik from the Aleph Council was in charge of building, as well as the Band-Aids that were
now being issued to all members of the Terra Alliance. They provided a good boost in defensive stats and they had been turned into a mandatory piece of kit for all people. Being relatively cheap, people from all over Emerilia were buying them in job lots, from the lowest peasant to members of leadership, everyone wanted one.
There were Dave’s orbs, pulled part, and sheets of magical coding next to drawings of Magical Circuits and spell formations.
Ela-Dorn was already blown away with the array of items that covered the workshop. Dave led her through it all, looking back at her as he stood in front of a wall.
“Well, we need them for this.” He stepped through the wall.
“I couldn’t even sense it there with my arcane sight.” Ela-Dorn pushed her hand forward, finding it go through the illusion that had been put in place. She took a breath and stepped forward, entering a space easily as large as the rest of Pandora’s Box.
Automated carts moved between portals, carrying all manner of resources and materials.
Ela-Dorn simply stood there, looking at the room. Her eyes moved from portal to portal. “Y-you have working portals?”
“Yes, I do.” Dave smiled. “All that power is used to keep these portals activated. They’re connected to other locations, I can’t tell you where these locations are or what’s at them, but I can tell you that the stuff there makes everything in Pandora’s Box look like child’s play.”
Koi, supported by her father, looked at the portals before flopping onto his shoulder, her little arms encompassing Dave’s neck.
Ela-Dorn’s pup Kelo rubbed his side against Ela-Dorn. By reflex, she patted his side, still looking at these portals. “I knew that your understanding of teleportation was advanced but I didn’t think that it had yet reached this level,” Ela-Dorn said, stunned by what she was seeing.
If the Jukal could see what she was, they would have spat blood at the resources and power being used in order to create this network of bases.
“Do you want to learn more and go further than you have before?” Dave asked.
Ela-Dorn’s face became solemn as she saw what she had never even dreamed of in her life, just waiting for her beyond those portal event horizons.
Emerilia Series Box Set 4 Page 57