Kanoa’s eyes fell on the leaders of the close protection details. Unlike regular units, they could be tasked out independently of their units. Most of them supported operations carried out by the special teams and the intelligence department.
The way they held themselves, that casual focus in their eyes, how they surveyed the room and positioned themselves—it was as if they were in a constant state of laziness but ready to burst out with their full strength in a moment.
Kanoa nodded and stared at the other members. They had been training for months, and there was an eagerness to their expressions.
“Over the next couple of weeks, I and other Earth military members who have experience in air assault will devote our time to teach you everything we know and adapt that knowledge to operating with beasts instead of technological machines. You have been training for months, and I will not treat you like children. We will develop together, so any concerns or ideas, pass them up the chain of command.
“First things first. We have to organize the chain of command, and I will go over any extra duties you might have in your new roles. Everyone will undergo the same basic training. Once that training is complete, people will specialize into one branch: army or air force. We want to invite cross-training between branches.
“You can apply to do this training at any time, with the consent of your leadership and when we are not in combat. It is advised that you complete the training once you complete your engineering class-one training or your close protection detail. We are one military fighting for Alva, but that doesn’t mean the air force will be anything but the best branch,” Kanoa growled, getting grins and nods from the people in the room.
“Since we need to train all the troops, it means you lot are going to have little sleep and a lot of learning in the next couple of weeks. Take these books and start studying. I will have a chain of command and unit organization in two hours.” Kanoa dropped off a pile of books for the group. They were all information books, so they could be absorbed in minutes. The information was dense, so it was liable to leave them with headaches. Absorbing information was one thing; Kanoa wanted to go through everything in person as well.
The information books would make things a lot quicker as they wouldn’t need to spend so much time in the classroom and could spend more time on the gear and birds they would be using.
Colonel Yui and Lieutenant Colonel Carvallo looked over the new plans.
“What do you think?” Shi Wanshu asked after several minutes of silence.
“Shit,” Carvallo said.
“Fucking firepower,” Yui agreed.
“The more the better,” Rugrat drawled.
“We have a selection of weapon systems: the rotating Gatling guns that are in current production and belt-fed grenade launchers. We are working on adjustable mortars, though we think that instead of the mortar systems, the long-range artillery cannons would be the best.” Taran pulled out plans and put them on the table.
Yui studied the simple-looking weapons.
“Railgun?” Carvallo read out.
“We wanted to use magnets to accelerate a round to a really high speed, which would create massive damage on impact. Julilah came up with a series of Metal formations and Air formations. The impetus is created by Air formations releasing a burst of air behind the round and creating a pseudo-air barrel while the Metal formations pull the round forward at tremendous speeds. We are still testing out different prototypes, but the weapon system should be complete by that time. If not, then we will use artillery shells. Think of them as big damn rounds,” Rugrat said.
“Isn’t this a bit…much?” Yui asked. Seeing the looks, he quickly corrected himself. “I am not saying I do not want these items, but we’re getting ready to fight the Willful Institute. We’re just getting used to the weapons we have.”
“These will take months or years to mass-produce. We can possibly create them in time for when the fighting starts,” Rugrat agreed. “Though we shouldn’t stop developing. What’s to say we won’t run into people from the higher realms who want to attack us. Proactive, not reactive.”
“And cause you love blowing shit up,” Taran added.
“And cause I’m a redneck,” Rugrat grinned. “My own fuckin’ artillery cannon. Oh momma! I’m gonna mount Gatling guns on fuckin’ everything. Figuring out how to secure it to George already.”
25
Cultivation Maniacs
“You look like shit,” Rugrat said as Erik walked into the office they shared.
“Spent too much time seeing your face.” Erik flipped him the bird. “Where’s the coffee?”
“I finished it off. You want to make another pot?”
“Fill it up when you’re done, will you?”
“I meant to, just been going over these plans,” Rugrat muttered absently.
Erik fired up the Ten Realms’s coffee machine, one of Matt’s greatest inventions. Erik and Rugrat had bought the very first one and the second one too.
Erik rubbed his face, feeling the ache deep in his bones. He stared at his blackened hands, the cracked skin. Since he had started tempering his body with the Metal element, everything below his neck looked the same and ached all hours of the day. In the last month, he had gone from one tempering needle to three.
He sighed and walked over to Rugrat, staring at the plans in front of him. “What’s the problem?” Erik asked.
“The air barrel. If the round touches the barrel, after a few dozen shots, the barrel becomes useless. We need the air barrel to protect the round and the barrel.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“It is. Never thought I’d wish I had learned aerodynamics.”
“How is your cultivation going?” Erik continued to study the plans as he talked.
“Accelerating.” Rugrat grinned. He shifted to let Erik see the plans better while he turned in his chair. “I am almost at the mid-Liquid Mana Core level. I heard you’ve been working on your Body Cultivation diligently.”
“How is your Body Cultivation?”
“Avoiding the question.” Rugrat clicked his tongue. “I’ve started to temper my body with the Earth element. I bet I can reach the peak in just two weeks.”
“I don’t doubt it. The resources, technologies, and processes have been updated and upgraded. Most of the military members are lagging behind as they only get a certain amount of contribution points they can put toward their training. As for my Body Cultivation, I think I have some way to go before I can completely temper my body with the Metal element. I am tempering seventy percent of my body currently. Then my vital organs one by one. Slower is better. I reached mid-Mist Mana Core level. I have a lot of strain on my body, and I don’t want to overload it.”
==========
Quest: Mana Cultivation 2
==========
The path to cultivating one’s mana is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
==========
Requirements:
Reach Vapor Mana Core
==========
Rewards:
+20 to Mana
+20 to Mana Regeneration
+50,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
Quest: Body Cultivation 4
==========
The path to cultivating one’s body is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
==========
Requirements:
Unlock Body Like Diamond
==========
Rewards:
+24 to Strength
+24 to Agility
+24 to Stamina
+40 to Stamina Regeneration
+100,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
Quest: Bloodline Cultivation 1
==========
The path to cultivating one’s body is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.
=======
===
Requirements:
Unlock your Bloodline
==========
Rewards:
+48 to Strength
+48 to Agility
+48 to Stamina
+80 to Stamina Regeneration
+100,000,000 EXP
==========
==========
Name: Erik West
==========
Level: 60
Race: Human
==========
Titles:
From the Grave II
Blessed By Mana
Dungeon Master IV
Reverse Alchemist
Poison Body
Fire Body
City Lord
Earth Soul
Mana Reborn
Wandering Hero
==========
Strength: (Base 54) +51
1050
==========
Agility: (Base 47) +72
654
==========
Stamina: (Base 57) +25
1230
==========
Mana: (Base 27) +79
1166
==========
Mana Regeneration: (Base 30) +61
73.80/s
==========
Stamina Regeneration: (Base 72) +59
27.20/s
==========
==========
86,796,860/108,500,000 EXP till you reach Level 61
==========
Erik stood and walked back over to the coffeemaker as it filled the pot. “Why not use a sabot sheath” Erik pulled out a cup and poured coffee into it.
He heard Rugrat moving around and writing something down.
Erik took a sip of coffee and turned around. Rugrat looked like the devil possessed.
He took a gulp of his coffee and walked back to the plans Rugrat was throwing together quickly before pulling out a sound transmission device.
Erik smiled into his coffee and moved to his desk. The desks created an angle so they could watch out of their office located at the peak of the Dungeon Core Headquarters.
They had been in the barracks, but the new dungeon headquarters building was the heart of Alva. It was packed with offices and departments, and it was now Erik and Rugrat’s living quarters.
He picked up information books and started to use them. They collapsed into dust as he was updated on everything happening under Alva’s control.
Rugrat got up from his chair. He snatched his cold coffee and drank it down.
“Where you going?”
“I need to head to Vuzgal. I want to talk to Tan Xue and the formation girls. Don’t wait up, hon!”
“I’ll get dinner ready for you, dear!” Erik shot back as Rugrat hurried out of the office. “Check in on Hiao Xen while you’re up there!”
“All right!” Rugrat jumped out of the door.
Erik snorted and went back to drinking his cold coffee and reading his reports.
Who would have thought that a bunch of people from the First Realm would have been able to do all of this? At the beginning, most things had relied on Erik and Rugrat. Now, their actions were just a drop in a sea. Traders across the realms. An Adventurer’s Guild that was more powerful than some sects. A region under their command that could contend with kingdoms. A city that has become a paradise for fighters and crafters in the Fourth Realm.
An advanced military and an information network that reached into the Seventh Realm. A technology sector coming up with new inventions almost every other day. A nation didn’t succeed based off one or two people; it succeeded with the efforts of many people working together.
A proud smile stretched across Erik’s face as he sipped his coffee again.
“Hey there!” Rugrat saw Han Wu and his group waiting outside his and Erik’s office.
“Where now?” Han Wu followed after the jogging Rugrat. The rest of the special team checked their gear, some throwing on their vests and Alvan rip-taping them together.
“Fourth Realm!” Rugrat ran out of the Dungeon Core Headquarters, and a red streak glided down from above. Rugrat jumped onto George’s back as he landed on the ground.
The special team jumped on their own mounts, following him to the Ten Realms’s totem.
Rugrat pulled on a cloak and used a stealth formation that would make people unconsciously look away from George and the group.
“Vuzgal, I am assuming?” Han Wu asked, in the totem menu.
“You got it,” Rugrat said.
Light consumed them and faded away as soon as it had arrived.
Han Wu led the group from Special Team Two as Gong Jin’s second-in-command. Gong Jin was in charge of protecting Erik with his half of the special team.
Han Wu flashed a symbol to the guards; they opened the gates, and the group rushed out.
Rugrat headed right for Vuzgal Academy. “Damn. Julilah is not picking up her sound transmission device.” He tried Tan Xue.
“What is it?” she asked after the second call.
“Where is Julilah?”
“She is teaching a class. I’m working on a project.”
“Thank you!”
Tan Xue hung up with a grunt.
Rugrat called the school and got Julilah’s schedule.
Vuzgal had expanded again, and the mana density had increased. Planters throughout the city were filled with plants that would focus one’s mind and could passively increase the mana density of the surrounding area.
There were massive residences and manors. Mercenary groups and guilds had their own streets; workshops of different crafts were fully employed.
It was ragtag before, the city was just finding its feet, but now after another year, it had developed and matured. Fighters congregated around the Battle Arena. There were stores with weapons or fighting-based supplies. The workshops were surrounded by diverse materials and tool merchants. Auction houses were in the city. Healing and Alchemy houses were close to the gates to the dungeons and around the Battle Arena.
Construction was still ongoing, but it had moved farther out, giving the city less of an unfinished feeling.
Rugrat entered the towering Castle District heading toward the academy. “I didn’t think Vuzgal was as tall when I left,” Rugrat said, slowing his speed.
“They expanded. People came from the Fifth Realm wanting to learn at the academy. Give them a higher chance to get accepted by an academy. Not many places are willing to accept coin for teaching. Most places want their students to swear fealty or join their sect,” Han Wu offered.
“So, things got bigger?”
“Yeah, with an explosion of Experts coming down. There were plenty of Experts walking around. They offered their insights, but they weren’t necessarily the best teachers. A teacher’s school was created so high-level Experts weren’t just lecturing people but helping them to learn. The graduates were impressive, in just a few months nearly everyone advanced a half-step in their skill. Some passed barriers they had been unable to cross previously.”
“How did you get so many experts?” Rugrat asked.
“You’d be surprised how many people need a rare pill or are ostracized because they’re different or need resources to carry out their studies or have complicated health issues. Our people have reached the point to help them without having to bother you or Erik anymore.
“I swear that when I blink, everything changes. Where the hell is this classroom anyway?” Rugrat showed Han Wu a slip of paper with the name of the classroom written down.
“Uh, I don’t know.” Han Wu shrugged. “Davos, do you have any idea?”
“Nah, haven’t seen that one before. Simms, what about you? You go to more classes.”
“Let me take a look.” Simms nudged his mount forward and looked at the paper. “Yeah, I know where that is. Follow me.” Simms led them across the academy campus.
Rugrat took his time to look around. “Taller and bigger," Rugrat said to himself. “Seems like I’m always playin
g catch-up nowadays!”
“You do a lot already, more than the elders, kings, and empresses out there,” Han Wu said.
“I’m barely around, and when I am, I’m working on a project or cultivating.”
“In the Ten Realms, it is not the power of the weakest person in your group that matters but the power of your strongest. In most of the cities and capitals we infiltrated, there is a ruling group or party with one or two powerful members. They are the pillars of the rulers. Their families gather around, devoting everything to increase their Strength and extend their lifespan while trying to raise new powerful members. The gap between the rulers and their subjects is the difference between the Mortal realms and the Earth realms. It maintains stability. The leaders can demand anything because they have the power over their people to do so. Everyone is scared that someone stronger will come from below and take them out. So, they hide their techniques, hoard their resources, and maintain a distance from their subjects,” Han Wu said.
“The strong rule in the Ten Realms.” Rugrat sighed.
“You don’t seem to get it. You and Erik, you’re strong as fuck, dude. I’ve read the reports and led the intelligence teams into the Fifth Realm. If someone reaches the Mist Mana Core stage or the Body Like Iron stage, they’re geniuses in the Earth and Mortal realms. People who have both? As rare as a phoenix feather. Any higher than that, hell, you might only find a few thousand people in the Sixth Realm who meet those standards. The Sixth Realm has a population of several billion.”
Han Wu stopped talking as they passed a group of teachers who stared at them.
“Seems that even fighters are coming to our academy,” one of the teachers whispered to another.
“The atmosphere here is among the best to be found. Even the fighters of the Fourth Realm can learn a thing or two if they have the mana stones!”
They faded away, and Han Wu kept talking.
“Alvans come from across the realms. Most of us were down on our luck. Alva not only gave us refuge but opened a path to the peak. There are competitions, but they will only grow stronger. Instead of creating a gap between everyone, you spend your time increasing your Strength to protect the people of Alva. You develop weapons so we can defend ourselves.”
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 28