People clapped their hands in excitement as Jia Feng raised a hand, calming them down.
We did the same reaching the Journeyman stage, now we’ll tackle the Expert realm and beyond. Working together we can study all kinds of theories and ideas. There is not one single path to reach these higher levels, there are hundreds!
"Forty-three crafters have graduated the new teacher program. The best teachers are not the people who are the best in their given skill, but those that can open their student’s minds. Making the difficult, easy to understand. For every complete formation, potion, and meal, there are dozens that didn’t work out. When making something new, there are hundreds of prototypes and failures. Perseverance is the basis of our teachings. Eighty percent of Alvans have attended our academy. Though I think the greatest accomplishment is how many children that have completed the basic education courses. In Alva and Vuzgal we have taught thousands of children raising a number of them to the novice level in different crafts and opening a world of possibilities to them!"
The teachers and heads of different departments looked to one another with fierce pride, sitting taller in their seats.
They are more skilled than most adults in the lower realms. They are the future of Alva. What will happen as they enter the advanced courses, reaching Apprentice, Journeyman and beyond? There is competition between one another here but there is little for personal gain, our greatest pride comes from helping others become more powerful. I had to alter the directions passed down by Erik and Rugrat a bit. Teachers not only have to be good at their craft, they need to be good teachers as well that look out for their students before their personal gains. There were people that were really good at their craft but they didn't care for their students which created an imbalance as they did the bare minimum and took in all the resources possible to progress their own power above others. We also added more assistants to help in the day to day management of the departments and more teachers to help meet the needs of our students. There will be more changes in the future so we can help the most people but we are on the right path I feel. Nothing is perfect and we should change and adapt instead of becoming rigid and unbendable like the sects, lest we might snap in two!
"I just finished talking to Matt Richardson who is working on our arena for the upcoming crafters competition!"
Her words sharpened the eyes of everyone.
"The stadium will be complete as well as all seven arenas for each department. Have you figured out how the competition will be run in each of your departments?"
She looked around at the nods.
"Okay, then we'll go department by department to review them all," Jia Feng looked to Taran.
"For smithing our main competition will have two phases. In the first people will need to create an item. Their ability with picking materials, refining the materials and turning them into products will be all graded. In the second part then people will be given a broken item and random materials, they will need to repair the item," Taran looked to Senior Alchemist department head Fehim. There were senior and Junior department heads, the members in Alva were the Senior department heads most of their abilities were on par or higher than those in Vuzgal and their advances were faster than people in Vuzgal.
"We will have some different competitions, a general growing competition will be hosted with the alchemists and farmers in mind, as well as harvesting methods. The main competitions will be to craft, powders, potions and pills. They will all be working with our standard ingredients and alchemy equipment. It will test how well they can adjust. Points will be given based on time and quality. The next trial they will have to grow and harvest their own alchemical plants from supplies we provide and then create whatever powerful concoction they desire."
Jia Feng looked at Nida Saldyte, she was the leader of the Cooking department in Alva as Jia Feng had too much to do that she could only give a few lectures to the students.
"With cooking we will have trials for people to pick out ingredients, then use them to create different foods. We will have whole meals, to just deserts, creating one plate and enough servings for thirty people," Nida bobbed her head.
"Select materials, and create different kinds of clothing, from armors and specialty materials, to regular shirts and pants. We will also have popularity contests afterwards to decide the current styles and interests in Alva," Zhou Heng said lightly.
Zhou Heng makes it sound easy, but one of the hardest working departments is the tailors, they have the most Experts as well. Creating the carriers, the different gear that the military needs, to hold their armor, to add in stealth formations to hide in the forest, or to keep them warm in the winter and dry in the rain. Even boots socks and underwear is all made by them!
Shi Wanshu cleared his throat before he spoke up.
"Again, picking out the best materials to create different items. Also we will be having a growing competition, based on tree-modification methods that have started to appear within the woodworkers."
"Tree modification?" Taran asked.
"It happened after some of the wood crafters and farmers and alchemy plant cultivators started talking. It is based on the idea that we can use the tree as the building material, not just the planks. That way we grow the trees, to create different items, they could grow to create a house or building say."
"And all it would require is right nutrition and maybe it could grow buds that give off light in the night, if it is damaged a little growing spell and it would be repaired. If you want to expand then you just grow the tree more into the new shape," Fehim added. "We were wondering which department to put it under, it is a new field of study, but we felt that it would be best under the woodworking."
"Interesting," Taran said stroking his beard furiously an excited light in his eyes.
It could open up a whole new way to build things. Jia Feng looked at Fehim and Shi Wanshu who were smiling at one another.
"I look forward to seeing the results!" She said and looked to Qin Silaz.
"We will have two competitions, formation fighting, having formations fight against one another and formation building. Based on materials that they are given the formation masters must create a powerful formation."
She looked to Jen who radiated a confidence that was as deep as an ocean. She didn't spend much time in Alva or Vuzgal academies, most of her time was spent in the different healing houses teaching people hands on skills of healing. She had dealt with all kinds of situations day in and out. Her confidence came from her ability which was unmatched by anyone other than Erik. Even Erik saw her as someone on the same level or higher. She dedicated everything to healing. She had written a number of books on the subjects of anatomy and healing principles. Expanding upon the information that Erik had come up with and adding greater depth as it relates to the Ten Realms.
"Testing for healing will be hard, there is a written portion to test competitors general knowledge. A medical trial will examine different cases, ranging from easy to hard. They will have to show on a dummy what they would do and explain their actions."
Healing competitions in the Ten Realms were some of the worst. They would wound people and beasts, using them as unwilling patients to show off their abilities. They didn't care for the patient, worrying more about their performance. If things went well, they would look good in front of their peers. For the patient, their lives were on the line. No one in the healing department would dare to do that. They had all sworn the Hippocratic oath to the Ten Realms.
Tan Xue raised her hand.
Jia Feng indicated for her to speak.
"With the competition there are a number of Alvans in Vuzgal that want to compete, we have talked about it before but it will be hard to hide their participation, I think that the only way to do this is to shorten the competition time."
The other department heads grimaced.
"Keeping Alva's secret is our biggest shield," Jia Feng said, stopping the dissatisfied noises from the crowd. "For this compe
tition it will last four days. Make sure that everything is prepared. In the future, we will run our own internal competitions on a craft by craft basis. We will also run an open competition in Vuzgal where everyone can compete openly. This is to satisfy our people's want for competition right now. In a year we will host the largest competition that the Fourth Realm has seen and all of our people can compete! Let us use this as a test of our own abilities and show the people of Alva the strength of our crafters!"
Chapter: To Retake the Water Floor
Shi Wanshu, the head of the Alvan Woodworking Department, personally greeted Glosil as he arrived at the ‘shipyard’.
“How are things going?” Glosil asked.
“The boats you have requested will be complete in another month, all of them are powered by formations so that you will not need to learn how to use sails to move through the water. The main wheel and command formations are at the front of the ship instead of the rear. Under the cover of the forward defensive pyramid.”
The hull of the ship came up to meet three flattened pyramids on top of the ship. Two shorter ones at the front and rear with a larger pyramid in the middle.
“Each of them has amplification formations to increase the power of the spells that you use. Detection formations cover the hull so you will know what is underneath you. Each of them is armed with swivel mounted cannons and repeaters. The outer doors can be opened and closed, covering people as they reload. You can create mana barriers around the ship, though you can’t wrap it around the underside of the hull. It would literally be fighting against the water the entire time. Would just burn through mana stones.”
“So if we get attacked from below?”
“Run like hell for the shore, we focused on speed with these, it should only take a few hours to cross the water floor.”
“Biggest floor we have,” Glosil said as he looked at the shipyard.
They were on the Wood floor, with Davin’s work and Egbert bringing the main command formation back online, they had taken the floor with relative ease. There were still formation masters that were out there, working to repair the formations that had been damaged by the floor’s inhabitants.
The woodworking crafters of Alva had practically taken over the floor, with the different kinds of trees they were able to build up a fleet for Glosil that would allow him to take the Water floor.
“It’s the last one,” Shi Wanshu said. “I doubted that we would be able to take more than just the main floor. I once thought that the other floors were just a dream.”
“Well, seeing is believing,” Glosil said.
“Never seen an ocean, some really large lakes, but never an ocean,” Shi Wanshu said.
“There is plenty to see out there Wanshu. You should take the totem and explore once in awhile.”
“I will, but for now there are too many exciting things that I might miss if I were away,” Shi Wanshu laughed.
“Yeah, and plenty of work,” Glosil said.
He looked at the ships, the ground had been carved out and scaffolding made around the ships as wood was cut down, processed and adhered to the ship. The ships looked like a single piece of wood. Each piece fitted to one another so that they were stronger together.
Formation masters had carved into the sides of the ships, the runes and magical circles surged with power, carving up the hull and over the pyramid upper deck.
They were blocky and ugly, functional and deadly. Each could carry a complete platoon. They had commissioned seven ships in total, one for each of the platoons that made up Domonos’ Dragon Company, two more in case of emergency or if they needed further support.
With the Alva Academy and Council’s full support, the ships were coming together faster than he thought they would.
He saw people opening and closing the doors. There were heavy cannons stuck on large wheels: the swivel mana cannons and the old faithful repeaters.
“I heard you got some of the new belt fed grenade launchers?”
“Yeah, basically the top of the chambers that hold the grenades have been cut off. There is a system that pulls on the link and as long as you have more belt you can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, no automatic firing function yet. I heard that some people were working on grenades that you could drop overboard, they’d sink and then explode when striking their target?”
“Yeah, depth charges. Rugrat made notes on them. I read up everything he has on naval amphibious warfare and general knowledge about naval warfare,” Glosil said.
“We put in doors where the pyramids meet the hull where you can hurl out depth charges, embark and disembark.”
“Well that will come in handy and give us something to hit anything trying to hit us from underneath. I’m really hoping that nothing does attack us.”
“That is your area of expertise Commander,” Shi Wanshu smiled. “I’m just looking to get you there.”
Chapter: Into The Acal Catacombs
The group was standing outside of a large building. It looked like a castle that had been inverted and had walkways on the outside facing in.
There wasn’t much traffic in the area and the buildings were looking rough, signs of fighting could be seen around the defensive building.
“Just like totem security,” Yuli said.
“Everyone good?” Storbon asked.
Everyone checked their gear and looked in their storage rings.
Once they had all checked, Storbon looked to Erik and Rugrat.
They walked to the large gate and found a guard.
“Forty Earth mana stones a person,” the guard said.
They paid the fee and he waved to another team and they started to raise the second gate. It rose up and they could see inside the defense, the ground was cracked stone and there was a set of stairs that led down into the ground looking like some beast’s maw ready to eat those that entered.
They kept their cloaks on and pulled on their open faced helmets as they watched the hole.
Each of them took out their mounts. George and Gilly were wearing full body covering armor as were all the beasts of the special team. Everyone but Erik pulled out a heavy dual repeater and mounted it on the back of their mount, checking the weapon worked.
Gilly was like a T-rex if he put a repeater on her back he would just be shooting her in the neck.
The guards watched as they finished their preparations pointng at different things but unfazed. People used all kinds of different gear and it was a way for them to pass the time.
Erik and Rugrat looked at one another grinning.
Erik checked back on the rest of the group, Yao Meng was the last to mount up and grab his reins.
“Move out!” Gilly let out a screech, rearing back before she charged forward, George ran after her and the special team cursed as they followed their charges down into the dungeon.
Once they were away from the surface they pulled off their cloaks revealing their carriers and weapons. Their fully enclosed and upgraded armor would draw attention and they wanted to stay under the radar for as long as possible
Erik used Night Vision on himself, but Gilly could see through the dark just fine.
Gilly sniffed the air, her senses creating an understanding of the area around them.
They slowed their pace as the end of the stairs were in sight. Gilly entered the room at a slow gait, looking around and snuffling the air. George was doing the same as Rugrat was cradling his rifle with one arm and holding onto his handholds with the other.
The rest of the group joined them. The opening looked nothing more than a rough cave that had been worn away by nature. Creatures that were living in the different nooks and crannies took off, too small to be a problem.
There were some glowing plants here and there as well as shattered pillars and items that looked like they belonged to the building’s above.
“Looks like there are roving bands of creatures around here,” Rugrat said.
“Gilly thinks the same thing. Sho
uld we head in the direction of Kuldir Outpost?” Erik asked.
“Looks like that way, a few twists, and turns,” Rugrat said, as he checked his map marker for the outpost and the paths to it. He took a few moments before pointing at one of the three tunnels that was before them.
Each of the ‘tunnels’ was large enough for four carts to pass through easily.
“I’ll take point,” Storbon said.
They moved forward and into the tunnel, Rugrat guided them through.
Gilly came up short after some time and sniffed the air, her tongue shooting out to touch it. An alarm seemed to go off in her head.
“Watch out!” Erik said through the communication net. Everyone moved apart, ready to react.
A roar came from up ahead, it seemed that the enemy had smelled them, too.
They were in a large tunnel just before an intersection of other tunnels that were all haphazardly running off at odd angles, going up and down without reason.
There were two tunnels connected to theirs: one that went left and snaked around and another right ahead that rose up and then back down, making it impossible to see beyond.
“Straight ahead,” Erik said, trusting in Gilly’s senses.
“Hold off on the grenades, too close quarters,” Storbon said as he got down low and primed his dual repeater.
The others staggered their positioning aiming their repeaters at the rising tunnel. Erik grabbed his rifle and Gilly lowered herself, shaking her body as the mana around her increased in density.
The heat around George was retracted as his fur started to show blue lights at their base and blue flames danced in his eyes and his mouth.
The ground started to shake as their enemy was revealed.
Orcs! The large humanoid creatures could use simple tools and some could even cast limited magic. They ran at Erik and the others, their eyes shining red as their speed increased.
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