Sixth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  “Which means that people of the lower realms while they think they’re useful, they’re expensive and cannot be reused as they don’t know how to put them back together. While higher realm people don’t want to use equipment that will actually hamper their abilities and be weaker than the bows they could use. This design uses more expensive components, but it has the ability to fire repeatedly and its power is enough to kill someone from the Third Realm in a single hit and they are hard for people in the Sixth Realm to dodge. Also, I was able to get this sample, but most of the samples that were on display looking to be sold, they were the heavy repeaters. Only a limited amount of these personal repeaters can be sold. Umm, I also agreed to a contract!” Old Jia laughed at Esther’s expression and continued to eat.

  “What kind of contract?”

  “Oh, one where I am not allowed to fight the people of Vuzgal. That is the stipulation that comes with the contract. Though that’s not the best part!”

  “There’s more?” Esther asked.

  “They built a factory.”

  “What is a factory?” Esther rolled the unfamiliar name over her tongue.

  “It is a place where normal people operate different machines for the purpose of creating one finished item. A factory is capable of creating dozens of repeaters and their bolts in a few hours. The people who are working in the factories, while they do increase their crafting skills, they are novices creating Journeyman level weapons,” Old Jia put down his bowl, patting his beard and mustache, his eyes focused and the air around him completely changed.

  “That is an incredible capacity,” Esther nodded. “Though really Journeyman weapons?”

  “They have a group of crafters that focus on refining the raw materials, they are fed into the factory, then they are turned into different parts and assembled together, checked at the end and readied for combat. This is their true strength.”

  “How so?” Esther asked.

  “They can make hundreds of weapons in a day and thousands of bolts. Even if their crafters were all killed, then people could man this factory and still produce powerful weapons. What if they found out how to create an Expert level weapon through novices? Think if a novice could create your silver long rifle and not just one of them, but tens of them in a day?” Old Jia asked.

  “They would have a lot of weapons though they wouldn’t be able to use their full strength,” Esther said.

  “You’ve seen their military, the people that were at the competition making sure that nothing happened to the people there. You saw them breaking up fights between people from the Sixth Realm, what if you were to arm them with your rifle?”

  “Their bodies and mana is strong and they carry artifacts that make it hard to see their cultivation and level, but they are a powerful and growing force,” Esther admitted.

  “And they are well-armed, you have seen some of the new weapons they use. They call them rifles, and,” Old Jia pulled out a cartridge case and smelled the opening. “They have gunpowder.”

  Old Jia passed the cartridge to her.

  She looked it over and then smelled the opening, the smell was faint and nothing like the black or grey smoke that came from the weapons of the Sha Clan’s army.

  It was different but it came from the same family.

  “I see you’ve got more questions than answers,” Old Jia smiled as she looked at the cartridge and at him.

  Esther was the leader of the excursion but she looked to Old Jia directly.

  “What should I do?”

  “I think that we are not as sly as we think, there is an information-gathering group in Vuzgal and I feel that they know of us at the very least.”

  “What?”

  “Yes I was surprised as well, but I have noticed that there are people paying attention to me as I move. With my senses and my stealth techniques I feel like I’m being poked at by a dozen spears all the time, but they’re hidden in needles!” Old Jia grabbed his chopsticks and snatched a delicacy from the table.

  “So we should give them the letter and head back to the Seventh Realm. My cultivation is starting to drop and while it is tasty down here there are many delicacies that the Marshall brought from France,” Old Jia bit into the delicacy as the outside crunched and the inside fell apart.

  “We have found evidence that there is someone else behind Vuzgal, the City Lords are always missing and half of their military marched out through the totem a few months ago. Where they came from is a mystery and they have established themselves as a local power in record time. Do you think that one of them is a Dungeon Master? The dungeons here and the dungeons that appeared in the other locations seem coincidental,” Esther pondered.

  “They might,” Old Jia shrugged. “Is that such a big thing? There are dungeon master sects in all of the Sky Realms.”

  “Though can we really hand over the letter?” Esther asked

  “The letter in and of itself is a test to see if they will be able to reach the Seventh Realm and contact the Marshall. We can see that they have weapons that are related to our own. So it looks like our secrets didn’t leak. Though if they will be able to make it into the Seventh Realm by themselves that is the real test. We need allies and people who have a certain level of power. If their leaders can get to the Seventh Realm then it will be a long time until the rest of their people are able to reach that level. Leaders get the best resources and conditions, they are the leader of the group and must have a refined and powerful aura.” Old Jia said.

  “The Ten Realms only recognizes power,” Esther said. “Finish up your meal I will head to the Blue Lotus.”

  “Why?”

  “Vuzgal is a place of the Fourth Realm, they don’t know people of the Seventh Realm. The Acting City Lord is a man of the Blue Lotus. They will know who I am and be able to get me a meeting with Hiao Xen. There are many people that are seeking him out and looking to cooperate, but there are not many that are able to see him. I need someone to vouch for me,” Esther gritted her teeth.

  “Hah, looks like it is one place that even you can’t barge into!”

  “Who said that?” Esther said.

  “You’ve felt it too. Vuzgal is an iceberg, there is much more hidden and unknown about the people here. If you charged the castle I don’t think that you would get past the first few series of gates, they do employ Expert crafters with ease.” Old Jia left his words in the air and dug into the food in front of him.

  Esther cooled her mind, and thought through it with a snort she checked her weapons and pulling her cloak tight, she headed out of the room, opening the door.

  “Could you get the waitress to come back? I have some more items I want to order!” Old Jia called.

  Esther rolled her eyes and sighed.

  “You’re paying for it!” Esther yelled back as she left with two of the guards that were waiting outside the doors.

  She pressed a panel next to the door to call the waitress.

  They headed out to the ‘elevator’ lifting platforms that took people up and down the Sky Reaching Restaurant.

  She marched over to the Blue Lotus and up to the main desk. With a medallion and a quick word to the attendant she was quickly guided to the branch head’s office, a woman was waiting for her there.

  “Hello. I am the head of this Vuzgal Blue Lotus location, Nadia Shriver. How can I help you today, Miss Leblanc?” The woman asked, guiding her to a seat.

  A female guard poured tea for the two of them.

  Esther’s eyes raked her armor.

  Dangerous. Lower level, but definitely powerful enough to be the personal guard of a Fourth Realm Branch Head.

  Memories appeared from her time in the Fourth Realm as she smelled the tea.

  “Seventh divine recovery tea?” Esther asked, feeling her mana channels moaning in desire.

  “Please,” Nadia said.

  Esther took a cup and took a sip. Power seemed to drop into her stomach as it ran through her mana channels. Her core that was constantly
under pressure, relaxed some as the mana imbalance between the inside of her body and externally was largely balanced.

  She let out a satisfied sigh and took another deep drink.

  Nadia took a cup herself and sipped it lightly, bringing a flush to her cheeks.

  “Thank you,” Esther said, the tea was a rarely-found delicacy in the lower realms and it was a peak level item in the Seventh Realm.

  “I would like you to introduce me to Hiao Xen I have a message to give to him,” Esther said.

  Nadia and her guard’s expression focused in on Esther, she kept her expression neutral suppressing her interest.

  “For which reason?” Nadia asked with a smile as she put down the cup, she had only been able to consume a little of the tea, it was too powerful for her body.

  They want to know if I mean to attack them and they seem to disapprove. Interesting.

  “I just wish to pass him on a letter, I didn’t want to have to fight to the front of the castle,” Esther said.

  “Very well, I can organize that,” Nadia smiled but it slipped slightly as she leaned forward.

  Esther did as well.

  “Though I must remind you that he is still a person of my Blue Lotus and the City Lord’s personal friend. My superior head of the Fourth Realm Blue Lotus operations pays close attention to the happenings in Vuzgal,” Nadia leaned back with the same simple smile.

  I heard that Vuzgal assisted the Crafters’ Association and the Blue Lotus. I thought that it was over-exaggerated, but it must not have been.

  “I only wish to talk,” Esther smiled.

  Ten minutes later she was in front of a large office door, it opened to reveal a man who was reviewing notes.

  He looked up from his work, his eyes sharpening as he saw Esther. A formation activated and covered his desk, hiding what he was working on.

  Hello, my name is Hiao Xen. I am the acting City Leader of Vuzgal. I understand you are Esther Leblanc, the envoy of the Marshal Dujardin of the Sha Clans,” he said with a smile as he bowed his head slightly and indicated to the couch.

  “Shall we talk?” His voice was light, but his eyes were focused and there was steel in his words.

  Interesting, a person from the Blue Lotus working in a city. Just what kind of people are these city Lords? And he is defensive of his position and the people commanding him instead of angry.

  “I just have something that I want to pass on to your city lords, from the Marshall, nothing to be worried about, but an invitation and a test if you will,” Esther pulled out the letter that her Uncle had given her nearly three months ago.

  She didn’t miss the interest in Hiao Xen’s eyes as he received her letter.

  “I will make sure to pass it on.”

  “Very well,” Esther stood back up.

  “It was interesting seeing Vuzgal, I hope that you are able to reach the Seventh Realm soon,” Esther realized that she meant most of her words, dealing with the Black Phoenix Sect they were up against a wall, they needed people on their side. The Sha Clans as all clans and sects kept their information closely guarded. If the people form Vuzgal were able to reach them, then they might have more people that they could bring into their secrets in return for their loyalty, increasing the strength they could deploy against their enemies.

  She turned and left as Hiao Xen stood, unable to see her out as she marched off.

  Chapter: Dungeon Overflow

  Alarms went off as Storbon was working. He stood up and looked over to the rest of the team as well as Erik, Rugrat was off working in a smithy, training.

  “A Dungeon overflow,” one of the waiting patients said in a terrified voice. Quickly others started to disperse and head in different directions.

  “What is a dungeon overflow?” Storbon asked, catching one of the patients.

  “Out here in the outreaches sometimes the monsters in the surrounding area haven’t been killed off in great enough numbers, their numbers grow rapidly with timeuntil there are too many for one area. The beasts force others out of place or are moved out of place. At that time a few beasts or even a beast tide can be formed. Some are drawn to the cities by the higher concentration of mana, or it might just be a random mistake!”

  “What will happen?” Storbon asked. Scenes from the beast waves that had slammed into Alva passed through his mind.

  The guards will stand on the walls and guard us against the dungeon overflow, while all of the people will work together to support them.”

  A group of guards was rushing down the road.

  “Make a path!” A woman in the lead yelled as people moved to the sides.

  Hers and the other guards armor was simple and well worn. On their faces the guards had different kinds of expressions, from fear to determination.

  The woman stopped in front of Storbon as the rest of his people started to come out of the tent.

  “You and your healer friends, we ask you to assist us in defending the wall,” the woman said.

  “To fight on the wall?” Storbon asked.

  “No, to assist at the aid station if there are any wounded,” the woman said.

  Storbon looked to Erik who nodded.

  “Alright, lead the way,” Storbon said.

  The woman and her guards led the way through the small town. They reached a market square that had been bustling just a number of minutes ago. The vendors were all clearing their items away as the guards put down beds and food supplies, creating an ad-hoc secondary base.

  “Set up where you want. The wounded will be brought to you for treatment. You will be paid according to the city’s rates in a time of defense. If you are found to not perform your best or you flee your post then an open bounty will be placed on your heads within the city and passed to the academies,” she rested her hand on her blade as Storbon felt the air chill around him.

  He could see as smithies were opening their doors and preparing to receive equipment to repair as needed.

  “You don’t need to worry about us,” Storbon said.

  The woman looked them over and then turned with her group and hurried off, sending them off to different places.

  “Alright, set up a field hospital,” Erik said. They cleared an area, moving the stalls back, They used some of them as counters, and got cots and stretchers out. Another alarm rang out as guards who had been around the city rushed to the walls. The people hid in their homes and waited.

  Rugrat appeared at one time, waving to them and heading into the smithy. Tian Cui went with him as everyone else gathered in the field hospital.

  “I need two people to come to the wall with me,” the female guard yelled and looked at the group.

  Storbon stepped forward and Erik was right behind him.

  Storbon held back his words as the woman turned and started running. Storbon shot Erik a look but the other man simply smiled.

  Storbon snorted and a glimmer of a smile appeared on his own face, being next to Erik he felt confident. Erik was the person that had changed his entire life, he would lay down his life for the other man in a moment, A part of him, since that time so long ago, had always wanted to prove himself to the other man.

  They followed the guard to the wall, both of them were wearing their armor plates under their clothes, it made them look bulky and weird but no one cared.

  They ran up the stone steps to the top of the wall, there were guards all across the wall. They had readied mana that rested atop the walls, archers were readying their bows, mages their magic.

  Storbon looked out over the walls, the ground was dusty beyond the walls. The road was well worn leading up to the gates. Trees, withered and twisted in the Dungeon’s environment stuck up, being lower than the walls they could see over the rolling forest. Flying creatures were fleeing from their positions as a faint but growing thunder could be heard.

  It grew quickly as the commanders readied themselves.

  “Everyone is on the walls, but the commanders are determined by their strength, not their
ability,” Erik said next to Storbon in a way that no one else could hear them.

  Storbon looked around, the guards were all ready, but they weren’t truly organized in a real sense.

  “Here they come!” Someone yelled as they could see the trees near the edge of the open ground start to shake.

  Archers and mages prepared themselves.

  Fleeting shadows moved in the dim light underneath the trees.

  Then in a rush a black cloud of animals shot out from underneath the trees.

  Upon seeing the wall some started to veer away, others, a group of leopard-like creatures with large flaps upon the sides of their bodies, started to gather light on their three horns.

  “Fire!”

  Mages and Archers fired but it was disjointed, some of the mages and archers waited to get a clean shot at the enemy, making sure that no one else would get a portion of their experience.

  Storbon watched as the groups were gathered together but they worked for themselves. Every kill or assist they could get was more experience for them to level up with.

  “Leave the mid-level beasts to me!” One of the more advanced mages yelled as she pushed out her spell, twin whips of dirt shot out, tossing low-level beasts and piercing two beasts who were in the mid-Fifties.

  “They are trying to kill the higher level beasts first to increase their experience gain,” Erik said.

  “Their coordination is off. They’re wasting their effort trying to take kills from one another,” Storbon said in disapproval.

  “The more kills one gets of the higher level animals, the greater the rewards the academy will give them and the faster they will grow,” Erik said. “This is the path of warriors, not soldiers.”

  A few of the glowing horn beasts let out a blast.

  They shot out a yellow and blue blast that hit the wall, sending up dust as people cried out.

  Mana cannons rumbled, firing blue balls of mana into the beasts.