Sixth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  It was midday and there were still more trading caravans he could see coming in from the distance, or were circling around the large walls that protected King’s Hill.

  He came to a pause next to one of Aditya’s servant girls.

  “Nice day for a stroll, miss?” Pan Kun said in a respectful voice.

  “Looks like you’ve come for the show as well?” The servant girl was unremarkable, straw-like hair, simple clothes, and slightly tanned skin. She looked just enough different that someone wouldn’t take her for Evernight.

  “I have my orders, I think you made them after all,” Pan Kun said.

  Evernight smiled slightly and kept on watching over the wall, a bored girl just wasting her time off.

  “I hear that the Beast Mountain Sect will open their doors in a week or two,” Pan Kun said. “There are already hundreds of people from the area that are looking to join. Seems that someone leaked what kind of resources that they will have and just who will be leading it.”

  “I also heard a rumor that people who perform well in the sect could earn positions in the military as well.”

  “Well, there are always more people creating trouble out there,” Evernight said.

  “And there are plenty of recruiting offers for my people to take,” Pan Kun said with a wry smile.

  “You’ve seen their training facilities and just how powerful they are, if you were given a chance in the future?” Evernight asked.

  Pan Kun thought of what he had seen in Alva, the men, and women that walked in the streets stronger than him but they were just farmers or crafters.

  He remembered seeing the Alva Army training, advancing and shooting, creating a wall of bullets as they charged forward across smoke and destruction.

  Pan Kun felt his heartbeat increase in speed before guilt intruded and he looked to the headquarters of King’s Hill.

  “I feel like I would be betraying my friend,” Pan Kun said.

  “I understand, but be aware that if you increase your power much more than were you’re going to need a new charm to cover it. It looks like they’re nearly here.”

  Pan Kun looked down the road, he squinted and used an enhancing spell. He saw a group of ragged people moving towards the city gates. There were just a handful of mounts for the entire group. Their armor was covered in scratches and dried blood, a savage air surrounded them as they pushed forward.

  “What happened?”

  “Thankfully, they didn’t contract any of our people to help them. Seems like they might have encountered a few enraged beasts along their travels,” Evernight shrugged.

  Pan Kun felt a chill in his bones. Alva’s fighting power is scary, but it is nowhere as terrifying as their intelligence department. If they choose to strike then their enemy might not even know who they are actually fighting.

  The group didn’t take too long to reach the gate.

  When they did, they tried to push ahead of people. Guards moved out to maintain order.

  “Time to put on a show, Major General Pan Kun.” Evernight’s words drifted to his ears as she left the wall. Reminding him of his recent promotion. As the Beast Mountain Range Army grew, so did his rank.

  Now I command the forces of half the outpost leaders guards. How the hell did this happen? Guess I need to earn my pay once and a while. I wonder what will happen.

  Pan Kun looked at the approaching group from the Shikoshi Kingdom.

  ***

  “You dare to block my way? I am on an official mission from King Ikku!” Lord Salyn roared as the guards blocked their path around.

  “Please wait in the line and you will soon enter King’s Hill. The auction is due to start in a few hours, you will only slow down yourself and others entering the city if you continue,” a guard leader said in a firm voice, not affected by Salyn’s tirade.

  He had been able to hold himself back at the outpost, but after spending over a week pushing through the road connecting the outpost to King’s Hill and running into multiple powerful beasts that had killed fifteen of his men and nearly all of his remaining mounts. He was at wit’s end.

  “Move aside or deal with the wrath of the Shikoshi Kingdom!”

  “You dare to make us of the Kireu Kingdom move aside for your empire?” a voice yelled from inside a carriage ahead of Salyn.

  Salyn was stunned for a moment. He stared at the carriage as it wore the crest of the Ravenclaw family, one of the highest-ranked noble families in the Kireu Kingdom.

  It is just some young master boasting. There is no way a powerful member of the Ravenclaw family would be in a place like this!

  “Do you dare to show your face? Insulting an Envoy of the Shikoshi family is not something a young master should do. Did your father not teach you better?”

  “Father?” The voice snapped as the door was thrown open. A man with an aura of a sword opened the door. He was completely bald a fine-combed beard hung down as he glared at Lord Salyn who felt the hairs on the back of his head raise as his face went pale.

  “Lord Raven,” he choked out seeing the Raven Clan leader standing there as his guards stepped forward, they no longer hid their aura but let it flow out, revealing their power of the Fifteenth level!

  “Lord Salyn! Do you think that my Kireu Kingdom is an easy push over? Who gave you the guts to question someone from the Ravenclaw clan?” Lord Raven demanded.

  Lord Salyn quickly dismounted from his mount and cupped his fists. The Kireu Kingdom was three times the size of the Shikoshi Kingdom and they had many more elite fighters, sects and powerful resources under their control. The Shikoshi Kingdom to them was just a few cities working together while they were a nation of a dozen or so cities and hundreds of towns and villages.

  “I was greatly mistaken! I-“

  “I do not have time to deal with you Lord Salyn, nor do I desire to. Though There are many esteemed people ahead of you. Do not try to jump over your own head!” Lord Raven growled and slammed the door of his carriage shut.

  Lord Salyn shivered as he felt the flowing auras that appeared and then disappeared within the crowd as if to agree with Lord Raven without giving away who they were or where they were in the line.

  Just what is happening to bring so many experts here?

  Lord Salyn and his group kept quiet as they waited in the line, it moved quickly the guards taking their money, and letting them pass.

  Salyn looked over the wares that were for sale. There were traders everywhere, there were people wandering with refreshments for sale, stalls had been set up to sell different items. People were pressed in together as the streets were reduced to foot traffic there were so many people.

  We are in the middle of the treacherous Beast Mountain Range, all of the people here are strong enough to make a kingdom try to actively pull them to their side. These items.

  He studied the weapons, armor, resources, textiles, all of them were of the highest quality, reaching mid apprentice level, it had to be known that only nobles were able to get regular access to mid apprentice-level items. Here they were as common as stones. There were even high apprentice-level items being sold in some of the stores.

  Since he had run into Lord Raven Salyn was looking more at the people that were browsing the different wares. Nobles and powerful figures from several different kingdoms that Salyn knew of were there.

  “There is a tea house up ahead to stay at,” Drev said.

  “Check on the situation of King’s Hill, and find out just where those rats are,” Salyn shot a look at Drev and then dragged himself over to a table. One of the guards ordered for him as he sat back, looking at all the movement around him. He couldn’t help but overhear a conversation just a few tables away.

  “I heard that all of the tickets for the main auction has been sold already. Three gold a ticket and they’re already gone! People sure have money to burn!” Someone was saying to their friend as they admired all of the action in the city.

  “That is nothing! I heard that there are thre
e other auctions that were started up as there were so many goods people wanted to sell or trade. The secondary bartering auction was removed from the main auction and there is an entire building just dedicated to people who want to barter their goods or services.”

  “That might be interesting for many people but how many auctions can you find in the First Realm that boast genuine Journeyman level equipment?”

  “Damn I thought that was gear that the outpost leaders are keeping to themselves!”

  “It’s the alliance council you know how they’re all working together.”

  “Alliance my ass, Lord Aditya controls the Beast Mountain Range. Should have done this years ago! Why are they selling such precious gear? Aren’t they afraid that the outsiders are going to turn around and use it on us?”

  “If they’re willing to sell it, doesn’t it mean that it isn’t as useful for them and that they’re keeping the best gear for themselves?” The other man laughed as he drank his tea.

  Salyn was brought out of his eavesdropping as his tea arrived. He dismissed the server and took the cup, letting it cool before he took a sip.

  He appreciated the tea, letting it settle his nerves as he glanced out at King’s Hill.

  “It looks more like a city than an outpost. Their fighting force is strong and they are able to pull out all of these people from their kingdoms just for some kind of auction,” Salyn clicked his tongue as he talked to himself in a low voice.

  It took a few hours and a meal later before Drev returned.

  He came in with a tired expression, twisting Lord Salyn’s stomach.

  “The groups that made it here, arrived a few days ago and immediately headed off in different directions. None of them took the same route,” Drev said.

  Salyn let out a sigh and tapped his finger on the desk.

  If the Empress finds out that I even hesitated for a moment, then she’ll be coming for my head.

  Salyn felt the aches and pains from the past few days of hard riding.

  “Make sure that everyone gets a meal in them. See if there is an apothecary in the city to heal our people and stables we can buy mounts from.”

  “Thank you sir,” Even Drev the hard man was moved.

  “We will only have the day, we will have to leave as soon as we have supplies,” Salyn looked at Drev with deep meaning.

  “Yes sir, I’ll do my best to expedite supplies, I won’t be done until,” Drev gauged Lord Salyn’s mood.

  “Midday tomorrow?”

  “Too late, we must push on faster for the Empress!” Salyn said righteously.

  “Early morning?” Drev asked.

  “Well, if that is the best you can do there is nothing my yelling at you can do.”

  Good man, it was right bringing him on this mission.

  “As for the apothecary, there is no need for it, there is a healing house here.”

  “A healing house all the way out here? They are a luxury that only the nobles can pay for in the large capitals and important cities.”

  “No really sir, they’re real healers too, spells and all. Called the Alva Healing house, they serve the mercenaries, the general people. I talked to some guards of different nobles, they went there to see if it was worth anything. They don’t charge much but they healed the guards up completely!”

  “What was it called?” Salyn asked, feeling cold sweat on his back.

  “Alva healing house,” Drev said, confused by Salyn’s reaction.

  Alva healing house, isn’t the name a bit too similar to Alva? If the Empress knew that I was raising my own village she’d cut me down. I hoped that the beast tide would just wipe them off of the map. There wasn’t anything left of them. We’d just broken ground on the mine that they were to support, how did I know it would create a beast tide that swept over the land?

  “When was it created?” Salyn asked.

  “It started three, four years ago, in Vermire, an outpost under the control of Lord Aditya. He is the head of King’s Hill and the leader of the Beast Mountain Range Alliance. He’s the ruler around here.”

  They were just simple farmers, nobodies, how is it possible they became healers? I’m thinking about it too much. Right?

  “Lord Salyn?” Drev asked as Salyn realized he had been quiet for a while.

  “Get the men ready to move, I’m going to look around,” Salyn said.

  Drev bowed and Salyn left the tea house, his two personal guards followed him.

  “Find where this Alva healing house is,” Salyn hissed to one of them.

  They ran off as Salyn wandered the city, apparently taking in the sights, meanwhile he was scanning for any of the Alvans he knew the appearance of.

  “Lord, I have found its location. Do you think it is those Alvans?” the guard asked.

  “Best to check and make sure, take us there.”

  ***

  Salyn was in an alleyway, watching the Alva Healing House. He’d seen severely wounded people being brought in from outside the city. Being in the heart of the Beast Mountain Range, some of the strongest beasts roamed the area. It was easy to be critically or even fatally wounded if one made a simple mistake.

  Salyn’s guard entered the alleyway, they were wearing cloaks to hide their identities.

  The three men stood there and watched as a young boy went up to the front of the healing house. Healers were assessing the wounded and those waiting.

  “Look there’s Blaze and Elise!” the boy yelled out.

  Salyn’s eyes were locked onto the healers as they turned to where the boy was and looked at where he was looking. The boy ran off and the healers looked around, searching for ‘Elise and Blaze’.

  They frowned, looked to one another and then went back to work.

  An official-looking lady stepped out, looked around and then headed back inside.

  There’s a chance that they were just looking at the noise. Some people did that, but all of them looked over and they seemed to be excited like they knew them. Even one of their higher-ups made an appearance before disappearing back inside.

  “Lord?” one of his guards asked.

  I don’t know how they did it, but maybe some of the survivors became healers and now they work here in anonymity. Blaze and Elise must be alive as well. They are far enough away, I’ll need to make plans of how to deal with them just in case.

  “Let’s go, we have a tough ride ahead of us,” Salyn said. He studied the front of the building again and turned around, moving deeper into the maze of alleys.

  ***

  Erik read the report and looked to Elan.

  “Is it that Lord Salyn?” he asked as Rugrat put down the papers with a grim look.

  “Everything matches up, I didn’t realize it before,” Elan pressed his teeth together with a dark expression.

  “You can’t see through everything, it has been years since we defended Alva. So much has happened it is easy to forget,” Erik said.

  “What we need to worry about is what is he going to do next?” Rugrat said.

  “Well he has limited options, Alva was a hidden village. There are no records of it. It was why we didn’t connect it to this Lord Salyn. I have my agents working to find out more information on this Lord Salyn as well as his operations,” Elan said.

  “Nothing to do but sit on him and wait,” Rugrat said.

  Chapter: Earth knowledge meets Ten Realms reality

  Rugrat looked at the new building in front of him.

  “Mana cultivation training facility,” he read out the sign above the door.

  There were people moving through the doors from all of Alva’s different sectors. A group of soldiers formed up outside and marched off toward the barracks while a group of woodworkers ran up the stairs with excited expressions.

  Rugrat went up the stairs and entered the large foyer. There were shops on either side.

  Rugrat went up to the front desk.

  “Hello, how might I help you today?” The man asked with a smile.


  “What is with the stores?” Rugrat asked.

  “They have all the one might need, alchemy concoctions to increase the rate that one absorbed mana with or increase one’s concentration, materials for crafters that are working in the different special crafting workshops. There is also a small library that holds books on common cultivation practices and reference materials. If someone runs into some issues with their cultivation they can remedy it without having to run to the library,” the man said helpfully.

  I have let my cultivation fall behind, Erik is right behind me in terms of mana cultivation. With so much happening it is easy to let it slip.

  “I’ll take your highest rated training room for,” Rugrat checked his timepiece. “Say four hours?”

  “Are you sure, sir? With the higher mana density, it can take more time to get used to, the lower mana densities mean that it is gentler on the body. You can train in them for longer with greater control. Also they are much cheaper,” the man warned.

  “It shouldn’t take me too long to adjust,” Rugrat smiled.

  “Okay,” the man drew out the word, not sure of Rugrat’s confidence.

  “It will be one Earth ranked mana stone per hour for unrefined mana, two for refined mana from the dungeon core.”

  Rugrat pulled out his Dungeon Lord emblem. “Unrefined please.” I want to check out the validity of Tanya’s research myself.

  The man saw it and looked at Rugrat.

  “I am sorry,” he made to bow but Rugrat stopped him.

  “I’m just a dude, no need for all that bowing.”

  “Uhh, yes, sir,” the man was shaken up. He came back to himself and quickly grabbed a key and passed it to Rugrat with both hands.

  “Your key Lord Rugrat.”

  Rugrat coughed as his face went red.

  That just sounds so damn ridiculous.

  “Uhh, yes, thank you, have a good day,” Rugrat grabbed the key, checking the markings on it.

  He passed the front desk and entered the training facility, looking at a map on the wall.