"You are always welcome back. I know that many people will miss you here." Chonglu said.
Hiao Xen was touched, as he felt heavy and light at the same time.
Moving on is hard as it is exciting, missing friends that I have made over the last few years.
"I do have a small request," Hiao Xen asked, feeling guilty.
"What?" Erik asked lightly.
"Damien, I have worked with him closely for so long, he feels like an extension of myself at this point. I have not asked him personally I wanted to check with you first. As I return to the Blue Lotus with your blessing I would like to recruit him as my direct aide."
Erik and Rugrat looked at one another and then at Chonglu.
"While I would appreciate Dougie, I have people I can bring in as aides," Chonglu said.
Rugrat nodded to Erik.
"Very well, we will allow it."
Hiao Xen let out a pent up breath.
"Thank you," He said and made to stand but found Rugrat's hand on top of his own, holding him in place.
"You're our friend, please."
Hiao Xen was touched. They gained incredible power but they didn't let it go to their heads. They made me an acting city lord, someone from the Blue Lotus and trusted in me.
He thought of how Erik spent his time helping his son, how he had saved the people from the Blue Lotus, was ready to wage a war over Dougie.
Friendship is truly one thing that can't be bought or sold.
"A number of people have been wishing to meet with you, from the branch leaders of the different associations, guild leaders, alliance leaders, powerful traders and such," Hiao Xen said.
"Do we have to meet with them?" Rugrat winced.
"I have slimmed down to the people that you should talk to, the traders were mostly dealt with by Elise, the different sects and alliances I have talked to, but there are some that I think you might be interested in talking to. I have talked over different agreements, trade routes mainly, while the agreement is in place, the Ten Realms places a lot of emphasis on having the leaders meet together, to talk and sign the agreement. The Branch leaders you should meet with to show them face, I have talked to them and all of them are looking to expand on your current cooperation. Some don't want to talk through someone from the Blue Lotus, others just want to do it in person."
"Here I was thinking that we would only need to watch the fights," Rugrat muttered.
"You are the City Lords," Hiao Xen smiled.
"I feel like wrangling these two into meetings will be harder than the rest of my job," Chonglu muttered.
Rugrat and Erik's expressions turned dark.
"If you show up, that is," CHonglu amended.
Hiao Xen cleared his throat as Erik and Rugrat's eyes were twitching.
Too accurate Chonglu, good luck! Getting them here even a few days earlier was hell! You can do it!
Erik and Rugrat were the first people to look away.
"Alright, we'll meet with the different branch leaders," Erik slumped, defeated by the administration.
***
Blaze was watching the various screens that showed different people from his Adventurer's Guild training.
Trainers from across the realms were with them, assessing them and eeking out every bit of potential.
"This training technique that Erik and Rugrat created is powerful. There sure is a lot of information with it. Taking into account one's nutrition, their activities, their fighting style. When I was training I was always focused on getting better weapons and learning stronger fighting techniques. I never thought of the role that nutrition took in it all. These new weight training and resistance training allows them to fully utilize their power," Blaze shook his head.
There was a knock from the door. He pressed a formation, opening it.
"Emilia," He greeted.
"Hey Boss, I have the latest results," She walked into the office, her eyes turning to the ⅙screens that were watching all of the trainees.
"How do you think this batch is?" Rugrat asked.
"They're as strong as we were last year. Though we took the competition because no one knew who we were and there weren't that many people competing. Compared to last year, this competition is going to be much harder. There are so many powerful people competing now."
"It will make things more interesting," Blaze said as he took the reports and went through the information.
"Good, everyone's cultivation has increased faster than we predicted. This total body coaching has changed everything."
"I thought that it was useless when we started, then I talked to some of the people from the army. When they go through their medical certification, they have lessons on training other people. It allows them to greatly accelerate their growth and draw more power out of what they already have. Knowing how fast they can run, or how much they can lift, it gives them new goals to overcome. Did you hear about the twenty percent loss?" Emilia asked animatedly.
"I was just thinking about that, how people were actually using twenty percent less than their overall power and only in life and death situations they were using their total power," Blaze nodded.
"With the weight training, resistance training, putting numbers to everything, we can push our bodies to the limit, draw out all that power safely. Then learn to maintain that output and how to scale it up and down."
"How are you feeling about the competition?"
"I don't think that we will place as well as we did last year but I'm excited for it. Though will this change things about the attack?"
"The Grey Peak Sect is organizing it all, the Willful Institute is gathering their power and allies, these things take time, it should be a month before the fight starts."
"What if they move things up?" Emilia asked, resting her hand on her sword.
"Well, there are more people in the guild than just us. Under the command of Domonos they will lead the attack and then we will move to support as needed. Don't forget that this is a Third Realm city. They have reinforcements that have been fighting in the Fourth Realm but they're in the low level fifty’s. They could’ve gone to the sixth realm but are here fighting instead."
"We have plenty of people in the level fifties. Though they might not be as experienced."
"Correct and I will be sending down ten adventuring parties to assist in the attack while the announcement has gone out that the guild will pay for transport of anyone in the Third Realm to join the battle."
Emilia took in a cold breath.
"Are you sure about that, there will be a lot of people willing to go."
"It will bring the guild closer together, show that they are united. It is rare for all the members to meet up. This will bind them all together. While they show the Willful Institute what happens when they mess with us. We will have to do the same here."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard another rumor. That the Willful Institute is sending down a high elder from their council to oversee the fighting competition. They will be bringing some of their elites. I don't care about our placement in the overall competition, but I want to beat those bastards from the WIllful Institute!"
Emilia grasped her sword.
"If they dare to come even if we have to break our bodies we will take them down!"
"Don't be so drastic, this is only the beginning of our fight," Blaze warned.
"Isn't that why we have powerful healers and concoctions?"
"There are things that they can't help you recover from."
"Don't worry Guild leader, we will teach them a lesson, from the Fourth Realm to the Second Realm we will tear them out by the roots."
Blaze looked at her, a hot feeling buried deep in his bones started to emerge.
Your people came for ours, to rob and to murder them. You might have turned a blind eye to it all, but we do not. For our fellow guildmates, for our fellow Alvans. For your attempt on our Dungeon Lords.
Blaze was now shaking with rage, these people
had saved him and his, they had protected him or been under his protection. His rage had reached a point where it could no longer be held back.
The Willful Institute will be our stepping stone, our example to others. Do not test Alva, or those under its protection.
Chapter: Vuzgal’s Second Annual Fighting Competition
Erik and Rugrat were standing at the top of Vuzgal. The grand tower that supported the massive mana barrier array had been returned to its previous glory. Formations ran down the interior of the tower, modified by the dungeon core hidden underneath.
"That has to be the biggest formation socket I have ever seen," Erik admired the formation in the middle of the tower. The floor at the peak of the tower had a formation plugged into it that had a diameter of three meters. Mana was slowly flowing through it.
"It's a beast, in a half second, it and all of the primary mana formations can activate, covering the entirety of the city in a mana barrier," Rugrat admired. "Though it is just the fake primary."
"Huh?"
"The towers are a little obvious, right. We have formations around them to protect them, but they're big damn targets. The really powerful mana barrier formations are located there and there."
He pointed to the cliffs that lay to the southwest and north west of the city and framed the valley that the Alchemist Association commanded and the dungeons within.
"Inside the cliffs are four different formations, that when activated will create a mana barrier together. Supported by formations built into the Sky Reaching Restaurant towers and the bunker systems. It is much uglier, but it is hidden and much more powerful with four layers of backups. Even if one formation is burned out, the second active one can cover for it while another formation comes online, replacing the burnt out formation."
"Are they all socket based?"
"Yeah, so with some minor repairs we drop the old formation and toss in a new formation. Hmm, that could work with the rail cannons. If we were to put formations on the shells inside the cannon, they're much bigger than the rifle rounds so we can get more detail and larger formations. I always get the good ideas up here, or well parts of them."
Erik stood up and walked to the edge of the tower, looking over to the Battle Arena. Even up here, one could hear the faint noises of the city.
We've both been distracted by the actions against the Willful Institute and becoming stronger. We've been ignoring the fighting competition and putting it as a lower priority. Who knows when we will be able to relax like this again. The Willful Institute is no small power.
"It gets bigger every damn time."
"The fighting competition had to be broken down into age group and level this year. Just to make it easier. There will be six competitions, between level forty and forty five, then forty five and fifty, for each five level bracket only people between twenty and forty are allowed to compete. These people are still a bit young, but they have grown enough to be mature in their fighting style."
Erik frowned before he shook his head. Getting a questioning stare from Rugrat.
"Sorry, I forgot that people in the Ten Realms can live for hundreds of years. Do you wonder what it would be like to live a few hundred years?"
"No clue. I didn't think that I would make it this far, to be honest."
They leaned on the railing, looking at the city below; the crafter's district, fighters district, the new crafter's stadium that was being built. The Battle Arena that had expanded dramatically, turning into a wide and large tower to host different fights. The trading districts, warehouses, industrial centers. Restaurants, housing and parks. The Association Circle, where each of the associations had changed their previous humble dwellings to be grand buildings that were rarely seen in the Fourth Realm.
The Barracks with their arrays to keep prying eyes away. The Castle District, the heart of Vuzgal and home to the Vuzgal Academy, today it was quieter, but the campus sill had people wandering across its paths, heading to the libraries or to classes and workshops. Bunkers and hidden defenses were nestled into the cliffs around the valley that Vuzgal stood guard at the mouth of, extending down and around the city.
"If you could, would you go back?" Rugrat looked wistful while his voice was serious.
Back to Earth? To a place without magic, without alchemy, Alva. Missing limbs, having to carve out some work in a business no one wants to do and everyone wants to kill you while you’re doing it. Or go back to a life without mercenary work, without fighting?
Erik frowned at the last thought. I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't enjoy fighting. The rush, feeling alive as if everything led up to that moment.
"I don't know, would you want to go back?" Erik looked to Rugrat who continued to stare off as the sun rose slowly.
"If only to see my mother, I would. But I know that if I got back there, I would want to come back here. Warriors aren't vital commodities on Earth anymore. There was a time when someone who was good with a weapon was worth their weight in gold. Now we're a liability and a life insurance pay out."
"So, would you?"
"Well, if I learned one thing from the recruiter who signed me up, it was to read the fine print. I'd only go if I could come back. If not, well, this feels more like home than it did back there."
Erik clapped Rugrat on the shoulder.
"Anywhere you go brother, I'll be right beside you."
The two men looked at one another before Rugrat snorted. "Alrighty you mopey shit, we shouldn't be late to this competition."
Erik pulled his hand back and pushed off of the railings. "Look at you, being all professional and on time."
"I am for the important things! Cheeseburgers"
They reached the stairs to the tower and Rugrat stopped looking at Erik.
"Thank you brother."
Erik simply nodded before Rugrat turned back to the stairs and started walking down.
"We need a fucking elevator in here!"
"Right, shit! Actually, do we have any of those skeleton mages on birds left?"
"Uhh, one sec. Yeah, I can see some in my interface."
"Call them up, else I'll have stitches all day from these stupid stairs. Why did you want to do them?"
"I was told I was too sedentary, that I should do stairs more often," Rugrat complained as they went back to the bannister.
"You, sedentary? Aren't you bashing the shit out of steel all day?"
"Iron, not steel!"
"Whatever, metal, you ass."
"Well, I've been cultivating my mana you see. Just sitting there all day bringing in the mana, compressing it! Accept the mana into your core!" Rugrat gave his best impression of a noble sage teaching the world's mysteries.
"It’s fricking boring and my ass goes numb from sitting that long! Now I'm getting told that I should move more often! No fricking pleasing people!"
"You think that's bad? I had some people offering me damn skin care treatments!" Erik said darkly.
"Okay, well you do look like a half charred piece of meat with mercury coming out of you."
Erik's face twitched as they heard an eerie call from beside the banister.
Two undead birds landed in the room.
"What the hell do we hang on to?" Rugrat asked.
"The vertebrae? The mages make this look so easy."
"They're just cheating with their magic spells, one sec." Rugrat jumped up and cast a spell on himself. Chaining himself to his mount.
"Did you just use your immobilization chains?"
"Yeah, one magical aerial seatbelt. Want one?"
"Sure," Erik shrugged, spell formations appeared on the creature and chains wrapped around Erik, securing him to the bony creature.
"Need to add in some damn seats, uncomfortable as hell," Rugrat muttered. "Nowhere near as comfortable as George."
"Was that meant as a compliment?"
"What? He's way more comfortable."
"I guess that's a compliment in some weird way." Erik shrugged and tapped his legs on t
he side of the undead creature.
With a screech, it jumped off the bannister and opened its wings.Faint shadowy wings appeared to catch the air as they banked and circled down the tower.
***
High Elder Cai Bo looked out of her carriage as it entered Vuzgal. Ahead of her there was a procession of Willful Institute soldiers that marched out with their flags raised high. People moved to the side as they were checked and passed by the Vuzgal soldiers.
Cai Bo's carriage was checked briefly by an officer before they continued on.
"The security here seems to be very high," Low Elder Kostic said.
"With so many powerful sects and fighters in one place this much is expected. Even the head of the Fourth Realm Blue Lotus was checked."
"They can do that?" Mercy Kostic, Low Elder Kostic's grand niece asked before she closed her mouth and bowed her head in shame.
Cai Bo smiled slightly.
She is prideful and arrogant; though she has the right to be so becoming powerful and gaining her own loyal followers. Some might think that her brutal ways are a flaw, but if used correctly then they can be a warning to others, keeping them from crossing her. For someone so young, I see a bit of myself in her.
Low Elder Kostic shot his grand niece a repriving look while Cai Bo looked away as if it had nothing to do with her.
"There are many powerful forces gathered here. Vuzgal emerged just over two years ago as a power in the Fourth Realm. Already they host a massive amount of trade in the Fourth Realm, are the base of many crafters, fighters and traders. They have alliances with different guilds, trading houses and large sects, with their innovative weapons, armors and supporting formations and gear. Few people want to anger the Vuzgal leadership. With so many interests tied to one boat. If one person was to aggravate Vuzgal's operations then it would cause everyone associated with them to rush in and assist. The Fighter's Association is one of the few groups that are willing to host fighting competitions. That speaks to how powerful or connected one needs to be to hold a competition like this." Cai Bo studied the people on the street. Weapons and armor were on sale everywhere. Alchemy concoctions, powerful consumable spell scrolls, defensive and offensive spell scrolls.
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