“Correct!” Rugrat announced loudly as he entered the workshop, with Qin following him.
“I thought you just went back to Vuzgal?” Tan Xue asked, carrying somewhat of a scowl as she quickly checked to make sure Rugrat was wearing actual clothes.
“I went back and told Erik what is happening here. He needs to stay there. All eyes are on him, and I have work I want to do!”
“I was wondering why you didn’t come and bug me before you left,” she said.
“What did you get for becoming an Expert?” Rugrat grinned.
Tan Xue rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth turning up. “You know, it is rude to ask someone what they got for increasing their skill level.”
“A new hammer, maybe an anvil, tongs or books? Blueprint designs?” Rugrat’s eyes shone.
She snorted and pulled out a book, tossing it to Rugrat.
He looked at the cover. “War axes smithing compendium?” He quickly opened the pages.
“No blueprints but it is a technical book on different axes—how to make them, techniques to use and that kind of thing. It goes from Novice to Mid-Expert level, though.” Her last words were tempting and Rugrat smiled, looking up like he had when he had been given his first rifle.
Tan Xue laughed at the partial madness that was seen in his eyes; appearing her own eyes. Julilah backed away and Qin looked at the two smiths.
She raised her hand and looked at Julilah and mouthed, “What happened to them?”
Julilah shrugged with a worried expression.
“Weapons,” Qin coughed before Rugrat was able to speak.
Rugrat looked to be internally debating something.
“We have our own skills to work on as well,” she scoffed impatiently.
“I want you to repair these Mana cannons, and figure out how they work. Also, I might have an in with the Crafter’s Association so you can go and talk to some formation masters. I found out that there are some people who, for a fee, will offer classes on formations. I know that you feel kind of lost. I was originally going to go to these lessons myself but I know a lot less than either of you two do. The classes are not cheap. One hundred Earth Mana stones each.”
Qin let out a cold breath and Tan Xue raised an eyebrow.
“Formations are not cheap to make and lessons are hard to find, especially from someone in the Crafter’s Association who has reached the low Journeyman level. A mid-Journeyman level formation master is worth the same amount as an Expert-level smith. Smithing is practical from the beginning but then it becomes more technical with time and then combining theories with technical. Though it still takes a formation master to inlay a formation on a weapon. A formations master needs expensive materials and needs to have a lot of knowledge, practice or formations to copy in order to increase their level. You have techniques to make formations and know how to make formations but are lacking in the basic building blocks. This will allow you to make up for that weakness,” Rugrat said as he nodded in an attempt to be sagely.
Julilah and Qin looked at each other and then Rugrat, the greedy and intense look in their eyes not too different from the looks that Rugrat and Tan Xue had shared not a few minutes before.
“When can we go?” Julilah asked as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
“We would need to increase your level and then we could send you off to the classes. It would take three months for you to go through the classes. You can pay us back with work, or with mana stones, this investment that Alva places on you and you would need to venture into the battlefield dungeon to be boosted in level by the Alvan army. Also, you would get some training with fighting beforehand and you would get some Adventurer’s Guild guards for the duration of your schooling,” Rugrat said.
“Why are you spending so much on us?” Qin asked in trepidation.
“Really, a trader’s daughter.” Tan Xue nodded in approval.
“Formations are where we’re the weakest. There are formations across the Ten Realms and they’re used frequently. We only have about seven people who are competent in formations, meaning that you can copy out formations. As we are now, we’re just taking and repeating formations. We need to build new formations that are not just copies but are powerful improvements on the old. Formations that are tailored to our needs, not machines adapted around them. Take this centrifuge,” Rugrat said as he put it on a worktable.
“I had to go and find a formation blueprint for the formation that makes it spin. I had no idea how I could make a formation that could do such a simple action. Someone could have given me a formation that summons a demon—I wouldn’t know. And I don’t know now how I can improve it. Say I want it to use less power? I’m lost. Compare that to the weapons I make; to make the strongest weapon, I need to match the base material to the enhancers, the right weapon shape and formations to bring out the greatest power.
“Formations are half of our weapons. Right now, we’re copying formations onto the weapons, copy and paste, not modifying them to bring out greater strengths of the weapons,” Rugrat said.
Tan Xue nodded. “Whenever making a weapon, just putting a formation on it, instead of making a formation for the weapon,” Tan Xue snapped her fingers, finding a way to relate it.” It’s like having a pair of boots that are made from exquisite animal hide and are well crafted, but are being held together with just string.”
“I guess that works,” Rugrat said, confused by the analogy.
“I agree,” Julilah said.
“Me too,” Qin said, finally understanding.
“Good. You both start tomorrow. Today, try to figure out how these cannons work and we can start repairing the ones that we have. Thankfully, we’ve got a bunch of them!” Rugrat cackled to himself.
“I have a few questions,” Rugrat said to Tan Xue before she headed over to the cannon that had been laid out in disassembled parts that Qin and Julilah were currently looking over.
“Go ahead,” Tan Xue sighed.
“As we continue to advance in the Ten Realms, we will need to improve our weapons at a faster rate. I wanted to see if you were willing to set up an Alvan army supply department. A department that would be under the Alvan army and part of the academy. The army would pay the people involved for their time but it would be their duty to make and improve the weapons and gear that the army uses, things like new breastplate armor or new rifles.”
“I could do that.” She nodded.
“Sweet! You find the different workers who we can rely on. Here are the different contracts.” Rugrat passed her the contracts that showed what the pay and the benefits would be for joining the Alvan army supply department.
“The leader of the department will change once every year and they will be someone who has served in the army. There will be a few managers underneath them. They will propose changes to equipment. It will be your job to see if they are feasible and also carry out upgrades that will increase the fighting strength of the Alvan army.”
“Okay,” Tan Xue replied. “Though I do have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Any Expert or higher level weapons and blueprints, would I be able to inspect them? I have become an Expert-level smith, but I still have a long way to go if I want to become a Master,” she said in a solemn voice.
“Done. And we’re actively looking for more ways to improve the strength of the crafters here in Alva, like lessons or artifacts or otherwise,” Rugrat prattled on.
“Do you know when the crafter dungeon will be completed here?” Tan Xue asked.
“Should be only a few more days, why?”
“I might have an Expert-level crafting room in the blacksmith department, but I heard that there is no restrictions on working in the Expert-level crafting room in the dungeon. As long as I show that I am of the Expert level, I can enter the rooms there and be able to smith to my heart’s content. I would need supplies to work with but I can work from there, leaving an Expert-level workshop free in the black
smith department. Which could greatly increase yours, Taran’s, or another smith’s speed at improving their own smithing skill.”
“I’m still a long way off becoming an Expert.” “You going to let Taran beat you?”
Rugrat’s eyes thinned as his competitive streak was revealed. “Like I’d let that old bastard beat me!”
***
“A message has come in from Erik,” Old Hei’s head of security Khasar said as he was tending to plants in his private garden.
“Pass it here please,” Old Hei took the note with his dirt-covered hands, staining the paper’s surface.
He let out a laugh and then folded the paper up. “Send word to our associates in the Fourth Realm. Tell them that I suggest that they visit Vuzgal and pay what they need to join the city. Tell them that if they do not, they will regret it in the future. Put my name on the recommendation.”
One of his assistants started to send the message through their sound transmission device.
“It looks like Erik and Rugrat have taken over a city in the Fourth Realm.” Old Hei tapped the letter against the palm of his hand.
“A city, in the Fourth Realm?” Khasar repeated, sounding alarmed.
“Didn’t I tell you that they would surprise us?”
“But to establish an Alchemist Association there?”
“Erik revealed some interesting information to me about a growing land no weaker than our own gardens here, possibly even stronger.” “No wonder you recommended it.”
***
Elder Lu was being updated on what had happened in Vuzgal. He didn’t expect to get a report so soon. He looked up at Cui Chin, who put down a folder on his desk.
“The Alchemist Association have agreed to Mister West’s terms and will be entering Vuzgal, even with a stricter contract than what we or the Trader’s Association have. They have sent over some of their finest craftsmen and a great number of gardeners,” Cui Chin reported.
“What happened?” Elder Lu asked.
“They went directly to Mister West and were led into the valley next to Vuzgal. They returned not ten minutes later with the contract already confirmed and people being gathered. We were able to gather word as there has been so many new people moved over to Vuzgal.
“It looks like they’re still discussing something but it looks like something in the valley interested them greatly. Also, there is one more piece of news. Hiao Xen has agreed to the contract. He will assist Vuzgal as well as Erik West and Rugrat. He will remain neutral in all conflicts between the associations and in his treatment of the associations, unless it is beneficial to the association in question as well as Erik and Rugrat.” “If he shows his ability to bring Vuzgal to prosperity and manage it well, then it will pave his way with the Blue Lotus and it will show where his true allegiance lies.” Elder Lu nodded. It was both a trap and a test, one that could go either way. It depended on Hiao Xen’s ability and whether he was able to remain the same man while away from the Blue Lotus’s control.
“Vuzgal is quickly being repaired. Roads are being pulled up inside the inner city and replaced. They have installed new infrastructure and are repairing all of the main facilities and are building large towers into the sky. These appear to be Sky Reaching Restaurants, a restaurant that is connected to Erik back in the Third Realm. Different tall structures are being constructed as well, seemingly as temporary residences fit for powerful families and sect managers or just for common travelers. They have been laying down roads in the outer city, but they are laid out in a grid, sometimes going right through original houses and buildings that are in the way. All of the streets have been made large to fit a great amount of traffic. It looks like they are preparing for the future in a big way. We do not know where the resources and items that they looted from the city and were able to obtain from the fighting have gone.”
“It looks like they are thinking like we are and preparing for the long haul. It will take time for the fighting to settle down in the east and the people from lands to the west will arrive soon, but it will only be in small numbers and they won’t be willing to pay the prices that have been posted in the city.”
“They are also making an odd sort of defensive system that is built out of fused stone and then placed underground, leaving only a small section above the ground.”
“They have some small secrets, but it looks like everything is going as we planned. Let me know if there is any other big matters but otherwise I think it would be wise to pass this to someone of a lower position to look after,” Elder Lu concluded.
As Head of the Fourth Realm Blue Lotus, he worked with massive alliances. Now that they had dealt with the Blood Demon Sect and the Hang-Nim Alliance, Vuzgal looked to be stable—albeit erraticly with Erik West making confusing decisions. If he was to decrease the price for someone to go to Vuzgal, he might have gotten more of the associations and people to head over. I thought he wouldn’t have been so arrogant. But there must be something about the dungeon that interested the Alchemist Association or perhaps his standing of being the direct disciple of an Expert alchemist and a member of the Alchemist Association pushed them to agree to his terms.
Cui Chin bowed and headed out of Elder Lu’s office.
Elder Lu pushed the folder to the side and turned to a new report.
Chapter: Next Stage
Qin and Julilah stood in front of the totem in Alva Dungeon. It had only taken three days for Domonos and his group to boost their levels. There had been other people from Alva who had gone along with the Alvan army. The Alvan army was killing as many monsters as possible with their newly gained Strength. The more they killed in the battlefield dungeon, the less would be in the lower levels of the dungeon when they cleared the floors. Eventually there would be a point where they would kill all of the creatures from the lower levels and then the dungeon core would be spawning in random creatures under the Ten Realms. Though they wouldn’t know when this happened unless they went to the lower levels of the dungeon and saw that there were no more creatures left. Based on their only foray into the first Metal floor, that point of clearing all the creatures seemed far away.
So the slaughter continued and people from Alva had their levels boosted. They had to pay the gold or Mana stones it cost to enter the battlefield dungeon and transfer the points to Egbert who could use them to purchase items for the dungeon as whole.
The soldiers did the hard work and after only killing a few beasts, they could increase someone who had been level ten their entire life to a level fifteen or twenty.
The army’s power allowed them to take down most beasts in just two or three hits. They had to go through nearly twenty beasts before they started to reach creatures that were a challenge.
They accrued a massive amount of dungeon points but they continued to build up their points for rarer weapons, materials and books. The Battlefield dungeon had turned into a game for them. A place for them to simply grind for dungeon points instead of providing any real experience.
High Journeyman level weapons, cultivation manuals and pills. Anything that could increase their strength was picked up. If the fight with the Blood Demon Sect taught them anything, it was that there was always someone stronger.
People from across Alva paid high fees to join their groups, giving them their dungeon points to increase their level.
Paying money for levels there were few who wouldn’t agree, increasing levels meant an increase in power and even how long someone could live for!
Qin had always heard about her brother’s strength and his fighting ability, but he had put it on full display over the last couple of weeks.
Julilah and she had been raised to level thirty. Both girls were sad to say goodbye, but they were happy to finally be learning about their skill.
Tan Xue and Egbert looked rather emotional and even Qin felt her throat closing up as she waved good-bye to her father and Domonos.
There was a flash of light and Alva was replaced by a gray-looking town. Th
e buildings were perfectly gray, with formations scribed all over the walls, adding colorful runes.
Such a waste of resources! she couldn’t help but think, looking at the walls and the formations on them. They had been carved into the other spotless buildings as art, serving no other purpose.
“A formation on three different planes,” Julilah said, seeing past the waste in resources and looking at the technical side of the formations.
“How do they make a formation work with it on three faces at ninety degrees to one another? Doesn’t that make a weak point in it?” Qin said, her own thoughts kicking in.
They talked about the different formations as they followed Rugrat, who wore a robe that hid his identity.He might look like some mysterious Master to others, but knowing him, Qin and Julilah paid no attention to his solemn air, thinking it more comical than serious.
They entered the center of the city. There was a number of powerful associations or pillar organizations in the city.
Rugrat walked across the grounds. He reached the Formation Guild that would be Qin and Julilah’s home for the next three months. The two of them looked at the building. It looked like a box that had multiple formations carved into it. One could see the power moving between the large formations’ lines and runes.
“It’s as difficult to make a large formation as it is to make a small one,” Qin said.
“Defensive, attack?” Julilah asked, studying it.
Qin looked at it. “Both?”
Rugrat produced a token and the guard looked at it before nodding and allowing him to pass.
They entered the grounds. A formation covered the entire building, making it seem open, but they had a wall like the other associations. It was just theirs was hidden, using Mana instead of stone and building materials to exist.
They passed formations that glowed and distorted the air, moving square, spherical, and other formation-covered objects that rotated, rising and falling over one another.
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) Page 65