She couldn’t be bothered by their attitude, entranced by Alexi’s words as the clouds that had seemed to cover her formation knowledge slowly started to clear.
Chapter: Uproar in the Fourth
Erik led the way, paying the fee as he led Gong Jin and his half special team through the gates of Ra-Hie. The Sha wore goggles and held front-loading weapons like blunderbusses, muskets, and short shotguns; pistols festooned their clothes like ornaments. The air smelled of burned carbon, like a firearms range.
There was a dull noise in the distance.
“Seems like something went off,” Gong Jin said.
Han Wu was looking around. People stared at him and his bandolier of grenades.
“They look kind of like firearm peacocks,” Erik said to Gong Jin.
Gong Jin sighed and his eyes went dull. He was already numb to Han Wu’s actions.
“Don’t worry Jin, Han Wu knows how to put himself back together fine now. Being in a city of other explosive idiots isn’t such a good time for the rest of us though.” Yang Zan sighed.
“What is a peacock?” Gong Jin asked.
“A colorful bird that likes to show off, I guess.” Erik shrugged as they entered the city.
“I will wait at the tavern Glorious Flame.” The navigator pointed out a location on Gong Jin’s map and updated their maps with his own. It was really good having a navigator to go to new cities.
He waved them good-bye and headed to the tavern.
The group headed out. They went to a shop that sold weapons.
“No one but Sha is allowed in this shop,” a guard said. He was short but he had a strong-looking blunderbuss with formations on it.
“What if someone has a Sha weapon but isn’t a Sha?” Erik asked.
“Then we’ll hunt them down. If they’re lucky, they’ll become a person of the Sha clan—or they, their friends, and six generations of their family will be killed.”
“Bit drastic,” Erik said.
They headed away. They saw a group of Sha at an outdoors range, shooting at targets. The weapons were powerful, much stronger than the old weapons of the same grade, but they were only muskets, rifles and pistols—front loaders at that. They hadn’t moved on to cartridges; bolt action and semi-automatic weren’t even a concept. Mortars or artillery were not used but they had grapeshot cannons, or load them with ball and buck, nasty shit and grenades were seen as a curse.
“Their powder is plenty powerful. I guess they’ve been working with it for longer. Their Alchemy formulas would be useful,” Han Wu commented as he studied the pilfered powder.
“Yes, but they haven’t advanced or innovated any further—I only see one design for the blunderbuss, the pistols, muskets and the rifles. I see some changes to the platform to enhance it, but no evolutions like we have. Seems they just use different base materials, formations and modified shapes to increase lethality. Not anything like how a bolt action reduces the power of the shot compared to a front loader, but then they increase things like the range and rate of fire. I wonder if they even have rifling for their barrels.” Erik let out a sigh. “Let’s go take a look at the guards of the different Sha clans.”
They headed to the different clans, checking out the guards there. They wore different clothes so were easy to distinguish one from another.
Wait a minute, are those petticoats? Erik looked at the funky-looking shorts and pants with a second glance and then checked out the buttoned-up jackets.
“Let’s head to the clan head residence,” Erik said, feeling odd.
He stopped as he saw the guards who were marching around the clan’s building.
“Pirate hats, petticoats, and those colors. French colors? Damn, they look like they’re right out of the seventeen hundreds. Could it really be possible?” Could the Sha actually come from Earth? They look French. I can’t tell if someone is speaking French or not.
Erik looked up at the gates where there was what looked like a motto carved into the gate.
“Mother fucker,” Erik hissed. He turned around, his eyes catching the other people moving around: the wigs, the hats, the way people talked, the smoking pipes. Now that he thought about it, it was as if he were in a eighteenth-century camp, with people with muskets everywhere.
“Something wrong with the words in the gate?” Yang Zan muttered. “France will never fall? What does that mean?”
“Trouble,” Erik said as they headed to the tavern.
The navigator saw them and stood. They headed out of the tavern and went right for the totem.
“When were the Sha clans created?” Erik asked the navigator.
“Oh, it has to be around two or three hundred years. They weren’t much early on, but then with their rows of blue jackets and their lines of weapons fire, they were able to beat back others. The Commandant came out of nowhere and united several clans, together they called themselves the Sha clan, internally they call themselves the bourgeoisie.”
“Haven’t others got the blueprints for the Sha weapons?” Erik asked.
“They have them but the Sha will fight anyone who makes the weapons unless they make an oath to never make Sha weapons again or try to research them further.”
“What about if a higher power gets them?”
“They can get them all right, but the Sha weapons aren’t strong enough to fight with the people who are higher than the Sixth Realm. So to the higher powers, the Sha weapons are kind of useless. The Sha have solidified their position here in the Earth tier realms and they teach how to fight with their firearms and their bodies. The cost to make the weapons and their special ammunition is incredibly high. Also, it’s only in the last few hundred years that they’ve focused on Mana Gathering or Body Cultivation. Instead, they focused on things like art and on food in the higher realms. They’re some of the most highly paid artisans and are regularly pulled into different guilds that focus on the arts instead of fighting,” the navigator explained.
“A French colony. Must be someone that came here three hundred years or so ago, so seventeen hundreds.” In the seventeen hundreds the French were fighting the settelers of the united states. Hopefully that won’t be a problem. Or it could if they want to hold onto firearm technology. They must have ways to increase the lethality of their weapons, at that point they were still using swords, so shouldn’t they be good with that as well? Erik wanted to learn more, hoping that Elan would be able to develop his information gathering network faster and get him some concrete information.
“Alright, take us to somewhere with some good bars. I need a drink and something to eat.”
“Can do!” The navigator grinned.
Erik got a notification he looked down, checking the information. Looks like Rugrat added those dungeon cores.
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Quest Completed: Dungeon Reborn
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Upgrade the dungeon core, returning it to its peak condition.
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Rewards:
+10,000,000 EXP
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Title: Dungeon Master III
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Control over the Dungeon building interface.
Grade: Greater Earth (Can be upgraded)
Ability: Dungeon Sense, 30km radius. (Can be used 4 times a day
Increase all stats by +1
Able to bestow title Dungeon Hunter (4 remaining)
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45,926,836/56,900,000EXP till you reach Level 58
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***
Mister Felix Diaz had been specially asked by Hiao Xen to assist him in surveying a piece of land. He was taking his time to map out the regions of the Fifth Realm, but the request came with an offer of money that would assist him in his studies, as well as lodging and the promise of his travel fees.
He hadn’t been impressed with Vuzgal. It was large but in a state of construction.
Then he had seen the W
ayside Inn and he had been surprised in their quality. The people there had been eager to help. The staff were all strong, but they and their families were working for the leadership of Vuzgal. They were getting reduced-cost housing that they were working towards buying and they were away from the fighting in the Fourth Realm. Most people were willing to drop their pride to bring that kind of safety to their families.
He had taken up the job of surveying, being joined by Journeyman alchemists from the Alchemist Association. They had smiled and treated him politely, there to observe as two people from Vuzgal watched and helped out.
He entered the valley and immediately knew that it was one of the holy growing grounds. The Mana inside was naturally balanced to increase the speed and strength of any plant that was raised within.
He surveyed the valley quickly and efficiently. He was there only to support his dream to map an entire continent in the Fifth Realm.
On the third day, he found that there was an odd stone structure with a conveniently placed door.
The guards around him all went on alert. The alchemist looked at the building in surprise.
The guards ventured in and then quickly returned, talking into their communication devices.
“What is it?” one of the alchemists asked.
“It’s a dungeon. We have passed word. They will be sending people to investigate it. We’re told to continue sear—uh—surveying,” the guard said.
The other guard moved to Diaz. “I’ve been told that there is a considerable bounty for finding dungeons,” the guard said in a low voice, sharing a look with Diaz.
Diaz smiled. A thrill ran through his body. He never dreamed of finding a dungeon.
On the night of the third day, he found a waterfall, but there was an entrance behind the falls. They passed behind the water and into a cave. There was a rune-covered doorway and a set of stairs leading down.
***
“You ready?” Barkwoodson looked at his brigade as they stood in front of Bala dungeon. They had paid a heavy fee to the Vuzgal guards to get a slot to enter the dungeon. There were a certain amount of people allowes into a dungeon per hour. Once one group entered then the dungeon floor would be blocked off to others until it was cleared. If one didn’t clear the floor in the alloted time then they needed to leave, once they made it to the next floor the timer started all over again. The slots were to make sure that there weren’t people just waiting outside the dungeon all the time. The slots were expensive to make people think about twice for buying them. They needed top clear the first floor to recover their losses, after that, everything that they were able to harvest or loot they could sell on or use.
The rewards they could earn from this would allow them to upgrade their weapons. They had been soldiers as part of a sect, but the sect had been destroyed and they had turned to being dungeon raiders. Fighting was the only thing that they knew. They had suffered defeat after defeat; now was their chance to turn it around.
They let out a cheer and he turned, raising his sword toward the dungeon.
How many times did I make the same gesture when we were moving in formation, going to attack someone else or to defend a line? Now we will make our own future!
They climbed down the stairs into the depths of the dungeon. It started to get darker. Then there was a floor that appeared before them. There were stairs leading down, but now there were several corridors leading away from where they were standing. There were plaques above the different corridors; each of them had a symbol: a cauldron for Alchemy, a formation, a hammer and anvil, clothes and a staff crossed with a bow.
“What is this?” someone asked.
“I ain’t never heard of a dungeon like this before.”
“What are all of these crafting symbols about?”
“Let’s go and find out.” Barkwoodson led the way down the path with the hammer and anvil.
The corridor was nicely illuminated and it seemed welcoming instead of threatening.
They all kept their guard up. Anything that was relaxing in a dungeon was bad.
They reached the end of the corridor and they found a smithy. With an actual anvil, fire source and tools strewn about.
Barkwoodson stepped into the smithy.
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You have entered the dungeon: Crafter’s Trial
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Complete one smithed item of at least the Apprentice level to advance.
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You have 2 days to complete the item. [1:35:59:58]
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Barkwoodson stopped in his tracks. A shield appeared behind him. He backed out quickly.
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You have left the smithing area. You will have to wait one month to enter again.
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“Follow me!” He ran out to the corridor, then stood there. Nothing happened and he headed down a new corridor. The rest of the brigade looked at one another, not sure what he was doing.
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You have entered the dungeon: Crafter’s Trial
==========
Complete one item of clothing of at least the Apprentice level to advance.
==========
You have 2 days to complete the item. [1:35:59:58]
==========
“This…” He shook in agitation and quickly pulled out his communication device. “Lila, you said that you knew someone at the Secrets Guild. I have something that I want to sell them!”
“Are you drunk again?”
“No! I’m in a dungeon!”
“I have work to do, though,” she complained.
“I’ll pay for your day of work. Just go to them, will you? I need to talk to them!”
***
“There were two more dungeons found in the valley next to Vuzgal. They are being investigated as we speak. Though they look like another classic dungeon and an endless dungeon. The Fighter’s Association have more people there now,” Cui Chin reported.
“Where is Erik?” Elder Lu inquired.
“He is in the city Sages Keep.”
“Does he know of the new dungeons yet?”
“Probably not. Otherwise, he would have rushed back.”
“It is Sages Keep—there is plenty to keep one entertained for a lifetime there,” Elder Lu said in a dry voice.
Cui Chin smiled and nodded when he was interrupted with a message. Only a priority message could force a message into his vision.
“Someone has found a new dungeon. It is called Crafter’s Trial. There are supposedly several different areas that crafters can use—Apprentice locations and one gets temporary bonuses to their skill from entering them. Someone created an Apprentice-level item and they entered a Journeyman-level workspace that is no less powerful than a tier-three Journeyman workspace.” Cui Chin repeated the message as he listened to someone talking through his communication device.
“What?!” Elder Lu shot up. “Send out people to verify this information. Contact the Blue Lotus nearest to the newly discovered dungeon. Have them ready to receive people. If the dungeon is controlled by a group, prepare people to go over and start negotiations for entry,” Elder Lu said to one of his aides.
Cui Chin stopped his current call, and there was immediately another.
“Elder Lu, it looks like there are more than one appearing. It looks like a mutation on the dungeons overall perhaps. Some are calling it a dungeon upgrade or a new type of dungeon.”
“Mobilize all of our forces. Have them listen for more information and be ready to act as soon as they learn of new locations!” Elder Lu said to the aide, who had paused from their dash out.
They nodded and rushed off.
Elder Lu had not forgotten his promise to go and visit Vuzgal. He wanted to help out, his presence would draw others attention and assist their growth, but so far he had been unable to get away.
He idly touched one of his storage rings. Inside there were a number of rare materials and then one simple ingredient th
at was rare simply because people destroyed the plants as pests most of the time.
One thousand-year-old Lidel leaves.
If I could request Erik to make a more potent concoction, then I could give it to Janet. He wanted to ask Erik not as an Elder of the Blue Lotus but as a husband. He rubbed his face and let out a sigh, there was still work to do before he could leave.
Chapter: Vuzgal’s Rise to Prominence
The inner and the outer city showed signs of development now. The roads were still under construction but the outer wall had been torn down and cleared away. The bunker system was the second priority after demolishing a path through the city for the new roads and rebuilding the roads inside the inner city.
With the Alchemist Association showing up, people had gained a greater interest in Vuzgal. The revelation about the two new dungeons drew in more. The Fourth Realm was in uproar about the new Crafter’s Trial dungeons that had appeared in various places. Many of the crafting groups that had been interested in Vuzgal changed their aim towards the new dungeons but now most of the fighters from all over were looking at the city and its three dungeons in interest. The fees had been announced. For the main dungeon, it was one Earth-grade Mana stone to enter. For the waterfall regular dungeon, it would be one hundred Mortal-grade Mana stones. The endless dungeon would also be one Earth-grade Mana stone. People were eager to find out the rewards they could get from these dungeons. The Fighter’s Association directly applied to join the city. They didn’t build a large building, but they weren’t ones for appearance, focusing on Strength instead.
The Wayside Inn’s cheap prices, much cheaper than the residences in the city, brought people over. The people from the Alchemist Association who had heard about the Sky Reaching Restaurant from their friends in the Third Realm went to check them out. They found that their friends in the Third Realm had been understating the meals there. They were expensive, but each and every person agreed they were reasonable prices for the Fourth Realm, where it was rare to get delicacies and food. Most took concoctions or different plants to recover their Stamina. Food was an expensive luxury in the Fourth Realm and concoctions were much cheaper and faster to use.
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) Page 68