“I’ll head out there in three days with one of the special teams. I should find out soon enough if it works or not for me. How are things on your side?”
“There is roughly one Sky Mana stone changing hands everyday or every other day in Vuzgal. That rate will continue to increase as time passes. The people from the eastern Chaotic Lands have arrived and there are people fleeing the war from the west who are coming into the city as well. We have been able to fill about eighty percent of the cities service jobs. I am having an internal review conducted to make sure that they are following Vuzgal’s rules completely.
“The crafting stations in Vuzgal have remained under our control but we are leasing them out to different people, allowing companies and the regular people to get access to them. I have brought some crafters to our side with lucrative incentives. They will watch over the crafting workshops and look at hiring more potential crafters to our ranks. There are people clearing out the surrounding forest of beasts with the spare time between accessing the dungeons.
“Raw materials are coming in from all over the Fourth Realm and other realms. I’ve had several people seeking out information on you, about your relationship status. Some might be eyeing you to see about pairing you off with someone in their family,” Hiao Xen said with a hint of a smile.
Erik laughed. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested, but he didn’t want to be forced into a relationship. He didn’t need another ex-wife, and one who could wield a sword or fireballs sounded suitably terrifying.
“The associations have sent over gifts, as well as the other people of power. I have told them that we are not interested in bribes and they will not be reciprocated. They all answered that they were fine with that and to keep the gifts. I think that some of them really think that we will be interested by the items.”
“Well, crafting materials store away, Mana stones put into the bank, techniques and information books, I’ll review them. Expert level items, I’ll keep. Everything else, get over to the Blue Lotus to be auctioned off,” Erik said.
“And in the future, do you want me to repeat these instructions?”
“Please, unless you think that there is an item that I will be particularly interested in.”
“Okay.”
“Through my contacts I have heard that there are a few groups that are now looking at Vuzgal with eyes of hunger.”
“They’re welcome to try and take it from us,” Erik growled. They had paid in blood for Vuzgal he would no longer let it go without a fight.
Hiao Xen had an awkward expression on his face when he got a sound transmission.
His eyes widened in alarm.
“What is it?” Erik asked, touching his storage ring, ready to fight.
“Elder Lu has come to inspect the Blue Lotus location here. He has requested a meeting with you and Rugrat,” Hiao Xen reported, sounding stunned by the message.
“Okay?”
“Sorry, it is just Elder Lu doesn’t really go anywhere. He invites people to the Blue Lotus Headquarters. To put it in perspective, he has level Seventy and Eighty guards around him so that no one gets ideas. They’re enough to level any city. He has more power than the leaders of the sects in the Fourth Realm.”
“So, kind of like having the president leaving the country and going to another and then asking the country politely if they’ll talk with him?”
“What is a president? Is that like a sect or clan head?”
“Uhh, not really but I guess it is the closest thing that people have to in the Ten Realms, or maybe association head would be closer.”“Okay, but yes, it would be like that.”
“Alright, sure,” Erik nodded to himself, he had a decent impression of Elder Lu. Meeting him wouldn’t be bad.
“Also, it might solve some of the issues that have appeared. It shows that the Blue Lotus is interested in Vuzgal and with the Head having a close relationship with Vuzgal’s city leaders, some of the other powers will think twice before acting on their greed,” Hiao Xen said, looking at Erik.
“Do you think that he did this knowing that?”
“If I know it, he definitely does. I wouldn’t be qualified to attend him with my current position in the association.”
“Huh, okay,” Erik pondered the possibilities as he walked towards the meeting.
***
Elder Lu entered Erik’s office. He could tell that it wasn’t used frequently.
Erik looked up from his papers, quickly standing up. He looked at the guards of Elder Lu. Even seeing them and feeling their deadly pressure he was relaxed.
The guards moved into the room as Elder Lu coughed.
The guards looked at Elder Lu, an awkward expression on their faces.
“I’m sorry, they’re a little alarmist,” Elder Lu apologized.
“No worries, I’ve been in their shoes before. Feel free to check the room. There is a balcony that way, bathroom over there, only entrance and exit to this office is the one you came through. I’d post a few people on the balcony,” Erik said, feeling for the guards.
The guards looked from Erik to Elder Lu.
Elder Lu studied Erik one more time and cupped his hands.
“Thank you, sorry again.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Erik confirmed, moving to greet him properly. “Thank you for coming all this way.”
“It’s hardly far with a totem,” Elder Lu said with a small smile.
Erik smiled and the two of them moved to the couches in the room.
“Still, your actions have sent a warning to the people that were starting to look at Vuzgal like it was prey. For that I am grateful.”
Elder Lu studied Erik.
He is straight forward, dealing with both those that threaten him and those that support him. Based on his words and what he did when faced with the Blood Demon Sect, he’ll die to uphold his beliefs if he has to.
Elder Lu was moved by this novel approach. It was different from what most others would do in the Ten Realms.
“It is just a visit,” Elder Lu downplayed.
“Mhmm,” Erik said, clearly he saw further to Elder Lu’s real reasons. “Well, I am sorry that there is not more to see here. Tea?”
“Please, and I have no worries that Vuzgal will become a gem in the future.”
Erik pulled out three cups and served Elder Lu, his nearest guard and then himself. “I hope that we can all benefit from it.”
He’s an alchemist and serving me tea, so of course my guards are going to be nervous. Diffusing their suspicions upfront. Others would take it as a slight to their honor.
Erik looked to the guard and the cup.
“So is there anything that I can help you with?” Erik asked, not making anything out of the guard taking the cup and drinking from it.
After the first sip he finished it all and cupped his hands to Erik, he might be a lower level but he’d gained the respect and thanks of the guards.
Erik smiled and nodded to them. He then refilled the guards cup and switched it with cup in front of Elder Lu. In response to the raised eyebrows he shrugged and said, “In case the poison was in the cup and not the tea.”
The guards were initially alarmed and then embarrassed at their oversight, yet still internally grateful to Erik.
He seems more at ease with people that fight and kill.
Elder Lu took the tea and raised it to Erik.
They both took their cups and sipped, Elder Lu was surprised as he felt his mind calm and he was able to put down some of the worries that had been plaguing his mind.
“Good tea,” He said as he sipped from it again, it combined medicinal ingredients with regular ingredients, adding a greater depth of flavor and benefits.
“I would like to take credit for it, but thankfully I got it from the cooks of the Sky Reaching Restaurant,” Erik said.
“Ahh, the restaurant that you started in the Third Realm,” Elder Lu said.
Erik nodded with a smile.
�
��You did your research.”
Elder Lu’s eyes crinkled as he shrugged slightly. It had been part of the information on Erik.
“But yes, they made it,” Erik freely admitted. “We’re looking to bring more of our people up here and develop some more restaurants. Too many people focus on Stamina concoctions, while a good cook can make a meal that will recover the same Stamina and taste good.” “I look forward to it,” Elder Lu responded, intrigued by the idea. He raised his cup to Erik again and took another sip.
“I do have something I want to ask you, not as the head of the Blue Lotus in the Fourth Realm, but as a man.” Elder Lu knew very well that Erik could take advantage of him. It was, in a way, a test for Erik to see if he would try and blackmail him.
“I was wondering if you would be able to make a rejuvenation concoction?”
“You have the formulas for those already.”
“Yes, but I was wondering if you could make a stronger concoction. I, of course, have the materials for it and would be willing to pay according to the Alchemy Association’s rules.”
Erik looked into the distance, he seemed to be calculating something. Elder Lu watched his expression, looking peaceful on the surface yet he wanted to drag an answer out of Erik forcefully underneath.
“What ingredients do you have?” Erik asked.
Elder Lu passed him a list.
Erik looked at it and then closed his eyes. He opened them with a difficult expression.
“My Alchemy ability is not yet high enough for me to make a stronger concoction. I don’t like to take advantage of people who are in pain if I can help. I will need more Lidel leaves to refine my Mana control, in order to create a more potent end product. It will take me time to do so.”
“Okay, that is understandable,” Elder Lu said, feeling relieved.
“Sorry that I can’t help you right away. I will need to talk with my teacher. I have let my crafting abilities slip.”
“It is not a problem. I will give you these items and see if I can procure more One Thousand Year Lidel leaves,” Elder Lu said, taking out a storage device from his robe and passing it to Erik.
“Thank you,” Erik said.
They talked on simple matters after that, about Vuzgal, about the situation in the Fourth Realm.
Erik saw Elder Lu out, heading to the totem. The two of them cupped their hands to one another, showing to all that Elder Lu saw Erik on the same level as himself.
Elder Lu was impressed with the man’s foresight.
Still, it is early days. We’ll have to wait and see what he does.
Chapter: Larger Horizons
Julilah and Qin were sitting in the library. The two of them, like they had done countless times before, reading each other’s books and sharing notes. The two of them were on very different trains of thought, but they would ask each other questions randomly to grow their own knowledge.
“Line positioning theory?” Qin asked.
“Straight, curved, or angled?” Julilah didn’t look up from her book.
“Straight.”
Julilah picked up a book, checked the cover and put it in front of Qin. “Midway to the back, The chapter talks about line art. They talk about how they pushed the formations to their limits, finding out the limits of the line positioning by accident.” Julilah said, giving key points as she continued to read her own book.
Qin opened the book and flipped through.
Hmm She said, finding the section as the half sentences from Julilah started to make sense. She was just getting into it, filling in more information in her Formation Skill Book when a voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Look at these two rats, spending their time in here reading and studying. Not even sleeping or taking the time to eat outside.”
Qin looked up to find Ilyana and her group moving toward hers and Julilah’s hidden table in the back of the library.
“What do you want?” Qin asked with narrowed eyes.
“I need to make sure that you rats aren’t dirtying the books of my Formation Guild,” Ilyana said in a righteous voice. A sneer covered her lackeys’ faces as they looked down at the duo and the books around them.
“Childish.” Qin shook her head and continued to flip through the book as if they weren’t even there.
“Too scared, trying to hide in these books? As if you rats could learn anything about formations in the few months you have here!” Ilyana hissed, incensed by their disregard toward her.
“The dumbest dogs bark the loudest,” Julilah said simply as she flipped the pages in her book.
Qin found the section on the line positioning.
“Oops!” One of Ilyana’s friends ‘fell’ forward and dropped a drink on the books and on Qin.
“Librarian! There is someone defacing books!” Ilyana yelled out, a gloating look in her eyes as the girl dropped the cup into Qin’s lap.
It wasn’t a few moments later that a librarian appeared.
Qin didn’t have time to do anything before they appeared. Ilyana and her friends must have seen when Mister Herric was walking around in this area and timed doing this so that I wouldn’t be able to cover it up.
He saw the book covered in the drink and the drink on Qin and the floor.
“You!” He rushed over and grabbed the book from her hands, horrified. The books were the lifeblood of the Formation Guild. Other crafters might have different materials as they were more physically inclined, but the Formation Guild was all based on theory. To them, books were the backbone of their craft and their guild.
He waved his hand and stored all of the books on the table. “You are banned from this library!” he yelled, his beard trembling in anger.
Julilah looked at her hands where the book in them had been ripped away.
She got up calmly as Qin used the Clean spell, her face turning red in anger.
“I challenge all of you to a formation duel. The loser will be kicked out of the Formation Guild, never to return or use their items!” Qin declared.
“You defaced a book and now you’re challenging me to a duel? You have guts!” Ilyana snarled.
Herric let out a indignant sound. He might be neutral, but at the end of it, they were outsiders and Ilyana was a member of a clan that had been formation masters for generations.
Qin said nothing back.
“I’ll take your duel! The person who loses will also have to be the other’s slave.” Ilyana cackled in glee at the thought.
“Despicable,” Julilah commented as she stood.
“Fine, one hour from now we will have our duel. I don’t have time to waste on you.” Qin turned and started walking away. Julilah followed her out.
“If you run, my Mao clan will hunt you down!” Ilyana shouted to their backs.
“Your clan?” Qin looked back at Ilyana with a smile on her face. She had been hearing about Vuzgal even without trying to. She also knew that Erik was ruling the city while Rugrat was in Alva.
From the standing of Vuzgal, she knew that the power of Alva was much greater than she ever thought. They now had direct alliances with most of the associations and lifetime binding contracts.
“Maybe it is time that we changed schools,” Julilah said to Qin.
“This one is getting noisy,” Qin agreed, forgetting Ilyana and the others as she kept walking.
“I’ve nearly spent most of my funds on materials,” Qin said awkwardly as they turned the corner, not seeing the victorious smile on Ilyana’s face.
Herric left, going to report the duel and to repair the book.
“Me too,” Julilah said with a dry laugh. “Rugrat did say to contact Vuzgal if we needed to. Isn’t your brother there?”
“Yeah, but he’ll make fun of me,” Qin pouted.
***
Elder Mao Yahui was working in his private workshop when there was a knock on the door. He frowned but finished off his last rune. He deactivated the isolation formation and used another formation to open the door.
&nbs
p; “I am sorry to disturb dear Elder, but your granddaughter Mao Ilyana has challenged an outsider to a formation duel,” the servant said quickly, bowing to Elder Mao.
He was a teacher in the Fourth Realm, his Strength enough to allow him to the Sixth Realm. But in the Fourth, he could recruit new talents into the clan’s faction. Although it might look harmonious on the outside, all of the associations had several factions internally, whether they be political, regional groups or families that were interwoven into the fabric of the associations. He could also offer help to the younger generation of the Mao clan that had come from root families or were sent down to experience the lower realms and temper their minds while teaching here.
“What for?” Elder Mao knew his granddaughter was an arrogant woman, coming from the Fifth Realm. The family hoped to change her thoughts and make her stronger through the schools learning experience. She had created her own group within the students and influenced those in the same skill level as her. It showed good management skills, but she had a petty streak in her still that was quite unseemly.
“There are two outsiders who are taking the basic formation classes with her. She is using them as an example to increase her influence,” the servant said. They had seen enough of these games to know what was on the surface and of course the idiotic thoughts behind it.
“Using the outsiders, she instills the thought she is trying to preserve the strength and purity of the Formation Guild and make her a hero in the eyes of her generation. It is a good move. Do we know this person’s background?” Elder Mao asked.
“No,” the servant said quickly.
Elder Mao looked over at them. The weight of his gaze made the servant bow.
“Not even the head of the school knows where they came from. They were simply given tokens and admitted.”
Elder Mao stood. The Journeyman level badge on his chest showed two lines through it as the formation glowed through. “What is the bet for?” he asked, feeling uneasy.
“To be dismissed from the Formation Guild and become the other’s servant,” the servant said.
“Let us go and take a look,” Elder Mao sighed.
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) Page 71