The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  “Answer it,” Erik said.

  “Qin, I’m in the middle of something and I don’t have Mana stones to lend you,” Yui said.

  “Julilah and I might be in some trouble. It started with a girl, Ilyana, making me challenge her to a duel, but now Julilah is fighting an elder.”

  “Tell me everything from the beginning.” Yui had matured, not charging into action. He was a leader of one of Alva’s platoons; he couldn’t simply charge out to fight for his sister now.

  She reported everything to him and Yui was left with a difficult expression on his face.

  “Something happen?” Erik asked.

  Yui quickly relayed the situation to Erik.

  “Tell her to send us a message if anything else happens.” Erik raised his sound transmission device to his mouth and sent a message.

  “Erik is looking into it. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to send a message,” Yui said.

  “Okay,” Qin said.

  “Promise me,” Yui begged.

  “I promise. I’ll hold a sound talisman to send a message.”

  “Good. We’ll get this sorted out soon.” Yui ended the talk as Erik finished with his call.

  “I talked to the head of the Formation Guild here. They will send a message to the head over there. Niemm, you and your team are on me. Yui, I need to know you’ll follow my orders to the letter,” Erik said.

  “Yes, sir.” Yui saluted.

  “Okay, you can come as well. We’ll head off right now. If it is resolved, we’ll leave, but if something goes wrong, we can intervene.” Erik stood.

  Niemm started sending messages and pulled out his armor, putting it on.

  “Are you sure, sir?”

  “Qin isn’t one to overreact and we need to show that we will not be bullied. Strength is all that the people of the Ten Realms know, so we have to show it once in a while,” Erik said in confirmation.

  ***

  Academy Head Yan Zemin lived a comfortable life. She was a peak Journeyman formation master, with half a foot in the Expert level. She had achieved her position later in life and although it was possible for her to reach Expert level in formations, she was much later than those geniuses so she didn’t get the resources or attention of others.

  She was made the head of the academy and carried out her tasks faithfully, not showing favor to one group or another. She largely ran the academy from afar, taking time to take in the sights and discover art across the Ten Realms.

  She was sitting and having tea in her garden, looking over the perfect scene. Formations to gather Mana were set up, allowing plants from across the Ten Realms to bloom, filling the air with their refreshing scents.

  If one was to look carefully, they would see that the plants were in a formation of their own, everything perfectly laid out and measured.

  She was interrupted by someone entering the garden. She knew it by the change in Mana flow. She sighed and looked over as a messenger hurried over.

  “Word from Vuzgal, Formation Guildmaster.” He dropped to his knees.

  “Go on.” Seeing how fast he had arrived, she felt something was wrong.

  “Two students, a Miss Qin and a Miss Julilah, are patrons of the Vuzgal lord. He called in a personal favor to have the two attend basic formation classes. He has sent word about a possible issue and hopes that we can make sure that any conflicts don’t escalate,” the messenger said.

  “Speak plainly,” she said, not willing to try to figure out the hidden meaning in his words.

  “Miss Qin and Miss Julilah are dueling right now; they must have gotten word. They are fine with the duels and will agree to the results, but they don’t want the two ladies to be hurt. They went up against Mao Ilyana, and Elder Mao stepped in to try to save face for the Formation Guild.”

  “Ilyana, she is a good prospect, but she is nearly two times the duo’s age. Did they fight her at the same time or help each other?”

  “No, Miss Qin used layering formations and then an enhancing formation to defeat Ilyana.”

  Yan Zemin’s brows creased. “I will go over there myself.” She sighed and pulled out a formation-covered pendant. She put it on her robes. The formations glowed as two phantom wings appeared on her back. She took off and headed toward the dueling platform, only dust left behind where she had been standing.

  ***

  Two tables had been brought to the arena. Elder Mao and Julilah had their materials and items laid out on the tables.

  The judge looked at them both. “Please begin,” he said.

  Julilah grabbed a formation plate and started to carve into it.

  Elder Mao checked his equipment once more and then picked up a carving tool. He started to carve into the formation plate, his motions fluid from years of practice.

  “Every movement of Elder Mao seems to be in harmony with the formation plate. He only needs to carve a line or rune once, without any need for revisions,” an Apprentice said, stunned.

  A few Journeyman-level formation masters had joined; seeing Elder Mao’s work could be said to be a lucky chance for them.

  Julilah didn’t take long to finish with her formation plate. It was set up with lines connecting five holes in the outer formation and one in the center.

  She went to the next formation plate and then frowned. She appeared to be looking through a book—many missed it, but the judge saw her actions and focused on her.

  Elder Mao didn’t know what was going on with Julilah. He was focused on making his formation. Even if he was going up against a junior, he wouldn’t create a sub-par formation.

  He knew that Ilyana’s freedom relied on him. He had removed those distractions from his thoughts. Formations needed to be made with utmost focus.

  He finished carving the formation and moved to an ink slab and a selection of reactants in a tray of bottles. He combined the reactants into a solution on the ink slab. He took out his brush and dabbed it into the reactants and started to trace out the formation with the reactants.

  He finished some time later and looked up at Julilah. Now, all that was left to do was introduce power into his formation.

  His eyes were deep and controlled but his eyes turned alarmed as he saw her sitting in her chair. But her eyes were up in the sky; she made motions with her head.

  To others, it would look bizarre, but to a Journeyman-level crafter, they would know what it looked like when one was looking through their skill-related book.

  She’s of the Journeyman level? He was a bit shocked to say the least. He thought she might be older than Ilyana, but based on the level of low thirties and her appearance, he didn’t think she was that much older. If she is already in the Journeyman realm, then isn’t she some kind of genius? Elder Mao racked his head, before he calmed himself down. He had been a Journeyman for a long time and his skills were strong for the realm.

  Still, it could create problems even if she is kicked out. She and Qin are close. I will have to get Ilyana to agree to release Qin from being a slave. There might be a bigger background to them. If I win a victory over one, then I can annull the agreement between Ilyana and this Qin.

  ***

  Julilah had been studying formations for nearly two years now. Coming to the academy run by the Formation Guild, she felt that finally a lot of things had snapped into place. With the lectures, although they were basic, they built up the roots of one’s formation knowledge and ability.

  Still, she had been researching most of her time here. Finding out something new was exciting and she and Qin competed against each other all the time. It was unknown whether Qin would be able to keep her position as the department head in a few years with Julilah neck and neck with her.

  Qin had taken to studying combat formations, including ways to make formations during battle so she could fight with them.

  Julilah had gone a different route, looking to enchant items. With the socket formations that Rugrat had created, she had altered her own techniques and worked on them for month
s so her own knowledge of formation sockets was even greater than Rugrat’s now.

  She had then taken up compartmentalization, similar to Qin’s way of making different parts of a formation and building them up with the systems that were needed to achieve the desired result. She had broken formations into several components; if she messed up one formation, then she could take it out and replace it if needed rather than losing the formation as a whole.

  She sighed and put away the formation she had been working on and took out a fresh formation plate. She could feel the seconds ticking down and the eyes of everyone on her as she double-checked the information in her skill book to make sure she was carving the formation out properly.

  She kept on working; her competitive side ignited as she dared to make the strongest formation that she knew of. A formation that she had not actually fully built before.

  She knew it was risky, but the thrill of it all invigorated her. She had been acting all cold and emulating being an adult to try to get people to leave her to study, but now her younger side drove her to take risks and put it all on the line.

  ***

  Yan Zemin looked at the formations on the tables. She was up in one of the higher rooms around the arena. Quite a few of the teachers had come out to see what had made Elder Mao enter the arena against a student.

  Still, she was able to find an empty room to view the competition.

  Elder Mao’s formation was done with traditional methods and was a high-quality mid-Journeyman level formation: a defensive Mana barrier formation that all Journeyman formations masters had done before.

  “He didn’t believe his opponent would be that much trouble.” Yan Zemin whispered as she looked at the formation in front of Julilah. She had seen formations like it before, but it was usually used by high-Journeyman-level formation crafters or Experts in order to save materials; if one part of the formation didn’t work, then it wasn’t all destroyed and become a wasted effort.

  From her actions, Julilah showed that she had entered the Journeyman level already.

  Yan Zemin pulled out a thin scroll and opened it.

  It was the orders she had got from the Vuzgal Formation Guild about them entering her school and they were to be treated like any other student. Their background and their skill level wasn’t known. When they had to fill out information sheets, they didn’t put down their last names; the only thing she gained from it was their age.

  Both of them were still teenagers.

  “Vuzgal is becoming a new jewel of the Fourth Realm. Its lord is mysterious, training up fighters who use ways similar to the Sha to fight. He is a member of the Alchemist Association and a healer as well as a fighter. He even has a Blue Lotus head controlling the city.” Yan Zemin tapped her armrest in thought.

  A part of me wants to try to recruit them, but we just got a partnership with Vuzgal. Poaching his people would only anger him for sure. If there is a possible way to leverage a spot in the crafter’s dungeon trial ahead of the lines…

  Julilah used a Mana stone, imbuing the formation with power. The reactants started to glow, the formations ready to be activated at a moment’s notice.

  She checked it once and looked over to the judge. “I am done.”

  Everyone looked as the judge took the two formations to a testing table of his own. He checked the formations over—their line work, the runes, and reactants.

  The more he studied the formations, the more wrinkles appeared on his brow.

  Yan Zemin sent him a message. “Teacher Lin, do you require assistance?”

  “Head Yan Zemin, I am indeed in over my head. I can make a proper evaluation on Elder Mao’s formation but not on Student Julilah’s.”

  Yan Zemin didn’t miss how his address toward Julilah had changed. Miss created a greater distance, while Student acknowledged that she was someone who had learned formations.

  “I will be down.” Yan Zemin exited her room and used her flying formation, descending from the skies and into the arena.

  “Who is that?”

  “Head Yan Zemin!” someone yelled out.

  “I only saw her once at my brother’s graduation ceremony but it must be her!”

  The students and the teachers bowed to her as she appeared on the stage next to the judge, Teacher Lin.

  Elder Mao bowed to her; Qin and Julilah cupped their hands and gave small bows, their eyes filled with suspicion. Yan Zemin’s eyes didn’t miss the sound transmission talisman on Qin’s hands.

  She turned to the two formations and looked at them. The original evaluation of Elder Mao’s formation was right on. He had made so many of them that there were only a few flaws in its creation.

  She looked at the other formation. There were a number of flaws that showed with someone who was still trying to figure out the formation.

  Her impassive face showed a hint of a smile. She tapped her lips before nodding to herself.

  “It is close, but Student Julilah wins,” Yan Zemin proclaimed.

  Everyone wanted to deny this result.

  Julilah let out a laugh and Qin grabbed her in a fierce hug. The two of them jumped up and down in excitement.

  “Though I must say that I don’t agree with these bets.” Yan Zemin’s voice turned colder.

  Qin and Julilah stilled their exultations. Elder Mao and Ilyana looked up to Yan Zemin as if she were a savior.

  “Elder Mao, being closed up seems to have made it harder for you to see the goings-on in the outside world. You will be taking up a teaching position for the next ten years,” she said in a grave tone. “Mao Ilyana, your actions have shamed the Formation Guild and my academy.”

  Ilyana paled.

  Yan Zemin already had her suspicions of what had really happened and she would investigate it all. She turned to Qin and Julilah. “I am sorry for this request and I know it is an awkward one to make. Will you allow Ilyana to remain within the academy? I still need to investigate the matters around this but you already made a bet.”

  “It was fun to use our skills somewhere other than the classroom. I’ll leave her punishment up to you, Head Yan.” Qin bowed respectfully.

  Yan Zemin had seen many people. With their Strength, they weren’t being arrogant and trying to shame the Formation Guild any more than they needed to.

  “From now on, I believe I speak for the staff when I say that you have graduated the Novice and Apprentice classes. You can pick whichever classes you want to attend up to the Journeyman level and browse all of our libraries, other than the sections above Journeyman and the restricted areas,” Yan Zemin announced.

  Julilah and Qin bowed to her.

  “I declare these contests at a close.” Yan Zemin clapped her hands together.

  The crowds stood up and clapped, some with mixed feelings. But none of them could deny the exciting show they had just seen.

  “A student beating an elder, and what technique did she make?”

  “That formation—I have never seen it before. There are multiple formations inside one another. How don’t they burn out?”

  “Was that your first attempt?” Yan Zemin asked Julilah, using a spell so others couldn’t see or hear her talking.

  Julilah nodded as Yan Zemin’s smile grew.

  “Bring Qin and visit my garden in two days.” Yan Zemin looked around, seeing over a dozen people wearing cloaks with a dangerous aura.

  Her eyes thinned as she looked at the two strongest. She didn’t know when they had arrived, the competition grounds were public for people to see the strength of the Formation Association and bring in money.

  The men turned back towards her, they seemed to notice her eyes on them.

  They wore strange armor under their cloaks and she saw a strange crest on their chests, there was a spire standing above a castle with a V underneath.

  “Vuzgal?” She muttered to herself.

  She swore one of the men smiled, he touched the brim of his cloak hood in salute and they turned away again, walking down the corri
dor.

  She looked at Qin and Julilah before she rose into the skies, leaving the arena behind.

  ***

  Erik and the special, left the formation academy, people moved away from the cloaked group, they didn’t try to restrain their complete auras. After all strength was respected across all of the Ten Realms and getting stuck in foot traffic kind of sucked.

  Yui relaxed and the rest of the group did as well.

  “Looks like they even got access to more classes and books. Seems like they’re running off to a library now.” Yui let out a laugh, filled with tension as he relaxed.

  Erik stood and smacked his shoulder.

  “Thank you, sir,” Yui said.

  “We protect our own—it just happened to be your sister. But we would do it for anyone from Alva or from those who have asked for our help,” Erik said. “Though it is good to not be needed sometimes!”

  They had serious expressions on their faces as they continued towards the totem.

  Chapter: Stone Fist Sect

  Erik had been training people during the day, increasing the number of people within the army. Their numbers were growing faster the longer they went on. Hiao Xen had filled all of Vuzgal’s administrative positions. With the review boards, the people who had come expecting a free ride or had been using their power to allow others to skirt the law had been removed or forced to work for Vuzgal as their prisoners.

  The roads to the east had been cleaned up and there was traffic moving every day. Expert crafters from across the realms came and visited the city for the chance to use the Expert crafting rooms.

  The Sky Reaching Restaurants had been built, but the chefs, cooks, and staff still needed to be trained up. People from the Division Headquarters in the Third Realm were moving to Vuzgal to reduce the burden on staff.

  The Wayside Inns and the bank were doing a big business with financing people; Mana stones passed hands constantly.

  The Blue Lotus had weekly auctions with items that could normally only be found in the other capitals. The Alchemist Association had the biggest presence after the Crafter’s Association.