“So what are you going to do?” Rugrat asked Erik as they walked out of Alva and toward the barracks on the outskirts.
“I’m going to head to the Third Realm. If I want to advance my cultivation, then I’m going to need to make some powerful concoctions.” Erik smiled. “What are you going to do?”
“Vuzgal! Isn’t it the best place for crafters, after all? I think with Tan Xue there, we can bring over some more smiths from across the Fourth Realm. With the workshops and the materials, I’m excited.” Rugrat grinned.
“How does Taran feel about being left behind to run the smithing department?” Erik asked.
Rugrat coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. “I’m sure he’ll be fine with learning the secrets of the Metal floor. We’ve only touched the surface, and he has all of Tan Xue’s notes, Expert-level blueprints, and then the Expert-level workshop all to himself.”
“Have you asked him or Tan Xue?”
“Nope.”
Erik let out a tired sigh.
“You might want to do that before you kidnap one and force the other into their old job.”
“He ran the whole academy for a while, they’ll be fine,” Rugrat said.
“So you think that he’s going to reach Expert in smithing before you?”
Rugrat snorted. “He can try! I’ve got five barrels of Alva shine on the line.”
The corner of Erik’s mouth lifted as he shook his head. “When are you heading to Vuzgal?”
“In a few days.” I have to talk to the two of them first, want to take Taran up there to take a look around if he can get the free time, before he takes over as the head of smithing in Alva. I talked to Jia Feng, she’s getting a group of crafters together to fill out our ranks.. A lot of people who left Alva searching for information and experience are congregating on Vuzgal now.” Rugrat yawned and stretched.
“I had heard that people were buying monster cores like crazy,” Erik said.
“Yeah, Elan has been doing a swift business, got his hands on a few Earth-grade Mortal cores. They’re only up to the lesser level, but still they cost nearly thirty mana stones down here. Boosting one’s level with monster cores is no cheap thing. Though most of the crafters’ expenses are low and the money they make is high, so although it’s difficult, it’s not impossible for them to purchase the monster cores.”
“Yeah, I grabbed a set of them. We only consumed up to the Mortal common monster cores. I kept at least one Mortal greater, grand, and variant grade core and got an Earth lesser and common core. I haven’t reached a bottleneck right now, but they might come in use.” Erik pulled out a box.
“What is this?” Rugrat asked.
“I got you monster cores as well. I knew that you would forget otherwise,” Erik said.
Rugrat coughed, an awkward look on his face as he took them.
“Were you just feeding them to George?” Erik asked as a thought struck him.
“Well, he’s a good boy and I didn’t think I had much use for them…” Rugrat trailed off.
Erik opened his mouth and then closed it, thinking of the monster cores he had purchased for Gilga.
Never mind, best not to try to think of how much I spent on treats, uh, monster cores.
Erik cleared his throat as they reached Glosil’s office in the barracks and knocked on the door. Rugrat put the box away and stood straighter.
“Enter,” Glosil called from beyond the door.
They walked in and Glosil looked up.
His expression cleared, seeing it was them.
“Don’t worry, just here for a casual chat.” Erik stopped him from standing and saluting. “How are things going?” he asked as he and Rugrat took seats in front of his desk.
“I have been collecting information on the Alva Earth floor.” He let out a sigh. “The formations are busted to hell. We were able to bring more of them online once we fired up the main command formation on the Metal floor.” Glosil pressed his lips together and put a map on the table. “Still, it’s not much.”
“Do we know, roughly, what level the creatures are down there?” Rugrat asked.
“Twenties to low forties. Increasing the upper limit just due to our limited information. Going to create a beachhead camp and then advance from there, bring the formations online to gather more information before pushing forward.”
“Sounds like a good plan. How is training and the reorganization of the military going?” Erik asked.
“In two weeks, the first class in Vuzgal will graduate—just over two hundred new privates. A new class will start right afterward. The staff in Alva will finish training the two hundred recruits here and then be shifted to Vuzgal to train the excess recruits we have there. Yesterday, Tiger Company completed their training and are all scout qualified. Next week, Rugrat will be taking command of the officer training class from Blaze.” Glosil looked to Rugrat, who nodded.
“Blaze, Erik, and I sat down and confirmed the training schedule.”
“They won’t like us, but they’ll have earned their spots,” Erik added.
“I look forward to it, seeing as I’m in the class,” Glosil muttered.
“You volunteered and it shows that you’re willing to learn—sets a good example and makes you closer with the rest of the officers,” Erik said.
“If the training ends in Vuzgal in two weeks, doesn’t that mean that their vets will start training as medics, engineers, and mages?”
“That is correct. In a month, we will be able to have people trained to fill the positions of a combat company, minus the close protection detail. It won’t be full, but we’ll have the skeleton.”
“Someone sounds eager.” Erik chuckled.
“Well, it looks like you have things in hand.” Rugrat slapped his hands on his legs to a random beat. “I will be heading up to Vuzgal tomorrow.”
“I will be heading up to the Third Realm and then heading to Vuzgal to take over the officer training.”
“We will be executing our attack on the Earth floor in three days with Dragon Company.” Glosil checked his paperwork.
“Looks like we’ve got plenty to keep us busy,” Rugrat said.
“And keep some of us out of trouble,” Erik added.
***
Elan sat down in the bar. He wore simple trader’s clothing, his face dirtied up. A smile appeared on his face.
“Good to see you. It’s been too long,” he said with a laugh, reaching out his hand.
The other trader followed along and laughed. “The days fly by when you’re on the road!”
A barmaid came over, smiling as she saw the two traders reunited. “Drinks or food?”
“Two of your Jales, please.” Elan tossed out a silver coin.
The girl snatched it up and hid it in her sleeve with a wide smile. “Coming up!” She rushed off.
Elan looked at the other trader. It was their first time meeting, but the trader was someone who people from Alva had cultivated into an information source. “You have something for me?”
“Everything seems calm right now. There are a few nations that are looking to insert trading companies that they own into Vermire to take over trading and then the city.” He laughed and patted Elan on the shoulder.
Elan laughed as the drinks came back and the girl put them down.
“Let me know if you need anything else!” she said with a bright smile and left.
The two of them grabbed their smoky glasses filled with what looked to be clear water. They cheered and took a drink of the refreshing drink that tasted remarkably like fruit.
“Dangerous, that,” Elan said as the man passed him a bundle of scrolls. Elan took it into his storage ring.
“That’s when you know it’s the good stuff,” the trader said, his eyes scanning around. “There are talks of some of the healing houses moving to other outposts to pull people away from Vermire as well.”
Elan seemed to weigh the information as he took another slow drink, watching the trader out of the corner of his eye.
He didn’t say anything else, watching Elan nervously.
Elan took out a clear potion bottle covered in runes. The potion was red, with golden flakes that were stirred up with the slightest movement. “This should help your grandson,” Elan said.
The man looked at the potion. Even as a veteran trader, he didn’t seem to believe what he was looking at. “How?” he started. But then he looked at Elan and shook his head, a self-deprecating smile on his face. “I know better than to ask.”
Elan nodded as he reached out more; the trader took the potion under the table and then grabbed the drink, taking a deep gulp.
Elan passed over his sound transmission mark. “If you hear anything else, let me know. There are plenty of rewards that might be hard to find in the First Realm,” Elan said with meaning.
“You have my word,” the trader said.
Elan smiled, the serious atmosphere dissipating as he raised his glass. “To your grandson and your family’s health!”
“And to yours as well!” The trader’s smile was now totally genuine as they clinked glasses and finished off their drinks.
***
Elan headed through Vermire. Once he had become a person of Alva, Vermire was like his backyard. Lord Aditya didn’t hide anything from him. Elan had taken control over all of the spies Lord Aditya had raised, then those from the different Alva traders, and the Adventurer’s Guild.
The information network was vast, so his last few weeks had been spent going through the totem. He had gone to the Second Realm before, but it was his first time going to the Third Realm. What was something that he thought he wouldn’t be able to do in his life had almost become an everyday norm.
The Adventurer’s Guild and the traders in the higher realms had created extensive information networks. Most of them were looking for jobs, but a few of them had access to information that was useful to Alva. That would allow them to advance their reach and their ability, or escape issues that might appear.
Seems that more people are looking to gain some control over Vermire now that they’ve seen that they can be a powerful player.
He moved through different alleyways. Using the formations in the city, he could tell that there was no one following him. Still, he changed his appearance twice, a skill he had learned from some shadowy figures.
Then he reached the lord’s manor as Elan Silaz. He presented his documents and was allowed in. He waited for some time before he was admitted to Lord Aditya’s office.
Lord Aditya’s leg had been healed long ago and even more than that, he was now walking down the path to temper his body. He might have gone against Alva unknowingly in the beginning, but now he was one of their most loyal subjects.
“So, how does the recruiting go? I heard that you were able to find some Apprentice-level crafters not long ago.”
Both men would have been stunned with these words not long ago.
“Don’t you find it strange when talking about Apprentice crafters as if they’re common cabbages?”
“Get used to it.” Aditya shrugged.
“Finding Apprentice crafters in the First Realm isn’t easy. Thankfully the only requirement is motivated people, which are a lot easier to find.” Elan pulled out the scrolls he had gotten from the trader and put them out on the table between two couches.
“What’s this?” Aditya asked.
“A potential problem, kind of.” Elan started to read the documents, looking at the files that contained information on the healing houses first, and waving for Aditya to join him.
Aditya took the files on the different trading conglomerates and their actions, as well as different healing houses that outposts were talking to.
The two of them fell into silence for some time.
“Those ungrateful pricks,” Aditya said as he flipped pages.
“Hmm?” Elan asked, his eyes not leaving the scroll in his hand.
“There are a few traders who are trying to get their leaders to move in on the other outposts in the area, to have them take over and then create direct competition with us. They’re gathering support. Then there are other traders who are offering to increase their prices when dealing with us for goods like food. Otherwise, we can’t support our people. If they increase the prices, then others will do the same. At that point, people might question if I was to try to buy food from Alva, wondering where I got it from.”
“You have stocks of food here, though, right?”
“Yes, enough for the original Vuzgal to survive a year on. But now, with the new population increase, it would only last for four or five months,” Aditya said.
“Let them increase their prices. People will be angry and pissed off, then you privately sell your stock, for the people. Show that you want what is best for them and you’re selling your own stock at only a slightly higher price than before. They will look like robbers taking advantage of Vermire’s people and be driven out, while your popularity will increase among the people of Vermire,” Elan said.
“Well—” Aditya thought it over before he let out a small laugh. “When it comes to things like business, I’ve still got a lot to learn!”
Elan smiled.
Aditya realized that he was a frog at the bottom of his well, but he was actively looking to improve the way that he dealt with things. He was still a young man by Ten Realms standards.
“They’re also looking to add additional taxes for anyone who comes from our direction because of the threat to their people on the roads and having to put out their soldiers to clear the trade routes. Some are directly looking for the militaries to pressure us. Now, the pressuring us with the military won’t work, because we’re a neutral ground for all nations. If the military tries to pressure us, then the other nations will quietly but firmly show their displeasure,” Aditya said.
Elan took a few minutes, finishing the line he was reading before replying. “Are you trying to impress us with your plan to make a trading city in the middle of the Beast Mountain Range?” Elan looked up at Lord Aditya.
“I do as I am ordered,” Aditya said.
Elan’s expression turned into a smile. “Well, I can tell you that my official job here is to expand the information network that we have into the other outposts and to see just how valid your idea might be. Then it will be up to the leadership to decide what we do.” Elan picked up a new scroll.
Aditya’s face split in a wide smile.
Elan knew his history and how he had come to the attention of Alva. Now he remained as the lord over Vermire Trading Outpost, one of their people. He was a lord in name only, but they had entrusted him with a great number of secrets and revealed more power than a simple group in the First Realm should have.
He’d kept his lips shut and worked hard to do his best. With them looking at his plan seriously, it showed that he had gained a heavy measure of their trust.
Seems that the healing houses are getting nosey again.
“Is there something wrong with your scroll?” Aditya asked, looking at Elan’s sour expression.
“It looks like the healing houses are a bit pissed off with how low the Alva Healing House’s expenses are. They also are confused by their techniques. They’re gathering information on them right now, but I don’t think that anything good will come from it.” Elan sighed.
“I guess this is part of the price of success? As soon as you have something, then others want a piece of it.” Aditya let out a dry laugh.
“Well, at least we have the drop on them so we can prepare ahead of time. I would also suggest that when the food prices are increased, create an area with greenhouses to grow food all year round,” Elan said. “Shows the people your sincerity and that you’re looking to avert disaster and take a step further in becoming a completely independent city.”
“I haven’t told you yet, but with our permanent population and our size, we officially became a Ten Realms-recognized grade-two town the other day,” Aditya said with pride.
“Congratulations.” Elan smiled. “Only two more grades and you’ll reach city status!”
“I never thought that I would control a city—still doesn’t feel real,” Aditya said.
“There’s still a long way to go.”
“And many problems to be dealt with!” Aditya chimed in.
Elan snorted. “Well, at least it keeps us both in a job.”
***
Fehim was walking through the Alchemy plants, stopping as he reached the center of the garden where the silverlight tree had been replanted.
He liked to tour the garden every so often.
“Checking up on the others?” Erik, who sat on a bench facing the large tree, asked, turning his head to look over at Fehim.
“As the Alchemy department head, it’s only natural,” Fehim said with a smile. He moved over to Erik and bowed.
“No need for that, Fehim.” Erik waved him off and indicated to the bench.
Fehim smiled and sat down on the bench, looking at the tree with Erik. There was an Alchemy book open in his lap.
“Seems a little different.” Erik looked at the silverlight tree. Instead of being silver and green, its main trunk looked to be made from polished silver and looked fragile, as if a stiff breeze would cause it to snap. The leaves hung down in myriad colors, mingling with one another, random but beautiful.
“Well, that might be because we got the tree type messed up. It was a silverlight tree, but now it’s an ever-silver tree. Known to people as a mana tree. It can live in any environment that has a truly massive amount of mana, but only one in ten thousand will reach maturity because they are incredibly fragile and it has interesting mana requirements.
“When you brought it, it was silver and green, due to its structure being changed by the mana that they absorb. So when it was in the dungeon, absorbing just two types of mana, it took on characteristics of them both. So when it was exposed to other kinds of mana, then it started to change. We took it around the garden, balancing out all of the different attribute manas that it consumed and then it changed into its current form.
“From what we’ve been able to learn, when it reaches maturity then silver fruits will appear on its limbs, showing up once every five years afterward. These fruits are called silver fruits. Someone’s naming scheme isn’t that amazing,” Fehim said dryly.
Erik smiled. “What will they do? Can they be used in a concoction? And what does the tree do with the mana? I can sense it pulling in mana but not letting any out?”
Fehim grinned. “The silver fruits randomly increase a person’s attributes by one to seven points.”
Erik looked at the ever-silver tree with a new appreciation.
“I haven’t been able to find out about any concoctions that use them. I think few people would try to experiment with something so powerful. I’ve been searching for more information discreetly but they’re incredibly rare and even the one that you brought wasn’t in good condition. It would have died in a few months or years—even now we have to monitor to make sure that the trunk doesn’t snap. We’ve been trimming back the branches so there’s not as much strain on the trunk. It will mean a lower yield, but as long as we can grow the tree, there’s a possibility that it will create a bud that we can plant and grow into a second ever-silver tree.”
“What protections have you put into place?” Erik asked.
“There is a defensive formation around it. Qin worked on it personally. It is powered by the dungeon and there is a mana barrier as well. Someone will be alerted as they get close to the tree. If they keep going, then the defensive formation will toss them out. Second time, it will attack to disable. If someone attacks, then the barrier will block and the formation will attack,” Fehim reassured Erik.
“Well, we should get a good harvest in five years,” Erik said.
“Four, nearly three years,” Fehim corrected.
Erik looked to Fehim and raised his eyebrows. “Huh. Time seems to have sped on by.”
“It has,” Fehim said.
“Are you afraid of losing your position as the head of the Alchemy department?” Erik asked.
“You going to fire me from it?” Fehim asked.
“Nothing like that.” Erik shook his head at Fehim’s easy smile.
“I will probably lose the position soon, but, I am quite a bit older than most of the students and I started learning later on. I care more about the ingredients and my skill lays in assisting alchemists with their concoctions, not making them myself,” Fehim said. “I knew that others would surpass me eventually. If Delilah was not the council leader, then she would be the department head.”
“Not many people would be as willing to give up their position as you,” Erik said.
“We are growing. Alva has tens of people coming from across the realms every week instead of every few months. About four-fifths of those people are choosing to live in Alva. People are working harder than ever so that the people who just joined Alva don’t take their position. It creates competition, and there are some inner frictions, but all areas of Alva have handled it well, turning it into action, instead of nefarious rivalry.”
“It’s much bigger than when we started,” Erik agreed.
“And like our gardens, it will continue to grow faster with each passing year.” Fehim cleared his throat, making Erik look over.
“About the lower floors.”
“Not you too.” Erik snorted.
“We have plants of different attributes up here. Although I wish to keep a garden here, with the need for more housing, I can see that we can’t keep expanding the garden all over the place. Also, I am told that the mana density on the lower floors is higher and we have gotten samples back from the Metal floor already. Are there really floors of all different affinities?”
“Don’t care about your position but passionate about your plants,” Erik said dryly.
Fehim shrugged, a light smile on his face.
“Under the Alva Dungeon floor, there is the Metal floor, the Earth floor, the Fire floor, Wood floor, and then the final Water floor. Each of the other floors is many times larger than the current Alva floor.”
“We could grow so much down there, raise different attribute plants. We would have a hard time on the Earth floor—the farmers are going to want to work there. Maybe with the higher Earth mana, they would be happier with a smaller plot of land. They care about growing things in mass instead of increasing their potency. Wait, is this why you’re holding off increasing your Body Cultivation?”
“Partly,” Erik said.
“You used the battlefield dungeon as a way to get down to the Fire floor in order to temper your body in the heavy Fire-attribute mana?”
“Right. For my next tempering, I require to temper my body with the Earth attribute mana, then Metal, Water, and Wood. Each time, I will require stronger concoctions and higher concentrations of mana to allow me to temper my body completely. From what we’ve learned, we know that there can be partial temperings and complete ones. Partial will allow us to complete the quest and some will remain there; others will continue to temper one’s body completely, removing any and all weaknesses. It requires a lot more resources and power, but there are greater benefits later on.”
“One can become stronger immediately but weaken his gains later on.” Fehim nodded.
They fell into silence.
“So once the Earth floor is cleared, will you attempt to temper your body once again? We already have the Metal floor—that will be two temperings complete, right?”
“Yes and no. I can feel that I will need powerful aids to complete my temperings. I will talk to my Alchemy teacher to see if he knows what can help me to overcome my remaining boundaries. Body Cultivation requires a lot of resources to cross, no matter what. Mana Gathering Cultivation requires a lot of work over time, but it is possible to increase through sheer tenacity,” Erik said.
“Both paths take us beyond the realm of just humans, touching upon the power of the Ten Realms in different aspects,” Fehim said. “I’ll keep an eye out in the books from Vuzgal for any information on cultivation aids.”
“Thank you, Fehim.” Erik looked at him and then back to the tree. “I wonder what it will look like in three years.”
“Bigger, I would guess,” Fehim said seriously.
Erik couldn’t help but laugh and Fehim joined in.
***
Rugrat showed off the new tools in the workshop: routers, band saws, sanding belts, table saws, and drills.
“This will make things a lot easier. Instead of taking hours for the new blacksmiths to sharpen blades, it will take them what, a few minutes?” Taran said.
“With the routers, I think that the formation masters would be interested,” Tan Xue said.
“I sent off a bunch of the routers to them. They can just use gems and mana stones in order to power them instead of having to use their mana all the time to make mana blades and other tools,” Rugrat said.
They looked at the machine shop. It hadn’t taken Rugrat long to make everything, using parts and items that they had already. With the rotating formation, his mana blade, and refined metal.
“It should increase production on different items. Though we still haven’t reached this factory stage level of assembly. Even with ammunition, we are casting the rounds and the cartridges, which is done by hand,” Taran complained.
“Haven’t you been working with Matt, the blueprint office, the Alchemy department, and the formation masters to make a machine that will make the cartridges and the rounds for you?” Tan Xue asked.
“Yes, but it all takes time. The mortar rounds need a process, as well as the grenade launcher rounds.” Taran sighed.
Rugrat snorted and then looked at them both. “We had none of this a year ago. Like, look at how far we’ve come. Sure, we’ve got further to go but we’ve done a lot. You’ve both done a lot. If it wasn’t for your efforts, we wouldn’t have gotten to this stage. We are producing rifles at a breakneck speed. Once we can incorporate the machines in this machine shop into production, then it will only increase. When we started, no one would think about four different departments working together in tandem.
“This is what Alva needs—people sharing information, working together, to take what we have already and combine it together to increase their effect. Alchemy concoctions used with needles and intravenous needles. Healers working with tailors, alchemists, and smiths to create sterile plastics. Alchemists working with farmers to make more potent, plentiful, and powerful ingredients as they discuss preparation with the cooks.” Rugrat looked between them both. “You’ve done something incredible here—don’t let anyone tell you any different.”
Taran and Tan Xue looked away, awkward with the praise.
Taran cleared his throat. “Well, if you have some more secrets about making it into the Expert realm of smithing, then I would think you were proposing!”
“Don’t worry—I’m sure you’ll make it to Expert only a few years after me.” Rugrat’s winning grin appeared as Taran faked throwing a punch. Tan Xue snorted and shook her head, the serious atmosphere from before disappearing.
“Though I did want to ask Tan Xue about a few things Expert related. Beers?” Rugrat said.
“Well, seeing as we’ve done so much work as you’ve said, it would be impolite not to accept your offer to buy a few rounds.” Taran cleared his throat and walked ahead.
It took Rugrat a moment to figure out what he said as Tan Xue moved to follow Taran.
“You coming there, slow stuff?” she called back to Rugrat.
“I didn’t say anything about buying a few rounds!” Rugrat said, moving to catch up with them.
They reached the Spitting Boar, one of the new bars that had appeared in Alva. It looked over one of the parks and stood three levels tall, with the top level open to the rest of Alva.
They went to the third floor, grabbing drinks and moving to a table.
“So I’ve explained a lot of this to Taran already. I made it into the Expert level of smithing. I’m not really sure how. Though I have a feeling it didn’t have to do all with knowledge, but the application of that knowledge. Right now, I feel like I am in unknown territory, so I haven’t been talking about it much. I don’t want to send people off on the wrong path. It feels like there is a boundary around me, like there is something I don’t know that is stopping me from progressing. At the same time, I feel like if I figure out what is holding me back then I will be able to increase my ability in smithing a lot.” Tan Xue took a big gulp of her beer.
“Okay, well, when you made that first Expert-level item, what did you think? What did you do differently—materials, tools? Why were you making the item you were? What were the deviations from the plan?” Rugrat asked.
Taran and Rugrat focused on her and she looked up, closing her eyes to picture the whole process.
Rugrat pulled out a notepad; Taran did as well. They forgot about their drinks in a rare moment and declaration of interest in Tan Xue’s words.
“I was really tired. I was just looking at my hammer and hitting it on the metal. I was focusing on using the vibrations of my strikes to increase the strength of the sword. I think it was a sword. Though I kind of tunneled—my mind started to think on my hammer. I knew it so well, how it had formed. I looked at it and I thought that it was interesting how I was working on a new weapon with an old tool that I had created. I thought about the cycle of weapons—hewn from the earth, then refined and combined with other elements and turned into tools. I thought how I was creating a resonance in the weapon with my hammer, how I wondered if I could create a resonance in my hammer’s different elements and if that would transfer that change over to the sword.
“I focused on the hammer. Instead of using the hammer to attack the weapon and create the right vibrations, I started to alter how I used the hammer. I changed the mana flow through my body, the way my muscles moved, achieving a resonance with the hammer.”
Tan Xue opened her eyes, stunned but also at peace.
“I realized that I am the creator. I always used the hammer to form, but it is I forming the weapon, with the hammer as a medium. That without a smithy, without a hammer and a forge, I could create a weapon. My body is the smithy. It is my truth, my realization. At the same time, using my body instead of my hammer to create the vibrations was a form of technique. I don’t know what it means… I have to get back to my smithy,” Tan Xue said, her eyes glossed over.
“Tan Xue, I need you to come to Vuzgal, if you’re okay with that.”
“Huh, what?” Tan Xue jolted in her seat.
“We need a high skilled crafter in Vuzgal if we want to attract people to the academy and make sure that any of the high skilled crafters that we hire will listen to us,” Rugrat said.
“I have projects, classes, I run the smithing department for the Kanesh Academy,” Tan Xue said.
“Well, umm, Taran, would you be interested in taking over as the smithing department head in Alva?” Rugrat asked sheepishly.
The two smiths looked at one another, their eyes narrowing as their turned their stares on Rugrat.
“How long have you been sitting on this plan of yours?”
“Uhh, a few days… maybe weeks,” He muttered into his drink, taking a big swig to cover over the embarrassed look on his face.
“So you want me to go up to Vuzgal so we have the authority to negotiate with other expert crafters and establish ourselves and Taran will take over the department in Vuzgal. Anything else?” Tan Xue pressed.
“Well, there will be a group of crafters that will be heading up to the higher realms, and,” Rugrat coughed. “You would be the head of the Academy.”
Seeing the look in her eyes he talked quickly.
“Don’t worry you would be a figurehead! There will be a staff and people that will help with the day to day running of the academy, like all of the assistants and helpers that are in the Kanesh Academy. You would get a bunch of resources, time in the crafter trial. Umm blueprints, the best of the best! There will be expert level crafting rooms too you’ll be able to go outside too!”
A look from Tan Xue made Rugrat close his mouth.
She sighed and looked to Taran.
The bulky man shrugged.
“You’ve been running the smithing department by yourself pretty much this entire time anyway. You’re well suited to it and with the extra resources you should be able to reach Expert soon. Are you okay with it though?” Tan Xue asked.
“I didn’t think that I would like teaching others, but, I’ve come to enjoy it, seeing how excited they are, I don’t mind being a teacher. Also I have five barrels of shine on the line, I’m not losing to him,” Taran looked at Rugrat.
“I’m, just a half step away!”
“A half step too slow,” Taran grinned.
The two of them looked at one another, grinning like idiots. Excited at the challenge set down between them.
“Alright, I have to go and pack,” Tan Xue said, draining her drink and then standing. Next time, a little bit more warning would be nice.”
“Yes Academy head!” Rugrat said, raising his glass to her.
She snorted and rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she nodded to Taran.
“I’m sure we’ll keep in contact,” He assured her.
“You’ll try to escape Alva more often than not,” She filled in for him.
Taran just chuckled.
Rugrat, seeing them both he realized how just a few short years ago he had never met them, but now he couldn’t imagine a life without them in it. Sure they fought and complained at one another, but they were his brother and sister, even if none of the same blood flowed in their veins.
***
Hiao Xen sighed as he got the latest information from the Stone Fist sect through his sources.
The Ice Empress of the Elsi clan had publicly shamed the Mai clan and Young Master Perkins by using the marriage ceremony to escape the city.
The Stone Fist sect had been angry, with multiple elders voicing their anger. The Ice Empress joined the Fighter’s Association, with many of her disciples who held powerful positions within the Stone Fist sect joining as well.
Others broke off their ties with the Stone Fist sect.
“Just what the hell is happening over there?” Hiao Xen asked the air. “I hope that Erik meeting her didn’t have a part to play in all of this.”
He put the message to the side when there was another sound transmission from another source in the Fighter’s Association.
“Benny, what’s up?” Hiao Xen asked.
“You been looking for more information on why the Ice Empress joined us? Here’s a message she just sent out to the entire Stone Fist sect,” Benny said with a gloating voice.
Hiao Xen received a second sound transmission.
“My name is Mira Elsi. The other day, I was supposed to marry Young Master Perkins. I did not wish to shame the Mai clan, but actions cannot be undone. I made a promise, a contract with the Stone Fist sect and my own Elsi clan when I returned. For years, I thought that this contract had been carried out by both parties. I was wrong. The Stone Fist sect and my own Elsi clan worked together to break the contract. I left my children for the sect, only to find out that they sent down assassins to poison my children. Even at this point, I do not know what their current condition is. They used formations to make sure that I wouldn’t find out about the broken contract until later. It would probably have been years after I was married to Young Master Perkins.”
Hiao Xen could feel the cold fury in her voice as she talked. He gritted his own teeth in anger, thinking about what would have happened if the same thing happened with his son.
“With the contract broken between us, I was free from the sect and my clan. I passed word to my followers, a number of whom believed as I did, that a clan or sect that does this to their members, treating them like goods instead of like their fellow sect members, does not deserve fealty. With this information, you, too, can break your contract with the sect as they have broken their own rules and their word to us.”
The sound transmission ended.
“So, I guess that tells you what happened,” Benny said.
“Is the Fighter’s Association going to do anything?” Hiao Xen asked.
“Officially? No, of course not. We wouldn’t meddle in any sect issues. Unofficially, it’s pissed off a lot of people. Most of us were independents who joined the sect for the protection and the ability to increase our cultivation and combat fighting skills. She’s a powerful fighter, but they were going to use her to try to give them another person with the ice emperor constitution. Went so far as trying to poison her children. It’s pissed off quite a few people over here. So it looks like there might be a cleansing.” Benny’s voice lost his joy and turned serious.
“I’m reminded by the second name that some people called the Fighter’s Association the Sect Monitors,” Hiao Xen said.
“Breaking one’s word isn’t a light thing. We’re all people here. Sure, we fight one another all the time—sometimes there are just people who need to die. For the most part, we need to clear those pieces away, or else the Ten Realms will have a bunch of useless groups.”
“Why do you monitor the different sects and judge them?” Hiao Xen asked.
Benny laughed as Hiao Xen sighed, smiling. He knew Benny wouldn’t give him a direct answer.
“I heard you’re working in Vuzgal now—acting city director. We’ll have to have a drink soon! If you want to know more, you should increase your standing in the Blue Lotus. There’s still much you don’t know about the Ten Realms,” Benny said mysteriously.
“Seems more like I’m corralling children around, but you’re welcome anytime,” Hiao Xen said.
“Talk later!”
The channel went dead as Hiao Xen sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers.
“Unless she says something, there is nothing to link Erik to what she did. If he did something and we said it, we’d piss off the Stone Fist sect and it would look bad that we’re meddling in other people’s affairs. Though it would also make the Fighter’s Association closer with us.” Hiao Xen thought through different scenarios before he shook his head and stood, stretching.
“I don’t even know if it was Erik who passed her the information. Let’s just see what happens.”
He looked out over the gardens. They had transformed. There had only been a few buds with plants of heavy Earth and Metal attributes; demonic-looking plants had covered the city.
“Even though most of the city was damaged, the mana gathering formations were buried deep and the mana here, although it was heavy with Earth and Metal mana, it wasn’t as heavy as we thought. In fact, there was a lot of pure mana in the area. With the higher mana, it allows people to focus their mind more as they feel more relaxed. It also increases the power of people’s spells. Just for these points alone, a lot of people came over. If someone was to grow up in this environment, with us cleaning up the mana with different attributed plants and grasses to convert the mana from just Earth and Metal to Fire, Water, and Wood, they’d have a much higher advantage over people from other cities.”
Hiao Xen smiled as he looked over the odd plants that were slowly helping to restore the balance within Vuzgal and were growing voraciously.
The apartments for the administration of Vuzgal had been completed and the grounds restored with Alchemy plants.
The head of the Alchemy Association seemed interested in them when he came over last.
He was proud of all that Vuzgal had become and knew that this was only the start of their path.
He took in a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. He rotated his mana, revitalizing himself, and he turned back toward his desk. He had just sat down when there was a hurried knock on his door.
“Come in,” Hiao Xen said.
Dougie walked in, frowning but also with his fists clenched together. He held a report. He quickly closed the door behind him and walked to Hiao Xen’s desk.
His unnatural expression focused his mind and he forgot his earlier peaceful thoughts.
“Someone is stirring up trouble in Vuzgal. The craftsmen we hired through the associations, they are taking breaks and barely doing their work. The foremen mentioned the delays to me. Construction has essentially come to a halt. The work on the castle has stopped completely. Only the work on the workshops in the city has continued. There are people who are trying to renegotiate their contracts, applying pressure that they won’t keep working. Also, a high number of crafters have started bad-mouthing the Crafting trial dungeon, saying that it is not the best atmosphere to work in and that we are demanding too much. Others have left the workshops, saying that they’re subpar, but they’re still paying for their time so people can’t access the workshops even if they’re empty. They are saying that we don’t even have Expert-level crafters, so how can we say that we know anything about crafting. They’re saying that a council of crafters should be made because we are taking advantage of them. The crafters are hanging out in the bars and other places, bad-mouthing the people of Vuzgal.”
“Who is behind this?” Hiao Xen asked. His relaxed expression from before had disappeared.
“It looks like the Expert crafters who are close to Zhen Fu are the source of these issues. None of them have hidden their hands,” Dougie said.
“Well, it looks like she really intends to go head-to-head with us.” Hiao Xen’s expression was complicated. “Collect the names of the people who are acting as their mouthpieces and those who are renting the workshops but not using them, as well as those who are exerting their influences for Zhen Fu. Do it over the next three days. I want all of the names.
“Once we have them all, add in a new clause for the workshops. If someone rents a workshop and they don’t show up, then their slot goes to someone else after ten minutes. If they appear but aren’t using the workshop or working on their own projects after twenty minutes, they’re to be kicked out. Also, people using the workshops must go through an interview. Independent or from an association or sect—it doesn’t matter. Make sure that they’re actually there to work. We can’t waste the time in our workshops. Work with the crafters we have pulled to our sides and use this as a recruitment. See how driven they are and check that their words meet with their actions before offering them a position within the Vuzgal Crafter’s Association.” Hiao Xen saw that Dougie’s face was strained.
“What?”
“There are a number of crafters who wish to increase their remuneration, or they will walk. Others have already left.”
Hiao Xen stood, letting out an angry breath as he held his hands behind his back.
This is something that I need Erik and Rugrat to make a final decision on. This could be seen as a test of my abilities. If I ask them for help at the first obstacle, won’t it look bad on me?
“If they are willing to pay out their contract, let them. Our recruitment must not be that good if people are already willing to leave. Talk to the recruiters and express my displeasure. Make another recruiting department. Model it after the Vuzgal army’s recruiters. It doesn’t matter one’s level or their skill, only their dedication. The recruiters aren’t looking to just fill positions but people who live for their job. The army has veterans as recruiters as they have a sense and knowledge about who will make a good soldier and those who can be molded into one.
“We should do the same with the crafters. Those we trust, we offer them a recruiter position. They can do that instead of teaching and they can get more resources to incentivize them and allow them to improve when they’re not dealing with recruiting. We should have a number of people for general crafting recruiting, then have recruiters for each of the different crafts we work with. Filter out the crap. If we only have five crafters instead of fifty, but those five are more determined, we aren’t wasting resources on those who will just leave at the least problem.”
Dougie had pulled out a pad of paper and recorded down everything that Hiao Xen had said.
“We have only been passively recruiting at this point. We should also have our recruiters go to different cities and see if they can’t draw in some independent crafters. Send them to the lower realms. If level and Experience isn’t an issue, as Erik and Rugrat have said, there are hundreds of people who would be willing to learn from us, especially with the ability to pay off their contract and the freedom to leave, instead of most sects that one is bound to, who then make all of their decisions for them. People there will be much more willing, though don’t tell them that we’re from the Fourth Realm. Just recruit them solely based on their interest in crafting.” Hiao Xen, pacing, felt a new energy fill him.
“I feel like I might thank Zhen Fu by the end of this. It’s made me look at things differently. The outside influence will only filter out more people who are only wishing to use us and not give anything back. If they not only learn but help make products and support Vuzgal, then sending them on to learn more should be celebrated instead of those who learn and then are bought out by some group.”
“There have also been a number of people who had left the Stone Fist sect who have expressed interest in settling down here,” Dougie said. His shock had calmed down and his mind was able to think of other items of interest.
“We don’t discriminate. As long as one obeys the rules and doesn’t create trouble, they’re more than welcome to come to Vuzgal,” Hiao Xen said.
“Yes, sir. Just wanted to check.”
Hiao Xen smiled. It seemed that Dougie had seen through it, just as he had.
“Make sure that all of those names are recorded. Get all of our ears in the city, from the Sky Reaching Restaurant and the Wayside Inns, crafting workshops and guards. I want to know just who we’re dealing with here.” Hiao Xen stopped his pacing.
“I will have it done,” Dougie reported, straightening up. He felt his dismissal, bowing to Hiao Xen and leaving.
Nothing is ever easy!