The lands of Morendia were rather similar to Fendrallia, if considerably less extreme. After all, Fendrallia bordered Morendia. However, Alice couldn’t help but notice that the lands were a little bit warmer now. Even though her body was largely immune to moderate temperature differentials after the effects of all of her Perks and [Endurance] were layered together, she still appreciated the warmer temperature. At the very least, Cecilia and Jonathan’s family would stop looking so miserable.
The second thing Alice noticed was that, thankfully, the mana in this region wasn’t overly dense. The mana in Fendrallia had been slightly denser than average – although the mana density had also spiked considerably near the swamp that had grown all sorts of new dangers and characteristics after the collapse of the System.
By contrast, Morendia actually had a marked decrease in the amount of mana inside of its borders. Unlike with climate and terrain, which had more of a gradual drop off the closer they got to the border, the difference between’ Morendia’s mana and Fendrallia’s mana was very noticeable exactly on the border between the two countries. Alice used her mana-measuring Perks, and roughly estimated that five centimeters into Morendia, the mana dropped by about 20% compared to five centimeters past the border of Fendrallia. The mana was clearly ‘ambient’ mana, and didn’t have any of the rainbow coloration associated with Perks and such… which made Alice feel curious.
It was obviously unnatural for such a massive decrease in mana to happen in the span of a few centimeters of space. There was no way that geographical features would perfectly conform to political borders, unless the humans used those features to draw the borders in the first place. But Alice knew that Fendrallia and Morendia had lost and gained some ground in wars over the past few centuries. So why was the difference in mana so obvious?
Alice suspected one of two reasons. First of all, Morendia or Fendrallia might have some sort of artifact interfering with the quantity of mana available in their surroundings. Morendia was already the known home of an Immortal specialized in enchantments, so it made perfect sense that they might have set up an artifact that consumed all of the country’s excess mana to do something. They might have also intentionally lowered the quantity of mana for whatever reason – maybe they were trying to make it harder to undergo a mana baptism, or they were trying to weaken the monsters in their borders.
Second, it could be a perception thing. If, for whatever reason, people believed that Fendrallia had more mana available in it than Morendia, the collapse of the System might have created a runaway reaction where people’s beliefs influenced reality, heightening the absurd mana quantities in Morendia, which then in turn made that reality more inherently obvious and ‘correct.’ This would lead to runaway inflation of mana quantity… or deflation, if people focused on how ‘scarce’ mana was in Morendia’s borders.
Alice wasn’t sure which was true, or if there was a third option she hadn’t thought of. Either way, the difference in mana was very noticeable. Alice was, at the very least, relieved that she probably wouldn’t have to fight her way through another magically amplified swamp of doom. The first one had been surprisingly stressful for a party with three Immortals in it, and Alice wasn’t eager to repeat the experience.
“Are there any cities we need to stop by on the way?” asked Alice, glancing around nervously. Even if there weren’t any odd monster swarms or other problems here, that might not be the case for long.
“No, the capital of Morendia is right next to the border of Fendrallia,” said Ethan, grimacing. “It used to be further away, but Morendia and Fendrallia got into a conflict about a century ago, and Morendia ended up losing a large chunk of territory.”
“Doesn’t Morendia have an Immortal [Enchanter]? I thought that would give them a rather large advantage in the war,” said Alice, frowning.
Ethan shrugged. “Immortals do influence wars, but as I’m sure you’ve heard before, Immortals are nowhere near the biggest influencers on a battlefield. If Morendia had the resources to constantly churn out more Artifacts, maybe it would be a different story… but no country has the resources for that.”
Alice felt the urge to knead her forehead in worry. Did Artifacts require highly expensive materials to make? If so, that might be a problem exclusive to artifacts… or it might be a problem that would influence the production of Class seeds. Alice wasn’t quite sure which was going to be the case, but she seriously hoped it was the former. If not, she was about to need to finally visit a [Priest of the System] and swap around her Perks, and go back to take that matter creation Perk she had passed over. Alice was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but if she got desperate, the option was there.
Alice sighed, and tried to put the worry out of her mind. The System clearly didn’t have an endless supply of rare, highly valuable materials laying around. The very notion that the System somehow used a nigh-infinite number of rare, expensive materials to make class seeds for every human alive seemed… implausible. So there must be some way to do it without an infinite supply of expensive materials. The question was how… and whether it was realistic for Alice to replicate it in a reasonable timeframe, given how absurdly complex most functions of the System seemed to be.
Alice sighed, and put her worries out of her mind. Then, another thought crossed her mind.
“Are there still problems between Fendrallia and Morendia? If so, the Immortal we’re seeking might make problems for us if we helped Fendrallia with the monster swarm situation. Also, we did promise to deliver their request for reinforcements to a nearby town…” said Alice.
“Relax. Morendia and Fendrallia had issues a century ago, but about thirty years ago they made up. They have a new powerful competitor to the south that threatens both of them, so both nations put aside their differences.” Ethan chuckled. “To the south they are now bordered by Conderria. That country had two Immortals pop up at nearly the same time. They were childhood friends. One of them is an excellent [Drill Master] who trains soldiers, and the other is a [Bowyer] who makes exceptional quality bows and arrows. With both of them aiding the military, Conderria has become a fairly powerful – if overly militarized – country. Their [Archers], in particular, are nothing to sneeze at.” Alice relaxed. As long as the two sides had solved their issues, other internal politics within the Shil Confederacy didn’t concern her. As long as it didn’t get in her way, she was much more worried about the System crisis than who invaded who a century ago. She breathed a sigh of relief as the group continued to approach the town. Finally, they reached the gates.
Just like many of the other cities, there was a constant stream of refugees trickling towards the town. Alice had seen enough other refugees to know the signs by now. Many of them were overburdened by class mana, and many others had injuries that were likely inflicted by monsters as they fled their villages. It was a depressing sight, and it once again reminded Alice of the stark reality of the world right now.
The System’s collapse was doing huge amounts of damage every single day it was down. People were still surviving now, but how many would still be fine in a few months? Every single day that passed, the calamity seemed to expand in size and scope. The problems it wrought also grew larger and more difficult to solve. Alice couldn’t help but feel a sense of pressure surge forward again, before she grimaced.
Looking at things this way, she really needed to hurry up. Fortunately, most of the components that she needed to fix the System, or create workarounds for its disappearance, were in place. Just a few last pieces and she would be able to fix everything. Hopefully.
The group rode to the edge of the town walls, before they hailed one of the guards sitting on top. At first, the [Guard] was skeptical of the group’s identities, but a few minutes later, a woman who seemed to have some sort of [Diplomat] type class came out. After looking at Ethan and Allira, she quickly gave the group permission to fly into the city, after which Ethan lifted the group over the wall and past the [Guards].
“We’re finally here. It has been… quite a while since we hit the road,” Ethan said, as the group steadied themselves on the other side of the wall. He turned to Alice. “Now, a few words of advice before we get to the Immortal you wanted to see. His name is Demor, which I believe I already mentioned to you. He is on pretty good terms with Illvaria, but he has an… odd personality,” said Ethan. “I think the two of you will probably get along well. But he’s a bit of a research fanatic. He quite enjoys plunging knee-deep into new, odd topics, and he grew up loving enchantments more than anything else. About four hundred years ago, he also pioneered a very specific type of golem made by threading together enchantments and System Perks imbued into physical objects. He’s a decent [Blacksmith] as well as an [Enchanter], although that’s a more recent achievement.” Ethan shrugged. “Either way, just be prepared for him to be very blunt, and don’t take offense if he says something that seems rude. Odds are that he doesn’t mean for it to be rude, he’s just a bit… thoughtless when he speaks.” Ethan narrowed his eyes. “He also has a rather… old view on how ready an Immortal should be to fight. If he comments on that, you can ignore it. The Southern continent is different from when it was first settled. His thoughts on the matter aren’t entirely wrong… but they’re outdated.”
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Alice wondered what Demor’s stance on Immortal ‘combat readiness’ would be, if Ethan believed it to be outdated. She was far less worried about bluntness. She could handle mild rudeness from a research fanatic. After all, if Alice was too wrapped up in her research, she also tended to ignore people and forget about the rest of the world. She totally understood how someone could get so used to dealing with machines, magic, and other things that they might forget how to be polite.
With Ethan’s final words, the group made their way towards the inner district of the city. Unlike the other three countries they had passed through, there was no need for the group to introduce themselves to the monarch of this country. Alice didn’t quite understand why that was the case, but according to Ethan, it was a quirk of Morendian monarchy and culture. While Alice didn’t understand it, she didn’t care enough to delve deeper into the topic, so she just shrugged it away and moved on. In any case, it just meant she didn’t need to put on her nicer travel dress and try to properly handle her barely-acceptable {Etiquette} skills in front of the ruler of a country. Alice was more than happy with that outcome.
Soon, the group approached a large mansion. It was three stories high, and decked out in nearly as many enchantments as Illvaria’s palace. However, unlike the palace of Illvaria, these enchantments didn’t look like they were built to withstand a siege. At least, not a siege from external forces.
Instead, the enchantments looked like they were built to keep things in. Especially around the basement, it almost looked like the enchantments were made to contain an entire warehouse of blast crystals. There were also an oddly high number of enchantments that controlled air and space, although Alice couldn’t figure out what they were doing.
“Why are the enchantments like this?” She asked. This had to be the strangest enchantment setup she had seen so far.
Ethan squinted at the building, before he shrugged. “Honestly? I’m not well versed enough in enchantments to know… but I do know that Demor has recently been researching monsters. He’s one of the people who are more hopeful about things like monster ranches. Whatever you’re seeing is probably related to monster containment. Anyway, he knows what he’s doing. The monsters in the basement should be safely contained. He’s never been the type to do things halfheartedly, after all.”
Alice frowned. She had to admit, learning that there were monsters inside of the mansion they would be meeting in made her feel a bit uneasy. Ethan had reassured her that they wouldn’t escape… but Alice couldn’t help but think of the Perks and other abilities monsters had recently gained. Even if things were normally safe, would the collapse of the System introduce any unexpected variables?
Then, Alice glanced at Ethan, Allira, and Jonathan, and relaxed a bit. Even if something went wrong, she was next to three Immortals. And the person who was most anxious about a monster breakout should be Demor himself. She just needed to avoid doing anything dumb, like wandering off alone or messing with the enchantments in the basement.
The group made their way to the door of the Immortal mansion, before Allira knocked on the door.
The group waited for a few minutes, before a man that looked like a raven opened the door. He was tall and thin, and had dark black hair that resembled ink. His eyes were both a piercing green color, and bulged awkwardly from his gangly, skeletal face. His nose was slightly hooked, and he appeared to be in his mid-forties.
Alice blinked in surprise. She was used to most Immortals looking attractive, since they had centuries to grind their [Charisma] stats. It was actually quite a feat for them to have a below-average appearance, especially if they were older. Based on Ethan’s words, Demor was at least 4 centuries old. For him to have lower [Charisma] than the average [Blacksmith] said a lot about his lifestyle.
Alice only spent a few moments thinking about this, before she shrugged. Frankly, she suspected that if she reached Immortality, she would have a similar problem. Considering how little socializing she usually did, in five hundred years she would probably have about the same [Charisma] as she did now. She didn’t even consider it a problem – it was just a part of who she was.
“Nice to meet you. Are you Demor?” asked Alice.
“My name is indeed Demor,” he said, extending his hand for Alice to shake. ”You don’t look like much physically, so I guess you aren’t a [Swordsman], or anything of the sort. I guess that’s to be expected from Ethan’s apprentices. Most of you tend to be spellcasters of some sort or another. Still, your physical stats seem a bit low, even for a Mage. At least for a potential Immortal, they’re rather unimpressive. Even a magic-focused Immortal should have decent [Endurance], but you don’t look like yours is very impressive. You look like you’re wearing some of Doll’s armor, too.” The man scoffed at Ethan. “What, did you just have Doll throw as many points of [Endurance] as she could onto the armor and call it a day?”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “That was, indeed, the idea. I would like my apprentice to live to Immortality. It’s not like she’s combat oriented anyway. All she really needs to do is handle small fries and live until I can rescue her. Once she reaches Immortality, the stat bonuses and other boosts from Immortality will make her harder to kill anyway. She might not be an impressive fighter, but she isn’t bad, either. She’s doing fine for her age and level.”
“Real Immortals don’t grow like that, Ethan.” Demor gave Ethan a wide, toothy grin. “Even Allira can tell you about that, can’t she? She had a rather violent and brutal ascension to Immortality, and if she had remained a mere [Bard] who sang at the local tavern, she would never have properly ascended. How many people did she kill during her path? Hundreds? Thousands? A Class built around providing beauty and happiness was twisted into a nightmare that drowned battlefields in illusions and shadows. That is how an Immortal is born.” He cackled. “Why, even as an Immortal, I can pull off feats that can turn around smaller battlefields.”
Alice saw Allira’s fists ball up, as if she were about to punch Demor. A flash of rage passed through Allira’s eyes, and for a very brief moment, Alice felt scared of Allira.
Then, the moment passed.
Allira snorted.
“Cut the shit, Demor. We’re here to ask you to help her learn enchanting. We already mentioned that in the letter. Help. Or don’t.” Allira rolled her eyes. “And there are plenty of noncombat Immortals. Just look at the central continent. Half of the Immortals there can barely fight off the average level 70 [Assassin]. They seem to be doing just fine.”
“Those knockoff Immortals never really live forever anyway,” said Demor, rolling his eyes. “If an Immortal can’t even fight off a level 70 [Assassin], they aren’t going to live a very long life. Immortals are just too valuable to countries, especially production and research oriented Immortals. If an Immortal can’t defend themselves, someday, a rival nation will kill them to protect their own country. If an Immortal wants to enjoy their Immortality, they must be able to fight.” Then, the man sighed. “But I digress. I suppose it isn’t my place to lecture you about how to raise your apprentice, even if I find your actions short sighted.” Then, he turned towards Alice. “You came here to learn about Artifacts, yes?”
Alice hesitated. This man… wasn’t quite what she expected. Alice would be lying if she said she had the best impression of him after his little speech, as well. Demor wasn’t quite what she had been thinking of when she had heard of an Immortal specialized in enchantments. Even though Ethan had encouraged her to pick up some self-defense abilities, he had never gone anywhere near this far. But Alice pushed down her feelings. Regardless of her thoughts on Demor’s personality, she was here to learn about Artifacts. Legendary items that would, hopefully, give her a clue about how to replicate Class seeds. She had wasted several weeks travelling. Time that she could have spent healing other people. Alice couldn’t let all of that travel time go to waste. She needed to find a solution to the collapse of the System as quickly as possible.
“Yes. I’m here to learn about Artifacts. You can make them?” asked Alice.
“Of course. An immortal [Enchanter] who can’t make Artifacts is just a failed [Enchanter],” said Demor, before snorting. “However, I suggest you give up. The only way to make an Artifact is to be an [Enchanter] who has reached Immortality. It isn’t a matter of stats, or Perks, or anything of the sort… the Achievement that lets you step into Immortality as an [Enchanter] is, in and of itself, what grants you the ability to make Artifacts. Even ascending to Immortality with a different Class makes it very hard to learn how to make Artifacts, since you need to get a lot of replacement Achievements. I suppose it’s theoretically possible to get the replacement Achievements before reaching Immortality… but probably only in theory. Studying artifacts will probably be a waste of time for you right now.”
Alice frowned, before shrugging.
In the first place, she wasn’t actually here to learn how to make Artifacts. She just intended to use them as inspiration for making Class seeds. What did it matter if she couldn’t make an Artifact after learning about them? That wasn’t her actual goal anyway. She needed to learn how to make artificial magic seeds. That was a component of Artifact creation, but with any luck, it would be possible to learn artificial magic seed creation without the ‘complete’ artifact creation package.
“I just need to observe the process and try to learn something from it. There’s some other information I want to get from observing the process itself. With any luck, I won’t need to actually make artifacts,” said Alice. “So failing to create them isn’t a big deal. Hopefully, it won’t matter too much.”
Demor’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Is that so? Well, in that case, I’m glad to help. Please, come in to my home.”