The auction was an unparalleled success, netting me 184,819,784 gold. Technically, I sold 183,695,120 after the 2% auction fee, but one-third of that tasty fee came back to me in the form of taxes and my partial ownership of the Ellington Auction House.
It goes without saying, but—I don't pay taxes.
It's good to be king.
Half the money evaporated, funding my radicalized economic reforms. We were constructing hundreds of buildings, renting them out to prospective businesses with small loans, and then paying good wages to people to learn trades. It was a financial orgy, as far as these things go, so eighty million would only survive another year if the businesses didn't bear fruit. Still, it was enough for now.
Another portion went into Elizabeth's new schooling system, paying for teachers, children's lunches, and learning materials. Worse, there will be an actual school building next year—something that will cost even more money. Education is expensive in both worlds.
Once I listed out all of the financial obligations of an extensive empire, I understood Rema's frustration…
… but luckily, that’s a her problem, not a me problem.
Or, at least, that's what I'd like to say.
"No, Ryker," Rema hissed, tapping her foot in the council chamber. Thea was getting her hair done, so she took the opportunity to chastise me without interference. "Just because you solved the financial crisis doesn't mean you can spend 20,000,000 gold on warships."
"Trade ships," I corrected. "Profit-producing peace vessels."
Rema stared at me with half-lidded eyes. "'Trade ships' identical to the ships that destroyed Bringla?" she sassed.
"Correct," I deadpanned.
Her narrowed eyes spasmed alongside her cheek muscles. "Ryker. You can't just spend all the money you make," she asserted. "Can't we postpone your war effort? War plans take years of planning, resource preparation, and alliance building. If you do it wrong, Edikus and Cyverna will both attack you. You can't survive both."
I frowned. Rema was right, but oil was of critical importance. It was the key to engines, modern fertilizers, plastic, rayon, polyester, asphalt, candles, napalm… ahem… lubricants, and cosmetics. Most importantly, fuel that's powerful enough to power cars, heavy machinery, and oil drills to obtain the stuff without conquering another goddamn country!
At the very least, we need a small amount to get some. The chicken comes before the egg!
"What are the chances that we can trade for oil and gain a foothold in Quorlith?" I asked, referring to the trading port of Desiderata, the country where Garfield Redfield resided. Trading with them would allow us to worm our way into their territory while solving our oil problem.
Rema's lips creased into a straight line. "We both know that doesn't work with our treaty. You're known for putting commerce before political obligations."
Translation: Father Dearest will get paranoid that I struck a good deal for oil with Garfield and might betray the alliance. Not gonna lie; that sounds like something I'd do.
Business is business, after all.
Kinda.
Just looking at Rema made me understand why political marriages work. Even though we're only friends, having her around all but guarantees that I'll never betray King Redfield.
Rema Redfield is my friend—my chosen family—and I protect my family.
"I'm not betraying your father," I sighed. "And I understand your concerns. Unfortunately, that means I have to get into Cyrvena's good graces, and that doesn't seem likely."
Rema opened her mouth but closed it and fell silent. She was there when Maximilian announced that even knowing their heritage was tantamount to a declaration of war, and there was no changing that.
As offensive as it was, inviting everyone in Earthian languages had the benefit of showing that Cyrvena wasn't alone. My existence let the cat out of the bag. Now, the presence of otherworlders has been confirmed, and there's not much good hiding it.
"Prioritize trade, as you always have," Rema suggested. "Get people addicted to your products. Once they are, the other nations will protect you, just as Novena did with Goldenspire. Then you can bend the rules."
After a period of contemplation, I let out a soul-expelling sigh. "I hate waiting."
"Now you're just sounding like a child," she huffed.
"I am a child," I scoffed.
"You're an old man," Rema retorted. "How old are you, anyway?"
"I'm 47," I replied, annoyed my memory made denying it impossible.
"Ironically, that does make you a child by leader standards," she giggled, scrutinizing my devastated expression. "My father is 353, and he's the youngest by a couple of centuries."
"Impressive…." I mused, thinking about it. King Redfield must be holding some saucy things in the Royal Library to aid his rise to power. "Still, I'm old compared to you," I added.
"I was an adult at 15," Rema huffed, crossing her arms. "I'd have married someone a few centuries old if it were favorable, thank you very much."
"Now who's acting like a child?" I smirked.
Rema's face heated up, and she was doubtlessly going to give me a piece of her mind when Thea burst into the room. "Ryker! How do you like my new haircut?" Thea asked, twirling in a yellow dress, showing off her flowing teal hair with subtle white highlights.
"You look stunning," I smiled, opening my arms wide.
Thea pounced into my caress, allowing me to hug and spin her in the air.
"Why don't you care that she's half your age when you hug her like that?" Rema grumbled.
I looked into Thea's teal eyes, glittering like stars. "Thea's 22. That puts her at 154 in cat years. The perfect age to hold her like this."
Rema's face contorted into a nasty scowl. "That's not how that works!"
Thea turned to her with a smug smile. "Yes, it is. You just don't want to admit it."
The redhead's jaw hung open as I lifted Thea into a princess carry and turned, walking out of the room as she stomped after us, talking trash every moment of it. Naturally, Thea did the same, continuing the back and forth throughout our shared lunch.
Best friends.
I think.
Either way, it was pleasant to have another person our age. Zenith was hundreds of years old, so her company felt more mature and less… fun. Fun wasn't something I had known before, so it was nice to feel that a little. You know, in between the murder, mayhem, and the multitude of political problems that the Everwood… everything… was always facing.
Once we finished lunch, I asked Thea to prepare for a trip while I finished work. She scampered off, Rema returned to political work, and I went to meet new business recruits who rallied to build our railroads.
In the center of a platform in the middle of a field, I unveiled the plan with Carter and the cartographers, architects, and engineers who were planning the railroad that would connect Goldenspire to the southern end of the Green Sea, allowing us to send supplies and war equipment to protect against an invasion from the demon continent, Eudoria.
I needed to briefly pass through the Zion Mountain Range, which separates the Everwood Estate from Ironfall. So it will be precarious. However, once it's done, I'll have direct access to Seraphin and the Aurelian Empire. It was convenient.
Thankfully, we only needed to build a railroad branch from Goldenspire to Silverbrook this year. That's what I was explaining to them.
"For your part," I said, overlooking a thousand burly men and terrifying women, "you'll be clearing vegetation for the earth mages, filling foundations with gravel, laying ties, connecting these metal railings, and building bridges as necessary."
I panned their gazes to make sure they were listening. "Earth mages will be the backbone of this operation," I declared. "They'll work around the clock to shift, stabilize, and level the land. That's called subgrading."
I summoned an earth spell to level the earth in the field, creating a nice, uniform platform.
"Once they're done, you'll add a ballast, which is a fancy way of saying a layer of crushed stone," I continued, using Molecular Separation to move gravel from a pit to the new platform. After using an earth vibration spell, it created a uniform environment.
Walking onto the gravel, I pulled out large pieces of wood. "Using rulers and machinery, you'll carefully lay these ties on the gravel and use these railroad spikes to nail them into the ground. When you do, you'll nail on the railing simultaneously."
After measuring and lining up the rail, I stabbed the spike into the tie through the hole in the railing. Then, I used a sledgehammer to drive in the spike, simultaneously locking the rail into the wooden block and the wooden block into the ground.
"While the process is simple, you need to ensure that the rail is uniform, or it'll derail the train. Mistakes cost lives. So if my inspectors find that you laid it wrong, you'll get one warning before instant firing. You'll be fired on the spot if it's bad enough."
The workers gulped, watching me measure the distance between ties and nailing the railing into the second one to complete it.
"This will be your job day in and day out throughout the next year. Doing this, you'll earn a minimum of 25 coppers a day, which is exorbitant compared to the wages that most of you made previously."
Vitality instantly returned to the crowd when they heard the number. They should be. One of my stipulations for loans was to pay people fair wages, enact safety measures, and include one day off a week. I also employed healing mages and inspectors to check up on workers.
While I didn't mind repeating notorious historical methods if they were effective, I didn't needlessly repeat them if I could avoid them. With earth mages, we could work exponentially faster; with healing mages, we could protect people; and without hardcore racism and nationalism, people didn't need to freeze between blowing each other up in the winter.
In short, there was no benefit to death and suffering, so there was no point in letting people kill themselves for greed or desperation. Yet.
Ahem.
"That's it," I announced. "That's all you have to do. The cartographers and engineers will set up the path, the lumberjacks will clear trees, the blacksmiths will make the spikes and rails, the earth mages will do the grading, and you'll just have to hammer rail into some wood. Still, it's of vital importance. So don't slack off."
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Everyone nodded, holding their breaths.
"Now, then. Everyone here will feast on soul mana meat today to build your strength," I smiled. "Make fast enough progress, and I'll give you some more!"
An explosion of cheers met my words, followed by a jubilant procession as we handed out bowls containing regeneration, strength, and longevity.
One thousand new loyal followers acquired.
"Are you ready for our trip?" I asked Thea as she walked into the area.
"Yep!" she chimed, showing me her spatial pouch. "We can leave whenever."
"Okay, let's go before Rema figures out we left," I grinned, leading her to a griffin. I didn't like antagonizing Rema, but Thea and I needed to do some work together. Thea was the leader of a country now; helping her break free from the mindset of a servant was critical from now on.
The best way to do that? A nice, friendly trip through Nightshade Forest.
***
The trip to Elderthorn took four days, proving that Novena was not a small continent. Considering that griffins were at least half as fast as a Boeing 737, and it only took 18 hours to fly across the Pacific Oceans from the United States to China in one, Novena must be very large. It just felt small because it was highly underdeveloped, consisting primarily of undeveloped forests, mountains, marshes, and plains.
Our time traveling was relaxing, sightseeing from above, and spending cozy nights in the Crimsonwood Forest. Our arrival was the opposite. Thousands of cheering people greeted our abrupt return and doubtlessly wouldn't allow us a wink of sleep.
"I can't believe this is the same place…." Thea remarked, her eyes wide as saucers as she waved at the thousands greeting us from above.
"Me either…." I said, a bewildered grin creeping on my lips.
Once a clay pot in the center of a monster-festered hellscape, Elderthorn now had a 50-mile diameter filled with sprawling farms and high walls. In the center was a large city, now the size of Silverbrook, bustling with large steam stacks that billowed over the skies.
In the center was a massive communal food court, a permanent part of Elderthorn's culture. That's where everyone was greeting me from below.
"It's good to be home," I smiled. "This is probably where I'll retire."
"Will you ever retire?" Thea giggled.
"When I conquer and save the world, I will," I sighed, navigating the griffin down to the landing pad. "I never wanted to do this. It was just a necessity."
Thea gripped my stomach tight. "Then I look forward to it."
My face relaxed into a gentle smile, lost in thought. 'I'm glad she's starting to feel confident in her future,' I silently noted, putting my hand on hers. 'That's what I love most.'
After landing and being greeted by a large crowd, we hosted a feast featuring A-class mana meat and unusual drinks made from forest fruits deemed safe—courtesy of our adversaries.
After an extensive session of meeting and greeting, Elderthorn's acting leader, Regan Trowl, joined me at my table. "How long will you be staying?" he inquired.
"Just a day," I responded. "After that, Thea and I are embarking on a journey through Nightshade Forest."
Regan blinked twice. "Are you planning to take the Thorns with you?"
I shook my head. "No, this trip is about self-discovery and building confidence."
"B-But, Sire, forgive my boldness, but I must urge you to reconsider," he stuttered, his complexion paling. "You're the leader who's saving Solstice. Everyone relies on you."
"That's why I've put certain contingency plans in place in case I don't make it," I assured him, waving my hand dismissively. "Besides, if I can't survive Nightshade Forest, how will I survive encounters with the Earthians? The Wreaths? The impending calamity?"
Regan swallowed hard. "While I have no doubt in your combat abilities, we've identified over a thousand toxins from various plants, a deadly mist at night, invisible creatures, and sinkholes that drop people 200 feet into earth eater's pits. There's more at stake than just combat skills."
“I think we’ll be fine. At the very least, we have a beast tamer that can convert just about any avian flock into our rescuers,” I said, playfully ruffling Thea's newly styled hair. "So I think we'll manage."
Regan tried to counter, but he saw that my eyes didn’t match my smile. “I-I see…,” he gulped. “Then allow me to show you a wonderful day tomorrow.”
“I look forward to it,” I smiled.
It turned out to be a wonderful day, indeed. We took a tour of Elderthorn, which now had a theater hall with entertainment and music. Since Elderthorn was a land of death and immortality, people always lived as though it was their last. So there were songs and dances every night, plays, and drinks around the clock.
The city had a pulse—breathing with constant vitality. People didn’t stay here long. Everyone that came pushed their luck as far as they thought they could take it and then left, followed by an influx of new blood that was just as eager as the last group until people they knew were swallowed, gouged, or blinded by this or that in the forest.
It had a strange vibe—wild even.
When I first arrived, the people around me quaked at the sound of screeching and howling in the night. Now, every blood-curdling roar in the forest was met by a town that screamed back with twice the intensity, triggering birds to shoot in the air.
Thea and I loved it. So we stuck around, enjoyed the feasts, listened to stories, and navigated through the crowd wearing hoods to join in on the festivities before returning to the manor.
It was a pleasant stay.
The following day, we bid farewell and casually jumped over the walls, disappearing into the forest under the sentry guards’ watchful gaze.
***
“Did you see the concern in their eyes? It was priceless!” Thea giggled, spinning in her white sundress adorned with purple flowers. “They’re all new. I wonder if they forgot that we started this place when you were twelve.”
I smiled at her sassy antics, watching her gracefully scamper around like she didn’t have a care in the world. If we brought guards, they would be panicking, trying to warn her of this and that. However, they’d all be spellbound to notice that she wove around the Shelling Vines and hopped over the highly toxic, semi-transparent Rico Berry Bush, which gave the illusion that green berries were just hovering in the air. And they’d nearly have a heart attack when she casually hopped onto a Crawler Cap Mushroom, only for the writhing carnivorous mushroom to instantly die from having its crippling weakness—its jagged veil—kicked, causing the electric impulses communicating with the mycelium to go haywire and shut down.
Yep. Thea Lockheart just looked like the luckiest woman in the world. In reality, there was nothing “lucky” about her avoiding death traps. It was me who was lucky—lucky to have someone so sassy and delightful in my life.
“So, what are we practicing today?” Thea asked, jumping onto a stump.
“I was wondering if you wanted to work on your shifting,” I mused, a mischievous smile on my lips. “It’s just us. So you don’t need to hide it.”
Thea flushed red to the tip of her ears. Like all beastkin, she could shift into her “ethereal body” and become a cat. I learned that during my research.
More interestingly, I discovered that beastkin are normal humans with the spirit of an animal guarding over them. Zenith’s wyvern body is a form of conjuration magic that uses mana to build a physical representation of the wyvern spirit within her. In other words, it’s not a shell.
That’s why a woman that thin can become a flying lizard the size of a semi-trailer—she’s within the core of the wyvern; she isn’t the wyvern. That said, they’re connected, and death and injury are transferable.
When people fuse with an astral spirit, humans sometimes take on several traits from their host animal. In Thea’s case, a cat. However, that’s not consistent. Some shifters have hybrid traits, and others don’t, as is Zenith’s case.
That phenomenon causes political problems within the shifter communities, as slavers target those with hybrid traits. In contrast, humans without such features can blend in with humans or become traitors to their own. That fact gives rise to intense racism, discrimination, and distrust.
I never thought it would be so involved.
As for Thea, her ears and tail are irrefutable proof she has an ethereal body. As for why she didn’t disclose it, I never asked up until now, but it was time.
“Is-Is that what you want?” Thea murmured. “To see me… as a—”
“Badass woman who can destroy enemies with a mythical form?” I mused, completing her sentence. “Hell yeah, I do.”
Thea blushed furiously, turning away. “You actually like that?”
“I do,” I smiled. “I think it’s kinda sad you haven’t shown me yet.”
Her eyes widened in panic, and she fidgeted, avoiding eye contact. “It’s not that I was trying to hide it… It’s just, you know, it’s very… not ladylike. And, also, I thought that you’d feel really uncomfortable if I undressed before eighteen.”
Blood drained from my face. “Yes… Thank you for that.”
Seeing her look of relief, I quickly changed the topic. “However, as with Zenith, you’re not showing anyone your body. You just need a changing room. In this forest, though, there’s no one around, and I won’t watch.” I promptly turned around.
“Whenever you’re ready,” I said, hearing the drawstring on her storage pouch close.
Thea gulped, and then her body shifted, causing nearby twigs to snap. When trees started groaning, I turned and saw Thea, who had transformed into a teal panther with white tiger stripes. A massive one—who wouldn’t stop growing! “Soul mana…” I guessed, watching her grow twenty feet in height by fifty feet in length. If her astral spirit wasn’t originally a guardian, it sure as hell was now! No, it was further! She didn’t stop growing until she was 30 feet tall, likely a result of eating the Rorsaka meat!
I wanted to be impressed, but the growing ensnared her in a twisted prison of trees, locking her in place.
“Can’t you… you know… shift your size?” I asked, a grave grimace etched onto my face.
“I… should be able to!” Thea cried with an otherworldly voice, nearing the point of tears. “But I’ve never tried this!”
“She hasn’t even tried?” I muttered in disbelief. “Ummm… just think about getting smaller?”
“Okay….”
Thea tried.
And promptly failed.
Then tried.
And failed again.
I tried to convince her to return to her human form, mostly because the pain I felt hearing her cry was far worse than the logical soul-crushing tick I felt knowing she couldn’t use this form. Thea was a fucking powerhouse and couldn’t use it! Still, that crying was haunting.
Unfortunately, whether she knew me so well that she could tell my thoughts or was just stubborn, she kept trying and trying and trying until her happy little genius self promptly figured out how to shrink a few feet, causing the trees to shake.
“You did it!” I yelled.
“Kinda…” Thea whined, feeling the trees just clamp down on her again. “I still have a long way to go. So get comfortable.”
Taking the hint, I pulled items from my storage pouch and started building a ward.
A ward was a barrier that support-class wizards erected. They were like magical circles in that a formula of connected mystical concepts created a desired effect, whether disabling magic or movements, amplifying spells, or automatically healing people in a training setting. However, they were different because they used various mana crystals to create the effect.
I started studying them to meet Molecular Fusion’s requirements. Now, I was proficient.
After finishing a ward that eliminated smell and sound from our campsite, in addition to powerful defense spells to block creatures from coming in and blowing up if they tried, I looked at my system screen for the first time in a while.
—
Skills:
Molecular Separation
Description: Magic that separates and isolates molecules.
Usage: Silent cast by touching what you want to separate, internally declaring what you’re separating, and then thinking “separate.”
Stage: 4
Requirements for the next stage:
- Unique minerals mined: (112/100)
- Minerals quantity [lbs] (493,283/5,000)
- Magical minerals mined: (63/100)
- Magical mineral quantity [lbs] (1,823/100)
- Unique magical crystals (773/1,000)
- Magical crystals accumulated (4,231/5,000)
- Unique magical creations (95/100)
- Gold accumulated (2,993,782,183/100,000)
- Become a political or military leader (2/1)
- Prevent a catastrophe (198/1)
- Lead and win group battle (201/1)
Rewards:
- Molecular Fusion - Synthesize compounds directly
- 20% Memory Reduction (for memories post-reduction)
- Minor Forgiveness Spell
- Two omnipotent tools
- Scribe spell (self-writes from your memory)
- ???
- ???
—
“This will be our magic mineral trip,” I muttered. “Should I actually level it up? A 20% memory reduction should land me at an intense photographic memory. That’s a small price to pay when Scribe can start printing thousands of textbooks for me. That would be a boon for the world.”
I thought about it, staring at the sky. “And I don’t even know if King Redfield will show me the Royal Library. Conquering Desiderata could take years, so I can’t wait on that.”
After a protracted sigh, I finished up the ward, pulled out a massive tent from my spatial bag, assembled it, and furnished it with a full-sized bed and other amenities.
Spatial storage was really something else.
Once I finished, I plopped down on the bed, giving Thea privacy as she grumbled in the forest, still locked between trees. There was nothing I could do to help her, so I just let it go.
“I’ve already memorized a few thousand books here,” I pondered aloud. “It’s not the good shit, but it’s enough. The books I’m looking for are for my eyes only, regardless… Yeah. I should invest in Scribe. I don’t need to do everything myself.”
CRreeeaaaACK!
The trees outside the tent started snapping, revealing that some type of shift in her form occurred. Excited, I flew out of the tent only to see she had gotten even larger. “How does that work?” I muttered.
Thea’s tail fell onto the ground with a sad arc. “I need to figure out how I increased in size to decrease it,” she whined.
“Let’s just do it tomorrow,” I chuckled. “We’re here for at least a week, so let’s take it easy.”
“Okay…” Thea replied in a low growl, transforming back into a human. She was apparently in the core because she dropped fifteen feet, forcing me to run forward and catch her.
Thea was exhausted, and her eyes drooped. “Is everything alright?”
“Never better,” I replied, averting my gaze from her naked form. “Let’s get you to bed.”
Her cheeks turned rosy, but her mind remained hazy, making her nod in response.
After getting to the tent, I coaxed her into pajamas and wrapped her in the covers.
“Who knew that would be so exhausting for her,” I thought aloud. “I guess it makes sense. Her ethereal body must require immense magical power, and she kept it for hours… I suppose that just puts Zenith’s form into perspective. We should have her give Thea lessons.”
With that thought, I changed into loose shorts and crawled into bed. It would be a long day tomorrow, so I needed rest.
Things were exciting, though. Once Thea could control her form, we’d train and bring our power to the next level and mine new minerals to unlock the next stage of my power.
I used my hand to probe my body. It was nearly a third larger than it was before I ate Rorsaka’s meat and was deformed because the muscles I had were pressing on my new bone structure. Since the bones and muscles were healthy, healing magic couldn’t ease the pain or fix the deformity. If anything, it made it worse.
The only thing that helped was massage to help reset the muscles. However, there was one way that could fix the problem—rip the muscles so they heal in the right place.
Ripping and healing muscle is a vital part of the human experience. However, I heal too fast for that to happen. Therefore, I must push myself to the breaking point to get them to rip enough to heal properly.
I didn’t know if it would fix the problem. However, I had a hunch, and we were in the Nightshade Forest looking for trouble to prove it. Either way, it was time to take our power to the next level; I never wanted to be too weak to fight Edikus ever again.
With my goal rooted in my mind, I fell asleep, half-praying that a massive creature would trigger my wards and wake us in the night.