Chapter Fifty-Four

Curious where the snake slithered off to, he felt for their bond, even if she seemed averse to enter murder noodle mode lately.

Like with the core, he got a direction, though it was less concrete. No exact distance, just a direction.

Distance turned out to be not far. He wasn’t sure how he didn’t hear them. That was plural, as there was another woman. A tall platinum hair high elven woman. At least he thought she was an elf. Who knew maybe she was a Fae? It seemed impossible to tell unless they shifted forms.

One thing was for sure, though. She was absurdly powerful. Far stronger than his parents.

When he glimpsed her face, he froze.

Anyone who read history books would recognize her. Viessa, the omni elemental mage who created the foundation for Magna Vita Urbs and the first known legacy class holder.

What was she doing in their territory? How did she even get in so quickly? His staff appeared in his hand on instinct. Though going by the less than hostile Solanine next to the ultra-powerful elf, she wasn’t here to cause trouble. Or maybe she was too powerful to even attempt to fight.

The last spar with his mother flashed through his mind, causing him to disperse his staff once more and appear as nonthreatening as he could. The woman could kill him with a twitch of her finger. His best defense was not antagonizing her. She invaded their territory, but maybe she had a reason.

As soon as he neared, a friendly voice spoke, though the power oozing off the woman was hard to ignore. “Ah, your partner arrived. We can begin.”

Viessa waved her hand, and the surrounding trees crumbled to dust, expanding the clearing to the size of a massive dueling stadium. The clearing was now at least four hundred meters in diameter, though more oval shaped because of the recent addition.

A whimper escaped Solanine as part of her colorful poisonous flower field vanished as well.

Arden stiffened, but he relaxed a moment later, knowing any resistance was futile.

To get a better idea of her intentions, he peeked at her melody, but for the first time, it felt murky. It was there, but something obscured it. That set him on edge, but there was nothing he could do. Until he grew stronger, he was helpless against people like her. His fists clenched, more determined than ever to grow stronger.

Unaware or uncaring for their discomfort, the elf continued to smile as she spoke in a jovial tone. “I heard about the newest legacy holders and just had to check them out. It’s not every day one joins our exclusive ranks. Imagine my surprise when the new legacy holders claimed this dead place. As an accomplished builder, I just can’t have our newest members live in such conditions, so I decided to bring a bit more life to this place. Though you two seemed to beat me to it. As an apology for barging in, I’ll give you a gift and a suggestion before this old hermit move onto the next curiosity.”

Suddenly the ambient mana spiked, but it wasn’t nature mana, no it felt wet. The answer to what it was came a moment later as the ground of the newly expanded section of the clearing collapsed, making way for a geyser of water.

Said water filled the hole, creating a pond. It wasn’t just a pond, though. With his mana sight, he followed the borderline liquid mana downward to a massive reservoir. Did she create the entire thing in a second? Was she that powerful?

A chuckle escaped as the elf took in the expressions of the two young mages. “No, it would take much longer even for me to create a reservoir of this size. It took me a decade to build the beginning of Magna Vita Urbs sewer and water system. No, the reservoir was already there. How do you think such a forest existed? I simply broke the seal protecting the mana rich water. It will take more than that to return life to this once paradise, but it’s a start. The rest is up to you two.”

Soon after the water settled, then gained a slightly green tint as it absorbed the ambient nature mana radiating from the surroundings.

Gift delivered, the elf suddenly turned serious. Her eyes sparking with a myriad of colors drilled into both of them as the previously peaceful aura surrounding her grew heavy, suffocatingly so.

Arden and Solanine took a step back as a tremble went through their bodies. Unfortunately, it did nothing to push away the all-encompassing aura so powerful they couldn’t get a sense of its grade if it even had a grade any longer.

“Now, for my advice. You won’t stay hidden for long. I would suggest going public sooner rather than later. If you have a public persona, whether good or bad, those working in the dark can’t strike at you without exposing themselves. The worst thing you can do is hide away in this territory. I’m not the only one who can bypass the ancient wards. I would suggest visiting our fellow hermit hiding in his tower in Magna Schola Magica. We help our own to a point as we understand the weight a legacy holds. Don’t expect free handouts, but I’m sure he will open the door. Good luck my follow legacy holders and the newest prime pair. You will need it.”

With those words, she vanished. Arden and Solanine stared at the place the elf stood for several seconds in shock. It was like the woman never existed. There was no trace of the powerful being remaining.

Well, other than the couple dozen meter wide pond filled with nature infused liquid mana, glimmering in the suns’ light.

Solanine recovered before Arden, a determined expression forming as she eyed the expanded border of the clearing.

As Arden worked out his next actions, Solanine got to work. Seeds dropped out of her storage device as she walked along the edge of the expanded clearing.

When she walked the entire length of the addition, she backtracked. This time a mix of poison and plant attuned mana radiated off her. As she passed, plants sprouted out of the ground, shooting up to the height of the rest of her colorful but deadly border.

She sent a smile toward the pond which Arden noted radiated nourishment to the plants, improving their growth rate and potency. In fact, Sola’s entire colorful but deadly garden radiated with a bit more potency, which, like the ambient mana, grew at a steady rate.

The process he sparked to life seemed to progress steadily. Maybe someday the entire forest would regain life. Already he noticed trees bordering the clearing had buds on them.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

From stone to dead, then to budding. Life returned to a once dead forest, but Viessa was right. They couldn’t hide away in their forest. The more the forest recovered, the more attention they would draw.

It would be better if they made a name for themselves. The public usually celebrated a legacy class holder as it meant something great was going to happen, but did he want to out himself as one?

A public image was a double-edged sword. Attention could limit his freedom but protect him. Besides, if they played their cards right, they could keep their territory and aspects secret for now.

It was only a matter of time before someone discovered their secrets, however. A powerful enough identification card could reveal everything about them, which is probably what Viessa used. They could hide in the forest a while longer just to prepare.

No, they needed to make their presence known as soon as possible. A grade one prodigy had a bigger impact than some mysterious higher-grade mage that appeared out of nowhere. There was also the fact if they enrolled at Magna Schola Magica, they would have the school’s backing.

As much as he would like to keep his anonymity, it just wasn’t the smart route. Hiding one’s capabilities was for the foolish. All it led to was future hostility when things inevitably came to light.

To a point, at least. He wasn’t going to broadcast everything he could do, but there was no point in hiding it. If he was going to stand above the pampered nobles with perfectly curated decks, he needed to go all out.

Before they made their move, they needed to deal with the tower within their territory. Could we use them as an in into Magna Vita Urbs? Maybe, it depended on their standing. They also might not need a in depending on Solanine’s background.

On the thought of the snake, he returned his attention to her busying away at defenses. Now she was creating some rather toxic feeling mushrooms near the base of the newly budding trees along the border of the clearing.

She didn’t take half measures in defense. Some of those poisonous defenses felt strong enough to take down someone of a higher grade. Though he doubted it would do anything to someone of Viessa’s caliber. He almost felt bad for any intruders. They survived a dead forest only to stumble upon a toxic minefield that looked just as pretty as it was deadly.

Out of curiosity, he approached a dark purple plant. With mana ready to fight off the poison, he poked it, but the poison attuned mana didn’t react as if it didn’t view him as a target.

Almost as if he created the plant himself. Did that mean he was immune to her magic? Deciding he needed to know, he asked through their bond.

“Why don’t the plants react to me?”

Sola sent him a look, though with her blank expression it didn’t portray much. “Your parents really kept you in the dark, didn’t they? One benefit of maintaining the bond is our magic won’t harm the other. Similar to a group linked with a team card.”

Good to know. Thankfully, that was the case, otherwise it would be treacherous living near the snake. She seemed to have quite the affinity for poison and toxic magic. It made sense based on her aspect.

They needed to play to their strengths if they were going to work together. That meant scouting was probably going to be his job while she focused on defense. They needed to plan for the future, though.

Arden shifted to his bird form, wincing as he felt his right wing still throbbing in pain. He dripped it into the pond, gasping when warmth washed away the pain, prompting him to waddle a little further in. Unlike the liquid mana pools in the dungeon, the pond grew gradually deeper. At least until it reached the hole leading down into the reservoir, which was so massive he couldn’t sense all of it.

That must have been the second source of mana he sensed before. A shame it wasn’t a dungeon. It would have been nice to gain a third teleport so close to the territory core, but he couldn’t complain about a water source. Especially one radiating mana.

Even as warmth spread through his worn-out bird form, it didn’t immediately heal. His entire body felt stiff, probably from overwork, but the water helped.

As he soaked, he returned his attention to Sola, who continued to bolster their defenses. This time with spiky plants forming another layer of defense past the first trees.

Yeah, she was the woman for the job. She had way too many hazardous plants in her arsenal. It was terrifying. He thought her snake form was the deadly one, but now he wasn’t so sure.

Her short form disappeared from sight, probably planting more hazardous defenses. That didn’t matter as they communicated through the bond.

“So, we need a plan. Am I right in assuming you want to handle defense? I can focus on scouting our territory with my bird aspect. We need to make shelter, though. I’m good with wood magic, so I think I can make something, but I think we need to plan that out together. At least if I’m right in assuming you plan to stay in our territory?”

Sola paused in view between trees as she caused another viciously spiked plant to sprout. “Yes, my parents would have come for me by now if they planned to. For now, I will stay here and yes, I will handle defenses.” A shiver ran through her, visible even from his vantage point dozens of meters away. “I need to catch up on my training. It has been way too long.”

Knowing what she meant, he didn’t push the subject, though she needed to work through it soon. Instead, he shifted the topic. “I was thinking. What are your opinions on traveling to Magna Vita Urbs? Vienna has a point. We can’t stay hidden away, especially if the forest continues to recover.”

Another shiver ran through her. It was almost snakelike. No changes to her facial expressions, but her body gave away her feelings on the matter.

This time he pushed a little further after she remained silent for several seconds, staring off into space. “I scouted a part of our western border and found we aren’t as isolated as I thought. Several major cities lay just beyond our border. Even Magna Vita Urbs isn’t far away. I could probably fly to Magna Vita Urbs within a day. If it wasn’t for a ward hiding us, we would be a sitting duck. It is only a matter of time before someone notices the recovering forest.”

Arden paused before his tone became a little grave. “It could already be too late. The tower I told you about isn’t as abandoned as I thought. It’s an actively used private dungeon, and if someone stood on the top of the tower, they could see the green. I claimed the dungeon and shut down the portal, but that will only delay them.”

Solanine’s shoulders slumped, but she remained silent, prompting him to continue. “We need to get out ahead. The best way we can do that is to establish ourselves in Magna Vita Urbs. Unless you have a better idea.”

Another shiver ran through her as she bit her lips before finally breaking her silence, her usual steel nowhere to be found. “What about protecting our territory? We can’t leave it unattended. Maybe it would be better if I stayed back and defended our territory.”

“Maybe, but we have our territory cards to teleport back. It might even be possible to use them to commute back regularly. I don’t know if you checked your territory card recently, but we can also teleport to the two dungeons linked to the territory. I’m not sure if the territory teleport works outside of the territory, but even if it doesn’t, I can fly us to the edge of our territory and then we can teleport here.”

She remained unconvinced. At least he thought that. Though her fidgeting fingers and distant gaze told him she was thinking about it. “Also, I think we would make a bigger impact if both of us made a debut unless you already have standing in Magna Vita Urbs.”

Again, she took a while to respond, but this time Arden didn’t push. It was odd seeing the normally stoically confident girl so flustered.

What made her so uncomfortable about Magna Vita Urbs? Was it because she spent so much time isolated in the dungeon? She didn’t seem uncomfortable around him or Vienna. Though it was hard to get a read on her.

When she responded, it was with a completely flat tone devoid of any emotion. “I understand. I will bolster our defenses further then.”

Maybe he was being too pushy, but something told him she wasn’t meek at all. It was so hard to get a read on her, but based on his experiences with her, he doubted he could force her to do anything. She probably understood the necessity, just didn’t like it.

He couldn’t say he felt any different. It would be preferable to keep most of their secrets hidden, but they may not have a choice. Only the powerful had the privilege of disappearing like a certain elf visitor.

Maybe someday they would do the same, but for now, they needed to take a proactive approach. If Vienna sensed them, there had to be more, and it was only a matter of time until they came knocking. It wouldn’t matter if they were in the territory or not when someone of her caliber came, so hiding away would do them no good.

Besides, the territory seemed to improve on its own.