Eldoria, Foreline village.

[Year 30]

Kavo was starting to get annoyed; he was running low on supplies, and there needed to be more people to go around the Managers; the logistics department needed help acquiring materials, and their operations were not that small.

“With a population of ten thousand, I guess that's reasonable.”

Kavo wrote rushed on a piece of paper; he was mindful of its durability, which is a shadow to the paper of the System store. Kavo was sure there would be more needed but as of yet, productions are slow but improving over the years.

“Shit!”

Kavo cursed as a gash appeared that pierced the paper he wrote on; thankfully, it was at the end of his words that it didn't matter if he sent it as is, though he still had to write an apology below for why that is.

Kavo used a towel to wipe the ink stains on the paper, the quill was placed down and Kavo soon sent the message. He was one of the high-ranking Council members and as of the current situation of their discovery of new lands, a lot of things were happening.

Many new plants they haven’t recorded before, animals that they have not yet seen, and new possible locations for resources. Many things that both the Consuls and Managers are having trouble keeping track of.

Despite the workload being lessened after the creation of a new department of Artisans. It is obvious that not every demand is met, the Logistics department still has to take care of whatever the Artisans are making and deliver it to whoever wants it.

Anyways, Logistics is a department that handles both Hands and Materials; Kavo was already discussing this problem to make this system efficient; even after consulting with Mari, it seems that traffic in delivering needs will always occur.

“This won’t be good.”

If they’re going to travel far, then the only solution would be one. To build supply anchors where personnel would live for a long time. Kavo thought of the implications and the only one he could think of was their people spreading thin. The beasts of the continent are powerful, compared to a human, orc or elf. Alone they wouldn't stand a chance.

“Whatever gets pushed forward in the meeting.”

***

In the Drakin Village, multiple humans and Drakins were having the times of their lives. Over the years they had time to rebuild families. The humans shared what they could with their saviours, spreading their culture.

The widespread item that everybody liked was two things, beer and cigarettes. The beer was straightforward enough, an item for social activities that everybody likes to share. The cigarette, however, was different and it made the users more calm. The cigarette was simply none other than marijuana.

An item that humans like to take whenever they are injured. The humans learned that marijuana as a herb has the effect of calming them down. Whenever they go to the dungeon and exploit whatever resources there are, they often get injured, their best remedy is smoking marijuana.

Though, other than a remedy for the injured, it also has a social function, one of them is that it is a rite of passage, elders allowing the new adult after turning of age and allowing him to smoke with his elders.

That social function bled to the Drakins; they were introduced to the social function and naturally became part of it. The only difference is that they’re more tolerant of the herb than humans who already have a significant amount of tolerance to it.

One of the new adult Drakin, who’d reached the age named Zerkian, went inside a tent, white smoke slowly rising above the small opening above the tent.

“You’ve come, Zerkian.” an old man spoke, his features wizened over the years with a pipe on hand, smoke swirling up a small opening. “Come and sit with us.”

Roughly, there are four other older men with two youngsters from both races. Zerkian sat down near the youngsters in the circle which scooted over to give him space.

One of them looked like he was flying in the clouds. Zerkian doesn't understand why but a tap on his shoulder from an elder holding a tube up to him.

“Just inhale, not too much or else you'll cough.”

Zerkian nodded, placed his mouth on the tube, and inhaled; he heard bubbling inside the object before he pulled out, and he coughed a bit; smoke came out as each cough was released.

“Not bad.” The elder pointed to the youth beside him and Zerkian passed it.

Zerkian slowly understood what others said about the smoke, the elders called the herb chunk, and every time the smoking object, a bong, was passed to him, he felt lightheaded, which felt amazing.

“Kid, you're too overstimulated. Rest and breathe some actual air.” an elder pointed to Zerkian.

Zerkian felt incredulous. He isn't overstimulated! He looked around to find that he was the only one left in the circle. Some of the adults had already left, and new ones filled in.

The young adults in the circle are already gone. All were replaced by adults who were smoking leisurely.

“Okay… “ in the end, Zerkian agreed with the human adult.

He went out with clarity, but he still couldn't make straight and proper conditions. The human followed him out and pulled him to sit in a stub.

“Stay there till you feel clear.” The human cautioned.

Zerkian nodded and the human left. Zerkian soon felt his head clear, the marijuana out of his system. Now he felt dry.

***

Shavik was watching the nearby monsters crawl around the plains. He could tell that one of them could rival an Officer in their ranks.

He couldn't help but sigh. The monsters here are strong, and the route they plan to take requires clearing these monsters out.

“Renz.”

“Yes Alvon?” Renz Saluted.

“Where’s Garuk?”

“Alvon Garuk is at the far east of operations,” answered Renz.

“Tsk… our forces are spread thin…” Shavik noted. “I’ll deal with that monster. Go ahead and have some initiates clear the supply path.”

Shavik vanished where he stood, Renz noted how Shavik vanished as if his eyes refused to see him. This conscious denial of Shavik's existence made his head hurt involuntarily, so instead of lingering, he went and delivered Shavik’s orders.

His feet lead him to the camp of the initiates. He went and gathered the leaders to a single place and started to brief them on their mission with a map.

Shavik, on the other hand, reappeared next to the monster; it was a giant bear with scales instead of fur. It was weird to look at but judging its appearance is why not he’s there for.

He swung his obsidian blade, its sharp edge nicked the scales of the creature. It let out a roar that shook Shavik’s inside.

He felt disappointed at how weak it was. He felt something much more dangerous than that before. A few years back he remembered.

The creature swung its claws at Shavik, and he responded by dodging, swerving his body like it was liquid until he reached the creature's legs, which got promptly sliced; its tendons cut made it a sitting duck.

“Roar!!”

The creature was mad but Shavik didn't want to drag this fight for long, his obsidian blade soon digging its way to the creature’s brain and letting it slump to the ground.

“Sheesh… what am I now?” He checked his status. “Oh an A rank. Since when was this?”

Shavik was checking his status and found some attributes he could spend, but that was for later. He could vaguely sense the initiates under him already making a marked road.

Until then, he heard a roar that shook his core. His head and body quickly turned around to prepare his body for an encounter.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

‘I haven't even felt its presence!’

Like a soaring roar, something launched towards Shavik, something he didn't expect, and thankfully, he was prepared for.

It flew like a hawk and probably is. He raised his obsidian blade, and he felt a clang as if two metallic objects clashed.

What Shavik did not expect was the weight of the attack. He got sent flying a few metres back; he spread his aura around him, making his visage elusive. He soon crashed into a tree, and thankfully, the damage to himself was minimal.

“What the hell?”

The creature that attacked him didn't continue, it chose to take the monster he took down first and left with it.

“Ah… animals…”

It chose to steal Shavik’s game. He didn't try to pursue it, the monster corpse that was stolen wasn't his priority. They were no longer starving to fight for a corpse that badly.

What was on his mind right now was to make sure that thing didn't haunt his initiates. The threat of airborne monsters is quite worrying.

“Ha… this is going to be annoying.”

Meanwhile, in the northern parts of unexplored lands, Arkum found himself looking at a vast lake.

“It's freshwater.” Officer Khalid noted.

“That's good to hear. Let's have a camp here. I’ll be on the lookout.”

Arkum and his team were lucky to find a lake, not only that, it seems the vast body of water is there amongst the desert that surrounds it. There's little vegetation in the north.

Only a few were edible, but on the advice of the Medics, they were to take a sample each and send it to them for research.

“Alvon!” one of his Officers screamed in terror.

Arkum dashed to their location, his motions were only a blur. He saw in the middle of the lake a giant serpent looking down on them. The pressure it emits invokes a primal fear.

“Go take everyone, retreat,” Arkum ordered.

“A Human?!”

Arkum felt the pressure get heavier. The Officer buckled on his knees while Arkum felt heavy.

“Shit…”

Arkum whispered as he could tell that the monster in front of them wasn't normal. The serpent hisses and Arkum could tell it has the intent to attack.

However, before it could even lunge. He felt another presence. Arkum knew who this belonged to, and he smiled.

“Hello, Arkum. This expedition is taking longer than it should be. Why not take your officers away and I'll take care of the Deity.”

Arkum's heart jumped; he had learned a few years ago that some monsters could reach the level of a deity if they kept devouring monsters stronger than Lazarus himself.

It was nigh impossible to reach the level of a Deity the normal way. Arkum left Lazarus after carrying the officer by the shoulder.

Lazarus wasn't supposed to be here; he should've been in the South, but as things played out. He felt an energy up here in the north where Arkum is supposed to be.

Maybe as an Aiden made of flesh, his body is beyond the normal. Lazarus was born as a full adult after all, that's beyond normal.

“You! You have the scent of a god!”

“Why do all deities act like this? I mean, Father encountered a few, and none of them were reasonable. Well, I mean, he almost saw one, but it was oppressive towards a species.”

“Who wouldn't hate a god that was born with power!? Whilst we crawl here to gain a bit more!?”

“Sheesh, it's all about the motivations, pal. Your motive for being strong is selfish. That's why even if you're reincarnated you’ll never be a god.” Lazarus retorted.

This angered the serpent, it hissed and water gathered in its mouth. Lazarus moved, dashing away with a spear in hand. The water soon shot out, it moved with speed as if it was pressurised.

Lazarus aptly dodged; his movements were efficient, only moving enough for the water jet to miss. Lazarus soon stepped to the water, mana gaining towards his foot allowing him to walk above the surface.

“You fool!”

Water jumped up around Lazarus. However, he only swung his spare, and the water burst away from him. He didn't stay idle; he moved forward the serpent, which now started moving around the vast lake.

The serpent moved in the lake seamlessly, it was fast like a torpedo. Lazarus matched its speed, aura seeping out of his skin. Lazarus caught up with the Deity; he swung his spear in a straight line, and a gash in the water appeared.

The deity squirmed and went deeper into the lake. Lazarus knew that a weapon with Aura would undoubtedly cause some damage to the Deity’s soul, lest the deity defended with aura as well.

Though it's not like it's permanent. At that level, the deity could fix and mend their soul, unlike a mortal.

“This lake is dangerous.” Lazarus sighed.

He walked off the surface of the lake to dry land, though it's not like they couldn't take advantage of it. But then, allowing the deity to live forth with that grudge against a god wouldn't be good.

“Yeah, now that I think of it. Why do deities hate gods? I've never heard the reason for that… “

In the end, Lazarus shrugged. It's dangerous to pursue the serpent for now since it's at the bottom of the lake. Fighting it where it's stronger would only spell suicide.

In the end, Lazarus had to go back.

***

Mari was sleeping on the cold hard floor, and she and her little study group had decided that it was a good idea to look beyond the stars a few years ago.

Thanks to that there's this continuous study of a new celestial being other than the moon that circulates the sun.

She slowly opened her eyes and Mari found that his eldest son was looking down at her with an impassive gaze.

“Rei? What are you doing here?”

“Father tasked me to give this to you.”

Rei handed Mari two wrapped leaves. “He told me to tell you that they are good for headaches. He had Uncle Kavo to make them.”

“How thoughtful of him… How are you Rei?” Mari pocketed the leaves whilst scanning his son.

Rei had grown up from a teen after all those years. He already had a lean body ready for any type of combat.

“I'm okay, the campaign seems like it's going to take longer… I mean Gramps— Alvon Arkum is doing his best to push to the north.”

“It seems that your connection with us allowed some leeway.” Mari caressed Rei’s head.

“Yeah… I mean, Father literally is hunting every single monster that comes out of the dungeons after the mages suspected another overload.”

“Your father is very reliable. Though take your time, I'm sure you’ll be at his level soon.” Mari smiled softly.

Rei looked his mother in the eye. “I won't disappoint you,” he stated calmly.

“I'm not placing my expectations, Rei. But I will hold on to your word.”

After that, Rei left Mari on her own. Mari couldn't help but look at Rei with pride, he seemed to have adopted the lifestyle of Alpine to heart.

Every single one of her children had been her pride; Moyo was learning under the tutelage of a Medic, and Kaina was learning directly from Kasha herself.

Though she feels lonely whenever they're away she is happy by her given purpose by her god. “Oh yeah, I have to finish this.” Mari realised that there were some unfinished projects by the Consuls. A mechanical project.

“Sheesh, what are they even trying to make me do?”

Mari sighed, she looked at an abomination of something. She swears that another branch should be made for research because the administration shouldn't even be doing this!

She grumbled, but she continued on her task; she felt that the thing she was making was something of purpose.

***

The Nefuti people watched as their god became an embryo of energy, they watched in awe and admiration. But those gazes could only be prolonged for long.

The Aidens, as they are called, guarded them with power. Something Argon wishes he had; he remembered that this was the promised land God had saved for them.

And he could see that abundant land where they were taught how to grow their food, slowly and surely. Argon sometimes felt like this was a dream, a dream where they were already in the afterlife.

But truthfully, he didn't believe in the afterlife. He preferred to live in the present and in this present, he felt grateful towards the god.

He felt energy swell within him, a comforting and affectionate feeling encompassed his being. His eyes slowly landed towards the embryo of energy in the distance.

It felt like their god was watching him, he feared not. Knowing that the presence of the god within him made him powerful.

***

Shavik was now annoyed, how many times had he crossed that damned hawk? It had swept down countless times towards him and clashed with his blade, but it hadn't had enough.

“Screech!”

A vein bulged out of Shavik’s head. “Bugger off!” Shavik coated his Obsidian dagger with his aura and swiped the air out of nowhere.

It was just a blur to others, but when Shavik raised his blade, a clash resounded and a sound resembling thunder.

The Officers hiding in the thick, tall trees watched in awe as Shavik dealt with a monster they couldn't even follow. They were told to stay put within the trees because it would be hard to save them once they tried going out, said Shavik.

“Ugh…”

Shavik contemplated whether it was worth it to bring this carcass of a monster back for research. It was a chameleon that could perfectly blend in its surroundings and even resemble the texture of the surface it stood on; it had a needle in its tongue along with a glue-like substance that dries fast once exposed to air, its size of an infant Yak.

Shavik was sure this monster is valuable for research, maybe the initiates could have some sort of cloak with the same properties?

Shaka is trying to enchant items to have the same abilities as monsters slain these days. Maybe she would be able to? Thought Shavik as he raised his blade again for another clash.

“Damn bird.”

He wanted to find a way to finally remove this nuisance, it's a hindrance to both him and the campaign. No ordinary being could fight it as well, so he started trying to find resources which he could use against the bird.

His senses could not catch up with the hawk's speed at all. He could only sense its incoming direction, where he could predict where it would hit.

He raised his dagger again, but this time, no clash resounded. Shavik’s heart skipped a beat, and he leaned his body back, soon feeling the wind lightly brush against him.

“This bird…”

Shavik could feel his anger rising, which he quickly quelled down. Being angry would make him lose his head easily. But the hawk is not making it easy for him.

He looked at his skills; his class even tried using his attribute points, but he found that unless he was in a bottleneck, it was a waste to use those attribute points.

Right now, despite his potential being lower than Arkum's, Shavik knows he learns faster than him in general. What could be the only resource he could use?

Shavik felt the dagger in his hand. He was aware he’s been holding it for a while now. Then he realised he still had something he hadn't tried.

He had imbued the obsidian blade with his aura to prevent it from shattering despite its brittle nature. But that's not the only thing Aura could do, isn't it? Shavik felt the hawk incoming.

He had to try it now, lest the bird learn and try to pick off the weaker members of Alpine. Instead of imbuing the dagger with his aura, he instead imbued all of his senses with aura; he concentrated his Aura on his ears, nose, skin, mouth and even eyes. He removed the blindfold from his eyes.

He watched as the hawk descended at a speed he could comprehend.

“Hahaha! So this is how you look!”

Shavik raised his dagger once again. He was ready to pounce this time.

***

Arkum led the initiates away from the lake, it was a shame they couldn't take advantage of the natural resource. Thankfully there are some natural springs here that they could use.

With a base set up, Arkum placed down a map. He was confused about what to do first when he was elected as an Alvon of Alpine, but thanks to Elder Armin guiding him, he became a man responsible for other lives.

“Right, there must be a reason for all of this. Isn't it, Hadro?” Arkum sent a silent prayer in his heart.

Over the course of three years, Arkum has grown as much. From a boy who watched his father barely eat anything so he could eat, to a prepubescent boy asking for the love of a woman, to a father who vowed to feed the hungry, to a man whose name is known as the Spear of the Village.

Arkum sighed and decided to place a pin in the map, soon placing a circular stamp on their current location. The stamp soon lit up and vanished by burning itself without burning the map itself.

No matter how many times Arkum sees it, he will forever be amazed by the complications of magic. He heard Kasha was the one who made that as well.

Arkum reminisced as he remembered the kid was still small back then, now grown into a woman who leads a whole group of enchanters and magicians.

Suddenly he felt the 'phone’ vibrate on his table, where he kept the map down. He reached for the object, a square object that he had to open to be used.

A short slim antenna emerged as he opened the box, a voice soon going through the device.

“Hello?” Arkum spoke.

It was their method of communication; after the Valovasoar attacked their village, they tried finding a way to make sure their strongest was always reached.

[Arkum! Hello! This is Lazarus speaking.]

“Hello, Lazarus. How may I help you?”

[Oh, I just called to tell you something.]

Arkum raised a brow when Lazarus paused whilst speaking.

[I found sightings of the Trix in your area.]

Arkum remained quiet, he couldn't help but caress his spear that was just at the side of his seat.

“I see.”

Arkum had felt it back then when Shavik tried letting him feel Aura to awaken him. It was just a fluke; his emotions got the best of him, and his Aura responded to that.

But he never fully manifested it afterwards. He could now after intense training. He found that Aura is different for each person. Shavik could vanish from sight with his Aura, and a few Aurors in the elven village could eat something that isn't written down in their system.

However, when Arkum can finally release his Aura, he finally learns of it. Aura possesses one's true nature; it's your identity manifested.

And truly? Arkum felt hunger for battle. He caressed his spear once more.

“Thank you, Lazarus.”

[As long as I help you.]

By then, Lazarus would soon go back to the village. Despite having Lazarus’s siblings on board for protection, they could only do so much.

Arkum rose once again if he had the chance. He would go back to that lake and take down that deity… but then, that would be too suicidal.