Eldoria, The Through Plains

[Year 30]

Shavik imbued specific parts of his body, concentrating aura towards them. His ears could hear the chirping of birds he knew were from hundreds of kilometres away.

His nose could smell a fruit's sweet fragrance if he concentrated on one. His eyes could see clarity he had never seen before, he could discern the difference between different bugs crawling in the grass.

His skin could feel presences that weren't even near. And now, he felt the impending dive of a hawk ready to kill him, he raised his obsidian dagger. It's razor-edge glistening.

The hawk got near, and Shavik could comprehend its speed; he swung the dagger with a surgeon’s precision.

“Screech!”

It screeched with pain, the wind barely disturbed the ground below as it passed by. Shavik smiled in triumph, blood trailed along his blade.

He looked up, looking at the hawk, watching its razor-sharp talons glisten with a sharpness that could behead him if she ever got caught.

“If only you were on the ground!”

Suddenly, mana burst out of the hawk, and its speed rose; Shavik’s eyes twitched as he started to put effort again trying to track the Hawk.

The hawk disappeared from the skies and Shavik leaned backward, feeling the imminent danger. What he saw was a giant blur as the Hawk’s claw passed by him.

“Tsk!”

Shavik felt frustrated, his enlightenment on using aura was soon countered after the creature used mana. Was it unfair? It is. Though he smiled at the hawk. It was a challenge he never had before.

First the Fox, then the bulbous creature, now this hawk. “Hahaha!” Shavik felt that if he fought this creature, he would find himself at new heights, maybe not at the same height as his friend, Arkum.

Shavik swung his blade with precision once again, he felt flesh against his dagger as it was severed from bone. One of the Hawk's talons fell on the ground still attached to its blade. Shavik couldn't help but admire its natural sharpness.

He heard the Hawks screech again, but this time it did not attack. It vanished from above, and he did not feel any attacks coming from everywhere. He surveyed the sky just to find a dot slowly fading away from the distance at incredible speed, the hawk retreated

“Ha!”

Shavik felt surreal at his triumph. He looked down at the talon of the monster. He remembered that Arkum fashioned the tooth of the monster he broke off as a spearhead; he got an idea of what to use the talons for.

***

Arkum caressed his spear, the vast lake under his gaze. He knew that the deity was still there under its depths; he knew that trying to fight it was a certain death wish.

Arkum sighed. He felt the pressure back then, the deity felt like a being he should not look upon. It was too powerful for a man like him.

But… it seems like it wasn't unreachable. It was a status he was sure he could attain. Arkum clenched his hand and opened his palm.

Right, he wasn't the weak prepubescent boy back then. Though, in his fifties, most of the people back in the village would choose to settle down at this age, he, on the other hand, is still fighting.

Though, would this thought make him stop fighting? No, his beloved land, where his beloved wife is buried, needs to be kept safe. The lovely sapling that is growing thanks to her back at Foreline that she nourished is now growing strong.

He will not die till that oak tree has grown so he can be buried next to her, ready to nourish its roots once more upon his death.

He held the shaft of the spear in his hand and sighed. He turned his body around to face away from the lake, but before he did, a tendril of water shot forward at inhuman speeds towards Arkum's body like a whip.

Arkum didn't waste any energy at his movement; it was a graceful swipe of his spear, and the tendril didn't even move to touch him.

Sooner or later, the pressure bore down on him, and a large serpent surfaced from the lake’s water.

“You're with that bastard!”

The serpent yelled as multiple tendrils shot out. Arkum’s eyes widened; they attacked him unprovoked now twice; what was with these deities?

Arkum started twisting his spear. Left and right, he swung his spear with precision and speed; not even a drop of water caught his clothes.

Arkum wanted to make sure this confrontation didn't happen again; this deity attacked him only because it surmised that he was the ally of Lazarus.

Which he was, he wouldn't deny that. Lazarus is young but he could act like a friend. Arkum swung his spear multiple times at a speed incomprehensible to normal humans.

He didn't dare let a single tendril get to him; he was alone here, and if that Deity got him, he would perish.

“Tenacious bastard… “

The serpent growled. Arkum was sure that the serpent wasn't doing this out of nowhere, he was sure it would get something out of this.

“Why would you even want to fight me? I do not understand.”

Arkum spoke as he swung his spear, destroying a water tendril going after him.

“What does a god's slave need to know?” The serpent flicked its tongue. “You're going to die anyway.”

Arkum could not get a read towards the serpent's features. It is a different animal; after all, he couldn't innately read its emotions, unlike his kin.

“You aren't afraid that our god would seek retribution?”

“Hah! I couldn't feel the presence of your god here! You think I don't know that he’s weaker than me?”

The serpent hissed in laughter.

“Enough of this!”

The serpent slithered across the surface of the water, swift and strong, till it created a tidal wave that soon led towards Arkum. Arkum, who saw what the Serpent was doing, dashed away, but before he could, the speed of the serpent stopped him as it appeared behind him.

“What—”

The tidal wave crashed, and the serpent struck Arkum with its tail towards the waters; Arkum barely blocked the strike as he was sent flying towards the water.

Arkum knew that being near the waters was enough danger, yet he couldn't do anything in this situation. The serpent is determined to kill him.

Even though the situation was bleak, something else came up. A roar resounded beyond the woods which made the serpent turn its head around.

“W-what?! What is the King of Lizards doing here!?”

Arkum, who regained his ground, saw an unbelievable sight. the Valovasoar was charging towards the serpent with its maw churning.

***

Mari and Shaka were sitting at a table in the communal bakery. Both women had a tired complexion, both bearing haggard faces.

“I think that going to different places at once is getting tiring.” Shaka sighed as she bit down her sandwich.

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“I agree. If only there is an easier way to handle this.”

Mari groaned, both women were on a project, one of their own and one from the consul themselves. They had requested just recently to find solutions to problems that they had never seen before, thus compelled them to do it.

“I just finished with the celestial bodies… wait!” Mari looked at Shaka. “Don't you think that Lazarus has a solution for this?”

That promptly raised a brow from Shaka. “How? We have problems moving things from one place to another. We also have to teach others while we're at it. How the hell does Lazarus have a solution for that?”

Mari rolled her eyes for Shaka to see which led to Shaka scoffing.

“Obviously we ask,” Mari stated.

Shaka shrugged her shoulders. “Where’s Lazarus anyways?”

“He was sent somewhere in the North for something. He’ll be back soon since he was only told to take a look.”

Shaka and Mari finished their snack and went back to their shared office somewhere in the village. Right now, Mari was taking in the geometry of some wood, and she was making sure she got the dimensions right.

The consul came across some problems across the North. Remnants of the dungeons decided to propagate themselves there.

One of the common ones is the Scorn foxes, which could potentially disrupt their supply chain, so they need to be dealt with accordingly.

There's already a group ready to deal with it anytime but there's only a few of them. Besides, the supply management teams are not equipped to deal with the foxes.

“What's the last enchantment best for this?” Shaka murmured.

“I'm going to create the circuit,” Mari exclaimed.

Mari and Shaka were once experimenting with enchantments, and by sheer sleep-deprived thought, Mari added mana circuits to the object she was enchanting.

It works best for an item with multiple parts that should be managed for a while, although everything they make is made to last for a long time.

Mari had already decided on the best item to use, a simple bracelet. Since mana is sensitive to intent and gets stronger with its given purpose. Mari’s magic circuits would strengthen any enchantment given by others.

“Alright, place your enchantments, Shaka.”

Shaka nodded and started chanting, clasping the bracelet in her hand and with sincere words the bracelet was engraved with a purpose strengthened by Mari’s magic circuits.

After a while, Shaka succeeded in making the enchantment.

“Phew… now only a few of these.” Shaka wiped a sweat out of her forehead.

Mari handed multiple bracelets to Shaka, she was already doing the other's whilst Shaka was enchanting one. Also, Shaka took a long on the first one for a reason.

The first bracelet has an intended group effect. Everyone inside the intended area will be affected; the other bracelets also had the effect but on a smaller scale.

The reason for this is that when together, the effect becomes stronger. The best way to counter the Scorn Fox's elusive nature is to make sure that its effects never get to the victim's head in the first place.

“Seems that everyone is working diligently.” A voice from the doorway spoke.

“Lazarus!” Mari excitedly squeezed.

She ran up to Lazarus to hug him. Lazarus returned the hug and nodded to Shaka as a greeting.

“I was just here to check up on both of you. Is there anything you both needed?”

Mari then remembered her discussion with Shaka earlier.

“Yeah! Yeah! Do you know how to solve our problem?”

Lazarus tilted his head. “Sure?”

“So, we have to teach students and disciples, but we also have to work, is there a solution for that?”

When Mari asked, Shaka was already listening fully. Lazarus thought for a minute, browsing Hadro's leakage of memory towards him.

Lazarus saw an old man who kept yelling at Hadro himself. Anger welled up within Lazarus when he saw this, but he browsed deeper to see the context and realized that there was no actual reason for the old man to yell at Hadro.

He did his work, and he double-checked to make sure it was right. In the end, the old man just yelled at Hadro to relieve stress. None of the old man's words were even criticism. It was just a mix of insults and berating words.

Lazarus skipped and tried browsing more. His anger wouldn't be needed here; the memory was related to the answer he was finding; in the end, he found the answer: an Academy.

A place where teachers could teach and work, whilst also working on their projects. It's an organization that fits what Mari and Shaka best.

“Yeah, there is.”

“Really?” The two women were interested in the answer.

“Yeah, it's an Academy.”

“Academy?”

“Like Alpine. Students there gather to learn and, once old enough, will become assistants to the professors to help with their work, and once their duty is done, they graduate.”

Mari and Shaka looked at each other.

“Also, they have all the facilities there, from a clinic, chemistry lab, history… uh…”

Lazarus tried to recall when suddenly all the memories of Hadro that Lazarus was trying to browse vanished. He was initially confused at first, but then he felt Hadro's connection with him strengthen, and all the memories instead became knowledge.

There are no unnecessary memories of other people, just the technical words and images that would help Lazarus find what he wants.

“Oh, culture, maths, philosophy, ethics and more. Wow, that's a lot of subjects. There's also Physical education, which I guess delves into exercises, physical fitness and cultural dances. That's amazing.”

The more the two women heard about the Academy the more they got excited. Mari leaned closely towards Lazarus.

“How could we—”

Lazarus smoothly gave a smooch to Mari's lips which got Mari embarrassed as she leaned backwards. Shaka looked away in second-hand embarrassment.

“H-how do we e-establish an Academy?” Mari sheepishly asked.

“Ah, right. I guess there’s building planning too,” Lazarus placed a finger under his chin. “Well, that needs to be planned. Besides, we have the best mathematician here!”

***

Garuk was the one responsible for exploring the south; his coordination proved useful in its hilly structure.

The South was filled with lots of monsters instead of strong ones unlike the Through Plains and the North. Because, unlike the two Cardinal directions, the south isn't migrated by dungeon monsters.

And it seems that there aren't a lot of monsters here, to begin with. Garuk sighed, he knew that he was voted to become an Alvon for his leadership and not his strength.

If they were following old traditional orcish customs, then he would just be an officer, not an Alvon. After all, he wasn't strong. He may be able to live long thanks to him being a second tier, but he was sure in a few decades, there would be someone who would replace him, someone much better.

He sighed once again; Garuk watched as the initiates built a wooden wall around their camp; this would be one of their supply anchors.

Garuk went inside his tent and placed a sticker on the map; it soon pulsed with mana before settling down.

“Oh, beyond this will be dangerous territory. I wish we had some tamed birds for lookout.”

Garuk soon started planning with his officers for their next course of action. The next reconnaissance would probably come in after a while.

Garuk made sure that the time they were out would not be wasted.

“It seems that most of the tasks are done,” Garuk spoke out loud, he knew that his two officers would hear it.

One of his officers was a human whilst the other was a prepubescent elf(he was in his hundreds). The two officers shared glances at each other, deciding that it was best to stay quiet.

“Then it's time to train.”

The sour faces of his two Officers made Garuk amused, though, in the end, they couldn't refuse him. After all, one of Alpine's goals is to ‘strive to be better’. Training is one of them.

Garuk stood up; he had a spear in hand as he walked out of the tent and towards an open clearing; his two Officers followed him out.

As he was about to instruct his Officers, Garuk lifted his head to look at a hill, his Officers promptly followed his gaze.

“I hear screeching.” One of his Officers noted.

“Go prepare for a fight.”

Garuk instructed and the two Officers saluted and started ringing up the Initiates. The screeching seemed like a bad omen; not even a few minutes later, the initiates were ready for battle; they raised their spears and had an enchanted helmet each.

They waited for the eventual attack; the hill beyond them was filled with trees, so it was hard to discern anything moving about. It was soon that they found three of their reconnaissance members running for their lives. One is injured and nursing their arm.

“Formations!” Garuk yelled and the initiates moved to make a wall of flesh outside the walls.

They soon found what the recon team was escaping from. It was a crocodilian lizard the length of a tree and the size of a boulder.

“Alvon?”

Garuk was prepared to take on leagues of monsters with prepared formations, but if it's just one singular strong monster then it would be different.

The monster appearing out of nowhere was unexpected, however, the lives of initiates aren't strong enough to hold out that monster.

Even at this distance, Garuk could tell that the monster could be wiped out.

“Fall back! Defend the walls!”

He roared his command with haste. He soon went forward as the initiates started falling back from formation. Garuk knew he wasn't strong enough, he was only tier 2, an inhuman from Foreline standards.

Garuk took a deep breath, the Officers watched with worry as the initiates. The recon team soon passed by and the monster was only getting closer.

Garuk got a glimpse of its name. [Ferocious Croc], or more likely its label. But that barely matters. He had men to protect behind him and knowing the monster he would kill barely matters.

“RAAAHHHHH!!!!”

Garuk thrusts his spear with precision, all of his mana gathering at one spot. He planned to use the monster's momentum against it, and somehow, it worked.

The spear's tip exploded with power and the monster’s scales crumbled under his might. The crocodile bellowed and reared back from pain.

“All of you monsters are careless.”

Garuk however, soon felt an indescribable weight placed upon his shoulders. It was the killing intent of the crocodile that made him buckle.

“We really need a classification for these monsters.”

Garuk stood up after he cycled his mana. He felt the weight prickle under his skin like needles, an initiate would die from this, but he wasn't one; he was their leader, an Alvon. He shall stand up to that title.

Garuk toughed out the killing intent the Ferocious Croc was sending. The slitted eyes of the monster soon stopped, and it bellowed once more, the weight on Garuk's shoulders becoming heavier.

Yet, Garuk didn't care. He gathered mana upon the tip of his spear as he spread it out. He activated a skill again, and he struck. The tip of the spear goes deeper, this time towards the monster’s snout.

The monster bellowed, shaking its snout left and right to take Garuk off. Garuk however, took this chance to drive his spear deeper upon the monster.

He held it tightly; the moment the monster stopped shaking, he pulled it out abruptly, and he dashed to the monster, jumping toward its head. It was a stupid decision that should never be replicated.

However, Garuk knew that every living being would die once their head was destroyed. So with that knowledge, he jumped and struck at the monster between its eyes to deliver a killing blow.

The monster reacted way too late. It may have tried to move its whole body away, but the distance it covered was barely an inch before Garuk drove his spear into its brain.

Garuk was sweating; he felt something fall from his eyes; he touched it with his hand just to see that it was blood. The blood was from his eyes. Garuk was confused for a moment before he realised that the monster concentrated its killing intent towards him like a weapon.

“What a deadly skill…”

Garuk knelt at the top of the monster, taking heavy breaths. He heard footsteps nearing and he knew it was his officers.

“Helt go and have someone butcher this monster up.”

He glanced in their direction before pausing as he saw that it was the recon team. Two of them had dried-up tears on their faces. Garuk wondered why, but there were only three of them instead of four. He realised what would've happened.

“Alvon Garuk… please, we need to recover the dead… “

Garuk nodded; it was a belief in the village that the dead would suffer in the afterlife if they weren't buried properly.

“Cut up the monster, we search for the missing person immediately.”

“No, no, Alvon.” one of the Recon team shook their heads. His name was Fitch “Our dead is inside the monster. We saw Ren get swallowed.”

Garuk’s heart dropped, it was their first casualty caused by monsters by the recent events. In the end, Garuk sighed and had the monster butchered.

His shoulders felt heavier as they recovered the body of the recon team inside the monster. The man’s body was torn in half, and his innards were scattered inside the stomach of the monster.

Garuk took a deep breath, and his officer Helt placed a hand over his shoulder. He looked at him; his human officer, along with his elven officer, was looking at him with worry.

“Alvon, it is not your fault that he died. Please do not blame yourself.”

Garuk closed his eyes, despite knowing that the death of his men wasn't his fault and it was because of circumstance. Garuk still felt it was because of his leadership.

“I know,” Garuk replied simply.

Yet, Garuk repeated the words of Elder Armin in his head. 'In leadership, everything is your fault. Do not find excuses, find ways to make your leadership better. We cannot mend what is done, but we can make it better for others.’

Garuk remembered Elder Armin saying this with a pained look, so he didn't refute it, despite the unfairness it placed on the leader. The elder is probably thousands of years old since he looked older despite some elves being over half a millennia old, and they still looked young.

Now he saw why the elder had a pained face, he hadn't personally known Ren but he met the man, he was an optimist if he saw one. Then he was gone just like that, Garuk didn't know that lifting a pen was heavier than lifting his spear when writing a report.