Chapter 84: The Hidden Vale

  The day finally arrived when Emilia, alongside the other participants of this unique challenge, set off for the private territory. It was located on a mountain near the city, and most of them were to reach it via a small warship.

  The ship was powered by countless different formations. Emilia spent the entire journey unable to look away, trying to decipher something from the endless lines and auras that pulsed incessantly across the surfaces of the celestial vessel. They were like a complex web of energy channels belonging to something real, something alive.

  Two of the participants were expected to arrive later since they were traveling from afar. They were children of local families but studied far away in elite schools, mysterious martial sects, or knightly orders.

  The first to arrive was a tall, blue-eyed boy of about fifteen. He flew on a large Persian carpet, accompanied by a retinue of three smaller carpets and five pegasus riders. They flew relatively slowly, and their defenses could not compare to those of the ship; even one or two of the crystal cannons could have obliterated almost any such carpet.

  Nevertheless, the descendants of wealthy families possessed all sorts of mysterious means and could easily escape even if the carpet were damaged and forced to make an emergency landing.

  Emilia watched the carpets with envy.

  Will I be able to make flying carpets like that one day? And how much does a trained pegasus cost? Maybe a smaller one for me. I am smaller than those soldiers and I do not weigh much. Maybe an older one that is not very pretty. She daydreamed.

  Meanwhile, the other youths wandered around in groups or alone, while a group of guards and five battle mages operated the ship.

  These warships were powered by monster cores or directly by magical mana crystals. Every single mana crystal was exceptionally precious, costing several hundred silver coins. There were even standard smaller crystals that were supposed to cost exactly 100 silver, but their price always fluctuated. Often, even if a person had the money, they simply could not buy such crystals.

  A very good substitute were magical gemstones, which were frequently used by various crafters. These crystals came directly from the depths of the earth, and numerous races tunneled through the ground continuously in search of them.

  On the other hand, rare mines for mana crystals formed only in special locations, exceptionally rich in mana. Usually, these were the intersections of Ley Lines, also known as Spiritual Veins or Dragon Veins.

  These were lines that spanned the entire surface of the planet, and the energy of the world itself flowed through them. Many of these Spiritual Veins emerged directly from the depths of the world, and some said they were one of the primary sources of mana in the world. What happened in those depths and how magic was born was a matter of much debate and speculation.

  Emilia had read at least ten general books on the subject, and had even invested a full 50 silver coins to read two additional specialized books coming from the nearby city of Tyre. However, she remained deeply disappointed, as these remained primarily contradictory theories, and she was searching for concrete information on where the mana in this world truly originated.

  Emilia was dressed in her new armor made of Kozors scales. She had inscribed every single plate with glyphs and connected them into a level zero defensive formation. The formation was powered by a monster core that cost 50-60 silver and was easily replaceable. However, she had added seven more false eyes or auxiliary eyes to the formation, and they provided additional energy. These were naturally far weaker and were made from her latest formula of bone marrow and herbs.

  These auxiliary eyes served two purposes. One was to support the main eye of the formation and strengthen it by about 20%-25%, and additionally to provide about 50% of the mana for the formation. This way, she could save 50% of the costs of purchasing new monster cores by using far cheaper bone marrow.

  This solution was quite complex and required the direct intervention of a master to synchronize the formation's aura, so it could not be used freely by everyone. Ready-made armors usually had far more static formations, designed to be easy to use for people with unlocked mana.

  Besides the defensive formation, Emilia had managed to add a plate containing another formation based on the glyphs of a defensive talisman; in reality, it functioned as a reusable talisman. It was quite unstable due to the powerful energies released upon activation and required frequent repairs.

  The problem was that talismans simply worked that way. They were intended for single use, and the goal was to trigger the specific magic as quickly as possible. The lines were always extremely concentrated and the mana within them was under enormous pressure, while the material itself served as part of the fuel for the spell.

  Here, however, Emilia had developed her own approach, which transferred mana from seven small cores that were not connected simultaneously, but one after another. If the first was exhausted or failed for any reason, a series of parallel lines drew mana from the second, the third, and so on, up to the seventh core.

  This was necessary because problems sometimes occurred right after the first activation of the formation. This way, she guaranteed herself at least seven defensive spells, and if she was lucky, she could even reach fifteen or twenty spells.

  Despite all this, the basic lines and the core calculations remained approximately the same, and repairs were much faster than drawing entire talismans from scratch. And the energy came from cheap materials—animal vital blood from the hearts of monsters and bone marrow.

  Emilia had managed to train her new substitute—Roderic, the youth with unlocked mana whom Chief Nikos had sent to train with the children of the moon and in whom he intended to invest further.

  Roderic could work with both bone marrow and vital blood. It was quite difficult for him to extract it, but Emilia had developed some crude techniques using her souls skills.

  Unfortunately, with these crude techniques, nearly half of the blood was lost, but as Roderic's skills progressed, the loss would become smaller and smaller.

  Perhaps after a year or two of constant practice, it would drop to only 30-35% loss.

  The warships, however, needed massive amounts of energy. They used either very high-level monster cores or direct mana crystals.

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  Soon the sky cleared, and the ship, which was passing through a lower cloud, emerged from the mist, revealing an incredible sight before them.

  How beautiful, Emilia involuntarily exclaimed.

  In front of them, the bare peaks of the nearby mountains were visible, and several rivers and lakes reflected the bright sunlight, shining like lightbulbs amidst a sky of green, gray, and white.

  In the distance, more peaks from a far-off mountain range could be seen. Emilia could distinguish individual trees if she concentrated, and she even saw the outlines of several mountain villages.

  This here is the military garrison, and those two are observation stations, explained Rumi, the girl Emilia had met some time ago on the street in front of the griffin tower while they were playing marbles.

  It turned out that Rumi loved to joke and sometimes changed her clothes just to annoy the servants, and her teachers.

  And especially my father, she had said once.

  She was the daughter of one of the military officers who had come because of the conflict in Karapelit. The mayor had sold one of his spots as a favor to the high-ranking officer, and for nearly a month and a half, Rumi had been a frequent guest of Emilia, and they often walked in the forest together. Emilia often asked about life in the wealthier clans and rich cities, while Rumi asked about life in the neighborhood, the children of the moon, adventures with the hunters, and Gaya's private space.

  At first Emilia was cautious, but after seeing how freely Rumi shared her knowledge, Emilia gradually calmed down and relaxed.

  They often had lunch in one of the restaurants in the city center, where Rumi’s father had unlimited credit, and the two of them tried many different treats.

  Another acquaintance turned out to be one of the children she had copied books with in the church library after the river attack. His name was Elion; he was tall, with delicate features and milky white hands. He often read from the sacred books and had been training in the mysteries of the church for five years.

  Emilia had tried to maintain conversations with him over the years, and he was always polite but slightly distant. It was not that he had anything against others, but somehow his mind was always elsewhere. It was as if he found something far more interesting in his own thoughts than in conversations with the rest of them. It was something Emilia understood well.

  The other representative of the church was a stranger from another city, and Emilia assumed his only merits were the deep pockets of his parents.

  From the very first day of training and instruction, he had joined the children of the nobles. Emilia had heard from Cassian how they often stayed late into the night at taverns, causing trouble for the city guard.

  This was something Emilia could not understand. Why were even the young ones allowed to go to taverns? This was the trap of the contemporary world, however. For people from Earth like her, it was extremely difficult to imagine the world as it had been even just a century or two ago.

  People, both then and now, on Earth and in this new world, often used their wealth for shallow, immediate pleasures. No one viewed alcohol or stronger potions as something dangerous.

  Here, Emilia could write an entire multi-page essay on how people lived in the dark ages of the medieval period, far from the high values of modernity, medical knowledge, modern ethics, and morality. They had no other entertainment besides those cheap, primal diversions in taverns and brothels.

  Things here were similar, although the true heirs of noble families or wealthy merchants were kept under stricter control.

  But the distant relatives—those who had lost the competition to inherit key positions in the clan or important duties in the merchant family—often gave themselves over to primitive amusements.

  They had unlocked mana, and their bodies grew rapidly, but their minds were not yet developed. It was an especially dangerous combination that the guards of every city cursed even in their dreams.

  Emilia continued to watch the magnificent view, as well as the clouds falling behind the ship. In the distance, a huge golden dragon slowly passed by, though from afar it looked like a mere speck against the backdrop of the great mountain.

  Emilia had seen level four and five magical beasts capable of flight before. This dragon was most likely neutral in the game of the gods; it was intelligent and probably had concluded treaties with the territories neighboring its lair. Perhaps it even collected tribute in the form of various treasures or tons of mana-rich meat and helped in crisis situations.

  On the other hand, mysterious organizations—such as mystical spiritual sects, knightly orders, monastic monasteries, wizard towers, magic schools, and all sorts of other similar structures—often inhabited the high mountains. There they enjoyed denser mana, were far from civilization, and frequently ruled the surrounding territories, which they used for their own development. The mountains themselves were also extremely rich in all kinds of treasures, jealously guarded by these organizations.

  Many lost their lives every day trying to sneak into the higher mountains. And if they did not fall to the strikes of high-level monsters or were not repelled by various formations, they would be detected by numerous patrols. Only the most desperate embarked on such journeys, but from time to time they succeeded and returned with enormous riches.

  The mayor, however, had some kind of agreement with whoever controlled this mountain, so their ship was to pass through without any trouble.

  Time passed. Emilia, Rumi, and Elion finished three cups of tea each, and soon the ship landed in front of an enormous cave. Its vault was as high as a multi-story building, and in front of it lay a massive platform. Numerous steps were carved into the rock itself, leading somewhere downward, but the clouds hid their destination from Emilia’s curious gaze.

  The military mages led the group, and before long, they found themselves in a large ritual hall. Numerous strange geometric figures, devoid of any mana, outlined the floor and part of the walls.

  Rumi questioned Elion about their purpose, while Emilia hurried to activate her skills along with dispell ignorance. She immediately located the rays of an 18-star formation. It was oriented directly toward the four cardinal directions and drew energy from the very foundation of the mountain.

  The group was instructed to stand within the ritual hall, and soon a large group of monks arrived from somewhere, dressed in flawless white robes.

  An ancient-looking monk with an exceptionally long and well-maintained white beard stepped forward. After a brief conversation with the military mages, he began the ritual.

  Eighteen monks positioned themselves on the eighteen rays. Six central figures stood between the rays and activated strange, mythical skills. The remaining monks grouped themselves near the ancient monk and began the mysterious ritual.

  Gradually, the hall filled with light, and from somewhere, the playful chiming of thousands of bells began to ring. Imperceptibly, Emilia’s head began to nod; her body relaxed and she started to drift off. She took Rumi’s hand and smiled, after which her vision blurred and she fell into a deep sleep.

  During this time, the ritual continued. The participants had been briefed beforehand and knew that the ritual would take three days. Its purpose was to purify their bodies and synchronize their auras with that of the private space. This was a long and exceptionally expensive ritual, and when the cost of opening access to the space itself was added, the price became truly enormous.

  Because of this, everyone had to agree to give 25% of everything they found inside the space as a tax to the city and the kingdom. Most of it would serve to pay for the ritual itself, and perhaps less than a third would actually reach the city.

  After that, the participants would split whatever remained with those who had sent them.

  Emilia, for instance, had promised to give 70% of the value of everything to Chief Nikos, as he was sponsoring her and she was using his quota to enter.

  There was a subtle point here, however. Any treasure or other material used on-site could not be detected, and no tax was owed on it.

  During the briefing, Emilia had discovered something extremely interesting. The others had to register their magic rings, if they had any, but no one had managed to detect hers! Apparently, the Sage of the North had not been stingy with his gifts... Or perhaps the price of those twelve selected mushroom parts was just that high.

  I must try to repay the inhabitants of Normor and Boreas himself someday. They have already helped me twice.

  Emilia felt so small and insignificant in this vast and complex world. Enormous cities, flying ships and fortresses, knightly orders, sects, wizard towers, pegasi, griffins, dragons, gods, as well as countless strange races. To say nothing of the mystical creatures inhabiting the depths.

  This world seemed so vast and rich to her, saturated with magic and distant, endless horizons for growth.