《Grand Saint Alloy》


 1. The Sifting

    Twelve-year-old Tristan looked up at his parents. They smiled at him as if to comfort him, not that it was necessary. Today was going to mark his thirteenth birthday, the day when all children learned about their about their kern and would earn their place in the world.


    Looking to his left he gazed at his mother, he wouldn¡¯t mind inheriting her flame kern. She was well known as one of the most dominant flame users in the Forest Caldera. Standing at the peak of the second tier, only a handful of people in the clan stronghold could challenge her. Being part of the manager caste, it was a massive accomplishment.


    Tristan glanced over his other shoulder. His father who also bore the name Tristan stood to his right. He was not part of the head family originally, however, when he made a name for himself against Forest Caldera, they married him into the family. Many years ago he had saved Tristan''s mother from kidnappers The method used earned him the name Shadow Fist, which he bore with pride.


    Elder Forest had decided to raise Shadow Fist¡¯s caste from worker to manager. The resources he acquired allowed him to grow from a tier one kern to a tier two kern. He was more of an enforcer than a manager, keeping order from the shadows. At least that is how Tristan saw it.


    All this was to say, Tristan thought he had a pretty good chance of inheriting an incredible kern. He could get his mother''s talents and be the envy of the entire clan. Maybe he would get his father¡¯s and be the hidden blade of the Forest Caldera. The option he was really hoping for was black flame. Half-kerns did occur on occasion and it didn¡¯t necessarily make one stronger, but black fire would look awesome.


    They stepped into the Central Caldera. There were hundreds of other young people all waiting for a chance to get their kerns read by the elders. The elders were the leaders of the tribes and this is the one time a year they would gather without bloodshed. The tribes, or calderas, were not enemies, but they were not friends.


    Their whole civilization was set inside a basin atop a mountain, and all the cities were forced to work together by a common background and a common enemy. The edge of this basin was reinforced by a massive stone wall that kept the surrounding beasts at bay. Tristan hoped that he could see some of these mythical creatures someday, but that was a small chance.


    Every year the six elders would gather to initiate the new generation. They used an ancient artifact to facilitate this. A chalice left behind by the Grand Ancestor, the leader who founded their civilization. Currently, those elders were arguing about something in front of the stage where a cloth was draped over a podium.


    With nothing going on to occupy him, Tristan looked around for one of his friends. Harp was turning thirteen as well, and they had been friends since childhood. Her family was from the manager caste as well so their parents knew each other, though Tristan¡¯s parents were in city management and Harps oversaw agriculture.


    He stood on his tiptoes to find his friend. Despite hitting his growth spurt early Tristan was still shorter than the majority of the adults. It did not help that Harp and her family were also on the shorter side. Being the nephew of the elder of the Forest Caldera, he was near the front while Harp would be somewhere in the middle.


    Shadow Fist tapped Tristan on the shoulder, ¡°Focus, eyes foreword.¡±


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    Tristan looked back at the elders, only to find them gone. They had moved around to the right side of the stage and were currently climbing the steps on the side. In order of seniority, they stepped on the stage. The oldest was the Elder River, who led to the River Caldera. He wore blue robes that matched his water kern. Tristan¡¯s uncle, Elder Forest brought up the rear as the youngest, he had red robes that matched the color of flame.


    They lined up behind the podium. When all were in position Elder River removed the cloth revealing a black goblet made of some sort of obsidian. Tristan caught his breath, the Grand Ancestor¡¯s artifact was much larger than he had expected. It rested on a raised pedestal, sitting at about hip height and a black fog wafted up from whatever liquid was inside. The lip of the goblet was almost even with Tristan¡¯s chin, making it the biggest cup he had ever seen.


    The elder of the River Caldera clapped his hands. He had a water kern, which was not the most adept at making loud noises, so he had to clap several times to get all the teen''s attention. The hubbub of the crowd died down by the second clap and was silent by the third.


    River cleared his throat before speaking, ¡°Ahem, parents I hope you have educated your children well, but on the chance that you were reticent in your duties I will educate you.¡±


    ¡°These Caldera¡¯s were refuges in a distant past. You see the world outside this bowl is inhospitable and lethal. Demons with silver blood and monsters of stone fought against the world at the command of the tyrant of the earth. The world burned, and heroes fought and bled against the devils of steel. Many died and victory was reached at the cost of many heroes.¡±


    River looked around somberly, Tristan could almost believe that he actually felt something about these ancient events. The story continued, ¡°Was there a time of peace? No. The men of valor were focused on slaying men, not beasts. In that brief lapse in judgment, mythical beasts appeared. They drove mankind out of their cities, out of their lands, and made us outcasts in our own world!¡±


    Tristan knew what came next, ¡°A legion of men under the Hero Sai founded the Caldera. His five lords became the patriarchs of what is now the Great Caldera and its five great cities. We now faithfully guard its borders, keeping the beasts out.¡±


    The elder of the Plain Caldera glared at Elder Grass from the Grass Caldera. The two had originally been one caldera, until a feud got out of control, and gave birth to the sixth caldera. It was a recent enough event for Tristan to remember it occurring so enmities had not been given time to settle.


    River¡¯s somber expression was replaced with a determined one, ¡°You children are the next generation. Most of you will be workers, some will be managers, and a few powerful individuals here will be warriors, the backbone of our army.¡±


    Tristan was currently part of the manager caste. The only warrior caste he had met before today was Elder Forest. He knew most warriors possessed a tier three kern, easily placing them in the realm of superhuman. He indulged in a fantasy about being a third tier, but that was unlikely. It was more common for a child to be at or below their parent''s tier potential.


    It was possible to use artifacts like the Abyssal Chalice to increase the capacity of your kern by pressing elemental energy into it. However, an artifact like the Abyssal Chalice was so strong that it was more likely to simply pop the kern. It was really only an option for the very wealthy or the very lucky. Tristan, as part of the head family, fell into both categories.


    River continued, ¡°Now children, as you know, your kern is your heart. It is where you hold your power and the method by which you fill your blood with the elements. Today we will determine the natural potential and element of that kern. So, please make an orderly line to the right of the stand we will wave you and your parents up when we are ready for you. ¡°


    A line was forming to the right of the stage and several teens from the River Caldera were already there. Tristan was in a rush. He pulled both his parents along, though, had they been unwilling he would not have been able to pull them anywhere. They were just as eager as he was. His raw excitement and long stride put them close to the front of the line.


    With only three people before him, he waited impatiently for his turn. Fire or darkness both seemed awesome and he would be happy with either. Tristan¡¯s future looked bright.

 2. Shadow of the Ancestor

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 3. Judgement

    River looked down at the boy, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, ¡°Your answer, shows both wisdom and respect.¡±


    He inspected Tristan noting the blood that was covering the ground. Normally participants in the abyssal chalice did not bleed. In fact, the worst he had seen was a headache. His own trial had been a pleasant conversation, like a master talking to a child. Most people with a metal kern were killed outright, though their average tier was three with a potential of five. Maybe the grand ancestor was making a point by sparing Tristan.


    This was dramatically different than any previous time, however Elder River had one question. He looked Shadow Fist in the eye, ¡°Would you really kill your own flesh and blood?¡±


    Shadow fist grimaced, ¡° it, it would pain my heart, but I did not gain a title because I¡¯ve valued myself before my clan. ¡°


    That was enough to cut through the agony in Tristan¡¯s chest. Would Shadow Fist actually harm him? Turning he looked at his mother, Helen was weeping off to the side, her younger brother was holding her back and keeping on hand over her mouth. A wrong action here could doom Helen as well.


    River nodded, and said,¡± Well, then my verdict is this as his father-.¡±


    ¡° You shall take care of the boy, he will be an example to all those who ever oppose the grand ancestor,¡± Elder Forest turned his glare on Elder River, ¡° old man, do not presume to rule my clan.¡±


    Elder Forest had no love for Tristan. He was a teen with no condemning or redeeming qualities. However, he cared for his younger sister, he could do no more for her, as it could jeopardize his position. There might even be heavy penalties to Helen¡¯s family in terms of status and finances, but that was preferable to losing a child.


    As soon as Tristan heard those words he went limp. Curling up he tried to block out the pain. Many people would be able to soldier through this kind of pain, but Tristan was not that kind of person. He had a privileged lifestyle, courtesy of his mother. Once Elder Forest declared his intent Helen¡¯s brother released her, it was now safe to let her approach the stage.


    Tristan¡®s mom was there in an instant, kneeling beside him, and cradling his head, chanting, ¡°Oh my baby, it¡¯s all right, it¡¯s all right.¡±


    Shadow fist loomed over the crippled boy. With one lung destroyed, he would struggle to run and play with the other children, if they even would be willing to. He would most likely be confined to manual labor in the fields, working at a percentage of the pace of the normal workers.


    Shadow Fist sighed, ¡°Looks like I will never be rid of you boy.¡±


    He grabbed Tristan by the back of the neck and picked him up like a puppy. Hellen was still weeping and tried to take her son from Shadow Fist, however, he wouldn¡¯t, no he couldn¡¯t, let her take him. He had to be savage. He had to be ruthless. If he had been anything less the elders would have executed his son. It was fortunate that most of the elders were on unfriendly terms.


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    When they arrived at the gates of the forest, caldera, one of the guards, the young man who could barely shave named Keith waved at them. He had a tier one water kern and a talent for the spear, but not much else, he was very talkative, a trait that many found annoying. Shadow Fist did not have a bad relationship with the young man, however, carrying his unconscious son, he had no desire to talk.


    The board guard had other ideas though, ¡°Hey, Shadow Fist, how¡¯s it going? How did your son do?¡±


    Shadow Fist briefly contemplated punching the smile off Keith¡¯s face. However, that would be unprovoked. It was also poor manners to punish someone for a well-meaning question.


    Shadow Fist frowned, he contemplated being honest, but if Keith knew, everyone knew, ¡°It did not go well. Tristan was hurt, on our trip. But he did get an uncommon result.¡±


    Keith smiled,¡± Well that¡¯s great. I look forward to him getting a new name like his dad.¡±


    Shadow Fist flinched, there was no way he was going to get a name like he did. The best he could hope for is something with the word scrap in it. He just hoped his son would never be put in a place where he needed to earn a name. With his nonexistent potential, it would result in his death.


    Fortunately for Tristan¡®s parents Forest Caldera lived up to its name. Trees were heavily featured in the structure of the homes and the streets were lined with them. This made it relatively easy to get Tristan home without any more awkward encounters. The trees produced an ample amount of shade and Shadow Fist was best at moving unseen in shadows. With this method, it only took a few minutes to make it back.


    Their house was part of the clan''s main ring. While the Warriors were off protecting the rim of the caldera from mythical beasts, the tier two clansmen would manage their affairs. This gave them access to special housing. In the center of Forest Caldera, the Chief''s house stood. Every chief got the title of Forest, just as every other caldera chief got the name of their respective clan.


    In a ring around the central house, the leaders of the manager class made their homes. Large trees formed the center pole of the round houses and thatch roofs to catch any rain that made it through the canopy. The walls were made of an extremely resilient mixture of limestone slurry and the webs from a death weaver spider. It was an expensive yet durable mixture that was excellent at keeping the summer heat out.


    The interior of the building was separated into several rooms. A connected living room and kitchen with the doors to two bedrooms corner from the far side of that large room. The smaller of the two rooms belonged to Tristan and the larger to his parents. On the far side of the building, both bedrooms shared a bathroom. If seen from above, it would look like a pie cut into four differently-sized slices.


    Shadow Fist and Helen laid Tristan down on his bed. They discussed what to do about his results. Anything to dampen the destruction of their son''s future. However, Shadow Fist knew how he would treat another person who had the same traits as Tristan, so there was no way he could expect him to be treated as an equal by anyone.


    After hours of talking in circles, Tristan finally woke up. He coughed and ground. His lung still hurt, which sucked he had kind of been hoping the entire thing was just a dream. He would be going to get his evaluation now, right?


    Shaking his head, he almost broke down, crying. The previous worst-case scenario was him getting dark affinity with a tier zero kern. He had bottomed out so much lower than he thought possible. To top it all off, he didn¡¯t even have a healthy body anymore.


    He looked up at his father, ¡°What will happen to me? ¡°


    Shadow Fist sighed, ¡°First of all boy, I¡¯m sorry for kicking you. I need to give the elders a certain impression so they would not execute you.¡±


    At first, Tristan had thought his father was betraying him. However, it did not take a genius to realize there were much simpler ways to end the life of a teen. Especially a teen that had already been sentenced to death.


    ¡°I know, ¡° Tristan put his face in his hands, ¡° how am I supposed to do anything? Everyone is going to hate me.¡±


    Shadow Fist chuckled,¡± Well, that¡¯s an easy enough solution to solve. Nobody cares about anybody else. What people care about is the value that you have.¡±


    ¡° People value me because I have certain skills. I am not overly powerful for dark kern, I just had the correct attitude to use the skills that I had. We just have to find something that you can do that no one else can. Which should not be an issue, as you were the only person in the entire caldera with a metal kern.¡±


    Tristan thought about it for a moment. His metal affinity was weak. As low as you could get. However, weak as it was, it was still better than anyone else had. At least he had a future, even if it was not a bright one.

 4. Internship

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 5. Devils own Luke

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 6. Deep Elements

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 7. Siren

    ¡°That, that can¡¯t be possible.¡±


    ¡°We can''t survive that.¡±


    ¡°Isn''t that stronger than the grand ancestor!¡±


    The people in the map room of the mine muttered. Tristan was in a state of shock. Tier seven, that was ludicrous, what kind of civilization was living here in the past? More importantly, what kind of beast could wipe it out? After all, if there had been one tier seven, why not two or even a possible tier eight that had not created an elemental upon death?


    The capabilities of the human body went up by about fifty percent at every tier. A tier seven would be around seventeen times better than someone with a tier zero kern. With around sixty percent of the caldera¡¯s residents being tier zero, this thing could decimate the Forest Caldera all by itself.


    Conni made gestures for everyone to settle down, ¡°Quiet down everyone,¡± he waited for a few moments to let everyone calm down, ¡°There are precautions to stop this, all dangerous tunnels are marked with a red X so you should know before you ever enter it. When we break open a new deposit, there will be at least three warriors here to handle it if there¡¯s one inside the deposit.¡±


    A hand went up, it was Luke, ¡°So, why would there be one in a piece of metal we excavate?¡±


    Conni shrugged, ¡°The ancient civilization had an odd habit of building their living structures out of metal. Most of the pieces we find are indeed sheets or chunks of steel, however, every once in a while, we come across a home that is still whole and those tend to house elementals,¡± Conni looked over at Tristan, ¡°I am hoping to use this kids metal affinity to alleviate those issues.¡±


    Tristan frowned, from the stories told about those with a metal affinity, he was supposed to be ostracized and shunned. However, he didn¡¯t get any of those feelings from the people around him. Even Conni the leader of the mine thought he held promise. The only ones to be horrified were the elders and his parents. No one else seemed to really care. With the threat of a tier seven elemental hanging over one''s head, people can be surprisingly willing to compromise cultural prejudices.


    ¡°Alright, we are going to split you up into several teams,¡± Three burly men stepped out of the dark tunnel and stood beside Conni, ¡°These people will show the ropes and how to safely and efficiently accomplish tasks. I know the people on the surface like to call this a slave mine, and that¡¯s because about three-quarters of you are here for being some sort of public nuisance. That doesn¡¯t mean that I want you to throw your back out or send a letter to your family saying you got killed by a falling rock.¡±


    Several people, including Luke, chuckled. He knew that Luke was probably here due to being a public nuisance. Tristan had to pause at that thought, he was probably considered a public nuisance now. He shook his head, no way people thought he was a nuisance right?


    Conni started separating the two or three dozen newcomers into groups. There were three main ones, a mining one, the most muscular people were sent with the biggest guy. They were the team that actually pulled the metal out of the ground and cut it to a size that could be transported out of the mine. The tunnels were not small, however they weren¡¯t designed to haul an entire wall of a home through.


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    The second team was for transportation. They would use wagons to haul the metal out by hand. The wagons themselves had axles that were able to directionally lock. This meant the wagon only rolled forward, so there was very little chance of a runaway cart flattening anyone.


    By the time the time everyone was off in the first two groups, everyone left knew who they would be going with. Tristan inspected the last man. He was well built, but he wore a robe in place of a yellow leather work jacket and pants. The robe was still yellow, so he didn¡¯t look too out of place. His hair was cut in a buzz cut and he had a short beard with white streaks at the temple and jaw. This made him look harsh, however, he had smile lines around his eyes, so Tristan believed him to be good-natured.


    Conni introduced the man, ¡°This is Sir Ren, though we call him Siren. He is in charge of security here, if he tells you to do something, do it. He is a peak tier three with shadow and earth essence, and he leads a team of five other warrior caste protectors.¡±


    Conni gestured for Siren to step forward. The crowd was looking at him with respect. Peak tier three was about as strong as you could get without being a once-a-generation talent. When someone pulled in an artifact''s essence while their kern was full they would stretch their reservoir and the result was an increase in their maximum essence. The only downside was that artifacts of one''s own level could not be used, they had to be of one level higher to be used like this. Siren needed a tier-four artifact, and those were both very rare and very expensive. It was actually easier to find tier five, than four, as most of the artifacts from the age of the grand ancestor were at that level. This left a one tier gap with the only other place to find tier-four artifacts being in forgotten ruins, like this mine.


    Siren stepped forward and smiled at everyone, ¡°Good whatever time it is,¡± he seemed to be waiting for something, ¡°Sorry, dad joke. Uh, well I am in charge of keeping you people breathing, and that involves much more than just fighting the random elementals that lurk down here. You may notice that your group consists mostly of light and wind essence users?¡±


    When he got a round of nods he continued, ¡°As we have two youngsters here I will explain a few things that are common knowledge to the rest of you. The word kern literally means heart or core, however, your essence is not stored there, it is instead in your blood,¡± Siren drew a knife and cut his palm, then held it out, ¡°As you can see the earth essence in my blood stops me from bleeding all over everything. The shadow essence running through the capillaries in my eyes allows me to see through the darkness.¡±


    Blood dripped from his hand forming into a duplicate of a knife, ¡°We can extract the essence from our blood and make use of it in many ways as you can see. The corporeal elements are vastly more useful in most cases, however, down here, having a light source at all times is invaluable.¡±


    Tristan knew the blood of light elementals was luminous and that it did not produce heat as fire essence did. It was not quite as bright, but it did not flicker. Harp¡¯s mother used to do things like glow or make strobe lights during some of the games that the two of them played when Tristan went to his friend¡¯s home.


    ¡°Those with an air kern are arguably more valuable, as you don¡¯t need to breathe anywhere near as much as the rest of us, and your body processes harmful gasses into breathable air,¡± Siren grinned, ¡°Having an air kern is probably better than having an earth kern in this job. The air essence extracted from your kern is also breathable for others. In the event of a cave-in with limited breathing air, having a partner with an air kern will save your life.¡±


    Siren clapped his hands, nodded to the two men beside him, and said, ¡°All of you split into two groups and follow each manager, one of my subordinates will follow you around and explain your responsibilities on the job.¡±


    Tristan was not sure which group he should go with. He had neither light nor air essence so he was not sure how valuable the instructions would be for him. Most likely his kern worked like a more limited earth kern. He wasn¡¯t sure where the division between stone and metal was. How hard did a rock have to be before it was considered a metal? Maybe it was measured in shininess?


    He started to follow Luke of all people when Siren called out, ¡°Not you Tristan, we need to do some experiments, to see how you can be useful.¡±

 8. Metal detector

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 9. Metal detector 2.0

    Conni pumped his fist into the air, ¡°Yes!¡±


    Siren was grinning, ¡°Don¡¯t get too exited yet, we still need to test it in the mine.¡±


    Tristan was confused, it couldn¡¯t be that special. He suspected that a sufficiently skilled person with an earth kern could do something similar by looking for voids in their senses. However, maybe they could only feel earth essence, meaning that they would not feel metal unless they were standing right on top of it.


    Siren took pity on Tristan, choosing to fill him in, ¡°If you can sense large deposits, you will save us an astronomical amount of time and once you have a feeling for how large the deposits is, we can be on standby in case of any elementals.¡±


    Tristan looked at the vials. Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a curse, he could help people, and he could be treated well for it. He couldn¡¯t wait to let his parents know their son was going to be a big shot, even if it was in the mines. Shadow Fist probably would not care, but his mother would be proud.


    ¡°Can we go try it out?¡± Tristan asked.


    Conni gave him small smile, ¡°Yes and No, Your abilities are underdeveloped, you haven¡¯t had any practice. It¡¯s not to much of an issue, as the metal is randomly scattered, with no regard to stone strata. I could take you to the end of the tunnels and ask you to point in a direction and dig that way. It would work to develop your skills, however the time it would take will slow your development.¡±


    That was true even with earth moving artifacts, mining was a slow process. Tristan would have to find a deposit, wait a week or so to find out if he was correct, then try again later. The bigger issue was that if he was accidentally correct, he would learn bad methods that would not regularly work.


    Siren nodded, ¡°We need something a little faster, which we have set up above ground.¡±


    Tristan wondered how they could set up an exercise above ground to help with locating things below ground. Well he would have to just find out. He followed Conni upstairs, while Siren stayed behind to watch how the new batch of people responded to different orders and work.


    The bright sunlight blinded Tristan for a moment. He had not realized how dim the caves were until he had returned to the outside word. If he was completely honest, he felt more comfortable underground. Most likely that was due to the familiar essence underground.


    Conni led him around behind the sandstone bunk house only to find a second and third in a row behind it. The gap between the buildings was not large, five or six feet at most. Only one end of the alleys was open, some hastily stacked rocks piled at one end cut off the alley. From how lose the dirt was, it was a very recent job.


    ¡°You may be asking what we are doing here?¡± Conni asked.


    The thought had actually not crossed Tristan¡¯s mind. He was more curious about what Siren was doing, the warrior fascinated Tristan and was an example of what he dreamed of being. It also did not hurt that he shared an element with Shadow Fist.


    ¡°The bunk houses are made out of stone, we will be placing a wheelbarrow full of scrap metal inside, it is your job to find it without leaving the alley.¡±


    Tristan looked at him, confused, ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, how am I supposed to do that?¡±


    Conni produced a black strip of cloth with a grin, ¡°Put this on and we¡¯ll see.¡± He paused for a moment, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t stay here and babysit you while you build up your sensitivity, I¡¯ll find someone to watch your progress.¡±


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    Tristan was forced to wait while Conni went back into the mine to find some unfortunate person. Whoever he picked would be forced to watch over a blind folded thirteen year old while he tried to increase his sensitivity. It was like the longest game of hot and cold in history. At least that is what Tristan thought until Conni returned with Luke.


    ¡°Here we go, his personality does not quite match the other miners, and he¡¯s the closest one to your age,¡± Conni said.


    He explained to Luke what his job was. Luke was supposed to move a wheel barrow of scrap metal around inside the bunk houses. For now it would be right up against the inside wall and as Tristan got better at locating it, it would be placed farther and farther away. Conni wanted Tristan to have the ability to sense the wheel barrow at distances of up to fifty feet. Tristan thought he was being a little to optimistic, but he would try.


    When they were done, Tristan tied the blindfold around his eyes. In theory the blindfold was supposed to mimic a cave environment, but it only made things dark. The mine had a cool dampness to the air, while Tristan could still feel the sun and wind above ground. Maybe on a calm night it would be simmilar.


    ¡°Your good to go, Luke, make sure he doesn¡¯t hurt himself or wander off while blindfolded,¡± Conni said before his footsteps receded. Tristan frowned, was blindfolded people wandering off actually a serious cooncern.


    As soon as Conni was gone Luke started talking, ¡°So you had to learn how to feel metal essence? What was that like, I can¡¯t not remember feeling wind essence. It feels like a breeze.¡±


    Tristan froze, ¡°You could always feel it?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m pretty sure every one can when they¡¯re born,¡± Luke seemed to pause, ¡°Well, I guess except for you.¡±


    Something lit in Tristan. Something he tried to smother. His parents knew he couldn¡¯t feel the flame, or the night shadows, they were aware that he was different and that his dreams were physically impossible. Instead of preparing him for that future they had opted to hide from the issue. He had nothing to prove it, so he tried to suppress the feeling, and he succeeded, mostly.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Tristan took a deep breath, ¡°I guess I am just special in an odd way.¡±


    Luke¡¯s laughter echoed down the alley, bouncing off the rubble at its end, ¡°That you are. So lets take our first step on a journey, to fulfill a legend and slay a thousand men!¡±


    Tristan inched down the hallway wondering if something was wrong with his bloodthirsty companion. He tried to feel for the metal. The vials had given him a sensation of rightness, of comfort. It was odd, but the sensation they gave off was not dissimilar to the feelings a pillow invoked. Rest and rejuvenation. He tried to feel that, but it was hard.


    ¡°So if the earth kern makes it hard to bleed to death, do you think your metal kern will make you invincible? Like armored blood or something?¡± Luke seemed to get more and more exited, ¡°So if you get armored blood, I want flying blood, cause wind can fly right!¡±


    Tristan tried to tune him out, but it was difficult. Currently he was in the center of the ally, but he didn¡¯t need to be. It was perfectly reasonable to feel the cave wall while he was searching for deposits. Moving to his right, Tristan felt for the wall. When he found it, he pressed up against it and started sliding down the alley.


    ¡°Um, So I guess that works, but it looks really silly,¡± Luke commented on Tristan¡¯s form.


    ¡°Your Face is silly,¡± Tristan yelled at him. It was the best he could think of on the spot. Luke started laughing.


    He made it to the end of the alley and started on the other side. Tristan did not find anything, he was not really expecting to either, at least on his first try. It ended up taking three rounds, and that was because as soon as he would near the spot Luke would start talking nonsense. Tristan did not know if it was on purpose, but it was not as if he would alway have peace while trying to work. On top of that Luke¡¯s banter would get slightly less irksome when he neared that spot as well, so he wasn¡¯t going to stop his unintentional training aid.


    After about thirty minutes he found it, there was a spot that simply felt different. Because it was a new feeling Tristan pointed to the wall, ¡°Is it here?¡±


    Luke nodded, then realized that Tristan was blindfolded, ¡°Yup, thats it.¡±


    After several different attempts, a bell rang. Tristan didn¡¯t know what it meant, but his blind fold was jerked off. He winced as the sunlight entered his eyes for the first time in a few hours. He focused of Luke who was cheering throwing the cloth up in the air. The reason for this odd behavior was soon answered.


    A voice that was both booming and feminine echoed over the base camp, ¡°LUNCH TIME!¡±

 10. Werewolves, Druggies, and Murder hobos

    Tristan stared in, well he wasn¡¯t sure. Terror, shock, awe, something in between. Currently he was staring at the largest woman he had ever seen. While the lunch lady, maybe lunch beast was the right word. She was about six feet tall and extremely obese, she most likely a hundred pounds heavier than any of the men. If that were all, than Tristan wouldn¡¯t have given a second thought, however the woman had brown bob cut and what Tristan had first taken to be a bear pelt on her arms and legs. No, she was wearing a short sleeve tunic and a skirt that cut off at mid calf, the lunch beast was really that hairy.


    Tristan glanced at Luke out of the corner of his eye, he was in shock to. The woman saw them and smiled as she rumbled over. Tristan inwardly hoped that she would eat Luke first, because he still could not run with his injured lung.


    Luke pointed and asked, ¡°So, are you a werewolf?¡±


    All the people gathering for lunch froze, the woman froze, Tristan took a step away from Luke. He had been thinking the same thing, but he wasn¡¯t going to say it out loud. Then a laugh started behind them, which quickly spread to everyone else, even the werewolf, er woman.


    Tristan turned in time to see Conni throw one arm over each of their shoulders, ¡°I see you met my wife, her name is Grace, and let me tell you she makes the best food.¡±


    Tristan could only nod meekly as he was led to a table filled with sweaty, heavily muscled men. Fortunately, with a few exceptions, working in the mines resulted in wiry muscles instead of bulky ones. If everyone had been a broad shouldered brute then there would have been no space for Luke and Tristan. With all the miners above ground, Tristan was surprised at how few of them there were.


    The Forest caldera¡¯s population was split into four different castes. A worker caste, a management caste, a warrior caste, and the guiding caste. No caste was more or less important, instead their relative value to the community was used to give them status. That value was determined by how easy a person was to replace. A guider and a warrior were very difficult to replace, while a farmer could be replaced by anyone, and the farther you went down any caste system the more people you would find at the bottom, supporting the structure.


    That was what confused Tristan, the mine was quite literally as low as you could go. It was so easy to replace each worker that he assumed there would be hundreds of people here. Instead there was only about fifty, excluding the cook. The simplest way to find out was to just ask, so he looked around for someone who looked nice, but found no one.


    Tristan realized that his definition of nice might need some renovation. All the men around him were waiting impatiently for food. They were sweaty, most weren¡¯t wearing shirts, and their hair and beards were unkept, they looked like heavily muscled vagrants. Being part of the management caste, Tristan was used to hygiene being a higher priority, but he wasn¡¯t really part of that caste anymore, he was a crippled worker.


    He picked the man across from him, ¡°Sir, can I ask you a question?¡±


    The man¡®s eyes shifted from the huge pot where some kind of thick soup was being ladled into bowls. He had a bushy blond beard and the hair on his head was braided in rows. He didn¡¯t answer, so much as give an affirming grunt of approval.


    ¡°Why are there so few miners,¡± Tristan asked, ¡°It seems odd that such a low caste job has so few people.¡±


    The man snorted at the low caste comment, ¡°Boy, first of all, your in the same caste as me, and second because we don¡¯t want to die.¡±


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    Tristan¡¯s eyes went wide. Overpopulation in the cave system could be dangerous. He was glad he found out about this early, maybe stampedes or maybe a lack of breathable air. Tristan shuddered at the thought.


    The miners neighbor jabbed him in the ribs, ¡°Carl! You scared the poor boy.¡±


    Carl grunted, he obviously did not care much, however the man who had jabbed him was one of Siren¡¯s warriors. Sighing he once again focused on Tristan, ¡°Have they told you about the elementals?¡± Tristan nodded, ¡°Well imagine a tier six or seven elemental rampaging through a group of terrified miners, some of which also spawn elementals upon death.¡±


    Carl jabbed a thumb at the warrior, ¡°These turds can kill a tier seven if they work together, but not if it has friends. If it escaped the mine and attacked a city it has the potential to start a chain reaction that spawns an elemental lord.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if that was a different type of elemental or simple what one called the head of a swarm of them. Whatever the case, Tristan could easily see it wiping out the whole caldera. It was an elemental plague.


    The food was handed out in bowls made of red fired clay. Tristans senses alerted him to some metal essence in the red substance, however the thought was brief as Grace was the one handing him the bowl. She caught his hand as he reached for it twisting his wrist so that his palm was up. Tristan almost panicked, but she simply placed a brown object in his hand.


    Grace leaned down and whispered into his ear, ¡°Eat first, you don¡¯t want to take the alchemist¡¯s wind root on an empty stomach, don¡¯t let the men know you have it they¡¯ll make a drug out of it.¡±


    She placed the bowl on top of the object that Tristan now knew was a root, before rumbling down the table to hand out more food. The food was a white soup, thick with vegetables and a surprising amount of meat. Tristan had never lacked for good food, his parents were at the top of the manager caste. They were responsible for city development which gave them ample resources for consumption.


    This food looked barely passable, however the taste was surprisingly good. All the miners were chowing down, almost as if they were racing. A thought that was soon proven true when a man bolted to his feet yelling ¡°SECONDS! Please.¡±


    Tristan gulped it down quickly, it was more than enough to feed his growing body. Mining evidently burned more calories than growing did. Normally he would have taken his time and enjoyed his food, but he needed to eat the root before it was taken from him. He scooped the last bit out with a wooden spoon and sighed.


    ¡°So, that was good,¡± Luke said, he leaned over and looked at what Tristan was holding, ¡°Hey is that an Wind Tuber?¡±


    Things escalated and deescalated quickly. Carl¡¯s eyes dilated, and he lunged across the table. The warrior tried to grab him, but caught the heel of Carl¡¯s boot in the nose. He came like a wild animal, scrambling with such fervor that the man to Tristan¡¯s left fell out of his chair and scrambled backward.


    ¡°Give me it,¡± Carl rasped like some sort of ghoul, ¡°Or I¡¯ll hurt you.¡±


    Tristan wasn¡¯t given much of a choice as Carl tackled Tristan. He tried to eat the root before the psycho could get it, but he was both to week and to slow. Tristan tried to punch him, but his untrained fist was useless. He had seen how people reacted to drugs before and this was more akin to a possession than a withdrawal.


    His lungs hurt, he couldn¡¯t breath. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he prepared to be killed by Carl. At the last moment, a hand reached around the deranged miner¡¯s face and grabbed him by the nose. Blood splattered Tristan¡¯s face, and then Carl¡¯s screams of desire turned to pain.


    It took a moment for Tristan to realize that the hand hadn¡¯t grabbed Carl¡¯s nose. His savior was holding a spoon, which had been shoved through the man¡¯s eye socket. The miner was wrenched off Tristan by his eye socket and Tristan saw his savior. Luke had just attacked Carl.


    Luke was half Carl¡¯s mass, but with the spoon as a lever he pulled the man down to his level and drew a broken piece of pottery across his jugular. Tristan watched in horror as Carl jerked back pulling the spoon out and staggered back holding his neck. No one tried to help him, everyone was more fixated on the green eyed boy who had just killed a man.


    After a moment of silence Luke looked over a Tristan, ¡°So, you gonna eat that?¡±


    Tristan blankly shook his head. He was not doing to disappoint a boy who had just killed a man.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°So, I¡¯m going to borrow your spoon, mine needs to be washed.¡±

 11. What Makes Monsters

    It would not have been entirely incorrect to say lunch was over, only because Luke was still eating. Everyone else had lost their appetite. Tristan ate the root and it caused a burning sensation in his chest, but it was the least of his concerns.


    Grace was bustling back, when she saw Carl she sighed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡±


    At first Tristan thought that Grace was talking to him, but the Carl had kicked in the face answered, ¡°How was I supposed to know he would go crazy!¡± Evidentially he was one of the warriors responsible for our protection.


    Grace sighed, turning to Tristan, ¡°Sorry, but I think its best that you go home for a few days to let the root do its work.¡±


    ¡°What does it do?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°It rejuvenates the lungs, it won¡¯t make like new,¡± Grace explained, ¡°It cleanses them and shortens the natural time it would take the body to put itself together.¡±


    Tristans eyes widened, ¡°This will heal my lungs?¡±


    Grace shook her head knowing what Tristan meant more than simply healing. He thought it meant he would be renewed, ¡°Sorry, it will help your body to heal the flesh and flush the contaminants in a few days. All of the scarring will remain.¡±


    The mine bulk ordered the root because the dust in the air would damage the workers lungs. It would use air essence to assist in the health in contact with it, making it useless for anything internal aside from the lungs, as most organs weren¡¯t in contact with air essence. That made the root comparatively cheap as far a medicines went, however it would increase the potency of any gaseous drug. Once someone started gaining a resistance to their favorite drug, this root would be the only way to guarantee a high.


    Tristan felt disappointed, however he knew that it would mean he would not need crutches for much longer. There were plenty of warriors who had received similar wounds while defending the rim of the caldera from the beasts in the wilderness. While their recovery was measured in months not days, they were still able to function though not as warriors.


    ¡°How many days should I stay at home?¡± Tristan asked, ¡°And what about Luke, he didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡±


    Luke¡¯s head swiveled around and stared at Tristan. It was creepy, and Tristan was scared of the older boy, but he could not allow someone who saved him to be punished. Carl was still being hauled off by Siren¡¯s team, and Tristan could see a potential future where one of Carl¡¯s friends attempted to get revenge on Luke.


    Grace shrugged, ¡°I wish this never happened, normally one of the warriors would have put Carl down, but Luke has no home to go back to, he will have to help out Siren. Thats the problem with the mine, we are the last stop before exile or execution for most people.¡±


    Tristan nodded, Siren would be more than capable of protecting Luke. Luke would probably end up joining the handful of warriors after that demonstration. It would not be hard to focus his aggression on elementals and people like Carl.


    After a brief talk with Conni, where Tristan was questioned about what happened and asked to return in three days. That was how long it would take for the root to finish doing its job. Just like Grace, the mine overseer let him know he was not responsible, which confused Tristan, all he had done was get tackled. After that he started on the two hour walk home.


    Tristan realized that a two hour walk for most people was about six miles. However on his crutches and stopping to catch his breath it took almost four hours to see the walls of the Forest Caldera. Normally it would be dangerous for a young person to journey alone, however the caldera as a whole was relatively safe. The whole area had been explored and domesticated, and the rim guard stopped the more unwanted creatures from entering.


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    Slavery was not a trade within the caldera and bandits were extremely rare. Even if Tristan did meet some, he was carrying nothing of value, and a child was not valued high enough to be ransomed. If he was valuable, then he would be accompanied. For all these reasons Tristan made it back safely.


    The sun had not set and the gate was still open, and the guard did not bother to stop him. Tristan was a cripple and his clothing was not suited for long journeys, meaning he was a local. While walking through the the city, Tristan started to realize how good he had it compared to everyone else. Most homes were nothing more than single bed versions of the bunk house in the base camp.


    Both he and his friends had been in higher class families. The people in the Forest Caldera were not unhappy with their simple lives, the worker caste was the largest by far and most people had learned to make the best of that. The homes were made out of a mud and fiber compound with a thatch roof. After a few minutes, Tristan entered a greener area of the city that marked the more affluent workers and many of the managers. These ones were commonly made of stone or wood, but even then they were still considered large if they exceeded a thousand square feet. His home was near the center in a ring surrounding the chief¡¯s home.


    There were a few children playing in the open area between the homes and Tristan contemplated walking towards them. He knew most of them. Harp was there as were the neighbors children. Before he could take a step, they saw him, pointing before leaving. Tristan started to follow, but Harp shook her head before joining them.


    Not knowing what that was all about, Tristan walked to his front door and opened the door. Or at least he tried to, the door was locked. He tried knocking, but their was no answer. Yelling achieved the same result, he tried looking through the windows, but no one was home. It was possible both of his parents were at an appointment or meeting with Elder Forest.


    Sighing Tristan made up his mind to sit on the front step and wait. It could be a long time before they came back, but they would come back. He leaned back against the wooden door and closed his eyes, the walk here had worn him out and sleeping would make the time go faster.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing to my house?¡± The nasally voice woke Tristan up.


    Blearily he looked around finding a boy not much older than he was standing before him. The boy was standing with his arms crossed, he was heavily muscled for someone of his age and had two of the neighborhood kids flanking him. The only thing that was not average about his looks was the death glare he was giving Tristan.


    ¡°What do you mean, I live here,¡± Tristan asked, confused, when he had looked through the window the furniture was still there. It had only been a day, there was no way the occupants had been evicted and replaced in that time. Not unless the process had started just after the kern ceremony.


    The boy¡¯s eyes went from death glare to exited, ¡°Are you Shadow Fist¡¯s son?¡±


    Tristan nodded, not sure why that mattered.


    ¡°My dad is a warrior and he says we should always be prepared to fight the silver blooded demons,¡± The boy said, the two boys with him nodding.


    He grabbed Tristan¡¯s tunic and threw him off the porch. The kid had at least a tier two kern, making him significantly stronger than Tristan was. There was no way he could resist the bigger and healthier boy.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a demon and my blood is red,¡± Tristan said, struggling back to his feet.


    ¡°Well, then you won¡¯t mind if we prove it?¡± The boy said.


    Tristan very much did care, but it did not seem he would hav much of a say in the matter. The boy kicked Tristan in the gut, sending him back to the ground before kicking him. Tristan was very fortunate that they weren¡¯t adults, as the kicks of thirteen year olds lacked both the strength and the raw mass to cause life threatening injuries. It still hurt and Tristan could only curl up and hope they wouldn¡¯t grab sticks or rocks.


    Eventually the short attention span of children and Tristans lack of reaction saved him, he had a bloody nose and was covered in bruises. Fortunately he was otherwise uninjured, his nose was not even broken.


    The boy, sighed, ¡°Well, I guess your blood is red. Now stay away from my home, we don¡¯t take kindly to invaders.¡±


    Tristan did not respond. Anything could be taken as an excuse to continue, and he just wanted to leave. Once the bully left Tristan sighed, glad that it was over. However despite everything, what happened next hurt even worse.


    A girl around the same age as him with brown hair and a yellow eyes walked up to him, after the boys left, ¡°Hello Tristan.¡±


    Tristan smiled, the girl winced at his bloody teeth, ¡°Hello, Harp.¡±


    ¡°Your parents moved to the middle district,¡± She paused looking ashamed, ¡°My mom and dad say you are a monster and I shouldn¡¯t spend time with you.¡±


    She handed Tristan a piece of paper with an address on it. Then she ran away, like Tristan really was a monster. His brain flashed to Luke, he really was a monster and people respected him for it. Maybe Luke was not so crazy after all.

 12. Home Sickness

    Tristan trudged back to the address written on the piece of paper. He was shocked at how fast his scrapes closed, leaving behind bruises. Grace had claimed that only injuries exposed to air essence would be repaired, however this was better than he had expected. Air essence was evidently in the air.


    He stewed on what Harp had said. Tristan was mad, he was actually more angry at Harp than at the warrior brat. One was a bully, one was a friend. You expected friends to have your back, not stab it. That and the message had been from Harp¡¯s parents they did not have the guts to tell him, instead they used their daughter. He swore he would get them back for it, but there was nothing he could do about it now.


    The new home was in the middle district. It most likely did not have indoor plumbing and he would have to make use of an outhouse as opposed to a bathroom. He supposed that it would not be to big of a deal, as most of his day would be spent as a metal detector at the mine. The building was a small brick structure, making a higher quality than most of the other buildings, but lower than what he was used to.


    The door opened after the first knock his mother, Hellen answered the door. She had tears in her eyes and instead of talking she just hugged Tristan. She made a cooing noise like he was a child and patted his hair. At first he was confused, then he realized he looked like he had the crap kicked out of him. It was just that was not anywhere near the highlight of the day, so he had forgotten about it.


    Hellen pulled him inside where he found a two room home with only a stove in one room and a bed in the other. Through the door he could see Shadow Fist sitting with a vacant expression. When he saw Tristan¡¯s face it was quickly clouded with anger.


    He stomped over and cupped Tristan¡¯s chin, ¡°Did the miners do this, I will beat Conni within an inch of his life if he doesn¡¯t have a good explanation.¡±


    Tristan quickly shook his head, ¡°No, dad, it wasn¡¯t Conni, he is a very good man, he and his wife treated me very well. Siren also was nice to me.¡±


    Shadow Fist seemed confused, ¡°How did you get hurt then?¡±


    Tristan explained about how the boys had kicked him. At that Shadow Fist deflated, it got even worse when he heard that Harp was also tangentially involved, He looked over at Hellen who was covering her mouth with a hand.


    ¡°What?¡± Tristan was confused by their reaction.


    ¡°Normally, I would try to get rid of anyone who tried to harm our family, but we were replaced by a warrior family,¡± Shadow Fist said.


    ¡°Who,¡± Tristan asked, most warriors lived near the edge of the caldera to keep mythical beasts out, rarely taking up permanent residence in the Forest Caldera.


    Shadow Fist sighed, ¡°The Gold Hearts.¡±


    The Gold Heart family were originally workers with a tier zero kern, however they got their name by setting up a gambling ring that allowed them to purchase artifacts to increase their kern¡¯s capacity. Though they were barely tier three it still qualified them as a sort of merchant warrior. However they got lucky when their son was discovered to have a natural tier two kern, so he has a good chance of breaking into tier three with the proper artifacts. They were a poor excuse for a warrior family, Shadow Fist could most likely overcome the difference in kern tier with experience if it ever came down to a fight.


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    Hellen finally spoke, ¡°We were considered a disgrace to the clan leaders and they no longer consider us family.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of me,¡± Tristan asked.


    Hellen tried to answer, but no words came out. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before looking at her husband. How could she tell him that yes, the shame of having a silver blooded demon in the family was greater than the combined honor that her and Shadow Fist brought.


    Shadow Fist sighed, ¡°Yes, and no,¡± at Tristans frown he continued, ¡°Yes, because your kern is the reason, No because they are afraid. Metal kerns are undocumented outside of the Grand Ancestors legend. They are worried you will break their comfortable lives.¡±


    Tristan was shocked by the words, he was no threat to anyone. He had just lost to a few kids, how was he supposed to threaten adults. Even if he had the same powers as the invincible killing machines, it would be scaled down to a tier zero kern. Shadow Fist contented himself with simply being available to his son.


    Hellen pulled a pot out of a box just inside the door and lit up the wood burning stove with a spark from her hand. She proceeded to make dinner. Tristan was still thinking about what his father had said when Hellen finished with the chili. They ate together on the floor simply eating out of the pot. Evidently plates had not been at the top of their moving priorities.


    Shadow Fist cleared his throat and started talking, ¡°So the people at the mine treat you well?¡±


    Tristan nodded around a mouthful of beans and tomato paste. It had been quite the opposite of Forest Caldera, the teens here abandoned him while the one there saved him. Yes, Luke was vastly more brutal, but he at least was not targeting Tristan. The adults at the mine were kind as well, going so far as to heal him. Tristan knew that it was because he had something they wanted, but then again, that is how every relationship started. He was never angry when another kid played with him because he had better toys.


    ¡°Good, I think it is a good idea for you to stay there for a couple of months or even a year, at least until things settle down here,¡± Shadow Fist said.


    Hellen almost spat her food out, ¡°What, Why?¡±


    ¡°Think about it,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°Our son is only alive because children are weak. If an adult starts next time, he will die. I am simply proposing an environment that relies heavily upon his well-being is a better place for him.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s mouth hung open. He was being abandoned, how could his own father abandon him. It did not matter what the reason was, families were supposed to stay together.


    That did not seem to matter to Shadow Fist, Hellen cried and tried to get her husband to change his mind. He was firm in his decision, he claimed that Tristan had no human rights and was only alive due to a technicality. Tristan was not the first child to posses a metal kern, he was just the first one to be spared.


    Most of them were stabbed through the heart, which was a plausible target considering his lung was punctured. Was his life saved by a time limit? Because he squirmed a little to much? Tristan did not know, but he was able to realize that the only reason he was alive was because Elder Forest and Elder River were rivals.


    Tristan still felt betrayed, however he could not find a flaw in his father¡¯s logic. His mother seemed to be distraught, but when he looked into his father¡¯s eyes he could only find hardness.


    ¡°Can I at least sleep here before being abandoned?¡± Tristan asked, venom in his voice.


    ¡°Of course honey,¡± Hellen said immediately, before continuing, ¡°We will never betray you.¡±


    Shadow Fist shook his head, ¡°It is not abandonment, it is relocation. You won¡¯t live long here, even if you stay alive you won¡¯t have a life.¡±


    Tristan simply scowled, the words were true but the tone was cold. It was late when they finished dinner and both Shadow Fist and Helen had a long day so they decided to go to sleep. That night was one of the longest he had ever had. There was only one bed and not enough room for three people.


    Tristan was given a blanket that barely padded the wooden floor. While he was staring up towards the ceiling he realized something. His parents had only brought a single bed, supposedly they thought he would be staying with them. However their actions seemed to indicate a plan to send him away.


    He gritted his teeth, Shadow Fist at the very least was planning on getting him out from the very beginning. Tristan did not believe his mom was involved, but there was no way to prove it. The situation made him so angry that he actually looked foreword to leaving the next day. If they wanted him gone for a year, fine, he would stay away for two. Maybe then they would realize how important he was to them.

 13. Successful Location

    Tristan looked around at the base camp. He had left before his parents had woken up a piece of him wanting to spite them by not saying good bye. As Shadow Fist¡¯s dark kern always let him know when the sun was rising, so Tristan had to get up early to pull it off. He ended up arriving on Conni¡¯s doorstep just as everyone at the mine was waking up.


    Conni opened the door to find Tristan standing before him, ¡°Your back early,¡± He noticed the lack of crutches, ¡°how are your lungs treating you?¡±


    Tristan nodded good morning and answered, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t run as long as I used to, but if I am not pushing myself then it is barely noticeable.¡±


    Conni grinned, ¡°Well, lets get you breakfast and get started on your training. I think after a few days we can test you out in the mine itself.¡±


    ¡°One other thing, ¡° Tristan said, ¡°My parents don¡¯t want me in the Forest Caldera, so I was hoping that I could stay at the base camp.¡±


    Conni ran his hand over his scalp, ¡°What are parents doing these days,¡± when he saw Tristan¡¯s confused expression he continued, ¡°This is supposed to work like a light internship, you come for a day or two a week for the next six or seven years, and start working full time when you are an adult. However, between you and Luke I¡¯m starting to feel like a day care.¡±


    ¡°Is Luke not helpful?¡± Tristan could not imagine that they would have difficulty finding a place for someone as scary as Luke. He would go great in an elemental kill squad if he was trained.


    Conni sighed, ¡°No one is willing to work with him after how Carl died. They all believe he¡¯s going to snap at the wrong moment.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll work with him,¡± Tristan was scared of Luke, but the older boy had saved his life. He owed at least company to Luke.


    Conni shrugged, ¡°He can help you like he did the other day, then.¡±


    An hour or so later Tristan found the miners eating breakfast and took a seat beside Luke, ¡°Hey, I need to tell you something.¡±


    Luke was holding the plate to his mouth, pausing his shoveling long enough to raise an eyebrow at Tristan, ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about the idiot who jumped over the table.¡±


    ¡°No, no, I wanted to thank you for not hurting me when we met. I went home and all my friends turned on me and some even knocked me down and kicked me. You were the exact opposite,¡± Tristan said. Luke set his plate down and gave him his full attention, ¡°Do you want to be friends?¡±


    Luke inspected Tristan¡¯s outstretched hand, he made no motion to take it, ¡°You know people call me a monster, right, even my own father called me one?¡±


    Tristan shrugged with a sad grin, ¡°I just found out that I am a demon, and my parents told me not to come home.¡±


    Luke grinned and took Tristan¡¯s hand, ¡°I have always wanted a minion, uh, I mean a friend.¡±


    Luke finished inhaling his vegetables and pushed his chair back. They started their day with the wheel barrow training, there was more accuracy, however the distance was not improved.


    Tristan explained how it felt and Luke decided on a different course of action. He started throwing scrap metal from the wheel barrow at the blindfolded Tristan. The goal was to increase his sensitivity as apposed to his area of effect for his sense. It worked, but not well enough to avoid being struck. The feeling worked very similar to noticing a ball just before impacted his face. One could blink, maybe flinch, but not avoid it.


    Dinner came then night. It was the first night Tristan had spent away from home. It was noisy in the bunkhouse, Shadow Fist didn¡¯t snore, so thirty sweaty men all snoring sounded like the den of a dragon with respiratory issues. At first Tristan was worried about some large predator being attracted by the cacophony, but nothing larger than a fly came through the open door.


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    Tristan¡¯s days fell into a new rhythm and his skills slowly increased. It was not that he could feel the metal essence farther away than he could before, more that he got better at isolating the feeling that it gave him. The essence gave him a feeling of safety and inviolability, which contrasted hard against the untethered feeling the rest of his life gave him. In a way he supposed he had his parents to thank for that.


    A month passed and Luke asked if he was going to go home, but Tristan refused. The hard men at the mine were better friends than he could find in the Forest Caldera, at least they would share a meal with him. After another two months Conni deemed that his skills were good enough to test them out in the mine.


    Tristan and Luke were attached to a team of five led by a wiry man named Chase. He was nice enough and knew what he was doing. He had an earth kern at tier one and the light was handled by another tier one with a light kern. Her face and muscled arms glowed a monotone pink bathing the cave in an odd light. It made everything appear slightly sinister while deepening the shadows that were already there.


    The other three men were all earth kerns, however they were like Tristan. With tier zero kerns they could do little more than activate artifacts and sense the earth essence in the tunnel. It was an odd feeling for Tristan, being the weakest by every metric, but also being the most valuable to their progress.


    Chase stopped at the end of the tunnel and asked, ¡°what way do we dig?¡±


    There was an odd shape in the wall like something had been removed as a complete object. Tristan pressed himself against the wall and while he was working asked, ¡°What did you pull out of here?¡±


    Chase held his hand off the ground at about neck height, ¡°A chunk of metal about this tall, it was weird though, it was hollow and the inside was filled with glass and metal chords wrapped in glass. It had a piece of glass on the top and it was scorched black inside like someone had lit a fire in it.¡±


    Luke seemed interested, ¡°Do you think it was some kind of oven?¡±


    Chase shrugged, ¡°There was no room for a tray, so I don¡¯t know what could be cooked inside it.¡±


    Tristan finished his circle of the end of the tunnel, finding nothing. He knew in the back of his head that the deposit had to be either big or close for him to feel it. However, there was three dimensions in which they could dig, so he laid down to get as close as he could to the possible deposit.


    The light kern, who had gained the nick name Sun Set due to her pink glow said, ¡°Conni told me that they found a more complete one that had a glass bubble on top of it. It was cracked, but he assumed it had once been filled with water or some kind of gas.¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°That would explain how they got the fuel to cook the food, maybe they put meat on the wires to cook a kind of corn dog.¡±


    Chase laughed, ¡°Man, now your making me hungry.¡±


    They all jumped when Tristan yelled, ¡°Got it!¡±


    He was pressed up against the bottom edge of the tunnel. Lying down as he was, he felt silly, but it was worth it. Tristan stood and pointed down at about a twenty degree angle.


    ¡°My senses only go about thirty feet, and the farther it is the bigger it is,¡± Tristan said exitedly.


    ¡°Good,¡± Chase said, ¡°please stand back while we use our artifact to dig.¡±


    Sun Set stood back with them, ¡°It really was a stroke of luck that you two came with us.¡±


    Tristan watched the men set up a plow looking device, ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Well you free us from needing to spend a slot on a surveyor, and the little monster-,¡±


    Sun Set was cut off by Tristan, ¡°Don¡¯t call him a monster.¡±


    She froze up, glancing warily at Luke, who made the situation more awkward by giving her an evil grin, ¡°Well, he has a wind kern, that means we can have four people with earth kerns on the team. It allows us to do this.¡±


    The four miners started pouring essence into the artifact. It did not shovel dirt backwards, instead its plow, which was taller than Chase pushed the dirt to the nearest edge. It made the resulting earth extremely compact, most likely as hard as stone. Though it did not appear fast, the tier three earth artifact pushed aside the earth at an astonishing pace.


    It took Chase and his team almost five hours to push though the dirt and hit something hard. One of them yelled , ¡°Thirty-two feet.¡± They started backing out of the tunnel about half way before turning the plow towards the wall and compressing a little cubby for it.


    A metal wall was revealed, the metal was rusted and blue paint was flaking off. The tunnel was clearly off center on the building as half a door was revealed. A one with three stars and an illegible language were barely visible through the rust.


    ¡°well, kid, I guess your the real deal,¡± Chase grinned, he pointed at one of his men, ¡°Jones go get Siren, we have a potential residence to extract.¡±

 14. The Power of Four

    Tristan and Luke had to beg to be left at the tunnel. Siren was not terribly keen on letting two teens stand around a potentially dangerous location. However a combination of promises to stay out of the way and the irritating aura needy children emit, wore the old warrior down. They could stay, but they would have to wait at the tunnels first bend. It gave them a poor view, but it was still a view.


    ¡°So, do you think there will be treasure,¡± Luke was bouncing up and down in excitement.


    ¡°Maybe, it is in good condition, after all. The owner could have lived long enough to create an artifact,¡± Tristan answered, ¡°I hope we get to see Siren fight an elemental.¡±


    ¡°That would be awesome, I want to see a fire elemental, or maybe a wind one.¡±


    ¡°Wind is see through, wouldn¡¯t a wind elemental just be invisible?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke shrugged, he had never seen an elemental before. Their bantering was interrupted when Siren yelled, ¡°civilians, stay back, warriors get ready.¡±


    He hefted a large stone tool, it was an extremely high tier artifact, maybe even tier four. It had a circular blade made out of diamond with razor sharp teeth edging the circumference. There was one handle off to the side of the blade and one at the rear to help stabilize the tool. Siren had to lean back to retain his balance and he yelled ¡°Clear!¡± Before starting.


    The blade started spinning and when it was placed against the door Tristan expected it to slice right through. However, whatever metal this was resisted the blade causing sparks rained down on the ground. Siren made slow progress through the hinges of the door. Fifteen minutes later both hinges were cut in two and lying in the dirt.


    ¡°Pry bar,¡± Siren held out his hand and one of his warriors handed him a long piece of metal which was flattened on one end.


    Siren slammed it into the edge of the door wedging it where it met the frame. He then held it stable while one of his warriors held a maul like a regular hammer and started hammering the pry bar like a nail. Once it was in far enough, Siren stepped back and drew out a razor net, he got ready to throw it while one of his men pried the door open.


    As soon as a crack was visible one of the men on the pry bar yelled, ¡°No glow, No fog.¡±


    Tristan was not aware of what that meant. However, the lack of an environmental effect did not mean the interior was vacant. He breath caught when something reached out of the widening crack and attempted to steal the pry bar. Whatever it was, it was not well endowed in the friction department as the bar easily slid out of its grip.


    ¡°Water elemental,¡± one of the pry bar crew yelled.


    The door was then shoved the rest of the way open. What had taken two tier threes and a pry bar took the water elemental a single hand. As half the door, the part that normally opened was still buried in the wall, it took a few moments for the piece of metal to be pushed away. What stepped out was nothing like the elemental Tristan had been expecting.


    He had believed that it would be a swirling mass of liquid with arms and legs with malevolent red glowing eyes. Instead it was a heart with a rib cage of ice enclosing it. Blood vessels and arteries spread from the heart cover the rest of the body. If Tristan had been better versed in anatomy he would have recognized a human circulatory system that was both made of and carried water in place of blood. The entire creature was held upright by an ice skeleton.


    Steam wafted up from its bones from the difference in temperature between itself and the air. It took one step out, Tristan expected Siren to immediately throw the net, but he took a step back as well. The elemental had its eyes locked, not on Siren, but on one of his warriors. If he remembered correctly, this man had a water kern. Maybe elementals used their own specific type of essence to see.


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    The elemental took two more steps toward the warriors before Siren shouted, ¡°Its a tier four, on my mark.¡±


    The elemental flinched as if noticing Siren for the first time. Tristan sighed with relief, it was not some tier seven monster. The tiers were a human made convention for quantifying essence control. It was a geometric increase of fifty percent with every tier, however the difference between a peak tier three like Siren and a crippled tier four like the elemental was actually very low. The gap was further reduced by Siren¡¯s obvious skill to the point that he was probably a match for the elemental.


    Tristan then learned how dangerous elementals actually were. Siren was just as dangerous as the elemental, but he was also easier to injure. The elemental dashed forward leaving its cloud of steam behind, exposing its frozen bones.


    Siren threw the razor net, which the elemental did not even register until it collided with the weapon. It tore apart the vessels on the elemental, but did nothing to the bones. The water elementals jaws opened in a silent scream as water sprayed everywhere. The scene would have been gruesome if the creature had blood instead of water.


    The net was torn apart and it kept moving towards Siren, though substantially slower. Siren drew two short hafted mauls from his belt and got to work. He skillfully evaded the claws of the elemental and beat on it with his weapons. Where the net was useless against the bones, the mauls were a different story.


    All of the warriors took turns hammering on it. Its focus would change with every blow, and as soon as it turned to attack the one who had just struck it, another maul or hammer would strike it in the back. Its icy body held up admirably, healing at a visible speed. Losing its skull did not even slow it down.


    The elemental got a strike off on one of Siren¡¯s warriors, breaking a few of the man¡¯s ribs, but it cost it a blow to the hip. Once the elemental could no longer stand, the four remaining men beat on it like miners. The ice ribs were smashed, however the bones did not stop reforming until the heart was smashed.


    ¡°That was awesome,¡± Tristan whispered


    Luke nodded his eyes wide, ¡°I want to do that.¡±


    Siren was breathing heavily. The earth essence running through him made him quite a bit stronger than other tier threes, and the dark essence boosted his perception, the combination was truly formidable in this environment. It did not stop him from missing what happened next.


    Siren looked at his injured man who was leaning against the wall wincing with every breath, ¡°You alright?¡±


    The warrior gritted his teeth, ¡°Yeah, boss, just cracked some ribs, I¡¯ll hea-¡°


    A black spike was shoved through the man¡¯s chest. Something grabbed the mans head from behind and tore it off. A second elemental was revealed to be standing behind them, and this one lacked the clumsy motions of the first one. It was identical except the liquid flowing through its exposed vessels was a darker color.


    Tristan cringed at the sight of the deceased man¡¯s body being torn apart. The elemental threw the body at Siren who quickly dodged it. Then the fight restarted with a few major differences. First this elemental¡¯s circulatory system was completely undamaged and second, it was not just a water elemental. Every time the shadows covered a part of its body, it disappeared, which was why Siren had missed it.


    One man tried to smash it with a maul only for his weapon to be caught in a single hand before it was wrenched away and thrown at another warrior. While that one was occupied it lunged at Sired, getting a maul to the jaw for its troubles. The spiderweb of cracks were healed almost immediately. The abundance of dark essence in the mine made its healing ability leagues better than its companion.


    As if its brain was not attached to its legs, the elemental stomped on the first warrior¡¯s knee and shunted the fourth¡¯s maul off to the side while taking Siren¡¯s blow on its empty skull. The one who had a maul thrown at him managed to get a blow with a heavy wind up off. The elemental was strong not heavy, so it was thrown down the hall, bouncing off the door.


    Siren dragged the warrior with the broken leg away and yelled at the other two, ¡°Bury the forsaken thing.¡±


    The last two functional subordinates smashed the side of the tunnel, sending cracks up the sides, a second strike and flakes started falling. The elemental scrambled to its feet with a hiss and darted towards the party on all fours like a dog. Fortunately for Siren, that was when the roof started to collapse.


    A large rock crushed its head, but it did not seem to need that. The body was stopped when the roof caved in, all at once ,burying it. Siren collapsed onto his butt and his men did the same. They were breathing heavily, trying to compute what just happened.


    One of the warriors looked over at Siren, ¡°What tier do you think that one was?¡±


    Siren shook his head, still gasping for breath, ¡°Still a four, just an uninjured one.¡±

 15. Dirty First Step

    For a few moments Tristan thought about running away, but he quickly shoved that very sensible idea aside and yelled to the warriors, ¡°Do you guys need any help?¡±


    Luke whispered back, ¡°What are you going to help them with? Your still a kid.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thirteen.¡± Tristan whispered back indignantly.


    One of the warriors winced at Tristans voice, ¡°Why did we let him watch? He¡¯s probably scared for life now.¡±


    Siren sighed, ¡°I was hoping to show him how important what he is capable of is, I don¡¯t want him leaving just because some idiot calls him a silver demon. However, I did not expect a second elemental to show.¡°


    ¡°You think they were a couple before they died, I mean the elementals. It would not be the worst way to go?¡± The man with the broken leg said. He was trying to take his mind off his pain both physical and mental. He had just lost a friend, was still covered in his blood, and would have to sit still while thinking about it while his leg healed.


    Siren sighed, but he did not have time to humor his soldier. Instead he turned and yelled back at Tristan, ¡°Yeah, we could use some help. Go get the shovels from Conni with the metal handles.¡±


    Tristan was eager to help and scampered off to get the items. Luke trailed behind as there was no way Tristan would be able to carry four shovels, especially with his low stamina. While they walked the scene replayed itself in Tristan¡¯s mind. If he could fight the elementals like Siren, no one would hurt him for his metal kern life could go back to normal. Heck maybe Shadow-Fist and his mom would even have to accept him back, or he could at least get the truth out of them.


    One of the warriors had thought that the event would scare him, but Tristan had gotten used to being scared of most adults. Elder Forest had been kind before and flipped on him, Carl jumped on him, and even his own father had beat him before all the tribes youth. At the moment there was not a substantial difference between an elemental and a grown up, both would hurt him at a moments notice, he would just have a chance to see an elemental coming.


    ¡°Luke, were you scared?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke looked at him in disbelief. The stare lasted long enough that Tristan started to believe he had asked a stupid question, ¡°No one has ever asked me that before.¡± After a few more steps with Tristan just staring at him, ¡°No, I was not scared, it never got dangerous for us. You know how kern tiers work, simple math says that five armed threes beat two fours.¡±


    Tristan knew that each kern tier represented a fifty percent increase in essence capabilities. It made it very difficult to overcome a gap between tiers except by using weight of numbers and equipment. Thinking logically there was no reason that Siren would lose. The cave in was simply a method to reduce injuries and casualties.


    ¡°Luke, do you think you could teach me to fight like you?¡± Tristan asked.


    He had just watched people overcome a tier gap with skill, so why couldn¡¯t he. Tristan knew how hard the warriors trained, and it was not particularly impressive. Aside from Siren, they were your standard employees, doing the bare minimum to avoid getting yelled at. They were far more interested in the glory that came with their job than the job itself.


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°Do you realize what you¡¯re asking?¡±


    Tristan nodded emphatically. He had no idea what he was asking, but he was willing to attempt anything that did not involve dying.


    ¡°You will feel like you¡¯re dying,¡± Luke said, as if he could read Tristan¡¯s mind.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Tristan said. Feeling was different than doing after all.


    Luke grinned, ¡°So, I guess I can teach you what my father taught me. First we will have to work on that lung of yours.¡±


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    He poked Tristan in the ribs. Tristan had not realized it, but Luke was really strong. Before he could start having second thoughts, they reached the main cave where Conni was sitting. He was in the room with all the chairs and long table with Chase on the opposite side. Chase was in the middle of describing how much metal they would be able to pull out of the ground.


    Tristan was happy to see Chase¡¯s excitement, it meant that at least someone appreciated his abilities, ¡°Conni, Siren told us to get the shovels with metal handles.¡±


    Chase looked at Conni confused, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    They followed Conni to a locker with a combination lock keeping it shut, ¡°It means something went wrong, but that it is also under control, ¡° Conni fiddled with the lock while looking at Tristan, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Tristan started to explain, ¡°There was a water skeleton and it attacked and Siren and his people started beating it with axes and then one got punched and they hit him in the head and kept on hitting,¡± Tristan ran out of air at this point. It was one of the downsides of only having three quarters of his lung capacity.


    In the open space Luke answered, ¡°So, a second elemental showed up, and Siren decided to bury it.¡±


    Conni gave a sigh of relief, ¡°Good I was worried someone got hurt.¡±


    Tristan and Luke exchanged a glance, better to let Siren handle that part of the report. Conni opened up the locker and inside was a small assortment of tools that had been crossbred with weapons. Inside, Tristan could see a spot where the pry bar would normally go and another couple for the mauls. Several heavy swords with square tips hung on hooks, pick axes with a hammer on the reverse side rested on the inside corner, and the shovels that Conni handed Luke and Tristan had sheathes on the heads.


    Luke took three of them, which got a raised eyebrow from Conni, as solid steel shovels are relatively heavy. He tried to hand Tristan two, but when the boy only took one Conni¡¯s face paled. If there were five soldiers and only four shovels needed, something bad happened. The shovel was heavy, but holding so much metal made Tristan feel comforted. It was the same feeling he looked for when searching for the wheelbarrow, but focused on his palms and shoulder where the shaft rested.


    Conni said, ¡°Go quickly,¡± He turned to Chase, ¡°Get the medical team, I will get my wife. To start on a medicinal soup.¡±


    The two of them ran outside while Luke and Tristan jogged back. Fortunately they did not need directions. They followed the arrows in reverse, and passed several branching tunnels with a yellow paint surrounding it. The sound of people talking and tools clanking came from others so it made it easy to know where to go. Follow the silence, for lack of a better term.


    Tristan realized that he had never seen a tunnel marked red. He had hoped to see what a tunnel put there by a different culture would look like. However, he assumed that a red tunnel would be quickly explored, and remarked yellow or turned into a normal mine shaft.


    The tunnels under the caldera were extensive, but digging was also slow work. There were hundreds of miles of tunnels running under the caldera, however the branching and meandering way of the mine meant that the farthest point only took Luke and Tristan an hour to reach, including the breaks for Tristan to catch his breath.


    When they arrived, Siren and his two remaining healthy warriors were stretching. The one with the broken hip was sitting against the wall with a dark expression.


    ¡°Good, you¡¯re back,¡± Siren said, taking the shovels and distributing them.


    Tristan was left with the one he had taken, obviously the man with the broken leg would not be using it. He felt odd, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m going to need you to dig, ¡° Luke said.


    Tristan opened his mouth in surprise unsure of how to react, fortunately Siren stopped Tristan from acting like a fish, ¡°Kid, he doesn¡¯t need to dig, it won¡¯t speed us up.¡±


    ¡°So, what,¡± Luke said, staring the warrior captain in the eyes, ¡°He wanted to learn how to fight, we are going to start with muscle strength and endurance.¡±


    Siren chuckled, ¡°So you want to be the Forest Caldera¡¯s first tier zero warrior?¡±


    Tristan was blushing. He realized how foolish it sounded, but Siren simply stepped aside and gestured to the tunnel. Tristan could only grit his teeth and start hauling dirt back and forth for as long as he could. The other warriors simply talked among themselves as they watched the young boy.


    After about twenty minutes Tristan stopped and said, ¡°I think that¡¯s good right?¡±


    Luke snorted, ¡°So you want to fight imaginary battles? You think that any opponents you have will be convenient, literally everyone is stronger than you. Get back to digging, keep moving that shovel until your arms stop working. Its not as if you need them to do your job tomorrow.¡±


    The warriors nodded their approval, which stalled out Tristan¡¯s rebuke. He picked up his shovel and kept digging. Every time he was about to give up, Luke would swoop in with some kind of pithy and irritating remark to keep him going. The medic team arrived after a while and pulled the injured man out, but Tristan was to sweaty and tired to notice.


    Three long hours later, Siren rested a hand on Tristan¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Alight kid, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    Tristan gratefully collapsed and watched the warriors dig.

 16. Underworld Watcher

    A death knell echoed down through the catacombs, nearly half a mile below the surface. A consciousness roused itself, it had awakened early this time. Normally, Lord Vulcan chose to slumber, letting eons pass between stirrings. His power was not limitless, but it neither was it insignificant. Searching his lair for a disturbance he found nothing different. The decay of the structure around him was progressing within reason. It had only been around fifty years since he last awoke, and that was when the world strider showed up.


    So it was not a disturbance of the geological variety. Vulcan had been hoping, it would mean the ancient evil had been vanquished. He then extended his senses, he felt the metal essence suffusing his home there were elementals outside his barrier. Fortunately they were dormant as well, not that it would have mattered. A flame essence based shield would incinerate anything dumb enough to try passing through it.


    His heart hurt as he recognized several remnants of centuries deceased comrades. The elemental spawned from the fire and lightning kern of hero Hestia was slumped weakly against one wall. The parts of her body that had manifested were the lungs eyes and brain all held in a jelly like fire, she had fallen so far. No one would ever know her story, she simply died as one more nameless victim of the false god.


    There were others, but mourning them all would only cause him despair. Being unable to move, it was not something Vulcan was willing put up with. His senses expanded further. Most of it found a void filled with traces of his shattered fortress and rare metals, judging by the resistance to his probe he was still surrounded by dirt. However, in addition to the dirt, his scan covered the throne room, where a sleeping being sat in his seat.


    The elemental lord sat slumped over, like he had to much to drink the night before. It was a combination of three elementals, the remnant of Hades, who was the heart and bones of darkness, the remnant of Azura, the body and organs of earth and flame, and the remnant of Ajax, The lungs and mind of steel. Only by combining the three variants of elementals could a lord be born and this one was more potent than most.


    After fusing the newborn elemental lord had named itself the Lord of the Underworld. Vulcan called him Lotu for short, mostly because it pissed him off. Lotu had quickly subdued the other elementals and made his name a true title. He was king of this underworld, all four rooms of it. A throne room, a retaining area, a cantina, and the officer¡¯s restroom, which was where Vulcan was. Restrooms tended to be the best defended, one entrance, copper pipes in the wall, a constant supply of water and best of all, control of toilet paper in the event of a crises.


    Well the crises had happened and everyone had died, spawning several elementals, so none of that was useful. A fire elemental never needed to use a toilet after all. Vulcan¡¯s senses were pushed out as far as possible, well as far as he could passively reach with them. He decided it was worth the risk of alerting anyone even remotely powerful to figure out what had had woken him up.


    He concentrated and stirred up the essence in his surroundings. It caused a cascade effect, rippling out in a sphere. The essence was disturbed for miles in every direction, and very few noticed. A bulky man with grey hair at his temples flinched while digging in a tunnel, but aside from briefly glancing around, there was no reaction. There was a boy behind him with blond hair and piercing emotionless blue eyes, his vision snapped to Vulcan, but he could not tell what created the ripple. Vulcan took note of the boy, normally only people who wielded a law could sense him.


    The ripple of essence spread like a sphere, it completely covered the caldera. A basin set into the top of a mountain gave the civilization here admirable defaces. On the surface the wave passed and something familiar caught his eye. He found someone who had forged their souls into an artifact, he found a subordinate. A goblet made of the darkest onyx, Vulcan grinned, little Sai was still around. He decided to make contact with his foreman.


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    Sai was resting peacefully when the form of Vulcan coalesced in his mind scape. He did not stand, instead falling smoothly to a kneel, ¡°Lord Vulcan Numitor, the hero greats the Grand Legend.¡±


    Vulcan grinned, ¡°Hey buddy, the first time I woke up you were still alive, and the last time you lacked the essence to stay awake. Glad to see your doing well.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, the descendants of my subordinates have adjusted well to the destruction your uncle caused,¡± Sai stated dryly.


    Vulcan winced and rubbed the back of his head. A relatively pointless gesture as he was in full armor. In a mind scape, one would appear as they envisioned themselves, Vulcan was a man in full armor, while Sai wore the black robes of an elder. He decided to change the subject.


    ¡°Have you found what I asked you for?¡± Vulcan asked.


    Sai nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m surprised you did not notice him, he should be right on top of you as we speak.¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± Vulcan wanted to go see, but looking would break their mental link.


    ¡°Indeed, I have isolated him and surrounded him with uncertainty, the monster child is his only friend, so you should only have to offer him power to creat a pliable new disciple,¡± Sai said.


    Vulcan looked up at the sky. This was Sai¡¯s mind scape, so it was the stars from plain of Sahn that he saw, ¡°Sai, I look forward to going home, I had a family, I doubt they are still alive, but I want to know if any of my grand children or great grandchildren are still around. When I go do you come with me.¡±


    Sai shook his head, ¡°No, Lord Numitor, I have made a home here. Currently you are taking one of my descendants into your care. Even if I am forgotten, I will have some part of me to travel the worlds.¡±


    ¡°Truer words have never been said,¡± Vulcan gave a sad smile, ¡°Well then, buddy, if I don¡¯t see you again, I wish to part as equals.¡°


    Sai raised an eyebrow, ¡°Why, you are a pure bread from the line of Numitor, you are a grand legend, a full nine tiers above me. We are in no ways equals.¡±


    ¡°Well, your right if you determine a persons worth by how much they can take without suffering retribution. However, I am most likely one of the ten strongest humans in this world, yet I am trapped in a cave. You are relatively weak, but you have built a legacy. Power without purpose is chaos, so you are my better when it comes to everything but power, ¡° Vulcan extended a gauntleted hand to he friend. In the past he would not have given Sai second glance, but a millennium of reflection had changed his mind.


    Sai gave his first real smile in over a century. He stood and shook Vulcan¡¯s hand, and despite the difference in their power they parted as equals, ¡°Good bye, Vulcan.¡±


    Once the mind link was severed, Vulcan inspected his surroundings. Indeed there was a boy with a tier zero kern. It was metal and unpolluted by any higher concepts. All he had to do was reach Vulcan before he became a hero at tier six. Perfect, now the boy just had to get past dozens of dozing elementals without dying, and then Vulcan could leave this dump.


    ¡°Good, your awake, have you decided to take me up on my offer,¡± A large being with brown skin with molten red cracks, black veins and silver eyes asked Vulcan from the restroom door.


    Vulcan did his best to sound superior while next to a toilet, ¡°Shut up Lotu, I¡¯m busy.¡±


    Lotu raised a flaming eyebrow, ¡°Really, is that why you are carelessly throwing out your vision? Nothing important is happening, so I can only assume that you are bored.¡±


    Vulcan knew that Lotu was technically right, however he couldn¡¯t know that Vulcan had a plan and that plan was slowly digging down to him. It might be years, even decades before he met Sai¡¯s descendant. Fortunately, for a being that had lived centuries, a few years were reasonable.


    Vulcan grinned, though the expression was lost on Lotu, ¡°You see my dear Lotu, I am never bored, I have you to tell the deep thoughts that I have about my surroundings, to get in touch with the deeper meaning of my reality. So you know, the bathroom .¡±


    Lotu gritted his teeth, frustrated at the lack of an answer he was getting from Vulcan, ¡°This is a waste of time.¡± He turned around and stomped back to his throne.


    Vulcan cackled at the retreating form of Lotu, ¡°See, you¡¯re getting the hang of it.¡±

 17. It’s Shovel Time

    Tristan looked at his friend who was staring down at the ground like it owed him money. Luke narrowed his eyes, he had felt something he was sure of it. It was like a foreign object had stirred up all the air essence around them.


    ¡°Did you feel that?¡± Luke asked.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Yeah, my muscles are aching, did you have to do stuff like that when you were my age?¡±


    After a brief quizzical expression, Luke shook his head, ¡°You didn¡¯t feel it then. No, I started as soon as I could understand speech, possibly before, but I don¡¯t remember that far back.¡±


    Siren stabbed his shovel into the ground, ¡°Kid, what tier is your kern at? Normally I¡¯m the only one who feels the essence pulses.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s an essence pulse?¡± Tristan asked.


    Siren shrugged, ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure, but I assume it is caused by the death of an elemental in a confined area.¡±


    Siren narrowed his eyes at Luke. He had ignored the question, but Siren guessed it really did not matter. If Luke had some mysterious level of talent then that was a good thing for the caldera as a whole. He thought back to the death of Carl and decided to keep an eye on him.


    Tristan thought that would make sense. The essence released on an elementals death had to go somewhere. On the surface it could disperse anywhere it wanted, while underground it could only go up or down the tunnel. Eventually it would seep through the ground, but earth essence was quite a bit more dense than air essence, so it would take a while.


    Tristan had caught his breath enough to sit up. He was still tired, but the current topic was just to interesting to ignore, ¡°Do you guys have to fight elementals often?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Siren said, ¡°Maybe three or four times a year, though that will likely change in the future with you acting as a compass.¡±


    Tristan froze. Would he be responsible for putting Siren and everyone else¡¯s lives in danger. If he found these places faster than they could recover, then they would slowly be worn down until they finally succumbed.


    ¡°Will you be able to handle that?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Siren said, ¡°It just means we can¡¯t get complacent in the two or three months of down time.¡±


    Luke caught Tristan¡¯s eye, ¡°If your good enough to jabber, your good enough to dig.¡±


    Tristan groaned as he picked up a shovel and got back to work. They shoveled dirt for the rest of the day. The artifact that Chase had used to dig the tunnel had given Tristan the impression that digging was faster than it actually was. Siren and his men could only move about sixty square feet of dirt per hour compared to the artifacts four hundred square feet per hour.


    Despite that, it was not long before they heard a clank. Siren placed a hand on Tristan¡¯s shoulder, he was so tired that the weight of the hand almost brought him to his knees, ¡°Step back kid, this is where it gets dangerous.¡±


    Tristan gratefully took a step back and stood beside Luke. His knees were wobbly, but he forced himself to stay standing. Seeing the interest in Luke¡¯s eyes, Tristan focused on the same spot. It turned out that the clank they heard was the elemental¡¯s arm bone. The dirt started shifting as the dark blue arm tried to free itself of the dirt.


    Siren never gave it the chance. He placed the blade of his shovel on the shoulder joint and called one of his men to hold it. Once everything was in place, Siren used the hammer side of his maul to smash the butt of the shovel. It took several blows, but less than a minute to cut the arm off. They methodically unearthed just enough of the elemental to slice off more pieces until they got to the heart.


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    This elemental could not survive without its heart, so they cut it apart as soon as they found it. They made it look easy, simply dissecting the enemy as soon as they uncovered it. It was not hard to forget this creature had killed one of Siren¡¯s men just a few hours ago. Maybe that was simply the short attention span of a teenager, but it worked in Tristan¡¯s favor.


    Siren released a deep breath, glad that it was over, he looked at the two kids, ¡°your done here, if the sun is still up, send Chase down to clear the tunnel.¡±


    Luke nodded and led Tristan down the tunnel back to the surface. The shafts that were active on the way in were now silent, if Conni had not had the foresight to give everyone a tier one light artifact. An artifact that Tristan could not use, as some one needed to be a tier higher to use an artifact of a different element. He raised an eyebrow that would mean that Luke was at least tier two.


    Glow stones were the most common and least valuable light artifacts. As close to a tier zero artifact as one could get without actually being one, which was impossible. The silence was eery, and it made it reassuring to have rows and rows of arrows pointing the way out. They entered the main cave which was only lit by a light coming from the office cave.


    Conni poked his head out when he heard their footsteps coming, ¡°Ah, good, I¡¯m glad the two of you are OK.¡±


    He beckoned them inside where a pot was sitting on the wood burning stove. Despite the fact that it was summer outside, the surrounding dirt kept the mine cool, so the fire wasn¡¯t unbearable. That was until he noticed the heat haze radiating towards Conni and no where else. Tristan realized that his assumption about Conni was wrong, he had a flame kern, not an earth kern. He was not sure about the ramifications of that, but right now he was to hungry to care.


    Conni ladled two bowls of stew and set them on the table, ¡°Alright, eat up, you can tell me more after your bellies are full.¡±


    When they were done eating they started telling their stories in the way that only young exited boys could. Meaning, Conni struggled to get anything more than ¡°Siren hit it with an ax!¡± And ¡°WHAM,¡± out of the description. That and the amount of digging that Luke made Tristan do. Conni could only raise an eyebrow at the idea of a tier zero learning how to fight. However, metal element artifacts had been found in the mines before, none lower than tier three, but it was the most likely place to make that possible. If Tristan found enough tier zero and one artifact he could build his kern.


    When Conni got what he wanted, he interrupted them and repeated the part that interested him, ¡°Ren and his men are still doing alright?¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°Yes and he wanted us to send Chase down to plow the tunnel if it is still working hours.¡±


    Most of the miners went home at night if they had a family. It was an hour long walk both ways, making it a dawn till dusk kind of job, but it was worth it to some to see their wives and kids every day. In fact, despite the availability of multiple bunk houses, only one was actually necessary. Many overnighters slept on the bottom and used the top for storage.


    ¡°Chase should be coming in about four hours, I¡¯ll let him know then,¡± Conni said.


    Tristans eyes widened, it was already past midnight. He could see why the people in the tunnels needed to be told when mealtime was. It was impossible to see the days progression using the sun. After doing some quick math, Tristan realized that it was almost two o¡¯clock in the morning.


    Conni continued, ¡°The excavation of the tunnel will consume most of tomorrow. So the two of you can take the day off if you want, go see your parents and friends.¡±


    ¡°I would rather stay here,¡± Tristan said timidly.


    ¡°So, what you actually want to say is you would rather spend tomorrow with me,¡± Luke said with an evil grin, ¡°I promised I would teach you how to fight, and I intend to deliver.¡±


    Tristan shuddered as they made their way up to their beds. Tomorrow was going to suck, but the image of Siren taking down the elemental flashed though his mind. Maybe the suck would be worth it, ¡°Yes, thats what I meant.¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°Well thats good then.¡±


    Coni sighed as he watched the boys leave. They were to young to live at work, Luke¡¯s childhood had messed him up, and Tristan was trailing along behind them. He noticed that neither boy was to affected by the fact that they had just watched a man die by decapitation. Part of it was probably because no one around them freaked out, but it did not take much for a child to go from copying an action to holding a mindset. The mindset of soldiers was a survival mindset, not a healthy mindset.


    Turning back he started writing condolence letters that he and Siren would be delivering over the next few days. He had done this a few times, but it never got any easier.

 18. Run Tristan Run

    Tristan dreamed about being a mighty warrior standing on a castle of iron that cast its shadow over the whole world. In this dream the castle was flying because he was powerful enough to levitate the whole structure. It was a pleasant dream, one where he was free, it also came to a cataclysmic end. Tristan spluttered awake as something very cold and wet was dumped on his face.


    ¡°Wakey, Wakey, don¡¯t be lazy,¡± A familiar voice said.


    ¡°I¡¯m awake,¡± Tristan was definitely awake, no way could he sleep through that.


    Luke was standing over Tristan with a disappointed expression. Beside him was an empty bucket and one full of water, while in his hands he held a second one ready. Tristan was glad he woke up with the first one. Luke shrugged and before Tristan could ask why, his frenemy dumped the other bucket on him.


    ¡°What was that for!¡± Tristan yelled.


    ¡°So this is my first time waking someone up, so I brought an extra bucket just in case. Would have been a waste not to use it,¡± Luke said. Then he dumped the final bucket on Tristan.


    ¡°Stop it, I said I¡¯m awake!¡± Tristan was not a morning person. He woke up slowly, but he was definitely awake now, ¡°How long did we sleep?¡±


    He rolled out of his soaked bed and could see sunlight through the doorway, but that only told him that the sun was up. During the summer, a combination of the caldera¡¯s elevation and longer days meant the sun could rise as early as four thirty in the morning. During those times of the year it would shine directly into the bunkhouse.


    ¡°You slept for about two hours, I needed to wake you up so I got a little less than that,¡± Luke said, ¡°You should be grateful for my self sacrifice.¡±


    Tristan swore at Luke in his head. They had gone to sleep at around two in the morning which meant it was about four thirty then. Many of the miners would already be at work. Start early finish early was the mantra of the base camps occupants. Those coming from elsewhere would generally arrive at around six.


    ¡°Why did you want to get up so early?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke frowned, ¡°You said you wanted to fight like me, if so, then your almost ten years late.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°I do, you said I won¡¯t have the option to quit.¡±


    He knew that it was a decision made out of emotions, but it was a decision that he needed to make. That was why Tristan was glad that this did not rely on only his own dedication. He had not done anything particularly grueling or difficult in his life. If it was up to him, he was not sure he would be able to finish, Tristan would use the almighty power of peer pressure to get results.


    Luke led Tristan out of the bunk house and out of the base camp. It was still twilight out here, the sun only a sliver on the horizon. Fortunately they were standing on the road, so at least there was nothing to trip on.


    ¡°Are we just going to skip breakfast?¡± Tristan asked, looking back at where the breakfast table was set up.


    ¡°No, breakfast is from five to seven, unless it takes you more than two hours to finish you¡¯ll get your food,¡± Luke said.


    He was stretching out his muscles, Tristan tried copying him, but was barely able to touch his toes, ¡°what will we be doing?¡±


    Luke rotated his upper torso around to stretch his back, ¡°I will run with you towards the Forest Caldera, when I feel we have gone far enough, we¡¯ll come back for breakfast.¡±


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    Tristan could only stare at Luke wondering if he had somehow forgotten about the fact that half of his left lung was made of scar tissue. How was he supposed to accomplish long distance running. He would be coughing up blood within the first mile.


    Luke smirked at him, ¡°what, you wanted this to be easy. Nothing worth anything is easy.¡±


    With that he turned and started jogging away. Tristan quickly found out that Luke¡¯s jogging was his running. The older boy was a head taller and leagues ahead in terms of physical fitness. However, all Tristan could do was grit his teeth and run after Luke. He did not slow down for any reason. The worst part was that Luke was not being pushed at all, which meant that he could go all day.


    What followed was one of the most miserable experiences of Tristan¡¯s life. Getting stabbed was probably the worst, but it still felt like someone was shoving a needle into his side. When he mentioned it to Luke, hoping for sympathy, all he said was that it was weakness leaving the body. Tristan was not sure about the medical validity of that sentiment, but he lacked the breath to argue the point.


    Tristan quickly lost track of time and minutes felt like hours, however the sun had just cracked the horizon. He had to stop to catch his breath frequently, but every time he did Luke urged him on as if breathing were a crime. At one point Luke even ran backwards urging him on, he made it look so easy. Tristan assumed that he was trying to encourage him, but it felt more like an insult.


    After some indeterminate period of time, Luke stopped and removed a small knife from his belt. Tristan was still catching up when he stabbed his knife into a rock. He almost tripped from the shock, no way a low tier kern would let you casually shank a rock. Essence would naturally empower the body, it was why no one ever heard of a person with a tier zero kern cutting down a tier two or three kern, the physical gap was simply to great.


    Luke removed the knife and inserted a wooden spoon, before crossing his arms and waiting for Tristan. When Tristan approached Luke yelled, ¡°So, we have gotten half way done, breakfast is a chunky soup, bring that spoon back it you want it.¡±


    With that Luke sprinted back, presumably to get himself breakfast. Tristan cursed him in his heart, because he lacked the breath to do it out loud. When he reached the spoon, he found a rough ¡®T¡¯ had been carved in the handle. Tristan realized that if he returned without it Grace would most likely refuse to give him food. He glared over his shoulder as Luke departed. His sprint was extremely fast, the entire run that took Tristan half an hour would probably only take a handful of minutes.


    Tristan sighed and pulled the spoon out and started the run back. It was more of a jog and full of coughing fits, but there was no way he was going to miss breakfast. Tristan focused on his feet and started counting steps, it did not work as a way to speed him up, but it helped him zone out. Obstructions were harder to see, but the less he paid attention, the less the sharp pain in his side hurt.


    Eventually the base camp came into view, and he saw most of the men seated around the table had already left to start their work day. However the ones who were left grinned as he approached, Tristan felt like it was condescending after what he had been through. In reality it was just the simple happiness one feels when seeing someone try and succeed.


    Luke however, did not even look up from his food. He already knew that Tristan could and would make it back, after all he had set the halfway point to make it hard, not impossible. There was another bowl beside him and another ¡®T¡¯ was carved into the wood, so the spoon and bowl were a set.


    Tristan flopped down next to Luke and started inhaling his food, ¡°I am glad that¡¯s over.¡±


    Luke started laughing, ¡°So, you thought that was hard. Guess what, we¡¯re doing it every morning.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s horrified expression only made him laugh harder. Every day, Tristan could barely imagine doing that again once. Unfortunately for Tristan, Luke was not done speaking.


    ¡°Also that was just a warm up, we have to work out every muscle, and also teach you how to defend yourself,¡± Luke grinned evilly ass he said this.


    ¡°I assume this is also every day?¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°If you want to stand at the top, you need to be willing to give everything you have and a little bit more to stand there.¡±


    Tristan snorted, there was no way he could ever stand at the top. At least not in the Caldera, there were no artifacts for him to assimilate, so there was no way for him to progress. A tier zero, especially a metal kern zero, would never be permitted to grow in tiers. Tristan had to chose his natural physique to be what he improved. The most physically fit tier zero would match an average tier one.


    Tristan nodded, the picture of Shadow Fist kicking him, the Golden Heart kid kicking him, the Grand Elder Sai trying to kill him. He needed to be prepared for people like them.


    ¡°Alright, then everything I have and a little more sounds good,¡± Tristan said.

 19. Another Day Another Dollar

    For hours Luke had Tristan preform various exercises, from sit ups and pushups to crawling up the piles of dirt on his hands and feet. This was followed by what Tristan could only called slow dancing. It was so slow that Tristan could barely hold the stance. At first Tristan had mocked the exercise, Luke made it look so easy. Once Tristan extended his arms and legs, they started burning after a few minutes.


    Tristan¡¯s balance was terrible, standing on one foot with a leg extended sounds easy, it was not. The movement that Luke called a round house was the bane of his existence. After picking his knee up he would then rotate his hip to place his shin parallel to the ground. Before swinging his leg out, Luke would force him to hold the pose, resulting in cramps.


    Once that torture was over, Luke blindfolded Tristan. After putting on metal bracelets, he proceeded to slap Tristan. It took him a few blows to realize that he was supposed to sense the bracelets. A task that he miserably failed at. His normal attempts at it were in a controlled environment with large pieces of metal. Also they were at a distance and stationary.


    Tristan tried, he really did, but the sense he used only let him feel slightly happier around metal. It was a feeling that was easily overwhelmed by the stress of trying to avoid Luke. He did evade several times, but it was because he started moving erratically. Luke was more than capable of reacting to erratic movements.


    Luke kept a commentary running through the whole event, ¡°Some of the most skilled warriors are able to sense the disturbance in the air and react accordingly.¡±


    Tristan thought that it was obvious to assume a person with an air kern would be able to sense disturbances in the air. Especially if they were at tier three, Luke was pushing Tristan to feel metal after all. Though he could see no practical application, Tristan endured it all.


    After this horror Luke permitted Tristan to colapse, ¡° alright, I think it¡¯s about time for lunch.¡±


    Tristan started crying, ¡°it¡¯s only been a few hours, I thought it was almost bed time.¡±


    Luke did not show any sympathy, ¡°Normally you would have to help the miners as well, however you are to weak to complete the whole day. If muscles are overworked, they can actually become weaker, not stronger.¡±


    Despite what Luke said, Tristan found the silver lining. No more exercise for the rest of the day. He ate some stir fried veggies that Grace made in a huge shallow bowl. It was an odd meal, and he guessed that the bowl was purposefully created for this specific meal. Grace also gave Tristan an odd drink that Luke showed her how to make. It looked like milk and tasted like chalk, however, Luke said if he didn¡¯t drink it, then he would be in more pain the next day.


    Tristan was sure that Luke was threatening him to drink it, however, if there was one thing he would never do, it would be to call Lukes bluff. That was a good way to die. After he finished the drink, Luke went into the mine to assist the miners. Any one with an air kern was welcome in the mine, they could be the difference between survival and a slow asphyxiation on the wrong side of a collapsed tunnel.


    Grace rumbled up, ¡°How are you feeling, kid.¡±


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m tired and feel drained, and my cheeks are a little sore.¡± He held up his trembling hand to show the hairy cook his exhaustion.


    She nodded, ¡°Remember, Luke looks scary,¡± Grace paused for a moment, ¡°Well he is a little scary, but you don¡¯t have to do what he says, he is not your boss.¡±


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    Tristan shook his head, ¡°I think you misunderstand, I asked him to do this. I watched a man get his head ripped off, I don¡¯t want that happening to me.¡±


    Grace winced at that, ¡°Well as long as you are on board.¡±


    Tristan smiled at Grace, then pointed at the empty cup that used to contain chalk milk, and shuddered, ¡° However, I¡¯m not really ok with whatever this thing is.¡±


    Grace chuckled, ¡°That young man, is a marvelous invention by Luke,¡± she laughed more at Tristan¡¯s unbelieving expression, ¡°Its true, Luke discovered a creative way to use the wind tuber. It only works because of the natural design of all blood to carry oxygen. Because your kern is so weak that it is barely there, Luke could infuse you with air essence overwhelming your blood¡¯s natural metal affinity.¡±


    Tristan frowned, people could not just infuse others with essence, that was not possible. Essence caused various effects on blood, like Siren being hard to see in the shadows and extremely viscose when cut due to his dark and earth kern. However, he was incapable of donating those abilities to others. Luke¡¯s air essence, would make him both lighter and more flexible, which was not something that Tristan felt at the moment. He wondered Grace was right and it was something that was only possible due to his abnormally weak kern.


    Grace continued pointing at the chalk milk, ¡°That has powdered wind tuber in it, normally that¡¯s useless unless you are in contact with air essence, which the young man shoved you full of. Its expensive, but it will speed up your recovery. It will only end up costing you about a quarter of your earnings.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting paid,¡± Tristan exclaimed. Sure all that other stuff was important, but he was getting paid, ¡°How, when?¡±


    ¡°The same way everyone else does, you get paid a percentage of the price that the metal sells for. Though you get a smaller percent for finding it and not mining it. However it is easy for you to dip your fingers into multiple teams earnings as it takes you far less time to find the metal than it does for them to mine it.¡±


    Tristan was confused, alchemy products could not be cheap, ¡°It can¡¯t possibly be that much, I know that steel does not sell for a lot.¡±


    Grace snorted, ¡°It does when you pull out a building made of the stuff. However, we often find artifacts that have degraded to tier two or three that get sold. Its why Siren stays around, he wants first dibs on a tier four earth or dark artifact.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m taking from the other miners?¡± Tristan asked concerned. These people were kind to him and he did not want to take advantage of them.


    Grace shrugged, she would normally not talk with any one of the workers for this long she had her own work to do after all. However, she had a soft spot for children, ¡°The team who wants to use you, pays for you with a small part of their earnings,¡± She pointed at the food he was eating, ¡°That¡¯s not free, your still paying for it. We throw your earnings in a box and remove from it the materials that you use. You are valuable to the mine because the miners don¡¯t want to dig through dirt, as it doesn¡¯t pay. They get knowledge on where to dig and save a lot of time and earn gold faster. It is an easy way for us to provide for you and to keep you around after you have other options available when your older.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if he should be impressed by their ingenuity or frustrated at not being told sooner. He had never had a real job, and these internships were supposed to be exactly that. There were only so many duties that each caste had, and the idea was to try as many as you could before you actually started working. Tristan really only had a single option, and he did not really want to go back home, so it seemed that Conni had simply found a way to hire him.


    ¡°Thank you, ¡° was all he could think to say.


    Grace gave what would have been a sweet smile on any other woman, ¡°No problem, honey, now let me take your plate.¡±


    He handed off his plate and walked to his bunk. His was in the far back corner, it was where the person with the least seniority slept. The sun would shine directly into your eyes as it set during the summer months. During the winter people kept the door closed, but it was also the furthest from the fire, so it was also the coldest spot. Tristan did not mind he would rather have warm people and cold weather.


    He shook his head, when did he start considering practicality as warmth. These people had a higher chance of accidentally finding a elemental and dying without him. It was still better that his parents though.


    Tristan was exhausted and did not even wake up for dinner. It turned out that exercise was an excellent sleep aid.

 20. Family Lumberjacking

    Days piled up and Tristan started falling into a routine, run an indeterminate distance in the morning. Get breakfast, and if no one needed him to locate metal, he would do the slow motion dance that Luke called martial arts, and Tristan called torture. After that Luke would beat him, well slap him around. And there was progress, and slowly Tristan improved, he could run longer and his injured lung bothered him less and less.


    Tristan had seen Luke do some crazy things during this time. One time on one of their morning runs Tristan was surprised to see him choke out a twenty foot boa constrictor. After that event he suspected Luke of having a tier three kern. It would be ridiculous, but there was no other way to explain it.


    That was a bad day, Luke refused to leave the hundred pound snake behind. So he took the head and Tristan took the tale and they started running. Once they got back Grace cooked up the snake into some kind of patty, which was only decent. Luke had told Tristan to keep up the his training regime without him before disappearing for three days. He then returned with two sets of snake skin gloves.


    They were a little on the big side for Tristan, as they were made for full grown man Gloves might have also been the wrong term as there were metal plates stitched into them going from the knuckles to the end, which would be mid forearm on an adult. It was cool but Tristan did not understand the purpose until Luke used them to slap him around the next day. He hated that snake.


    Tristan did improve dramatically, but he was only vaguely aware of it. Sure he could do more push ups and he could run farther, but his only point of comparison was the other miners, and Luke. He had no idea if he was any better than his peers, because he had no desire to meet them. Several years passed in this manner when two things happened. The first was a letter, the second was an infestation. The letter came right after Tristan¡¯s sixteenth birthday, it was from his parents.


    Grace handed it to him after serving lunch to all the new miners. Most of the new people did there best to stay away from the silver blooded devil, however Tristan did not care. All of them would get over it when they got tired of digging up dirt instead of metal. It allowed a weird group to form on that side of the table, Chase, Sun Set, and Jones who were the only members Tristan¡¯s first survey who stuck around for the last three years, and an older fire kern warrior named Kale, and of course Luke.


    Despite the massive age gap between the youngest, Tristan, and the oldest, Kale, they were all slightly off. Luke, Kale, and Tristan were more focused on violence while the mining team was focused on wealth, and there was a surprising amount of overlap in the accumulation of both. Tristan was fine with receiving the weird label, in his opinion, if you weren¡¯t weird you weren¡¯t worth remembering.


    The letter had been delivered by one of the new miners. A middle aged man with a tier zero dark kern. Tristan felt bad for the guy, his kern was way worse than his despite being at the same tier. It simply gave him a gloomy aura and increased the effort he needed to use to get noticed. The letter was in a leaf envelope, the paper inside was surprising as the Caldera did not have the land area needed to harvest trees for something as transient as a letter.


    The Caldera was large, around a hundred square miles, however that was their whole world. The rim had been repurposed into a rampart and reinforced over the generations, in order to keep out the monstrous beasts that lurked outside. No one wanted a basilisk or behemoth to wipe out their entire civilization similarly to the ancients they were benefiting from in the mine.


    Tristan opened the envelope and was greeted by to different types of hand writing. One was refined, that would be Helen¡¯s, she was one of Elder Forests siblings, and was taught reading and writing from an early age. The other was blocky and used double the ink necessary, making it look sloppy in comparison. That would be Shadow Fist, Tristan looked a Sun Set, the two had similar names both being the the end of days, they were even very comparable in their personality. Both viewed him like a resource that had some emotional importance to them. Where they differed was in how much they needed Tristan.


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    The letter had two tones. His mother said she missed him and told him how he now had a little sister. A little sister who was now two, they did not feel it necessary to let him know before. That meant that Helen was most likely in the early stages of pregnancy the last time he was at their home. Tristan growled a little, they sure did not take their time replacing him. The calligraphy ended with a sentence saying that despite everything Shadow Fist still love him and he should listen to him.


    At that Tristan almost threw the letter into the still glowing ashes of Grace¡¯s cooking fire. However, Luke unintentionally stopped him. Luke was now eighteen, and he had stayed skinny and grown tall, currently he was looking over Tristan¡¯s shoulder reading along with him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a little sister, she can probably talk now¡± He said.


    Every one around the table grinned, and before they could start congratulating him for his parents ability to reproduce, he said, ¡°Neither did I, this is the first I¡¯ve heard of it, her name isn¡¯t even in here.¡±


    He flipped the paper over and started reading his father¡¯s handwriting. He did not bother explaining anything to the miners around the table. His fathers first sentence solved the naming issue, ¡°Her name is Tristan.¡± Followed by Shadow Fist disowning him. He claimed that it was for the future of his sister, that he was not going to sacrifice the future of the second child for the happiness of another, who had no real potential.


    It hurt more than he thought it would, but he gritted his teeth and kept reading. The second half had a warning, a mystical beast had managed to breach the fortifications. The specifics were not known, aside from its outward appearance. The adults had a black carapace a pair of scythe like fore legs and a tail with a stinger attached. The sketch Shadow Fist made was poor, but got the image across. It looked like a large crab, but the eyes were inset into the shell and the seam between the top and belly plate was a mouth filled with teeth, in place of pincers were scythes and a scorpion tail arched over its head.


    The oversized bug looked stupid in Tristan¡¯s opinion. Unfortunately, looks meant little when it came to mystical beasts. As an example, basilisks looked like building sized horned lizards, but they could breath fire and turn living beings to stone with a glance. No one had any ideas what this specific creature did, but a mine would be an excellent place to set up a nest.


    Tristan sighed, he could not hide this information. It could be a potential threat to the mine int the future, so he handed the paper over to Kale to read. There was a chance he had seen it before. Shadow Fist was a tier two manager, it was not hard to believe that some one like him would not be informed to avoid a panic.


    Kale was a forty year old warrior with almost twenty years on the wall. He had probably killed one of these if they were even remotely common. Tristan did not expect his response to reading the letter.


    ¡°Oh that bastard!¡± Kale yelled.


    ¡°What, I mean yes, but what are you talking about?¡± Tristan asked.


    Kale gave Tristan a pitying look, ¡°So he basically disowned you in a way that he does not bear any of the dishonor. Because the family tree is not dated, he removed you and placed a another Tristan in its place. Because of how the records are kept, Shadow Fist is no longer your father legally and never was. He had a child named Tristan and only one, it allows him to become a city manager again as the only stain to his honor has been removed and covered.¡±


    ¡°What am I then, I had to come from somewhere?¡± Tristan was sure that the Forest Caldera registry still had him in it.


    As if reading his mind Kale said, ¡°Your sister took your place in the registry, you might as well have come from outside the Caldera.¡±


    Tristan frowned, he was not sure how to react. He knew his father was ambitious, that was partly why he married Hellen. Shadow Fist would never be chief, but being married to the chiefs niece came with a lot of perks. One of which was evidently bending some rules to remove Tristan from history. It really did not change anything, Tristan would stay at the mines and then when he was old enough, he would leave the Caldera. There was not much left for him here, he suspected it would be easy to convince Luke to leave as well.


    ¡°So what about the bug monster,¡± Luke asked, ¡°It looks kinda tasty.¡±

 21. Ghost Crab

    Kale looked at the drawing for a few minutes, he muttered to Luke while inspecting it, ¡°If this is what I think it is, no it tastes awful, we would grind it up and use it as bait to draw the really dangerous mythical beasts to more convenient locations, or spike traps.¡±


    ¡°What do you think it is?¡± Tristan asked.


    The others at the table could only see a poorly drawn picture with no context, so they were eager for an explanation. Kale did not keep them waiting, ¡°judging by the picture is either a very poor rendition of a manticore or a very poor attempt at a ghost crab. However. from the term used to describe it like black plate, I assume it is a ghost crab.¡±


    ¡°What are those,¡± Tristan asked. He had heard the term manticore before, but he had never seen one. Most mythical beasts were far above his capability to handle.


    ¡°A manticore is a base tier five creature, but we have seen them as high as seven, they are rare and rarely travel alone. They have a human head lion body, feathered wings, and a scorpions tail. Their skills are a fear aura and poisonous tail, they are hard to kill, but they are manageable if you use your brain.¡± Kale paused to make sure everyone understood him before continuing, ¡°The ghost crab is quite a bit weaker and more common, the highest we have seen is around tier three and our sample size is large enough to be sure it can¡¯t go much higher. This one is less dangerous to soldiers, but vastly more problematic in population centers. Their life cycle consists of an egg, nymph, and the adult ghost crab.¡±


    Tristan frowned, he was confused at why this was an existential crisis. It sounded like some poisoned prey would get rid of the manticore and if that failed a well trained team should be able to do the job. The ghost crab was even less of a problem, Siren could get rid of it by himself, he could most likely take on multiples if he was well armed.


    That was until the ghost crab¡¯s reproduction cycle was explained, ¡°The ghost crab gets its name from this reproductive cycle, the stinger deposits an egg into the target. It parasitizes the host when it hatches. This is the nymph stage, it starts consuming the host, while making its way towards the heart. It will consume the heart and all organs in the chest cavity to give itself some space. Once it finishes purging the foreign essence from eating the heart, it builds itself a cocoon and goes through metamorphosis to repeat the process.¡±


    The miners shuddered. Tristan could see why this thing would be so problematic, if it got loose in the Forest Caldera there would be almost ten thousand victims within easy reach. It also seemed that animals would be good hosts as well, so the flocks of sheep and goats would be targets as well. They would have to hope that Shadow Fist¡¯s drawing was bad enough for it to be a manticore.


    Chris cleared his throat, ¡°Ghost crab, because it possesses its victims.¡±


    Kale nodded, ¡°yes, don¡¯t worry though, they aren¡¯t subtle, and they are stupid.¡±


    Tristan rubbed his chin, ¡°What weapons would be best against these things?¡±


    The mine would be an excellent nest. It was a shelter and ranch land was a few miles away, the farms would have workers that would be able to take the eggs into the Forest Caldera. The farmland was also well irrigated and a pond was in the ranch land, so water was available as well.


    Kale chuckled, ¡°Well we are good in that department, a strong arm and a war pick, which is a lighter version of a pickax, will work. Don¡¯t worry about the stinger, the egg it lays can be removed easily before it hatches. The front legs are also not made for slicing live flesh, they are saws to cut the more durable flesh of mythical beasts into bite sized pieces,¡± He nodded at Luke, ¡°He¡¯s right, it really is an oversized bug.¡±


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    That put everyone¡¯s mind at ease, the adults were dangerous, but so were elementals. The miners had to stress about tier seven elementals every day, so a tier two or three bug was actually not that big of a deal.


    After finishing up their food Tristan and Luke went to go find the crew that had requested his help in the mine. It was one of the newer teams that was assembled around six months ago. There was the mandatory light and air kern, but the rest of the team were fire and dark which was an ominous combination, especially in a mine shaft.


    Most of the people in the group, were jerks. The leader Olfred was not from the Forest Caldera, he was a criminal with a fire kern from the Grass Caldera. The crime he committed was calling Elder Grass a druggie and miming the elder sniffing actual cannabis. He would have just gotten whipped for it if the slander hadn¡¯t been committed at Elder Grass¡¯s second son¡¯s wedding.


    Tristan had no love for any of the Caldera elders. He was only alive because they could not get along with each other. However Olfred was truly an unpleasant person. He also had a tier two fire kern, weaker than Helen¡¯s fire kern, but way above Tristan¡¯s tier zero. He did not care what others thought about him and had an irritating way of talking.


    ¡°Hey, little devil,¡± Olfred yelled, ¡°get over here and make us some money.¡±


    Tristan held his tongue as provoking the man would only make him bear his presence longer. He walked to the end of the tunnel, he had done this dozens of times over the previous years. The range of his sense had not increased, though a large enough object could still be picked up from farther than thirty feet.


    The detail of the sense had massively increased, he had a general idea of the size of the object if it was within his range. It was relative to the intensity of the sensation he got, the strange feeling of comfort he got was proportionate to the mass of the metal. However he had never felt what he was feeling now.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Tristan muttered to himself.


    There was something enormous below him. Whatever it was, it was much, much larger than any building in the Caldera. Tristan would go so far as to call it a castle. He closed his eyes and then something down there moved. It was slight, but there was definitely some movement. His mind went though several different possibilities, both bad. There was either a some sort of metal creature below ground or a metal elemental noticed him. He had never heard of a metal elemental, but it sounded bad.


    ¡°What have you found, demon,¡± Olfred said. He had noticed Tristan¡¯s body language and was getting exited. Tristan could understand why, the metal down there was enough to crash the market price and make them quite wealthy. Well Tristan would be as well with his cut.


    ¡°Maybe, I need to talk to Conni and Siren first,¡± Tristan said. He refused to just release a potentially invincible elemental on the miners.


    ¡°You found something, tell me,¡± Olfred growled, he grabbed Tristan by the arm to stop him, ¡°You want to keep this to yourself don¡¯t you.¡±


    His team members grumbled unhappily, it seemed to give Olfred a confidence boost, ¡°Your not leaving until you tell me what you found.¡±


    Tristan removed a knife from his pocket. He would not hesitate in putting his razor sharp steak knife through the man¡¯s femoral artery. Olfred had a fire kern and at tier two his blood would be hot enough to light flammable items like paper and give burns if Tristan got any on his body.


    Fortunately for everyone involved, Luke intervened, he grabbed Olfred¡¯s wrist and squeezed. Olfred cried out in pain as Luke ground the bones in his wrist together. Luke twisted the arm in a way that forced Olfred to his knees.


    Olfred was larger, but was slightly shorter than Luke, but he still scowled at the older man, ¡°Stop acting like a forty year old toddler, your whining is very irritating.¡±


    Tristan was not going to let his friend fight his battles, ¡°Luke let him go, I can handle him.¡±


    Luke¡¯s eyes flicked to Tristan¡¯s hand, but he had already put the knife away. He shrugged and released Olfred, ¡° I think its time for us to start weapons.¡±


    Olfred looked at Luke, not understanding the statement meant for Tristan. He shook his head, he did not care, he rose to his feet with a roar, if the a teenage kid wanted to mess with him, he would make him regret it. Despite the physical superiority that his tier two kern granted him, Olfred missed it when Tristan kicked him in the groin.


    Luke started laughing, ¡°Your nuts, man,¡± he said as the two of them went to meet with Conni, his laughing doubled, ¡°So, with your kern, that means you have balls of steel!¡±


    Tristan sighed and did his best to ignore his friend as he left to go find Siren.

 22. Bunker

    It took them quite some time to find Conni, as he was not in his office. He was actually above ground inspecting a new shipment of supplies from the alchemist. In addition to the wind tuber they also got most of their antiseptics and flour and salt from him. When Tristan and Luke found him he was hauling a bag of flour into his house. It turned out that Grace used a lot of flour and salt to make their food.


    Tristan could look forward to having garlic bread and maybe even some baked goods in the next few days. Grace had made him something called a cinnamon roll on his birthday last year and it had taken the place of meat as his favorite food. Conni noticed them and gestured for them to help cutting the time it would have taken him in half.


    When they finished Conni invited them inside while he dusted the white powder off his hands, ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°We need to meet with Siren, I think I found something that he might not want us to dig up,¡± Tristan answered.


    Conni stiffened, he cared for the well being of his workers and did not expect more out of them than they could handle. However if Siren could not handle it, no one here could. Possibly, no one in the Caldera could. There was only one thing that Siren would need to be wary of, and that was extremely high tier elementals. The reason that Siren was permitted to guard such an out of the way location was the tier seven elemental. Once it had been released, the light elemental killed almost one hundred miners and killed about fifteen warriors.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± Conni said. He led them to the training yard were seven men were practicing ax forms. Siren had cordoned off the area for his subordinates to practice. Kale was easily the weakest in terms of power, but Siren worked all his men so hard that the ones who stayed on rapidly became the elite of any other location.


    They were moving in slow motion and Tristan could see sweat beading on their foreheads. After losing a man, Siren had been much stricter in his training. Several of the younger warriors quit, preferring to fight on the Caldera ramparts than protect a mine. It was a good thing as Kale was sent as a replacement. He was a low tier three and had been injured, so he could not hold a shield for long, the mine ended up being the perfect place for him. His shoulder could get the time it needed to heal and he could still contribute.


    They waited patiently on the side of the yard for Siren to finish his form before getting his attention. Conni yelled to break his focus and get his attention, ¡°Hey, Ren, we need to talk.¡±


    Siren nodded, grabbing a towel off the bench that would normally hold spectators. He glared at his men, ¡°none of you slack off, Kale, set the pace.¡±


    Tristan hid a grin as he watched all the warriors sigh in relief. Kale had much lower stamina and had a shoulder injury, going at his pace was easy when compared to Siren. However, he was the only one Siren could trust not to slack off, so Kale ended up as second in command.


    ¡°What is the issue,¡± Siren asked.


    Conni looked at Tristan, who asked, ¡°Can we talk about this where no one an hear? A lot of money is involved.¡±


    ¡°My house,¡± Conni said, ¡°The only person that should be there is Grace, and we can trust her.¡±


    Five minutes later they were sitting around Conni¡¯s dinning room table. Tristan had eaten here a few times, Conni used the room to get to know his people better. It was an excellent method to build loyalty.


    Tristan did not wast any time, ¡°Siren, could you kill a tier four or higher metal elemental?¡±


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    Siren¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Come again,¡±


    ¡°How hard is it to kill metal elementals?¡± Tristan asked.


    Siren grimaced, ¡°The healing ability that elementals possess would make it difficult to cause significant harm,¡± He paused, running some scenarios in his head, ¡°we could win, though not without casualties, with a metal heart the creature¡¯s only real weakness is lessened.¡±


    That was what Tristan expected. The water elemental had been highly resistant to damage, and that was not even water¡¯s specialty. Metal on the other hand was made to resist damage. Fighting a metal elemental would not be dissimilar to fighting a suit of armor with infinite stamina and higher physical capabilities.


    Tristan explained what he sensed. The massive quantity of metal and the elemental he could sense and that it reacted to him as if it knew he was looking at it. Tristan was not sure what that meant, but he was sure that it implied sentience, or at the very least some form of intelligence.


    Conni rubbed his chin, ¡°this is not good, that metal deposit is good enough that it could be considered a strategic resource. I will have to let Elder Forest know about it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll let him know what¡¯s down there right?¡± Tristan asked. If they were going to dig it up, he intended to be absent on the day they unearthed it. He liked Conni, but he was not willing to sacrifice his life for his uncle¡¯s greed.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Conni said, ¡°If it is a metal elemental, we would have to sacrifice a few warriors, and they are not so common that we can just burn them like fuel to get some materials.¡±


    Siren nodded, ¡°All of this is assuming two things,¡± he held up a finger, ¡°This is the biggest structure we have ever found, we would be lucky if it was the only one down there.¡±


    That had not even crossed his mind. Tristan had witnessed the danger represented by two water elementals. If a metal elemental was supported by others, it could turn into a massacre.


    Siren held up a second finger, ¡°Also this is the biggest structure we have ever found and it is substantially lower than the others. I assume it is a bunker where the leadership died. If their culture was based on strength like ours, the strongest elemental we have ever seen is down there.¡±


    Everyone went silent imagining what a tier eight elemental of any kind would do. It would be capable of killing everyone in the Forest Caldera. It could most likely be stopped by a concerted effort by most of the warrior caste at great loss. If the body count was high enough the elemental could end up spawning a small army of weaker elementals from the kerns of its victims.


    Luke leaned back with a relaxed expression, ¡°So, we have two different self replicating problem critters. Crabs and elementals don¡¯t seem to bad we can just deal with them both when the time comes.¡±


    Siren frowned, ¡°Yes. How did you know about the ghost crab?¡±


    Just as he suspected that was confidential information. Reaching into his pocket Tristan grinned internally as he removed his parents letter. He enjoyed the fact that Shadow Fist had actually written this letter. Tristin leaned forward, handing over the paper. Siren¡¯s eyes widened as he read it, before scowling. After a few moments he folded it so that Helen¡¯s writing was visible and set it on the table.


    ¡°Well, congratulations on the sister, condolences on the father, however, I need to destroy this,¡± Siren said, ¡°There is a reason that Shadow Fist and managers like him were not made aware of the ghost crab.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°I assume it is because it would create a panic or a man hunt for elusive eggs, especially as the creature has a maximum of tier three.¡±


    Luke sighed, ¡°So it is a ghost crab. I was hoping for a manticore, at least that is a real mythical beast, this bug barely qualifies.¡±


    Tristan could only nod, the ghost crab had only natural weapons. Aside from its reproductive cycle, it was a very unthreatening creature. The strength of a mythical beast was determined by the tier that would normally be needed to kill it alone. The ghost crab was a one warrior enemy, maximum. On top of that their average strength was likely in the tier two range.


    Conni pulled his inventory notes off his pad and replaced the paper. He pushed the clip board across the table, ¡°Please write down your experiences, we will need your thoughts to help sway Elder Forest away from mining this. Despite the military advantage armoring all the warriors of the caldera would give us.¡±


    There was more than enough material to armor the entire army and enough to upgrade all their weapons from alloys to true steel weapons. However, it was simply not worth the risk, so Tristan nodded and started writing. There was no way a well equipped military was worth releasing whatever was down there. However he had to write mostly unfounded explanations, based mostly on the ¡®feeling¡¯ it gave him. He hoped that Siren¡¯s opinion would be more effective than his, because if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Elder Forest did not care about his feelings.

 23. Crabby Neighbors

    In the grassland surrounding the Plains Caldera, seven warriors surrounded a massive crab. They all held thick wooden shields in one hand and machetes or axes in the other. This was a tier three specimen, and had around the same mass as a bull. That did not make it particularly dangerous to the strike team. The ghost crab would slash at them with its front claws and they would deflect with their shields while stepping in to chop at the legs.


    Two had already been removed and the ghost crab was starting to have trouble balancing. Its massive bulk was meant to be held by six not four legs. Looking for an escape it could not find one, the seven warriors had surrounded it. With no other option the crab decided to make a run for it. Unlike a crab, it scuttled forward, but the enemies behind it struck, severing the joints on the back legs.


    Now with only the front scythes and its center pair of legs, the ghost crab could no longer stand. With its path to survival cut off, it now only wanted to take its killers with it. Its scorpion like tail was not a weapon in its mind, but it would use it that way. The sharp barb struck at the nearest warrior who caught it on his shield. It was unable to deposit its eggs in dense objects like wood or bone.


    ¡°Now!¡± The man yelled as the barb was now stuck in the shield.


    He reached over the lip of his shield and gripped the chiton bulb at the base of the stinger. The other six men quickly stripped the ghost crab of its arms and legs, leaving it as little more than a mouth with a long tale. They quickly dragged it off the grass and placed it on a wooden stretcher. After strapping its body and tail down, the stretcher was placed in a wagon and bags of wheat were thrown on top of it.


    Vin, the leader of the group surveyed his men working. Elder Plains had not deliberately let the ghost crab inside the Caldera, but he would not let the opportunity it represented pass by. His leader was a man of vision who kept the dignity of the Caldera in mind. He nodded in approval when the crab was completely covered.


    ¡°Alright, does everyone have their farming clothes?¡± Vin asked, at the nods from his subordinates, ¡°Well lets get changed.¡±


    They quickly changed into threadbare clothes that grass stains on the hems and holes worn in the knees. Straw hats replaced their steel helms and staves and sickles replaced their machetes and axes. They pulled the wagon onto the road that connected the Grass Caldera and the Plain Caldera.


    About a decade ago there had only been the Plains Caldera, it was the most prosperous of the five Calderas due to the perfect land for growing crops. Few rocks would interrupt plowing and the land was flat but not level, making it easy to irrigate. Ten years ago the Plains Caldera was the largest city in the area with almost twenty thousand people.


    The current chief held the position at that time as well and Vin thought he was a good man. Unfortunately, many of the workers disagreed with that assessment. Ten thousand, a full half of the Plains Caldera, just up and moved down the road to set up their own city. Elder Plains was left with a dilemma, with no workers how would anything get done. He couldn¡¯t make the managers, teachers, and warriors pick up a hoe and plow, he couldn¡¯t get them to make shoes, and he most certainly could not make them serve their lessers. Yes some of the more skilled labor stayed behind, but they could hardly keep up with the high demand of their fellow citizens.


    Thus the workers had a monopoly on every product with only a few exceptions. A subjugation had been attempted, but all the workers needed to do was close their gates. They had all the food, and even if the Plains Caldera tried to take it, they lacked the tools to harvest it. If they took it after harvest, the workers refused to grow the food next year. As the plains supplied over two thirds of the Caldera¡¯s food supply, other Elders got involved. They had no stake in the Plains Caldera¡¯s well being, and simply doing business with the new city. There was nothing Elder Plain could do without antagonizing the other Calderas.


    Elder Plain was stuck, purchasing the food products at an inflated price. Nine years later the Grass Caldera had a knew chief, and Elder Plain wanted this one to be the last. He would make the people of the Grass Caldera beg to be taken back.


    Vin reached the dirt and fiber walls of Plain Caldera. The guards at the gates could not be paid off, the downside of people who take pride in what they do. It was a pain, but Elder Plain had kept Vin and his team at the boarder wall for the last twenty years, they would not be recognized. Vin looked over their disguise one more time, making sure that their clothing and posture matched the farmers bringing food to sell at extortionist prices.


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    Comically the arrogant nature of Vin¡¯s lessers from the Grass Caldera helped him blend in. Not all of his men could pull off the meek and docile act that lesser workers were supposed to have. They had been fighting mythical beasts for the last two decades, all weakness had been beaten out of them and their lack of hesitation could be confused with arrogance.


    They reached the gate in the mud wall. Mud walls might have seemed to be a bad choice, but several tier one artifacts kept the wall dry even in the rain. The fiber that was mixed in caused the wall to absorb impacts as a whole, whereas a stone wall was entirely reliant on the strength of its mortar to hold its shape.


    The guard at the gate was not holding a weapon, his studded club was leaning up against the guard shack. Instead, he held a clip board and a pen, he was wearing half plate armor from the mine outside the Forest Caldera. Vin gritted his teeth at that thought, the Forest Caldera was the second most prominent city a decade ago, now they led the entire Caldera in the crafting industry.


    ¡°What¡¯s your purpose,¡± The guard paused squinting at Vin, ¡°Bastard, grass sniffer, come with me.¡±


    The guard gestured for Vin to follow him into the guard shack. Vin almost punched the tier two guard¡¯s nose through his teeth. Taking a deep breath he reminded himself that he had a mission and climbed down from the wagon¡¯s driver seat. He followed the guard into his little ten by ten office.


    ¡°What is a warrior doing dressed up as a farmer?¡± The guard said.


    What? Vin¡¯s mind tried to figure out how they had been detected. They had covered all their bases. Well the mission was worth the guard¡¯s life so he asked, ¡°How could you tell, I thought our disguise was pretty good.¡±


    The guard simply raised an eyebrow, ¡°Your fresh off the front lines, every time there is a loud noise, you and your whole team flinches and reaches for your hips. How could I not notice that? What I need to know is why you are disguised or at least documentation saying a higher up has given you orders.¡±


    Vin groaned internally, but he did have a good reason to be disguised. He decided to feed the guard a half truth , ¡°We have a corpse of a ghost crab in that wagon, It would cause panic if the civilians saw it.¡±


    The guards surprise was evident, ¡°Well, I definitely need to confirm that.¡±


    ¡°Remember, don¡¯t share this information, as we don¡¯t know if its the only one,¡± Vin said as he led the guard to the side of the wagon.


    The crab had exhausted itself and was asleep. Like any hard shelled bug, a sleeping one and a dead one looked exactly the same. The guard thanked Vin for his service and asked him to wait while he contacted a superior. Despite Vin¡¯s caste the guard still made sure to do his duty. Vin tied not to get angry at the man for doing his job, he was even doing his best to be discrete. Twenty minutes later a runner came to let him into the Plain Caldera.


    Vin took the wagon to a warehouse in the mostly vacant worker district. The mud houses were slowly collapsing as the rain and wind eroded them. The warehouses were still in good repair, as the Grass Caldera still used them to store product before it was sold. An empty warehouse with a cage full of chickens and a few people beside it.


    Some of Vin¡¯s subordinates closed the door behind the wagon while he dismounted and bowed to one of the people. It was Elder Plain and his cadre of advisers.


    Elder Plain was a thin man who¡¯s only notable feature was that he was balding every where but his mustache. He wore ceremonial robes of a deep green and the slippers on his feet contrasted with the leather boots of everyone else. Vin had a hard time believing the man had a mid tier three light kern, as the aura of confidence warriors had was absent around him.


    ¡°Did you get it?¡± Elder Plain could barely contain his excitement.


    Vin bowed, ¡°Yes Elder, we have done as you commanded.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± Elder Plain said, rubbing his hands together.


    The civilians eyes widened when they saw the creature. It was a little smaller than a horse, but it had a low center of gravity and a hard shell. Needle teeth could be seen inside the mouth, which took up most of its body. Small black eyes were set into the top of the shell, and it glared in hatred at the humans around it.


    Elder Plain muttered, ¡°this thing seems to function more like a Venus fly trap with legs, than a crab.¡±


    Vin shrugged, he did not know and he did not care, he simply proceeded with the plan. He woke up the beast, though the only noticeable change was the opened eyes. He opened the cage and handed two chickens to each of his men.


    While the politicians gawked at the mythical beasts, Vin stabbed the chicken in the thigh wit the crabs stinger. The chicken squawked, and there was a slight bulge where the egg sat below the muscle. He brushed the feathers down and the egg was unnoticeable. Nearly fifty chickens later, a merchant took the wagon and left for the Grass Caldera. Another cart was brought in, this one full of rats, followed by one full juvenile herding dogs.


    Vin and Elder Plains smiled at each other. Soon, the people of the Grass Caldera would have to submit or be wiped out without the protection of the warrior caste.

 24. Red Tunnel

    Tristan, with Luke and Kale for back up, went back down into the mine. He found Olfred and his team smoking tobacco in the tunnels, while digging in random directions. It seemed they were trying to find whatever Tristan had noticed, without much luck. Without an earth kern on their team, it would be extremely difficult for them to make progress. They weren¡¯t weak, just out of their element.


    Waving his hand in front of his face, Tristan glared at the wind kern who was supposed to be purifying the air, ¡°Olfred, you need to stop digging in this location.¡±


    Olfred spat out a black glob onto the floor, ¡°What, you found something and want it for yourself.¡±


    He had learned his lesson, he would not mess with Tristan. At least not while Luke was around. Tristan could only wonder why the elders of the six Caldera¡¯s kept sending out idiots to work at the mine. With a metal kern, Tristan was not capable of digging up this treasure, and could harvest a finders fee just by letting Olfred know. If he had found something good, it was in his best interest to let someone dig it up.


    ¡°Sure, I found something great,¡± Olfred frowned at the sarcasm dripping from Tristan, ¡°I only found a tier seven metal elemental. If you dig it up make sure no one else is around the mine when you do.¡±


    Olfred narrowed his eyes, ¡°How do I know, you¡¯re telling the truth?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t care,¡± Tristan said, ¡°This tunnel will be marked red and any one caught going in will be executed.¡±


    Olfred paled a little bit. He and his crew had gotten the same talk that Tristan had. Where Conni threatened to kill anyone who went down a red tunnel. At first Tristan thought it was harsh and unjust, however after seeing what a surprise attack from a tier four element did to skilled warriors he understood Conni¡¯s stance. Unprepared miners would get wiped out by a single tier four and anything above that would kill the warriors as well. Going down a red tunnel was little more than murder by proxy.


    Kale stepped foreword, he was sent by Siren to compensate the miners. They had worked hard to get to this spot and they did still need to be compensated. The Forest Caldera would be the ones paying, but Siren and Conni were busy so it was left to Kale to deliver the message. It was a system that was, in Tristan¡¯s opinion, one of the few noble things that the Caldera Elders did.


    ¡°The compensation for the work you have done can be picked up at the treasurer¡¯s agency in Forest Caldera, it is estimated that you will get six or seven talents as compensation to split among your team,¡± Kale paused, waiting for the exited men to refocus, ¡°This is not a gift, it is an advance. In the event of excavation, you are expected to mine that much material to repay the advance before getting more compensation. If it is never excavated, you get to keep the money and nothing more is expected of you.¡±


    Tristan knew that a talent was a years wages for skilled labor, but he had no idea what the average wage was. The average wage for a warrior was substantially higher than a worker so did the worker make less than a talent or did the warrior make multiple talents. Regardless of the measurement, a years wages was very high for the amount of work Olfred and his team had put in.


    Tristan was not actually aware of how much money he owned as he had asked Grace handle his money, for a small fee. She handled the purchase of the wind tuber and other materials to help in Tristan¡¯s rapid recovery from Luke¡¯s training regime. However, he had never needed to spend money, everything he needed was at the mine. Food, shelter, and companions were readily available. He was even being trained how to utilize a tier zero kern, which was something that he had thought was impossible.


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    Tristan turned and looked at Luke, ¡°Now that that¡¯s taken care of, you mentioned something about weapons?¡±


    Luke grinned while Kale looked at them quizzically, ¡°Yes, go get your money from Grace we are going shopping.¡±


    Kale seemed uncertain, ¡°Luke do you even know what to look for when it comes to weapons.¡±


    Luke snorted, ¡°Do I,¡± he paused as if thinking about the answer, ¡°Yes.¡±


    He then turned and walked away. Kale could only stare confused at Lukes back, he had expected him to try and prove himself. Tristan trusted Luke. He was weird, but that was not an issue, Tristan actually thought that was a redeeming quality. Olfred was what normal people looked like to him, especially after the last visit to the Forest Caldera.


    Tristan jogged to catch up to Luke, ¡°How much do I need to get from Grace.¡±


    Luke scratched the back of his neck, ¡°So, I suggest getting all of it, I know you probably make more than most of the other miners, but the knives we¡¯ll be getting aren¡¯t legally sourced. Leave enough to cover next month¡¯s expenses and take the rest.¡±


    ¡°We will be breaking the law!¡± Tristan said.


    Luke rolled his eyes, ¡°Dude, you break the law, have you not realized that metal kerns are illegal.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± was all Tristan could say to that, then another thought crossed his mind, ¡°How could knives even be illegally sourced?¡±


    There were no laws limiting the use of weapons, with the exception of tier three artifacts. A persons kern tier had more to do with their threat level than whatever metal they could swing around. So, was Luke planning on getting some kind of tier three knife?


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± Luke said mysteriously.


    Getting the money from Grace was actually quite easy. Tristan was sure that she would ask some questions, however Grace simply told him that while she was fond of him, but that she was not his mom, it was not her business what he did with it. He did remember to ask her about the value of it when she handed him a box full of copper colored coins.


    Grace pulled out one of the copper coins, ¡°This is a parce, it is worth a hundred steel parces.¡± She reached in and pulled out one of the two silver coins, ¡°this is a silver parce, worth a hundred copper parces, and this one,¡± Grace removed the only gold coin, ¡°is a talent, it is worth ten silver parce¡¯s, it is roughly what a warrior gets paid every year.¡±


    Tristan did some quick mental math. The talent was worth ten million steel pieces. Assuming that a steel peice was worth its weight in steel, what was Luke making him buy. Just from the weight of the steel parces it was more valuable than multiple tons of steel.


    ¡°Mrs. Grace what are my living expenses?¡± Tristan asked.


    Grace nodded her head, ¡°Good, I was hoping you would ask. Most farmers make a little more than two coppers parces a day, your expenses are lower than a farmers though. I would suggest saving the two silver parces just in case you get hurt.¡±


    Tristan dumped the box of coins into a backpack and handed it back to Grace after replacing the two silver coins. He could only think that he was probably making more than his parents did. He was happy that he could make money just by finding metal. At first he was worried that people would dislike him for his comparatively easy job, but he found that the average income for a miner had risen by a third after he showed up. It really was a win-win araingement.


    ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Grace,¡± Tristan said before he left.


    Grace watched him leave, then sighed. She was happy that Tristan was able to grow up here. Despite the fact that she was not his mother, she still felt responsible for him. Some of her emotions were definitely caused by the letter her husband had told her about. She shook her head and set about the endless task of feeding fifty or so hungry men.


    Tristan was surprised that the bag of coins was so heavy, but he had built up enough endurance to make it manageable. He found Luke waiting beside the bunk house, he was wearing his snake gloves and had a back pack slung over one shoulder.


    ¡°Where are we going,¡± Tristan asked, eager to get something sharp and pointy for himself.


    Luke started walking away from the Forest Caldera and towards the grasslands and lake Caldera, ¡°So have you ever met the alchemist before?¡±


    Tristan had not, but he wanted to, ¡°Is that where we¡¯re going.¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°He¡¯s a bit off in the head so don¡¯t take anything he says to seriously.¡±


    Tristan wondered if Luke was aware of the irony of that statement.

 25. Alchehall

    Tristan was not sure where the alchemist lived, but he knew that the entire Caldera could be crossed in a little over a week. At least that is what Shadow Fist said, and with a tier two kern, he could move around one hundred and sixty miles in that time. The Forest Caldera was slightly off center, so everything was a reasonable distance from the city. It was yet another reason why the Forest Caldera was the wealthiest in the six calderas.


    After about six hours of walking, they saw a lake in the distance with a city sitting on its shore. An odd thought struck Tristan. How would a lake be possible in a caldera. Water traveled down hill, while a caldera was a basin positioned at the top of a hill. No river fed the lake, but one exited it. Maybe it was rain water, however the flooding caused by rain would drain relatively fast.


    ¡°Luke, how come there is water here,shouldn¡¯t it all drain away?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°So, do you know what a spring is?¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°It is a metal coil used to soften shock on heavy objects,¡± Tristan answered. He had been looking at the suspension system that some merchants who dealt in delicate wares used on their wagons.


    ¡°No, uh well ,Yes,¡± Luke gave him a strange look, ¡°How do you know what a spring is but not a water spring?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a metal guy not a water guy,¡± Tristan shrugged.


    ¡°Well, think of it like a well, but the water squirts out and fills up the surroundings,¡± Luke explained. He had no idea how it worked either and that was the best explanation he had.


    ¡°They should call it a squirt then,¡± Tristan complained.


    Luke could only shrug. It did not matter to him what it was called. They got to the lake after another two hours, and Tristan could see how large it was. The city of ten thousand people was barely visible across the water. However the Lake Caldera was not their target. A small ferry was available to take people across. Three boats were docked there and the captains sat beside them looking board.


    Luke walked up to the one with the smallest boat, ¡°We would like passage.¡±


    The captain eyed Luke, and said, ¡°Four copper parses.¡±


    He was not a very well kept man, and his price was expensive. Most likely he was trying to drive off a few teens who wanted to waste his time. He was about to go back to his book when Luke pulled out four coins.


    ¡°You won¡¯t go back on your word right?¡± Luke asked in the most insolent tone he could manage.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll take you anywhere you want on this lake for that,¡± The man said with a scowl.


    Tristan wondered why Luke was antagonizing their ride, that was until he said, ¡°to Alchehall then.¡±


    The man¡¯s face scrunched up, ¡°you guys criminals?¡±


    Luke shrugged, ¡°What¡¯s it to you.¡±


    The captain gave his first smile, ¡°True, well get on board, its a six hour trip over the water since the wind is in our favor.¡±


    Tristan got on the boat, which was well maintained, unlike the captain, he could not help but ask, ¡°Did the alchemist really name his city Alcohol?¡±


    The captain shook his head, ¡°No, he is a weird man who mashed his profession and hall together, he thinks that the ¡®e¡¯ sound replacing an ¡®o¡¯ actually makes a difference.¡±


    Tristan turned to Luke, ¡°Is the alchemist sane?¡±


    No one would name their city Alchehall. Well, not anyone who was mentally stable. Tristan actually doubted the prudence of commissioning weapons from a man like that.


    Due to the tail wind a second, smaller town came into view six hours later. Alchehall only had a handful of houses and a tiny castle of all things. A dock jutting out into the lake would ferry people across the lake and receive supplies for the alchemist¡¯s research. Some boats were out fishing, but the majority of the citizens were actually moving about the town loading and unloading wagons.


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    Several acres of land were cleared and growing wheat, a mill sat off to the side. He wondered why the town needed so much flour. There was no shortage of it as grain was one of the Grass Caldera¡¯s main exports. However he knew that the mine¡¯s four was made at this mill.


    ¡°Does the alchemist live in the tiny castle,¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°So, its a lot bigger than it looks. The basement extends under most of the town, but yes, that is where we are going,¡± Luke said.


    The Captain docked his boat and asked if they needed him to wait. Luke rejected him, unwilling to pay the four parse retainment fee. After that, they entered the town, people gave them odd looks, but no one stopped them. All of them looked like rough people, many of them reminded Tristan of Olfred. However they all behaved, doing their jobs and not bothering anyone.


    When they reached the castle, Tristan found out why. A group of what Tristan would normally call goats was sleeping around the base of the building. They were not goats though, green scales covered them and they had paws instead of hooves. The curled horns were still there, but the teeth were razor sharp and a tail like a lizards wrapped around their sleeping forms.


    ¡°What are these?¡± Tristan whispered.


    Luke did not bother to keen his voice down, ¡°Oh, these are the police. They eat anyone that the alchemist does not want around. The police are also how he has managed to stay free from any caldera¡¯s control, the Elders hate it.¡±


    His voice woke some of the lizard goats up. Tristan would not call them police, even in his head. They were alert like watch dogs, but upon seeing Luke, they laid back down. Evidently, Luke was here often enough for the lizards to recognize him.


    He walked up the three steps to the castles single door. It was underwhelming as far as castles went. The building was little more than a large cube made up of other stones. Though on second thought, that is what most castles were. Tristan had expected it to at least have double doors, but it looked like the alchemist had simply stolen it from one of the surrounding houses.


    Luke knocked on the door and when there was no answer, he drew his dagger and smashed its hilt on the door. The bang echoed through the small town and woke all the lizard goats up. It also left a divot in the wood of the door. Fortunately this got an answer, a young woman answered the door.


    ¡°What are you doing, are you¡­¡± her voice trailed off when she saw Luke.


    The woman¡¯s face drained of color. She was shorter than Luke and just as skinny, but if you did not know Luke he was not that that scary. She slammed the door in Luke¡¯s face.


    Through the door Tristan could hear the woman yell, ¡°Master, Rail¡¯s bastard is here!¡±


    Tristan looked back at his friend, ¡°What is going on here?¡±


    Luke shrugged, ¡°Last time, I might have killed most of the police to get in.¡±


    Tristan frowned, there were at least thirty of the lizard goats on the lawn. Luke had been with Tristan for most of the last three years, so he had done that when he was eleven or twelve. He could not imagine a parent trying to raise a child like Luke. Maybe he had gone here to get his gloves?


    Another thought connected, ¡°Who¡¯s Rail?¡±


    ¡°My old man,¡± Luke said, ¡°He¡¯s gone now, and believe me that¡¯s a good thing.¡±


    Tristan was surprised that any one would think their parents were better off dead. He did not like his father, but he did not want him to die. Shadow Fist was a selfish man, not an evil one.


    ¡°Why is that,¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°When a hero gets disillusioned with the world, he becomes a villain,¡± Luke shrugged, ¡°All you can do with threats like that is put them down.¡±


    Tristan wondered what kind of hero Luke meant. Someone who saved people or someone who reached tier six and was comparable to the grand elder. Luke¡¯s next statement put a stop to Tristan¡¯s thought process.


    ¡°You¡¯re about to meet the man who killed him,¡± Luke said.


    The door opened revealing a short, slightly overweight man a with a white coat. He had black hair, greying at the temples, and most surprising, Tristan felt that the man was full of metal essence.


    ¡°You have a metal kern!¡± Tristan said.


    He raised an eyebrow, ¡°Yes, so do you. The most pitiful one I have ever sensed.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I have never met any one like me before,¡± Tristan said, slightly embarrassed, ¡°my name¡¯s Tristan.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t, saying we are alike is like a chicken claiming to be an eagle,¡± The man said, ¡°I am Mist now get off my porch.¡±


    Tristan knew the name was fake, and unimaginative. He had just taken the last part of alchemist and said that was his name. For a moment Tristan considered throwing the short man into the lake, but that was Luke¡¯s influence talking. He took a deep breath, he needed this man¡¯s help after all.


    Mist looked at Luke, ¡°Rail junior, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Luke, also let me in or I¡¯ll kill your police.¡±


    ¡°Junior. At least until you stop calling my pet golize, police,¡± Mist huffed.


    Luke gave him an evil grin, ¡°Junior it is then.¡±


    Mist narrowed his eyes, ¡°Tell me your business, or get lost.¡±


    ¡°We will be getting my friend some tier one or two blade artifacts,¡± Luke said.


    Mist, looked at Tristan calculating, ¡°I guess have not been able to experiment on a metal kern in a long time. They are in short supply constantly being exterminated and all.¡±


    The alchemist gestured for them to enter, to the surprise of his helper. Tristan was not sure if she was a maid, apprentice, or daughter, but she did not seem to have any real authority. Regardless Tristan was not going inside without Luke letting him know it was safe. The man was clearly not concerned about Tristan¡¯s safety.


    Luke followed Mist in, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Haddie, he¡¯s cranky but nice.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Hadrid you little troll!¡± came a yell from inside.

 26. Essence Core

    Tristan was confused, so he turned to the young woman who had first answered the door, ¡°So what do I call him, Mist, Haddie, or Hadrid?¡±


    She sniffed, ¡°You are not on a first name basis, so Mist will do. It will be Mister Hadrid when you get to that level.¡±


    The maid tried to look down on Tristan, but she was short, and he was tall, so they shared an eye level. The inside of the structure was more mundane, several stalls held golize that were obviously pregnant and bagged dry food was piled in one corner. Straw covered the floor and several tools were hung on pegs by the door.


    Tristan had been expecting more than a simple barn from the castle like structure. Hadrid led them down the steps at the back of the building and into an area that matched Tristan¡¯s imagination much more accurately. The steps were steep, and quite long bringing them almost twenty feet below ground.


    The basement had a hallway with doors going off to either side and at the end was a large open space with various pieces of equipment in the room. Most of the equipment was surprisingly similar to what Tristan imagined when Chase told them what he had pulled out of the mine. Glass table tops with areas to place objects to study beneath them.


    The alchemist did not stop at any of the doors in the hallway, instead, he went towards the large room at the end. If each of the doors led to another large room, this basement would be the largest structure Tristan had ever seen.


    Hadrid stopped after a few steps into the room and turned to face Luke and Tristan, ¡°So, he needs artifact weapons? What kind, how long, and for what purpose?¡±


    Luke started talking, ¡°We need two, one at around eighteen inches, and one at around twelve. The shorter one needs to be a sword breaker, and the longer one needs to be a chopper that can be used to brace the breaker.¡±


    Hadrid nodded, ¡°What¡¯s your budget.¡± Luke gestured for Tristan to hand him his bag of coins, when Hadrid looked in, his eyes widened, ¡°Junior, who did you kill to get this?¡±


    Tristan felt slightly offended at the insinuation that he could not earn his own money, ¡°Hadrid, I earned that on my own, by working.¡±


    ¡°Mist, I don¡¯t care about you yet, so we are not on a first name basis,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°You¡¯re a child, no way you earned more than the average adult. Also, so long as no one is coming to look for this, I don¡¯t care where it came from.¡±


    Luke shook his head, ¡°No one will be looking for this.¡±


    ¡°Good, I can work with this,¡± Hadrid said, before tossing the bag to the maid.


    Tristan was wondering how the man was just going to go about creating an artifact. He watched Hadrid walk over to a safe and unlock it. Inside were dozens of marbles of various colors, though the majority were of a silver color.


    ¡°What are those,¡± Tristan could not help asking.


    Hadrid looked Tristan up and down before answering, ¡°Essence cores.¡± Tristan still looked confused, so he continued, ¡°Most people don¡¯t know what a kern is or how to truly use it. It is a power source that stores essence and lets people use that essence for various purposes if they gather and store enough.¡±


    ¡°Most people can not store enough for it to be of any use, tier four is about when you can start getting use out of it, but I can still take the excess essence from a willing subject. These tools let me store it in cores that I can then use to enhance my products.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s mind went back to Sai, the grand elder. He was a tier six and had created a bar of shadow out of nothing. Originally, Tristan had thought that the grand elder could do whatever he wanted because it was the grand elder. Maybe he simply was using a dark kern to make a bar from shadow. He tried thinking of other people who had done similar things, then he remembered that Siren had used it to create a small stone knife. It made sense that the only people he had seen manipulate essence were almost tier four and a hero.


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    Hadrid picked out two silver essence cores and turned to Tristan, ¡°I need you to swallow these.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tristan asked in surprise.


    ¡°You have eaten before, so I do not need to explain the process to you,¡± Hadrid said, he looked at Luke, ¡°He has eaten right, you didn¡¯t raise him on your disgusting protein shakes?¡±


    Luke rolled his eyes. Tristan reworded his question, ¡°What I meant was why?¡±


    ¡°Well you should have said that then,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°You are pathetically weak, your kern is like a malnourished horse and we want to use that malnourished horse power to pull the wagon needed to create something. You are so weak, that you are actually at the bottom of tier zero, you might as well not have a metal kern at all, that means any artifact at tier one will be too powerful for you to handle, unless it has your unique essence signature on it. To get that signature I need to extract the essence from you, but you need some essence injected into you, because you have nothing to extract.¡±


    Hadrid was breathing heavily after saying all that on a single breath. All Tristan heard was you are pathetic, really pathetic, and that did not feel good. Supposedly he would be able to grow if he got some tier zero artifacts, he wondered if he could get some from the alchemist. He was not sure how the process worked though, no one had ever shown him how to strip an artifact of its essence to increase his own capacity.


    The alchemist led him to the far wall where eight platforms were lined up. They were elevated around four feet off the floor and looked suspiciously like coffins. At first he thought that there was one for each of the elements, but earth, fire, water, air, light, dark, and metal were easily identified by the color of the material that composed the capsule. Each was clearly an artifact or something Hadrid had made.


    The eighth machine was made of a mat grey material that had ripples marring an otherwise polished exterior. Tristan wondered if there was an eighth element, one that was not present in the caldera, or at least very rare. He could not imagine what it could be as the other seven covered everything. He was not going to ask Hadrid as he did not want to be insulted again.


    ¡°Normally, I would ask you to lay down and release your essence into the environment so I can gather it, but you¡¯re to weak to do that,¡± Hadrid said, he opened the silver capsule and gestured for Tristan to get in.


    Tristan hesitated, Hadrid had been nothing but antagonistic. He was not sure that he wanted to hop into a metal box, he would be at Hadrid¡¯s mercy. Not sure of what to do, Tristan looked to Luke for support. Which in hind sight was not a good idea, Luke was not the biggest fan of safety.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe,¡± Luke said.


    Tristan still hesitated before climbing in, but after a few seconds he took a deep breath and climbed in. The interior was surprisingly comfortable. It was not because the steel slab was soft, but because of the strong metal essence it emitted. The discomfort of the table was overwhelmed by the comfort of the essence.


    Hadrid handed over the two marbles, ¡°Eat these,¡± he waited for Tristan to comply, then continued, ¡°Please don¡¯t scream to loud, I hate screaming.¡±


    Tristan did not have time to question the statement, before the lid was slammed shut. For a moment he was glad that he was not claustrophobic, then the thought was washed away by fire. The waxy shell on the exterior of the marbles dissolved in his stomach and the storm of essence was released. Tristan should have known that essence extracted from a man as unfriendly as Hadrid would be toxic.


    His blood was flooded with many times the essence his kern could handle. It circulated though his body, causing pain until it found release. Tristans nose and ears bled, he felt tears on his face and was sure that that was blood as well. His lungs burned and he vomited in the coffin, he was sure that¡¯s what it was, because he was about to die.


    Then it ended, the lid opened and something was poured into his mouth. It tasted disgusting, but Tristan was not able resist drinking it. He opened his eyes and saw Luke holding a bottle with his wind tuber mix, his other hand was over Tristan¡¯s heart and it looked like he was focusing hard on that hand.


    Hadrid snorted when he saw Tristans state, ¡°Good, you survived, glad to know that essence cores are less dangerous than higher tier artifacts.¡±


    Tristan wanted to throw something at the alchemist, but the only thing nearby was his own vomit. He saw the alchemist was holding two more essence cores, but he seemed to have a different purpose for these. Something for which, Tristan was grateful.

 27. Grumpy Old Man

    Tristan tried to recollect his scattered mind. The alchemist had not really explained what was going on. If he understood correctly, he needed Tristan¡¯s essence to create him a weapon, he had no essence so Hadrid had him eat some essence. It was to much for his body to handle, but Hadrid was able to extract it using Tristan like a filter. He really hoped thats what happened, if Hadrid stole his kern he was not sure what he would do. Tristan decided he had better keep an eye on him.


    Hadrid took the two essence cores over to a table with several glass tops. A pot sat on top of one of the plates and Tristan realized that the pot was made of a type of clay, while the liquid inside was bubbling metal. Hadrid stirred the metal with a rod and nodded to himself. He tossed the two metal cores into the pot, and watched them dissolve before nodding in approval.


    ¡°Kid, you may be as weak as a drowned cat, but you can sure take a beating,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°Get over here, I need some blood, maybe I can get some force tier ones.¡±


    Tristan had no idea what the alchemist was going on about, all he knew was that he felt terrible and a blood donation was the last thing he wanted to do. Not that Hadrid cared. Luke helped Tristan stand, while the maid cleaned the vomit and blood off the extraction coffin. He promised himself that he would never get in one of those things again.


    ¡°Come, come, toddle on over. I don¡¯t have all day,¡± Hadrid nagged, ¡°You don¡¯t want to keep me waiting.¡±


    ¡°Yes your tubbiness,¡± Luke mocked.


    ¡°Troll.¡±


    ¡°Midget,¡±


    ¡°Bastard.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, low blow I guess reaching higher was to much to expect for such a small man,¡± Luke said, enjoying the conflict.


    ¡°Could you both stop, ¡° Tristan asked, his head was pounding and the two of them were getting louder and louder.


    ¡°Ah yes, young man, I just need some blood,¡± Hadrid¡¯s hand gripped Tristans wrist, and he placed a syringe into his arm.


    Tristan tried to pull away, but Hadrid was freakishly strong. His efforts did not even make Hadrid¡¯s bicep flex while holding Tristan¡¯s arm still. A few seconds later the alchemist pulled away and inspected the blood under the glow stones lighting the room. He flicked it a few times and Tristan was surprised to see flecks of silver light floating in the blood.


    ¡°Does all blood look like that?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No, as you are asking sensible questions, you may now call me Mister Hadrid,¡± The tubby alchemist glared at Luke while he squirted the blood into the clay pot, ¡°My blood is around eight times more dense with metal essence, and other elements have different colors, luminosity, and temperature.¡±


    That made sense, it was common knowledge that a light kern had glowing blood while a fire kern had extremely hot blood. Wait, something that Hadrid said caught Tristan¡¯s attention. He said the essence in his blood was eight times denser, Tristan did some quick math. If the concentration of essence in ones kern determined tier level and it was a fifty percent geometric increase between each tier. No wonder the man was so strong, and also why the elders left the man alone.


    ¡°You have a tier five metal kern don¡¯t you,¡± Tristan asked.


    Hadrid paused and nodded, ¡°Yes, good with numbers are we. After I killed Rail, I had the strongest kern in the Caldera. I think that also makes me the most important person.¡±


    Tristan could only mutely nod, he felt like an ant with titans walking all around him. He worked with Luke, the son of something higher than this alchemist, Hadrid himself was the most dangerous person in the caldera, and he slept about one hundred and fifty feet above what he believed to be a tier seven metal elemental. No wonder, Luke had asked if he could slay a hundred men when they first met, his only point of reference for a metal kern was Hadrid.


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    ¡°I think I dazed the poor kid,¡± Hadrid mused, ¡°It can be hard to get used to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Luke said, ¡°But not for the reasons you think.¡±


    Hadrid snorted as he started on a mold. He filled a box with sand and packed it in, he then handed Luke a sheet of metal, ¡°make yourself useful, draw the blades you need on this.¡±


    Luke nodded and grabbed some chalk off a board with numbers and polygons drawn all over it. The sheet of metal was thin, and would bend if Luke was not careful. Fortunately, Luke was very careful. He had been trained how to both read, draw, and alter blueprints. Outlining two different knives would not be an issue for him.


    The sword breaker had V shaped notches along the back and a blade made for slicing on the front. It would never be the greatest knife, as the notches would make it difficult to stab and could make it difficult to brace in the event a second hand needed to be used. The second knife was longer, edging up on the length of a short sword. It would be thick with a slightly curved blade and a tapered point that could pop open the links in chain mail.


    When Luke handed the two drawings back, Hadrid simply nodded and condensed a blade from the essence in his blood. He was a scientist and with steady hands, along with the scalpel like tool he created, Hadrid had no issue cutting out the drawing. After, reabsorbing the scalpel, Hadrid picked up the two cut outs and placed them in the sand. He gently pressed them down with a board, then he used a magnet to remove them.


    This left a perfect, paper thin imprint of the two knives. He grabbed some tongs and removed the pot of boiling essence steel from his stove. Carefully he poured it into the two molds only stopping when they were full. The red hot metal slowly cooled, which did not take long, as the blades were so thin. Hadrid managed the amount and distribution of metal essence in the metal. It would be better if Tristan did this, but he was not capable. Doing this allowed Hadrid to skip the tempering process, as that was the force he currently wanted to instill into the blade.


    Fortunately the essence tempering resonated with Tristans unique essence, it was the reason he needed the blood. Hadrid grinned at the two blades and inspected them when they were cool enough to be picked up. He walked over to a grinder and started to put an edge on them. He was careful to push the essence from the metal he removed into the part he would keep. Contrary to what mythology would have most people believe, sharpness was not the result of some mystical power, it was the product of a narrow angle. And Hadrid wanted to get an extreme angle.


    Tristan took several hours to completely recover from the essence absorption and subsequent extraction. It would have most likely taken longer without Lukes wind tuber drink. He was starting to understand why Luke was in love with the stuff.


    ¡°All done,¡± Hadrid said, excitement evident in his voice.


    He brought Tristan the two blades and handed them to him. Tristan drew them from their leather sheathes and found that they looked quite odd. Both were extremely thin, to the point that the edge was translucent. Despite the narrow cross section the blades were more solid than the pick axe heads at the mine. They both had a rubbery hilt that was wrapped in wire and had a silver marble set into the handle.


    ¡°These blade will not break, and they will not need maintenance, while these essence reservoirs are full. The core will passively feed off your meager essence to recharge. I estimate it will take a week to charge them fully with your meager reserves,¡± Hadrid said.


    ¡°Thank you, These are amazing.¡± Tristan said with a genuine smile. He could not wait to learn how to use these.


    ¡°How would you know? You have nothing to compare them to,¡± Hadrid said.


    ¡°Luke are these amazing?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke grinned, ¡°They¡¯re only OK.¡±


    ¡°I hate you,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°They are awesome, worthy of awe. I have your money, now get out of my town.¡±


    He hustled the two of them out of his lab and shoved them out of his home. Tristan tried to thank him again, but got a door slammed in his face fore his troubles. He could only shake his head in exasperation as they walked through the sleeping herd of golize on the way out of town. Tristan did wonder if the alchemist just mashed two nouns together and called it good when it came to naming things.


    He drew the long knife and inspected its edge, it was odd and mesmerizing. The translucency made it look more like glass than metal, but he knew it was only translucent due to how thin the metal was. If the essence cores were not attached he was sure it would collapse on itself at even the slightest breeze.


    He grinned, Luke had taught him how to use his hands, but a tier zero kern gave him a comparatively weak body. These knives were a force multiplier that could make him a threat. He looked forward to that day.

 28. Fogging Olfred

    They arrived back at the mine about a day later, while the sun was rising. The return trip was filled with Tristan testing his new toys on the pinewood forest. Dozens of trees had neatly cut off limbs that would confuse any campers and foresters in the future.


    Tristan looked around to see the standard hubbub that had become so reassuring and familiar in the last three years. The mine was bustling with people who were starting their day and several wagons of ingots were being rolled off to Forest Caldera. They would be shipped off to the Stone Caldera to be forged into weapons and armor for the warrior caste.


    Grace saw them and smiled, ¡°How was your trip.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever met the alchemist?¡± Tristan asked.


    Grace shuddered, ¡°That bad? He called me a chubby werewolf, can you believe that?¡±


    Tristan had to resist the urge to agree with Hadrid, ¡°He is very rude. But he did make me these.¡±


    He drew the long knife and showed it off to Grace. She inspected the blade for a few minutes before nodding, ¡°Mist does a good job making things, do you mind if I test it out?¡±


    Tristan paused for a moment, before realizing that Hadrid had never given Grace his real name. Mentally rolling his eyes at the man¡¯s antics, Tristan reversed his grip on the blade and handed it to Grace hilt first. She took it and rumbled over to the cutting board where she was currently preparing lunch. There was a cow head on the cutting board and it looked like she was about to pop the skull open to harvest the brain. It was considered a delicacy and she would be saving it for Conni.


    Grace chopped at the top of the skull to see how well the knife would hold up. Cow skulls were ludicrously hard, the creatures were considered tier three partly because of this trait. What she did not expect was the knife to cut straight through the skull, through the cutting board, and into the table. It would have kept going to, but the guard stopped it from going any deeper.


    ¡°Where can I get one of these, ¡° Grace asked. The edge was undamaged, despite common sense telling her that it should be warped beyond usability.


    ¡°I would go to the alchemist and get one for whatever kern you have,¡± Tristan had no idea what kind of kern Grace had. He was not sure what the other kinds of artifacts looked like. All the earth ones were made out of a stone or gem like material, and Shadow Fists artifact gloves were made of a material so ethereal that you had to see your hand touching it to know it was there.


    Grace sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t think he can do anything with a fire kern, all right, I¡¯ll stop moping. Get going.¡±


    Tristan nodded and left for the bunk house. If he could not be found, the miners would leave a note on his bed to find them underground. Paper was much to precious a resource to waste on a ¡®find me later¡¯ note. Instead, Tristan had come up with an idea, each team leader got a stone that was the same color as their essence. Chase for example got piece of granite that Tristan had polished.


    The stone he was looking at now was painted red. Red rocks were hard to come across, so Tristan had used some of the red tunnel paint to coat a stone. That would be for a fire kern, and the angry face that was drawn on it meant that it was from Olfred. For a moment Tristan wanted to get angry, Olfred was a piece of work, a lucky piece of work if he already needed Tristan to scan for metal.


    He sighed and went down into the mine. In the main room the map had several tokens stuck to the wall to indicate the locations the miners would be working at. He searched for Olfred¡¯s token and found it in a tunnel near the western edge of the mine. Tristan briefly thought about calling Luke, but he was doing something with Kale at the moment. Technically he needed someone with an air kern, but Olfred should have someone.


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    After hesitating for a minute he left for Olfred¡¯s team. He found them sitting around a pit that looked like an unused fire pit while smoking pipes and eating lunch. He wondered if they had dug the pit for the ambiance or if Olfred was actually dumb enough to light a fire in the mine. Just because a few of the miners had fire kerns did not mean that they were immune to asphyxiation. Thankfully they had remembered the purifier, his air kern was about the only thing that could save them from a fire.


    ¡°Oh, our little treasure devil is here!¡± Olfred yelled when he caught sight of Tristan, ¡°That talent you got me buys a barge full of happy times.¡±


    Tristan was not sure what to say to the obviously intoxicated man, so he went with the simplest option, ¡°You¡¯re welcome?¡±


    Olfred gave him a slightly sloppy grin, ¡°We need you to get us more money, tell us where to dig.¡±


    The man serving as the teams air purifier, waved his hand to clear the smoke away from his face and said, ¡°Olfred, take a seat, I¡¯ll show him the end.¡±


    Tristan could only pity the man. He could not clear out the smoke, with the amount they were putting out. His kern¡¯s only held so much essence after all. The air user would need to save his resources for an emergency. Fortunately for both of them, this tunnel was angled slightly down, letting the smoke flow up the tunnel.


    The purifier led Tristan to the end of the tunnel where the shape of Olfred¡¯s previous mining operation could be seen. It was nothing special, but the scorch marks on the dirt were easy so see. It surprised Tristan, he had always assumed Chase and his team of earth kerns would be better at mining, but it seemed that fire had an advantage when actually removing the metal. If someone had a strong enough fire kern, they might be able to simply melt it into a more convenient shape.


    He stood in the center of the tunnel and closed his eyes. Tristan had done this many times in the last few years. However, he had never gotten such a fast and odd response. Looking at the left wall, it seemed that there was a very large deposit there.The odd part was that, the sensation flickered. If Tristan focused on it he could no longer feel it, but if he relaxed his senses, it was there clear as day.


    He also could not tell how far away it was. Confused, Tristan placed his hand on the wall. It felt close, really close, so why couldn¡¯t he feel it when he focused. He grimaced and drew his knife.


    The purifier looked on with rising interest, ¡°Did you find something?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡± Tristan said, then he stabbed the wall.


    He was not sure what he expected. A clang, a jolt, what he got was the feeling of striking wood. Roots could go this far down, but that was uncommon. Tristan scraped away the dirt, after clearing about a foot, he found metal. His knife had sunk right into the metal wall like it was a soft wood. Good knife, Tristan thought. Then he looked back at Olfred, lucky moron, he wasn¡¯t even going to have to mine for this one.


    ¡°Yes, I guess I did find something,¡± Tristan said.


    A grin spread across the mans face, ¡°glad to hear it.¡±


    The purifier¡¯s smile went rigid when Tristan removed his knife, ¡°What?¡±


    He turned to see what had the purifier so scared. Tristan¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the vertical slit his knife had made in the metal. It was a narrow hole, as the blade¡¯s profile was thin, but it was still wide enough to let some black fog out.


    The black vapor did not move quickly, but It did leave Tristan and Olfred¡¯s team with only one choice. They had to get out of the mine before it covered them. There was a slight possibility that it was not poisonous but that was a dumb risk to take. Many miners had decided that they were tough enough to work through a smelly smoke, only to die of asphyxiation.


    ¡°I can¡¯t purify it, whatever that stuff is, its not a gas,¡± the purifier said.


    ¡°Can you slow it down?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No, it has no air essence, if I could not see it with my own eyes, I would not believe it was there,¡± The purifier was starting to hyperventilate, which was not something Tristan was sure they could do.


    They ran down the tunnel. Fortunately the black fog only had a paper thin hole to leak out of, so it would not move to fast. Hopefully, Tristan was not sure how that kind of thing worked.


    ¡°You find the good stuff,¡± Olfred yelled as they ran past.


    ¡°Black fog, run fast we need to get Siren,¡± Tristan yelled as he ran past. He could only think that the fog was dark based, not air based, and he could think of no one better to handle a dark fog underground than their resident dark and earth kern warrior. Tristan got to the surface before the purifier and reminded himself to thank Luke for making him run every morning.

 29. Expedition

    Tristan immediately went to the training field where Siren was giving the warriors a workout. Though beating might have been a better description. Tristan could now see why Kale had taken Luke aside to assist them.


    Siren had one warrior in a red circle of stones that was about eight feet wide. Two wooden tables simulated walls and Tristan realized they were the lunch tables that Grace served meals on. The man in the center had to face off against two other warriors who were free to leave the circle and Luke was walking around the ring as well.


    They all had padded sticks and from what Tristan could tell the rules were very simple. Don¡¯t leave the circle, don¡¯t get hit, and hit everyone but Luke. You could only hit Luke on a riposte. This seemed to be simulating the fight with the two water elementals, They had no mid tier fours so two mid tier threes stood in for it. Luke represented the water and dark elemental they needed to be prepared for, as the dark elementals were boarder line invisible in shadows.


    Truthfully, the drills did not seem to have much practical use outside of the tunnel system. Fortunately, that is where they would be needing them. Tristan waved at Siren, it took a few moments and yells to get the warriors attention. When he did, Siren called a halt to the drill and told his men to squat until he was done.


    He jogged over with a curious Luke following him, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Tristan explained the situation and how it was time sensitive, but probably not urgent. He was thinking of some kind of excuse for him stabbing a wall, when there was no real reason to do so. In hindsight it was a dumb move, however Tristan paused when Siren started laughing.


    ¡°YES!¡± He pumped his fist into the air, ¡°Kid, I could hug you right now.¡±


    Tristan looked at Sirens well armored body and took a step back. Getting a hug from him would be like being placed into a trash compactor, his tier zero body would not hold up well. He looked quizzically at Siren, the man was approachable, but he had never acted like a kid before.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the black fog a bad thing?¡± Tristan asked.


    Siren was catching his breath, ¡°Probably not, but where else have you seen a black fog.¡±


    Tristan searched his memories. He had not seen any fog black or otherwise in years. Thinking back he realized there was a time he had seen a black fog and that was one of his worst memories.


    ¡°The abyssal chalice?¡± It had black fog, Sai had been black in the vision and so were most of the surroundings. He wondered if everything was black because that was the color it really was, or because that was the color of dark essence. Then came a second though, ¡°You think that we have a powerful artifact on our hands?¡±


    Siren nodded, ¡°Yes, and better yet its one that I can probably use.¡±


    Tristan could not help get exited. If it was a tier four artifact, then Siren could use it to get into tier four himself. He would be the highest tiered person in the Caldera. Hadrid¡¯s image went through his head and Tristan mentally cursed, Siren would still be a tier and a half behind the alchemist. He would have to find a lot more artifacts to feed to Siren.


    Siren eyed the knives at Tristan¡¯s waste, ¡°you said that those can cut through metal right?¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Yes, why.¡±


    ¡°If we aren¡¯t positioned against a doorway, I would like to cut a hole in the wall,¡± He said. It would save a lot of time if they did not need to melt their way through with fire artifact or cut through with the circular saw. The speed it offered allowed for safer tactics. The knives also would not create an environmental hazards if there were any light or fire elementals that could use the heat created against them.


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    Tristan gave his approval, anything that made Siren¡¯s life easier, ¡°What do we do about the fog?¡±


    ¡°Light essence is extremely good at removing dark essence, to the point that light essence can be multiple tiers lower and still be effective,¡± Siren said.


    Tristan supposed that made sense, no matter how dark it was, a candle never struggled to spread its light. Unless there was something in the air, like a fog. Then the light would have to shine even brighter to be seen.


    Conni was notified and a group was organized to go down into the tunnels. Tristan tried his best to get on the team, however, Siren shot his proposal down. He had a weak body and a weak kern, the only thing he could add was his weapons. The weapon that would actually be better used in someone else¡¯s hands. Tristan was grumpy, but there was not much of an argument that he could use to oppose Siren¡¯s logic.


    The most frustrating part was that Luke was going. Luke was the strongest purifier in the camp, though it was not much of a competition. His physique was just as good as the soldiers which put him somewhere around tier three. They needed at least one purifier and he was the best choice.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Tristan said as he handed his knives over. A day after he got back and he wasn¡¯t even the first person to use his new tools.


    Luke grinned and handed back the sword breaker, ¡°Thanks,¡± then he leaned in a little closer, ¡°I just want to let you know, stabbing walls is not a good idea.¡±


    Tristan groaned, he had hoped Luke had forgotten about that. He stood by one of the bunk houses and watched the dozen or so people gather. Siren and his six warriors were forming the vanguard, in a ¡®v¡¯ formation. The four light kern illuminators were nestled inside the formation along side Luke.


    They were going down there with quite a bit of fire power. Most of the warriors were holding lighting artifacts in one hand, and had weapons in their other. He looked down at the glow stone he was holding in his hand. Tristan had filched a few of them after offering to help the party gather the necessary resources. If anything bad happened to Luke, he intended to go down and pull him out.


    For now, there was nothing that he could do. So he walked out of the camp and looked for a suitable tree. They were all pine trees, but they would still work. Luke had shown him some movements to use with knives. He was skeptical of them actually being for combat, as they were very flamboyant and required a ludicrous amount of fine muscle control. Tristan¡¯s current thought was they were for gaining the prerequisite skills to effectively use a knife.


    He found two branches and quickly sliced them of. Despite the sword breaker not being made for cutting, it was still sharp enough to preform the task beautifully. Tristan stripped the branch and set about whittling them down into the rough shape of his two knives. It was more difficult than he thought, he had whittled before, every boy has tried their hand at it. The issue was, his knife was so sharp, it felt like he was whittling a block of butter.


    Around an hour and twenty branches later he had his two wooden knives. They were rough, but he did not care, he was not going to spend any more time getting pine sap all over himself just to get some better sticks. He ended up with two pieces of wood shaped roughly like his knives. Oddly the wood was actually heavier than the metal.


    After cleaning the sap off with some dust, he headed back to the mine entrance. Tristan may not be allowed to enter the mine, however he would keep an eye on it. He started practicing what he could only call a blade dance in slow motion.


    It did not take long for his arms to start burning. The slower one practiced a martial art the more control it required. In the beginning Tristan had doubted the efficacy of the practice, after all it did not cause him to bulk up like a lot of the miners did. Luke had laughed and told him that with a tier zero kern his strength and speed would be like a liability in most conflicts. Every tier one would be half again better at the same fitness level, so his technique needed to be superior.


    Chase was standing with Sun Set, watching the entrance of the tunnel. The two had gotten close over the last few years. It was one of those situations where everyone but them understood the direction their relationship was heading. Tristan did not pay much attention to the couple, he was focused completely on his movements.


    That was until Sun Set yelped and Chase yelled, ¡°Get back.¡±


    Tristan looked up to see Chase hauling Sun Set away from the tunnel. His eyes focused on something leaking out of it. The black fog was rising from the entrance and it had brought something with it. At first Tristan thought it was an elemental, but it was a jelly like creature made of a smoky material with a brain and eyes floating inside it.

 30. Money Devil

    Tristan watched the creature, which looked suspiciously like what Kale called a slime oozed out of the mine shaft. He took a step back from the thing, seeing a brain and eyes was very disconcerting. It was disconcerting, but not threatening. Kale had mentioned that slimes were the lowest of the low mythical beasts, but also that they were made completely of a viscous goo.


    Olfred seemed to be of the same opinion, ¡°What is that?¡°


    ¡°Donnow boss, its kinda cute though,¡± one of his men said. Olfred¡¯s entire team started chuckling like he had made a joke.


    He scooped up a rock and crept closer to it. If it had been anyone else, Tristan would have warned him against throwing a rock at the brain monster. Unfortunately for Olfred, Tristan was not opposed to using him as the test dummy. Olfred tossed the rock at the creature, it was not a hard strike and it did not manage to get its attention.


    A second rock, moving much faster did. The creature started releasing a black fog and moving toward Olfred. It was faster than Tristan expected, but still slower than the fleeing Olfred. Was this thing a portable black fog generator? If so it would be much less useful outside where the gas could spread.


    Judging by the fact that it was chasing Olfred, the creature had no ranged attacks. Tristan judged it safe to throw things. He would have to thank Olfred later. Grabbing a spade shovel, Tristan threw it like a spear. The sharper edge cut into the jelly, but did not reach the brain. It did change directions and started heading for Tristan. He could see more black fog being released from the injury and was sure that this thing had the black gas instead of blood.


    He picked up another two shovels, and threw them while retreating. If it had been small he would not have hit it, but it was about three feet in every direction, so it was an easy target. After the years of running, the creature had no way to catch Tristan, but it was still releasing the black fog. Unfortunately, there was a slight breeze that day.


    It spread the fog, instead of a simple trail of darkness following the creature around, it was starting to spread. Tristan realized that while it did not have a ranged attack, it did possess an area of effect attack. Chase was the first victim of the fog. He was unfortunate enough to run down wind and it quickly overtook their hiding spot.


    Sun set was unaffected frantically shaking Chase as his eyes started closing and he slumped to the ground. From the snoring he was making he was asleep not dead. The fog seemed to be ineffective on Sun Set however. Tristan almost slapped himself, Siren had told him that darkness was largely ineffective against light. As a tier one illuminator, Sun Set should be able to resist any dark essence below the heroic tiers.


    Tristan was still leading the creature around, ¡°HEY, Sun. Set!¡± She jerked and looked at him, ¡°Can you shove this through that things brain?¡±


    He held up his sword breaker. When she nodded he tossed the weapon and its sheath to her. Sun Set was crying, but it seemed to be from impotence rather than fear. However the tears changed from helplessness to rage as she got ahold of a weapon.


    Tristan pulled out a sun stone and threw it at the creature. It was instantly snuffed out, but the jelly flesh blistered and eroded when it made contact. He had grabbed a half dozen of the stones, but they would not be enough. Tier zero light fixtures weren¡¯t very effective weapons, who would have thought.


    It was a great distraction though. Pain was a great way to get attention. Tristan used it to get the brains undivided attention, and the creature unknowingly Oozed past Sun Set¡¯s position. For being mostly brain the creature lacked the basic intelligence to notice Sun Set. She was screaming as she ran up and started stabbing the creature wildly.


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    The serations meant for catching swords acted like a saw, chewing up the soft flesh. Massive amounts of black fog gushed out into Sun Set¡¯s face, however rage is a good way to stay awake. Without arms and legs the creature could not stop Sun Set from digging out its brain and mashing it under her heavy boots.


    Tristan winced, angry women were brutal. Sun Set quickly remembered Chase, who was still asleep, she dropped the knife and ran back to his side. Her arms were blistered from being pushed into the jelly, not like an acid, but like rot. Her light essence was excellent for healing, so the problem would be quickly fixed, however Tristan would have been seriously injured in her position.


    Without the creature, the fog started dispersing and Tristan was able to go pick up his knife. At first he was worried about it being damaged, but a little bit of logic would have put his mind at ease. Though it was only a tier one artifact, the essence reservoir was made to hold tier five essence. The brain monster came nowhere near exhausting the reservoir.


    Tristan started to relax when a crash came from Conni¡¯s house. Black fog was leaking out the windows, Tristan had forgotten about the stairway that connected the boardroom in the mine to Conni¡¯s house. Conni slammed the door open and came running out carrying Grace over one shoulder. Tristan was impressed that he could carry his wife that way, however his attention was grabbed by something following him out.


    It was a black skeleton with a black circulatory system, it was fast, but not used to things like doors or stairs. That gave Conni just enough time to escape. Tristan wondered how many more of these things were down in the mine. Dark elementals would be undetectable in the black fog, and with an average tier of four they would be borderline unstoppable.


    The fog started covering the skeleton, and any part that was covered vanished from sight, regardless of how thin the fog was. Fortunately for all the miners, it was high noon and the elemental had no brain. It left its cover and ran straight for Conni, it was substantially slower than the one Tristan had seen in the mine. Tristan realized that an average tier of four meant that there had to be some below that. It appeared that this one was a tier three.


    It was still stronger than Tristan, but it was not such a wide gap that the miners couldn¡¯t take it if they worked together. Conni was losing ground, the elemental was faster than he was while carrying his wife. Tristan decided that he would practice throwing spears if he survived. He had three shovels with rusted and pitted heads, so he started throwing them.


    The first missed, while the second hit it in the shoulder. The blow broke a few veins, but that did nothing to slow it down. It did start chasing Tristan, that caused him to miss the next throw. He was not going to get into a fist fight with it, so he started running. He dashed through the fog remnants and ran for cover. The only place he could think of was the bunk house


    As soon as he was inside he regretted the decision. The bunk house only had one entrance and exit, he looked around for something to block the door. However the only things inside were the wheelbarrow on the other side of the doorway and a bunch of bunk beds that were to heavy to move. He took a deep breath, the elemental was fast it would barge through the door and he would escape when it overshot his position.


    He hid by the door, just inside the bunk house. Tristan stayed as quiet as he could, he frowned. The elemental should have just blasted through the door. He strained his hearing, but there was nothing. Tristan was about to peak around the doorframe, when he got an odd feeling from the wheelbarrow full of scrap metal.


    He squinted at it, the feeling came in and out of focus. All he could see was the metal and a light fog. Tristan immediately dove to the side, the horrible thing was invisible in the fog. He had felt the same thing when he discovered the deposit in the mine. His metal sense was warped by the elementals dark essence. The wall cracked where something hit it, right at Tristan¡¯s head level. While he was on the ground he swiped his knife through the air in front of him at around shin height.


    He hit something, he just could not see it. Getting to his hands and knees he scrambled out of the bunk house. He half tripped, half jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the fog. It was almost gone, even the mine had stopped pushing out any. That was a good sign right? The elemental came into view, crawling on its hands and shin nubs. It was still trying to get to him, and it was faster on all fours than Tristan was on his feet.


    Tristan briefly wondered what the afterlife would be like. Did silver demons go to heaven? The question was rendered irrelevant when Olfred of all people started beating the elemental over the head with a shovel.


    ¡°Leave my money devil alone!¡± Olfred yelled, ¡°He still has to make me rich!¡±

 31. Otherworld Sadows

    Tristan stared wide eyed as Olfred first followed by his whole team started to beat the elemental to death. Siren had told him that crushing the heart was the only way to kill an elemental. Olfred proved that you could destroy everything but the heart and that worked just as well. It only took his team a few moments to completely tear it apart.


    Olfred was currently jumping around like a cave man with a torch, holding the black heart, and yelling, ¡°And everyone calls me heartless! I showed them!¡±


    Tristan shook his head, he still wouldn¡¯t be comfortable with Olfred, but he would definitely strive to get along with him better. He made is way to Conni and Grace. Conni had actually owned some high quality weapons, he was standing between the unconscious Grace and the mine entrance holding a sword made of a flame red metal. Wisps of smoke rose from the edge of the blade, giving it a savage apearence.


    ¡°Conni, is the expedition alright, they are in the middle of all this?¡± Tristan asked.


    Never taking his eyes off the mine exits, Conni answered, ¡°Yes, they should be, light kerns would cut through these things, while shadow kerns will give an innate resistance. They should be fine, unless there is a really strong elemental down there.¡±


    True Siren could have dealt with the dark elemental and the brain with his bare hands. Earth was naturally a sturdy element while darkness was able to resist itself. Anything in the mine would have to physically overpower him, while their abilities were being restricted by the illuminators. If he remembered right one of the warriors had a light kern as well. Sun Set had been able to ignore the brains abilities and she was only tier one. A tier three would have immediately annihilated it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you saw what was going on out here, but we had to deal with a creature with a brain and eyes inside a ball of grey goo. It was spitting out the black fog everywhere. It looked like slime but I¡¯m not sure what it was?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Have you ever met a world strider?¡± Conni said. The lack of smoke was causing him to relax.


    Tristan shook his head, he had heard stories about other worlds existing. Some even claimed that those worlds could be seen in the sky at night. Tristan did not hold to the odd belief that people lived on both of the moons, how would they get up there? And more importantly, how would anyone ever know.


    ¡°Well, people in those other worlds store their essence in things other than a kern. We use our hearts, blood, and bones, which is why our elementals look the way they do. The one you fought sounds like it used its mind and eyes as some sort of kern, I have heard Siren talk about seeing one that was just muscle and organs that moved in odd ways.¡± Conni said.


    Tristan was surprised, he was not sure he believed that something from a different world was a reasonable explanation. It had come from underground after all. He shook his head, their world had enough issues without other ones shipping their problems over. It did take some of the weight off Tristan¡¯s shoulders, if Siren had experience with these creatures, then he would be able to keep his team safe. Luke was very likely to be alright.


    -Siren


    The tunnels were covered in an inky darkness. For the first time in a long time, Siren was grateful for his hybrid kern. It was not common knowledge, but combination kerns gained both the weaknesses and the strengths of the respective essences. Normally darkness was not applicable in combat, so he was cursed with an earth kern that was vulnerable to light essence. Which also happened to be the most common type of artifact.


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    Now he was grateful to it, the illuminators had to spend essence to eliminate the fog and push back the darkness, while he was not obstructed in the slightest. If the tunnel went straight to their destination, he would be able to see it. While his eyes could pierce the fog they would not be able to pierce the cloaking abilities of the dark elementals. At least not until they were very close. Every year he lost more people to dark elementals than any other type of elemental.


    Nothing happened in the time it took them to reach the deposit. Tristan had been right, if Olfred had dug at a slightly different angle he would have discovered it himself. Siren could only chuckle at that, one or two degrees cost that boar a finders fee. The slit that was spilling out the smoke was thin, the gas must have been collecting for centuries to be released with this much pressure.


    ¡°Alright clear the wall,¡± Siren said.


    Shale, one of the warriors had an earth kern and it made it relatively easy to remove the earth. Siren had an earth kern as well, but he was more valuable for his unhindered perception at the moment. An earth kern at tier three would not let Shale control the earth, but it did help him understand it, and more importantly, how to remove it.


    The dirt fell away, as Shale applied a vibrating artifact normally used for sanding and polishing. It quickly revealed a corroded wall. That would have been normal, spending many years underground invariably degraded the metal. However the rust was not a reddish orange, it was green and grey. As if the metal was rotting instead of rusting. Siren was not going to touch it, it was a sign of prolonged exposure to dark essence.


    ¡°Luke could you do the honors,¡± Siren said.


    He was wary of the blond boy. Luke was the only person in the camp that he was not shure he could put down. In the earlier training, he had taken on Kale, and two others in the middle of the tunnel training. He destroyed them one sidedly. It was something normally only seen when people of different tiers fought.


    Luke nodded, producing the short sword he called the ¡®big knife¡¯ from nowhere, ¡°Got it boss.¡±


    He sliced a small gap in the wall at about eye level. Siren pulled out a clear air artifact, it was a dinner plate that would stop bread from going stale. He did not need it for its culinary properties, he needed a shield. Placing it over the window Luke cut, he peered through the glass. It was a tier two artifact, so it was doubtful that anything inside could break it in one strike. More importantly it dampened the effects of decay, which was one of the strongest tools in the dark elements toolkit.


    Inside he saw a room with different pieces of equipment. None of it was familiar, but Siren could recognize a gym anywhere. He could see several elementals sleeping on the floor. Tier three kerns could normally tell how dangerous their foes were, so long as they shared an essence type or they had a lower level kern. So Siren was surprised to find that he had a stronger kern than all of the ones that he could see.


    ¡°Around a dozen tier three dark elementals,¡± Siren said, ¡°They should not be a problem, so long as we don¡¯t wake them.¡±


    He nodded to Luke and put his plate away. Luke cut a six by six foot door. That was their first miscalculation, Tristan¡¯s knife cut so cleanly that there was no lip to grab and they were reluctant to touch the metal mold. So the two inch thick slab of metal slab of metal wall fell inward. It hit the floor with a bang and shattered to pieces.


    A wave of black fog, so thick that even Siren was slightly obstructed, billowed out. All of the elementals woke up and the movement attracted Sirens attention. The weird elementals that Conni claimed were from world striders, matched the skeletons in number. Fortunately it seemed it was only the two kinds of variety. Unfortunately, it meant they were dealing with closer to two dozen of them.


    Siren readied his weapons, he had his earth artifact ax. It could split stone as easily as wood. The illuminators got all of their artifacts ready. His warriors set up a shield wall behind Siren, protecting the vital illuminators. If the illuminators died, Siren would be the only one with even a slight chance of escape.


    ¡°Throw!¡± Siren commanded.


    Glow stones flew over his head, cutting through the fog and revealing the room. Many of the soldiers got their first look at what they were up against. However, Siren could see further, and what he saw made his blood chill.


    Sitting on a throne at the far side of the room was a man seated on a throne of metal with onyx black muscles with no skin covering them. Black veins and arteries carried his life¡¯s essence through his body and abyssal eyes stared out of a black skull.


    ¡°Oh some one new, did the Lord of the Underworld send you?¡±

 32. Shadow Lord

    Siren stared at the being, trying to comprehend it. It had intelligence, how else could it talk, it also looked like the skeletons and other two types of elementals had merged into a complete creature. He had never seen anything like this before.


    ¡°So are you an elemental lord?¡± A voice said.


    The excitement in the voice caught Siren off guard. It took him a moment to place the voice. It was Luke. Siren was about to reprimand him when the creature spoke.


    ¡°Indeed, and what might you be,¡± The elemental lord sounded menacing, however he also hadn¡¯t spoken in over a thousand years. Speaking eloquently was an acquired skill if you did not have lips.


    ¡°I am a human, are we going to fight, cause I would rather leave if we¡¯re just going to stand around.¡±


    Siren would have killed Luke as a traitor then and there if he hadn¡¯t been a civilian. He sank into a fighting stance, after all he was not sure how dangerous the elemental lord was. It had a lower tier than he did, but it was composed of three overlapping tier three essences. If the power of all three stacked, then it would be as strong as a tier six , meaning it could match the grand elder.


    It started chuckling, ¡°No, no, we don¡¯t want to fight, the Lord of the Underworld needs to be freed, we will remove his shackles.¡±


    ¡°Who is this underworld lord, ¡° Siren asked. If it was going to talk, he was going to get some information from it.


    ¡°Lord of the Underworld, its a name not a title. He is the elemental lord composed of the commanders under Vulcan, the deceased admiral. We are soldiers, we heed our Lord¡¯s call.¡± The elemental lord¡¯s voice was full of passion.


    A cold chill went down Siren¡¯s back. Had they been facing off against the civilians this whole time. What was the warrior caste if civilians had an average tier of three. He was sure that a militia composed of elemental lords would be a world ending threat.


    ¡°So does this Underlord.¡± Luke was interrupted


    ¡°Lord of the Underworld,¡±


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°Undie Lord.¡± The elemental lord ground his teeth, ¡°Well does he have a metal essence somewhere in his mixture.¡±


    The lord perked up, ¡°You know where he is?¡±


    Siren realized what Luke was referring to. They had almost dug up this Lord of the Underworld themselves. Olfred seemed to discover all of their problems. Siren was just to dumb to leave those problems alone.


    ¡°Luke, shut up,¡± Siren said, ¡°I apologize, but we cannot allow you to release the elemental we found,¡±


    The elementals all around the party started to become more hostile. The brains started releasing black fog and the skeletons picked up the nearest weapons they could. Siren did not know that elementals could use weapons. Fortunately the weapons were metal bars not swords or spears.


    ¡°This is not a debate,¡± The lord said, ¡°Either you tell me, or I rip apart your entire world until I find someone who will.¡±


    ¡°Big talk from a baby lord!¡± Luke yelled.


    ¡°Someone gag him!¡± Siren roared. He sighed, he did not want to die, but he valued his duty above his life, ¡°Elemental Lord, I cannot tell you, it is my duty to protect my nation.¡±


    He saw something like respect in the lord¡¯s eyes. It was a soldier as well, it understood duty, ¡°Very well, kill them.¡±


    Siren had hoped that the elemental lord would act like the elders, always standing back and letting their subordinates fight, then take the glory for the victory. Unfortunately the lord was a soldier, not an elder. It went from sitting to charging in a second. Black smoke condensed into plate armor and an artifact sword was held in both hands.


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    The lord was the same size as Siren, but much stronger. The curved blade crashed into his ax, Sirens weapon held, but his arms did not. He staggered back activating the earth essence in his blood to make himself heavier.


    The next strike was taken on his shield allowing him to counter with his ax. He had expected the armor to stop it, but it seemed to be made of simple fog. The ax cut deep into the lords hip, only stopping at the bone. A shove with the shield caused the lord to stagger back.


    ¡°Earth essence,¡± The lord hissed. His injury was already healing, the abundant dark essence was quickly fixing him, ¡°Let me show you the power of dark essence.¡±


    The lord vanished. Siren cursed, this was the one ability he wished he could figure out. None of the warriors with dark kerns could use it, so he had hoped that tier four would allow him to use it. With no other choice he backed up to the ring of light created by the illuminators. The light was constantly being eaten away by the fog. Light essence was a counter to darkness in the same way that water was the counter to fire, unfortunately enough fire could destroy water.


    Siren kept an eye out for the lord, but he as not visible. A piece of the workout equipment hurtled through the air. Siren could see it, as the fog did not completely obstruct him. The others were oblivious.


    ¡°Watch out,¡± was all he could yell before the heavy object crashed into the shield wall. Siren wanted to check the damage, but several weights came like frisbees out of the darkness followed by the bar that previously held them. He raised his shield, taking several impacts. It saved his face, but blocked his vision.


    Black fingers wrapped around the rim and Siren was thrown across the room. He hit the far wall and bounced off. Quickly, he braced for the follow up. One that did not come.


    The lord had thrown him, then charged into the gap that the gym equipment had created. Two lights went out, shrinking the yellow pool of light. Kale and another soldier were cut and a third tried to punch the lord. The concentrated black fog armor caused the mans hand to bubble and rot. Siren missed what happened next. A flash of blinding white light tore the fog apart and threw everyone away. Several lesser elementals were instantly eliminated from the conflict and the Lord was blasted back like a meteor.


    The lesser elementals would cause trouble on the surface, but they had bigger issues. Another illuminator was knocked out while the last could barely keep the fog back. Siren had no idea that the light kern allowed an offensive attack of such magnitude, but it had disabled the stealth of every elemental. He would have to check how his soldier managed it after they survived.


    The lord slowly regained his feet, only to see Siren chopping the brain elementals. They were pitiful in a melee fight, acting more as weapons of mass destruction. They primed an area for other elementals to fight by creating the optimal environment for them Fortunately, after he had finished off six of them the fog started to get thinner.


    ¡°No, Gale,¡± the lord yelled.


    Evidently he knew who this used to be. He charged Siren with murderous intent. Siren hefted his shield to receive the impact. The lord kicked the shield, and tried to slice Sirens legs with the sword. His ax intercepted the blade, however it caused him to completely miss the punch that smashed into his face.


    Siren crashed back into the equipment, getting tangled in some metal chords attached to pulleys and steel weights. His face burned and when he tried touching it all he felt was teeth. The rotting effect of the armor had taken all the skin that it touched. Siren pushed the pain aside, he was full of earth, unmovable, unstoppable, the greatest force in existence. He was also full of darkness, hidden, empty, the most devious force in existence.


    The lord seemed surprised that Siren was still alive. He barely got his weapon up in time to block. His stance was wrong, his form was wrong, and the block failed. The artifact ax smashed the sword into the lord¡¯s face. He swung the steel rim of his shield into the lord¡¯s skull. It did not break, but it was smashed back. Siren next swing was dodged, but the kick landed, staggering the lord.


    The lord looked at the boot which was barely damaged by rot, ¡°dual elemental?¡±


    Siren did not answer, he just kept attacking. He was like a lumberjack and this lord was his forest. Stamina showed itself to be Sirens greatest weakness. The earth was unstoppable, but he was not. All the shadow essence around healed the lord, its body was completely made of essence, with fewer vitals the lord could afford a riskier approach.


    He narrowed his eyes and kept swinging. Just because the elemental lord was three times stronger and faster, did not mean that it was three times better. It had been sitting on its throne since its birth, while Siren had been fighting from his youth. He had not always been a peak tier three powerhouse of the caldera.


    A lucky strike allowed him to cut the elementals arm off. He took a jagged cut from a thrust that went just over the rim of his shield. Both of them ignored the injuries. A few minutes later the elemental lord had regenerated its arm, while Siren had been losing blood.


    The duel became a battle of attrition, where only one participant could even bleed.

 33. Thunder Lord

    Siren was breathing heavily, blood dripped from the fingers of his injured arm. The black sword the elemental lord had sheared through his armor and despite the earth essence, it still cut deep enough to bleed. He was a soldier, flowing blood was the proof of life. So he gritted his teeth and raised his ax with his good hand.


    The fight with the rest of the lesser elementals was winding down, Siren did not know who was winning. He assumed it was his people, the white light that the illuminators could attack with flashed every once in a while. Only a few more minutes and Siren would get some help. A few minutes was a long time.


    ¡°I am not like those useless sovereigns, I kill my prey before a saint can show up,¡± The elemental lord hissed.


    Siren was confused by this, why would a priest be a problem. Dark was not an evil element, just creepy. He contemplated throwing his shield aside, the arm it was strapped to was injured, so he could not really use it. It still protected his left side, after a brief assessment he decided would be worth the penalty to his speed.


    He charged in, it was better to be on the offense when facing an enemy like this. The elemental lord fought like an assassin, he would lose in psychological warfare, but had greater ability in direct combat.


    The lord sneered as it parried Sirens sword, only to get kicked into the wall. Siren followed up, but the lord side stepped and slashed at Sirens ribs. The shield turned out to be a good idea as the sword rasped off it. Unfortunately his ax got wedged in the wall. Siren groaned inwardly, his peak tier three abilities made ridiculous situations like this possible. The wall was made of metal, normally cutting through two inches of it was not possible, but Siren was also the strongest person he knew.


    He had to release his weapon and grab his shield with his good hand. Another strike slammed into the shield, taking another chunk out of it. The elemental lord¡¯s oversized scimitar was surprisingly capable of carving the ironwood face of Sirens shield apart, despite scimitars being designed to cut though cloth armor.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them up the tunnel,¡± Those words were shouted by Kale, ¡°Get them, every one will die if to many escape.¡±


    No, Siren wanted to scream. He needed help, kill the lord first then his minions. Another blow staggered Siren and he was out of luck. He tripped over a weight from one of the pieces of equipment. Landing shield up he took another strike, before a heavy weight landed on the shield. Siren¡¯s arms buckled and the shield was forced down into his chest.


    He found himself staring up at the skull face of the elemental lord. It looked evil, no skin on the face, no hair, and void like eyes. The point of the sword artifact was hovering just above his nose. Siren tried to move the shield, but the lord had his foot on top of it, he tried arching his back, but whatever this elemental was made of it was heavier than a human.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you, minus the earth affinity we are the same. Both soldiers serving a master,¡± The elemental lord paused for a moment, ¡°unfortunately, we are soldiers on opposite sides, so we kill each other. Just tell me where the Lord of the Underworld is and you can go, you can even warn your friends and leave if serving the Lord of the Underworld is not to your taste.¡±


    ¡°Screw you,¡± Siren spat at him.


    ¡°I am not familiar with that saying, but I assume that means you will keep your silence,¡± The elemental lord sighed, he would kill as many people as he needed to in order to find his master, ¡°To bad.¡±


    He struck. The sword was fast, but there was something faster. Siren¡¯s eyes widened as a flash of white light blinded him. Darkness was especially vulnerable to light, but Sirens dark kern made his eyes more resistant to changes in lighting. That meant he had a clear view as some one body checked the elemental lord.


    ¡°So, I thought the armor would make him heavier, weird,¡± Siren looked over and saw Luke of all people looking confused at the elemental lord while holding a glow stone.


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    ¡°Luke, what was that,¡± Siren groaned as he climbed to his feet.


    ¡°It was a body slam,¡± Luke¡¯s confused expression was now directed at Siren, ¡°So, is that not something they teach you at murder school.¡±


    Siren was stuck halfway between confused, relieved and exasperated. On one hand he was alive on the other he was not sure how, did Luke also have a light kern. If so why was he holding a glow stone. Whatever the case, Siren was not in the right state to be picky about who helped him.


    ¡°No, Yes, that¡¯s not what I meant, what was the light?¡± Siren asked.


    ¡°Its a secret, VIP only, you are just a ¡®P¡¯.¡± Luke said.


    Siren saw that Luke was not concerned about the lord getting back to its feet. That meant he did not see it as a threat. While Siren was not willing to bet everything on this as young people were stupid, he did believe he had a chance to live now. Siren was more than capable of keeping the elemental lord¡¯s attention long enough for Luke to behead him with one of Tristan¡¯s daggers.


    ¡°So how are we going to deal with him?¡± Siren asked, ¡°I assume you have a plan?¡±


    ¡°Beat what ever substitute he has for crap out of him,¡± Luke said, while cracking his neck, ¡°Also there is no we old man, you had your chance.¡±


    The elemental lord got back to his feet, he was less calm then before, ¡°How can you do that, you¡¯re not a hero, laws should be out of your reach.¡±


    ¡°My dad was a real piece of work,¡± Luke said.


    The elemental glanced at Siren and back to Luke. Was that fear that he saw in its eyes, that couldn¡¯t be right. It started yelling ¡°Why do you stand between me and my master? We have no enmity with you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re strong, your creepy, and your kind kill my kind,¡± Luke held up three fingers, ¡°Also, you do realize you¡¯re acting like a dog waiting for its owner to get home.¡±


    The elemental lord had enough. It charged at Luke with it sword raised for an overhead chop. Siren stumbled foreword, Luke was about to die and he had a shield. He was to slow.


    Luke stepped foreword just as the elemental lord reached him, into a long stance. It the same motion he back handed the flat of the scimitar with the metal plate on the back of his snakeskin gauntlet. His other hand shot out in a straight punch at the lords diaphragm. Then white light exploded from both hands and the elemental lord was launched backward.


    This time Siren got a good look at it. It was not a part of light essence at all, Luke was using lightning. He remembered Luke going to the alchemist for some knives, but did he have his gauntlets treated as well. That idea was immediately shot down as Luke dashed to the elemental lord and kicked him. Lighting came from the toe of his boot and blasted the lord into the wall.


    ¡°Take this,¡± Luke tossed something at Siren.


    He stared blankly at the scimitar that had given him so much grief. Now it was tossed aside like trash, it stabbed point first into the floor beside Siren. It was the last artifact that he needed to advance to tier four, ¡°Uh thank you.¡±


    Luke dashed to the elemental lord, it had its back against the wall, literally. So he punched it again, discharging electricity into its face. He almost felt bad for the creature, it was an assassin. If its abilities were quantified numerically most of its points would be in agility, memory, and stealth. Those were the things needed for espionage, great for assassins, but this was a brawl.


    Next came a chop to its neck. Tristan¡¯s knife only needed a single strike to decapitate the elemental. Normally that would not be lethal to an elemental, but this one was a combination of three different elementals. Separating the brain elemental would actually cripple its intelligence and it would need to regenerate a head to get the brain back.


    The elemental lord saw the blow coming and chose to tackle Luke. It turned a decapitation into a deep cut, but it also weighed around three hundred pounds which was more than enough to knock Luke over. Now on the floor, they fought for control of the knife. The elemental was stronger, but it needed to keep track of Luke¡¯s hands. If he got one free he would punch the elemental into the ceiling.


    The lord had connected Luke¡¯s lightning to the steel plates on his gloves, but it had forgotten about his steel toed boots. A flash of light and a moment later the elemental lords legs were blown off. Luke had managed to position both feet next to a knee while holding the elemental in place.


    He used the distraction of the force leg amputation, to punch the elemental lord in the face. It was not a strong blow, but the lightning was more than enough. The lord slammed into a wall and slid down it.


    Luke walked over to the crippled elemental, it looked back at him with hatred, ¡°the Lord of the Underworld will kill you and your whole family.¡±


    Luke shrugged, his family was dead, so what did he care. He cut the elementals head off, then proceeded to stab its brain, heart, and stomach to destroy its centers of power. He sighed that had been disappointing. He got lost in thought as he watched the body melt into a black puddle before vaporizing into more black smoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that¡¯s over,¡± Siren said, not really believing the one sided beat down he had witnessed.


    ¡°Tar!¡± Luke said, holding up a finger like he had an epiphany.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Siren did not follow.


    ¡°He had tar, I beat the tar out of him!¡±

 34. Bones aren’t Humerus

    Something made a cracking noise. Tristan¡¯s head swiveled to look at the entrance of the mine, ¡°What was that?¡±


    Conni groaned, getting back into a ready stance, ¡°I don¡¯t think its over.¡±


    Tristan gritted his teeth, this was the first time he would have to face danger without a safety net. With the crazy miner Carl, he had Luke right beside him. When the water elementals were released, he had Siren. Today he even had Olfred of all people. He would not let that trend continue, it was time that he pulled his own weight. Or at least more than Olfred.


    A skeletal black hand gripped the edge of the tunnel, the stone around its fingers did not crack. That was a good sign, it meant that he elemental was less than tier five. He wanted to say lower than Luke, but he had no idea what the hell Luke was.


    The skeleton exited the mine, then another, and another. In total four stepped out. Tristans eyes widened, he was expecting one, they could dog pile one. The only fighters left were Olfred and his team, Conni, and if you stretched the definition of fighter, Tristan. Chase was still sleeping along with most everyone else. Sun Set was awake, but her hands were covered in what looked like early stage necrosis.


    So it was six on four, though the elementals still had the kern advantage. Tristan gripped his sword breaker, all he had to do was stab the heart, that was its weak spot. The only weak spot. It was not as if having ones heart be vulnerable to knives was a real weakness, it was normal.


    Conni stepped into a fencers stance, ¡°Olfred, you take the two on the right, Tristan and I will take the two on the left. Help us as soon as you finish yours off.¡±


    If Conni was sure that they could take the elementals, then they were most likely tier three. There was a brief pause as the elementals inspected their surroundings, while the miners inspected them. Then Conni dashed forward like a snake. The attempt on the elemental¡¯s heart was predicated on the fact that it saw with eyes. These elementals were blind only seen the world through the movement of dark essence. Conni¡¯s shadow betrayed him, causing him to miss his surprise attack.


    Tristan copied Conni, darting at the elemental. He was not as graceful, but the elementals bones were not able to shunt his blade aside like Conni¡¯s artifact. The sword breaker cleanly cut the forearm off at a seventy degree angle. At first Tristan was elated, he had injured an elemental on purpose. Then it stabbed him in the arm with its freshly sharpened bones.


    Tristan shouted in pain. It actually hurt a lot less than he thought it would. He supposed that was the shock or adrenaline kicking in. Whatever it was, he did not want it to happen again. With the arm extended Tristan had a direct path to the rib cage. He slashed down the ribs on its left side.


    The edge of his knife was only an inch from the heart when the elemental¡¯s free hand caught his wrist. It squeezed, grinding his bones together. Tristan was suddenly glad that shadow essence had a much less dramatic effect on strength than earth essence. He would have a missing hand, instead of a broken hand.


    The elemental used the bone wedged into his arm and the grip on his wrist to throw Tristan. He was not small, but he also was not very heavy. That allowed him to get some good airtime, before crashing and rolling along the ground. It was only a distance of ten feet, but it hurt like it was much farther.


    The distance allowed Tristan to see how far away help was. Conni was occupied, but he was slowly winning. He was to far away, he was wearing down the bones before cutting them off. Tristan turned his attention to Olfred. His team was getting destroyed. The shovels and pick axes were not designed to handle the rigidity of the elemental¡¯s bones. Without a way to target the heart, the elemental could basically do whatever it wanted with the group. Tristan was occupied and could not slice off the legs for them.


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    So he was on his own. Tristan looked at himself and realized how hurt he was. This was the most injured he had ever been, even the injuries from the grand elder were less dangerous. Fortunately he had grown, he had gotten used to his muscles hurting bones being bruised and that had trained his focus. He looked at his hands and tightened the working one on his knife. Laboriously he regained his feet and got ready to charge right back at his elemental.


    That was until he saw something awful. The essence reservoir in his dagger had turned clear like glass. It would not cut through anything without essence. How did it run out, he had used it more testing it on tree branches when coming back from the alchemist than he had today. There was only one real possibility.


    What if the black fog sapped essence as opposed to putting people to sleep. When someone was low on essence they got tired, sleeping was the best way to restock on essence after all. Normally that would not effect tools, but an essence reservoir was literally designed to have essence siphoned from it.


    Tristan took a deep breath, Hadrid said that he could refill it. He had never used his essence for anything. There were no metal artifacts around to practice on. He tried wishing his metal essence into his knife, and got nothing. The dark elemental was coming, he had to come up with an alternative.


    Essence was in the blood, right. Well he was covered in his own blood right now. In desperation, Tristan shoved the hilt of his knife into the hole in his arm. This time it hurt, his broken wrist hurt, holding the knife, his arm hurt, his bones hurt. Bones? There was a feeling of something being drained from him. His bones felt like something was constricting them, like a sponge being squeezed. Tristan had no idea what bones had to do with blood, but he did not care.


    The elemental was here. Unlike a person who would taunt their weakened enemy, the elemental simply stabbed the kneeling Tristan. Tristan however was not going to have any of this. He swiped his blade through the femurs, which were currently at eye level. Gravity took hold of the elemental, sending it to the ground.


    Tristan did not waste the opportunity, he lunged forward tackling the still falling elemental. He felt something in his legs give, but it was now or never. Luke had told him it was stupid to grapple a significantly stronger foe. Well Luke should have gotten him something longer than a knife then. The elemental grabbed Tristan by the face, squeezing hard enough to cut Tristans cheeks on his own teeth.


    He felt something in his jaw crack but the elemental had grabbed the wrong thing. It should hav grabbed his wrist. Tristan shoved the knife through its rib cage. The reservoir was barely glowing, and the dark essence in the heart seemed to eat away at the reserves. Tristan did not care, he just wanted to live. The blade punched through the heart and into the dirt. The elemental dissolved into an inky smoke, leaving Tristan face down in the dirt. Dirt had never felt so comfortable.


    Someone yelled in pain. Tristan tried to push the voice away, he was to tired right now. However he recognized the voice, it was Conni. He could count the people who cared about him without entering the double digits. Conni was one of them. Tristan rolled over to see a one armed elemental, wielding its other arm like a club.


    It was an odd sight, but the extra range it gave the elemental was devastating for Conni. The elemental was already stronger and more resilient than him, now that it had a force multiplier, Conni would die as soon as he got hit.


    Tristan struggled to his feet, after he beat his elemental, the pain hit him. It was way worse than his meeting with Sai. He hurt in places that did not make sense, why did his shins hurt, it felt like he broke a bone, but he was not sure how. The next issue was the knife, it was all but out of essence. Well more blood should fix that.


    Tristan reversed the knife and shoved the faintly silver marble into his mouth. It was way better than his arms, and all the cuts inside filled his mouth with blood The tightness returned, and with it came oppressive tiredness. He just wanted to sleep. The edges of his vision darkened and he wondered if this was how Chase felt before he collapsed.


    If there were observers, they would have witnessed an odd sight. A sixteen year old limping across a battle field, covered in dust and blood, while sucking on the hilt of a knife like a lollipop. His threat was so low that the elemental did not even notice him. The dark essence reeked of death after all.


    Tristan pulled the knife out of his mouth. About halfway there, the tightness on his bones had reached a climax. His body had no more metal essence to give, but it was enough to stab a single elemental. He shoved his blade through the back of the ignorant skeleton. In a daze, he watched it collapse.


    Well, he had done enough. Tristan decided it was probably Ok to follow it to the ground. He deserved a nap.

 35. Tier One

    Normally when someone regains consciousness it starts with awareness, followed by sensation. Typically pain, if the reason for their state was injury. Then comes memory and possibly screaming. That is what Tristan thought at least.


    That is not how it went for him. Tristan¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t open but he could feel something. It was massive and cruel, but not in a malevolent way. Like a drill sergeant it hovered behind him, its existence was designed to keep him alive, not happy. As soon as Tristans consciousness returned he focused on the presence, however no matter how hard he focused he could not find it. It seemed that the harder he focused on it the further away it became. His focus was broken by feeling.


    Tristan yelped in pain as soon as the feeling returned. All his bones felt tingly and itchy, it was a very unexpected feeling. Itchy bones did not sound like a big deal, but it was very unsettling. His arm throbbed dully, and his left hand only hurt when he moved it. Then something worse happened.


    ¡°He¡¯s awake, give him the smoothie,¡± It was Sun Set.


    Why was she sitting over him, then the most disgusting substance was given to him. Tristan gagged on Luke¡¯s health drink. Hadrid had called it a protein shake? Maybe Hadrid¡¯s dislike of Luke could be traced back to this shake. Tristan soldiered through the horrible taste, then he felt two hands pushing on his sternum. It tingled, but it was not uncomfortable.


    Tristan opened his eyes and saw Sun Set¡¯s pretty face looking down at him. He smiled up at her, unless they both died and went to heaven, that meant he was alive. The fact that Sun Set was also smiling told Tristan that things had gone well. He knew that she was terrible at concealing her emotions, it was ine of the reasons everyone liked her.


    Lukes face interposed his face between Tristan and Sun Set, ¡°So, I¡¯m glad your not dead. Alls well that ends.¡±


    He was definitely alive, no way Luke went to the same place as Sun Set, ¡°Well,¡¯ you mean ¡®ends well¡¯ right?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Luke said with a shrug, ¡°End your problems before they end you, its a very good saying.¡±


    Tristan sat up, he was currently on a mat in Conni¡¯s house. The table was pushed off to the side and Olfred and his team were playing dice under it. Most had various parts of their body bandaged and splinted. Conni himself sat on a couch, he looked exhausted but he was uninjured. There were some bruises forming on his shoulder and lower arm, but he was unharmed.


    Tristan looked around the house, something was off, but he did not know what it was. There were objects in his surroundings that seemed to pull his attention. The pots in the sink, the door frame, something outside that he could not even see. The thing outside moved to the door, causing Tristans eyes to widen.


    Siren opened the door, he was still crusted in blood and dirt. His armor looked dented and worn. The only object on him that was clean was a long black sword. It was curved and looked to be good for slashing. It was not a style that Tristan was familiar with and he was uncertain of its practicality. The warriors of the caldera used mostly straight blades, many mythical beasts had thick hides and a stab had a greater chance of getting through. This looked like it was made for killing people not animals.


    ¡°Good job kid,¡° Siren nodded to Tristan, he looked over at Luke with a conflicted expression, ¡°Its time for you to explain some things.¡±


    Luke gave Siren a wolffish grin, ¡°No, it does not concern you.¡±


    Tristan frowned at Luke. Siren did not ask for much, so what would Luke need to explain. He narrowed his eyes at Siren, putting some facts together. Siren had taken a brutal beating, Luke had not. Siren should have been able to handle tier three elementals with no issue, so that meant that there had been something even bigger down in the mine.


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    ¡°Luke, what did you do?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke stared to give an answer. He had intended to give an irritating one to get a reaction, but he watched Tristan¡¯s eyes slide. Instead of keeping eye contact, his gaze followed something moving along the main road and out of camp. Luke checked the window and saw that there was a cart of ore leaving, it was almost forty-five feet away.


    Luke sighed and changed his words, ¡°Well, I guess it does concern you.¡± Luke stood and started walking to the door, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Siren is coming along,¡± Tristan said.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°Its his life to play with, I am not responsible if he kills himself because of what I tell you.¡±


    Siren and Tristan looked at each other, confused. The warrior rolled his eyes at Luke, he was not scared, no warrior worth their steel would be. Siren extended a hand to help Tristan up. When he took the offered hand, he focused on standing.


    His bones ached, his heart ached, his injuries ached, everything else felt great. Tristan stood and looked at his legs, nothing different in them, yet he felt light. It was weird to feel lighter, he wondered if there was still any adrenaline left in his body. He walked to the door and tried to open it.


    Tristan frowned, he had basically hit the door with a palm strike. It was way more force than he intended to use. Frowning he pushed the door open slowly. It was like his body had forgotten about moderation. Tristan growled.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Siren asked, to him it looked like Tristans aggressive actions showed anger.


    ¡°I think I have a brain injury, a concussion may be,¡± Tristan said while staring at his hand, ¡°I can¡¯t seem to get my body to do what I need it to.¡±


    Siren sighed, ¡°Its possible, though its more likely to be dark essence corruption.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Dark essence can do that? That sounds evil?¡±


    They followed Luke out of the base camp and entered the pinewood forest. Siren explained to Tristan, ¡°No, not evil. Making something less than it currently is has many positive applications. For instance, it can be used to reverse mixtures, a crafter could render steel down into iron, or an artist could use it to finely control the amount of dyes when mixing his paint.¡±


    Tristan though back to Shadow Fist how had he used it. Truthfully, his father focused his abilities exclusively in battle and mostly to little effect. He was not a high enough tier to break down humans and his combat strength came mostly his ability to temporarily blind people and his martial arts. There was a lot of wasted potential.


    Luke stopped at a random clearing with a rock in the center. He went and sat on it while waiting for his slower companions to show up. Tristan looked around, they had passed several rises and falls in the landscape, so he could not see the base camp. They would not be able to see him either, the dirt and trees made that impossible. Tristan wondered what was so sensitive that Luke would not risk the miners overhearing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go down easy,¡± Siren said.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t need you to, we are far enough away, and the investigation would find scorch marks everywhere.¡±


    Tristan looked back and forth. Why were the two of them threatening each other. Also, why did Luke seem to have the superior position. The tenseness in Siren showed clearly that even the veteran believed he would lose. It was not a question of what the result would be, simply how long it would take.


    ¡°OK, what is going on?¡± Tristan yelled.


    Luke smirked, ¡°I am about to share a very dangerous secret that Siren might want to silence. If he thinks that I am a danger, this is one of his only chances to stop me.¡±


    Tristan stopped and thought, ¡°What could make him want to kill you. I mean you are kind of a psycho, but you don¡¯t just randomly cause issues.¡±


    Luke held up one finger, ¡°Yet. I have a tier zero air kern with tier zero potential.¡±


    Tristan almost called Luke a liar, but he continued after priming his audience, ¡°I am currently on the edge of breaking into tier five, and in twenty or so years, I will become a tier six and step in heroic realm. At that time no one in this Caldera will be able to stop me then.¡±


    Tristans mind almost went blank. Luke a hero, he would be a match for the grand ancestor. He would be more powerful than Hadrid, and the crabby alchemist was tough enough to tell the whole caldera to leave him alone and they listened.


    ¡°Tristan,¡± Luke said, ¡°I may have pushed you in this direction, but you still discovered it on your own. You are now tier one with tier zero potential.¡±

 36. Babysitter

    Tristan¡¯s brain could not comprehend the last part, so he focused on the first, ¡°How could you be a hero? That¡¯s not possible.¡±


    Siren narrowed his eyes. He had seen the unbelievable power that Luke had exhibited. He had cut through an elemental lord like it was a new recruit. Sure the elemental was three stacked elementals of different types, but their abilities were additive, putting its its physical capabilities somewhere around high tier five or low tier six.


    If Luke could really increase his tiers beyond his potential without artifacts, this really was the only time to stop a potential threat to the Caldera. He had seen how Luke had dealt with Carl several years ago. The thought of an Elder ticking one of his triggers and getting their city annihilated was unsettling and disturbingly likely.


    Luke rolled his eyes, ¡°So, did someone turn your ears off or something? I said you are a tier one now, haven¡¯t you noticed how the area of your metal sense has gone up by about fifty percent, thats how I noticed it in the first place.¡±


    Tristan frowned in thought. It was true, his attention had been drawn by the metal in his surroundings. Because they were sitting on top of a mine he had not noticed the oddity of the situation. He had simply assumed that it was a situation created by the previous violence. However, his trouble with movement could be attributed to higher physical capabilities, essence did reinforce the body after all.


    ¡°Ok, say that is true, how is it possible,¡± Tristan thought he should be excited, but he was suspicious instead. Siren looked like he believed Luke, so something crazy really did go down in the mine.


    ¡°Are you familiar to what happens to any part of the human body that breaks and heals properly?¡± Luke said. Both Siren and Tristan looked blankly at him, ¡°So neither of you know anything. When a bone breaks it heals denser and stronger, when a muscle tears it heals bigger and stronger, when a kern cracks.¡±


    Luke motioned like he was waiting for them to complete his sentence, Tristan obliged, ¡°you die, everyone knows that when a body can¡¯t hold essence, it collapses in on itself. A body can¡¯t support itself without essence to reinforce it.¡±


    Luke sighed, ¡°Yes that¡¯s true, most of the time. My father found a way to side step that issue. Believe it or not he was a miner here several decades ago and during that time he found a laboratory. Many of Hardrid¡¯s tools actually come from that excavation. However he was the only one who knew what the laboratory was for, because he ran off with the records.¡±


    ¡°Those should have gone to the previous Elder Forest,¡± Siren said indignantly.


    ¡°Sure, but I don¡¯t care. Anyway, the body holds back about half of its true capabilities, and the same is true of the kern. What he learned was that if you were genuinely in danger that last half would be used to preserve your own life, and once exhausted the kern would crack. Your right that the body would collapse if the kern is drained. However, what if you could preserve life for the few minutes or hours it takes the body to absorb the essence needed to fix your kern?¡±


    ¡°I guess it would come back more robustly,¡± Tristan did not sound sure of himself. This was a line of thought he had never considered before.


    Siren was not convinced, ¡°I have seen scores of desperate soldiers exhausting their kerns to survive, only to die when it cracked. None of them ever survived.¡±


    ¡°They were unfortunate to be tier three, the more essence your body naturally holds, the greater the stress on said body,¡± Luke grinned, ¡°Working for your power has perks that being born with it lacks.¡±


    Siren narrowed his eyes, he was at the peak of tier three. That meant that the stress on his body would be almost half again greater than his soldiers. If he decided to break into tier four by absorbing the essence in his new sword, the process would be even more difficult. If he had known there was another way, one that he could accomplish by simply doing his job, he would have jumped at it.


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    ¡°My father spent his days trying to minimize the effects. Its the reason why he became known as a criminal, all innovation costs something. Rail¡¯s innovation costed lives.¡± Luke said, ¡°He found that the issue was the bodies reliance on essence. It is a reliance that a tier zero kern nearly lack. In other words, if a tier zero body is at the peak of its physical capabilities and some sort of healing agent is available, survival is the likeliest outcome.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you kept giving me that shake,¡± Tristan asked. He could still taste the concoction in the back of his throat.


    Luke nodded, ¡°I kept pushing air essence into you, it made your muscles heal overnight, expediting your training. The protein shake also prolonged your life to the point you could survive on your own. Don¡¯t worry, the next one is less dangerous.¡±


    Siren frowned, ¡°Next one, it sounds to me that you need to be in mortal danger, and barely survive it. Why would anyone want a ¡®next time¡¯.¡±


    Luke shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, Tristan, why would someone want a next time.¡±


    Once he heard there was a way out of his circumstances a fire had lit in Tristans heart. Right now no one would grieve his death. Maybe his mother would, but Shadow Fist would make sure that she would never hear. He would not need money or artifacts, he would just need something to oppose him. With how metal kerns were treated outside the mine, he would have no shortage of people trying to get rid of him.


    Tristan clenched his fist, ¡°It is the only way for anyone like me to be anything but oppressed.¡±


    Siren¡¯s eyes widened. Tristan had seemed harmless, sure he had the blood of a silver devil, but what did that matter. It did not, so long as he could be controlled. The ability to increase his kern beyond his potential massively increased he potential danger, high tier metal kerns were like cockroaches, almost impossible to kill. Even if the myths were false, Siren would not be surprised if Tristan took revenge on the Forest Caldera for abandoning him.


    ¡°You see, commander,¡± Luke said, ¡°Bugs do not appreciate being stepped on. Is that not reason enough?¡±


    Tristan was exited, but he did see a flaw in the situation. If his tier kept rising eventually someone would notice, even one more tier would put him into the top ten percent of the caldera. A tier two, no matter who it was would not be able to survive a manhunt sponsored by their entire nation.


    What would most likely happen was that word would get out. Elder Forest would get scared and send Shadow Fist after Tristan. Shadow Fist would get the beating of his life if he met Tristan, simply due to Tristans much more intensive daily routine. He would die if he met Luke, and despite the feelings of abandonment, that was not something he wanted.


    Elder Forest would then be justified in sending out a couple dozen warriors and even Luke could not deal with that. Tristan looked up at his friend, well he probably could not deal with that.


    ¡°You think I step on you?¡± Siren seemed incredulous.


    Siren had done his best to treat the rejects and criminals at the mine with the upmost respect. He made sure to treat everyone based on the contribution that they made, that preserved as much fairness as possible.


    Luke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, ¡°Siren, you are only still alive because you are not that way. I had a good opportunity to get rid of any threat in the mine, no you are here specifically because you keep to your honor and your word. You owe me a life.¡±


    Siren nodded slowly, he was a man driven by duty. Despite the fact that the elemental lord was stronger, he had stayed out of duty. Siren could have easily escaped, the lord was not after his life after all. Luke would have still dealt with it, however Siren¡¯s conscience would not let him abandon his duty.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± he said skeptically, he was not sure what Luke wanted from him.


    ¡°Simple, you are about to achieve a tier four kern, find some excuse to head any guard post or military detail in our vicinity. Overlook the increase in our abilities until we can stand on our own,¡± Luke said, ¡°It should be at most five years until that time.¡±


    ¡°You said that you needed life and death fights to progress, I will not let you slaughter random people, and I would fail in this task if you died,¡± Siren said indignantly.


    Luke was asking him do do something impossible, however Luke simply waved his hand like it did not matter, ¡°I never asked for protection, I asked for information suppression. If I kill someone, that¡¯s my problem, not yours.¡±


    Siren nodded, ¡°This proposal is reasonable, five years of babysitting seems like a rather small task in exchange for my life, but I don¡¯t like debts either.¡±

 37. Apocalyptic Chicken

    A chicken walked through the streets of a city. He was sickly and feathers were falling out, but he had to hide. He did not know why he had to hide. A chickens mind was not deep, so he did not question the desire. If he felt that he had to hide, then hiding must make him happy.He wanted to be happy. Looking around he saw something that he wanted desperately.


    Bird seed.


    A burly man was carrying bags of the stuff into a three story building. One of the corners of the bags had come undone and a slight trickle of the perfect grains fell to the floor. The chicken could not just leave those there, he would pick them up. As the door was propped open the chicken followed the man in.


    The trail of grains went from the bottom floor, up two flights of stairs and into a side room. While the chicken was busy eating his food ,he could hear two deep voices arguing. One reminded the chicken of the farmer while the other reminded him of the farm hand, which the chicken had always called minion. The chicken never really liked the minion, he always took the hens eggs.


    Farmer said, ¡°When can you send my message to the Plain Caldera. You know I can¡¯t go there without a certificate, I¡¯ll get imprisoned for trespassing.¡±


    Minion sighed, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame me, Elder Plain has stopped sending the pigeons back. I have six dozen messenger birds that are just eating seed right now. Until I get word that they¡¯ll stop stealing my birds, it won¡¯t help to send anything there.¡±


    Farmer grumbled, ¡°I¡¯m sure that coward leader of theirs would kill us all if he could.¡±


    Minion chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m sure, the new Elder Grass has sure made him angry with the price hikes on produce.¡±


    Farmer seemed happy, ¡°He should bleed every talent that he can out of those self righteous bastards.¡±


    The chicken entered another room, this one had bags of the holy seed in it. They were stacked as high as his head, it was glorious. He decided that this would be the perfect place to take a nap. The only thing that would make it better would be if the cheeping from above quieted down. Farmer stomped down the steps and left while minion grumbled in his office.


    The messenger pigeons watched the chicken fall asleep. He was the only interesting thing to come wondering in here in the last few months. After half a day of nothing the pigeons lost interest, that was until a muffled cracking noise caught their attention.


    They looked over to see a creature with a redish shell crawling out of the chickens chest cavity. It used one of its eight legs to drag the chicken behind the pile of bags. The newly born ghost crab spent the next few days consuming the chicken, bones and all. Minion came in several times to feed the pigeons and while he wondered why they were so riled up, he never investigated it.


    Ghost crabs were the feeder animals on the mythical beast food chain, because of this their first order of business was to secure the next generation of crabs. After the chicken was gone and its carapace had hardened, the mythical beast focused on its next victims. Its needle pointed legs had no trouble getting a grip on the rough hewn table.


    The pigeons started screeching, trying to get minion¡¯s attention. Unfortunately they had done this a lot over the last few days, minion had long gotten used to ignoring them. The crab clung to the side of the cage, the cage made it extremely easy to sting each of the birds in the chest. In less than five minutes, it had planted two dozen eggs.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Ghost crabs were not known for their intelligence, it did not cross the crab¡¯s mind to release the birds. That would have been the end of it, if other ghost crabs had not started popping up all around the city. Hundreds of rats and chickens were implanted and hatched into a wave of ghost crabs that quickly turned every pet and pest into incubators. Many humans suffered a similar fate, though the one month incubation time let them remove the egg with plenty of time to spare.


    The Grass Caldera was at its breaking point. Then the first child died, and that was enough. The Grass Caldera needed help and the Plain Caldera was all too ready to assist.


    Minion walked into the bird room and squinted at his birds. They were acting odd. Whatever, he had a message to deliver. Asking for help from the Plain Caldera felt like a surrender. He snorted, scratching his stomach, grabbing a pen and paper he wrote a note asking for help and placed it in a tube.


    ¡°It¡¯s not even mosquito season yet,¡± Minion grumbled, he had received several bites over the last few days.


    He opened the gate to the pigeon cage. To his surprise, the birds swarmed out. The panic and desperation they showed caused minion to flinch back and they escaped. Cursing, he held his scratched up hand, what had gotten into those birds. Pigeons as a whole were not thought well of, however messenger pigeons were different. They were well trained, they would only flee like that if there was something they were afraid of.


    Grumbling, minion gave up on his birds. He had left a window open and they might never come back. The message would have to be sent by a courier, and he would have to pay the courier. Birds were cheaper than people.


    The pigeons were flying over the plains, following their instincts. They had been trained to go to the Plain Caldera, but as they entered the city a feeling of extreme drowsiness over took them. Soon they started looking for places to sleep, it could not be just anywhere, a cat might get them.


    Ordinarily they would have went to the pigeon holder in the Plain Caldera, and a few did. Most roosted on top of buildings, even inside if they could get in. The sun set as almost two dozen ghost crab time bombs were set in the Plain Caldera.


    In a tavern head warrior Vin was celebrating with his men. They had just gotten a letter confirming the submission of the Grass Caldera. They were in a bar, drinking themselves into unconsciousness. Seven men and twelve women were loudly laughing and spilling alcohol everywhere. Vin would never understand why his team wanted a pretty girl on each lap.


    While he did drink quite a bit and sing some stupid songs, once midnight hit, he decided to head home. The Inn patron was a good friend, he had let the excited warriors have the run of the place. He only had a tier one air kern and used it to put bubbles in some of his more expensive drinks. The owner had decided that spending time with a bunch of drunken men two tiers stronger than him was a bad idea. Wisely, he had taken his teenage daughter who waited tables home for the night.


    Vin left the inn and staggered home. In his drunken state he had forgotten to close the door. Despite the joyous occasion, he had to work the next day. Soon the Plain Caldera would send out a subjugation force to bing back the lesser castes and less importantly, kill a few crabs. Vin was the one who would get to lead that expedition and it would let him put his name in history as a champion of the caldera. Well so long as no one found out he helped plan the crabs in the first place.


    After the drunk warrior left the light leaking through the open doorway attracted a new born ghost crab. The beast was small no bigger than a fist, even if people noticed it in the twilight of sun set, they would assume it to be a rat. It scuttled in and was surprised to find twelve easy marks. There was also a few rats to eat, so it was happy. The rooms above were also filled with members of the warrior caste, sent by other Claderas to help contain the plague in the Grass Caldera.


    The Elders had hoped to quietly deal with the issue, but that evening, almost fifty tier three warriors were stung while they slept. One would think that a warrior would be able to hear it approach and definitely wake up with the sting. Many did, it was just that people rarely looked up when something threatened them so most warriors chalked it up to a mosquito bite.


    The ghost crab had little to no intelligence, making it unaware of the massive mental blow it had just dealt the Caldera. It was just happy that it could find some food. It happily munched away on the rodent population, doing a much better job than the cat ever did and wondered off to create more havoc elsewhere.

 38. Volunteers

    A month passed where Tristan did not do much more than find new metal and train with Luke. Siren had started giving them pointers, the man had insane insight into predictive combat. Tristan was excited as, before the martial arts of a warrior would be useless. The overwhelming amount of essence in their body allowed them to take risks and achieve movements that were impractical for people like Tristan. With the potential to someday reach tier three it was no longer an impossibility.


    Siren finished absorbing the dark essence from the sword in that time. It was a process different to what Tristan expected. Just like his knives absorbed metal essence from himself, Siren¡¯s weapon absorbed dark essence from the environment. All he had to do was reverse the the flow. It permanently damaged the tool, but at least Siren was now tier four.


    It was on one day in spring that a messenger from the Forest Caldera arrived. Conni had him wait so he could gather everyone. It took around thirty minutes, as everyone in the mine was several miles away.


    Once they were gathered in the dirt yard in front of the mine entrance, the messenger pulled a clip board out of a bag, ¡°Citizens of the Forest Caldera!¡± The man yelled, causing everyone to jump, ¡°The five elders have declared an emergency gathering of military forces to the Lake, River, and Stone Calderas.¡±


    Tristan was surprised. Five elders, there were six elders originally. What in the world was going on, the Forest Caldera was just an hour and a half run down the road, that meant Tristan would have heard if something had happened to it. That meant that there was something wrong with the Grass or Plain Calderas. The fact that the messenger came here meant that whatever was going on did not mandate the tier three warriors being removed from the walls. The Elders were looking for tier one and two bodies to throw at their problem.


    The Crier continued, ¡°It is mandatory for all people with a tier two or three kern at this location to gather at the Lake Caldera. Tier one volunteers will be accepted. Tier Zero will be rejected.¡±


    Luke chuckled and whispered, ¡°watch this,¡± Tristan watched him curiously, ¡°SIR! What about tier four kerns, do they have to go?¡±


    The crier narrowed his eyes, ¡°No need to yell. And there are no tier fours, so no.¡±


    Tristan frowned. That had to be a lie, maybe it was some kind of government secret. When he was still thirteen, he would have said that tier four was an impossible goal. Now he had met Luke and Siren who were both tier four, Rail was a hero, putting him somewhere at or above tier six, and Hadrid was a tier five. He was even a short paddle away from the Lake Caldera.


    If Tristan was a betting man, he would say that each Elder hid away a tier four in the case of civil unrest. It would be an easy task to accomplish to. All they would need was to purchase a bunch of tier three artifacts to boost someone to the threshold of tier four and just before the previous tier four died have him create an artifact. That would allow the new peak tier three to become a tier four. It was not even unethical, which Tristan found to be surprising for some reason.


    ¡°You will be informed of what is going on when you arrive. Anyone found not to be complying with this order will be exiled from the Caldera and be thrown into the outer wilderness. All people with tier two and three kerns will report to the Forest Caldera by evening tomorrow when the next group will leave for the River Caldera.¡± The crier rolled up the paper he was reading off of, ¡°If you want to volunteer meet me by the edge of base camp tonight, I will be taking a blood sample to determine your tier, we don¡¯t want any tier zero getting any ideas and sneaking in.¡±


    Tristan scratched his head, it was odd, but he could actually join this expedition. However, everyone he would be willing to support in the caldera was already at the base camp. Chase and Sun Set also had tier one kern, putting them below the power threshold. Luke and Siren were actually above the power threshold so they did not have to go. Olfred and most of his group actually had tier two kerns, meaning that the camp would actually get more pleasant in the near future.


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    Conni stepped up beside the crier, ¡°I will be hosting our guest in my home for the rest of the day, all eligible people are to report before dinner so their names can be recorded, everyone else business as usual.¡±


    Tristan did not waste any time and headed for Siren. It took him a moment to shove his way through the crowd. Some people looked at Tristan in shock. His shoves evidently had more force than a tier zero should be able to generate.


    When he arrived he asked Siren, ¡°Do you know what is going on?¡±


    Siren eyed him quizzically, ¡°Your not thinking of joining up are you?¡±


    He was most likely worried about how to follow through on his debt if his two charges were in two different locations. Tristan put his fears to rest, ¡°No, there were no incentives offered, only threats. I won¡¯t help out the Elders if I don¡¯t have anything to gain from it.¡±


    Siren seemed to think about it for a moment, then shrugged, ¡°Alright then, remember the note your father left you,¡± Tristan nodded, ¡°The crabs got into a city, two of them actually.¡±


    Tristan raised his eyebrows, two cities, that was a little excessive. He remembered what Kale had told him about the life cycle of ghost crabs then did some quick math. The plains were responsible for most of the cattle and there were around two cows for every human in the caldera, then an average of ten chickens or rabbits per person, and one or two pets per person. Then the people themselves. The number started getting terrifying. One hundred thousand cows, half a million chickens or rabbits, twenty thousand pets and twenty thousand humans. If that was all that got converted into ghost crabs, there should be around six hundred and forty thousand of them.


    Most would be below tier zero, and easy to kill, but the cows should be able to produce at least tier two ones if not tier three. The three calderas were going to be turned into a meat grinder. Tristan was glad he was a tier one, he would not be stuck in that.


    Something about that thought felt wrong. Was he glad to be tier one. Yes. Would he be glad to stay a tier one. No. What would let him jump from tier one into tier two. A life and death fight. The body held back around thirty percent of its capabilities at all times, except in those dangerous circumstances. That was why danger was a necessity to emptying a kern and eventually cracking it.


    Tristan had previously only had humans to work with, but they were smart. This made them extremely dangerous, however the bottom of the barrel mythical beast was substantially less problematic. He would even have other people to pull his unconscious body off the battlefield. Tristan actually could not come across a better set of circumstances.


    ¡°Actually, Siren,¡± Tristan said, scratching the back of his head, ¡°This sounds like an opportunity that I can¡¯t pass up.¡±


    Siren sighed, ¡°I thought you might say that. However, you will have to reveal that you rose a tier in order to join.¡±


    Tristan waved away the concern, ¡°That¡¯s not an issue, we are literally sitting on top of a mine filled with artifacts. It is not odd that as one of the two people in the caldera who can use metal artifacts that I would receive them.¡±


    Siren sighed, ¡°Just remember, my promise was made to Luke not you. I will not be around to help you.¡±


    ¡°I assumed as much,¡± Tristan waved as he turned and trotted off to Conni¡¯s house.


    Luke would not be joining. At least not officially. If he had his blood tested and it came out as tier four, he would be in deep trouble. Plenty of people would want to use him and the option to hit tier five might even be lost to him. He could see a future where the Elders tried to stop him from getting to strong to control.


    Tristan opened the wooden door and stepped inside. Conni was sitting at a table with the crier, currently explaining the ways to identify certain types of stone. The crier looked bored enough to actually cry. Tristan agreed, rocks were boring unless they were valuable.


    He perked up when he saw Tristan, ¡°Are you here to volunteer.¡±


    All the people who were mandated to go had already showed up. Conni raised an eyebrow, but he did not say anything. It was Tristans business if he wanted to waste his own time.


    Tristan nodded, the crier sighed, throwing an exasperated glance at Conni, ¡°Yes, prick your finger with a needle and press the drop of blood into the paper.¡±


    The paper was white with a line running through it. Tristan assumed that the ticks on the line were for the different tiers. There were four and he assumed them to be zero through three. Maybe Luke would go, this one probably only measured up to tier three.


    He pricked his finger and dabbed the blood at the base of the line. It was drawn up two ticks. Conni leaned forward in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, however the crier did not really want to hear Conni¡¯s voice anymore.


    ¡°Accepted,¡± He yelled, drowning out the foreman¡¯s words.

 39. It’ my Sister’s Fault

    This was the easiest trip back to the Forest Caldera Tristan had ever made. It did not have a lot of competition, as he had only made the walk once before. However, he clearly remembered burning lungs and long breaks. Now a days his lung only bothered him when he was exercising. Luke had made absolutely sure that Tristan¡¯s stamina exceeded everyone else¡¯s, so while he was in a group, the injured lung was largely irrelevant.


    Most of Sirens team was here, though Siren himself remained behind. Olfred and his group of malcontents were actually from the Grass Caldera, so the city they had despised was the one they would now be fighting for. The crier had the worst physical fitness out of everyone. It was quite comical that the loud and slightly rude man would have to struggle in order to keep up with his own recruits.


    Tristan sped up so he was beside Kale, ¡°So, what do you think will happen. Will we get a sword?¡±


    Tristan really wanted a sword, and armor. He wondered if it was his metal affinity that gave him the desire to be covered in metal. Though it was most likely the fact that he was male. He wondered if he could influence the metal with his kern in the same way Hadrid created his knives. The only thing better than metal armor would be artifact metal armor.


    Kale laughed, pulling Tristan out of his day dream. His tier three physique gave him plenty of stamina to talk while he jogged, ¡°No, you won¡¯t get a sword. If I had to make a guess, you will receive fabric armor, and a spear. Spears are cheap, can be made in bulk, and can use your opponents mass against them. Most other weapons rely on your body to generate force, so those will be given to people with better bodies.¡±


    ¡°So what tier would I have to reach to get a sword?¡±


    ¡°Three, though unless you have a few dozen more artifacts stashed in those pants, you won¡¯t get one,¡± Kale raised his eyebrow and inspected Tristans pockets like there might actually be some in them. In fairness, Tristan had explained away his graduation to tier one with a mysterious artifact.


    While he lacked the stash of artifacts, Tristan did have two silver parces, a flint, and a small first aid kit, in his pockets. Along with his two knives, he was carrying all of his possessions with him. He could only shrug at Kale¡¯s inspection.


    The Forest Caldera came into view as they topped a short hill. They were close enough that he could see Keith at the gate. It had been almost four years since he had seen the very talkative man. Though he had gotten used to Luke, so talkative may be a relative term.


    Keith waved happily at them and tried to stop the crier, but the man was to fatigued to respond. Tristan stepped through the gate and was not sure what he expected. Maybe all the fiber and mud homes to be rebuilt with stone or brick. They were the same, the sky line was the same, even the trees were the same. It was like he never left.


    He looked over at the crier who was leaning against a tree to catch his breath. Every one was now waiting on him, the departure date was tomorrow, but no one in the group knew the gathering location and no one wanted to be exiled because they missed it.


    Once he caught his breath the crier gasped out, ¡°tomorrow at sunrise, arrive at the sifting grounds.¡±


    That brought back memories. Back then Conni had been a horrifying existence, and his uncle was abusing his position make an example of Tristan. He wondered what he should do today. Should he go visit his parents, the mere thought made his gut ache. Maybe he was running from a confrontation, but he did not really care at the moment.


    A thought came back from yesterday. He should find the Forest Caldera¡¯s tier four, or at least, the likely suspect. Where would he find such a person. He would be close to Forest, probably someone Tristan recognized from his past. The man would be inconspicuous, probably unarmed or at least with no visible weapons. Fitness was a must and they would be constantly alert.


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    With that in mind, Tristan made his way to the central ring. He entered the middle class section and found it to be surprisingly empty.This took him by surprise, only about ten percent of the population was tier two or higher. Tier zero¡¯s would be in the outskirts living in the mud huts. Tristan realized the reason why they avoided mentioning the ghost crabs. The tier one class would be willing to volunteer if they did not know they would be hunting mythical parasites.


    The ring of homes around the elders home should have been completely empty. Everyone in this area was tier two or higher, so they should all be on the front lines. Should was the operative word. As Tristan was walking towards the central house, he saw a brown haired girl sitting on a porch. It had been almost four years, but he could easily recognize Harp.


    He was not sure what he was supposed to feel, happiness, anger, what he felt was apathy. Tristan did not care about her any more. Then a little kid ran out of the homes open door. At first Tristan thought that Harp had a kid, but the child was around four or five. Then he saw the red irises and black hair. She was a perfect blend of Shadow Fist¡¯s and Helen¡¯s traits.


    Tristan, meet Tristan, he thought with a snort. Guess, Harp was now the family baby sitter. He sighed, this was a dumb idea, he should leave. None of the families around here would fit the tier four mold. They were all managers. Tristan frowned as he looked over at a residence with a golden heart painted on the doorway.


    The Gold Heart family was a warrior caste family in name only. No one thought much of them, yet they had a position of honor. That would be an excellent place to stash a tier four. Everyone would be prepared for Shadow Fists, martial arts and the head family¡¯s fire. However they would get blindsided by the sleazy tier four light kern living next door.


    There was no way to prove it without challenging the household and dueling the whole family. Tristan was not ready to fight a tier four ,yet. He might be able to win with his knives, and a backstab, but that felt like a cheap victory. He had a suspicion to work with and that was good enough. Tristan turned to leave, before anyone noticed him, only to get body slammed from out of nowhere.


    Tristan reacted instantly, he hadn¡¯t even fully faced his assailant yet. His arm stretched out just above the point of impact, and as he turned he felt hair. Wrapping his arm around his attacker¡¯s head he twisted him into an awkward position. Now that Tristan was in control of the situation, he could take the time to process.


    He currently had his mother in a head lock.


    ¡°Uh,¡± Tristan wasn¡¯t sure what he should say. If he let go now she would fall over. Also she was gripping his forearm to stay upright.


    ¡°Please let go,¡± She croaked


    So he did, and she did fall over. Despite her being in tier two, she probably had a little less strength than Tristan. Men were naturally stronger than women, and she was a mom and manager, while Tristan was actively focusing on his strength.


    Helen had tears in her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m so glad to see you. It¡¯s been so long and I wanted to see you, I really did.¡±


    Anger boiled up in Tristan, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you, The mine is not even a full day trip away. Don¡¯t give me that trash.¡±


    Helen flinched, ¡°Well, why didn¡¯t you visit, you had had more time.¡±


    Tristan pointed at the little girl who had just screeched, ¡°MOM!¡± And started rushing over.


    ¡°I¡¯m not dumb, thats why,¡± Tristan growled.


    Harp was now staring wide eyed at him now. The previous scuffle had caught her attention and now her eyes were locked on the knives strapped to his waist. The last thing she had said to him was that he was a monster after all.


    Helen opened and closed her mouth several times. She knew full well that they had repurposed the dead end in the genealogy to wipe away the record of the family¡¯s shame. Any record of her own son¡¯s existence.


    Eventually Helen went with, ¡°She¡¯s your sister don¡¯t talk about her that way!¡±


    She picked up the needy kid and glared at Tristan. Tristan junior looked from her brother to her mother, trying to figure out what was going on.


    Tristan rolled his eyes, ¡°She¡¯s not my sister, she¡¯s my replacement.¡±


    He turned on his heel and stomped off. Helen wanted to follow, but she also did not want to leave the perceived safety of the inner ring. Especially as she was holding her daughter. Her son had changed and it scared her.


    Tristan spent the night in the sifting yard, sitting on a bench and looking up at the sky. The mine was so much simpler. Olfred was the jerk, Sun Set was the older sister, Luke was the monster, Conni and Grace were the mine parents. All of these people were honest in their odd ways. It felt odd that he could trust Olfred with his mental health more than his own parents.

 40. Golden Rule

    Tristan looked at the Stone Caldera. They had just arrived after a day and a half of walking. The recruiter had called it marching, but it was the most pathetic marching that Tristan had ever seen. The recruiter was a tier two manager who could generously be described as an armchair leader. Though the average tier of two allowed them to make significantly better time than the group otherwise should have.


    There were several people in the march that Tristan actually recognized. Harps father, Clive and the Gold Heart boy were there. Fortunately none of them recognized Tristan. His emotions concerning them ranged from indifferent to violent anger.


    The Stone Caldera was made of grey stone which gave the city a dirty appearance during the day. This was not true, the city was very clean, the architecture was designed very block like with little personality. That was only during the day as when night fell the city transformed.


    Moss grew on the stone making it look rather drab, however, this moss was luminescent. During the first two or three hours after sun set, the Stone Caldera would glow a blue green color. There was enough of the moss to substitute for daylight and extend some work days by one or two hours.


    Tristan was currently not in a position to enjoy the city however. He was currently in the Stone Caldera¡¯s version of the sifting grounds. It was almost identical to the Forest Caldera¡¯s. A flat dirt patch with benches at the edges which allowed the area to be used for many different events. The big difference was the lack of trees around the perimeter.


    Currently there was around fifty men here. Tristan felt odd referring to himself as a man as he was almost seventeen, but he supposed that if you defined a man as independent, then he was one. The man before them was supposed to be explaining what was going on, but he seemed to be waiting for more people to arrive. He simply slouched against the chair he had brought like the entire world was against him.


    It got cramped at sixty-five and uncomfortable at seventy-five, which was when he began, ¡°I am from the warrior caste and my name is Vin, I was a squad captain in the Plain Caldera. I am one of my Caldera¡¯s few survivors, and I intend to take my home back.¡±


    The people grumbled and Tristan realized that most of them had no idea what was going on. He was surprised that no one here knew, they were not far from the front line. The fact that Vin was from the Plains Caldera did explain his depressed behavior.


    ¡°Around two months ago, the boarder guards let a creature known as a ghost crab into the caldera. It was quiet and sneaky, it first set up a nest in the Grass Caldera and they spread it to the Plain Caldera, where a much larger nest was created. The plains have been cordoned off to contain the crabs.¡±


    Tristan noticed that Vin avoided the word parasitic or mythical beast. Both were relevant pieces of information, and many people could potentially die. Tristan suspected that Vin did not really care about that.


    ¡°You will be sent to a fort on the edge of the plain, as for payment, that will be decided by how many crabs you hunt based on tier. Any questions?¡±


    No one asked anything, so Tristan raised his hand. When Vin nodded he asked, ¡°How many ghost crab¡¯s are in a nest, and what are their tiers?¡±


    Vin shrugged, ¡°We don¡¯t know, at least a hundred thousand, the average tier is zero however. That¡¯s why we only wanted tier one and up.¡±


    The explanation was accurate and sounded logical if you were uneducated. Ghost Crabs hatched at the same tier a their host. If you averaged all the tier three ones that would hatch from the cattle with the tier zero ones that hatched from rats, chickens and pets, the average would hover around tier zero. However with just the cattle, there should be around a twenty to fifty thousand tier three crabs. That was twice the population of the Grass and Plains caldera combined.


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    Tristan decided to keep that information to himself, he was not sure how far these people would go to keep a secrete. They were most likely trying to avoid the deserters that would invariably show up when they found out that they could become hosts to tier three mythical beasts. Still that would mean the bulk of the caldera¡¯s forces would resent the leadership from this day forward.


    Vin made a ¡®come here¡¯ gesture and a woman with blond hair so bright that it was almost white stepped forward, ¡°You will follow Lesly Golden Heart to the fort, and there you will be split into different groups.¡±


    Lesly gave Vin a pitying look, before shaking her head. At first Tristan believed that Lesly was the Golden Heart bully¡¯s mom, but she looked far to young. She was four or five years older than Tristan, which meant that she was most likely an older sister. Also from the command position she was a tier three, probably with a light kern.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Lesly said, rubbing her hands together, ¡° Who¡¯s ready to kill some crabs. We leave right now and will reach the fort this evening.¡±


    Tristan frowned, this show from Lesly and Vin was odd. Neither possessed the skills to lead a group. Vin lied or at least omitted vital facts, and Lesly seemed to be very inexperienced. Tristan had never been part of an extermination, and as far as he was aware of, no one in the Caldera was. The boarder wall had successfully kept everything out in the past.


    Lesly started leaving and the seventy-five people in the field followed her out. No one talked on the way to the fort. Most people were probably trying to figure out what was going on. As the Stone Caldera was on the highest slope of the Caldera, the recruits were able to see the plains from a distance. The Plains were massive by Tristan¡¯s standards.


    Logically he knew it was massive, taking up almost two thirds of the entire caldera. However he had no concept of what kind of scale that was. He could see a lake on one side, it looked quite small from this distance, but he knew that Hadrid had his lab on its shore. The Lake Caldera was a was barely visible on the near shore, only its black wall allowed Tristan to see it due to the contrast against the background.


    The fort came into view an hour later. Tristan could see people digging what looked like a trench where the plains met the stony ground. Normally the division would be gradual, but signs of a fire line could be seen. The fort was a simple structure made of wood, with the standard buildings you would expect. Sleeping quarters, latrine, armory, hospital, and the last building Tristan assumed was some kind of office. All the buildings were as basic as they could get, however that was to be expected. This fort had been constructed in less than a month.


    When they got closer. Tristan noticed the worn out expressions on the people¡¯s faces. He knew digging was hard work, but exhaustion should not be the result. Stress had most likely set in. The idea that you could hatch a little monster was probably horrifying and would keep most people up at night.


    Lesly stopped just off to the right of the gate, ¡°Alright, everyone, welcome to your home away from home. You will be living here for the foreseeable future, so get used to it.¡± She inspected everyone¡¯s reactions for a moment, ¡°We will split you into teams of five, these people will be your family, protect them like your own siblings. We rotate guard schedules, the Golden Heart division, which is you guys, will be standing watch two days from now. The different divisions will be ranked based on the number of Ghost Crabs that are killed. This will affect different things, like who gets in line first at meal times.¡±


    Tristan looked over at the plain. This did not really sound like that big of an issue. If they really wanted to get rid of the crabs, they would simply light the whole plain on fire. With nothing to eat, the ghost crabs would have to leave, burn, or starve. Well, he would find out tomorrow when he was assigned to a team.


    ¡°The model of the extermination will follow the same format as the boarder wall. Teams of five will enter an kill as many beasts as possible, while those placed at the boarder will keep them inside the plain. That is what the trench is for, it has a sticky substance poured in to stop them from crossing and keep them contained. You will get to experience the life of the warrior caste for next while,¡± Lesly grinned, ¡°Isn¡¯t it awesome. Get some good sleep, cause tomorrow we fight monsters.¡±

 41. Golden Boy

    The following morning Tristan could see most of the other people gathering by division before fragmenting into smaller groups. Tristan briefly wondered if the Forest Caldera¡¯s citizens were split up over the three Caldera¡¯s bordering the plains or all concentrated here. After the small groups were made, they would then cross a bridge over the trench. The bridge would be pulled up behind them. He wondered if this was really how the warrior caste ran the Caldera¡¯s defense. It seemed to waste a lot of effort.


    The rest of what Tristan started calling the ¡®Golden Heart¡¯ division started gathering just off to the side of the gate. Not long after everyone arrived, Lesly showed up. She handed a bucket filled with beads to someone and asked them to pass it around. Everyone removed a bead and passed the bucket on. When Tristan got it he saw beads numbered between one and fifteen inside.


    No, was his first thought. They can¡¯t be dividing people up by lottery, it would create wildly unbalanced groups. There was a legitimate risk of placing two enemies together or filling up a team with a single kern type. Shrugging he picked a number one and passed the bucket on, Tristan was not here to save the Caldera after all. He was here for some hard fights.


    Lesly watched the bucket, retrieving it when it finished its rounds. She held it up, ¡°Alright, there were five of each bead, each of you will find those with the same beads. They will be your team mates until you lose enough people, or we exterminate the crabs.¡±


    Tristan was very confused, they really were splitting people like this. He felt that he was missing something. The strategy here seemed to inefficient to be worth considering. Many of the ghost crabs would be small due to them hatching from smaller creatures, making them difficult to find in the expansive corn fields for small teams. Prudence would dictate they set the plains on fire or march through in mass and flush them out. Fortunately Lesly seemed to want to explain herself.


    ¡°You may all be wondering why we don¡¯t just clear out the whole plain with fire or march through with an army. The simple reason is food. The crop currently in the plains is around half of the food we will need to survive the next winter. A further twenty percent is in the silos and warehouses scattered around the two fallen Caldera¡¯s. The complicated reason is politics.¡± Lesly made sure every one understood, ¡°In short, we need to preserve the fields and clear out the more dangerous ghost crabs, so we can get some workers in here to harvest them. After that time we can light everything on fire.¡±


    Tristan was surprised for some reason. He had let his opinions of Elder Forest cloud his opinion. His uncle had treated him like garbage and Tristan had thought of him as a fool in return. He had assumed that they could not be bothered with the problem and were using it to cull their less valuable citizens. Granted, both cases could be accurate.


    Lesly started speaking, ¡°My little brother, Bruce, will be my second. He will also be leading team one. Team one gather here.¡±


    A young man was pointed out by Lesly, he looked like the male version of her with bleached hair and an athletic frame. After pointing him out ,Lesly moved on to set up the second and third team. Tristan however just got the name of the problem child who had beaten him on his first trip home, Bruce Golden Heart. He did not know if it changed anything, over the years in the mine, Tristan had been less trusting of new people. Bruce was simply a stranger with a bad attitude, making him something to avoid, not something to hate.


    Shrugging, he walked over to Bruce. The young man was most likely a tier two or bottom tier three. If Tristan was a betting man, the Golden Hearts had seen the quality of Lesly and focused most of their resources on her. Bruce was likely given both fewer and lower quality artifacts.


    If Bruce tried to pull anything this time, Tristan was sure that he could find a way to make him disappear out in the plains. From what Shadow Fist said, the Golden Hearts were a merchant family with a warrior tier. That gave Bruce an advantage in strength, and Tristan an advantage in experience and weaponry.


    ¡°It looks like I¡¯m with you,¡± Tristan said.


    Bruce raised an eyebrow, ¡°Do I know you?¡±


    Tristan waved his hand in a so so gesture, ¡°I know you, but I was part of an unimpressive group at the time, so you probably don¡¯t know me.¡± Tristan extended his hand, he briefly looked for a false name, ¡°My name is Sage. I like to think my parents named me after a wise leader, but I suspect they named me after the weed. I have a low tier one kern, and have come to make a name for myself.¡±


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    Tristan felt a pang of regret. His name was probably now Sage legally. According to the records, Tristan no longer existed. If any record of his achievements became known, it would truly be a new identity. He had picked the name because he thought it would be funny to have Bruce calling him Sage all the time, however it would not be terrible if it stuck.


    Bruce looked a little dazed at the flood of information, ¡°Nice to have you, to, My name is Bruce Golden Heart.¡± His face turned a little red when he realized that his sister had just introduced him, ¡°I have a high tier two light kern.¡±


    Tristan couldn¡¯t help but take a jab at him, ¡°Oh, so your¡¯e a glow stick?¡±


    ¡°Well what are you good at!¡± Bruce shot back, a little offended.


    ¡°Uh hello,¡± a person walked up, interrupting them.


    Tristan frowned at the familiar voice. It was Harp¡¯s father. He was in his mid thirties now, and looked the same as he did four years ago. Unlike Bruce, the sound of this man¡¯s voice brought up some rage.


    Bruce had been a spoiled child, but it looked like he had matured, he was much less caustic than in their last meeting. Harps father, Clive, had been a friend, and he had stabbed Tristan in the back. Actually he had handed his daughter the knife and told her to go stab Tristan. Harp had Tristan¡¯s apathy, Clive had Tristan¡¯s enmity.


    ¡°Oh another glow stick,¡± Tristan plastered a smile on his face, ¡°Did you bring some glow stick friends with you?¡±


    Clive flinched back, ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t know what I did to offend you but I am sure we can-¡°


    Tristan punched him in the face. It was the weirdest punch that he had ever felt. Different kerns gave different effects to the blood, light made it better at healing, be more efficient with nutrients, and glow. Metal imparted weight, durability, and flexibility, which were perfect combat attributes.


    It was also the first time he had punched someone at the same tier as him. Kale was the closest at a mid tier three, but his usual opponents were Siren and Luke. Luke was edging in on tier five, he could wipe out this whole division by himself.


    Clive put up almost no resistance, and a strike meant to stall a tier four plowed into a tier one. Fortunately, Clive did not get knocked out, but he was dazed. Tristan frowned, he had promised himself he would do that someday, but it was surprisingly unsatisfying.


    Lesly¡¯s head snapped around and she yelled, ¡°What the hell are you doing!¡±


    Tristan gave her a thumbs up, ¡°Just sayin hi.¡±


    Lesly seemed taken aback, ¡°How is that saying hi?¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s how I got sent to the mine after all, but they all seemed to like me,¡± Tristan said.


    Lesly seemed to realize that she was dealing with a malcontent and a public nuisance. There was not a lot she could do. If Bruce had gotten his position out of nepotism, then she would move the miner. However, Bruce was being groomed to be the head of the gambling side of the family. Someone like this would be the perfect grindstone to sharpen her brother¡¯s skills on. An irritant that could work as a wet stone and removed when his use was over.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that again, remember treat your team like family,¡± Lesly said.


    ¡°Should I punch him again,¡± Tristan asked, ¡°I would totally punch my dad again.¡±


    ¡°Bruce deal with him, I have ten more teams to set up.¡± Lesly turned and stomped off.


    Clive groaned. Tristan reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him to his feet. After dusting off the man¡¯s shoulders he turned back to Bruce.


    ¡°Are you sure your tier one?¡± Bruce asked, he was wary, as that movement was way to fast for a tier one worker.


    ¡°Well you asked,¡± Tristan shrugged, ¡°Your good at glowing, I am good at punching.¡±


    Bruce slowly nodded. the last two people arrived, and Tristan did not recognize either of them. One was a skinny man with black hair and eyes. He introduced himself as Ray, and comically Ray had a tier two dark kern.


    The last person was a woman. She looked rather ordinary, though Tristan¡¯s standard were probably skewed. His models for comparison were Grace, who looked like a werewolf and Sun Set who was very pretty. The passive healing and nutrient efficiency of Sun Set¡¯s light kern did wonders for her beauty, however she was a whole generation above Tristan.


    The new girl¡¯s name was Eve. She was the grand daughter of Elder River and skilled with a spear. She was here to raise her eligibility for marriage. As she had a tier two water kern, she needed some accomplishments under her belt to get the attention of the warrior caste men. Normally Tristan would have disregarded the entire story as an attention grab, except, the last part was a lie. He frowned, why would someone from the head family need to lie about marriage, they could marry anyone the wanted. Tristan pushed the thought aside, it did not matter.


    She also looked very familiar, so Tristan asked, ¡°I feel like I have seen you somewhere before.¡±


    Eve snorted while inspecting Clive¡¯s bruised face, ¡°Well you haven¡¯t met me, you¡¯re to violent for that¡± Her eyes narrowed, ¡°Have you visited the alchemist?¡±


    Some loose threads came together. The alchemist had a maid or apprentice who looked almost identical Eve. Maybe a twin sister. Tristan could only shake his head. Hadrid had somehow managed to recruit Elder Rivers granddaughter.

 42. Farmer’s Town

    Tristan looked at the equipment he was handed. It was a spear with a wooden shaft and needle like steel head. Luke had trained him on how to use a staff, as they were the most easily accessible weapon. He wondered how much of that could be transferred to a spear. Probably most of it.


    Armor was handed out, and it was better than Tristan expected. There was a gambeson which draped down to his knees, it would be good against bludgeoning and some kinds of thrusts. It was perfect for large crabs. The other piece was a pair of thick waders protected his feet and ankles. Tristan suspected that he would struggle to stab a normal knife through them.


    Everyone got a pouch, which caused a lot of unrest in the division. The pouch contained the standard fire kit first aid, and two vials of poison. The poison was not lethal, but it would kill any parasite eggs inside one¡¯s body. Unfortunately, the only way to take it was to drink it. The poison would make you feel very queasy, with diarrhea and a fever, so it was necessary to stay hydrated. In some cases it could even give hallucinations.


    Many of the members of the division were unhappy that this piece of information was kept from them. There was a good number of tier ones who had signed up without knowing all the facts. However, with the poison it was not like it mattered. In Tristans opinion, this was a great thing. Unlike scorpions who had very similar tails filled with lethal venom, these ghost crabs laid eggs. Eggs that had a time frame of a few weeks before they became dangerous. This meant that Tristan would always be able to get back to safety before the eggs became dangerous.


    Lesly shouted to get everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°I know that many of you are unhappy, however, desertion is a capital offense. Exile is the most lenient punishment you will receive.¡± She met the eyes of everyone she deemed a trouble maker, ¡°Turn your attention to the bags your team leaders are carrying, place the stingers of any crabs you kill in their if you want credit for the kill.


    Bruce tossed a bag to Clive who scrambled to catch it, ¡°What, why do I have to carry this, Sage is stronger.¡±


    Bruce raised an eyebrow, ¡°Exactly, why slow down the fighters. And yes I do think that everyone here is better than you at that.¡±


    Clive grumbled as Lesly led the division across the bridge and told them to scatter and hunt. Tristan had to scratch his head, how far would they have to go to find anything. He assumed that everything near the fort was already hunted down. Most of the day would most likely be spent walking.


    Fortunately, it seemed that having a relative as a division leader definitely gave Bruce access to better information. Bruce directed them to go straight for a small farming community about ten miles away. Most of the sight lines were blocked by rows of corn, which concerned Tristan, he was under no illusion that he was good enough to let his opponents sneak up on him. However, with a party of tier one and higher, a ten mile walk should only take a few hours.


    Tristan fell back to walk beside Clive, he was a farmer and Tristan did not despise him so much that he would not get information from him. Clive was a manager who oversaw the farms. However he was tier one, which made his appearance here optional. Except, now that Tristan knew that the hang up with the extermination was agricultural in nature, it made sense to force a few farmers to come.


    ¡°Glow stick,¡± Bruce flinched slightly and made sure that Tristan was not talking to him, ¡°You were a farmer in the Forest Caldera, what can we expect at these farming communities?¡±


    Clive seemed about to refuse the question, but then he remembered Tristan¡¯s aggressive disposition and the rest of the team listening in. He sighed, ¡°Farming communities were gathering points for harvested produce. They would warehouse food until it could be transported to markets or silo¡¯s. Many times small dwellings will spring up around them. Not having to walk ten miles home every day puts an extra six hours into their available work hours.¡±


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    ¡°Just as a hypothetical, if a whole bunch of farmers were over run by crabs, how many would there be.¡± Tristan asked.


    Eve¡¯s face paled, ¡°Oh those poor people.¡±


    Clive gulped, realizing he was now in those farmers shoes, ¡°I guess there would be twenty to thirty at most.¡±


    ¡°How about if you include the beasts of burden?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Those are less common than you might expect, a dedicated plow man can do a lot with a bull and a dedicated artifact,¡± Clive said, ¡°Maybe fifteen more.¡±


    Bruce butted in, ¡°So we could have around forty five sizable crabs on our hands?¡±


    ¡°It is a possibility, so that is what I would plan for,¡± Tristan said, ¡°It would be better to plan for forty five and only meet ten than to plan for the reverse.¡±


    Bruce nodded, ¡°Sage, what do you suggest we do then, It sounds like you have experience with them.¡±


    Bruce did not sound desperate, or even surprised. He most likely already had a plan ready. This question was likely an attempt to gauge Tristan. It raised his view of Bruce a little.


    Tristan was willing to play that game, ¡°I would get to high ground, like the top of a building and stab them as they try to come up over the edge.¡±


    Clive looked like he wanted to say something, but Bruce beat him to it, ¡°In theory that will work, but the houses have thatch roofs and that won¡¯t hold our weight, the warehouses have tiled roofs, but they are too large to defend. ¡±


    Bruce looked around to see if anyone else had ideas - Eve obliged him, ¡°I would go with the warehouses. The doors open outward making them difficult for the ghost crabs to open, and we can utilize an open door to face the crabs one at a time.¡±


    Bruce nodded, ¡°Exactly, funnel them down in a location that is easy to defend.¡±


    Several hours passed while they discussed plans. Tristan was pulled out of the discussion by the sounds of corn stalks rustling. He mentally chastised himself. Just because things had been quiet did not mean that they would stay quiet. His eyes flicked to the rows of corn that blocked his vision. This field had the rows set parallel to the road, so he could not see much.


    Eve noticed his reaction and turned to face the field, just as something limped out. It was not a crab, it was a white herding dog. Eve had her spear pointed at it, but upon seeing its pitiful state she lowered it. The dog whined at them. Tristan looked down at the poor creature, it looked healthy, but was also acting hurt.


    Bruce came to the correct conclusion first and stabbed his spear through the dogs heart. There was a sliding noise followed by the steel tip impacting something hard. A second shove pushed the spear all the way through with a crunching noise.


    Eve made a choking noise and yelled at Bruce, ¡°What did you do that for!¡±


    Ray knelt by the body with a knife and cut the dog open, ¡°It was the right call.¡±


    Tristan may be one of the more cold hearted people here, but the only animal he had killed was a boa constrictor. Luke had gutted it. Ray pulled out a bloody mass with eight legs and a tail. The egg had hatched inside and started eating it from the inside out. A hole was cleanly punched through its center where Bruce had stabbed it. Eve wretched at the sight while Ray removed the stinger.


    Tristan focused back onto the corn, ¡°Well, Lady Squeaker, just let everything within earshot know where we are.¡±


    It was not long before seven more crabs came rushing out of the corn. They were small, around the same size as the dog that had just died. However the major difference was that these ones had time to let their shells harden. Tristan was the closest and also the first to react.


    Unlike most of his team mates, he had been given a lesson on their biology. The upper and lower plates could separate like a clam with teeth lining the interior to eat meat. Kale had told him about it and he intended to use that information. The needle point of the spear slipped cleanly between the plates and stopped the first crab in its tracks.


    It collapsed, which created an unforeseen issue. Tristan could not get his spear out in time to handle the next one. So he dropped hit and drew his knives. He threw one at the closest crab and cut the tail off the next with the long knife. His sword breaker was not meant for throwing, but its edge was so sharp that it only needed to hit blade first.


    The one without a stinger was pissed, but unthreatening. He had time to use his foot to brace the deceased crab holding onto his spear and jerk it out with his free hand. Almost as an after thought he cut the stinger-less crab in half and stabbed a second one. He had a bad angle on this one and while the point caught, it did not penetrate. Fortunately his body weight was enough to drive it to the ground.


    He looked around to see Eve and Bruce handily eliminating their¡¯s. Clive was sitting on his butt, scrambling back from one that Ray had tackled. He was using his knife to little effect to stab the crab. Tristan contemplated helping, but realistically, they could make it back before any eggs could hatch making this confrontation harmless in the long run. Best to let Ray get some experience.

 43. Reinforcement

    Ray stabbed the crab at least twenty times before he hit something vital. The combat knife he was using was able to crack the top plate after multiple strikes to the same point. Clive had tears in his eyes, Tristan could only shake his head at the sight. If the man could be terrified by a crab the size of a sheep dog, no wonder he was scared of silver blooded demons.


    Ray screamed, holding his gut as he rolled off the crustacean. The front of his tunic had some blood on it, but not enough to warrant the amount of noise he was making. He pulled up his shirt and looked down at his stomach. There was a large welt that was quickly scabbing over. Tristan realized that the little crab had stung Ray through the unbuttoned front of his gambeson.


    Panic seemed to be taking over as Ray started hyper ventilating, ¡°It stabbed me, the tail. Oh God, I¡¯m going to be hollowed out, I¡¯m going-¡°


    Bruce smacked him, ¡°Dude, stop over reacting. Nothing is going to happen. We¡¯ll just go back to the fort and get it taken care of. We have a month.¡±


    Ray¡¯s breathing slowed, but his body was still trembling in fear. Tristan had a little pity for him, despite the lack of danger, it could not feel good to have a little creature growing inside you. Though, most women seemed to go though it without reacting like this.


    ¡°Hey guys?¡± Eve said, getting the team¡¯s attention, ¡°Do you think we can handle that?¡±


    Tristan looked over and saw the corn rustle before disgorging a ghost crab the same size as a cow. If he remembered Kale¡¯s lessons on monster biology, the crab would grow to the same size and tier as the creature it hatched from. Cows were around tier three, if they were put on a tier scale.


    Tristan gave his answer, ¡°Sure, its big, but I killed a tier three elemental by myself, so we should be good.¡±


    The elemental would probably be more dangerous. They could regenerate, had only one weak spot, and had an elemental affinity. Tristan was confident until two more crabs followed the first and a dozen little ones scuttled between its claws.


    Bruce looked up at Tristan, ¡°Sage, do you think we can handle that?¡±


    ¡°No, we need to run,¡± Tristan said, he hoped these things were slow runners.


    Eve trembled, knuckles white on her spear, ¡°Where, they are blocking our way back.¡±


    ¡°The farmer community, we need to get there,¡± Bruce said. He picked up his spear and yelled, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    It turned out that the Ghost Crabs were just as fast as humans. Bruce and Eva quickly took the lead with their tier two physiques. Desperation, drove Ray, while Tristan almost had to drag Clive along. The man had a freeze reflex, instead of a fight or flight reflex.


    They only had to make it around a half a mile. Fortunately, Tristan had been running for the last few years, so it was an easy distance. They rounded a corn field to find a large dirt lot with a huge wooden building taking up its center. Some residences were built to share a wall with the warehouse.


    They had to run through a large stretch of empty ground. The group was slowed down by the wheel ruts that created trip hazards. Unfortunately, the ruts only slowed down the humans. The ghost crabs had the benefit of multiple pairs of legs, allowing them to scuttle over rough terrain more efficiently.


    They made it to the warehouse door. Bruce slammed into it shoulder first, forgetting it opened outward. He cursed, reversing his direction and pulling on the door instead.


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    Tristan had turned to face the crabs only to hear, ¡°The door is locked!¡±


    Tristan felt an inner conflict for a few moments. Should he toss his sword breaker and have Bruce cut the lock? He did not want the Golden Heart heir to handle his precious weapons. Alternatively he could run the ten feet over to the door, shove Bruce out of the way and cut the lock. This would waste to much time and they would clash with the crabs. Tristan would be safe as he would be right beside the entrance.


    The deciding factor ended up being pitiful. If people were going to look on him with disgust, he wanted to know that he had the moral high ground. Even if that was just in his head.


    Tristan unclipped the sword breaker and tossed it to Bruce, ¡°cut the lock with this.¡±


    He caught the knife and looked at it confused. Tristan was no longer paying attention. He was here to forge himself. He just did not think his first chance would be so soon.


    The ghost crabs closed in on them, but Tristan no longer ran. So long as he killed the big ones nothing else mattered. Sure the little ones could fill him with eggs, but a single dose of poison was just as good for one as it was for a hundred.


    He charged at them. The first large crab could not stop in time when Tristan planted his spear like a pike. Unfortunately, the tier three crabs carapace was more durable than the shaft.


    It¡¯s two scythes wrapped around, aiming at Tristans waste, but instead of backing away, he charged under its carapace, running his blade along its underside. The short sword was more than long enough to reach something vital.


    Tristan came out the other side, feeling exhilarated. Something serrated smashed into his shoulder. The gambeson took the bulk of the strike, but it still sawed through the armor. He rolled across the dirt and came to rest by the third ghost crab.


    He barely rolled out of the way of the stinger. The spike missed, but the bulb it was set into didn¡¯t. Tristan saw stars as it made contact with his skull, but he still had the presence of mind to cut off the last joint on the nearest three legs.


    The crab staggered, but caught itself on one of it¡¯s scythe like claws. So, he cut the stinger that was still lodged in the dirt off. Several of the little ones tried to stab him, but they lacked the force to get through the armor.


    Tristan scrambled beneath the one he had just crippled to avoid the third crab. This gave him a few moments to think while cutting down the little ones.


    He needed to drain his essence, he still had no idea how to do that. He did not want to get sawed open to get access to his own blood. He was still too low of a tier to create things like Siren or Hadrid did. Chase was a tier one, he could push essence into artifacts, that meant Tristan could as well.


    He tried to push essence into his knife. It worked. It was here that he ran into his second issue. The knife itself was not running low, the last time it was only because dark essence was able to sap the essence from the reservoirs.


    A sharp pain in his hand brought him back to reality. One of the little guys had gotten his hand with its stinger. Tristan cursed and grabbed the tail and dove his blade through it. He was angry, he had a plan, and it looked like he would not be able to get anything for his effort,


    With a yell he cut off the other three legs while rolling out. The last big crab pounced on the exposed Tristan. He dodged the claws and blocked the stinger on the flat of his blade. It was fast, but Luke was way faster. Tristan could only thank his crazy friend for keeping his promise to train Tristan.


    Despite the blocks impressiveness, it still shoved the blade backwards. Tristan received a cut on the hand he used to brace the flat. He barely managed to keep his feet. The serrated claws scissored his waste.


    This time he had nowhere to go but he remembered something else that Siren had done. He had made his blood viscous, maybe he could do that. Tristan pushed as much essence as he could to the points of impact.


    The armor absorbed a great deal of the force. But not enough, the claws still cut into his hips. And stopped, like they hit a wall. Blood did leak out over the edge of the scythe like claws and it was tinged silver.


    Tristan did not give up this chance. In order to strike Tristan the crab had to be close enough to receive a strike. He drove his two foot blade through its brain.


    The crab slumped to the ground. Tristan stared at his hands and started laughing. He won. He found a way to make this work without running his blades low on essence. He laughed because the cut on his hand had nicked the egg in his hand. He laughed because his life was crazy, and he loved it.


    Tristan walked over to the last tier three ghost crab with a grin. He kicked a little one out of the way, before slicing its scythes off. Gripping the crab by the stub of its stinger, Tristan started hauling it back to the team.

 44. Warehouse

    The other four stared wide eyed at Tristan as he dragged the still living crab towards them. None of them could have done the same thing. Three tier three crabs was a little much for them. Frankly, it was too much for Tristan, he only won because his blades had hard countered armor that lacked essence. If they had been normal blades they would have been about as useful as the spear had been.


    Tristan strode inside the warehouse, ¡°C¡¯mon the smell of blood will attract more.¡±


    Ray jumped, ¡°But we need to get back to the fort.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but if we leave now, we will be traveling in the dark, and while you can see in the dark, the rest of us can¡¯t,¡± Tristan said.


    The rest followed him in and closed the door behind them. The bar was cut into two equal pieces and lying on the floor. Fortunately, both halves were long enough to keep the door shut behind them. Eve and Bruce worked on locking the door, while Clive worked on creating some light. Evidently he found a lamp and some oil in the utility closet.


    Ray started panicking, ¡°What are you talking about, we need to go now, while we have the chance.¡±


    Bruce shook his head, ¡°No, Sage is right, whatever these blades are, they are ridiculous,¡± he held up the sheathed sword breaker, ¡°He would be the only one even able to hurt a large ghost crab. Without time to react in the darkness, we will die.¡±


    Bruce handed the knife back to Tristan before going to Clive to help with lighting. Two people with light kerns did help when you were trapped in a warehouse that lacked lighting. Tristan strapped the knife back onto his belt and dropped his crab. He picked up Ray¡¯s spear before jabbing the crab with it. They had to have a weak point, and in a way they did. The joints of the legs, arms, and tail, however those were small targets, a machete would be a better tool for them.


    The huge maw that made up its body would be a weakness, if they ever considered biting an attack. Instead they kept their mouth shut, until their prey was dead. The ghost crab was basically a mouth with legs and a stinger. Only the eyes seemed to be a valid weak spot. The small orbs allowed direct access to the creatures brain, but not the part that controlled vital functions. It seemed to control coordination for the other half of the body. Biology was weird, but he had his answer - go for the eyes, then walk away.


    He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he missed Eve walking up behind him, ¡°You visited the alchemist didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Tristan jumped a bit, but answered, ¡°Sure, remember thinking you looked familiar,¡± He chuckled, ¡° Your sister does not like me.¡±


    ¡°Why would you even consider working with a silver blooded demon?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Eve, your grandfather is arguably the leader of the Caldera, you and I come from the opposite side of society,¡± Tristan held one hand high and the other low to demonstrate their relative social statuses. In reality, he was the nephew of Elder forest, making him only one step further removed from Eve¡¯s place. ¡°So I do wonder why the silver blooded demon¡¯s are so hated. The man is aggravating to the extreme, but he definitely doesn¡¯t fit the description of a demon.¡±


    Eve did not get mad at his question, after all he had admitted his own ignorance and respected her pedigree, ¡°Just like all things, it is a generalization. However, just because a rat does not bring the plague, we still kill it because it is better than risking the chance of an epidemic. The alchemist was supposed to be killed, but he kidnapped my sister and used her as a hostage until he had his base and network set up. He then released her, but by then she had already developed some kind of attachment to him.¡±


    ¡°When a man like that is the exception to the rule. The benevolent version of the whole, then the whole should be exterminated. My family specifically hates him, but the other Elders actually support the alchemist to limit my grandfather¡¯s power.¡±


    Tristan could only shiver at her rather blood thirsty outlook. He made up his mind to never show Eve his essence. Bruce had beat him as a thirteen year old, Eve would definitely kill him. He wondered how widespread this mindset was, if people looked at Hadrid as a representation, then Tristan was not surprised that people looked at him with disgust.


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    A bright light and heat caught their attention. Bruce and Clive had managed to get a fire started. Tristan briefly wondered where the smoke would go, but a quick look up revealed a sky light that had been opened. He made a mental note to close it before they went to sleep, it would be terrible if a ghost crab crawled through their smoke hole.


    The light reflected off dozens of wooden crates with open tops. They were all about a square yard and inside Tristan could see grain. There were a couple hundred crates, which looked like a lot, but it was not enough to satisfy even a single Caldera over the winter. Tristan grinned when he saw other supplies including salt and water in an animal trough. If they got stuck here, they could hold out for a long time. They had two light affinity people, who were good with plants and a water affinity person who would be able to purify the water.


    Bruce looked around, ¡°Does anyone here know how to cook?¡±


    They all looked at each other, eventually Clive raised his hand, ¡°I do, but there is not a lot of ingredients here.¡±


    Tristan pointed at the crab that had a spear stuck in its eye, ¡°Can you cook that?¡±


    Clive looked horrified, ¡°Didn¡¯t that hatch out of a human?¡±


    Tristan rolled his eyes, ¡°No, It is most likely from one of the cows in the central plains, there should be between fifty and a hundred thousand of them.¡±


    Eve seemed skeptical, ¡°You thinks that there is a hundred thousand cows in the plains?¡±


    Clive nodded, ¡°Yes actually,¡± He got an unbelieving look from the other three team members, ¡°You are thinking of cows that will pull plows, or serve as an alternate income source for farmers after harvest. In the plains, they pack them together tightly, many times a cow will live in a stall barely bigger than itself, while living its whole life giving milk. After that it will be butchered. ¡°


    Eve was horrified, ¡°That sounds evil.¡±


    Tristan snorted, ¡°What, you have never eaten meat before?¡±


    Eve glared at him, ¡°Of course not, its wrong to eat something that has feelings.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if she was being serious. Everything that did not eat animals was on the bottom of the food chain. There was a reason why humans feared mythical beasts, they ate people. Not because they were malicious, but because it was weird to expect a hungry animal to turn down easy food. Maybe thats why Eve¡¯s sister stayed with Hadrid, he most likely fed her meat.


    Clive interrupted them, ¡°Sage, could you cut the top half of the ghost crab off I think that I might be able to use the meat inside.¡±


    Tristan obeyed and used the long knife to cut the sides and back of the crabs mouth torso. He pealed it apart revealing something startling. The roof of the mouth was covered in teeth that curved inward. This would stop food from sliding out. A large tongue with a barbed tip was coiled up near the back. The surprising thing was the mouth¡¯s floor had a black object set into it.


    Tristan actually recognized it, ¡°What is a dark artifact doing in here?¡±


    Tristan expected a reaction from Ray, but Bruce was the one who inspected it, ¡°It is a dark artifact, I heard some mythical beasts had them. I suppose that it uses the dark artifact to help digest its food as it lacks a stomach.¡±


    Tristan looked at Bruce, ¡°how much do you think its worth?¡±


    Bruce could only shrug, ¡°I don¡¯t know, normally artifacts sell for a lot, but this one has no utility outside of absorption to increase one¡¯s tier. That will drop the price, however, it will be highly sought by any tier three warrior with a dark kern.¡±


    Clive snagged the crab while they were talking and started scooping out meat and putting it into a bucket with water and salt in it. He cut up some potatoes that he brought and started stirring it with his knife. Everyone slowly gathered around the fire, except Ray. He was peering through the crack in the door, while shifting from foot to foot.


    ¡°Guys,¡± Ray said, panic tinging his voice, ¡°There are more, a lot more. They are eating the dead ones.¡±


    ¡°Its Ok,¡± Bruce said, ¡°they should be done by tomorrow morning, even if they are not, we have enough supplies to last a few weeks.¡±


    Ray groaned, before continuing to brood while looking out the door. Clive finished making dinner and they found that it rather bland. Salt could only take crab and potato so far. Crabs were basically giant bugs, so Tristan believed that they should be happy that it was edible at all.


    They discussed setting up a guard rotation, though they had no way to keep time. Despite this issue, they still decided it was important and Clive took the first watch. He had been scared for most of the day, but everyone else had been more helpful so he felt like he needed to do this much.


    That was fine with Tristan, he could not find a comfortable spot. Thankfully padded cloth armor was good at stopping all the little grain kernels from digging into his back. Tristan was used to sleeping on top of a time bomb, since the mine was located on top of an elemental hot spot. Because of this he was the only one to get a good night¡¯s sleep.


    Well at least until the screaming started.

 45. Don’t Slam the Door!

    Tristan threw his blanket aside and got to his feet at the scream. Well he tried to. He was wearing his blanket, in the form of padded armor, so all he accomplished was rolling himself over. Once he was lucid again, he jumped to his feet. It took no time to find the source of the screaming.


    Ray was writhing on the floor. His shirt was soaked with sweat and he was crying blood. He was half way between the fire and the door. Unfortunately, the ghost crabs did not realize that they could not get in. They were banging on the door, which flexed enough to get one of their serrated claws in. This was another tier three and while the claw was not sharp, it functioned like a saw. If this kept going on, eventually they would cut the bar in half.


    Tristan yelled, ¡°Someone, shut him up! Knock him out if you have to!¡±


    He did not see who went to Ray, as he unsheathed his knife and sliced the claw off. The ghost crab on the other side jerked back at the sudden pain. It instinctively, jabbed its tail forward, striking only wood. Another one, that was the same size, climbed on top of the injured on and rammed the door. The crab was strong, but the door was sturdy. It only pushed open as far as the hinges would let it. Unfortunately, the hinges could not hold forever.


    Tristan could see this going south real quick. The crabs were acting like battering rams, and eventually, the door would buckle. He looked for a solution, and found it at the back of the warehouse.


    ¡°Eve, Bruce, we need to brace this door,¡± Tristan pointed to the crates filled with grain, ¡°Help me move these.¡±


    Terror overtook their faces. They had thought that the door would hold indefinitely. Adrenaline gave them strength, and they managed to push some crates over to the door. They were too heavy to stack, otherwise Tristan would have built it up higher and deeper. As it was the half ton crates were able to take some of the force that was originally on the hinges.


    Bruce turned towards the screaming Ray and Clive, who was caring for him, ¡°What happened to him!¡±


    Clive held up an empty bottle, ¡°He couldn¡¯t wait to kill the egg, he took the poison.¡±


    ¡°What!, Why, we were going back today or tomorrow. No more than a week at the absolute latest!¡± Bruce was fuming, ¡°He would have been fine.¡±


    Oddly Clive seemed to be holding up the best. Bruce was stomping around and Eve was looking at Ray with a haunted expression. Clive was focused pressing a wet rag to Ray¡¯s head and wiping the tears of blood away before they could crust. Tristan was thinking, he felt like he was forgetting something important.


    ¡°Sage, you seem to know about these things, how long will they stick around?¡± Bruce asked.


    Tristan could only shrug, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I assume that in their natural habitat they would move on after a day or two.¡±


    ¡°What about this habitat?¡±


    ¡°This is just an assumption, but the three caldera¡¯s have locked off all exits, meaning most of the wild life in the plain is now a ghost crab,¡± Tristan pointed at the creatures trying to get through the door, ¡°That means they have only two choices for food, us or cannibalism. Both options are actually available here. They only have to get through a hard shell either way.¡±


    Bruce rubbed his temple, ¡°So, we have to get rid of them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is as big of an issue as you seem to think it it,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Oh, please enlighten me,¡± Bruce said.


    Instead of answering, Tristan picked up a spear and walked to the door. The ghost crabs were still throwing themselves at it. Tristan waited for one to nearly strike the door, before striking. Using both his strength and the crabs, he shoved the spear directly into its eye, The strike was by no means lethal, but the crab staggered back. Half its body lost its coordination, then another crab jumped it. It shoved both scythes into its mouth and pried it open.


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    The injured crab was unable to resist as its aggressor started eating it alive. Little tier zero crabs scuttled around, picking up the scraps that the larger crabs did not care about. Sure enough, if Tristan crippled them, the hungry healthy crabs would do his job for him. Unfortunately, the crab rearing back had given him a good view of what was behind it. There were dozens of tier three crabs, more than Tristan could handle. More than even their make shift barricade could handle.


    Worse than that, there were hundreds of little ones and a few in between. The in between ones were most likely around tier one or two and would have the ability to get through their gambeson. Tristans usual tactic of crawling under the tier threes would not work, the tier twos would still be able to get to him. To make things worse, he couldn¡¯t even target the tier two crabs without taking a blow from tier threes.


    Well it was not the end of the world, they did not have a way to get inside. Tristan jabbed another one in the eye, but had a bad angle. The crab lost an eye, but that was it, Tristan did not pierce deep enough to get its brain. It quickly backed away from the door, however, it still had motor control, so its compatriots did not turn on it. He watched the ghost crab scuttle away, looking for an easier way in.


    The sky started getting gloomy and rain clouds were forming. Tristan was glad they were inside a building, the warehouse was built on high ground, so flooding would not be an issue. He kept his spear ready, as he stabbed crabs to the tune of Ray¡¯s screams and the sound of rain drops sizzling.


    Sizzling? Tristan turned to see rain falling on the fire, but no where else. The window. He looked at the rafters where a square of cloudy sky could be seen. The window needed to be closed. Looking around Tristan found a ladder built into the wall. It led up to the rafters which doubled as cat walks.


    Tristan sprinted to the ladder and grabbed ahold of it. Bruce yelled, ¡°Sage what are you doing?¡±


    He pointed at the roof and started climbing. Tristan only made it half way up the ladder when a large figure dropped through the open window and landed on the rafter below. The one eyed crab had somehow made it to the top of the warehouse and jumped in through the window. Tristan cursed and doubled his climbing speed. If one that size could climb the wall, then the little ones definitely could.


    The ghost crab spotted Tristan and started scuttling towards him. It actually flipped over and ran along the bottom of the rafter like an actual spider. The sight was terrifying, as this definitely counted as a mythical ability, it was just way too heavy to move like this otherwise. Tristan had to decide whether he would keep climbing or jump to the ground. There was no way he would be able to fight something like this while clinging to a wall.


    He narrowed his eyes at the open window and kept climbing. The ground would be the better place to face it, but he would have to worry about more coming if he did not shut that window. While climbing he realized the crab would arrive before he reached the top, so he threw his spear at it.


    It bounced off harmlessly. Thankfully, the crab had learned the hard way to be wary of spears. It flinched back, arresting its momentum. That gave time for Tristan to climb up the rest of the way and climb onto the rafter. The rafter doubled as a catwalk about three feet wide with waist high railings on either side.


    Tristan sprinted for the window. He could handle the one eyed crab after he stopped more from arriving. The ghost crab was poorly suited to move in reverse, giving Tristan a head start while it figured out how to turn around.


    The window was half over the cat walk, and half over the warehouse floor. As its original purpose was to let in light for working men, the window was huge. Easily ten feet by ten feet, the shutter was made of four wooden squares held together with steel bolts. Tile quarried from the Stone Caldera covered the opposite side, making it far too heavy to close by hand.


    Fortunately there was a winch by the window that would allow Tristan to close it. Unfortunately, it was not the kind of shutter that you could close fast. Tristan frantically spun the crank as the crab climbed up onto the cat walk. It lowered into position way too slowly. The ghost crab charged straight for Tristan. He could not dodge to the side, but sliding beneath it was still an option.


    Tristan charged at the crab and at the last moment he slid on his knees below it. The ghost crab tried to catch him with its scythe claws, but it was used to prey running away. He took advantage of the body barreling over him, sliding his long knife into its belly. The blade slid in killing the crab in seconds.


    This proved to be a mistake. With a bisected brain, the ghost crab¡¯s brakes were off. Its momentum carried it to and through the winch, tearing it off its mounting and out into empty space. Tristan watched the cadaver hit the floor with the winch, then a boom caught his attention. Looking up he barely had time to dodge as one hundred square feet of tile, wood, and steel, lost its support, and crashed straight through the roof.

 46. Bring Down the Roof

    ¡°Watch out, ¡° was all Tristan could yell before the shutter hit the floor with an explosion.


    No one could survive that. All of the team had been around the fire, and that had been the center of the impact site. He actually felt horrible and that shocked him. He had reasons to dislike most of the team, but he had not wanted to kill any of them. Harp just lost a parent. Tristan felt like he was going to be sick.


    Tentatively he looked over the edge. There was wreckage everywhere, but no bodies. The only blood he could see belonged to the ghost crab that had crunched on the floor. A spark of hope ignited, maybe they weren¡¯t dead, though a lack of screaming dampened that spark. He quickly climbed down the ladder and looked around.


    ¡°Eve, Clive, Ray,¡± Tristan found Ray. He was dead. A broken sheet of tiles was lying on top of him, it looked like his chest cavity had been smashed.


    Something hit Tristan in the back of the head. He quickly turned, drawing both knives. There was a corn cob on the floor, Tristan looked up just in time to dodge another one.


    ¡°You mad bastard,¡± Eve yelled throwing another cob.


    Then he saw them. All three of them were covered in dust, but were otherwise unharmed. All of them had different expressions. Eve was angry, Clive was terrified, and Bruce had a complicated look on his face.


    Tristan could only stare in surprise, ¡°How did you guys survive?¡±


    Bruce raised an eyebrow, ¡°You stand under someone intent on dropping large crustaceans on your head. It motivates you to move quickly.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Tristan could not think of what else to say, so he went with, ¡°Glad you guys are still alive.¡±


    ¡°What about Ray!¡± Tristan caught the cob this time, ¡°Do you not care about him?¡±


    Tristan shrugged at Eve, ¡°I did not really know him, and he also is the reason why all the crabs are trying to break in the first place.¡±


    He pointed at the door that was still shaking as dozens of different ghost crabs each tried to break in. Eve did not seem to accept this reasoning, but Tristan did not really care. Eve ground her teeth, but there was not much she could say in response to his actions. At least not in the current circumstances.


    Bruce shook his head, ¡°Callousness aside we need to find a way out of here. Sage what if we cut our way through a wall and circle around the ghost crabs?¡±


    ¡°It could work, but I don¡¯t really know,¡± Tristan said.


    Without seeing, he had no way of knowing whether they were surrounded or not. However, cutting a small hole should be doable. It was about a ten mile run back to the fort, but it was doable for him. Eve and Bruce would probably struggle with it, but Clive would need a miracle to make it back.


    Tristan cut a small peep hole in each of the walls at around eye level. Despite being the one who made the holes, Bruce is the one who used them. Clive started packing up his bag with the stingers and some spare rations. Tristan had forgotten about the stingers, he had left quite a few of them on the ground around the warehouse.


    ¡°Ok,¡± Bruce said, ¡°they seem to be gathered around the front door. They are even piling on top of each other to get to the it, the wall might actually give out before the door.¡±


    Eve perked up, ¡°so you think that we could make it?¡±


    ¡°Its possible,¡± He said, ¡°it will become probable if someone chooses to stay behind.¡±


    ¡°If someone stays behind it should be, Sage,¡± Eve said.


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    She was still clearly angry with Tristan, however he was not going to sacrifice himself for these people. They were not his friends and it would be a stretch to call them team mates. Allies of necessity would be a better description.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t care if anyone else wants to stay behind, but I will not be dying today,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Also, all of you screamed and ran while I actually got stuff done, and you two are both a tier higher than me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a fair assessment,¡± Bruce said, ¡°You have those two weapons that actually work on them.¡±


    Tristan raised his eyebrow, ¡°Did the scion of a wealthy family just complain that I have better survival tools, when money is the key factor in acquiring said tools.¡±


    Bruce furrowed his brows, it had not been his intention to start an argument. He sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first and bicker about it later. Please cut a hole in the wall.¡±


    Tristan shrugged and complied. The hole was a rectangle around three feet wide and six feet tall. Once it was open, the sound of rain and the smell of the storm washed in. The rain would do wonders for obscuring the vision and hearing of the ghost crabs, but it would slow them down.


    Bruce poked his head out and inspected their surroundings. He placed a finger over his lips before leading them out into the rain. He went straight for the corn field, using the body of the warehouse to block the view of the crabs piled against the door. Tristan looked back at the building and almost had a heart attack. There were ghost crabs on the walls, slowly making their way to the roof. Fortunately they were all traveling upwards, this pointed their inset eyes upward as well.


    He turned and hurried to the corn field. They placed several rows between them and the warehouse as they circled around to the main path. The rain almost obscured the warehouse, but Tristan could still see clearly enough to tell that he had severely underestimated the number of crabs trying to get into the building.


    They made it back to the road, which was still hard. The packed dirt was to tough to become mud in just a few hours of rain. After about two miles, sure enough, Clive needed to stop.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± He gasped, his hands on his knees, ¡°I need to walk for a little while.¡±


    Both Eve and Bruce were breathing heavily and seemed inclined to grant Clive¡¯s request. Tristan contemplated just leaving them behind, but he would have to explain why he was the only one to return. With his luck and kern they would accuse him of killing them, though in hindsight, that was what they would probably say about Ray.


    ¡°We can walk, but we have to keep moving,¡± Bruce said, ¡°The less time we are out here, the better.¡±


    They started walking briskly through the rain, the mud slowed them down and the downfall deafened them. The sun was barely rising in the horizon and it was that odd twilight that blended everything together. It made every rustle of the corn seem to be a ghost crab. Sometimes it was, but they were always small, many were no larger than a fist.


    He had calculated over half a million of these things, but if they were the size of rats, then it would not be an issue. Even common people could kill these. The issue was that the little ones were a bigger threat to human settlements than the large tier three ones. They could enter a city and convert its pest population before upgrading to humans and pets.


    A boom echoed out. It must have been large to be heard over the rain. A cloud of dust was blown into the air, before being pushed down by the rain. Tristan looked back at the warehouse skeptically, even if they knocked it over it should not have made a noise loud enough to hear through a mile of sound dampening corn fields.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°It was the ware house,¡± Bruce said with a sad expression, ¡°A lot of food went to waste.¡±


    ¡°You sure,¡± Tristan asked.


    Bruce furrowed his brow, ¡°What else could it be.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I work in a mine, collapsing things are what I watch out for, and that was way too loud. However that is not the part that matters,¡± The team¡¯s expressions seemed confused, ¡°If these things are as starving as we think they are, then they will spread out in every direction to find food.¡±


    Clive started running again, followed by Bruce and Eve. Tristan did not believe that the crabs had any tracking skills or the comprehension skill needed to guess where the fort was. Unfortunately, they had left a trail of tiny ghost crab corpses behind them like a path of crumbs. The pursuers would only need to be hungry, which they most certainly were.


    Survival turned out to be a great motivator, Clive managed to keep up a jog for quite a while. After a few miles he started to slow down, only to hear a crunch behind him. He looked back over his shoulder to see a ghost crab the size of a calf staring them down, it had been cannibalizing its younger copy.


    Upon seeing the team it skittered after them. The most terrifying thing about the ghost crabs was that they did not screech or roar. Sometimes they hissed, but they would silently chase you and the only way to know how close they were was to slow down and look back.


    This tier one was not a threat to Tristan and he quickly dealt with it. Unfortunately he had no clean way to do it. The crabs viscera was exposed to the sky when he cut it in half, sending out a smell with a message, to come and eat it to all of its ghost crab friends.

 47. Price of the Vindictive

    Lesly was panicking. The danger to the teams had recently spiked. The cause could only be that the last of the easy prey in the plains was consumed. The ghost crabs had to resort to cannibalism to survive. It was not in any creatures nature to consume its own kind, so when humans returned to take back the land they went rabid.


    The crabs had started to swarm any team that entered the plains. One was hard enough to deal with as the natural armor they had was both blade and bludgeon resistant. Now that teams had to be prepared for a dozen or more at the same time, they had no way cope. Her little brother was out there and she could do nothing about it.


    Lesly was forced to wait, for the sake of her division. It made her furious, why were the tier threes sitting back in the fort ¡®commanding¡¯ when the weaker tier ones and twos were being slaughtered in droves. Lesly was far from a peak warrior, but she could swing around a ten pound war pick all day. With a tier three physique and a force multiplier, no tier three crab would last even a minute against her.


    ¡°Let me go and get Bruce,¡± Lesly glared at her commander who was sitting in a stuffed chair behind a desk.


    The fort leader, Vin, was a highly accomplished warrior around two thirds of the way to tier four. Lesly hated him. He had an apathetic view of what he called lesser humans. Vin was willing to let them all burn if it cemented his position. It was a mindset that many of the Elders agreed with, which is why he commanded this base.


    ¡°Your brother is either dead or on his way back, either way, there is no need for you to go and get him,¡± Vin said without emotion, ¡°He is resourceful, or so you have told me.¡±


    Lesly ground her teeth. Vin was right in theory, but she did not agree with his logic, ¡°If the Stone Caldera had used that logic, you would have died in the fields around the Plain Caldera.¡±


    Vin¡¯s eyes narrowed. When the ghost crab plague had first started, the warriors of the Plains Caldera had bravely held them off. One day their top warriors including their tier four guardian had fallen ill one night and woken up the next day as crabs. Vin had been the only elite warrior spared from that fate. He had run, getting picked up by a scouting team from the Stone Caldera.


    ¡°Watch your mouth spoiled child, I am a warrior, forged in battle,¡± Vin sneered, ¡°You are some whelp, raised by gamblers with no real hardship. Don¡¯t test me.¡±


    Lesly knew she should let it go and abandon her post to go get her brother, but she was a person who always needed the last word, ¡°You were forged in battle with beasts, and you were broken in battle with beasts.¡±


    She turned and strode to the door. The sound of furniture moving was her only warning. A hand grabbed the back of her head, Lesly tried to resist, but was brutally reminded of the unfair strength difference between men and women. Vin slammed her face into the door, her face proved to be more durable than the door frame.


    He threw her out of the commanders office and into the mud. Lesly glared up at him, he had gone to far this time. She slowly got back to her feet, wiping the blood away from her nose and mud from her uniform.


    Vin frowned, he was the commander, it was her job to submit, ¡°Do you really want to do this again?¡±


    ¡°Broken warriors can only hurt those who aren¡¯t allowed to fight back,¡± Lesly grinned, and unbuckled her belt.


    The war hammer and knives attached to it fell to the mud. Even if she used them, there was no way Lesly could win. Vin was right when he said she was raised in privilege and he was raised on the battlefield. He had a monstrous advantage in combat experience, however Lesly was raised in a merchant family. She had the advantage in propaganda and information control.


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    Lesly continued, ¡°If you won¡¯t go out there and fight at least let the real tier three warriors do it!¡±


    Vin had been a candidate for tier four before the plane caldera fell, and he showed Lesly why, ¡°You arrogant little-.¡±


    Lesly missed the rest, because Vin¡¯s fist caught her in the face. It hurt, but tier threes had sturdy bones. She took a few steps back and glared at Vin. Lesly knew that he wanted her to submit, and took a second step back to avoid a grab at her face.


    ¡°You would rather hurt your warriors than let them fight? What is wrong with you,¡± Lesly yelled.


    By now a gathering of people was watching from a distance. None of them wanted to attract Vin¡¯s ire. However, most critically, there were other division leaders. All of them were tier three and many of them were looking with disapproval on Vin.


    Vin¡¯s grip found Lesly¡¯s throat and pinned her to the exterior wall of his office. Her feet dangled, off the ground. Perfect. She put the final nail into the coffin of Vin¡¯s credibility.


    She teamed up and started begging, ¡°Please, people are dying, we could save them.¡± Vin¡¯s grip tightened, but Lesly still managed to croak out, ¡°Just because you are too afraid to go, doesn¡¯t mean others can¡¯t.¡±


    Vin¡¯s glare hardened even further, but instead of speaking he simply threw a punch. He was an elite soldier, he did not talk with his target. He beat his target down, then went back to his master. A second punch came.


    ¡°Vin! Vin!¡± The fist stopped just in front of Lesly¡¯s nose.


    Vin whirled to find who dared to interrupt him. He saw the crowed that had gathered and realized why Lesly had been provoking him. She had been trying to get rid of him, and it would probably work. Vin glared at the man who interrupted him, he did not trust himself to speak, so he waited for the man to continue.


    ¡°A group of four people have just broken into no man¡¯s land with a large number of crabs on their tail.¡± Vin realized that this could be an opportunity to invalidate all of Lesly¡¯s words, however the man¡¯s next words changed his mind, ¡°It is the team led by Bruce.¡±


    When the option of keeping his position competed against his vindictive nature, his vindictive nature won. He was the man who doomed almost ten thousand people to die, simply because they wanted to be free and succeeded. Vin turned back to Lesly with an evil smile.


    ¡°Well, you wanted to take something from me, I¡¯ll take something from you,¡± Vin grinned, ¡°Destroy all the bridges crossing the ditch.¡±


    Lesly started kicking Vin, she screamed at him and cursed his whole family line. Vin dragged her out of the fort¡¯s wall, following the runner as he went to relay Vin¡¯s order. Lesly wished she had never entered his office, she should have just left. After a minute of dragging, Vin hefted her with one hand around her neck and the other keeping her arm locked tight behind her back.


    Lesly watched as the bridges were set on fire. They were designed this way to make it easy to stop the crabs from crossing them in an emergency. There were indeed four people running with almost twenty ghost crabs on their tale. Six of them were even tier three. Lesly could only weep, helplessly as she watched her brother slowly lose ground to the horde.


    The one at the front was yelling something. He was a relatively tall young man with black hair. His armor was torn and stained with dirt mud and blood. It looked like he had fought and beaten some of the crabs. Bruce and his other team members looked exhausted, but their armor was whole and unbloodied. Had one person done all the fighting for the group. Lesly hoped he was some tier three in disguise, it would be difficult, but a peak tier three could stall this horde of crabs long enough for help to arrive.


    They finally got close enough for Lesly to hear what the black haired man was yelling, ¡°Save your money devil!¡± Then a few seconds later, ¡°Bastard, I know you can hear me!¡±


    The last gasps of a dying man. It was a strange last word, but Lesly¡¯s hope was rekindled when someone actually responded. A burly man along with two others were running to the canal with a log pulled from the pile meant to build extra bridges. They threw it across the canal, it was a terrible bridge, only wide enough for one foot. At least it was a chance.


    The man yelled, ¡°We get your services free from now on!¡±


    Lesly was too focused on what was happening before her to pay any attention to the man she presumed was the called the devil. Her brother¡¯s team ran even faster, but it was not fast enough. Lesly could see that the ghost crabs would reach the team just before they got to the bridge.


    Vin saw this to and was fine with letting Lesly have her hope. His grin froze when the one who had been shouting skidded to a stop before charging back at the crabs. He had two knives and successfully slowed down the crabs long enough for Bruce and his two other members to scramble across the makeshift bridge.

 48. Battle Royal

    Tristan sprinted for the fort, the number of crabs behind them had increased from two to almost twenty over the last couple of miles. They rounded a corner and salvation was in sight. Bruce let out a breathless cheer and everyone put more energy into their legs. The value of a light kern had been demonstrated over this run. The enhanced nutrient consumption of the light kern evidentially assisted in running, maybe stamina was considered a nutrient.


    Tristan quickly predicted their speed and compared it to the ghost crab¡¯s speed. They would make it to the bridges with just seconds to spare. The no man¡¯s land where the fields had been cleared for line of sight was about half a mile, a minute later they had cleared half of it. Tristan noticed some activity on the far side of the canal.


    Lesly was being held up like a shield in front of a man. Tristan wondered why for a moment, however an answer quickly showed itself. Whatever Lesly had done, it was bad enough that someone would openly target her brother. All the bridges burst into flames at once. It was a death sentence for everyone on this side of the canal. The hope faded from the teams eyes as they watched their only path go up in flames.


    Tristan still had a back up idea, ¡°Keep running, we can still make it.¡±


    The three others simply glared at him, and for a brief moment he considered leaving them behind. Thankfully, Bruce nodded, anger was etched onto his face and targeted at the man holding his sister. That was good enough for Eve and Clive, however the seconds they had lost due to the hit to their morale would turn this into a close race.


    Tristan yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°Save your money devil!¡±


    Of course he was targeting the ever greedy Olfred. It was odd to consistently be relying on the man to save his life. Unfortunately, he knew about Tristan¡¯s kern, but his life of relative comfort relied on his survival. Tristan shouted several more times, before getting within five hundred feet.


    ¡°Bastard I know you can hear me!¡± Tristan yelled.


    There was finally movement, a few men had shoved their way through the crowed. They were carrying a board that had more in common with a log than anything used in construction. It would still work. Olfred threw it down, and stabilized the far side.


    Tristan pointed at the log, ¡°Cross there!¡±


    The team made a bee line for the new bridge, but they would arrive too late. The mud in no man¡¯s land was slowing them down enough for the crabs to catch them right before they reached the bridge. Tristan could reach it, but the other three would die. He was left with an unpalatable dilemma.


    Luke would leave them to die, and much of Tristan¡¯s personality had been influenced by Luke. In his head he wanted to let Clive die for shunning him. He wanted to let Bruce die for hurting him. He wanted to let Eve die for her grandfather trying to kill him. Tristan could find reasons not to help each of them. That¡¯s what his head said.


    Tristan had gotten to know these people. They were still irritating, but they no longer fit the aberrant picture he had created in his mind. Eve cared about everyone and would actually make a good Elder River if she took that position. Bruce had grown and mellowed out. His qualifications as a leader were lacking, but he was good at planning and problem solving. Clive was definitely a coward, but he was more than willing to share his knowledge with someone antagonistic to him.


    Tristan¡¯s head, the part influenced by Luke and Siren, said eliminate the threat. Tristan¡¯s heart said otherwise. He screamed in frustration, there was nothing that mattered if ones heart condemned them. Pivoting on the balls of his feet he skidded a few inches in the mud. The next instant he was running past the shocked expressions of Eve, Bruce, and Clive.


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    Fortunately, the ghost crabs were just as surprised. The first one tried to stop, but the low surface area that its legs had in contact with the ground caused it to lurch forward. Tristan shoved the sword breaker into the top of its head and dragged it out the long way, while avoiding two stingers.


    A second crab tied to scissor Tristan. It was not to dissimilar to last time when he reinforced his blood, but this time he had both daggers. He cut both scythes off, the crab staggered back, and Tristan had just enough time tor reinforce his shoulder for the tail sting. The armor absorbed most of the force and his skin was pierced, but his blood was not.


    Tristan staggered back and cut off its stinger. He over extended his arm, letting a tier three crab chomp down on it. Rows of teeth tangled up in the armor, shredding it. It tried to run off with its new food, but Tristan was still holding a knife in that hand. The teeth cut into his arm as he rotated his arm, his sword breaker slicing into its brain. It jerked and collapsed, pulling Tristan to the ground.


    The little crabs were able to sting him a few times, but the eggs were unlikely to have time to hatch. Another tier three tried to take a bite out of Tristan, and he stabbed it between the eyes. He had to get off the ground, mobility was his greatest advantage. Jerking his arm got him nowhere.


    Two scythes caught him in the torso, Tristan barely had time to reinforce his arm as it was torn out of the deceased crabs body. He had to quickly reinforce his back as the new crab bit down on him. The metal essence resisted his command, but he forced it. The feeling of something squeezing his marrow pained him but he was able to get enough to survive when the crab chomped down on his chest.


    Tristan¡¯s head, right arm, and legs were sticking out of the crabs mouth. He could feel the dark essence in the floor of its mouth sucking the essence out of his body. Fortunately, he still had time to shove the sword breaker up into the roof of its mouth and the long knife through the top of its skull. Using both blades, Tristan cut the front half of its upper jaw off.


    No longer held down, he jumped to his feet, the armor on his right arm was missing. The armor on the rest of his body was shredded and covered with silver tinted blood. He looked back at the bridge, but he was surrounded. Several maimed and dead crabs were scattered around. Tristan sighed, dying to oversized bugs was not how he wanted to go, but it would have to do.


    He jumped at the next crab, a tier two, it stung him, but that was a poor attack to use on a man who did not believe he would survive. Tristan cut it in half and immediately side stepped avoiding a scythe from a tier three. The crab he jumped at struck at him with its stinger, he reinforced his heart and head, they were the only things that he needed to keep in one piece. The stinger hit Tristan in the shoulder spinning him. Tristan took advantage of the spin to slice into its head, bisecting its brain.


    He could feel the egg planted in his shoulder, it was uncomfortable, but Tristan did not stop. He charged at the next one, a scythe raked across his cheek, jerking him to the side. Silver blood dripped down his jaw, but he still pressed forward. Both blades were stabbed into the crab, killing it on the spot.


    His bones creaked as the feeling of emptiness filled his whole being. It started spreading to his heart. The organ still beat, but the effort needed was extreme. He could not afford to stop now. Tristan traded blows with another two crabs, getting a broken rib and cracked clavicle, but both died for their troubles.


    By this point he had killed almost a dozen, but that was only a third of the tier threes available. He ran at the next one, but the tightness on his bones intensified and his shin cracked. Tristan staggered and took a scythe to the face. His nose broke and he recieved a cut just below both eyes. The force threw him to the ground.


    He tried to rise, but he just couldn¡¯t. All he could do was close his eyes and embrace the pain. At least getting eaten would hurt less than his bones being placed into a vice and crushed to dust.


    Just as he closed his eyes a figure with blond hair and a war pick came into view alongside several others, who were similarly armed. Tristan could only silently mock them. First they let the bridges burn, then they take their sweet time to get here. Then everything went black.

 49. Did You Get That Vin

    Lesly watched with tears in her eyes as her brother crossed the makeshift bridge. He would live. The black haired man, whom she now remembered as the unruly one who had punched a farmer, carved into the crabs. Lesly was glad that her brother had managed to take him. He did not slaughter them indiscriminately as he was a lower tier, but he gave better than he got.


    Vin shoved Lesly away in disgust, ¡°Take that bridge down now!¡±


    No one answered him. The warrior caste was proud and looked down on others, but there was one thing they understood. It was taking your brothers place in the grave. The very concept that their world view was constructed upon recoiled at Vin¡¯s words. Three dozen glares were leveled at Vin as he asked them to sentence a valiant person to death.


    ¡°I am still in command, and you will obey me,¡± Vin drew his oversized machete, ¡°Anyone who has any problem can take it up with my blade.¡±


    Vin may have been in the wrong, but he was still far and away the deadliest warrior here. He snorted at the glaring warriors, who refused to budge. If no one would obey, he would do the task himself and worry about the consequences later. He started walking towards the board muttering profanities under his breath, but some one stopped him.


    Eve, stood, holding a spear pointed at Vin, ¡°Stay back,¡± her voice was shaky, she was a tier two civilian woman, this would be death if Vin attacked, ¡°You should be helping, we¡¯re on the same side.¡±


    ¡°Who do you think you are,¡± Vin raised his blade to cut her in half. Tier twos needed to know their place.


    ¡°I am Elder River¡¯s granddaughter,¡± Eve flinched away from the blade, which had already cut halfway into the spear.


    Vin trembled in rage. This was a tier two that he could not kill, she was not only guaranteed a smooth ride to tier three, her grandfather would most certainly execute him. Vin was not arrogant enough to believe he was a match for Elder River. So instead he placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her out of the way. At the moment, she was just a tier two woman, sho could not resist his strength.


    Just as he pushed her aside, his danger sense exploded. Vin whirled and barely managed to stop the war pick from giving him a third eye. Lesly was glaring at him with blood shot eyes her metal shafted pick grinding against his sword. Vin grimaced, he was using a regular steel sword so Lesly was blunting the edge. With a heave, he pushed the woman away and tried to cut her down. Lesly followed his blade with the pick, keeping control of the swing.


    Once the blade was safely off to the side, Lesly grabbed the blade with a gauntleted hand. It cut into the leather palm, but her armor held. The war pick came down right above the cross guard, right where the tang started. Lesly¡¯s palm was cut, but the blade broke, leaving her holding the bulk of Vin¡¯s weapon.


    Lesly instantly swung back around, aiming for Vin¡¯s skull again. He grinned and deflected the shaft with his artifact bracer , his other hand slammed the broken machete¡¯s pommel into her nose. Vin¡¯s forearm cracked under her swing, but Lesly¡¯s nose broke. Tears filled her eyes, she did not have time to clear them, before Vin struck her again. A left handed jab took her in the solar plexus while the his fist with the pommel struck her jaw.


    ¡°This is what people who defy me get,¡± Vin growled, he had his courage shattered in the Plain¡¯s Caldera. He had betrayed his duty and murdered over five thousand people. All he got from it was loneliness and depression, but he was the type of person to bring others to his level as opposed to raising himself up.


    Lesly stared up at Vin, she tried to shove off the boot on her chest, but he was too strong. She could still fight, if only she had grabbed her knives all she had to do was put the belt back on. She screamed at Vin, the unfairness that a coward could be blessed with such strength. Vin shook his head like a disappointed father, drawing a single edged knife meant for gutting animals.


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    His expression froze. Lesly squinted at what he was looking at. Vin had a hand over his chest like he just had a heart attack. The pressure of the foot lessened. Lesly, took the opportunity and shoved the boot to the side. The imbalance caused Vin to stagger and fall, which was shocking for someone of his capabilities.


    Lesly sprang to her feet scooping up her war pick. She would kill the coward while he was down. Lesly would not get the chance, behind Vin stood Eve. She was gripping half a shaft of a spear, the other half was shoved into Vin¡¯s back. Lesly looked at Vin as he writhed, clutching at his chest. Eve missed the heart, but Lesly guessed that she had gotten a major artery. It felt odd to be saved by someone of lower tier.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lesly said to her savior.


    Eve simply pointed where her team mate was fighting, ¡°Go now!¡±


    Lesly nodded, and yelled at the other tier threes, ¡°Come on, its time to pull our weight!¡±


    A third of them chose to join her, making this fight about two on one. Lesly darted across the plank, her tier three physique making easy work of the small platform. The sight that met her, was shocking. Bruce¡¯s team mate had given up on self preservation, and started cutting down the ghost crabs one after another. Something caught her sight.


    A cut on his cheek that should have crushed his jaw was bleeding silver tinted blood. Lesly almost tripped over her own feet, a silver devil, no wonder he was cutting through higher tier monsters. Her mind went back to a time that Bruce had returned home, bragging about giving a silver devil a beating.


    Lesly narrowed her eyes. His actions were not those of the blood thirsty creatures of legend. He was more than capable of killing Bruce in revenge, with no consequences, yet he saved her brother. She would need the whole story before judging. Lesly was part of a merchant family, if there was one thing she understood, it was being debt free. She currently owed this devil a debt. She intended to pay it. More importantly, as a merchant, Lesly never wasted an asset.


    The devil collapsed, and the silver essence started crusting to the side of his face like a steel scab. Then the thirteen tier threes smashed into the ghost crabs. Humans were innately better than beasts of the same tier. The ability to augment their bodies with armor and carry force multipliers allowed them to make more use of their abilities. Martial arts and tactics only further widened the gap allowing for people to face beasts multiple tiers higher. Mythical abilities, could mitigate this, but ghost crabs seemed to lack those abilities.


    One strike from Lesly cracked the upper shell of the crab she was facing. The shell that had required so much effort for her squads to crack, split in a single blow. Staggering from its brain injury, the crab tried to sting Lesly. She caught it on her gauntlet and beat it another two times to finally kill it for good. The next one went down faster, two blows was all it took.


    Lesly turned to her next opponent only to find that there was nothing. A merchant with a tier three kern was rare, it was easy to forget that Lesly was the weakest warrior here. The others ware all hardened on the wall. They finished with time to watch her finish her second crab.


    The silver devil was already being dragged off by the man who had placed the plank. She noticed that he had already wiped the silver blood away and replaced the daggers in their sheaths. Lesly sighed in relief, she would be able to investigate without being obstructed by twelve warriors.


    ¡°Lesly, we understand your point of view,¡± The eldest warrior said, Kale if she remembered correctly, ¡°but you attacked a superior, we will need to detain you until we can get an Elder out here to appoint a new commander and decide wether to reward or punish you.¡±


    Lesly sighed, well she would be obstructed after all, ¡°Fine, we don¡¯t have a prison, where would you like me to stay?¡±


    ¡°The dining hall will be fine, we trust you not to make a scene,¡± The Kale smiled a little, ¡°That is, if we don¡¯t stop you from seeing your brother.¡±


    ¡°Can I run an investigation from the dining hall?¡± Lesly asked.


    The older warrior shrugged, ¡°That depends on what it is.¡±


    Lesly started walking to the large wooden building, ¡°I want to find out more about the person who saved my brothers life.¡±


    ¡°Well, that should not be a problem. We would not stop the Golden Heart family from repaying their debts,¡± The old warrior said.


    That was not exactly what what Lesly intended to do, however that was not something that they needed to be aware of. She entered the dining hall and sat down at a table at the far end. It would be her office for now. She called for the first person to come in.

 50. No One Inspects The Inquisition!

    Tristan slowly came to, he shook his head. Well he tried to, it was currently strapped down. As were his arms and legs. Pain registered next, unlike last time he broke his kern, Luke was not around to apply top quality medical aid in the form of a disgusting liquid. The simple fact that Tristan was alive probably meant that some kind of herb or artifact was used to patch him up. Luke did say it would get easier, but it was more likely that he would just get used to it.


    Opening his eyes he looked around the room. He could see four log walls, a window and what looked like a chair in one corner. Only the back was visible so he could not be completely sure. There was a decision before Tristan, and it was based on an assumption. Was the fort keeping him here because they knew who he was and had seen danger or they suspected he had gotten some kind of injury that would harm him if he moved.


    Tristan thought back on his past experiences, and decided not to bet on the Golden Heart¡¯s generosity. He jerked his arm, but got nowhere with the leather strap holding his wrist to the table. His ankles gave him the same result. The big difference was that he realized someone had taken his boots.


    He felt the table and got a surprise. Tristan had expected oak or some other hard wood. It was rough hewn pine, a wood that was both easy to work and easy to damage. There was a chance he could break the notch cut into the table that the strap was looped through. Tristan prepared to jerk his legs up when the door opened.


    A woman with a cold expression strode in, he recognized Lesly. She sat in the chair and inspected him. Tristan actually felt some relief, if it was someone from the Forest Caldera, they would be forced to abide with Elder Forest¡¯s decisions. Sure, Lesly could beat him up, but she could not do more, especially if Tristan¡¯s suspicions about her family were true. They were probably the tier four family, if one even existed.


    ¡°What were you planning to do with Bruce,¡± Lesly asked.


    Tristan had no idea what she was talking about, but he assumed that honesty would be the best answer, ¡°Camping?¡±


    ¡°Were you planning to get revenge?¡± Lesly said, ¡°I won¡¯t let that happen.¡±


    Tristan sighed, it was the first scenario. He was detained because they were afraid, however he needed her to leave before he could do anything, so he decided to answer.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t bully people weaker than me,¡± Tristan said. He forced some exasperation into his voice.


    Lesly stood she seemed angry, ¡°What do you mean weaker.¡±


    ¡°I assume when you say revenge, your referring to the time your little brother teamed up with the neighborhood to knock me to the ground and kick me?¡± Tristan took the raised eyebrow as a yes, ¡°I also assume that you have me strapped down because I did literally all the fighting, and am now the one in the position of power over your brother, you don¡¯t want me to act like you. That¡¯s what your saying, right.¡±


    Lesly was standing beside Tristan in a flash, she planted one fist beside his face, ¡°You don¡¯t get to act like us. We are your betters, now tell me what you had planned for Bruce.¡±


    This was why Tristan did not tell people about his kern. Adults needed quite a bit of time to change their world view, so he needed a safe environment to tell them. By that he meant that he would need an overwhelming amount of firepower in the form of Siren to keep them in their place.


    Tristan squirmed under her glare, he was not good at pretending to look uncomfortable, however this threatening look that Lesly had on was pitiful when placed beside a dark elemental. She was a woman, barely not a girl, from a merchant family. With a little planning he could best her, and she seemed to be very poor at planning.


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    ¡°Nothing, I was planning nothing,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Then what about Ray, you killed him,¡± Lesly accused.


    ¡°Ray disobeyed orders and suffered the consequences, in fact he¡¯s the entire reason we were in danger in the first place!¡± Tristan was almost done.


    Lesly¡¯s face relaxed and she took a step back, ¡°Good, I just needed to make sure your story matched everyone else¡¯s.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°You accuse me of murderous intent? Then you antagonize me? You¡¯re lucky you said something.¡±


    Lesly frowned, confused. Then her face paled and a hand went to her belt, specifically to the empty sheath. Tristan cut himself free using the knife he took from Lesly. He knew how people could be and he had learned how to be ruthless from some of the best. Conni had worried about it a long time ago and many of his worries had come to pass.


    Tristan tossed the knife to Lesly, ¡°So, where are my boots?¡±


    She did not even attempt to catch the blade, letting it his the floor, ¡°Just outside the door, your knives are too.¡± A question sprang up at that time, ¡°Are you and Eve a thing.¡±


    Tristan frowned while he put on his boots, ¡°Uh, no, why?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s come here at least once a day over the last week and a half to make sure you¡¯re still alright,¡± Lesly said, ¡°You were pretty messed up before, the physician said it was a miracle you survived a broken kern.¡±


    Tristan shook his head, people were weird. He had just commented on how he almost stabbed her and she was asking about Eve. Tristan was not sure how one developed their taste in women. Though he was also unsure why the word ¡®taste¡¯ was used, it seemed barbaric. If positive events during childhood molded one¡¯s preferences, then he would be heavily influenced by Grace and Sun Set. Whatever the case was, he was not physically attracted to any of the women here.


    ¡°She has an odd set of morals, which leads her to do odd things like avoiding meat, or taking care of hurt people,¡± Tristan said, ¡°As far as the second thing you said, weak people can actually survive their kern breaking, we have relatively little to damage compared to warriors.¡±


    Lesly seemed to find that surprising, but her attention was grabbed by the very person they had been talking about. Eve came down the hallway and poked her head in the open door. Tristan ignored her, his kern had definitely healed stronger and it made it difficult to tie his shoes. There were some concerns that he had, the boost he got from his first time was from bottom tier zero to bottom tier one.


    That was a fifty percent increase. A jump from bottom tier one to bottom tier two should be the same, it should even feel the same as the increase was proportional. However, he would say that the increase now was around half of before. That would make him a mid tier one, which was disappointing. Tristan was not surprised that progress had slowed down, there had to be a reason why Luke was not something ridiculous like tier six. He just had the hope or delusion that it would not happen to him.


    ¡°What, do you dislike me that much?¡± Eve said, she sounded angry.


    Tristan could not see his own face so he did not know that he frowned right as she showed up. All he could think was women are weird with a shake of his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not dead,¡± Eve said. She saluted Lesly then left.


    Tristan stood and strapped his belt on, ¡°What has been told about me.¡±


    He needed to know what he was walking into. Eve clearly did not know that he had a metal kern, she had a poor opinion of Hadrid, so she would be more likely to avoid him due to that. He could see Lesly warning Bruce about it, as he was an unverified threat. Clive would probably figure it out eventually, Tristan looked similar to how he did a few years ago.


    Lesly shrugged, ¡°Everyone knows your a silver blooded devil.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s head snapped around. Lesly took a step back, a hand falling to the empty sheath. Evidently a tier three was wary of a tier one, however in this situation it was completely unjustified. That knowledge could fracture any team he was part of. It would not be an issue for him, as he could always make it back to the mine. However the lack of cooperation could get the rest of the team killed.


    ¡°Why would you tell everyone that?¡± Tristan could not see an advantage in spreading that information.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Lesly held up her hands like she was saying that she was innocent, ¡°This crass man named Olfred was using it to get free beer at the Stone Caldera¡¯s bars. It kind of spread from there.¡±


    Tristan could only sigh in exasperation, ¡°Stupid Olfred.¡±

 51. Doctor Bills

    Tristan was going to kill Olfred. Being halfway through tier one had actually made that a distinct possibility as the man was only half a tier ahead. Tristan stomped out of the dinning hall while putting on an un-shredded gambeson. He needed to have a very hands on word with Olfred. Thankfully the padded armor doubled as a jacket, the fall rains and cloudy weather made it a bit chilly.


    ¡°What are you going to do,¡± Lesly asked.


    She had become much more congenial after she found out Tristan was not going after her family. At first he wondered why the disgust common to most people had a looser grip on her. Then he realized her family had gained its wealth in a bunch of shady business dealings, the brightest of which was a gambling ring. He may have been a silver blooded devil, but the Golden Heart family had already been doing business with the devil for a long time.


    Lesly probably saw him as a weapon that she could wield. Which was fine with Tristan. Jumping in harms way to break down his kern became much less risky if he had the fort¡¯s doctors to patch him back up again.


    ¡°I am going to punch Olfred in the face,¡± Tristan yelled, ¡°for about an hour.¡±


    ¡°Is that how you react to everyone you don¡¯t like,¡± Lesly asked.


    Tristan almost said it was a recent thing, but when he first met Luke he had contemplated hitting him with one of his crutches. Looking back on his life he realized he was a really mean person, just that when he was young he was protected by his uncle, and now he was able to protect himself to some degree.


    ¡°Yes, I hadn¡¯t really thought about it before,¡± Tristan said.


    Lesly nodded, ¡°Well I suggest you go get food, now that we know you have a metal kern, we have a job for you. Kale will explain it while you eat.¡±


    That was fast, they must have been really sure that he would be completely healed. It did not really matter, he did not want to stay here any longer than he had to. Most of the people who he walked past did not recognize him, the ones that did had one of three expressions. Interest was the most common, followed by fear, as if Tristan was some kind of predator who had escaped his cage. The last was anger, the self righteousness of those who believed blindly in the three gods and Elders.


    Tristan nodded his thanks to Lesly and went to go get some food. The dining hall was a pine log building with long tables stretching from one end to the other. A kitchen was visible over a counter that extended across an entire wall. Cooks were methodically baking bread and cutting vegetables. Creating the standard soup and bread was something these cooks had made into habit a long time ago.


    Bowls made of fired clay sat on the counter with a slice of bread beside it. It was not the cook¡¯s responsibility to make the soldiers eat, so if you arrived late, like Tristan, then you got cold soup.


    Tristan grabbed a bowl and snagged a few of the bread slices from other bowls. He could not imagine why anyone would be later than he was. Judging from the sunlight coming through the sky lights it was getting close to sun set.


    He sat down and started eating, contemplating the concept of reinforcement. Tristan forced essence into his wrist, where the veins were visible. The normal blue color lightened, it looked like a blue tinged wire was set under his skin.


    The method Tristan currently used was inefficient. That was not surprising as he had just discovered how to do it. He tried to condense the silver dyeing his vein, but it seemed that there was a minimum area he could reinforce. Maybe that was due to blood flow, Tristan made a mental note to learn which direction blood vessels carried their blood.


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    His musings were interrupted when some one sat down across from him. Tristan looked up to see Kale sitting across from him. The warrior grabbed one of Tristan¡¯s bread slices and started eating.


    ¡°How are you, Kale?¡± Tristan said with a smile.


    Kale had served the Caldera for most of his life, and was one of the most genuine people that Tristan had ever met. He had nothing to hide and the openness that brought made him a refreshing presence. It also did not hurt that he was the same age as most people¡¯s grandparents, and treated Tristan like a grandson.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been better,¡± Kale said, ¡°I did not miss the politics when I was transferred to the mine.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what happened?¡± Tristan asked curiously


    ¡°Do you remember Vin?¡± Tristan nodded, he had met Vin in the Stone Caldera. Kale continued at his nod, ¡° well he was the commander of this fort and his attitude was passive at best, until Lesly pushed some buttons and he tried to kill her brother.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°He attacked Bruce? I thought he was arrogant not stupid.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Kale said slightly confused, ¡°He lit the bridges on fire when you were escaping back to the Fort.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± was all Tristan could say. He had assumed that the bridges being lit up was part of a plan to keen the crabs from escaping the plains. A thought struck him, ¡°So, Lesly took care of him and ran over I guess?¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± Kale said, ¡°Eve was actually the one to kill him, so I guess you could say you owe that girl your life.¡±


    Tristan scoffed, ¡°Right, that just means she owes me one life after I saved her twice.¡±


    Kale sighed. He was an older man and could see some flaws in that statement. If Tristan did not temper his attitude, he would one day be humiliated by something quite a bit less gentle than self reflection. Being grateful was a cheap and easy way to solve most of life¡¯s problems.


    ¡°Either way, Lesly is now in charge, and she has a task for you,¡± Kale said, ¡°She wants you to go to the alchemist and find out if he can cook up a disease or something similar that can kill off the ghost crabs.¡±


    Tristan was surprised, Lesly wanted to work with the alchemist? It was logical, but Tristan had found that most people did not function with logic. If anyone could make a biological weapon, it was Hadrid. After all he had already modified some weird lizard, goat things to guard his house.


    ¡°Does Lesly know the details of what she¡¯s asking?¡± Tristan asked.


    Everyone knew about Hadrid as an alchemist to some extent. What Tristan was worried that Lesly overlooked was the cost. Hadrid would not take a deferred payment from people who were antagonistic to him. Tristan¡¯s two knives had costed well over a talent, which was a years wages for skilled labor. That meant that engineering a new type of weapon for a mystical creature, which ignored many of the common animal traits, would be staggeringly expensive. Hadrid would do a good job, but Lesly would have to pay for it.


    Kale shook his head, ¡°Not quite, that was partly why it was to be discussed before you left. What should she expect?¡±


    Tristan set his two knives down on the table, ¡°These knives costed me more than a talent, and I¡¯m sure I got a discount because of Luke. Lesly had better be ready to trade the wealth of an entire Caldera, to succeed. Hadrid is rude, and perhaps most importantly, no one can force him to do anything.¡±


    ¡°How many warriors do you think it would take to force him to listen?¡± Kale asked.


    Tristan shrugged, he was a terrible judge of what an average warrior was. Kale was one of the weakest at the mine, however at the fort his situation was reversed. The issue was that Tristan¡¯s only standard for a warrior¡¯s capability was Siren¡¯s group of six. Tristan was sure that Siren¡¯s squad could challenge two or three divisions from the fort and win.


    ¡°Siren and his team might be able to take him if they were perfectly armed, had the terrain advantage, and somehow caught him alone,¡± Tristan said, watching Kale¡¯s eyes widen, ¡°I think there is some crucial information that was not released to the public. The alchemist has a tier five kern, a decade long Cold War with Elder River that has prompted him to create traps, and an army of monsters that he both created and controls. I would legitimately rather fight the ghost crabs than Hadrid.¡±


    Kale¡¯s eyes looked like they were about to fall out, ¡°Tier five?¡± Tristan nodded, ¡°Well then I guess I will have to tell Lesly to empty out a Caldera¡¯s treasury then.¡±


    ¡°So I assume the mission she talked about will be called off?¡± Tristan asked.


    Kale shook his head, ¡° No, contrary to what you might think, the wealth of the caldera is not to steep of a price for victory. The wealth of both the Plains Caldera and the Grass Caldera will be available upon the removal of the ghost crabs. The Elders have all agreed that the land will be taken by the one who solves the problem.¡±


    So that¡¯s what was meant by politics. Tristan could only sigh at the conduct of the Elders, they saw land up for grabs, and completely over looked the threat that was sitting on it. A threat that had already killed ten thousand people.

 52. Back To Work

    They met the next morning in the field just outside the fort¡¯s gate. Tristan had just found out it was called a parade ground, however ¡®dirt patch outside the wall¡¯ seemed a more accurate title. There were four other people, and Lesly. They were the three original members that Tristan had last time, and a warrior who had a large box on his back.


    Lesly stood before them, ¡°Alright, you will be heading straight through the center of the plains and straight for the Lake Caldera¡¯s fort. From there you will head to the Alchemist¡¯s port across the lake and get a biological weapon to use on the ghost crabs. Normally we would send you around, but that would take too long, so you will hop from warehouse to warehouse until you reach the opposite side. The weapon will be too precious to risk a return trip, so you will coordinate with the Lake and River Caldera¡¯s to use it.¡±


    She stepped aside gesturing for the warrior to take her place, ¡°My name is William, I will be transporting the payment for the weapon. We are not trying to fight every creature we come across, our goal is safety. Unfortunately, the safety of the devil is a high priority, he has had dealings with the alchemist in the past, so he will deal with keeping the transaction cordial. Everything clear?¡±


    Both Bruce and Eve snapped a salute and said, ¡°Yes Sir.¡±


    Clive and Tristan just looked at them quizzically. William was not instated as a superior, if anything, he was just a glorified courier. Tristan was not sure who the leader was, but if it came down to violence, William would definitely come out on top. Fortunately, it was not up to William it was up to Lesly.


    Lesly saw the confusion and decided to clear things up, ¡°Bruce you are in charge of your team, but do not expect William to assist you or obey you. His only job is to focus on the payment. He is carrying twenty percent of the Forest Caldera¡¯s wealth, so do not think he will jeopardize his mission for your lives. William should not need your help, but you are to retrieve his package at any cost if he dies.¡±


    William snorted as if dying was an impossibility for him. Lesly then passed out new weapons. This time it was a weapon that Tristan recognized from descriptions he had been given, but had never seen. Lesly handed out halberds. It was a pole with an axe head that had a blade on one side and a spike on the other. A second spike capped it, and a sheath of metal extended from the head and attached it firmly to the shaft.


    It would be far superior to the spears they had previously. The spike in the back of the axe head would be the biggest contributor. Coupled with the leverage that a long handle offered, it would definitely be able to punch straight through a ghost crab¡¯s carapace. Both Eve and Bruce looked like they had used this weapon before, but it was new to Clive and Tristan. He could not imagine that it would be difficult to hit the crabs with the pointy end though, their opponents were giant bugs not master warriors.


    Clive inspected his weapon for a moment, before returning it, ¡°I am no fighter, I am only here due to my knowledge of the habits and locations of farm and harvest related things. If I need to use this, then I am a dead man.¡°


    Lesly shrugged and took the halberd back, ¡°That¡¯s fine, the less resources we spend on you, the better. These things aren¡¯t cheap.¡±


    Clive frowned, obviously not happy about the statement. He only meant that fleeing would be his best survival skill and a unwieldy weapon would not facilitate that.


    Tristan eyed Lesly skeptically, ¡°What¡¯s the real reason why these three are here. I kind of get William, but everyone here should be replaced with someone a tier higher.¡±


    Lesly and Bruce looked at him sharply, which confirmed to Tristan that the tier four of the Forest Caldera was indeed a Golden Heart. Lesly slowly asked, ¡°what exactly do you mean?¡±


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    ¡°Go get Kale, and two other people to replace these guys and your family head to replace William,¡± Tristan said, ¡°This task is legitimately too expensive to fail, so why are you understaffing it.¡±


    Lesly frowned, ¡°The patriarch has to defend the Forest Caldera, and this is by the order of Elder Forest. He said that no warriors were to be forced to attend you.¡±


    Elder Forest was his uncle, though Tristan was not even legally part of the family anymore. He wondered what all the animosity was about. The only plausible solution was that he wanted Tristan gone, but as he publicly declared his survival to be the will of the grand ancestor, there was no way for him to go back on his word. If it was an accident then he would not be liable.


    The wealth of the Caldera was safely stowed with an elite warrior so there was nothing to worry about. In fact the best case scenario would be Tristan dying and William finishing the mission. Elder Forest could then take the credit and the rewards.


    Tristan would even suspect the other members of planning his death, however Eve muddied those plans. She was not the kind of person to put up with underhanded schemes. Most importantly, she was related to Elder River, there was no way she would let the Forest Caldera walk off with all the credit for success.


    There was still a piece that Tristan was missing. Both Eve and Bruce were very important to their respective Calderas. If something would kill Tristan, it would most likely kill them too. Unfortunately, no one in power would cooperate with a silver devil, so Tristan could only grit his teeth and do what he was told.


    However this all could be proven with a simple question, ¡°Why isn¡¯t Kale coming then? He is a friend, and I know he would want to help.¡±


    Lesly winced, ¡°He is one of the strongest warriors at the fort, we need him to stay behind to secure it.¡±


    So he was right, ¡°Alright, with the kind of leaders we are dealing with, having Kale playing baby sitter is better for his health.¡±


    Lesly rolled her eyes, ¡°Get going, the more time you talk, the more time it will take to finish.¡±


    Every one except Tristan saluted, then they left. There was no way he was going to honor a person or organization that was being antagonistic towards him. If it had been Conni or Siren instead of Lesly, he would have most certainly saluted them, they had earned it.


    Only a single bridge had been rebuilt in the last ten days. Once they crossed, it was raised back up to stop the ghost crabs from escaping. William vanished as soon as they reached the corn. Tristan was not sure if he was actually gone, or if the shadows of the nearby plants were deep enough to react to a dark kern. The package would most certainly be safe with him.


    Bruce called everyone to walk together, ¡°We need to discuss our current plan. We are going to a farmer community, it should work almost exactly like the last one we were at. Well, minus the crab horde,¡±


    ¡°We will spend the night there, it is around twenty miles away. This gives us some time to let threats pass or take a detour if we have to. This place is only five miles outside the Plains Caldera, however it will be southeast of us and we need to go east. A further twenty-two miles will put us at a different farmer community. At this point we will have a choice, go through the Grass Caldera, or go around.¡±


    ¡°Going through will only put the fort three days away. Going around will add an extra day, but it should be safer.¡±


    Eve shivered, ¡°I vote for going around, I¡¯m not sure that I can handle seeing a bunch of human bones scattered around.¡±


    There was something odd about this whole situation. Tristan asked the group, ¡°Why are we going through the plains at all, going around would take more than a week, but there would no danger.¡±


    ¡°Sage,¡± Bruce frowned as he realized he knew Tristan¡¯s real name, ¡°Tristan, no it sounds girly. Sage, we need to hurry.¡±


    Tristan was at a loss as to which statement to address first, so he went with the latter, ¡°Ok, but why, what happens if we take a month instead of a week?¡±


    Bruce had a serious expression, ¡°These crabs are very similar to chickens to the other mythical beasts. If enough gather in one place, it will catch their attention. Our warriors are good enough to handle some beasts, but if any in the drake family show up, we¡¯re dead.¡±


    Tristan was reminded of the buried civilization. Conni had theorized that something had ended them brutally and swiftly. The best bet, based on the quality of the ruins, was a basilisk. There were other options, a dire wolf pack could have done it, for example. It left the structures in tact, so the upper limit was a basilisk. Unfortunately, with over a hundred thousand mythical beasts in the caldera, they could pull something bigger. If a plague locust swarm or something worse arrived there would be little in the way of options to get rid of them.


    Tristan could understand the rush, so he focused on the former issue next, ¡°You think Tristan sounds girly!¡±

 53. Cannibal

    The first leg of the trip was quite brutal. Crabs would come in ones and twos simply bursting out of the corn. They were all tier zero ghost crabs, but their death attracted slightly larger ones. Once the larger ones arrived to cannibalize the dead ones, they had to kill them as well. This cycle repeated with concerning frequency. It would have been fine, however the first step never stopped happening. It was like compound interest, but with horrifying monsters.


    At first they were attacked once an hour, then it started happening every forty minutes. By the fifteenth mile, it was down to every fifteen minutes and the tier of ghost crab was up to tier two. The halberds were clearly showing their value by then. It only took one strike with the blade to cut a leg or tail off. The spike was able to punch through the top plate with relatively little effort. As the crabs only ever came in groups of five or six, they could be handled, but it would escalate beyond their ability to handle eventually.


    In the eighteenth mile, the fields disappeared. The farmer¡¯s community was visible in the distance and carts were scattered around the rim of the cleared section. Most were half filled with harvested corn and wheat which had molded in the past rainstorms. Bovine skeletons littered the area, their rib cages torn apart when the ghost crabs exited. The cows seemed to have been feeding on the plant matter that the farmers did not want.


    The problem was, nearly one hundred crabs of varying tiers were between them and the warehouse. Fortunately almost seventy of them were the lowest variant, with many being smaller than a fist. If one of them got into a city, they could quickly overtake the rodent population and move up from there. Tristan wondered why these crabs had not over run nature yet. The only reason he could come up with was, they were only an environmental issue when they were safe from their predators.


    ¡°Do we make a run for it?¡± Clive asked. He clearly did not want to go this route.


    ¡°No,¡± Bruce said, ¡°We need some way to distract them, but without sacrificing anyone.¡±


    ¡°Well they seem very attracted to blood, could we just go get a different ghost crab, and use that?¡± Eve suggested.


    Tristan inspected the crabs. They were haphazardly scattered around, with no order or organization with one exception. The further to the southeast one looked in the gathering, the more likely one would find a higher tier crab. It was almost like the smaller crabs were being used as a vanguard by their larger cousins. Currently they seemed to be in a dormant state, Tristan had never seen a ghost crab sleep, but this is what he would expect it to look like. Their legs curled up beneath them and tail coiled around like a serpents.


    Why don¡¯t we use this?¡± Clive asked holding up the vial of poison, ¡°will it work on them?¡±


    Bruce took the vial and inspected it, ¡°Yes, but not at this concentration, also I do not believe it will be enough to cull the herd.¡±


    Tristan asked, ¡°So what if I just ran in and started killing them before they woke up? You guys could just get through in the distraction, and I can outrun them if I get the tier threes in the back.¡±


    Normally crabs were pretty speedy, but not ghost crabs. The main reason was that they moved forward as opposed to sideways. They only seemed fast because the problem crabs were an entire tier above the team. That and they did not have any trouble moving regardless of the terrain. One of the many benefits of having six legs


    Bruce could only stare at Tristan, ¡°No, thats dumb. We need you alive to finish the mission, why would we put you in harms way.¡±


    Tristan shrugged, he was pretty sure he could pull it off, ¡°Well let me know when you have a better idea.¡±


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    The issue was they only had a few minutes until the next wave of crabs located them, and if they fought back the group in the cleared fields would wake up and attack from behind. Poison would work great, but it would take too much time to work. They could light the field on fire and burn the stubble down, but it was likely to spread.


    Eve raised her hand, like she was still at school, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just walk through? They are all asleep, and if we don¡¯t wake them up, we should be good.¡±


    Tristan spoke up, ¡°I support this plan, mostly because it is mine without the stabbing.¡±


    Bruce rubbed his temples, ¡°This is not a democracy, I have the final say.¡±


    Eve nodded, ¡°he is right, he is in charge due to nepotism.¡±


    Bruce shook his head, to Tristan and Clive¡¯s chuckles, ¡°It is the best idea we have on such short notice, so lets get going.¡±


    Tristan gave Eve a thumbs up. Anything to mess with Clive and the Golden Hearts, she seemed confused by the gesture. They stepped out into the field and tip toed around the sleeping crabs. It quickly became clear that there were way more than one hundred, it was just that the vast majority were tiny.


    The stubs of the stalks sticking out of the ground were plenty tall enough to hide them from view. Tristan wondered if these were what ghost crabs without a host looked like. They were the size of large rats and could be killed simply by stepping on them. If they were struggling with a food crisis, forcing the next generation to be small would preserve the resources. In fact these little ones would be a more devastating invasion force if they ever made it past the boarder ditch.


    They crossed through most of the tier zeros and moved on to the larger tier ones. There were far fewer of these, but they were much larger. Most ranged from the size of a chicken to the size of a small dog or house cat. These ones were a pain to deal with because their shells were hard enough to resist stomping and they were low enough to the ground to be an inconvenient target.


    The tier two¡¯s were about the size of a calf or sheep. Despite being a tier higher, they were less than a problem than the tier ones. They had an easier time getting through armor, but they lacked the numbers to really make use of that. In fact they had the fewest numbers over all, as the creatures that they could be born from were less numerous.


    Tristan looked up in the direction of the tier three crabs. The gradation of the herd was odd, when they attacked it was a swarm where first come first serve was the standard action. All of them were in a frenzy to consume, and Tristan had thought that this would be their default state. Tristan looked past the crabs and saw something on the horizon. It barely poked above the corn, a tower with a church bell.


    With a start, he realized that the larger a crab, was the closer it was positioned to the Plains Caldera. Was there something like a queen in the city controlling them? If that was the case, the Caldera was in deep trouble. Kale had never mentioned a queen ghost crab, so Tristan had to assume it was dangerous.


    There were other possible explanations, but Tristan¡¯s thoughts were cut off by a crunch. He looked around to find the source of the noise. It took him a moment to realize that he had been the one to make the noise. Tristan looked down and saw a small body that had been squished under foot.


    ¡°Oops,¡± was all he could say to the people staring at him.


    Bruce sighed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you look where you were stepping?¡±


    Tristan would have answered, but he was now on a time limit. He had to get to the tier three ghost crabs before they realized what was going on. There were only about ten of them, but that would still be more than he could handle if they woke up. If being the operative word.


    Tristan reached the fist one and sliced the top plate in half with his long knife. The second had a sword breaker shoved through its brain in the same instant. Tristan successfully ended three more before the sound of crunching could be heard behind him. The first crab to wake up had started immediately consuming the dead crab closest to it.


    It was disturbing how easily these things resorted to cannibalism. There was a possibility of it being an inborn trait, but Tristan suspected, it was due to the containment ditch. The ghost crabs had quickly overwhelmed the local wildlife and now lacked food. They were slowly starving. Perhaps, if other mythical beasts did not view ghost crabs as food, then quarantining the area would have been the best solution.


    Regardless, he was halfway through the tier threes and the second half was distracted by food. Tristan quickly finished off the crabs while they were eating. The lower tiered crabs were making their way over, however they chose not to give chase. Tristan got away, and the smaller ghost crabs started eating the larger ones.


    He looked back as he ran shuddering at the feeding frenzy that had started. It was disgusting how quickly they had turned to this, but at least with no tier threes, breaking through the warehouses doors would be impossible. They would be safe for the night at least.

 54. Hunger

    ¡°That was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen,¡± Eve gagged.


    She was currently sitting on a bed. Just like the other warehouse, it had several small buildings that shared one of its walls. They were very similar to the bunkhouses in the mine. Tristan had cut a hole into the shared wall so they could shove a few of the food crates against the door. It only had a single exit and they did not wan any ghost crabs using it.


    They barred the big double doors and went about making dinner, which was Clive¡¯s job. Clive was the only one who knew how to cook. Not even William, who had arrived way before them, knew how. It was a weird feeling for Tristan, to realize that Clive had the only non redundant skills in the group.


    ¡°It is uncomfortable seeing all those little crabs eating the big ones with such eagerness,¡± Clive shuddered, ¡°It makes me think of a child eating its parents.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually a lot more common than you think,¡± William said, breaking his sulk for the first time, ¡°Many types of insects will cannibalize each other. Black Widows will eat their mates, and many types of scorpions will eat each other, so they are acting pretty normal for bugs.¡±


    Bruce inspected William, ¡°You seem to know a lot about bugs.¡±


    William snorted, ¡°Of course I know more than you.¡±


    Bruce waited for him to continue, however William simply leaned back on his mattress and closed his eyes, Evidently his mere existence was enough to be better than them. Tristan could only internally laugh at Bruce getting the same treatment that he had received from most people. Bruce had likely never been talked down to, no one in the Forest Caldera would dare. With the Golden Heart patriarch being tier four, there were only a handful of people who even could.


    Eve¡¯s eyes locked on Tristan, ¡°what¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just Bruce getting a cold reception from a warrior,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Why is that funny? Do you like it when others are uncomfortable?¡± Eve asked, disapproval evident in her voice.


    ¡°In general, I don¡¯t care. Bruce specifically, I think its hilarious,¡± Tristan answered, ¡°And Clive, he can be uncomfortable too.¡±


    Clive ducked his head to avoid Tristan¡¯s glare. As soon as he discovered who Sage was, he was terrified. The helpless, crippled, thirteen year old had turned into something genuinely dangerous. His goal had never been to hurt Tristan, he had just wanted to keep Harp safe. Unfortunately, his fatherly desires seemed to have backfired in this situation.


    Eve crossed her arms, ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°Only if it frustrates your grandfather,¡± Tristan said, she seemed confused so he continued, ¡°He tried to have my uncle kill me.¡±


    Eve seemed horrified, ¡°He would not do that! My grandpa is a kind man.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Sure, but that is subjective. Your sister would say the alchemist is kind, but you would not, despite never having met him.¡±


    In truth, the situation with Eve¡¯s sister was hard for Tristan to believe. The only way the River Caldera got out of the conflict looking righteous was if Hadrid was a degenerate monster. Arguing any other angle required Eve¡¯s sister to be naive or stupid. The only other perspective was that Hadrid had been genuinely kind, which was not how Elder River wanted to paint him. Elder River was actually acting a lot like an angry father-in-law.


    The biggest flaw with these theories was Hadrid himself. He was a very unpleasant man. It was possible he had different standards for women or he was genuinely lonely and Eve¡¯s sister filled that spot. Whatever the explanation was, Tristan did not really care, quite the opposite actually. He was glad Hadrid¡¯s happiness came at Elder River¡¯s distress.


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    Eve seemed to see the dilemma in her own logic. She started looking into her memories and organizing her thoughts. Tristan did not care what conclusion she came to, but one thing was for sure. Her kindness had to come from somewhere, and it definitely did not come from Elder River.


    Clive started handing out food. It was a kind of vegetable soup with some kind of dried and powdered material that thickened the broth. The soup was unseasoned, but still palatable. As most of the materials came from the boxes of food, they had hardly touched their supplies. After a few spurts of small talk they decided who would take watch.


    Eve would be first as she claimed not to be tired, followed by Bruce, Tristan and finally Clive. He went last because it would allow him to cook breakfast. William refused to take a watch as it was beneath him. He claimed his senses were sharp enough to pick up anything that could pose a threat to him. It was a sentiment that Tristan strongly doubted, he had seen water and dark elementals sneak up on a whole party of warriors.


    Bruce handed Eve an hourglass that would pour for two hours, before everyone started heading to bed. The bunks had been built into the wall, otherwise they would have pushed them away from the wall. Tristan fell asleep quickly in the bunk farthest from the fire. He was not sure why but he felt more comfortable there. The only person further away was William, but he had a dark kern, so the further he was from light the better.


    While he was asleep he had an odd dream. Though by dream standards, it was likely normal. Tristan was holding a hammer. Runes ran down the handle and the entire thing was designed like some kind of musical instrument. The grip at the base of the handle had a guard made of strings like those of a guitar or lyre. It felt right in his hand.


    Despite the weight which would be over fifty pounds, judging by the amount of metal. A ghost crab came charging at him and he struck it. He could feel inside the crabs body, there was something magnetic inside. Tristan felt the specks of metal move at unbelievable speeds toward the head. He was surprised, living creatures had iron in their bodies. The damaged crab, fell to the side.


    Another step forward. Tristan had no idea where he was going, but he was in a hurry to get there. Another shape charged at him, and he raised his weapon in response. A child, a little girl was hugging his leg. She had his black hair and golden eyes. It took a moment to recognize her. In real life her eyes were crimson, like her mothers. Like his had been, before his kern broke and the color bled into his irises.


    Hammer raised, he looked down at the little girl, she was hugging him exactly like Helen had, ¡°I miss you.¡±


    Tristan growled and threw the hammer aside. This was something that could have been. Should have been. It never would be, the fire that had been kindled by the hammer¡¯s aura died. He realized this was a dream and he was done with it. Too bad he couldn¡¯t wake himself up. Well, he had heard that pinching oneself would work.


    He pinched his arm and nothing, which should not have been surprising. Tristan was dreaming and his mental arm was not attached to the nerves in his real arm. What could he do to make himself react. He thought for a moment, before getting an idea. But before he did anything, Tristan looked at the golden eyed version of his sister. If she really had a metal kern then he would need to take care of her.


    She would be ostracized, Shadow Fist would most likely exiled, and Helen would be labeled as a damaged product. Tristan mentally dubbed his sister as Tris, and tried to look for something to care about. He would need to take her and run and what he wanted was some emotion to drive him to do it. Tristan nodded, he would not help because they were siblings, he would help because they were in similar circumstances and he knew the best way out.


    Tristan took one more look at the hammer. It had an addictive almost musical effect on his mind, but it was just a really heavy hammer at the end of the day. He needed to wake up. This time Tristan used his flinch reflex and poked himself in the eye.


    Fortunately it was just a dream, or he would have lost the eye. As it was his eyes snapped open and he jerked. William jerked around to stare at Tristan. He hurriedly closed the bag with the payment in it and glared at him. He had a cold expression and his hand drifted to his knives. Tristan realized he had better start acting or he would be killed.


    He rolled over in his bed and started breathing heavily. Unfortunately, Tristan actually had to keep his eyes closed, as a tier three assassin type warrior could definitely tell when someone was peeking. No footsteps could be heard, however the noise of metal boxes moving made a slight noise. The temperature in the room dropped slightly as the cool air was let inside. The box was never moved back, and Tristan could not be sure that William had really left.


    So he waited for around thirty minutes, before sitting up and inspecting the doorway. All the crates of food were moved aside and the door was left open. Tristan frowned, William had just abandoned them.

 55. Secret outing

    Tristan did not make any noise as he slowly got to his feet. He was not sure what time it was but Eve was slumped against the wall her arms folded and snoring. She had either not been able to stay awake for her shift, or William had knocked her out. Tristan suspected the former, despite the fact that she had said she was not tired. Food, warmth, and safety in a stressful environment were an excellent combination to put anyone to sleep. Also William would not survive the consequences of harming the Elder¡¯s granddaughter.


    Tristan made his way over to the open door. He briefly wondered if this was a trap to kill him, but decided that was ludicrous. William had a chance to kill him, and with his set of skills, he would get away with it. The open doorway was their biggest issue, it was a square of light from the outside. They were lucky nothing had already came in.


    After shutting the door, he tried to move the crates back in front of it. Normally it took two or three of them, but William had managed to move them by himself. Scowling at the man, Tristan went to wake up Bruce. Bruce was a deep sleeper and had to be shaken hard.


    His eyes groggily opened, ¡°What, what¡¯s happ,¡± then he remembered where he was, his eyes widened and all tiredness vanished, ¡°Sage, what happened?¡±


    Tristan could only shake his head. Only sheltered people could see someone they barely know wake them up and still have trouble waking up. Tristan put one finger over his lips and pointed to the door. Bruce followed his finger and noticed all the crates of food had been moved.


    ¡°William left around forty-five minutes ago,¡± Tristan whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know what he was doing, but he should have let us know when he would be back.¡±


    Bruce nodded, ¡°If only so we don¡¯t lock him out.¡±


    He got up and followed Tristan toward the door and helped push the crates of corn back into place. This warehouse had significantly more food, as the harvesters had made it further into their work before fleeing, or dying. It was not enough to feed the caldera by itself, but if every warehouse had a similar amount they could weather the winter months if they rationed.


    Once the wooden boxes were back in place, blocking the door, Bruce looked at Eve with concern. He went over to her and gently shook her to wake her up. She was just as groggy as Bruce had been, however, when she saw the person who was taking the next watch waking her up her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Eve groaned, embarrassed, ¡°I did not mean to.¡±


    Bruce sighed, ¡°It does not matter and it might actually be for the best.¡±


    Tristan went over to Clive and nudged him in the stomach with his boot. Clive was a farmer and was used to early mornings and hard days so he got up right away. Tristan was a little disappointed he did not have a couple of cold buckets of water around.


    Clive looked around, ¡°Why is everyone awake?¡±


    Tristan explained to the group about what happened and how William had left without telling anyone. It was a short story but there were several things that Tristan could take from it. First, they would have to baby sit William. They claimed they needed Tristan, which was not really true. Hadrid would probably work with anyone who payed enough. They would need to keep track of the payment though, which William would not give them.


    Second, William did not care about their safety. It was not just apathy, but he had to decide not to close the door. Leaving it open put everyone¡¯s lives at risk. He would be a threat to them. Eve seemed shocked that her dozing off might have saved her life. William had been willing to kill Tristan if he thought he had seen him leaving.


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    Bruce seemed confused about something, ¡°It is odd that William would jeopardize our goal. He was recalled from the boarder wall by Elder Plain when the city was overrun. He should want the crabs gone more than anyone else. It was the whole reason my sister suggested him.¡±


    That was logical. William should have been emotionally invested in their goal, it should have made him a great ally. His current behavior contradicted that. Tristan contemplated what his goal could be if not eradication of the ghost crabs.


    A thought struck him, ¡°Hey, Bruce, you said that Elder Plain called him back from the border wall?¡± Bruce nodded, ¡°Is there anything that Elder Plain would order William to do that contradicted the mission?¡±


    Bruce thought, before shrugging, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I have little experience with the caldera leadership. Eve, you know how this works better than me.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything nearby that is of importance to Elder Plain,¡± Eve said, ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for leaders to bundle goals to save on resources.¡±


    Tristan nodded and pointed to the south east, ¡°Yeah, the Plains Caldera is just a few miles over that way.¡±


    Eve shrugged, ¡°then it makes sense, he¡¯s going to get something for Elder Plain.¡±


    It would make sense to send a stealth specialist if they wanted to retrieve something from the fallen city. There was just one issue, ¡°Why would he take the payment with him. We can¡¯t go anywhere until he returns.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s not a lot we can do,¡± Bruce said, ¡°We should try to get some sleep and make a plan when the sun is up. William should be back by then. Sage take the first watch.¡±


    ¡°Tristan, my name is Tristan,¡± He grumbled.


    ¡°As I said its a girly name,¡± Bruce said before laying back down.


    ¡°Your sister is named Tristan as well,¡± Clive said.


    Tristan contemplated leaving them to fend for themselves. They would not have even noticed William leaving if it was not for him. He did not leave, instead he kept watch over them for the rest of the shift. After waking up Clive he went back to bed and returned to sleep. At least this time he did not have any dreams.


    The next morning William had still not returned. Bruce had a frown that would not leave his face. Tristan knew how much time a simple fetch mission should take. For someone of Williams caliber he could make it the five miles to the Plain Caldera in around ten minutes, fifteen if he had to maintain his stealth. That meant whatever he was doing, it ran into some difficulties.


    If he was retrieving a heavy object Elder Plain would have sent more warriors. If he was retrieving items from a lot of locations, William would be at extremely high risk, being forced to enter multiple structures without knowing what was occupying it. However in either case, William should have gotten back sometime in the last five or so hours.


    ¡°We need to go find him,¡± Tristan said while they were eating breakfast, ¡°If only because we need whatever is in that bag.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s faces darkened. It was common knowledge that the Plain Caldera was the epicenter of the ghost crab plague. The first signs were seen in the Grass Caldera, but there was an inn with a few dozen high grade warriors from various Calderas in the Plains Caldera. All of them but Vin had been infected and hatched a wave of powerful tier three crabs. All the crabs Tristan had killed so far were base tier three and lower. These ones were high to peak tier three.


    There were not a lot of warriors in the caldera, maybe a thousand total. That was if you included the elderly and untrained, so losing forty of them in one day was a big loss. The ones at the forts near the border of the plains numbered around one hundred, and it was enough to put pressure on the undermanned wall. This was why the Elder¡¯s did not just send in an army of warriors. They would most certainly win, but something worse could get inside. Tristan also suspected it was a kind of game to see which Elder would receive the resources of the fallen Calderas.


    Bruce nodded, ¡°The Plain Caldera is only a five mile hike away, we should be able to make it in less than half an hour. We need to find William, and get out. I don¡¯t want to get in a fight with whatever hive these crabs would build.¡±


    ¡°We should leave someone behind, just in case he returns while we are gone,¡± Eve suggested.


    All of them looked at Tristan, like he should be the one to stay, ¡°Guy¡¯s I am not made of glass. I can take care of myself. More importantly, I am built to fight, while your light and water kerns are built to grow and heal.¡±


    Tristan knew that statement was only half true. Both light and water kerns could fight. He had even been saved by Sun Set while fighting elementals, and she had a tier one light kern.


    Bruce reluctantly nodded, ¡°That¡¯s kind of true. Clive, you stay behind. Shut the door behind us and wedge it closed to the best of your ability, but be ready to open it in a hurry.¡±

 56. Steel Ghost

    The Plains Caldera looked worn down. From a distance the city looked fine. The fact that they were traveling uphill towards it created an illusion that nothing was wrong. Tall mud walls surrounded the city, blocking out the sight of run down buildings. Artifacts embedded within the walls were keeping it from deteriorating for now but they would need to be recharged or risk decaying into lower tier artifacts.


    Ghost Crabs were everywhere, clinging to the walls, scuttling across the ground, and sleeping in random locations. If collapsed and ruined carts had not been scattered everywhere, they would not have even risked entering. The other advantage that they had was the scent of blood that had stained everything. While this may seem to be a demerit, it allowed them to hide it when they had to kill a crab to progress.


    Despite there being ghost crabs everywhere, they only had their eyes to find them. They were not the smartest creatures, so even when they were seen, Tristan was able to put them down fast. No alarm was sounded, just a hunger fueled charge and then death. This journey also led to the discovery that ghost crabs had very limited peripheral vision, if they were not looking straight at someone then they could not see them.


    Currently they were inside a wagon, just outside the gate. It was hanging off one hinge as if something huge had smashed through it. Half of a skeleton was sitting off to the side of the gate, and that seemed mostly due to the armor it was wearing. Tristan grimaced. It was that same protection which caused the city to smell. All of the guards would be issued a set of chain mail and, along with the civilians who owned a set, there would be plenty of rotting bodies that the ghost crabs did not have access to. It felt wrong to find fortune in someone else¡¯s demise, the death and desecration of these people gave Tristan and the team a chance.


    Once the tier two crab scuttled past, Tristan hopped out of the wagon and dashed for the guard shack. Bruce and Eve followed closely behind him. The room was small, barely ten feet by ten feet. It had a cabinet with a bunch of papers and notes in it and a table of stamps and signatures. Tristan could only marvel at the thoroughness of the Plains Caldera. In his home town Keith would talk with everyone who walked through the gate, but he would not stop anyone.


    A crossbow with a snapped string leaned against one wall, several quarrels were scattered across the floor. There were no windows, but that did not stop Tristan from making some. Bruce peaked through the slits that had been made and examined the surrounding entry yard. It was dirty, there were standing puddles of water on the cobblestones. The month of intermittent rain and lack of maintenance had allowed moss to grow on the sides of many of the mud homes.


    ¡°Remember the group we saw out in the empty field?¡± Bruce asked in a whisper.


    Tristan nodded, but Bruce could not see it, ¡°You mean the one yesterday evening?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Bruce whisper, ¡°Well, they are organizing in a similar group right now. All the tier threes are there and they are stopping smaller ones to recruit them.¡±


    Tristan tried to get a better look. He could just cut another hole, but it would only take so much time before the guard shack became obsolete if he kept poking holes in it. Still Bruce kept making noises of surprise. Eve kept asking what, but he was too focused to respond. Eventually Tristan just cut another hole in the wall.


    Bruce was telling the truth. Among the wreckage of hand carts and cracked cobblestones, nearly one hundred crabs were gathered. Most were small, with a third of them being of a larger variety. Unfortunately, there was a knew one.


    A different kind of ghost crab stood, almost twice the size of the tier threes. It¡¯s carapace was very similar to the smaller crabs, however, Tristan could see a metallic sheen on it. Worse, his metal sense reacted to it. The scythe like claws had a beveled edge, meaning they were able to cut instead of just tear.


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    Most concerning was the intelligence in its eyes. It pushed the smaller crabs into a rough formation. Larger ones in the back and smaller ones up front. After it was satisfied, it scuttled off and let ,what Tristan could only call a division, leave.


    Both Tristan and Bruce looked at each other, Bruce asked with a shaking voice ¡°what the hell was that thing?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s a problem,¡± Tristan answered.


    ¡°What are you two going on about,¡± an exasperated whisper came from Eve.


    Tristan answered, ¡°I think we just saw a tier four ghost crab.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Bruce said, ¡°My sister did her research, there¡¯s no way it¡¯s a tier four crab. They don¡¯t exist.¡±


    ¡°No, no one has seen one before. Also, no one has seen half a million ghost crabs gathered in one spot either. It has a metal shell and is way bigger than the others,¡± Tristan said, ¡°how could it be anything but a tier four.¡±


    ¡°How can you be sure it was metal?¡± Bruce asked, he obviously did not want to believe that Tristan was right.


    ¡°Really,¡± Tristan said. His deadpan expression made Bruce flinch.


    ¡°Seriously what are you guys talking about? ¡° Eve said in a normal voice.


    Both Bruce and Tristan flinched at what sounded like a yell. It was just quiet enough not to attract the attention of the ghost crabs. To avoid any more escalation, Bruce explain what they had seen.


    At the end Eve nodded, and in a whisper, said, ¡°yeah, that really does sound like a tier four crab.¡±


    ¡°The real question is what do we do about it? Can we do anything about it?¡± Tristan said.


    They really didn¡¯t have to do anything about the oversized ghost crab. The goal was never to kill giant metal creatures, it was to find William and failing that, retrieve the package he was carrying. While many of the goings on were very interesting and probably contained valuable information, they were best avoided. Every single interesting thing introduced another variable that could cause their failure.


    All of the crabs in the wrecked plaza took about an hour to file out. Once they were gone, a second batch started trickling in. Fortunately, they came in ones and twos, and the three of them were more than capable of killing two tier ones and a tier three. Tristan could only hope that the new kind of crab was not intelligent enough to recognize the cause of death.


    The inside of the Plains Caldera reminded Tristan heavily of the Forest Caldera. The perimeter of the city was all mud homes with thatch roofs. Many were collapsing long before the city was destroyed. The worker district was already abandoned. With the recent rains added on top, most of the houses were halfway collapsed. Fortunately, all this did was give them better cover.


    As they moved in Tristan expected to see more and more high tier crabs, but the reality was the opposite. Yes, high tier ghost crabs existed, but the small fist sized ones were getting more and more common. They would be clinging to walls like bundles of carnivorous grapes.


    They were easy to avoid, as most of them are dormant. That was, until a tier two or three crab jostled them awake and led them towards the plaza. They would swarm over the surrounding area while following their larger cousin.


    Bruce stared at the crabs, ¡°what do you think they¡¯re going to do with all of them?¡±


    Tristan was not sure either. All of these little crabs were the worst thing for a civilized area. They would be extremely hard to completely exterminate and would have no trouble infecting local pest population. However, these numbers were a little bit ridiculous and wasteful. All together they would consume a tremendous amount of food and anyone who was full grown could wear enough armor to be immune to them. Even at tier zero a man with good enough stamina would be able to kill the whole population without being harmed.


    This, however, fell under one of the interesting topics that can get them killed, so they decided to avoid it. Pretty soon they entered the business district. Warehouses were off in one corner. The rest of the space was occupied by various businesses. Inns lined the Main Street with bedrooms on the second floor and up and bars on the ground floor.


    Blacksmiths, tailors, and cobblers were just some of the businesses occupying the rest of the district. Tristan had half a mind to go and loot some plate armor. Maybe he would get around to it on the way out, as of right now wearing a bunch of noisy metal would be an issue.


    Soon they started exiting the business district and enter the affluent district which surrounded the elders mansion. It was almost as if the line was drawn in the dirt. One step and they had to watch out for crabs, the next, there were no crabs in sight. Even the clusters of tiny crabs avoided the line as if crossing it was some sort of crime.

 57. Guard Crab

    The buildings in the affluent section had been lived in until around a month or two ago. They were also made of stone imported from the Stone Caldera, so despite the lack of maintenance, they were still standing strong. Aside from the dirt and the moss, inner Plains Caldera looked normal.


    ¡°This is weird,¡± Bruce said.


    Eve looked over her shoulder, a few of the smaller crabs had noticed them, however they only rotated to face them. None crossed the border to attack them. What was here that could make these mindless creatures afraid. She gripped the shaft of he halberd tighter.


    ¡°It gives me the creeps,¡± She said, ¡°More than seeing bones and rotting corpses does.¡±


    ¡°Did your warrior friend tell you anything about this?¡± Bruce asked.


    ¡°No, Kale said nothing, he did not even know that they could form communities,¡± Tristan answered, ¡°What he did say is that they are a favorite food for other mythical beasts.¡±


    Eve shuddered, ¡°So, all our information is from an environment where a hydra could waltz through and kill a whole colony?¡±


    Tristan nodded slowly. He had not been educated on what a hydra was but he assumed it was bad. They were probably witnessing something unheard of in the whole world. A developed hive of ghost crabs was not plausible in most situations. Tristan was not looking forward to being the precedent that future generations would use to judge danger.


    ¡°Either way we need to get to the Elder¡¯s home, thats where William will be,¡± Bruce said.


    They made their way down the street, taking cover within inset doorways from an enemy that they could not find. There was no noise, and the silence was far worse than any noise. Despite it¡¯s eeriness, the silence saved them. It put them on high alert, and when the sunlight reflected off something metallic, they broke the lock on a three story home and hid inside.


    The three of them watched as a metallic ghost crab leisurely scuttled along the side of a building. Whatever force allowed the crab to cling to any surface, also did not create any sound as the huge creature moved parallel to the ground. The ghost crab easily exceeded two tons in weight, yet it could even move along the side of wooden structures with no issues.


    ¡°How many of those do you think there are?¡± Eve asked, ¡°Could they have killed William?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± Bruce said, ¡°they haven¡¯t detected us, so they should not have detected William either.¡±


    Eve sighed in relief, and turned to the inside of the house. She clamped her hand over her mouth before she let out a scream. The noise was still very loud in the silence of the inner city.


    Both Tristan and Bruce whirled around weapons brandished. Tristan had expected an enemy, but what he found was even worse. In the center of the home was a tree like structure. It was growing up through the ceiling, so Tristan could not see the crown. Tree like was the operative word as it had the same reddish carapace as the ghost crabs, instead of bark. Little growths like branches jutted off to the side and balls hung like fruit from it. The balls were translucent and developing ghost crabs could be seen within.


    The parts of the bark or shell that did not line up also had a membrane and inside was a cloudy liquid. However, it was not too cloudy to be able to clearly distinguish human body parts floating around the form of a large crab halfway through gestation. Tristan had seen some pretty horrible things, but he had never seen anything like this.


    ¡°What is this,¡± Eve whispered in horror.


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    ¡°Is there one of these in every building?¡± Tristan said. He could not stand something like this staying alive.


    A primal part of him told him that this creature needed to die. Maybe it was a latent instinct of humans, maybe it was his silver blood, he did not care. Tristan drew his long knife, and shoved it through the chitinous bark. Some of the fluid inside leaked out, and the putrid smell covering the Plains Caldera intensified. He walked around the tree, dragging his knife behind him. Tristan was about halfway around the tree, its own weight stopping the water from flooding out.


    It was at this time that Bruce shouted, ¡°Sage! Stop.¡±


    Things happened fast after that. Bruce made a beeline for the back door, dragging a vomiting Eve behind him. The wall was ripped away to show the form of a giant crab. That wall was a supporting wall, and the imbalance relieved the pressure keeping the chitin bark water tight. The base of the tree burst open, washing Tristan out the now open wall and between the large crab¡¯s legs.


    Enough gestational fluid was pushed out that it finished destroying the wall. The home collapsed, falling towards the crab. Tristan jumped to his feet and ran down the street, but the ghost crab backed up. The collapsing building was taller than the street was wide, so the crab got a face full of stone, mortar, and the crown of the crab tree.


    Tristan was shocked to see that the top of the tree had both a brain and heart when it splattered against the top of the metallic crab. It even had a vestigial scorpion tail and legs around the rim. Standard biology told him that they had been fighting female crabs this whole time, as each one deposited eggs into its target. However, what he was seeing was a clear fork in the ghost crab life cycle. One direction made them into factories to produce juvenile ghost crabs. The other path made them guards for these tree like crabs, harder shells, sharper claws and higher intelligence.


    With both the hunger of the masses, the average ghost crab would definitely cannibalize the adult crabs. That was why none were allowed in. Tristan turned and sprinted towards where Eve and Bruce were, If there were more trees, there would be more guards. Sure enough another two came from the same direction. The warehouse district.


    Tristan had already turned into the nearest ally, they would not be able to fit inside. At least not without destroying the buildings on either sides. Sure enough, one look though the windows confirmed that the buildings each had a tree inside them. Tristan thought that they probably built mounds like termites normally, but buildings made of stone worked just as well.


    Tristan rounded a corner and found Eve and Bruce making their way down the thinner side streets towards Elder Plains home. He did not attempt to take cover, so he quickly overtook them. Eve had lost her halberd in the rush and collapsing building. She had a wild look in her eyes, not too dissimilar from the look the miners had when the dark elementals escaped. Tristan could sympathize, this was the first time he had faced something that was both more horrifying and dangerous.


    ¡°Stop,¡± Tristan said, ¡°We need to stop.¡±


    Bruce slowed down, but he did not stop, ¡°What!¡± He hissed, ¡°Why would we stop.¡±


    Tristan met Bruce¡¯s angry glare, ¡°we smell like dead crab juice, more than the city does, if we don¡¯t do something about it, we will be found and killed.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s fault is that,¡± Bruce snapped back, ¡°You went all silver devil and caused this situation.¡±


    Eve was starting to panic even more. Her soft heart could not take seeing people torn apart and fed to breeder crabs. Tristan thought that was probably a good sign of a more stable mindset. He would have to reflect when they were out of ghost crab central.


    ¡°We need to cut open a few more trees, it will spread out the scent and spread out the guard crabs,¡± Tristan said.


    Bruce frowned at the term guard crabs. When Tristan explained it he cursed, ¡°You mean to say that the whole Caldera is being fought to a standstill by babies!¡± Tristan nodded, ¡°Well then, lets send some mythical beasts back to the hell that made them.¡±


    Tristan handed Bruce his long knife. He was not as robust as Tristan was, the extra six inches it had on the sword breaker might allow him to stop threats earlier. Bruce took Eve with him, but she was pale, Tristan would not be surprised if she fainted from shock. He drew his sword breaker and cut through the back wall of a building.


    He found a tree its trunk had bulged with the size of a nearly full grown tier three crab. It would never be born. This time Tristan knew what to expect. Instead of cutting a ring around the base, he cut an ¡®X¡¯ into the trunk. The three stories of pressure ruptured the weak point, the difference being, Tristan was able to avoid the flood.


    He cut it towards the Main Street so the guard crabs would start their search out front. Meanwhile Tristan exited the back door he had made. After running a few streets over and a few homes towards the Elder¡¯s home, he entered another house and repeated the process. The overprotectiveness of the guard crabs actually made the task easier, even a handful of lower tier crabs would have slowed them enough for the bigger guards to catch

 58. Bank Robber

    After a dozen or so trees were felled, some kind of signal must have been sent out. A truly terrifying number of guard crabs swarmed over the central district of the Plains Caldera. Tristan felt that he might have gone overboard, but the sickly sweet smell of decay now covered the entire area.


    Several plumes of dust rose from the sky, where buildings were destroyed by the guard crabs in an effort to save the tree crabs.


    It did not matter, Tristan would not be sticking around to fight them. At least that was the plan. At first he had assumed that there were only a handful of these guard crabs. No, there were at least two hundred swarming over the district. All of them moving silently like ghosts as they scoured the area.


    In hind sight it made sense that there would be this many. He had calculated that there would be around twenty thousand tier threes, which means that one or two percent of them had developed into either guard crabs or the tree variant.


    Still the difference between two hundred and two was not that great when Tristan could not even fight one. His knives would probably still cut them, but they were too short to do anything more than leave a hairline slice in the armor. Tristan ground his teeth, he had not felt this helpless since he was pushed around by Elder Forest in the Forest Caldera.


    He waited for the party of three guard crabs to round the corner before moving to the next awning. Tristan cut the bolt off the door and stepped inside, just as a lone crab crawled over the building he was currently in. It crossed the street and went up the opposite side¡¯s buildings. He moved to the next building, looked for the tell tale metallic shine, and decided it was worth getting to the next building.


    This one was on a corner at the intersection of two streets. Tristan sprinted across the street and found himself in front of a bank. It was made of thicker stone and Tristan hid behind one of the statues of a past elder. A crab scuttled past, and paused in front of the statue. Tristan did his best to stay still. At first he assumed it had spotted him, but it soon turned around and left the way it had come. Was it given orders by something?


    Tristan was about to move forward, but his eyes landed on the bank. Most of the people from the Caldera were dead and the spoils would go to either Elder River or his uncle. Tristan decided he was alright with robbing them. He justified it by saying he could buy something from the alchemist with it. It would not even be difficult to pocket twenty or thirty talents.


    He shrugged and entered the bank. Surprisingly, there was no tree inside this building. He assumed that no ghost crabs had been able to get in here, as the walls were very thick. The trees also did not look capable of feeding themselves, so the guard crabs would also need to be able to enter.


    He made his way around the desks where the tellers once sat and headed for the vault. It was hidden, under the floor in a well disguised basement that resembled a stone bunker. However, building a room out of metal, then trying to hide it underground from Tristan was an exercise in futility. He made his way to the hidden stairs when he came across something odd. A trap door blended perfectly with the floor and in front of the trap door was a vault door.


    It was made of metal, but only the door was metal. Tristan frowned and cut the hinges off the door. The bar was unable to hold the weight and it collapsed inward. Rows and rows of drawers occupied the interior, he cut the locks on a few and found hundreds of silver, copper, and steel parces. There were even fifty or sixty talents at the far back. Some drawers had names attached to them and contained letters, incriminating evidence, and objects with sentimental value.


    This is what Tristan had expected in the vault below ground, but if this was the accessible vault, what was below ground. After pocketing the talents, he stepped out of the vault and headed below ground. Upon opening the trap door he was met with a second metal door with a combination lock set into its center. It was actually the only reason he had been able to find it.


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    Sliding the sword breaker around the edge, he cut the the bolt, followed by the hinges. The metal door was supposed to be pulled up, but he let it fall down and slide down the stone steps. He winced at the crash it had made, but there was not much he could do about it now.


    Tristan followed the door down and found an identical vault door. This vault was made entirely of metal. Tristan cut the hinges again and watched as this door fell as well. He looked down at his blade. These knives were way too good, he felt like Hadrid had given him a tier three artifact, not a tier one.


    One look inside the vault told Tristan why this one was hidden. Random objects lined the wall. Some were weapons, some were tools, others were decoration, but all had one thing in common. They were all tier three artifacts. A handful of these were worth more than every parse upstairs. Anyone who got ahold of these would be able to instantly advance their tier and equip themselves for whatever task they wanted. Well anyone but Tristan. Not a single metal artifact was present.


    That did not mean it was useless. He ran over to the jewelry section and started collecting all the light and water artifacts. Tristan placed a ring on every finger and draped a dozen necklaces around his neck. After he had taken all the jewelry he could he then moved on to the weapons. He could not carry very many, but he still strapped a belt full of light artifact daggers over his own belt. After grabbing a water artifact longsword and a light attribute spear he left.


    Tristan could not use these, but Eve and Bruce could. If he could raise their tier to three with these, and equip them with appropriate weapons, his chances of survival would skyrocket. Also they could not be mad at him for keeping the talents. Tristan could only shake his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. Both Eve and Bruce would be given materials to get them to tier three by their families, so he really was not helping them out that much.


    He was pretty satisfied with his haul. Striding to the door, he swung it open and saw the fist sized eye of a guard crab staring at him. Tristan slammed the door and sprinted for a window on the opposite side of the building. A blade like claw cut through the door, sending splinters and shrapnel everywhere. If he had moved any slower the claw would have gone through his head.


    The window Tristan was aiming for turned out to be quite sturdy. That should have been expected on a bank, but it still took Tristan by surprise when he bounced off the window. The pane of glass flexed but it did not break. A groaning could be heard from the main entrance as the guard crab tried to force itself through the door way. Marble and stone cracked, but all that the crab managed was a few sparks from where its shell met stone.


    Tristan cut the glass away and stepped outside. All of the running and dodging had put him fairly close to the elder¡¯s mansion and he decided to get there in a final sprint. He only had to make it two streets and then he would be at the center of the city. There is a reason why slow and steady wins the race.


    Tristan sprinted and picked up two tails almost immediately. Two large, extremely angry tails. Stealth went out the window as Tristan rattled down the street with all his valuable baggage. He stayed close to the building, which slowed the guards down. The decorative trees meant to give shade to pedestrians became obstacles.


    A city built for people was a bad place for giant crabs to chase down a human. They smashed into trees, while the flexible trunks groaned and broke, the momentum that had been built up was exhausted. Tristan ducked inside what was likely a guiders home from all the teaching supplies, gutted the tree inside and ran out the back. A third guard crab saw him, but was distracted when the building Tristan came out of exploded in its face. The first two decimated the house, trying to kill Tristan, smashing straight through it and into the third crab.


    The distraction was loud and was the he made it to the Elders home. Steel gates blocked his way, so he cut the lock and kept going. He saw a beautiful sight. Whoever Elder Plain was, he was at the very least, prideful. The mansion was well built, composed of thick marble and surrounded by pruned trees. The estate was very fancy, it had probably costed hundreds of talents, and the maintenance and staffing probably costed a few more every year.


    Regardless the trees provided the cover he needed. Until he ran across a furrow in the ground with a dead guard crab at the end of it. Its shell was blackened and cracked, and there was blood on its scythes.

 59. Women’s Jewalry

    ¡°What happened here,¡± Tristan mumbled.


    The destruction was awe inspiring. Most of it had clearly been made by the guard crab as it sliced through trees and trampled shrub. But whoever had been fighting it had struck it with something insane. If Tristan was reading the scene right, the crab had gotten in a lucky attack as its last action.


    Tristan assumed this only because the only blood on the ground and trees was either coming from the guard crab or in a trail moving away from it. Whoever had taken the hit from the guard crabs cerated foreleg was almost certainly dead. The blood suggested a gut or torso shot and that would damage most of their internal organs.


    Tristan could not wait around, he had three of his own crabs to worry about. He ran towards the mansion, following the blood up to the main door. A crack ran through the wood that separated the top of the door from the bottom. The bar that had locked it was still in place, but it did not stop the door from being broken.


    He crouched down and waddled under the bar. The light spear made it difficult, but he managed. Inside he found the bottom of the door at the far side of the reception hall. It looked like something blunt had struck it over and over. The indentations of a ram or hammer of some kind could be seen.


    Though the doorway from the reception to the dinning hall, Tristan could see the blood, however he could also see a set of footprints in the blood. They were far too steady to belong to the injured man.


    Preparing for a fight with an unknown opponent, Tristan followed the trail through the dinning hall and into the private wing. At a set of stairs, the man had collapsed, before going up it on his hands and knees. Tristan went up the stairs, not sure what he would find at the top. What he found was both surprising and completely expected.


    ¡°Back the HELL off,¡± someone yelled. The yell was followed by coughing and a splattering sound.


    Tristan topped the stairs and the three occupants of the master bedroom all swiveled to stare at him, ¡°Hi.¡± Was all he could say to the awkward situation.


    Bruce and Eve were facing off against a wounded William. He looked terrible, his face was white and, judging from the blood staining his pants and arms, he was only alive because tier three kerns made you hard to kill. The essence in the blood meant that someone could lose more blood before dying. That did not extend to the gash in his gut, his stomach and intestines had been sliced in half.


    William was holding his guts in with one hand and wielding a hammer with the other. It was a hammer with dull runes and strings wrapped around the grip. It was the exact hammer from his dream, however William could not use it. The hammer was an extremely powerful metal artifact, it was potent enough that Tristan could not use it and he had the correct affinity.


    Bruce had his halberd brandished and Eve was wielding Tristans long knife. They were soaked in gestational fluid and looked horrible, but they also looked ready to kill William.


    ¡°Hi,¡± Eve said back, ¡°Why are you wearing a bunch of women¡¯s jewelry?¡±


    ¡°Robbed the bank,¡± Tristan said with a grin, ¡°I¡¯m richer than you now.¡±


    ¡°You dare rob the Plains Caldera,¡± Cough Cough, William wheezed enraged at Tristans brazenness.


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan said, ¡°The Plains Caldera is dead, I robbed whatever Elder can successfully lay claim to the loot.¡±


    Eve winced when Tristan referred to the treasures of a Caldera as loot. William¡¯s face became even more pale, though Tristan believed it had more to do with the blood puddling at his feet. He sagged as the effort it required to look tough exceeded his limit. The hammer hit the floor, splashing blood all over, William followed it shortly after.


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    ¡°Ok, so what¡¯s going on,¡± Tristan asked, ¡°Can we save him or do we kill him?¡±


    ¡°The appropriate term is ¡®let him pass,¡± Bruce said, ¡°And yes, he tried to attack us as soon as we arrived.¡±


    Tristan sighed, ¡°If you could save someone and chose not to, then you killed them.¡± He wiggled his fingers showing off the artifacts, ¡°I have quite a few light and water artifacts, both elements are known for healing, so if you want to save him, there probably is a way.¡±


    Bruce shook his head, ¡°he jeopardized the mission and risked the whole Caldera for whatever records are in this desk. Even if he did not try to bash our heads in with a hammer, William still would get the death sentence.¡±


    William for his part could not hear them, instead he placed a palm in the desk beside him. A dark ring of decay expanded from his palm. It was the ability he had used on the guard crab, but unlike then, he was missing a large portion of his blood. The essence that gave him the ability was literally spilled all over the mansion.


    He started coughing before the effort exhausted his consciousness and he collapsed into the blood. Tristan had never intentionally killed a person, and he was not comfortable with starting. Fortunately, he had a scapegoat this time. He tossed the spear to Bruce who caught it out of the air.


    ¡°Well then, your family is responsible for the Forest Caldera¡¯s protection. So do what you think is best,¡± Tristan said.


    Bruce paled as he caught the spear. He had changed a lot since the time he beat the younger version of Tristan. Age and the stress of decisions in the family business had changed him. However, they had not mellowed him. He looked at Tristan who simply gazed back impassively. Tristan was right, the Gold Hearts were responsible for the rule of law in the Forest Caldera.


    Bruce took a deep breath, and spoke in a shaky voice, ¡°For the prosperity of the Caldera.¡±


    He jabbed the spear through Williams heart. A pulse went through the spear and light soaked into Williams body, healing it. Tristan dropped into a ready stance, getting ready for a desperate fight. However the barely perceptible breathing of William stopped, and the trickle of blood halted.


    Bruce sucked in a deep breath and looked at Tristan, ¡°That¡¯s an evil weapon.¡±


    Tristan inspected the spear, ¡°Is it made for torture?¡±


    ¡°No, healing with light essence simply stimulates a person¡¯s own body to heal,¡± Bruce said, ¡°It uses their own stamina and nutrients.¡±


    Tristan took a wary step back from the spear. It was an evil weapon, if you had the blade stabbed into you, your body would continually restore itself at its own expense. However, there was a blade in the way, constantly cutting apart the newly regenerated tissue and restarting the cycle. This spear would both exhaust and malnourish its victim. For what many considered an element of life, it was a nasty effect.


    Eve took a step back as well, her eyes landed on Williams corpse. It looked like a famine victim had died in the Elders chambers. Tristan decided to distract her, so he tossed the water artifact sword at her. Eve flinched as she caught it, but her eyes widened when she looked at it.


    Tristan grinned, taking off his jewelry, ¡°Alright guys its advancement time.¡±


    Bruce was pulled out of his musings, ¡°Huh, what do you mean.¡±


    Tristan held his bejeweled hand up, ¡°Found these in a vault under the bank, I will have a much better chance of surviving this if you two are tier three.¡±


    ¡°Sage,¡± Bruce said, ¡°That will take the better part of two months to absorb these.¡±


    Tristan cocked his head, ¡°Why, its like eating right.¡±


    Bruce shook his head, ¡°No, its more like working out.¡±


    Tristan had no idea how absorbing artifacts worked. After all the only example he had was Siren and he had pulled the essence out of a single one. It had been a very strong one, but Siren was very strong in his own right. There was some sense to it requiring adjustment, the theory behind it was that absorbing essence with a full kern caused one¡¯s capacity to stretch. That new stretched amount would then be the body¡¯s new baseline. It appeared that absorbing to many artifacts would cause a kern to break as well. Tristan made a mental note to see if that would enhance his progress.


    ¡°Well then you two had best get started,¡± Tristan said as he started pulling off most of the necklaces and several rings.


    He handed them to Bruce before turning to Eve and unloading a bunch of artifacts on her. Bruce looked odd in women¡¯s jewelry while it looked normal on Eve.


    She held a ring up, inspecting it, ¡°You know, my grandfather told me to marry the man who gave me the most expensive ring. Said that that man would be willing to take care of me.¡± Eve looked at Tristan with a raised eyebrow, ¡°This will be hard to beat.¡±


    ¡°Uh, no,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I plan on using you as a shield to ward off giant murder crabs.¡±

 60. Hell Slide

    ¡°I wish we could take this with us,¡± Bruce said as he rifled through the papers in Elder Plain¡¯s desk.


    ¡°What did you find,¡± Eve asked, she had some papers as well.


    Tristan for his part had gotten tired of reading black mail, accounting details, and different schemes that the old elder had tried to put together. There was only so much entertainment one could derive from an affair between two people that had been eaten. He was currently inspecting the rest of the bedroom, which was also quite mundane.


    ¡°Well for starters, do you remember Vin?¡± Bruce asked.


    ¡°The guy I stabbed?¡± Eve did remember him, though not fondly. He had tried to kill Tristan after he had saved her life. If the stories were to be believed it was simply out of spite.


    Bruce nodded, ¡°Yeah, there is a note from him detailing a plan to purge the ghost crabs from the Grass Caldera.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Eve asked not understanding why this was a big deal.


    ¡°It¡¯s dated four months ago, just a few days after the crab crossed the boarder wall. It means that Elder Plain had some foreknowledge and decided to do nothing,¡± Bruce paused to collect his thoughts, ¡°Or worse, he instigated it.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t his desk be a bad location to keep incriminating evidence,¡± Eve asked. It was the first place that anyone looking for dirt would go.


    Bruce nodded, ¡°Yes, it would explain why William was sent to destroy the evidence.¡±


    Both of them jumped when they heard a crash. They turned to see a book shelf tipped onto its side and Tristan holding a large skull. Books were scattered everywhere and many of them were ruined as they soaked up Williams blood.


    Tristan looked up, ¡°What, its made of metal?¡±


    He had noticed the skull, it was of some animal he was unfamiliar with. It looked vaguely human, however it had fangs like a large cat and horns curving back from above the brow. The fact that it was made of metal peaked his interest, if it was made of bone, then there was a chance that it had some metal essence if it came from a mythical beast. So he had climbed the bookshelf that it sat on and it tipped over.


    ¡°Why do you want that, are you going to wear it like a helmet?¡± Eve asked, her voice filled with sarcasm.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°Maybe.¡±


    In truth his blood would be just as good as any armor when he reached a high enough tier. With the exception of the epidermis, blood was everywhere in his body. His organs, bones and even his brain had blood. It would eventually make Tristan immune to blunt force trauma and resistant to cuts and stabs.


    Eve rolled her eyes, ¡°well, go look for a secret passageway or something. Most Elders have them built into their homes.¡±


    That was news to Tristan, ¡°do they have metal in them?¡±


    Eve started thinking, it was obvious that she was thinking back to her grandfather¡¯s passageway. She nodded slowly, ¡°Yes, but not much. A few metal torch braziers should be down there.¡±


    Tristan frowned, that was not enough metal to locate a tunnel with. Especially as it would not be the only source of metal underground. The sewage system would be large metal pipe. It would drag his senses off.


    So the next best option was to tear apart the places that Elder Plain would frequent. If Tristan was him, he would place it in an easily accessible location. The value of these passageways was the quick escape that they offered.


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    Well, the room that the Elder spent the most time in was the one they were currently in. The only issue with this room was its place on the second floor. Maybe there was a ladder somewhere hidden in the wall. Tristan shrugged, he had already been destroying the place, so he would just have to finish the job.


    He pulled over the bookshelves, removed carpets, removed picture frames, and found nothing. Well, he did find a small safe behind one of the pictures, however it was empty when he cut it open. Tristan wondered if he was being greedy, he was disappointed that he could not find more money while he was walking around with sixty years worth of wages.


    Bruce and Eve did their best to ignore all the valuables being ruined. The papers had been very mundane, mostly discussing shipping, complaints from the manager caste, and a few plans to become the next lead elder after Elder River died. It was an oddly coveted position, even though only the oldest could hold it. Normally that made it a very short term position.


    A whomp distracted them as Tristan flipped the bed over, ¡°Found It!¡±


    Tristan looked down at a slide that was as smooth as polished steel. That would explain why William did not utilize the hidden tunnel. Or maybe he tried, but this slide was not climbable so he had to leave and take the long way around. Normally slides were easy to climb, it was the favorite pastime of children on a playground. This one had small hooks attached to the walls and ceiling, they would not hinder someone going down, but they would hinder someone going up. It was actually quite a clever way to stop invaders from using one¡¯s own defenses against them.


    ¡°Well,¡± Bruce said, ¡°I guess we have our way out. Sage you get to carry the hammer.¡±


    Tristan scoffed, ¡°what, you too scared to touch a metal artifact.¡±


    He reached out to lift it. In his dream it weighed around fifty pounds and it was fairly accurate. Fifty pounds may not seem like a lot when referring to something to carry. Many backpacks would exceed that weight, so Tristan was shocked at how unwieldy the hammer was. It turned out that most hammers were significantly lighter.


    ¡°No,¡± Bruce smirked, ¡°Its heavy, and thats what we keep big dumb brutes around for.¡±


    ¡°I am not a brute,¡± Tristan said. He was actually a little offended by the accusation.


    Bruce eyed the skull under Tristan¡¯s arm and the destroyed room, ¡°Right, you have the disposition of a well adjusted person.¡±


    Tristan missed the sarcasm in Bruce¡¯s tone and asked, ¡°Well then, can we get going.¡±


    He jerked a thumb at the slide mad of smooth marble. It looked like a portal to hell. After a few feet the only thing that could be seen were hooks leading into pitch black darkness.


    ¡°Don¡¯t we need to figure out where it comes out?¡± Eve asked, she was eyeing the hell slide uncertainly.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°The way I see it, we either go through this passageway or we go through the city. Sure we don¡¯t know if we can handle what is down there, but I am certain I cannot handle the hundreds of metal plated crabs out there.¡±


    This building was only standing because it was built more solidly than the bank. Tristan was sure the place would have been torn apart long ago if the crabs could quickly chisel through stone. The next thing Tristan would do in their place would be surround the mansion and kill them when they left. He had a strong suspicion that the guard crabs were tier four, just as a tier two could handle a tier three crab with sufficient skill, William had proven that a tier three warrior was a match for a tier four crab.


    Tristan was not tier three, he was not even tier two. He would not stand a chance against the ghost crabs outside. Even if Bruce and Eve wanted to go through the front door, he would not follow them. He valued his life more than thier¡¯s.


    Eve slowly nodded, ¡°Alright, lets go then.¡±


    Tristan gave her a thumbs up and hopped into the slide. The last thing he heard was Bruce yelling at him for jumping down first. He was carrying twenty percent of the Caldera¡¯s wealth. If he died and the artifact was lost, everything they had gone through today would be pointless. Bruce also was the one who could create light.


    Tristan was also tired of waiting. Reading a bunch of notes from dead people would help no one. He needed to get to Hadrid and buy a plague. He also wanted to buy some artifacts. Tristan was not sure of the value of tier two metal artifacts, but he should be able to get a handful at least.


    Splash.


    The slide terminated in a soupy liquid. It clung to the skin like an oily syrup and his clothes probably would need to be burned instead of cleaned. Tristan shuddered at the sensation of the liquid soaking his boots and seeping between his toes. It felt wrong. After a few seconds to orient himself, Tristan took a few steps away from the slide.


    Eve came down next. She let out a short scream as she splashed into the liquid, ¡°Uhhh, gross.¡±


    Bruce followed shortly after lighting up the space. Evidently they had entered the sewers, though with no people no waste was in the water. It was only upon closer inspection that Tristan realized that they were standing in gestational fluid. Eve watched a hand float past and vomited, gestational fluid and vomit. Tristan really hated these bugs, it really was a slide to hell.

 61. Leaving the Plains Caldera

    It took them almost thirty minutes of walking through the remains of humans and beasts to reach the end of the tunnel. Tristan was not familiar with sewer systems, despite that being one of the things that his parents managed in the Forest Caldera. He had just assumed that it disappeared somehow.


    That assumption was wrong. A metal grate blocked the end of the tunnel, and beyond that was a large pit. It currently was partially full of rain water and crab goo, but the walls were scorched black. Tristan realized that they disposed of the waste by burning it to ash. The sheer amount of flames needed led him to believe that it was most likely a tier four or higher artifact that was responsible.


    The sewer was clear of crabs, though that was likely because until a few hours ago, there was no food here. It would not take long for the smaller ones to make their way in once they realized what was here. Tristan looked at the sewer grate, it had a hinge, though it was locked right now. He cut the lock and pushed it open.


    Bruce stopped him from poking his head out, ¡°I am not fishing that hammer out of the filth if you fall.¡±


    Tristan could understand that, however he was not sure that swimming through feces was worse than wading through assorted human and animal pieces. Bruce grabbed something set into the wall of the pit. He pulled a few times to see if it would support his weight, then stepped onto it.


    Tristan followed him out. A ladder made out of metal was set into the wall. It looked like it was made to maintain the pit or allow workers to get to the grate to clean out potential clogs. Despite its decrepit appearance, the ladder still held Tristan¡¯s considerable weight. Eve got on behind him and they started climbing.


    After a short climb, the three of them found themselves outside the city, but only just. They were immediately spotted by three different ghost crabs. Fortunately the weren¡¯t the terrifying forces of nature that the guard crabs were. Two tier ones and a tier three would have been a problem before, but they were armed very differently.


    Tristan went after a tier two. Bruce¡¯s spear would be way better than a couple of knives at handling the tier three. It took less than a minute to to all three down. More of the crabs on the wall had noticed what was going on and started over.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point in staying to fight,¡± Bruce said, eyeing the crabs coming towards them, ¡°Let¡¯s go get Clive.¡±


    It was only a five mile run back to the farming community. Some of the crabs gave chase, but the majority of them went after the dead crabs. The lesser crabs had trouble keeping up with them, they just weren¡¯t suited for pursuit and endurance hunting. Humans were, making it relatively simple to out pace them.


    Several ghost crabs did come from the opposite direction and they were easy enough to deal with. It did restart the cycle of more and more crabs showing up, being attracted by the cadavers. Fortunately, this journey was much shorter.


    In less than an hour, they had made it back to the farmers community. They quickly found the bunk house that Clive was in because smoke was coming out of its chimney. Tristan wondered why it had a wood burning stove. Crops did not grow in the winter so why would anyone be out here.


    Bruce banged on the door, ¡°Clive! It¡¯s Bruce let us in.¡±


    There was a few minutes where the sound of moving furniture and crates of food could be heard. Soon Clive unbarred the door and swung it open.


    Clive smiled when he saw them, ¡°I¡¯m glad you made, uhh.¡± He winced and gagged, ¡°why do you smell like sewage.¡±


    Tristan had forgotten that they smelled like death. He had spent enough time soaked in the fluids of a crab that his brain had started filtering out the scent. Once Clive brought it back to their attention they started smelling it as well. Tristan wished he hadn¡¯t said anything.


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    They did have the money to buy new clothes in the lake caldera, but they were stuck like this for now. It took Bruce several attempts to get Clive to let them inside. He had to order the farmer to move before he finally let them in. Tristan did not really care how Clive felt, as the man had not really cared how he felt when it mattered.


    Still Tristan chose a bunk far in the back and dropped the hammer on the floor, before flopping down on it. He was sorely tempted to run off with the hammer. Unlike a few years ago, he had a plausible way to reach tier five, just get in enough dangerous situations and, boom, he¡¯d be tier five in just a few years. If he then used the essence in the hammer to get to tier six, then no one in the caldera would mess with him.


    It was a bad idea though. If he was struggling with mindless crabs, while having the admittedly meager support of the Caldera, he would most certainly die without them. He was starting to notice a pattern that should have been obvious to him. Breaking his kern left him helpless, which meant that it was not a feasible solution unless friendly people were around to save him. Luke had said the backlash would get easier and easier to handle, but exhaustion was still exhaustion.


    It was as if the world was designed to make people pay for their power. If Tristan wanted to be strong, he would have to pay with pain. Looking at it objectively Tristan was glad that pain was the payment necessary. It meant that he would rise higher and faster than most others.


    The following morning, they did not eat a warm breakfast. Clive simply woke them up and handed them some dried vegetables bars. They were odd inventions, he would pound vegetables into a paste and place the resulting substance into a pan set over a fire to dry. Once the concoction was dry he used Tristans knives to cut them into strips. The bars were brittle so most other knives would not work to cut it.


    Clive was a decent cook so the flavor palate at least matched. That was the only good thing Tristan could say about it. He missed Grace¡¯s cooking.


    The two day march went slightly faster than planned. As Bruce and Eve absorbed the essence in their various artifacts, they gradually became stronger. While this did not increase the speed of their slowest member, it did allow them to carry his baggage. With less need to take a rest, the insane stamina of the light kern demonstrated itself.


    Tristan was slightly jealous that Clive, with his soft life, could march all day. He had practiced for years to achieve the same thing. Each type of kern had its advantages and disadvantages. Tristan had only just started to realize the positive things that his kern offered him. Namely, he could take a beating, which most people would not see as a benefit.


    Clive sped up to walk beside Tristan, who was between Bruce and Eve, ¡°Hey, I just wanted to say I¡¯m sorry for what happened.¡±


    Tristan frowned, not quite understanding what the man was talking about. He knew that he had a grudge with Clive. However, from Clive¡¯s point of view, Tristan had done a lot of crazy things both good and bad. He knew Clive was timid, he was nice, not kind and that was a very important difference. Clive would help a stranger who asked for help, but he would not warn that same stranger of their own self destructive habits. In short he wanted to be good without conflict, which was impossible.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? What for,¡± Tristan asked.


    Clive shuddered, this little bit of conversation was taking a substantial amount of energy, ¡°I am sorry for abandoning you.¡±


    Again, this did not really narrow things down, Tristan could think of four times that exact thing had happened. The first was a second hand statement from Harp, the second was when they were running towards the farming community, third was inside that same community, he had cowered in a corner with Bruce and Eve while he fought the crabs, and lastly when Vin destroyed the bridges. The only one that he even thought about was the first one, Clive was so bad at combat that he would have only served as a single use meat shield.


    Tristan also did not hold the Harp incident against him. Well, he no longer held malice. Tristan still took petty pleasure in Clive¡¯s misfortune and had no desire to befriend the man. He had promised himself that he would punch the man, and he had. Now he would be apathetic at best to the man.


    Clive took a deep breath and continued, ¡°I am sorry for abandoning you. Harp cried for a long time, but I told her to stay away, she was not even supposed to give you your parent¡¯s address. The Golden Heart boy was supposed to do that.¡±


    Maybe apathy was too soft, Tristan glared at Clive, ¡°You are a weak man, I am not talking about your body, but your mind. You take the easiest path and not the one you believe in. Grow a spine before you talk to me again, or at least ask your daughter to do it.¡±


    Was it fair, probably not. However Clive had made him angry, he had poked a mostly healed wound and Tristan would not take that peacefully.

 62. Beware of Lord Kerri

    On the evening of the third day, they finally reached the far trench. Tristan marveled at the extreme capabilities of the caldera. They had dug a ten foot deep eight foot wide and four hundred mile long trench in just a week or two.


    They most likely had dozens of digging tools like the one Tristan had first seen Chase using. It was still amazing that they had managed. Perhaps the Stone Caldera had better digging artifacts. If the Elders weren¡¯t always antagonistic with each other many great things could be accomplished. Things like exterminating the ghost crabs.


    The fort on this side of the plains was dramatically different. Walls of mud and hay encircled the whole fort, the only building that could be seen above the wall was a guard tower that had a clear view of the surroundings. All the bridges lining the canal functioned more like drawbridges. They were much sturdier than the ones that the Stone Caldera built.


    As It was nearing evening, most of the hunter teams were trickling back into the fort. Tristan, Eve, and Bruce got odd looks from all the returning hunters. He chuckled to himself. Each of these people gagged as soon as they smelled the team. Tristan absentmindedly reached into his bag and felt the talents it held. He really looked forward to getting new clothes.


    A warrior caste inspector stopped them as they crossed into the safe zone on the opposite side of the canal. Tristan eyed the warrior up and down. He was not impressed. The guard was a midle aged man, yet Tristan was unsure if he could overcome Lesly Golden Heart in a fair fight. It was the first time he had seen an overweight tier three, he hadn¡¯t even known that was possible.


    "Stop, you are not part of the River Fort¡¯s roster," The guard eyed them. He placed hand on the war pick resting at his waste, "Identify yourself. Or leave immediately.¡±


    Tristan stared at the man in shock, did he say River fort? Were their directions wrong, or did they get turned around in one of their fights and go to the wrong farmer community. This meant they were almost seventy miles off target. Tristan sighed, mentally preparing for another two day hike to get to Hadrids workshop.


    Fortunately, they had a VIP with them. Eve stepped forward , "I am Elder River¡¯s granddaughter, you will let me pass.¡±


    The warrior looked at Eve skeptically. What he saw was a young woman with black hair and blue eyes, her hair matted with filth, her clothes had crusted with dried blood. The day after they had returned from the Plains Caldera, she had attempted unsuccessfully to wash her face, but it was hard to tell. In short, she did not resemble. the venerable Elder River in the slightest.


    The warrior would have tried to arrest them immediately, but he was stopped by one discrempancy. Three of the four members of the party were carrying a ludicrous amount of weath. The guard was blessed with fire kern, so he could sense energy radiating from the dozens of artifacts all over their bodies.


    Fire kerns were horrible at identifying the type and effect of artifact but they were exelent at sensing its tier. Tristan''s teir six hammer was what terrified the bridge inspector. He had no way of stopping someone with a tier six weapon.


    "Yes, sir," the warrior saluted a very confused Tristan.


    "Uh, thanks," Tristan said, unaware of the guards thoughts, "Could I get directions to the commander of this fort?"


    The warrior hesitated, "You won''t kill him will you?¡±


    "No, why would I do that," Tristan was shocked.


    Was this guy on drugs or something. Tristan had heard that the Grass Caldera had a huge cannabis operation, however the guard lacked the sickly sweet smell of someone who was high.


    Tristan descided to deflect responsibility, "I think you have made a slight misunderstanding, I am simply escorting the Elders granddaughter."


    Where the warrior ignored Eve, he bowed to Tristan, ¡°I apologize, only the best protection for the Lady.¡±


    Eve seemed disgruntled that the guard addressed Tristan with more respect than her. Once she got a bath, more people would be able to recognize the iconic sapphire eyes of the head family. Bruce brushed past the guard and led the team inside. The perimeter wall was made of mud and hay. It was of the same design as the wall around the Plains Caldera. Mud seemed to be a poor choice of material. However, Tristan had no knowledge of fortification building.


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    Unlike the exterior wall, the buildings inside were made of pine logs. They were sturdy, but had not been left to dry, so they were most likely still filled with sap and insects. Tristan would actually prefer to sleep outside, than in the River Fort¡¯s barracks.


    Bruce pushed open the door to the command center. The man who commanded the River Fort was young, very young. He had a slim build and that wispy beard that all young men tried to grow. Tristan thought that he looked familiar, not that he knew anyone in the River Caldera.


    "Ah," The young man''s navy blue eyes locked onto Eve, "I see, you have had a difficult journey, Eve.¡±


    Eve disguised a shudder as a shrug, "Karri, good evening.¡± she took a deep breath, Kerri¡¯s eyes dropped to her chest. Eve gritted her teeth and continued, "It was indeed a long trip, we need a place to bathe and some mounts so we can be on our way.¡±


    Kerri smiled softly, "They can use the common baths in the Fort, you can use my personal one."


    Eve took a step back and to the left, Tristan shook his head at Elder¡¯s granddaughter, she was a tier two using a tier one as a shield. Who was Kerri, not many people here would be able to worry Eve. Normally, Tristan would not be concerned with a tier three commander. Fort warriors were the green house flowers of the Caldera, which meant that Tristan was a match for those on the weaker side. At least if they were unarmed and he had his daggers.


    Kerri was definitely grown in safety, but he was definitely not lazy. His hands were calloused and the grip of the halberd, leaning against the wall, had a worn shaft. However, Tristan had more scars visible on one arm than Kerri had on his whole body. Still, Tristan''s instincts were telling him, this man was both entitled and dangerous.


    Kerri¡¯s eyes followed Eve. When she stepped behind Tristan, his gaze turned hostile. He inspected Tristan for a few moments and his glare gradually turned to confusion.


    "Where have we met before?" Karri asked.


    Tristan sifted through his memories, Where had he met him. Kerri definitely had a familiar face, however he had never interacted with anyone from the River Caldera. Well exept for Eve and Elder River, but they didn¡¯t count. There weren''t even any criminals from the River Caldera sent to the mine.


    "No, I don¡¯t think we have met," Tristan said thoughtfully, "I have never been to the River Caldera before."


    "I never forget a face," Kari said, steepling his fingers.


    Both of them turned at the sound of a timid voice. Clive took a step back under the gold and blue gazes. Both people unnerved him.


    Clive swallowed "You both entered the same sifting.¡±


    Tristan looked back at Kerri. The face was older, but it definitely resembled that once in a generation talent who was in line before


    him. If Tristan remembered correctly Kerri had a tier three kern back then. That meant that Tristan was currently looking at a natural tier


    four.


    Tristan mentally compared Kerri with the other tier fours that he knew. He realized that just as Kale massively outperformed most warriors in tier three, the difference was even larger in tier four. With no true safe opponents Kerri could not hone his skills, he had develop in a direction to combat multiple lesser enemies. If Kerri and Siren met, Siren would definitely win by a landslide. However, Kerri had a solid grip on fourth most dangerous person Tristan had ever met. Hadrid, Siren, and Luke were the only people that he would rate higher. The power of tier four and the potential for a tier five kern, seemed to have given Kerri sense of entitlement.


    ¡°So, you''re the silver blooded devil," Kerri said.


    "Sure, what of it? " Tristan shrugged.


    Kerri leaned back in his chair, ¡°Why is a tier zero, of all things, crossing the plains? It¡¯s almost like you want to be used as a crab breeder.¡±


    Bruce stepped forward, after giving Tristan an odd look. He explained that Tristan had already had successfull dealings with the alchemist which they wanted to hire to create a pathogen. He explained the death of their chaperone, William, and the existence of the city sized hive.


    Kerri nodded, ¡°I do agree, the alchemist is our best chance for completely destroying these beasts. However, Eve will not be going with you, as you know the alchemist has an odd fascination with the head family. I will not send my fianc¨¦ into that situation.¡±


    Bruce raised an eyebrow, ¡°You¡¯re not sending her there. The leadership of the Stone Caldera¡¯s fort is sending her. Eve is not even under your authority.¡±


    This seemed to give Eve a smidgen of courage, ¡°He¡¯s right, that was even part of the deal to send me to the Stone Caldera to prevent a conflict of interests.¡±


    Kerri frowned, his eyes narrowed at Bruce, ¡°Do you have that in writing.¡±


    Bruce sighed, ¡°No, The highest ranked member of the Stone Fort should have the document. It would be strange for me to have them.¡±


    Kerri thought for a few moments, ¡°Fine, I may not have authority over her, but I do have authority over this fort. Five of the River Caldera¡¯s strongest warriors will accompany you.¡±


    Tristan internally added childish to the list of Kerri¡¯s character traits. He was so used to throwing his weight around that when it did not get him what he wanted, Kerri would be willing to sabotage other leaders agendas just for a feeling of control. If he really wanted to keep Eve away, and they really were engaged, he would send a runner to Elder River. The Elder really did have the authority to detain Eve.


    Unfortunately, he chose to send five more people with egos to go and make a deal with Hadrid. Tristan suspected that the River Caldera was about to lose five good warriors.

 63. Immaturity

    After they took a bath, the River Fort supplied them with horses. Only one issue, Tristan had never ridden a horse.


    The last time Tristan interacted with horses, he had been with his mother and they had taken Elder Forest¡¯s carriage. After that, the only times he had even seen horses were with the merchants wagons. The fact that Kerri was able to find nine horses was exceptional. Most of them had been used to hatch tier three ghost crabs, because the best ranch land was in the plains caldera. It was a sign that Kerri had a lot of influence in the River Caldera. Tristan had a strange suspiscion that Kerri was being groomed as a future Elder River.


    Kerri was also one of the five who would be escorting them. Well, really he was escorting Eve, if she had stayed behind, so would the escort. Tristan wondered if Eve would be down a fianc¨¦ after today. The Caldera''s laws did not hold sway in Alchehall, it might as well have been a different country. Kerri¡¯s entitlement would not be well received and nothing would be stopping Hadrid from getting rid of him.


    The other four warriors were all tier three, however they reminded Tristan more of Kale than standard warriors he had seen around the forts. In other words, they were the worst of the elite, but better than most everyone else. It placed them solidly out of Tristan''s ability to handle. It was overkill for anything they would find on the road, and way too little to even intimidate the alchemist.


    Tristan considered warning Kerri, but when he started maneuvering his horse over to him, he saw the prodigy leering at Eve. Not worth the effort. He was not confident at horse riding, and had been getting by on letting his steed follow the others. Maybe, Kerri would learn a much needed lesson. When had he started viewing Eve as anything other than a relative to an enemy.


    She had started pulling he weight recently, and she had been one of only a handful of people to actually see him as a person. He thought back to the time Lesly mentioned that Eve checked in on him every day. Maybe it was the fact that she genuinely cared about everyone, maybe there was another reason. Tristan was not good with feelings, but he was good at spotting problems.


    Tristan sped up to where Bruce was, ¡°Have you warned him about how to act around the alchemist?¡±


    Bruce let out a short laugh, ¡°Of course, I got told I should not trust the devil.¡±


    ¡°I can understand the Elders who need to protect their images saying something like that,¡± Tristan shrugged, ¡°But why would he.¡±


    Bruce frowned, ¡°He¡¯s arrogant. I heard about him, but he was really a child born with too much power.¡±


    Tristan chuckled, "Well no surprise there," then in a more serious tone," do you want me to Keep an eye on Eve?¡±


    Bruce raised an eyebrows,"You really are dense aren''t you?"


    ¡°About what?¡± Tristan asked. Bruce¡¯s words were chosen poorly, if his goal was anything other than antagonizing him.


    "You¡¯re the one who needs to watch out " Bruce said, "Eve used you as a shield and gives you the attention that he wants.¡±


    Tristan nodded, Bruce was correct, but right now he was safe. Clearing out the plains was currently more valuable than a single tier four¡¯s feelings and currently Tristan was considered necessary so no one could touch him. Unfortunately, Kerri was following them, which meant that he would only be safe one way, on the way back, Kerri would have no qualms getting rid of Tristan.


    Thanks," Tristan said to Bruce before falling to the back of the convoy.


    The usual two days travel time was cut in half due to the horses. They forded the river at a low, but wide point to avoid using a ferry to cross the lake. The river moved relatively slowly, and lacked the power to drown a strong swimmer.


    When they crested the final hill in their way Kerri inspected the gathering of eclectic buildings that filled Alchehall. His eyes widened at what some of merchants were bringing in. Though mercenary might have been a better term.


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    Kerris face turned red in anger, "Those fools are trading ghost crabs," he pointed at one heading to the cube shaped castle, "That one is still even alive!¡±


    Tristan shrugged, "So, isn''t that a good thing?¡±


    Tristan really did not see the issue. Sure, the only way that Hadrid could get the crabs was to have some border guards on his payroll. However, it only meant that he was already researching the beasts. That could significantly reduce the price they would need to pay.


    "He is a silver blooded devil!" Kerri almast yelled, "He could be planning to spread the parasite.¡±


    Everyone stared at Kerri. They needed Hadrid to be cooperative, Kerri would create the exact opposite if they met. Also what were they supposed to do, attack a town of militant criminals with a band of nine people?


    ¡°Come on Tristan,¡± Bruce sighed, shaking his head, ¡°let¡¯s go find your alchemist.¡±


    Eve stepped forward, ¡°my sister is with him, I have not seen her in ten years. I am coming too.¡±


    Tristan inspected Eve¡¯s expression, it was evident that she would not change her mind, ¡°just remember, whatever happens, stay calm.¡±


    Eve¡¯s face shifted to concerned, ¡°What do you mean? Is he he volatile?¡±


    Tristan was not sure how to describe the agent of chaos named Hadrid, ¡°Well, he will not care about you or your position and he has no filter. If it comes to his brain he will say it.¡±


    Kerri stalked up, ¡°If my fianc¨¦ is going, I am going. There is no way to trust silver blooded devils.¡±


    ¡°You should really stay behind,¡± Tristan said.


    The picture of Kerri getting punted like a kick ball was appealing. Unfortunately, Tristan had a job, more importantly he had sixty talents to blow here. Kerri getting rolled by the alchemist would work against both the Caldera¡¯s and Tristan¡¯s goals.


    ¡°Yeah no,¡± Tristan said, ¡°You would say something you believe is right, the alchemist would take it poorly, and at best he would siphon your essence and remove you from the city.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a silver blooded devil too,¡± Kerri said glaring at Tristan, ¡°you¡¯re colluding with him.¡±


    Tristan was starting to get angry, ¡°If you go in there all high and mighty you will die. Hadrid is not someone you can force into submission.¡±


    Kerri¡¯s hand dropped his hand to his sword, ¡°You dare threaten me.¡±


    ¡°No, I am telling you to stay away from the alchemist, he does not fear your talent. You think he became independent because a little tier four threatens him,¡± Tristan said.


    Eve tried to step between the two, ¡°Stop, this is ridiculous.¡±


    Kerri grabbed her wrist and dragged Eve behind him, ¡°He threatened my life, and wants to take the heiress of the River Caldera into the lair of a man who already attacked the head family without protection.¡±


    ¡°No, she can have protection, just not you,¡± Tristan said. He was much slower than the commander of the River Fort, so he prepared to draw his knives.


    ¡°So, only the strongest guard has to stay outside?¡± Kerri sneered. He slowly drew his double edged sword.


    Tristan looked into Kerri¡¯s eyes and saw, not anger. He saw smugness and victory. Tristan took a step back, had Kerri set this situation up from the beginning? If Eve was asked the right question, she would have to say Tristan was trying to isolate her. Unfortunately, Tristan was not sure if Kerri had the emotional maturity to leave him alive.


    Only one option left. Tristan waved, ¡°Best of luck!¡± And bolted for the town.


    Kerri stood there slack jawed for a moment. Evidently, the tier four warrior had expected Tristan, whom he believed was a tier zero mine surveyor, to fight him. He shook his head and started chasing after Tristan while waving his sword.


    Eve looked at Bruce with a complicated look, ¡°he really is going to get himself killed, isn¡¯t he.¡±


    Bruce shrugged, ¡°Running a gambling ring does show you that the house does not always win.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean,¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Kerri, bet against the house, he might win,¡± Bruce said, ¡°But there is a reason why the saying ¡®the house always wins¡¯ exists.¡±


    The warrior escort seemed torn between following their master and protecting Eve. They had heard what Bruce had said, and unlike Kerri, they were emotionally stable. They watched as Tristan barged through the streets of Alchehall. The mercenary merchants let him pass, ignoring him, however their eyes hardened at the sight of Kerri.


    The warriors sensed dozens of tier two artifacts be activated. As more and more mercenaries noticed, the number rose into the triple digits. The raw fire power of the city of Alchehall was staggering. Hadrid ruled with an iron fist, and the rule he enforced was silence, and visitors were only allowed by referral. The rest were to be eliminated, and Hadrid had armed them to fight against the entire caldera.


    Tension filled the warriors as Tristan cleared the town and entered the front yard of the castle. Normally that would have been fine, but Kerri had been faster than the mercenaries expected. Kerri cleared the fifty artifact bows loaded with artifact arrows before a shot could be fired. They followed him with their arrows until he cleared the low wall around the castle.


    Then all the artifacts instantly shut down. Kerri caught up with Tristan. Blades clashed, and Tristan came out on the losing end. After a short scuffle. Something woke up. The escort was chilled to the bone as something angry focused on the duo in its front yard.

 64. Grasping at the Source

    Tristan ran, dodging between the citizens of Alchehall. He was not willing to push them out of his way, for some reason, a metal kerns could identify artifacts with a great degree of certainty. His working theory was that artifacts were a metal like material most of the time, giving him a greater affinity with them.


    Bow- air essence, arrows would shoot farther and harder


    Bow- metal essence, draw weight is negated at full draw


    Arrow- fire essence , explodes with fire on impact


    Sword- air essence, carbonates liquid it contacts


    Dagger- sound essence, cuts with vibrations


    Cloak-light essence, bends light around the wearer


    Tristan was bombarded with so many weapon type artifacts that he could not tell them apart. There were more here than anywhere else in the Caldera. Way more. Weapon type artifacts were rare, as they were made by people for their descendants, and most people were not warriors. A ring that could light up a room at night was way better than a sword that would do the same thing.


    He darted past carts full of supplies scarred men and women who ignored him. Tristan had to make it to his goal. There was an army of hybrid creatures guarding his home, they would be enough to deal with Kerri. No doubt about that, Kerri was raised in sparring matches, not death fights with lizard monsters.


    The sound of arrows being removed from their quivers and blades being drawn sounded behind Tristan. Kerri was quickly gaining ground. Tristan was not even sure that the citizens could stop Kerri, most were probably tier one or two. If they were willing to throw away their lives, sure they could. However, they were mostly criminals and outcasts, there was no way they would be willing to throw their lives away for him.


    ¡°Stop running coward!¡± Kerri yelled.


    Tristan gritted his teeth and accelerated. A five second head start did not amount to much. The low fence around the castle came into view, it was about waist high and easy to climb. After all it was only for decoration, no one would be dumb enough to trespass on the alchemist¡¯s lawn. No one but Tristan.


    He vaulted the fence and landed on his feet. Then he made a run for the castle. The pounding of boots made him look back, just in time. Tristan turned, drawing his long knife to deflect the sword slash. It was extremely powerful.


    The difference in their capabilities was roughly the same as the difference between Tristan and the dark elemental in the mine. However, Kerri made full use of his skills. The sword was a force multiplier and tossed Tristan back.


    He looked at Kerri¡¯s sword, expecting to see severe damage to the blade. His eyes widened to see the edge of Kerri¡¯s sword unmarred, while the long knife¡¯s essence reservoir had dimmed. The tier one artifact would not be able to hold up to Kerri¡¯s tier three artifact for long. It would have destroyed the knife in one blow if it did not run on a reservoir for its durability.


    Kerri sneered, ¡°You even plan to use the alchemists products to fight me, I knew you were in collusion.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if Hadrid could see them, but he was sure there was some form of detection system. He would have to put on a show and delay the killing blow as long as possible.


    ¡°You plan to fight a tier one in some sort of duel,¡± Tristan said, ¡°You even chased me onto Mister Hadrid¡¯s lawn. That is rude and shows a lack of respect to your host.¡±


    ¡°Grasping at straws,¡± Kerri yelled as he ran in again.


    If he wanted a fight, a fight was what Tristan would give him. He had no way to escape, and had the lesser weapons. Kerri reached him and chopped down at Tristan¡¯s skull. This was the first time Tristan fought someone with a sword before, and luckily he had just the tool.


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    Kerri¡¯s longsword slid nicely between the teeth of the approaching sword breaker. Tristan had to use both knives to stop the blade and was still driven to his knees, but he was still alive. He twisted the sword breaker to break Kerri¡¯s blade. Unfortunately, neither Tristan or his tool was up to the task. It did however bind to the blade.


    Kerri was stronger than Tristan, but with two and a half feet of leverage, he was able to exert just as much control over the sword. So, with the sword breaker as a handle Tristan jerked the sword aside, and chopped at Kerris hands. Tristan was not sure what he expected the young man to do in response. Drop his weapon was not it.


    Weapons and tools got heavier as they rose in tier. The hammer that they were going to use as payment weighed around fifty pounds, where a hammer of identical make for a tier zero would weigh five pounds. Stronger bodies could use heavier weapons. Still, Tristan was not expecting to bear the entire weight of a fifteen pound longsword.


    Kerri removed his hands and Tristan¡¯s delicate foot work was thrown off by the extra weight. There was no way for Tristan to block the punch to his face. He poured essence into the impact sight and his brain, getting a concussion now would be a death sentence. The strike threw him of his feet and caused him to roll a few feet.


    Kerri shook his hand, ¡°Does the silver blood give natural armor or something. You people are really closer to the crabs with their shells than us humans.¡±


    Tristan got back to his feet, his cheek hurt and would bruise. But the ringing noise that came from head trauma was absent. The effectiveness of brain reinforcement was staggering. It should not have surprised Tristan, the he could harden his kern which included bones, blood, and his heart. An extra hard skull was a good way to survive head blows.


    Kerri walked to his sword, ¡°No matter, armor can be broken just like a shell.¡±


    Tristan was not going to let the mad man get to his weapon . He charged Kerri and tackled him. Tristan would have stabbed him, but he had also lost his weapons. Kerri squawked, evidently not expecting Tristan to turn this into a wrestling match.


    He some how ended up on top. Pouring essence into his knuckles, he started punching Kerri in the face. After receiving two punches and a bloody lip, Kerri caught Tristans right fist in his right hand. He dragged the arm across and out to the side so that Tristan¡¯s own arm blocked his own punches. With a jerk Tristan found himself on his back with Kerri straddling him.


    Tristan was bigger than Kerri, but that did not seem to matter much. He copied Tristan, however unlike Kerri, he lacked the physical strength to catch Kerri¡¯s fists. So he would have to endure. Tristan filled the bones in his forearms with metal essence and used them to block. His muscle was no where near as strong as Kerri¡¯s. When the blows started, Tristan took them on his arms, though several times his own fist was punched into his face.


    After a few minutes of futility, Kerri grabbed Tristan¡¯s arms and forced them aside. He pushed them to the ground and repositioned himself so that his knees held his arms down. Tristan tried to buck him off, but that failed. He tried to kick Kerri in the back of the head, but it was a bad angle.


    Kerri started raining punches down and Tristan did the only thing he could, he turtled up. He could sense a mass of metal just below him. The alchemist had to do something, anything. However, he did nothing. Tristan could feel his essence get exhausted and it became harder and harder scrape together enough to stop the next strike from being the last.


    The pain of his bones being squeezed and wrung out hurt every time. This time he was able to focus through the pain, Luke was right, it did get easier to endure. Then his kern broke, but Kerri did not stop punching.


    ¡°In the future, know your place,¡± Kerri snarled, ¡°stay away from Eve.¡±


    Tristan reached out for something anything to save him. He felt something in the space beyond his kern. It was not something that was his, but it was something he needed. He pulled on it and it ignored him, like it was a long way off. Tristan screamed, he would not die because an angry young man could not control his hormones.


    So he tried harder, he pulled. It was not essence he was trying to get ahold of, it was something more removed. Like if the essence in the world came from a river, this was its source. Unfortunately, one cannot simple drag a lake and will it into obedience. Whatever Tristan was doing, it finally caught someone¡¯s interest.


    Kerri froze mid swing as half a dozen artifacts, too powerful for either of them to use were activated. Tristan was shocked, they were a tier higher than Sirens sword, so that would be tier five. Another thing, they were water artifacts.The door to the castle opened and someone stepped outside, covered in frozen armor.

 65. Path of the River

    A messenger stepped into the conference room and kneeled. All of the important family heads of the River Caldera stood around a map that was clamped to the table. They had been trying to iron out trade routes, as the center of the Caldera was currently off limits. All of them were now looking to the kneeling man.


    Elder River sighed, he just wanted to get this disaster over so he could hand off a stable throne to his son. Unfortunately, life seemed keen to take that away. His son was not a prudent man, and his granddaughters were also unfit. One was too rebellious, the other was too compassionate, at least they could be married off.


    The River Caldera had been blessed with a once in a generation talent. Sure, Kerri was a bit entitled, but so was every Elder. All that was needed was for Elder River to file off his more antagonistic edges and marry him to Eve. Then he could finally retire. Maybe get some great grandchildren.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Elder River said.


    ¡°This message was sent by Landin, the current acting captain of the River Fort,¡± The messenger declared.


    ¡°Was Kerri not the leader of the fort?¡± One of the family heads asked.


    ¡°The message explains everything,¡± The man said.


    Elder River felt a chill. Had the crabs crossed the trench? Did his future grandson-in-law die? The Elder mentally cursed the other Elders for not obeying him and eliminating the mythical beasts. No they squabbled over simple resources that should belong to the head elder of the six Caldera¡¯s, himself.


    ¡°An expedition was set up by a Lesly Golden Heart from the Stone Caldera Fort. An acquaintance of the alchemist was found and sent to procure a plague to wipe out the crabs. The people on the mission were the brother of Lesly, your granddaughter Eve, a warrior by the name of William who was killed in transit, and the alchemists acquaintance, Tristan, who has a tier one metal kern.¡±


    ¡°My granddaughter was sent through the plains with only a single warrior escort?¡± Elder River was furious.


    The other family heads grumbled in disapproval. Eve had shown a dislike of Kerri, enough that she refused to be under his command. Unfortunately, as part of the head family, Eve still needed merits to be accepted in leadership. A solution came as Elder Stone proposed an exchange of heirs. Elder Stone did it to spread out his children, in the event the Stone Caldera fell, they would survive. His city was known for its construction and builders, not warriors. Making his granddaughter happy was just a beneficial side effect.


    ¡°Yes,¡± The messenger said, ¡°Landin did not expound on that part.¡±


    Elder River calmed down. One thing he had learned in his long years in power was that you must always respect messengers. If one antagonized them, they would quit for less toxic posts and malcontents and spies would replace them. He motioned for the man to continue.


    ¡°The Stone Fort was aware that the alchemist would not work for free, so they sent Song Strike as payment for the production of the plague,¡± The courier inspected the reactions of the family heads, ¡°Kerri seemed to be concerned about the well being of the Elder¡¯s granddaughter and chose to escort the lady to Alchehall with the elite warriors.¡±


    ¡°He did what!¡± One of the family heads yelled, ¡°River! This is the person you would have succeed you. He is acting like a dog in heat.¡±


    Elder River winced, it was a lapse in judgement to run away, but Kerri had also ran off with more than half of the Forts strongest warriors. Landon was a capable man, but he was a brawler not a commander. He had shown good judgement in sending a messenger immediately to report Kerri¡¯s erratic actions.


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    However Elder River¡¯s mind caught on a different topic, ¡°You said the Song Strike? Is that the grand relic that general Ajax once held?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± He pulled a picture out of his pocket, ¡°this is a rough sketch of its appearance.¡±


    Indeed it was Ajax¡¯s hammer. It was not common knowledge, but the grand elder Sai was originally part of a more powerful force, before he settled in the caldera. One of the leaders of that larger force was a hero named Ajax and he used to wield this hammer. It was just as powerful as the abyssal chalice in the River Calderas ancestral vault, only oriented for slaughter.


    Elder River gritted his teeth. Both Elder Forest and Elder Stone had set up a situation where he either opposed the welfare of the caldera by confiscating the powerful artifact, or let his arch enemy, Hadrid step into the realm of heroes. His rule was coming to an end and that man had one of Elder River¡¯s heiresses. All they would need to do was get legally married and the alchemist would have a legal right to the position of Elder River.


    To make things worse, if he was successful at getting rid of the ghost crabs, Hadrid might even get the support of the people. All of this despite the fact that he was a silver blooded devil. Forest and Stone were really crafty. What they did not expect was that he cared more for his family than for the Caldera. If he didn¡¯t, River would have attacked Hadrid regardless of the cost to his granddaughter¡¯s wellbeing.


    ¡°Prepare a team of assassin warriors,¡± Elder River said to the shadow beside him, ¡° Kill everyone on that team except Eve and Kerri. Bring me Song Strike.¡±


    A brief haze came out of his shadow and the puddle of darkness became less deep. No one saw him leave, but a tier three assassin had just left Elder River¡¯s shadow and went to collect his team. They would be gone for Alchehall in less than thirty minutes.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Elder River was slightly embarrassed have the men around him see the news unbalance him so much.


    ¡°Uh esteemed Elder¡± The messenger said, ¡°That was only half the message.¡±


    Elder River felt a chill at that, ¡°What is the rest.¡±


    ¡°Landin claimed that this was just his speculation,¡± The messenger said, ¡°he finds it odd that they arrived at the River Fort at all.¡±


    ¡°Why,¡± one of the family heads asked, ¡°This would be an excellent place to pick up an escort, if theirs had been killed. I would even call it prudent.¡±


    ¡°Landin was also unsure,¡± The messenger said, ¡°the instructions they were given led them straight to the River Caldera, however they thought they were going to the Lake Caldera. Landin thinks they were intentionally sent here.¡±


    Elder River could almost scream. He probably would have if he were alone. Kerri¡¯s proclivities were no secrete in the Caldera. He was hot headed and rash, the boy would most certainly pick a fight with the alchemist. The future events played out in Elder River¡¯s mind.


    First, Kerri would attack or offend Hadrid in some way. The alchemist would crush him like a bug. All four elite guards would be honor bound to avenge him, and they would be slaughtered. Eve and the Golden Heart boy would be caught up and killed. The Forest Caldera would demand that Elder River take vengeance for the death of two different important people dying.


    The River Caldera would be split into a two front war, ghost crabs on one side and Hadrid on the other. Once the crab issue was dealt with, both the alchemist and the River Caldera would be dramatically weakened. Elder Forest, was not funding a fort. Many of their people would be fresh, and ready to dominate the weakened party. River would have believed it to be a masterful scheme, if he was not the target.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Elder River realized that this man knew too much, he would need to have an accident in the near future, ¡°You are dismissed, we always value loyal messengers.¡±


    The man smiled at the praise, ¡°Thank you, I will be going back to Landin, do you have any orders for him.¡±


    Elder River shook his head, ¡°No, that will be all.¡±


    He turned back to the head families, they had noticed the same things he had, ¡°Do we need to prepare for war?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Elder River said, ¡°We need to pull our soldiers from the rim and wipe out the ghost crabs.¡±


    ¡°We will be vulnerable to Mythical Beasts though,¡± Another patriarch said.


    ¡°Sure, but we already have some mythical beasts inside our borders,¡± Elder River placed both palms flat on the table, ¡°More importantly we need to get rid of Elder Forest or there really will be a war.¡±


    ¡°That would destroy the grand elder¡¯s pact,¡± a family head said.


    ¡°Unfortunately, they targeted us first,¡± Elder River said.


    What he did not say was, they targeted my grandchildren. He would break any pact, kill any man to avenge them. If his shadows were too slow to save Eve, their next target would be Elder Forest.

 66. Ice Princess

    Kerri stood slowly, inspecting the new arrival. Tristan did as well, just without getting up. His body still had energy, but no essence. It felt odd having his muscles be fine, with burning bones.


    The figure exiting the castle was familiar, she was wearing a white chest plate that covered her upper torso. A dress extended down, it was belted at the waste with a white chain, the dress was slit below that. The legs below had a set of ergonomic plates covering them, a spiked helm covered her head, and bone white gauntlets covered her hands.


    Three different weapons orbited around her. A hammer, a chisel, and blue blade. Ice spread out from her feet and a snow storm raged around her. It looked awesome, but it was obviously made more for style than combat. The blade looked like an oversized scalpel, and the hammer was flat on one side and rounded on the other. They appeared to be oversized crafting tools.


    Tristan tried to roll away, he was in no way ready to fight the ice queen. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t even do that much. The little energy he put forward caused his vision to waver and darken at the edges. Only then did Tristan admit to himself that he was in a bad state.


    Kerri looked at her and whistled. After scooping up his sword he addressed her, ¡°Are you a thrall of the alchemist. Don¡¯t stand between me and enslaving the silver blooded devil.¡±


    Tristan wondered if he could dig his grave any deeper because he had just recognized this woman. Not from her posture or her stride, but from the grinding of teeth. He only knew one person who would get that angry when Hadrid was insulted.


    ¡°I was going to ask how you knew my sister,¡± the alchemist¡¯s maid snarled, ¡°But I think she would be better off without you in her life.¡±


    ¡°What are you going on about,¡± Kerri said, obviously confused.


    He was forced to refocus as the chisel was thrown at him. Kerri stopped it with the flat of his blade. However this was a tier five artifact and only one of the two that were thrown at him.


    Kerri¡¯s blade bowed, then the hammer smashed the chisel. His tier three artifact snapped, but it did stop both attacks. The maid snatched the sword out of the air. To Tristan it looked a lot more like an oversized razor blade, which would make it very unwieldy.


    At first Tristan thought it was made of ice, but it was ,in fact, a translucent metal. With a little bit of jealousy Tristan watched as the maid deftly wielded a four foot version of his knives. Kerri opted to dive out of the way of the sword.


    ¡°Are you one of my grandfathers good ideas,¡± the maid yelled, taking another swing at Kerri.


    As she walked by the hammer and chisel levitated and returned to their satellite positions. Kerri drew his secondary weapon, a war pick that seemed to be standard issue for all warriors. It was not an artifact, just a sturdy piece of metal.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Kerri yelled, ¡°I am his best idea he ever had.¡±


    The maid screamed, but when she attacked, Kerri was ready. Tristan wondered what Eve¡¯s parents were like to get this reaction. Unfortunately, the maid was clearly not a warrior.


    She had excellent control over her weapons but it was technical. No forethought was put into how an opponent would react. From what Tristan could tell she had enormous intelligence, but only tangentially used it for violence. Even the artifacts that Tristan could sense were more for controlling an areas temperature and reducing contamination.


    Predictably, Kerri side stepped the swing and kicked her in the gut. The blade hit the ground and the maid lost her grip on her razor and staggered back. The armor did a good job keeping her safe. She was able to get her own hammer up in time to stop Kerri¡¯s war pick, but she was clearly a lower tier.


    ¡°How can a tier three woman use tier five artifacts,¡± Kerri yelled as he pushed the maid to her knees.


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    Tristan was not sure how he noticed the razor returning, but he side stepped avoiding its point as it returned to orbit. The maid followed Kerri as he regained his balance. She had the razor in one hand and the hammer in the other. Her technique started to slip as Kerri wove his way between the two weapons. He avoided the sword and parried the hammer.


    The armor did an admirable job of protecting the maid, she would have beaten Tristan with no issue. Unfortunately, the aura of cold was largely ineffective. Kerri¡¯s clothes crusted over with ice, however it was not thick enough or fast enough to impede him.


    After a serious blow to the head, the maid staggered back, ¡°What will you do to my sister?¡±


    Kerri shrugged, ¡°Eve, I¡¯ll marry her, have children with her, and rule the Caldera with her. Unfortunately, you sided with the enemy, you are little more than a traitor. My rule won¡¯t tolerate traitors.¡±


    Tristan wondered if Kerri had set all this up just to get rid of Hadrid¡¯s maid. There was no way for that to be true, Kerri was too impulsive and the maid could not be a threat. Elder River could just declare her a traitor and disown her. It worked wonders for family social standing in Tristans experience.


    Kerri raised his war pick, he was not smiling, but triumph was in his eyes. Tristan tried to get to his feet. He did not really have any attachment to the maid, but letting her die would dissolve any chance that the caldera and the alchemist would cooperate. The edges of his kern had not even started to heal, moving caused it feel like he had bones made of broken glass.


    Tristan focused on his muscles, instead of the pain. They were still functional. As soon as he did the source that he could vaguely feel seemed to draw closer. It seemed to inspect him like a museum curator searching for counterfeit antiques. Tristan frowned and pushed his muscles harder. It seemed like the last piece would fall into place.


    ¡°Everyone stop,¡± a casual voice said from the steps of the house.


    Tristan felt something immense pressing down on him. It told him to fear, to run and hide. He had heard stories about blood lust or killing intent before. Truthfully he had not believed it was a real thing. He believed it was a measure by which story tellers could show off the power of their characters without them actually doing anything.


    Hadrid pointed at, Kerri, ¡°Leave, now.¡±


    Kerri was on a roll today, he had already beaten one silver devil, fought ones assistant, and now he was ready for the master. He seemed immune to the killing intent. It made Tristan believe that it may be more related to the perception of the viewer than the danger posed by the aggressor.


    ¡°Ah, no,¡± Kerri said, he pointed his war pick at Hadrid, ¡°I am here to subjugate you. Now submit willingly, or struggle. I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Hadrid tilted his head to the side, ¡°Get off my lawn, blood is not good for the grass. You, because of the salt content.¡±


    Kerri smirked, and pointed at Hadrid, ¡°Get him.¡±


    After a few moments of nothing happening Kerri looked back. The escort he brought was still with Eve. Kerri also seemed to notice the one or two hundred artifact weapons pointed at his fianc¨¦. He also saw the alchemists living creations. Dozens of golize crawled around the home, actual flames leaked from between their teeth. Black birds the size of a man started standing, at a glance, they looked like bushes with their heads tucked beneath their wings.


    The metal statues of Hadrid in various heroic poses shook the dust off of themselves. Their heavy footsteps sounded like thunder. Tristan had to do a double take. They were tier six artifacts, they would be borderline invincible to anything below the heroic realm. Hadrid¡¯s audience started realizing just why the Caldera left him alone. Its not that they did not want to remove him, they simply couldn¡¯t.


    Hadrid clapped his hands, ¡°I¡¯m sure you have heard that I am a forgiving man. Indeed I am awe inspiring in my perfect character. However, I am very much like your grandfather in law in one crucial way. Don¡¯t touch the people I care about.¡±


    Hadrid started walking forward. Every step caused every piece of metal around him to vibrate. Kerri took a step back, he seemed to be just starting to understand that the pudgy short alchemist was left alone for a reason. He took another step back, then glanced at the maid, who was staring at Hadrid with sparkling eyes.


    Tristan saw the moment when the thought ¡®hostage¡¯ went through his head. Kerri lunged for the maid and Hadrid chopped horizontally with his hand. The motion created a silver crescent that smashed into Kerri¡¯s chest. It threw him off his feet and into the short retaining wall. Kerri only survived because his armor was made out of mythical leather not metal. As it was the metal essence crescent still cut into it.


    Kerri dodged a bird pecking for his eyes. Hadrid crossed the distance in a moment. His face was calm and silver liquid coated his hand creating sword like claws. Someone shoved Kerri aside. It was a man dressed in black, but the move that saved Kerri cost him his life. The man fell into five slices, along with the retaining wall behind him.


    Another one showed up, stepping from a shadow, ¡°Run, my Lord, we¡¯ll hold him, akk,¡±


    Hadrid cut him like a loaf of bread, the sheer speed of his movements causing a delayed reaction before black garbed man fell apart. Kerri needed no more encouragement, he fled.

 67. Introduction: Decay

    Tristan watched in morbid fascination as Hadrid found and diced what could only be called assassins. Hadrid made them look incompetent as he sent out waves of metal filament that cut anything he deemed an enemy. This was insane, a tier five was strong, but they should be at most twice as strong as a tier three. However, what Hadrid was showing off crossed the reasonable difference that a tier advantage should give.


    He pointed at the hill where Eve and the others were still sitting on their horses, ¡°IF ANY OF THEM MOVE!¡± Hadrid yelled, ¡°KILL ALL OF THEM BUT THE GIRL.¡±


    The army of citizens nodded. Tristan knew they were malcontents and criminals, but here they did not dare disobey the landlord. It was a small price to pay for security from the Caldera Elders. Normally the only requirement was quiet and some supplies every now and again. It was the reason for the grain fields, the alchemist went through a truly mind boggling amount of flour as a filler in his edible products.


    Eve had thrown up, and from her expression she wanted to do it again. Clive had his eyes shut tight. Bruce had a shocked expression, he had most likely assumed Tristan had exaggerated Hadrid¡¯s abilities. Their escort froze as soon as the alchemist shouted his order, their eyes trembled, but they were not called elite because they lacked self control.


    Hadrid turned his eyes to Tristan. It sent a chill down his back. When he and Luke had visited before, the alchemist had been cranky, rude, and eccentric. Despite the insults bandied back and forth, Tristan had the impression that Hadrid enjoyed having someone around who treated him as an equal. His eyes now were exactly the same, it made Tristan wonder if he was always ready to snap. Tristan could actually see a lot of similarities between Hadrid and Luke. Then by extension himself.


    Hadrid knelt down next to Tristan and inspected him with curiosity, ¡°How are you doing that?¡±


    ¡°Doing what,¡± Tristan asked reflexively. The burning in his ribs intensified, the vibrations from speaking exacerbated the pain.


    Hadrid raised an eyebrow, ¡°The troll did not tell you about forces?¡±


    Tristan smiled, at least that did not hurt, ¡°No, troll didn¡¯t.¡±


    What was wrong with him. Tristan had a voice in the back of his head yelling at him. He had just watched this man cut apart men like a baker would cut a cake into samples. The entire yard was filled with bone fragments and pieces of viscera that was quickly being cleaned up by the golize. After all that, Tristan was joking about how Luke acted like a troll.


    The logical part of his brain, or at least what Tristan called his logical mind, had been running his life for a long time. It would have stayed that way if Eve had not showed up with her strange irrationality. She was a vegetarian, why, animals had feelings. She even felt sorrow at the deaths of those who wished her harm. Irrational, yes, but also human.


    Hadrid seemed to read the conflict in Tristan¡¯s eyes, he smirked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, didn¡¯t you know that hardship is the mother of progress.¡± He looked around, ¡°well not for them, all they did was ruin my lawn. But you, you get to progress.¡±


    Tristan did not even have time to object when Hadrid threw him over his shoulder, as if it was an after thought, ¡°Ruth, you can let your sister and her friends in if you want, I know you have some catching up to do.¡±


    The maid, Tristan wondered how he had gone that long without finding out her name, nodded, ¡°Thank you, what do you want me to do with the escort?¡±


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    ¡°Huh,¡± Hadrid had forgotten about the team of elite warriors on his doorstep, ¡°Oh yeah them. Well, have any of the citizens been particularly outstanding.¡°


    ¡°Fran got the living ghost crab for you,¡± Ruth supplied.


    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll run some tests with essence diffusion and Fran can have the prototypes I come up with,¡± Hadrid nodded.


    Tristan gritted his teeth at the pain Hadrid¡¯s nod caused his ribs. He really wished he could pass out now, Hadrid was showing no care for the fact that Tristan was currently injured. Normally it took a week to full heal, unless someone with a way higher tier supported him. He had a small hope that a speedy recovery was what Hadrid wanted.


    Hadrid entered his castle, carrying Tristan like a sack of potatoes, ¡°So, tadpole, do you know what a force is,¡± Tristan only just barely kept himself from swearing at the alchemist. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t, you¡¯re a plebeian. But even a miser can become wise in my presence.¡±


    They entered the lab with all of its equipment and started heading for the back wall. Tristan saw the metal coffin and started panicking, but there was nothing he could do. Hadrid flipped the lid up and set Tristan down on the metal table.


    ¡°Essence is not the smallest measure by which we can interact with reality, in fact all essences are composed of forces that work together to create what we know as elements,¡± Hadrid took out black and red essence reservoir, ¡°for example fire, dark, and air share the force of decay. It also happens to be a part of metal affinity in the form of rust.¡±


    Tristan stared at the orb with fear. He did not care about how fascinating a specific type of energy or material was at the moment. Was Hadrid going to make him eat a reservoir filled with concentrated decay. That would kill him, no doubt about that, he had seen what this ¡®decay¡¯ force had done to Sun Set¡¯s hands, and she had an innate resistance to it. If he put it in his mouth it would rot his brain out.


    ¡°Us metal kerns can get access so a force called alloy, if we shatter our kerns while exposed to a deadly essence. You got it when you were exposed to the dark essence¡¯s concept of consumption at some time,¡± Hadrid gave an evil smile, ¡°I have never had another metal kern to experiment on, it will help when I become a hero.¡±


    The alchemist reached for Tristan¡¯s jaw and tried to peel it open. Despite the pain of keeping his mouth shut, Tristan refused to open his mouth. Hadrid raised an eyebrow as if to say, really, why would you impede science. The alchemist placed his index finger on Tristans front teeth. Metal essence leaked out and flowed between his teeth.


    Tristan tried to spit it out, but it solidified into tube large enough to drop the reservoir into. Tristan would have thrashed to dislodge the pipe, but he was too weak to even shake his head. Hadrid dropped the decay marble down and placed his hand over the pipe so Tristan could not blow it back out. It started dissolving immediately and burning. Like he had swallowed acid, though he assumed that acid and decay would feel similar.


    Hadrid took out a silver marble and dropped it in as well. While he waited for the marbles to dissolve, Hadrid leaned forward, ¡°You brought Kerri here tadpole, just be glad this is all I require of you.¡±


    Hadrid said more, but Tristan was in no state to pay attention. It felt like he was choking, but his lungs were filling. Whatever the reservoirs had done, it was not good. He could feel the edges of his kern, they were breaking down, and the metal essence reservoir helped it recover. Tristan was not sure how long he was there.


    He only knew that Hadrid had started taking notes and that Ruth and Eve had shown up at least once. When his consciousness could not take any more he started to black out. Normally, that would be a bad thing, but at this point it was welcomed. In the space between consciousness and total shut down, Tristan felt something familiar.


    It was like the distant source he now knew to call a force, but much closer. He had felt it once before when he had reached tier one, it was close, in fact tendrils of this force was the glue holding his broken kern together. Now that Hadrid gave him a name, he knew what to call it, the force of Alloy. Tristan¡¯s kern was filled with an alloy that was part consumption. Before it had felt comforting, now it felt hungry.


    It was terrifying. It was expansive and seemed to infect everything, like it would assimilate the whole world if it could. Tristan watched, half conscious as it started consuming the decay and metal essence. It was not diluted, only strengthened. Tristan felt the force inching closer to his mind, he realized that it might be prudent to flee.


    Inside his own mind there was only one place to go. He let go of his awareness and abandoned his consciousness.

 68. Alloy: Decay

    Tristan woke up wondering if he was going to get brain trauma from the amount of times he had been knocked out. He was sure it was not healthy. Unlike last time he had recovered from a broken kern, this time it was like waking up from a very fulfilling sleep.


    He moved the essence in his blood. It circulated through his body and bones, and there was a lot of it. There was also something else. It was tainted with something. Tainted may be the wrong word, but it was mixed with another essence that Tristan did not want. If he had to describe the essence, he would call it ancient essence. He realized this must be the result of what Hadrid was experimenting on. So decay and time were related?


    With a jolt he remembered, Hadrid. Where was he? Tristan sat up and looked around in panic. The alchemist was asleep in an odd chair with wheels on the legs. Someone had draped a blanket over him, Tristan assumed that was Ruth. He did not know what she saw in Hadrid. However, he could appreciate her attempts to keep Hadrid asleep for longer. Tristan looked around for an escape.


    Belatedly, Tristan realized he was attached to the steel table with restraints. The leather straps were too tough to break simply by struggling. Tristan could do nothing, unfortunately he would not get a better chance to escape than while Hadrid was asleep. He looked around for a clasp or some other type of strap that would hold the straps closed.


    Unsurprisingly, the releases or ties were under the table. He looked around for other options and found nothing. Hadrid did not even keep knives around as he could make them out of his metal essence. Tristan was sure that the alchemist did not even have a vault for his weapons. From how it sounded when Tristan was dragged in here, Hadrid gave the weapons to his citizens when he lost interest in them. That would explain the odd effects and elements that were present. Sound was not actually an element, and he distinctly remembered noticing a sound dagger.


    With no outward options Tristan turned inward. He observed his kern for a few minutes. At first he thought it was odd that he could see his kern, like it was another organ instead of mixed with his blood. Then he realized, if he could sense metal essence underground forty five feet away, it should stand to reason he could sense it inside him.


    He tried, with little effect, to create a tool out of essence. Even a tiny knife, or jagged piece of metal would have worked. The essence packed into his fingertips turning them silver, the metallic color turned a sickly grey as it went down his hand and returned to simple flesh at his forearm. Tristan sighed in frustration, creating essence objects really was a tier three thing.


    Tristan frowned, the decay essence hadn¡¯t moved. It still lazily moved through his kern. He tried to move it, and nothing happened. Tristan was not sure he even wanted to move it, what if he moved it wrong and he rotted out his heart or something. He shuddered. Then he looked over at Hadrid and decided it was worth the try.


    The next ten minutes were spent straining. He felt a headache coming on. There had to be some way to work this. Tristan went over the memories he had that were related to this. Hadrid had said it was something called a force. Could he control that, Tistan thought back to the source and its magnitude. No, definitely not. However, Hadrid had called the force ¡®alloy.¡¯


    Working in a metal mine probably gave Tristan an education on metal second only to blacksmiths. An alloy was when two materials were combined to create something with attributes of both. The most common was spring steel, it could not be mined, only manufactured. Forgers would combine wood with metal, the result would be slightly softer, but also vastly more flexible.


    Tristan inspected the decay essence and wondered, could metal essence and decay essence be alloyed. What would it do, after all both things were metaphysical at their core. Tristan did not know and he did not want to wait for the mad scientist to wake up. He started simple he moved some metal essence to an equivalent amount of decay essence and tried to combine them somehow. It worked, in a way, the decay essence ate the metal essence.


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    How in the world was this supposed to be useful? At least he could quickly recoup the lost metal essence from the environment. How else would he get the essences to mix when he only controlled one half of the equation. Frustrated with his confinement, he started testing a combination method. Maybe he would have to swirl it like blacksmiths did in their furnaces. The decay hollowed out the inside of the swirl like a donut.


    He tried vibrating them, which got the same result. Tristan wondered if it was a volume issue, he doubled the amount of both materials and something painful hit his hand. It broke his attention, he looked down to see blood leaking from his fingertips. Grey blood leaked down onto the table. At first Tristan was horrified, then he watched a speck of decay enter his pinky, which was still full of metal essence.


    The tip went from silver to grey in an instant. After a moment, Tristan felt a sharp pain and the pad of his finger dried and cracked, before blood leaked out. At first, Tristan thought there was something special about his fingers, but with even a little thought he knew that was dumb. The decay would mix with extremely concentrated metal essence, then hurt him.


    After reviewing what he knew of alloys, Tristan realized that most of them required ninety some percent of a metal and a single digit of a non metal. He had not been using enough essence. This did however lead to another potential problem. The decay essence was floating around in his kern, and every time it bumped into metal essence, it would destroy it. Absorb was probably a better word, they would all become a decay-metal alloy over time and tear him apart.


    There was not a lot he could do about it though as he watched the amount of decay essence replenish just like his metal essence. It was much, much slower than metal essence, but it was not something he could put a stop to. There was something he could do right now.


    Placing his three middle fingers against the leather, he waited for a speck of decay to enter. He had envisioned it occurring all at once, but the decay essence was slow. They arrived at three different times, making it the most painful waiting game Tristan had ever played. The anticipation was the worst part, watching the little pieces of decay dawdle to his fingers.


    The first finger cracked releasing grey blood onto the leather. Nothing seemed to happen at first, then the second one cracked. Now the leather looked slimy, which made sense, he had just put a liquid on it. The third finger cracked and Tristan felt dizzy. He had used a lot of metal essence. The ratio of metal to alloy was not economical at all. He could not even see a time when this would be useful, it was too slow, hurt him, and needed him to touch the target. Which was fine if he was stronger, however, why would he use decay if he could overpower them without it.


    After inspecting the leather for almost fifteen minutes, nothing happened. Tristan slumped back. He guessed he would be a lab rat from now on. He slumped back on the cursed table, at least the coffin lid was not closed. Hadrid snorted in his sleep which caused the blanket to fall off.


    Tristan flinched, jerking away. Thankfully the alchemist was still asleep. Then he looked down at his bindings. The one with blood all over was torn like wet paper. Tristan looked at it in shock. Guess it was not useless. Tristan started to analyze what happened, he quickly stopped himself, freedom first.


    He rolled over and freed his other hand. Next he undid the clasps keeping his feet secure. He pivoted, swinging his feet off the table and met Hadrid¡¯s eyes. Panicking he grabbed the nearest weapon, it was lackluster, as the string bound notebook was relatively useless against Hadrid.


    The alchemist gave Tristan a sleepy smile, which looked really creepy when given by a fifty year old man in low visibility, ¡°Ah good, your awake.¡±


    Groggily he reached for the side table, fumbling for something. Tristan glanced at his hands and got an idea.


    He brandished the notebook like a sword, ¡°You had better behave,¡± The sleepiness left Hadrid¡¯s eyes, ¡°Or the notebook dies.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Hadrid said in a threatening tone.


    Tristan flipped the book over so the back was facing up. He held his finger over the book and as a single drop of decay alloy dripped onto the paper he said, ¡°Or what.¡±


    Hadrid¡¯s face paled as he watched the drop hit the back cover and start dissolving it.

 69. Force: Decay

    Hadrid threw himself to the floor, frantically trying to collect the sludge that was all that remained of the back cover and last page. Tristan had to quickly remove them, as the decay ate through them rather quickly. Paper was evidently less durable than leather, who would have thought.


    Hadrid looked up at Tristan, ¡°Let¡¯s be reasonable, hand me the note-¡°


    ¡°No, reasonableness is something that ceases to exist when you drag an injured person off and preform experiments on them!¡± Tristan shouted.


    ¡°But they were important experiments,¡± Hadrid said indignantly.


    Tristan opened his mouth to yell some more, but he realized, Hadrid would not be convinced by anything he said. Did he want him to be convinced? Right now he had leverage over the alchemist, he could use that to get some information.


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not,¡± Tristan said, ¡°However, if you want your notes, we need to have a talk.¡±


    Hadrid¡¯s face scrunched up, ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°How do you use a force?¡± Tristan asked.


    Hadrid frowned, confused, ¡°I thought you would ask about the plant crabs?¡±


    ¡°No, thats what Eve and Bruce are here for,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I want to know how to use a force.¡±


    Hadrid nodded, though his eyes never left the book, ¡°There is a force for most natural phenomenon, don¡¯t ask how many, where they come from, or why tier zero¡¯s are more likely to have them.¡±


    Tristan almost asked why tier zero¡¯s were more likely, but bit off his question before he could ask. He changed his question, ¡°What force do you and Luke have?¡±


    Hadrid settled back in his chair, ¡°Luke has conductivity, while I have alloy as well. Also you don¡¯t ¡®have¡¯ a force, no one does, that would make you a god. However, your essence is flavored by that force. An easy example would be if a fire kern had the force of combustion, their fire would be able to burn better than plain fire essence, but the fire kern does not own the force no combustion essence will be thrown out.¡±


    ¡°Then why do I have decay essence in me?¡± Tristan asked. He got off the table and rolled another wheeled chair over.


    Hadrid perked up and grabbed a pencil, before frowning at the note book in Tristan¡¯s hand, ¡°So it worked! As far as essence goes, you don¡¯t, you have decay force metal essence. Think of it like a dark attribute metal.¡±


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t I move it?¡± Tristan asked. He was getting frustrated. When he looked into his kern he clearly saw a decay essence with no hint of metal essence.¡±


    ¡°Of course, are you stupid, essences are made up of different combinations of forces, it is a decay force that is prominent. Why would you be able to control that before you make an alloy out of it?¡± Hadrid seemed offended that Tristan forgot something that he had said while pouring decay concentrate down his throat.


    ¡°How are alloys made,¡± Tristan asked.


    Hadrid rolled his eyes and gestured to the floor, ¡°I suspect that you already have that figured out.¡±


    ¡°Tell me anyway,¡± Tristan said brandishing his finger at the note book.


    Hadrid narrowed his eyes, only sitting back when Tristan put his finger away, ¡°I have no idea, my first three alloyed forces were all metal related. I call them, toxin, flexibility, reflection and stability. The only one not associated with metal is integration, and it was also my first one.¡±


    ¡°Toxin?¡± Tristan frowned. That did not sound like a metal related force.


    ¡°Boy, you have never played with mercury, have you?¡± Hadrid said, as if playing with toxic metals was a normal thing to do. Then he went back to the original question, ¡°Those first four are metal essences, so I can control them, integration needs to be mixed at a five to one ratio, using a stirring method.¡±


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    Tristan frowned, ¡°My decay, needed to collect much more than that, it just absorbs a massive amount and then destroys everything.¡±


    Hadrid got excited and raised his pencil, ¡°Could you at least give me a page.¡±


    Tristan almost said no, however there was a large number of other books lying around. If he pushed too hard the alchemist might go and get another book. So he tore off the back page, causing Hadrid to wince, but he still took it and started writing down what Tristan had just said.


    After some contemplation Hadrid nodded, ¡°Seems right. In practice, decay only occurs when there is something to feed upon. If you use the force of consumption you have it will probably work the same way. So you have to prime it to activate its effects, which is good otherwise it would eat you from the inside out.¡±


    That at least made sense. Even if he knew what to look for, Tristan was not sure he would know what to look for in a consumption force. In practice it should be a worse decay. There was another oddity about this experience.


    ¡°Why did you have me swallow a metal reservoir?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Potency mostly. I wanted to have the essence on hand to get flavored by alloy, as opposed to collecting it slowly. It means your decay will be vastly stronger than your consumption, in terms of volume. Also I wanted to see how big a kern could be stretched in a single sitting.¡± Hadrid said.


    ¡°What. I could have died,¡± Tristan said. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he should be mad at this point. If his kern had failed to heal because it was too full, that would have been just as bad ¡°So, how far did you stretch it?¡±


    Hadrid made a disgusted face, ¡°I put a tier five essence reservoir in you, and you only got half way to tier three. The decay must have eaten most of it.¡±


    Tristan could not help but grin, that meant only half a tier before he could make his own equipment. He could actually have armor, and as a side affect, it would also supply a near limitless supply of money if he decided to sell it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve answered you questions,¡± Hadrid held out a hand like an expectant toddler, ¡°Give it back.¡±


    Tristan was about to refuse, but after Hadrid mentioned that he could inflate tier growth he knew one thing. If Hadrid lost the journal, he could beat Tristan within an inch of his life and preform the experiment again. As soon as the alchemist realized this Tristan would lose all his bargaining power.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Sure, but before I hand it back, I need you to promise not to do any experiments on me again.¡±


    ¡°I promise,¡± Hadrid said quickly, Tristan raised an eyebrow, ¡°I promise on my mother¡¯s grave.¡±


    Tristan was not sure what that was supposed to mean, but he knew that Hadrid was too cold to care about anyone who was already dead. Tristan stood and said , ¡°Follow me, I need you to promise in front of witnesses.¡±


    Hadrid rolled his eyes and sighed. He was really reminding Tristan of a big toddler, but at least the alchemist followed. Tristan found Eve and Ruth having a picnic on the front lawn. Eve seemed uncomfortable with the setting, despite the fact that all the blood and gore was gone. Several, golize surrounded them, very dog like in how they begged for food, though more horrifying. Bruce looked like he had gotten bored with waiting and was practicing with the artifact spear.


    ¡°Sage!¡± Eve said happily, ¡°I¡¯m glad you recovered from your head injury so quickly.¡±


    Head injury? Tristan glared at Hadrid. So he knew that they would disapprove of his actions and went about it anyways. What would he have done if Tristan had died. Briefly, Tristan imagined Hadrid telling Eve that he misplaced the body and then to get off his lawn.


    ¡°No, Hadrid has something to tell all you fine people, ¡° Tristan said loudly enough to get some of the passing citizen¡¯s attention.


    Hadrid raised a hand, ¡°I swear on my moth-¡°


    ¡°Please swear on the integrity of your research,¡± Tristan said.


    Hadrid¡¯s eyes dulled a little, ¡°I swear,¡± he took a deep breath, ¡°Do I really have to do this?¡±


    Tristan nodded, Hadrid definitely had something else planned.


    Hadrid clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, ¡°I swear on the integrity of my research to never experiment on you again,¡± He looked at Tristan hopefully, ¡°without your consent?¡±


    Tristan was about to yell at the alchemist. However he was not likely to get a better promise, that and he would benefit from selecting the alloyed forces in the future. He tossed the note book to Hadrid, who snatched it back and inspected it for more damage.


    ¡°He did what?¡± Eve said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it happens all the time,¡± Ruth said waving her hand dismissively.


    Tristan chuckled at Eve¡¯s wide eyes and slack jaw directed at her sister. However he had another thing to request of Hadrid, the real reason why he came.


    ¡°Hadrid can you teach me how to create essence reservoirs and infuse objects with them, you know alchemy stuff?¡± Tristan asked, ¡°I¡¯m willing to pay.¡±


    Hadrid gave a smug grin, ¡°Fifty talents.¡± The grin died when Tristan handed over fifty talents, ¡°Uh, well thats not what.¡±


    Eve spoke over him, ¡°Its a good thing your boss knows how much he¡¯s worth, right Ruth.¡±


    ¡°Indeed!¡± Ruth said, much less sarcastically. Her hands were pressed together like she was praying to Hadrid, ¡°It is only reasonable for someone to pay fifty years worth of wages to even step on the same path as him. My Hadrid is a very good and wise man.¡±


    Hadrid¡¯s face turned red and he looked about ready to choke, ¡°Fine!¡± He slammed the castle door, Tristan could hear him mutter, ¡°Troll turd,¡± as he stomped down to the basement.

 70. Tier Two

    Now that Hadrid was wrangled, Tristan moved on to the next order of business. Testing what he could do now. He had already been through this twice and it took less time to get control over his jerky body. Tristan had noticed something with tier two that surprised him.


    Moving the essence in his blood came much more naturally. The effect was great enough that he was starting to suspect that the individual tiers represented more than a quantification of internal essence. Tristan had seen tier ones activate the essence in their kern, Sun Set had made light after all. However he had never seen one move the essence in their blood, in addition to that, when he had done it just a few days ago, he had to pay attention to what direction the blood was flowing to account for drifting essence.


    Now that he could move essence he realized that all he had been doing was activating it in much the same way Sun Set had. Tier three permitted the creation of elements from the essence in ones kern. Tristan suspected that tier four had something to do with infusing other objects with essence, as Luke had been the only one he had seen do that. Tier four was where Tristan suspected the minimum threshold for alchemy lay as infusion seemed to be invaluable for it and was one of Hadrid¡¯s prominent alloyed forces.


    Tristan walked to Eve who looked concerned, she asked, ¡°So, how are you doing?¡±


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°Fine I guess. That experiment, horrible as it was, did push me into tier two.¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°In just a few hours!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t my Hadrid amazing,¡± Ruth cooed.


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan answered, then asked, ¡°Why do you even like him, I can¡¯t think of any redeeming traits?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s amazing,¡± Ruth reiterated, ¡°That¡¯s the best trait someone can have.¡±


    Eve answered, ¡°There is a kind of reasonable explanation. Ruth was very sick with an unknown mind disease when the alchemist kidnapped her to use her as a hostage. The only reason she was alive in the first place was because the head family was wealthy enough to commission some herbalists to create a medicine specifically for her. This version of Ruth is actually much healthier than she used to be, at least the person she is fixated on is real, not a hallucination.¡±


    ¡°I did not hallucinate mom, she was at my birthday before I left,¡± Ruth said.


    Eve gave her a sad smile, ¡°That was grandma, mom died giving birth to me.¡±


    Sadness crossed Ruth¡¯s face before clearing up and focusing on the picnic. Tristan felt strange now, he had thought she was a fool for staying around Hadrid. Maybe the alchemist had messed with her head. Now that he knew a mental condition was involved, Tristan felt bad for those thoughts. She was probably better off with the alchemist where she could receive constant treatments, and somehow over the decade of imprisonment, Ruth had wormed her way into Hadrid¡¯s emotions. She loved him unconditionally and such devotion was enough to break down any wall over time, which it had. It gave them a weird mimicry of a father daughter relationship. She saw him as her hero and he brutally destroyed anything that dared touch her.


    Tristan shook his head to clear that train of thought, ¡°Anyway, did you talk to him about the crab plague?¡±


    Eve nodded, ¡°He agreed to do it, even said it would only take a few days to put together. However he also said we would have to wait a year before planting any crops in the plains.¡±


    Tristan frowned, was a plague toxic to plants too? That could actually cause a larger issue than the ghost crabs were causing. It seemed a bit overkill. But it also was not his problem. He thanked Eve and continued onto where Bruce was practicing. For the first time he saw Clive sitting there breathing heavily with a wooden pole beside him.


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    ¡°You decided to start training?¡± Tristan asked Clive.


    He nodded, ¡°Yes, its getting ridiculous that every time something the size of a house cat attacks, I need to run away.¡±


    Tristan looked at the pole and asked, ¡°You mind if I take a turn.¡±


    Clive nodded and flopped over on his back. Bruce watched him quizzically as he gripped the staff. Tristan made a few practice swings. Luke had made him practice with staves as they were the easiest weapon to get ahold of. Broom handles, curtain rods, tree branches, were just a few places that one could source a stave.


    It took him a minutes to get used to the greater force and speed. The lightness he felt was deceptive. It made his stances feel off, as he had gotten used to the weight of his body. He wondered if that became an issue in the hero tiers. When someone could apply more force than their friction with the ground could withstand, would they push themselves back when they hit something heavy? He was not sure there would ever be enough people between tiers six and ten to develop a method to cope with the issue.


    Turning to Bruce he held his staff parallel to the ground. If Tristan was being honest, he did it because he thought it looked cool, ¡°Do you want to go a round.¡±


    Bruce thought for a moment, ¡°So long as you don¡¯t beat me like I beat you.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan nodded, then he brandished his staff, ¡°I won¡¯t bring my friends.¡±


    Bruce¡¯s eyes widened as Tristan ran at him. He was still holding the artifact spear, so he definitely had the weapon advantage, but that was his only advantage. Tristan had already been a battle ready tier one, which was odd for his tier, but being battle ready gave him several advantages that allowed him to fight weak tier threes. Bruce was currently trying to step past being a week tier two. He was a businessman not a fighter.


    Tristan watched Bruce¡¯s body language and observed the traits that commonly predicated certain movements. Siren had said most strikes come from the back foot for extra leverage. Grips tighten and teeth clench, in new soldiers, they sometimes even closed their eyes. All of these tells only helped when fighting humans, as most mythical beasts lacked human expressions.


    Bruce demonstrated every sign, and Tristan watched the sweep approach his leg. Tristan was used to his opponents having a two or three tier lead on him, so someone slightly higher within the same tier seemed slow. Tristan simply stepped into a slightly longer stance to avoid the blade of the spear. He reinforced his calf and jabbed forward.


    Staves were not soft, breaking someone¡¯s leg was normally a good move, however, metal essence excelled in defense. The shaft thunked harmlessly into his leg, and Tristans jab got Bruce in the hip. He folded and groaned. No damage had been done, but that was a sensitive area and light essence was the worst on defense.


    Bruce looked at Tristan and shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s cheating.¡±


    ¡°If it makes you feel any better, its not like armor, I can¡¯t just always have it on,¡± Tristan said with a smile, ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure that the head of your spear would go right through it.¡±


    Bruce shrugged, ¡°It does not really matter if I can¡¯t hit you with the point, metal essence or not.¡±


    Despite the depressed statement, Bruce raised his spear into a ready stance and they clashed again. The result was the same as the first match, and Bruce demanded another match. Tristan sparred with Bruce for around thirty minutes when he realized that he was running out of essence.


    He had forgotten that the strength of light was healing and stamina. Tristan had trained his body harder, but the difference was not extreme enough to overcome the efficiency of light essence. Bruce grinned when Tristan dodged a strike instead of simply absorbing it.


    ¡°You running out of steam?¡± Bruce asked.


    Tristan did not have time to nod. The lack of metal essence was one problem, but no human could move indefinitely. Now that Tristan had to dodge he was running through his endurance at an astonishing pace. Bruce kept going like a machine.


    He stabbed a few times and Tristan shunted the tip off to the side. The butt of the spear whipped around forcing Tristan to duck. Sweat dripped off of Tristan and his actions were slower than he intended. He was not able to stop Bruce¡¯s kick. Tristan staggered back, tripping over his own feet. By the time he rolled over the point of the spear hovered just in front of his nose.


    ¡°I win,¡± Bruce said with a grin.


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Tristan said sarcastically, ¡°the tally is now thirty-two to one.¡±


    ¡°Its only the last person to win that counts,¡± Bruce said.


    Tristan frowned, confused that he would say such a ridiculous thing. If someone killed you thirty-two times over, then you were way too dead for that thirty-third time to matter. However, Eve and Ruth both seemed to see it Bruce¡¯s way as they congratulated him for his hard won victory. He wondered if it was the underdog favoritism that people enjoyed so much, and how in the world did Bruce become the underdog. Tristan could only shake his head at this ridiculousness.

 71. Alchemy 10None

    ¡°Alright let me teach you the basics,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°Pointing at a live ghost crab strapped to the table, ¡°Alchemy is just a way to make research sound interesting.¡±


    Tristan nodded along, he had a pen and paper in his hand and was paying attention. He had asked to learn how to make artifacts, but Hadrid had taken that to mean he wanted to learn alchemy. It was a sentiment that Tristan would not say no to. A general knowledge of alchemy would not help him as much right now, but it would streamline any self study he would need to do later.


    ¡°Everything in this world is composed of essence, with one exception,¡± Hadrid held up a finger, ¡°That is the soul,¡±


    ¡°Are you saying my body is made of essence?¡± Tristan asked, getting ready to distill the answer he was about to be given.


    ¡°What do you think you are, some eldritch being from beyond reality? No, you¡¯re a troll, and that means you¡¯re made of essence and its associated forces,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°You are almost seventy percent water, you have minerals, and metal, you need air, and energy to even be alive, while you need dark to eat and light to heal. So, not even dead people lack essence.¡±


    Tristan simply wrote yes next to the question in his notes. The answer disturbed Tristan, if he was seventy percent water, did that mean that seventy percent of his body would be under Kerri¡¯s control. Would he have to create some kind of counter measure? Would the force of alloy be able to bind this issue and turn it into a strength?


    ¡°The first step is that you need to project your essence into your victim, uh, your subject,¡± Hadrid corrected, ¡°In the same way sound bounces off objects differently, your projection bounces off other essence in unique ways.¡±


    Tristan placed his hand on the mythical beasts and tried to do what Hadrid said, and got nothing. He tried to force his essence past his skin, but couldn¡¯t. His focus was so intent that he missed it when some of the decay floated in cracking his palm. Trista cursed and looked for something to wipe the dark grey blood off on. Then he realized that was a terrible idea, whatever he used would start falling apart.


    ¡°Control yourself, before you wreck my lab with your fluids,¡± Hadrid complained as he carefully expended a cloth to stop the ghost crab from rotting.


    ¡°You did this to me,¡± Tristan hissed back.


    Hadrid gave him a ¡®so what¡¯ look, and turned back to his experiment, ¡°If you had listened a little more, you would have known essence projection is a tier four thing, and reading the feedback tends to come at tier five. Though my testing pool for tier four and five is very limited. Do you think I could get a chance to see Siren.¡±


    ¡°Describe the process then,¡± Tristan said.


    The request for Siren was a definite no. Elder Forest would never send out his most powerful warrior to the camp of the enemy for experimentation. Tristan was disappointed that he would have to wait two entire tiers to even start practicing alchemy. In the past he would simply sighed and passed it off as bad luck at birth, but now he simply nodded, he would eventually get there. It did explain why Hadrid was the only alchemist in the caldera.


    Hadrid grumbled, ¡°Demanding aren¡¯t we?¡± Tristan raised an eyebrow, ¡°Fine, Fine, every time you get offended, you stab my dignity.¡±


    Tristan felt that was a fair assessment. He would be kinder to Hadrid, but the man did not really deserve it. So, Tristan would get what he needed without stepping over any moral boundaries.


    He started writing when Hadrid started explaining, ¡°With the force of infusion, alchemists can move essences and their related forces in and out of objects with no will. It is how I can make a fire artifact despite having a metal kern, though it is unlike other artifacts. Mine are better in some ways, worse in others. As they run on a reservoir they need to be recharged, but can keep running until that reservoir is empty. Regular artifacts are constantly fueled by the wielder, however, they are made of stronger materials, so they are always sturdier. This advantage means that they can only be wielded by a person with a matching kern.¡±


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    ¡°It sounds simple, and it is, but it does take incredible finesse to alter a material without destroying it. Adding fire to a dagger should result in a puddle of slag, so other forces need to get involved, and some of those are very expensive or rare. The dagger mentioned, required the force of conductivity to keep the heat from transferring into the grip, and dissipation to push it out into the environment. Both those are hard to get ahold of, as they can¡¯t be grown in a lab like decay.¡±


    ¡°Does that limit its tier?¡± Tristan asked. His knives were tier one and had two of these. One for hardness and one for upkeep, as it never rusted.


    ¡°Yes, it would be a minimum of tier two for normal use, but it would be tier three if you wanted it to be for combat, as carving butter and starting campfires takes way less essence than combusting a person.¡± Hadrid walked around the ghost crab.


    Tristan noticed a gel pack sitting on a hot plate. He wondered what Hadrid was doing when he picked it up and stabbed it with the ghost crabs stinger. The stinger convulsed and an egg was ejected into the gel pack.


    Hadrid made a gesture for Tristan to follow, ¡°When modifying living creatures, you need to get to them early, before conception if possible. The will needs to be absent, and as soon as the heart starts beating, a will is present. Even if it is merely the will to survive. The golize were the experimental combination of the battle prowess of a drake, the dietary freedom of a goat, and the loyalty of a shepherd dog. I consider them mostly successful.¡±


    ¡°Augmenting something to create something new is incredibly difficult, an alchemist needs to change the forces in such a way as to allow the organism to survive without unbalancing the whole structure. Whoever put the original system together was a genius.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°You mean the gods?¡±


    Hadrid shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m not a god. Also the Elder¡¯s gods of earth, light, fire, and water are stupid. Well at least it was not them if they do exist. The system works too well to be built by a group in conflict with itself.¡±


    Tristan could only shrug. He had a kern that matched the demon lord in the Caldera¡¯s temple. Being in a religious group was actually dangerous for him, considering his silver blood.


    ¡°What the Elders are paying me to do here is actually very simple. They want me to create a plague, however that is about the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. They tend to get out of control and mutate,¡± Hadrid slapped the ghost crabs carapace, ¡°This girl will give me an unlimited number of patients to experiment on.¡±


    Hadrid dug the egg out of the gel and placed it on a glass to table. It had a magnifying glass, which Hadrid pushed aside. He retrieved a piece of paper and a pencil and sat down. Placing a hand on top of the egg he closed his eyes and stilled.


    At first Tristan was confused, then he realized that Hadrid was projecting his essence. Tristan was not able to do that yet, however his essence control had to be on the high side. Back at the mine, Luke had made sure he could find metal objects blindfolded. It was not a skill that had been very useful, as it required concentration. However, right now, there was no threat, Tristan could focus.


    He felt for the resonance with all the metal around him. His metal sense was much stronger now, as he was two entire tiers higher. The entire lab was made of metal. Enough was present to make Tristan believe that the alchemist was the mine¡¯s biggest customer. Then he focused on Hadrid. He was a massive concentration of metal essence, Tristan had seen steel statues of Elder Forest with less essence in them.


    Tristan followed the essence as it was projected into the egg. It was more of a pulse, like ripples on a pond. When the ripples impacted something they would change. The pattern warped when it hit the egg, wrapping around some parts and ricocheted off of others. Tristan had no idea what it meant, he guessed a lot of information was being lost in observation. He would be able to feel his own essence and briefly wondered if it could be used as some sort of three hundred and sixty degree vision.


    He was so engrossed in what was going on that when Hadrid jumped to his feet he almost stumbled back into the crab, ¡°You piece of golize excrement!¡±


    ¡°What, what happened?¡± Tristan asked.


    Hadrid turned to him, he was angry, ¡°These aren¡¯t crabs at all, they¡¯re plants, and they¡¯re not natural. Someone made them, and no it wasn¡¯t a god.¡±

 72. Force of Nature

    Bruce and Eve both stared at the tier three ghost crab that was strapped to a wheeled table, Bruce looked uncertainly at Hadrid, ¡°This thing is a plant.¡±


    ¡°Do you doubt me, welp,¡± Hadrid shot back irritably.


    ¡°It bleeds though, I have cut them apart and it even has a tongue. I even saw a heart once.¡± Bruce defended himself.


    ¡°Yes, it has some mammal traits,¡± Hadrid waved his hands, ¡°But its essence set up is a ninety percent match to both a Venus fly trap and a pitcher plant with the rest being a combination of crab and cockroache. It was made to consume natural resources and multiply fast.¡±


    Hadrid pointed to the table, ¡°That¡¯s a seed, not an egg. Some stupid alchemist is stepping on my turf.¡±


    Bruce shrugged, ¡°Your professional pride is based upon the results you can achieve, can this rival alchemist make something you can¡¯t break?¡±


    Hadrid shook his head, ¡°you don¡¯t get it, this alchemist is not from inside the caldera. There is someone outside that is making these things, hell, we¡¯re most likely not even being targeted.¡±


    Eve frowned, ¡°Grandfather says that no one could survive outside the Caldera, we are the last humans in the world.¡±


    ¡°Your grandpa is an idiot,¡± Hadrid said off handedly.


    ¡°More to the point, can you kill the crabs,¡± Bruce asked.


    ¡°Sure, sure, I just need to increase their aggression and breeding habits to make them cannibalize themselves. Once I make the hormone mutation contagious, it will infect them all. You have them locked up right?¡± Hadrid asked. Bruce nodded in confirmation, as far as he knew, the one on the table was the only living specimen outside the plains.


    Tristan frowned, ¡°What if they get out? Will they be a greater problem then?¡±


    Hadrid made a so-so gesture, ¡°They¡¯ll come at you harder and faster, but they will have no concept of self preservation. Anyone worth more than a sack of potatoes should be fine,¡±


    It would indeed be beneficial then. The problem ghost crabs, ghost traps, Tristan was not sure what to call them anymore, were the little ones that avoided detection and could infiltrate a city. If they were aggressive, then they would be easy to deal with. Even tier zero farmers should be able to stomp them out of existence.


    ¡°Will it effect the tree like ones?¡± Bruce asked, ¡°It really does not matter how many die if those things are still pumping out babies.¡±


    Hadrid nodded, ¡°Sure, so long as one of the new ones head that way. Just give me a few days to put them together and I¡¯ll have a few dozen horny crabs.¡±


    ¡°what?¡± Eve asked, she seemed uncomfortable.


    ¡°I am making it so that they are willing to parasitize each other, like teenagers, they will consume their parents,¡± Hadrid said. He raised an eyebrow, ¡°Your a teenager, you can¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t emotionally hollow out your parents before abandoning them?¡±


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    Eve shook her head, as did Tristan and Bruce. Hadrid seemed confused, ¡°Maybe they make children differently these days.¡±


    Tristan wasn¡¯t sure how the conversation had gotten off topic so he pushed it back, ¡°How will you do the alchemy?¡±


    Hadrid snorted, ¡°It disgusts me that I have to do a good job teaching you. Watch me, take good notes, and read these books,¡± He pointed at a shelf with three non journal books on it, ¡°Read those, they are what I will teach little Ruth when she decides to become an alchemist.¡±


    Tristan nodded, his reading ability was not very high. Better than most of the Caldera, due to him being part of the head family in the Forest Caldera, however he was behind people like Bruce who had honed the talent over the last four years. He went to the book shelf while Hadrid was caught up in planning out the extinction of a species.


    Tristan believed that he had enough time to at least peruse the books. They were thin, no more than fifty pages apiece, it seemed to be to little for the skill that they supposedly contained. Tristan pulled one off the shelf, it was labeled as ¡®Collecting and Transferring Essence¡¯ it was something that he would definitely need. The second was labeled ¡®Natural Forces¡¯ and the final one was labeled ¡®Biological Tampering.¡¯


    He knew that he would not be able to use anything in these books right now, so he opened the most interesting one, ¡®Natural Forces¡¯. The index split the fifty or so pages into three sections, which were Conversion, Enhancement, and Motion. He flipped to enhancement hoping to find something he could use, instead he found a list of names and descriptions. The whole book was organized like a dictionary.


    Adamance - Unbreakable: Pro; focuses on hardness.Con; sacrifices all flexibility and adaptability. (Earth, Metal, [Water with Ice prerequisite])


    AdroitnessControl: Pro; control over the body and essenceCon; does not add anything that could not be substituted by an artifact. (Air, Water, [Light- unsubstantiated, Dark- unsubstantiated])


    Alacrity - Speed/ Control: Pro; speed and control, a superior branch of AdroitnessCon; very difficult to achieve and/or gather data on. (Light, [Dark- unsubstantiated])


    It kept going on and on like this. Tristan realized with a bit of dismay that he would probably need to memorize these books. Knowing different forces would be excellent in alchemy, but it would instantly allow him to determine the limits of any enemy he came across. He scanned down to the ¡®D¡¯ section to find decay, however it was absent.


    Tristan quickly realized that decay should be a conversion, at least if his experiences with compost piles were to be believed. The thought brought his mind to Harp and consequently her father. He looked up and found that everyone but Hadrid and he had left, most likely bored with the mostly mental progress going on.


    Shrugging to himself, Tristan flipped to the conversion section and was surprised to find Alloy near the top of that section. It had a warning next to it.


    Alloy - Fusion: Pro; Can add an additional force to a kern per tier Con; forces must be diluted by metal essence to be used creating an inferior version of any force not related to metal. (Metal- [Warning, not all forces are healthy or beneficial to use. Supervision during development is advised.])


    Tristan could only shake his head, of course he got the only force that had a warning attached to it. To top it all off, Hadrid was the opposite of what someone should want in a supervisor. Tristan wondered if the flavor of his alloy could be changed by the essences that he added at a latter date. If there was a growth force, would it counteract his decay or would he just end up with two different forces.


    Decay was fairly standard compared to alloy. Tristan was surprised to find out that water and air had a connection to decay. Hadrid had also said fire had decay which the book skipped over. The book did not explain why each essence type contained what it had, it just said it did. Fortunately, Tristan had just the person to ask.


    ¡°Hadrid?¡± the man grunted, so Tristan continued, ¡°How are water and air related to decay, also there is no mention of fire here?¡±


    Hadrid absentmindedly answered, ¡°Its the cycle, water and air are related to the cycle of rot and rebirth. So is fire and darkness, they destroy, air and water rebuild.¡±


    Tristan did not understand what Hadrid was talking about. However one thing Tristan knew for sure was that he needed these books. He could not memorize them in a week, however with a few late nights he could copy them and take them with. He had two entire tiers before it would even be relevant. Tristan did not believe that his memory was good enough to remember everything that was written that far into the future.


    The next week was spent mostly with the crabby alchemist, taking note of the waves of essence that he could pick up and copying the books. Tristan did not worry about committing anything to memory, he simple took records that he could study later. Hadrid grumbled at the amount of paper that Tristan chewed through, despite the fact that it grew on trees, it was not cheap.


    Seven days later, Tristan was engrossed in transcribing the last pages of ¡®Biological Tampering¡¯, the book he found the least helpful. He never intended to rewrite the base functions of an animal, let alone a pre born fetus, though he could see the uses for it. It could be used to heal some pretty nasty disabilities in the womb. Though after seeing the sheer number of different discovered forces, it seemed to be a very difficult feat.


    It was on that day that Hadrid stood, ¡°All done, who¡¯s the better alchemist now!¡±


    Before him were fourteen eggs. Tristan could not see them as anything else, despite them being seeds. He had even cut one in half and sure enough, it was solid, no yolk or white, yet it looked identical to a small egg. Hadrid had placed them all in individual crimson jell packs wrapped in a clear substance that Hadrid called glass wrap.

 73. Find That Devil

    Shadow Fist marched into his brother-in-law¡¯s office, ¡°You called for me Elder Forest.¡±


    He placed a fist over his heart and bowed to the man standing in the reception hall. Despite the size of the room, it was nearly empty. On certain holidays this room could host over three hundred people. It was tiled, just like the rest of the Elder¡¯s mansion, a granite-topped bar ran along one wall, and the windows currently had thick crimson curtains closed over them. It gave their meeting a gloomy atmosphere.


    Today only three men stood in the hall. Shadow Fist, Elder Forest, and an extremely well-built man with black hair streaked with grey along the temples and jawline. Shadow Fist was a martial artist first and, a politician second, so he could recognize dangerous individuals when he met them. He had thought that the Golden Heart patriarch was the most dangerous person he had met. The man beside Elder Forest stood head and shoulders above the patriarch, if not in height then in threat. He wore simple brown and yellow combat robes with metal weave laced into it. Normal for anyone with an earth kern, however, the man possessed a dark kern that dwarfed Shadow Fist¡¯s by an enormous margin.


    Forest smiled at Shadow Fist¡¯s reaction. He had never liked his sister¡¯s husband, but he could never find a good reason to get rid of him. At least not without crushing Helen. She had gone through a lot when her son had his kern revealed, no need to hurt her more.


    ¡°Let me introduce to you, Ren, leader of the security at the mine,¡± Elder Forest gestured at the big man, who nodded his greetings to Shadow Fist, ¡°This is Shadow Fist, one of the head family¡¯s support managers.¡±


    Shadow Fist did not miss the spike of hostility. The danger that this Ren represented rose a few notches. He obviously had something against Shadow Fist, but he was not sure what that could be. The mine was where his firstborn lived, but he was a silver-blooded devil, there was no way someone like this would pay him any attention. Aside from that, he had no connection with that pit of malcontents.


    Elder Forest smiled slightly at Shadow Fist as he took a step back from Ren, ¡°I have gotten news that the River Caldera is pulling all of their warriors off the walls to expedite the reclamation of the plains. We need to beat them to it. It should take almost a month to mobilize, the wall is quite far away from the River Caldera after all.¡±


    ¡°What about our plan to create conflict between the alchemist and Elder River?¡± Shadow Fist asked. That plan had originally been his idea, so he was quite proud of it.


    ¡°Their once-in-a-generation genius acted exactly how we anticipated, Kerri was always spoiled by them. However, River sent a rescue team, which was destroyed. Kerri escaped, unfortunately,¡± Forest sighed, ¡°Though, it seems that Elder River blames the Stone Caldera for the scheme.¡±


    Shadow Fist nodded, it was too much to expect that every plan go his way. Splitting the Stone and River was not a bad result, breaking up allies was a good result as well. However, Forest did not call him to inform him of the success of his plan. He waited patiently for Forest to get the point.


    When he finally did, it came as a shock, ¡°Where is your son?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Shadow Fist frowned, ¡°I have no son, the records show-¡°


    ¡°Burn the records for all I care,¡± A spark lit in the Elder¡¯s crimson eyes, ¡°That excuse may work for lesser people, but don¡¯t compare me to those drudges. I will ask one more time. Where is your son?¡±


    Shadow Fist glanced at Ren, the man had a stern expression. With a shaky voice he said, ¡°I, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Let me explain the current situation,¡± Forest said, ¡°I want to field an equal force to face River¡¯s men, however, they need equipment, lots of it.¡±


    Shadow Fist could understand that. The weapons needed to fight beasts were different than the ones necessary to fight men. A beast would go for the throat, stomach, and hamstrings. While these points were not off the table, a human would be more than intelligent enough to break fingers, bend joints backward, and be generally more adaptable to circumstances. In short, vastly more defenses were needed for people.


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    The thing Shadow Fist did not understand was, ¡°Why does this matter,¡± he continued at Elder Forest¡¯s raised eyebrow, ¡°In relationship to me, of course.¡±


    Elder Forest gestured to Ren. The big man folded his arms and spoke, ¡°The reason is simple. All the metal we need is sitting thirty feet below one of our tunnels, it could arm our soldiers with the highest quality equipment, at relatively little expense. Unfortunately, there is an elemental down there that I believe to be between tiers six and nine. It is a metal elemental, thus very resistant to anything we can do to it, we need to know where it is and prepare a trap for it. Tristan is capable of tracking it with a relatively high level of precision. I will not waste lives excavating some rocks so that Forest can get his hands on some dirt.¡±


    ¡°The plains are more than mere dirt, Ren,¡± Elder Forest said, disapproval evident in his voice.


    Ren glared back, ¡°And my men are worth more than fertilizer for the flowers their families will plant over their graves.¡±


    Both Shadow Fist and Elder Forest took a step back at the venom in Ren¡¯s voice. This man seemed to have a grudge against them both. Shadow Fist was beginning to think that this brute did indeed have a fondness for Tristan. He couldn¡¯t think like that, it would make him soft. Ren had a fondness for the silver devil. In that case, anger towards the devil¡¯s father and uncle would be understandable.


    A flicker came from an empty space beside Forest. It was a spot where the curtains were parted just enough to let a beam of sunlight through. Shadow Fist had thought nothing of it but when he narrowed his eyes, he saw a haze there, like Forest was giving off a heat shimmer. He shook his head, to clear it, but when he looked back the shimmer was gone.


    ¡°Ren, despite the service you rendered to my father, it does not mean you can take that attitude with me,¡± Elder Forest said. His voice was calm, but he was not used to being reprimanded.


    Ren simply inclined his head, ¡°Indeed, my tone was inappropriate. However it is my duty to keep my men alive, and that includes the miners. I am still reticent to allow them to open up that deposit even with Tristan¡¯s assistance.¡±


    Shadow Fist suspected that this argument had been going on for hours at this point. It took guts to oppose an Elder to their faces, as doing so could be seen as insubordination. Shadow Fist was always keen to gather these people below him if they did so for moral reasons. Anyone willing to risk death for their beliefs was someone you could trust with tasks that aligned with those beliefs. In this case, Shadow Fist would put Ren on guard duty, to capitalize on the value he placed on his charge¡¯s lives.


    A boom caused Shadow Fist to jump back. Just off to the side of Elder Forest the light shimmered, but where it cut into shadow a person appeared. Half an armored torso, an arm holding a sheathed sword, and a leg. Everything else was indistinct in the light, and it was unsettling. The boom came because the invisible man had swung his sheathed blade like a club at Ren, who had simply stopped it with his forearm.


    Henry Golden Heart glared at Ren, ¡°Your duty is to obey the Elder, it is the oath you swore when you entered service.¡±


    Ren looked sad, ¡°I know, the exact words were ¡®to assist the Elder in the defense of the Forest Caldera.¡¯ Unfortunately, we have an elder who incites conflict, creates environments perfect for enemies to develop, and is willing to risk releasing a second apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°So? It does not change your duty,¡± Henry tried to retrieve his blade.


    The smug grin slowly slid off of Elder Forest''s face as the scabbard cracked and brown blood started dripping between Ren¡¯s fingers. It was slow and it rolled like a marble instead of dripping. Henry pulled harder, but when the blade started groaning he stopped.


    ¡°I do my duty, but I can do nothing about the wars my own elder starts, I can only redirect the rage of the monsters that are unjustly created. Thankfully, I can do something to mitigate a potential elemental plague,¡± Ren said the last word in a growl, ¡°My oath is why I don¡¯t leave the Caldera altogether.¡±


    The sword shattered in a spray of metal and, Shadow Fist had to do a double take, liquid diamonds. Did Ren have diamond blood, how was that possible? The warrior looked passively at the Golden Heart patriarch who had a pale face, but he still managed to step between the Elder and Ren.


    Ren snorted and shook his head, ¡°I have met children more dangerous than you,¡± his eyes fell on Shadow Fist, and he struggled to stand tall under those eyes, ¡°Find your son, bring him back, and bring him back safely. I can¡¯t protect you if you fail.¡±


    Shadow Fist released a breath he had not realized he was holding. He nodded to his brother-in-law and immediately left. Wondering what was so dangerous that not even Ren could protect him. Regardless he had to go find his long-lost, silver devil.

 74. Seedy Warrior

    Tristan and the team looked out at the plains from the Lake Fort. This base was the most professional one that Tristan had visited, he was not sure why. The people were dressed the same and armed the same. There were fewer injured, and the food was better, due to the lake being unaffected by the ghost crabs. If he was forced to point anything out it would be the far higher numbers of tier three warriors participating. It was almost like they were preparing for something, which was a ridiculous thought. The issue was right across the trench.


    At first, Tristan thought they would be crossing the plains again to deliver the gel packs with the eggs in them. That was incorrect. They were too weak to be trusted with such an important mission. Tristan felt this was odd because they had been trusted with the wealth of the Forest Caldera in the form of a tier-six artifact. It was odd unless delivery was not the point of that task. Tristan shook those thoughts out of his head, it did not really matter now.


    ¡°It feels weird to just go back to hunting,¡± Eve said.


    Bruce nodded, ¡°We have been through way worse than the standard kill squad.¡±


    ¡°I think it''s weird that we have been facing what amounts to murderous shrubbery,¡± Tristan griped.


    He had been disappointed that the ghost crabs that he had struggled with were an alchemically bioengineered combination of a crab and two different kinds of carnivorous plants. The fact that he had run from them on multiple occasions made it all the worse. However, the fact that an alchemist could turn something that would ordinarily fit in his palm into a city-destroying disaster, made him more interested in the art of alchemy.


    ¡°Regardless, let us head back to the Stone Fort,¡± Bruce said.


    When the sun cracked the horizon, the draw bridges started lowering. Over fifty, five-man teams crossed and left to go hunt. Most would not go so far as to spend the night out in the plains, so Tristan believed that they would make good time for at least the first few hours. After that would be two and a half days of enemy territory before they made it back to the Stone Fort.


    Clive led the way, his knowledge of the farming communities led them straight to the nearest one. It was the standard pinewood structure with a tile roof, with a large swath of harvested fields around it. Just like before, abandoned farming implements littered the surrounding area, and the bones of animals had been scattered around.


    Bruce placed a hand on the door and pushed. Nothing happened. He frowned, ¡°The door is barred?¡±


    Tristan shook his head, ¡°How, that would mean that someone is already inside.¡±


    Bruce rubbed his chin, ¡°That''s true, cutting the bar went badly on our first outing,¡± he turned to Clive, ¡°Were there any issues when we went through the wall in one of the bunkhouses?¡±


    ¡°Aside from William running off, no,¡± Clive said, ¡°It was actually much more comfortable, as we had the opportunity to sleep on beds in them.¡±


    Bruce nodded, to Tristan, ¡°Go into one of the bunkhouses and inspect what is inside.¡±


    Tristan nodded back and trudged over to the nearest one. He slit the bolt keeping the door locked and stepped inside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he still inspected every cot. He was looking for signs of recent activity. A warm fire pit, or a cup of water, anything to determine it was lived in. All the blankets were missing, but that did not mean that anyone was here, it was not uncommon for the farmers to forgo them entirely as they grew crops during the summer.


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    He turned his attention to the wall and slid the swordbreaker through. It was barely long enough to get through the wall, which would make it hard to see from the other side. Carefully, Tristan cut a square hole in the wall and removed the loose block of wood. As soon as the block was free whispered voices could be heard on the other side.


    ¡°So these little things can get rid of the crabs?¡± A man whispered.


    Tristan placed his eye to the hole and found a familiar scene. A team of five men sat around a large rock, which had sizzling meat on it. All of them were wearing half-plate armor with metal covering their shins, forearms, and chests with their helmets sitting beside them. One man who obviously had a fire kern was heating the rock, he had quite a strong kern to be able to cook with it.


    The kerns of the other four were a mystery, but there was a stack of gel packs beside the cooking stone. One was in the hands of a man with black hair, he inspected the white sphere inside.


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± another man said, ¡°Trusting the alchemist is the shortest possible path to ruin, it is like listening to the song of a siren.¡±


    ¡°Well, the Elder sees it your way, with the River Caldera mobilizing, there really is no reason to risk using them,¡± The fire kern said.


    ¡°Why do the Elders put up with the alchemist,¡± the man holding the gel pack asked.


    ¡°No idea,¡± the fire kern said, he gripped one of the slabs of meat and flipped it with his fingers, ¡°I am a soldier, not a general.¡±


    Tristan quietly stepped back from his hole and made his way back to the others. They had set up not far from the bunkhouse he had been spying from. Clive looked around uncertainly, while Bruce and Eve had hands on their respective artifacts, inspecting the crop line. Nothing had happened so far, which was odd considering their location.


    ¡°Is anything inside,¡± Bruce whispered.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Five people, at least one is a warrior, they are the team sent with Hadrid¡¯s seeds. They are planning to destroy them.¡±


    Bruce frowned, ¡°Why, what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Tristan could only shrug, how would he know, however, Bruce might get something out of another tidbit, ¡°They mentioned that Elder River is mobilizing.¡±


    ¡°What,¡± Bruce¡¯s eyebrows rose, ¡°a hole in the rampart¡¯s defenses was what caused this mess, why would the Elder remove a full sixth of the forces? It''s like he wants to get invaded.¡±


    Eve looked very uncomfortable at the less-than-positive talk about her grandfather. However, she had no context for his actions and could not defend him. Unfortunately, Kerri had been one of his more recent decisions, and that decision had tried to kill her sister. That made it difficult to defend his judgment.


    ¡°What should we do,¡± Eve finally asked.


    Bruce rubbed his chin, ¡°Here are the options as I see them. We can ignore them, we can fight them and plant the seeds ourselves, or we can simply talk to them.¡±


    Tristan grinned, ¡°I¡¯m partial to the middle one.¡±


    Eve and Clive gave him exasperated glances, Bruce shook his head, ¡°This is not a democracy, I believe communication will be our best course of action.¡±


    ¡°What if they attack us,¡± Clive asked.


    ¡°They won¡¯t, I am the son of one of the most important figures in the Forest Caldera, and Eve is the grandchild of the most important person in the River Caldera,¡± Bruce said, ¡°Clive, you are not an issue in the slightest,¡± he paused when he got to Tristan, ¡°You, you might need to hide. I don¡¯t know how they will react to a silver devil.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Then I will plan for option two while you guys pretend option three will work.¡±


    Bruce opened his mouth and frowned, ¡°Just don¡¯t do anything crazy unless I tell you to. I want this to be peaceful.¡±


    ¡°What is the signal,¡± Tristan asked, his definition of danger was substantially higher than Bruce¡¯s despite what they had been through together. He had fought some crabs, whereas Tristan had fought elementals from multiple worlds, tier four warriors, and he had taken most of the tier three crabs they had met.


    Bruce shrugged, ¡°I guess, I¡¯ll just yell for help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be ready then,¡± Tristan said.


    Bruce gave him a few minutes to distance himself before knocking on the double doors. For a few moments, he worried that he had not been loud enough. Then the door pushed open a crack and he could see a blue eye peaking out from a metal helmet. Likely a water kern then, Bruce thought. Iris¡¯s weren¡¯t always the color of one''s essence, but it was extremely likely. Blue was a common eye color, as water, fire and some gemstones could all be blue.


    ¡°Who are you,¡± The man asked. His voice was confrontational like they did not want visitors.


    ¡°I am Bruce, we left the Lake Fort this morning, and this seems to be a good place to rest,¡± Bruce gave his best charming smile.


    ¡°Ah lake folk, come on in,¡± The man gestured for them to enter, ¡°Hope you brought your own food, we have none to spare.¡±

 75. You Killed My Brother, Prepair to Die

    Tristan marveled at the strength that tier two granted him as he plunged his knives into the wall and started climbing. The wall was about a foot thick at its thinnest, and he had chosen a spot just outside a pillar. He was not sure if the vertical wall support was called a pillar, but at this scale, that is what it reminded him of. Regardless, no one inside should see a knife sticking through the wall.


    Hand over hand, he pulled himself up the side, until he was able to scramble onto the roof. Tristan did his best to scramble quietly, but the tiles on the roof made it difficult. He hoped they were distracted by Bruce right now. Slowly, he tip-toed across the roof, the sunset twilight made the edges of the tile hard to see.


    Tristan had expected the five men to leave the skylight open, however, he was not so lucky. The tiles here were formed into the square frame of a closed skylight. Tristan could see the seam but there was nothing he could do with it. After a minute of thought, he decided to cut his way through. He drew his long knife and prepared to start cutting when the panel started opening on its own.


    At first, Tristan was shocked, then he got a face full of smoke. They were eating without him. For some reason, the thought of everyone except him getting food was very irksome. The skylight panel was only opened about two feet, as the smoke released was far more important than letting in light during the evening hours.


    Grumbling, Tristan took a deep breath and crawled on his belly through the gap. The catwalk was just below him, however the person who had raised the skylight was still present. He was walking to the ladder but had not made it there yet. Tristan could not do anything until the man was on the floor. If he jumped down too soon he would feel the shaking on the platform. Tristan might be able to get away with it while he was on the ladder, but it was not worth the risk.


    The man was wearing the armor, marking him as part of the other group. By the way, he moved, Tristan suspected that he was no stranger to combat. The way someone walked could be used to roughly predict the element they wielded. Water, wind, and dark would all be smooth and often would not take efficiency into consideration. Fire would be more erratic, most of the force in a step would come from a strong initial push, while light and earth would be direct, not moving from their chosen course. This man had one of the first three kerns.


    Once the man was on the ladder, Tristan started lowering himself down. His lungs burned, despite the time elapsed only being half a minute. Just because he had worked hard and gotten strong muscles, did not mean his lung capacity was back up to the average human. He dangled six inches above the catwalk for long enough to get his bearings.


    There was a fire off to the side of the stacks of produce crates and everyone was gathered around it. Bruce had managed to rope in the other group to eat with them. Tristan frowned, the man was feeding everyone, but him. He saw the man who opened the skylight walking back and released his grip.


    Tristan his the cat walk harder than he intended to, and froze. It sounded loud from where he was. One of the people, Fire Kern if he was to guess, looked around for the noise. It made sense that the sound of crackling flames would fail to obscure Tristan¡¯s landing from someone with a fire kern. He crouched while the warrior inspected the catwalks.


    Once the man was distracted by the plate Clive handed to him, Tristan started crawling. Not for the first time, he wished he knew someone who could teach him stealth. Siren never needed stealth and Luke was straight-up allergic to stealth. So, Tristan was doing his best to mimic William as he slid on his belly.


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    The catwalks extended all over the warehouse, Tristan supposed that after the crates were stacked to a certain height the platforms would be extremely useful. A pulley system was bolted into the rafters above the crates, which could have been used like a crane. The rope had been removed or stolen, leaving only the pulley wheels behind.


    Tristan slowed his breathing and tried to listen. At first, he could not hear anything, but with some concentration, he could start picking out voices. He decided to risk poking his head out to see who was speaking.


    ¡°This is some good food,¡± The man who opened the skylight said, ¡°And you say this is ghost crab.¡±


    Clive nodded happily, ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoy it. My wife is great with plants but terrible with fire, so either I cook or all we eat is vegetables.¡±


    Several of the armored men laughed. Clive laughed with them, though Bruce and Eve did not join in. In fact, they had very tense expressions. Tristan frowned, he knew Clive was a coward, but he was not stupid, which meant that there were some higher-level issues going on if only Eve and Bruce picked up on it.


    Clive stirred the diced crab he was currently cooking in a pot, ¡°The secret to making ghost crab taste good is to cook them like vegetables. The alchemist took a look at them and said they were related to some plants that I had never heard of, so I thought, what if I stir-fried them? And it worked great, I think I will try frying next.¡±


    Half the warrior''s expressions darkened at the mention of the alchemist, the other half just kept on talking merrily, ¡°Like those fried onion rings at the festivals.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, but I¡¯m pretty sure these curly fries will be healthy,¡± the warriors on either side of Clive cheered at his words.


    He was too focused on his cooking and the men on either side to notice the reactions across the fire. Bruce and Eve did, and they were tense. It was obvious that this crew had some enmity with the alchemist.


    It was a mystery that soon answered itself. Fire Kern placed his elbows on his knees, ¡°So you three met with the alchemist.¡±


    Bruce shrugged trying to appear calm, ¡°Many people have, why?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb, you know what I¡¯m asking,¡± Fire Kern removed his helmet revealing a bearded face that would have been handsome if the eye-slits on his helmet hadn¡¯t tanned his cheeks. It made him look like a scruffy raccoon. He placed his sheathed broad sword on his lap and started tracing his fingers down the sheath¡¯s pattern.


    Bruce remained quiet.


    ¡°Let me tell you a story, it might just jog your memory,¡± Fire Kern said, ¡°There were once twins, blessed with tier three kerns of flame and shadow. The older one took responsibility when their father died. He trained and became an elite of the Lake Caldera, leader of a special force to take care of special tasks. The younger one looked up to his brother, and he followed in his footsteps, unfortunately, there could only be one leader of the special forces. So he moved, he left for the River Caldera, and he easily took the lead of their special forces. Everything was perfect for these brothers. They could compete, they could live outside of each other''s shadow.¡±


    Fire Kern took a slightly unstable breath, it was clear that this story was about himself, ¡°Then on the best and the worst day of the older brother''s life something terrible happens. The older brother gets promoted to chief peacekeeper of the lake caldera and his little brother is killed. He is killed fighting a fat mole defending a spoiled child. A spoiled child that was only there because you three had to bring him along.¡±


    ¡°That was not our fault,¡± Bruce growled, his hand tightened on the shaft of his spear, ¡°I can¡¯t control another person¡¯s actions, let alone someone two entire tiers higher and in a different chain of command.¡±


    ¡°I did not even get his body,¡± Fire Kern hissed, ¡°It was fed to your precious alchemist''s pet abominations.¡±


    Tristan felt bad for the guy. It seemed his brother had been one of the people in black that Hadrid had killed. Tristan shuddered at the memory of people falling apart like toy blocks as wire nets were cast everywhere. He was pretty sure that he would simply kill everyone responsible if he were in Fire Kern¡¯s position, and to hell with the consequences.


    Tristan''s eyes widened as both he and Fire Kern came to the same conclusion at the same time. Fire Kern jumped to his feet and unsheathed his broad sword at the same time. It was a plain blade, not long at a little over thirty inches, but it was wide. The only notable quality of the blade was the deep crimson color of the blade. That and the fire leaking off of its edge.


    Bruce and Eve leaped to their feet as well, it took only a moment for Bruce to yell, ¡°HELP.¡±

 76. Violence is The Answer

    Fire Kern sliced horizontally at the air, normally this would have been a bad move, as Bruce and Eve were fifteen feet away. However, the blade sent out goblets of liquid fire along the arc of the blade. Tristan was not sure if there was a limit to the number of times he could launch those, and he did not intend to find out.


    So he did the only sensible thing. He cut the catwalk''s supports. In recent weeks he had gotten fairly proficient at dropping large objects on people. The catwalk fell and hit Fire Kern. Unfortunately, Tristan was not sure if a couple of dozen pine wood planks would be able to put the man down. Tier threes were tough.


    Everyone looked up, Tristan waved hi before running for the skylight. An explosion behind him notified Tristan that Fire Kern had indeed survived.


    ¡°Kill them!¡± He yelled, ¡°I want their scorched corpses!¡±


    Looking over at the ladder, Tristan saw that someone had already started climbing. Judging from the half plate, he was not friendly. Tristan looked at the skylight and freedom, he would not make it before the warrior got to him. He refocused on the armored man, he would just have to get to him first. The warrior noticed him coming and started climbing faster.


    Tristan would have gotten to the top of the ladder first if he had been able to run in a straight line. Unfortunately, the catwalk was a mess of right turns that followed the rafters. The warrior reached the top and barely had time to stand when Tristan smashed into him. The ladder extended through a square hole where the walk abutted the wall, so the warrior was slammed back into the wall.


    He probably could have deflected Tristan, but he correctly judged that the knives were a greater threat, and deflected them both. Somehow the man managed to get a leg between himself and Tristan, shoving him back. Tristan took a swipe with his long knife as he staggered back. The blade was just barely too short to reach him.


    The man pulled some kind of tube and loaded a spike into it. He grabbed the other end and pointed the open side at Tristan. There was a hollow puff and Tristan tried to dodge, but the catwalk did not leave much space. So he reinforced his vitals. It took about half of his metal essence, but was worth it.


    The spike hit him in the chest and would have skewered his heart if it had not contacted a rib. The reinforced blood slowed it a little, but the bone was what really did it, and Tristan was sure it was fractured. He was not sure what kind of artifact the warrior was using, but he had definitely sensed metal essence from the tube. It was not an artifact. He sprinted forward, he may not know what it was, but he knew that the tube was a ranged weapon.


    With a cocky smile, the man fell. Tristan was shocked for a moment, yes the hole the ladder jutted through was between the warrior''s legs, but the fall would still kill the man. Unable to arrest his momentum, Tristan careened into the wall, barely avoiding falling himself. He looked down the ladder, expecting a shattered warrior on the dirt floor.


    Luck was not on Tristan¡¯s side, the warrior was about ten rungs down, pointing the tube straight up at Tristan¡¯s face. Tristan had essentially given the man a perfect target, and elite warriors were not known for missing these kinds of chances. A hollow puff jerked Tristan''s head back and threw him on his back.


    Wide-eyed, Tristan stared at the ceiling, he only had a quarter of his essence left after reinforcing his skull. Rolling over he spat out the metal spike and the shattered remnants of one of his canines. A gob of bloody spit came out, the spike had driven into the roof of his mouth. Tristan was suddenly glad that wind kerns had limited combat utility. He stopped at that thought, that was one of Shadow Fist¡¯s teachings, light and wind were utility elements. Tristan shook his head, that was dumb, any talent turned towards violence could be devastating.


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    Getting shakily to his feet he sneered at the wind kern warrior. He probably thought he was so smart, truthfully he was, but he had no knowledge of Tristan¡¯s kern. So it took the man completely by surprise when Tristan dropped down the through the hole. He hit the warrior about halfway down the ladder, and despite his opponent''s tier-three strength, he was torn off the wall.


    Tristan intended to use the warrior''s body as a cushion, which was a great idea before he realized the man was covered in armor. The man tried to push Tristan away, but he lacked the leverage. Tristan punched him in the face. He would have used his knives, but not even he was willing to jump down a ladder with those blades drawn.


    The warrior tilted his head forward to take the strike on his helmet, then an explosion rocked the warehouse. Orange light suffused everything as the produce caught on fire. It was a strong enough blast to change the trajectory of Tristan¡¯s fall. Surprisingly, the fall turned into a roll, sparing Tristan any injuries. Unfortunately, it offered the same boon to his opponent.


    The warrior landed by Tristan¡¯s knee and immediately started to rise. A kick to the face put him back down in the dirt. Tristan drew his sword breaker and prepared to jump on him. The warrior was saved by one of his comrades, who had an earth kern, judging by how the man charged like a bull.


    Tristan was forced to roll out of the earth kern¡¯s way. This man could not know that Tristan was his worst opponent. He drew his long knife as well and jumped at the man as he passed. The defense that made earth kerns great warriors would be invalidated by his knives. Earth Kern was a warrior, so he managed to see the knife approaching and even had time to react. Unfortunately, he calculated that a blade specialized in slicing would be insufficient against his plate and earth essence. He decided to swing with his fists.


    His tier-three body allowed him to hit Tristan¡¯s jaw first, but it was still reinforced. Then the long knife passed unhindered through steel and flesh. The viscous nature of earth blood actually made the cut nearly invisible as nothing leaked out. However, the heart and sternum were in two separate pieces. Earth Kern¡¯s strike lost a lot of its follow-through, and he collapsed to his knees revealing a horrified wind kern behind him.


    ¡°Grant!¡± The man yelled, his face was contorted with rage, ¡°He was, you¡¯re going, you¡¯re going to regret that.¡±


    Tristan made eye contact with him, he was probably going to regret it. It was his first human kill, the fact that he felt nothing would probably keep him up at night. Wind Kern charged, he had gotten his metal tube back, though it was slightly bent. Tristan was not sure why that made the weapon inoperable, but he was grateful. Raising his blades he got ready for his second human kill.


    Wind Kern was not as dumb as he acted. The emotions on his face were definitely real, but the impression that they were controlling him was false. Something sharp struck Tristan in the spine. The metal skittered off the bone and lodged half an inch into the muscle. Tristan dove forward into a roll as soon as the object stabbed his neck.


    He had to dodge Wind Kern before he saw the new assailant. The man was dressed the same as the other warriors, but he held a needle-like stiletto. The weapon was bent, as it was not made to stab objects as hard as Tristan. Unfortunately, he could not pull that off again, he was running on the fumes of his kern. Much more and it would dip into the survival essence, then it would shatter. He would die if he lost consciousness here.


    ¡°What blasted kern do you have?¡± The new man said, inspecting his bent blade.


    ¡°He¡¯s a silver devil!¡± Wind Kern yelled, ¡°Kill him!¡±


    Tristan took the distraction of Wind Kern. The newcomer tried to reach them, but he was way too slow. Tristan grabbed Wind Kern¡¯s shoulder and jerked him around. The man was stronger, but Tristan had a better stance and leverage. Wind Kern screamed at Tristan and hit him with his pipe. It would leave a deep bruise, but nothing more. On the other hand, Tristan''s blade left much more.


    The newcomer, who Tristan assumed had a light kern, judging from the energy coming off the man. It was similar to Bruce¡¯s spear, which meant that he was the team healer.


    Tristan took a step back and pointed to Wind Kern who was trying to keep his guts inside, ¡°You can fight me and maybe win, silver devils are pretty tough. Or we can both do what we want and save our friends.¡±


    The warrior stopped, torn between duty to his friend and duty to his leader. If he attacked now, he could overpower Tristan, but his friend would die. He decided he could always kill the silver devil later, he could not save his friend later.


    Tristan nodded when he saw the decision in the warrior¡¯s eyes. He turned his focus to the back of the warehouse. At least what used to be the back of the warehouse.

 77. Pop Corn & Immolation

    Eve jumped in front of Bruce as gobs of flaming liquid splattered over the warehouse. The tier four artifact that Ruth gave her was a bracer that could generate an ice shield that floated right where a shield would normally be. The floating part was important, it meant she was not bearing the weight of the shield.


    She expected the fire to burn or explode. Something painful, Eve was not afraid of physical pain, especially if it was for a friend. Fortunately neither happened, the fire hissed, and the shield melted a little, but nothing else happened. The big man with the fire kern, Regis, he said his name, was glared at them.


    Eve jumped when Bruce yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°HELP.¡±


    She winced, her left ear ringing. Eve was not entirely sure what Sage, Tristan, she reminded herself, could do. He could definitely punch above his weight class, but he was not some miracle worker. Multiple warriors were too much for even him.


    ¡°These two are-,¡± Regis was cut off when a bunch of lumber buried him.


    What? Eve was stunned for a moment. She had a flashback to when Ray was crushed. Taking a deep breath, Eve tried to convince herself that this was a good thing. She failed, settling instead for pushing it out of her mind. Looking up she saw Tristan on the catwalk, how did he get up there, he didn¡¯t come through the front door?


    His next actions derailed her thoughts, Tristan smiled and gave a small wave. Eve could only shake her head at his audacity, at least he pulled two warriors away. Leo and Grant, if she remembered their names right. They were the two that had a bad attitude like Regis. The other two bundled Clive away, eager to keep his culinary skills around.


    She briefly wondered why they did not retrieve their boss¡¯s body. The answer, Regis was still alive.


    BOOM. The lumber was torn apart with far more force than any fire kern had any right to project. Pieces of flaming wood pelted her shield, knocking her back into Bruce.


    ¡°Kill them,¡± Regis roared, ¡°I want their scorched bodies!¡±


    Eve would have taken another step back if Bruce hadn¡¯t been there. Regis¡¯s eyes were glowing, the ruby red of his fire kern was backlit by flickering essence. It made Eve wonder which group had the real devil.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± Bruce whispered, ¡°Can you keep him busy for a minute or two?¡±


    He had an idea, not even a plan. Eve would have yelled at him if he was not already sprinting off. Did he just ditch her? She really did start to yell, when a fire artifact smashed into her shield. Eve¡¯s focus snapped back to Regis as she slid back. She had already been bracing the shield, but even in a good stance, her entire body weight was not enough to keep her stationary.


    Fingers wrapped around the edge of the shield, ice sizzled into steam as the heat boiled it away. Regis pulled his finger down like a claw, tearing the shield apart. Shadows obscured everything but his glowing eyes. Oh, hell no, Eve thought. Regis had just burned through a tier-four defense. Did Tristan attract tier-four freaks of nature or something? Before she met him, the only one she had ever seen was the civil protector of the River Caldera. She had met three in the last two weeks.


    ¡°You killed my brother,¡± Regis growled, ¡°Your sister can feel what I feel.¡±


    Eve drew the water artifact that Tristan had given her. It would have been sweet if he hadn¡¯t stolen it. The tier three artifact was a sword designed for chopping, almost a machete, and it had a simple ability. The edge was attracted to liquid, the edge was much easier to align than an ordinary blade.


    Eve jumped back and generated another ice shield. The bracer could create three before it needed to recharge, giving her one more. Regis did not let her go, his longer stride allowed him to keep pace with a simple step. The chop he made with the side of his hand jolted her arm and started vaporizing the ice. She took the chance and struck.


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    Her chop would have hit Regis in the thigh, however, he parried and reposed. The second shield was destroyed as Regis¡¯s artifact punched right through it. If his sword had been any longer, it would have been planted firmly in Eve''s cerebrum. As it was, the weapon¡¯s intense heat, still gave her face light burns.


    Regis switched stances to lunge forward. Eve wondered if she could summon the ice shield around the sword. She was far too slow to avoid Regis¡¯s follow-up. Eve prepared herself to die, promising herself that she would haunt Bruce for the rest of his life. Then a crate full of corn smashed into Regis.


    Eve could only stare at the spot where Regis had been. Looking over she saw Bruce using his spear to lever some of the higher crates into more precarious positions. She took back everything she had just thought, especially the haunting.


    Another explosion rocked the warehouse and the crate exploded. Kernels scattered everywhere, popping and jumping as the heat cooked them. This time, Regis¡¯s ire was directed at Bruce, unfortunately, Bruce lacked a shield. Regis swung his artifact wildly, sending gobbets of liquid fire at the stack of crates. The dry wood readily caught, and desperately Bruce shoved a few more crates at Regis.


    He either sidestepped or held out a palm. When a crate made contact with his palm, it detonated outward in a ball of fire and shrapnel. Eve had to resummon her shield to avoid being filled with splinters. Regis laughed as he sent wave after wave of flame at the pile, taking a step forward with every swing of his blade. If Eve had not been on the receiving end, she would be in awe of the amount of essence that Regis had at his disposal.


    Regis reached the pile of crates and tore one of the crates at the base of the pile out. It was so scorched that it crumbled in his hand, but it allowed him to get his hand on the second row of crates. Eve did not understand what Regis was doing, but Bruce seemed to. He immediately jumped off the stack landing on his feet.


    The landing was bad, causing Bruce to collapse. He got to his hands and knees and crawled towards Eve. She ran towards Bruce, trying to get the shield between them and whatever Regis was planning.


    ¡°Run, Run,¡± Regis yelled, ¡°Run, like the cowards you are. Hide from better men like you did before.¡±


    The second row of crates exploded. Eve got in front of Bruce but was instantly blown back into him. With no route to escape, the pressure of the explosion threw the crates outward in the direction of least resistance. Surprisingly, that was mostly the charred and barely standing back wall. Pieces of fiery wood and corn were launched out into the cleared land. Thankfully the fields had already been harvested or the entire plain could have been lit.


    Regis was breathing deeply as he limped toward Eve and Bruce. He had a piece of wood lodged in his calf, but he ignored it. He had finally run out of essence, but it did not matter anymore. Bruce was hurt, she was out of shields, and Tristan. She glanced over to see his fight had gone, only to watch him take a flying leap at Regis.


    Regis¡¯s reaction speed saved him, he slapped the long knife aside, losing a pinky, and deflected the sword breaker with his broad sword. The attack had come out of nowhere, though, not giving Regis enough time to deal with Tristan''s knee smashing into his chin. A metallic thunk sounded and Regis staggered back. His calf gave out, dropping him to the ground.


    Tristan went for the killing blow on the exhausted man, but his eyes snapped to something behind Eve. A tingle went up her spine when she felt something sharp at her neck. The warrior guarding Clive, Eve had forgotten about him. A fresh warrior would be more than enough to kill both of them and by the looks of it, the man with the light kern was fresh as well.


    ¡°Kill the boss, I kill the girl,¡± He said.


    Tristan narrowed his eyes, ¡°You people attacked first, why would I trust you?¡±


    Regis struggled to get up, he probably had a concussion from Tristan¡¯s sneak attack. He growled through several chipped and bloody teeth, ¡°Kill her, cut her forsaken head off.¡±


    Tristan kicked Regis in the side of the head. The man behind Eve flinched, drawing some blood, ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t you care about Elder River¡¯s granddaughter?¡±


    Eve watched Tristan''s eyes. She had hoped that a simple yes would have come easily, but there was conflict there. He did not know how he felt, like a piece of him did and a part would be fine watching her die. Eve shuddered.


    After a tense few seconds, Tristan nodded, ¡°I don¡¯t care about Elder River or his family, the man tried to kill me after all.¡±


    Eve could feel the fear in the man behind her. These men loved their leader. They would follow their leader to hell and back. She closed her eyes getting ready for the sharp metal to kill her, but all she heard was the sound of a blade being sheathed.


    ¡°You¡¯re right I do care for Eve though,¡± Tristan paused, ¡°I think I would call her a friend.¡±

 78. Not Made for Death

    Tristan slowly backed away from the unconscious Fire Kern. The freak of nature had a ludicrous amount of firepower. If he hadn¡¯t exhausted himself in his anger, everyone would be dead now. Tristan had figured out why he was so destructive, and it came to the trait all tier fours had, essence infusion. Normally, it was beneficial to the recipient, however, fire was nothing more than simple combustion.


    If that could be infused into someone or something, it would be insanely destructive. Tristan''s knee to the face would have resulted in him losing a leg if the man had any essence left. Thankfully he did not, and Tristan got to keep his leg. As he took a step back so did the warrior behind Eve. They circled around, poised to dash back to their respective hostage.


    Once they reached the halfway point, they both made a dash for their team members. The warrior knelt beside Fire Kern and took his pulse. A relieved breath told him the man would survive. Eve and Bruce were relatively fine, with some burns here and there, but for people who traded blows with a mobile house fire, they got off pretty lightly.


    Eve looked at him with watery eyes, which made Tristan really uncomfortable, he had no good experiences with crying women, ¡°Is everything OK?¡±


    Eve nodded, sniffling a little, ¡°Yeah, thank you.¡±


    Tristan was not sure why she was thanking him, he had failed to get rid of Fire Kern. He did not doubt that the man would be back, and worse, Tristan had felt it when his kern started cracking. If the man managed to break his kern and survive, he would both be stronger and prepared for them.


    Bruce tried to stand but collapsed as soon as he put weight on his leg, he groaned, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it''s sprained or broken, but I won¡¯t be running. You need to leave me.¡±


    Tristan rolled his eyes, ¡°No you just need to be carried.¡±


    Bruce grimaced, ¡°This is embarrassing.¡±


    Eve left to cut Clive free while Tristan helped Bruce get a piggyback ride. Tristan looked around to see if they had forgotten anything, but what was not burning had a film of ash and debris covering it. He did not notice anything, so he turned his attention to Fire Kern. The man was still out cold, but more importantly, he had a piece of wood sticking through his leg. He would not be able to chase them down any time soon.


    Tristan hefted Bruce with a grunt, he was not in the best shape either. He had aches all over from tanking metal spikes, punches, and daggers. His essence reinforcement did not do anything for his skin and did not create a perfect defense. The missing tooth was proof enough of that, he would have to get a replacement. All of these were problems he would deal with later. They started walking from the warehouse and out into the night.


    ¡°What will we do about the ghost crabs?¡± Clive asked.


    It was still dark and they would be difficult to see coming, however, Tristan was not particularly worried. Sure they were bleeding, well he was bleeding, everyone else seemed fine, but he had gutted a man and killed another. Fire Kern was still bleeding all over the floor, if the crabs were to be attracted anywhere, it would be to the warehouse. He held no illusions that the crabs would finish off the elite warriors. Bottom-tier mythical beasts were considered a chore not a threat to people like them.


    To Clive, he answered, ¡°Remember, Eve is both healthy and in possession of a powerful tier three artifact sword. So long as we don¡¯t get swarmed, she can take care of it.¡±


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    Clive looked relieved, though it was hard to tell in the dark. Eve on the other hand seemed uncomfortable. She looked at her sword, it was a very deadly weapon, but when she needed to use it, she had been too inept to actually do anything. Both Bruce and her had been taken down by a single man, and he had done more damage to himself than either of them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can,¡± Eve said. She did not want to promise something that she was unable to fulfill.


    Tristan simply scoffed, ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you can¡¯t stop a dog sized opponent with one of the greatest weapons in the caldera. My four-year-old sister could do it, so you can too.¡±


    ¡°But when I tried, I failed,¡± Eve¡¯s voice cracked near the end.


    Frowning, Tristan spun to look back at her. Bruce tensed at the sudden motion, but he ignored it. Tristan was not good with people, and even worse with women. He only had experience with adults and not immature ones either. They had acted more as mothers or older sisters than peers.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tristan asked, confused.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything to Regis, then I was used as a hostage,¡± Eve lowered her head in shame.


    Was this woman being serious? Tristan could not understand her train of thought, ¡°Let me get this right, you think that you can¡¯t fight a dog sized crab because you failed to cut a man who is one of the top ten fighters in the caldera, while he was throwing napalm at you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Eve mumbled, her eyes were hurt when she looked up, ¡°You¡¯re making me sound stupid.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because what you said is stupid,¡± Tristan turned from her hurt expression, ¡°If you can¡¯t fight for yourself, you should go back to Kerri, he seemed more than ready to fight for you.


    Tristan focused on the road ahead. He did not like saying that, but it was true, he refused to drag a deadweight behind him. If Eve was not willing to push past her insecurities to survive, then she needed to stay out of the way. He told himself that it would be for the better if she left, Eve was not cut out for war.


    ¡°That was harsh, you shouldn¡¯t have said that,¡± Bruce chastised.


    ¡°Really, if I need to fight, you get to walk,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Eve can¡¯t carry you as long as I can.¡±


    It was night and Bruce knew that they could not slow down for him. If he was forced to walk, the group would be forced to leave him behind. He decided that it would be more prudent to keep his mouth shut.


    It did not take long for the ghost crab cycle to start back up. First came a few small ones. Tristan and Clive had no issue stomping them into the ground. This invariably drew a slightly larger one that Tristan took care of. Every fifteen minutes or so a larger crab would arrive. Eventually, one that was too large to stomp arrived.


    It was a tier two crab and it was missing one of its scythe claws. Tristan only had a moment to identify it before Eve jumped at it. She was pissed and chopped with all her strength. The tier three artifact sliced cleanly through the crab, each side falling away. That should have been enough, but Eve evidently did not think so.


    ¡°Stupid,¡± She hacked at it again, ¡°Stupid,¡± she swung again, ¡°Don¡¯t mock me!¡± She gritted out as she beat the crab with her sword.


    Tristan pondered whether or not to stop her. Normally he would leave a crazy woman with a sharp object alone, but he got the distinct feeling that Eve was talking about him. Tristan took a moment to set Bruce down, his reinforcement would not stop a tier three blade, so he wanted to be able to move.


    ¡°I¡¯m not useless,¡± Eve chopped again. She was mumbling now, her teeth gritted and blood spattering her sooty face.


    ¡°Eve?¡± Tristan approached slowly, the same way he would an angry dog. An angry dog with a three foot blade that could cut him in half.


    She didn¡¯t react. Instead, she had focused on a second crab that was unfortunate enough to arrive. The crab tried to reverse as soon as it cleared the corn stalks and saw what happened to the first crab. Eve had enough reach to kill it.


    Before she could derail herself in whatever this bloodlust was, Tristan yelled, ¡°EVE!¡±


    It was probably a foolish thing, to yell in the middle of enemy territory. Thankfully, it got Eve to react. She flinched back and then looked at her hands, covered in crab pieces. She took a few steps back in horror.


    Tristan was right behind her and was able to catch her as Eve scrambled back in panic, ¡°This isn¡¯t me, I don¡¯t want this. This isn¡¯t me.¡± Eve looked up at him, ¡°What is wrong with me?¡±


    Tristan was very confused. Eve had flipped on and off like a gas light and he was getting mental whiplash trying to keep up. He decided that when he got back to the mine, he would ask Grace to explain why Eve was acting so fragile.

 79. Mission Complete

    The next few days passed awkwardly. Eve seemed distant and hollow at the same time. Tristan had no idea what to do about it, but on the morning of the second day, they reached another farming community. Clive proved to be a decent craftsman. He found a farming scythe made a crutch out of its shaft and cut up mattress pieces.


    With Bruce using the crutch, their speed was actually raised. Tristan distracted himself with the crabs. They would show up and he would kill them. He would simply harden his knuckles and pummel them. The brain hemorrhaging was unlikely to leave any scent to lead their friends back to the party. So while they experienced attacks, the cycle of bigger and bigger crabs never started up.


    It felt like a weight was taken off Tristan¡¯s shoulders when the Stone Fort finally came into view. It felt like a long time since they had last been here, but it had been a little over two and a half weeks. Tristan paused, then swore to himself getting everyone¡¯s attention. Even Eve¡¯s listless gaze filled for a moment, before drifting back to the horizon.


    ¡°What?¡± Bruce asked, looking around for something other than the one that Tristan was holding by the tail, ¡°Did something go wrong?¡±


    ¡°The entire purpose of this mission was to get Hadrid to create something to stop the crabs,¡± Tristan said.


    Bruce grimaced and clenched his fists, ¡°Everything we went through was for nothing then!¡±


    ¡°Uh, no,¡± Clive¡¯s timid voice came from the back. Everyone turned to him, even Eve, ¡°I picked these up when you guys started fighting.¡±


    In each hand, he held a jell pack. Through the ruby jell, Tristan could see the white seed growing nubs out of it. They were unrecognizable at the moment, but he knew that those nubs would turn into pointed legs, scythe claws, and a stinger. It was both horrifying and oddly fascinating to see the process that killed so many people.


    ¡°How?¡± Bruce asked.


    Tristan had the same question. Fortunately, Clive did not keep them waiting, ¡°When you guys decided to slug it out with Regis, the two warriors, Leo and Selt pulled me over to their spot.¡±


    ¡°Why would they protect you?¡± Bruce asked.


    ¡°Well I am just the cook, so I guess they simply did not hold me responsible for Regis¡¯s brother,¡± Clive shrugged, ¡°Though I was only able to grab these two when we left.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Good job,¡± he held out his hand to Clive, ¡°Hand me one.¡±


    ¡°What, why,¡± Clive asked. He seemed opposed to handing the seeds over, but it only took a few seconds of Tristan staring at him to break down his resistance.


    Tristan took the sack and took a few steps away from the path. The three of them watched as he dug a hole and placed the package inside, before covering it with a thin layer of dirt. If the Stone Caldera planned the same thing as the Lake Caldera, the crabs would still have been destroyed. Tristan was getting the feeling that the events in the plains were more about political maneuvering than actually removing the parasite.


    Lesly had started by warning them that politics were involved. The ownership of the plains was up for grabs to whoever could claim it. If anyone brought their warriors in, so would everyone else. They would rather risk some lower tiers than risk their elite in the plains where conflict between calderas was bound to start.


    It seemed that the time of probing and the peaceful solutions of the leadership had passed. Sending out a tier-four monster like Regis was a huge escalation. Forest would have to send out the Golden Heart patriarch, though Tristan was skeptical about the Golden Heart¡¯s ability to handle Regis.


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    Between Regis and Siren, he was not sure who would come out on top. Both were warriors who pushed themselves to perfect their craft, both had achieved tier four recently. Siren had stealth and defense skills, whereas Regis was pure offense. Siren could push himself against strong single opponents, while Regis pushed himself against entire groups. Both were out of Tristan¡¯s league, for now.


    Tristan finished with his excavation and stood, ¡°Who is ready to get out of here?¡±


    Clive raised his hand, ¡°I am!¡±


    Bruce was giving Tristan an odd look, ¡°Why did you bury it?¡±


    ¡°I think that the Caldera Elders are getting caught up in the political games surrounding these plains,¡± Tristan said, ¡°What they failed to take into account are the two or three hundred guard crabs in the city. Our warriors only outnumber those things two to one, and if you remember William, those guard crabs are an exact match for a skilled warrior.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Bruce said, ¡°We have more than just tier three warriors.¡±


    ¡°Your assumption is predicated on the caldera¡¯s cooperating,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Can you see the Forest Caldera and River Caldera teaming up before something catastrophic happens? Can you see them capitalizing on the catastrophe to take control?¡±


    Eve¡¯s eyes cleared, ¡°My grandfather would do no such thing!¡±


    ¡°My uncle would,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Uncle?¡± Eve asked. Her anger gave way to confusion.


    ¡°Yes, his uncle is Elder Forest,¡± Bruce said, ¡°Well, not legally, his father disowned him for being a silver devil.¡±


    Tristan shrugged. It was an old wound, it no longer hurt to poke it. However, that could be because he was never close to his uncle. Elder Forest was not married and had no heirs, which put Tristan next in line. Hellen and Forest had a younger sibling who was married and had a son, so Tristan was not surprised that the Elder pushed him out of the way. No one would be willing to follow a silver devil Elder.


    Tristan started walking toward the Stone Fort, ¡°Are you coming?¡±


    It did not take long before they were crossing a bridge to get back out of the plains. The trip back had been much easier after they left Regis behind. Though most things were easy compared to that. It still had been hard to get a good night''s rest, so Tristan looked forward to finding a bed and taking a nap.


    The tier one bridge operator asked in a board tone, ¡°Identification and infestation level.¡±


    Bruce took a step forward, ¡°I am Bruce, and none of us have been stung.¡±


    That was not exactly true. Tristan had been stung quite a bit, however, the stinger was not able to penetrate far enough to deposit an egg.


    ¡°Identification,¡± The operator said a little more forcefully.


    Bruce frowned, he hadn¡¯t been handed any paperwork or any type of marker to prove he was who he claimed to be, ¡°I have none, my sister, Lesly should be able to vouch for who I am.¡±


    ¡°Sure you know the commander,¡± The operator said sarcastically.


    Tristan had a nap to get to and he was tired of listening to an argument he viewed as pointless. So he did what he did best. He caused some chaos.


    Tristan cupped his hand over his mouth, ¡°MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!¡±


    He almost flinched at his own volume. Did people get louder with every tier? Tristan did not care, many of the guards on the fort turned to face the group and watched Tristan walk right past the startled operator.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that,¡± The operator put a hand on Tristan¡¯s shoulder.


    Tristan redid his assessment, this guy was tier two, at least judging by his grip strength. The gates of the fort opened and a few people came jogging out. Some of the hunter teams were also making their way over. In total, around thirty people wielding sharp objects were heading in Tristan¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Ok, stop me then,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Tristan, please don¡¯t do this,¡± Bruce sighed.


    The operator pointed at Tristan, ¡°Detain this man, he has not brought proper identification, and refuses to follow orders.¡±


    ¡°Cool,¡± Tristan raised his hands in surrender. He had seen the cells before. They were just padded rooms in the medical building where people could take the poison safely. The hallucinations could cause self-harm, so a safe environment was needed.


    Bruce seemed surprised, ¡°you wanted to be arrested?¡±


    ¡°You have to give a long detailed report, while I get to take a nice long nap and unwind,¡± Tristan chuckled.


    There was more to it than that. He wanted to avoid being alone with Lesly. She was a manipulator. Tristan was sure the directions to the Lake Caldera were intentionally faulty and he would stay away if he could. He also needed to start studying the three alchemy books in earnest, which would be easier if people weren¡¯t constantly bothering him.


    The hunters got to the site and looked for someone injured. Finding no one they looked at Tristan confused. The team from the fort saluted Bruce and glanced at the operator.


    ¡°We don¡¯t see anything wrong here?¡± Kale, who was leading the team said, he looked at Tristan, ¡°Or a man down.¡±


    Tristan sighed, ¡°I guess take me to your leader if you have to.¡±


    Then he looked at the operator who was annoyingly close, ¡°Take a step back, Jim. We¡¯ll take it from here.¡±

 80. Listening Ears

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 81. I’m going to Dead Beat Dad

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

 82. Force of Hunger

    Tristan swung at his father, who stepped inside his guard and placed a hand on his back. No matter, Tristan had taken blows from tier three earth kern elites, Shadow Fist could not hope to generate as much force. Then something pulled. Tristan¡¯s essence moved against his will, slowly at first, but gaining speed.


    The familiarity of it shocked Tristan out of his anger and he lashed out to drive his father back, ¡°Consumption, how do you have the force of consumption.¡±


    The feeling it gave Tristan was identical to the dark elementals that came out of the mine. He lacked a reserve of essence at the time, so he had not directly experienced it, but he had felt it through his weapons. At that time he had to constantly fill up the reservoirs to stop the blades from breaking.


    Now it felt like something wet was being sucked out of him. It felt wrong, in a way only something vampiric could be. He narrowed his eyes at Shadow Fist, who somehow had the force of consumption. Great, supposedly so did Tristan. Only he had never seen a sign of the essence. Decay had a visible component that he could somewhat control, so where could the consumption essence be hiding?


    Shadow Fist seemed surprised, ¡°You know of my technique?¡±


    Tristan decided it was high time to fight with his brain instead of his emotions. He made his way forward slowly, keeping an eye on Shadow Fist¡¯s hands. A mental argument was going on in Tristan¡¯s mind. One piece wanted to go in and smash his father, that was his emotions talking. The other piece wanted to get siphoned by consumption a few more times to figure it out. In the end, it was not a decision, he could punch the lights out of his father at any time, however experiencing consumption was not something he could easily come across. At least not safely.


    So he did something he had never tried before, he fought while also inspecting his kern. It decreased his capabilities substantially, though he compensated by adding more force to each strike. He did not want Shadow Fist to change tactics, Tristan wanted the only response he had to be his force of consumption.


    Shadow Fist weaved out of the way of several punches and kicks before slapping a hand on Tristan¡¯s stomach. He watched as some of his essence was sucked out of that area. It was very similar to how one would absorb essence from an artifact. Tristan had seen both Eve and Bruce do it several times. Could Shadow Fist use people as artifacts? Probably not, there had to be some cost or limitation, otherwise, dark elementals would all cannibalize each other to rapidly grow.


    Tristan decided to test the limitations. He went after Shadow Fist again, the technique was odd, it was theoretically dangerous, but it only removed about a twentieth of Tristan¡¯s essence stores each time. This time Tristan loaded his hand with metal essence. He had practiced keeping decay nearly saturated, then removing all the essence he could control from around it. Preloading the decay made it more accessible for a smaller essence price when he actually needed it.


    One of the loaded black pieces of decay moved through his kern and towards his palm. It made contact and his palm started cracking like old parchment. Shadow Fist struck again, but this time Tristan was faster, he slapped the hand aside, surprising his father. The pain reduced as some of the essence was siphoned away.


    The decay alloy consumed more than five percent of his reserves, so some remained. He flicked it at Shadow Fist. The man smirked as if to say those tricks would not work. Once the blood struck, his expression changed, it stung like acid after all. It ate through clothes and skin until it ran out of essence. Several red sores were left behind.


    ¡°What kind of trick was that,¡± Shadow Fist asked with uncertain eyes. He was unknowledgeable about forces, he probably had no idea what other ones were out there, ¡°Was it the same as mine?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan said, then he thought about what decay actually was. Decay felt ancient, as time was the inescapable destroyer of everything, it would render everything down to its base state. Tristan wished he could feel Shadow Fists kern, to see how it reacted. The reason was that consumption was how one broke something down into its base components and processed it for energy.


    That trick had just put Tristan down around sixty percent of his total essence reserves. Shadow Fist moved in this time much more warily, unfortunately for him, Tristan could not let him be wary. He swung again, Shadow Fist taking great pains to avoid the palm that still had remnants of grey blood.


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    Another touch, this one on his shoulder, and Shadow Fist took more of Tristan¡¯s essence. There was a pulse, so fast that Tristan almost missed it. Everything that it crossed disappeared before the slimy feeling of something being sucked out. Why couldn¡¯t he see it, all of it was happening inside his own kern?


    After a few more strikes, Tristan was getting dangerously low on essence. At thirty-five percent, he finally figured out the very simple reason why he was not getting anywhere. He could not see or sense dark essence. That pulse was converting his metal to darkness, then drawing it in like he was an artifact. That was not right either, It was like his daggers, he was the reservoir and Shadow Fist the blade.


    Tristan briefly wondered if Hadrid had planned for his tools to eventually become a teaching aid. He focused completely on his father, who was coming in again, this time side stepped and brought a back fist across Shadow Fist¡¯s path. Of course, he evaded, but it let Tristan follow up with a stomp on his knee.


    That was normally guaranteed to break the joint, however Shadow Fist evaded again. It did allow Tristan to lay a hand on Shadow Fist''s shoulder. He tried to pull Shadow Fist¡¯s essence like he was an artifact. Nothing happened. Shadow Fist jumped back while Tristan stared in confusion at his hand, why did it not work? He had definitely gotten a metal, consumption alloy.


    Shadow Fist looked from his shoulder to Tristan''s palm, ¡°You¡¯re trying to copy me! It¡¯s not possible, I tried teaching the previous Elder of the Forest Caldera.¡±


    That surprised Tristan as the head family, aside from Shadow Fist all had fire kerns. Fire also had easy access to the force of consumption. That meant that the Elders weren¡¯t as ignorant as they seemed to be. Though not knowledgeable enough to succeed at learning forces.


    ¡°You will not be able to succeed, forfeit, and submit,¡± Shadow Fist droned on.


    ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± Tristan grumbled.


    Learn forces. Shadow Fist could not teach it because he did not know how he had achieved his own force. Tristan¡¯s was Alloy, and it allowed him to mix other forces to gain a force he did not ordinarily possess. So how to mix metal with hunger when he had no consumption essence? Shadow Fist approached again and managed to get off a leg sweep. It lacked the force to actually knock Tristan over, but that pulse came with it.


    In frustration, Tristan threw a wad of essence at it. What else could he do? Then the essence he lost returned, plus some. Tristan grinned when he saw this. It was much more passive than Shadow Fist¡¯s consumption as it could only target things he could mix his essence with. Currently, that was limited to his own body, but that would change at a later time.


    Right now it would only serve as a convenient way to resist some of the more invasive attacks. Tristan could not be sure it would work as well on anyone a higher tier than him either. Shadow Fist was much stronger than average, but he was only a little farther along in tier two than Tristan.


    For now, it was a party trick, one that countered Shadow Fist. Most essences would only enter his body alongside a sharp object, so it was not something that he would do often.


    Shadow Fist frowned, looking at his leg. He was wondering what went wrong. This time he did not get the burst of essence.


    Looking at Tristan he asked, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Tristan shrugged, ¡°but you should ask, what am I going to do.¡±


    Shadow Fist prepared himself, but Tristan was done playing around. He reinforced his knuckles, letting the sunlight glint off the now silvery sheen. With his attention distracted by the show of force, he missed some of Tristan¡¯s other movements.


    Blood started pooling in Tristan¡¯s palm. The blood quickly turning from silver to grey. Shadow Fist was unaware because of Tristan¡¯s closed fist.


    Tristan attacked and his father evaded. Despite the years of tempering that Tristan had been through, Shadow Fist was still more skilled. Tristan was stronger, faster, and vastly more durable, he even had a ridiculous force that could incorporate many other forces. However, skill was what humans had always used to overcome those with innate advantages.


    Unfortunately for Shadow Fist, skill could only mitigate surprises. One punch, which was narrowly dodged, contained that surprise. Tristan felt the decay hit its capacity, and before it could start dissolving him, he flicked his hand open. It scattered across Shadow Fist''s left side in small droplets.


    His clothing started rotting, becoming brittle and collapsing. This dose was at full power, the concentration of decay essence not being reduced by Shadow Fist¡¯s hunger. Skin was destroyed and when it reached the blood, he finally activated his force of consumption, though the effort seemed to wear on him.


    The effort came too late as Tristan was able to close in. He gripped Shadow Fist¡¯s right wrist, the uninjured one, and drove his bloody hand into the wrist. When he reinforced his hand with metal essence, his bones became as forgiving as steel. The wrist broke, but Tristan would not release such good leverage.


    Shadow Fist did his best to manage all the injuries he had received in the last two seconds. Unfortunately, that management of pain made him too slow to react when the hand that had broken his wrist slid up his arm. The reinforced back fist took Shadow Fist in his upper jaw, Tristan followed his backward stagger with a step and punch with his full body weight behind it.


    Shadow Fist did not even have time to react before the strike landed. His consciousness fled. Tristan was breathing heavily as he stood over his father¡¯s unconscious form. He turned toward Kale and nodded to the warrior. Then he trudged toward Lesly who had very wide eyes.


    He smiled slightly, ¡°Thanks, that was cathartic.¡±

 83. Respect is Built

    Lesly looked back and forth between Tristan and his prone father. She had not been aware of the animosity between them and had not even realized that Shadow Fist was his father at first. There was no way to know, she knew that Bruce had bullied a kid with a metal kern, but had never met him. By the time Helen and Shadow Fist became their neighbors again, they had a daughter named Tristan and never mentioned a son. When Shadow Fist arrived at the fort he never called Tristan son, only ¡®the silver devil.¡¯


    She looked over at Bruce and hissed, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you warn me?¡±


    Bruce shrugged, ¡°I thought you knew, it is not like he kept it secret.¡±


    ¡°Well I didn¡¯t, and now we have an unconscious emissary from the Forest Caldera!¡± Lesly rubbed her temples. She was starting to understand why Vin snapped.


    Eve looked over, whatever mood she had been in seemed to have passed, ¡°We should take him to the infirmity, right?¡±


    Lesly gave an absent nod and watched as the elite warrior, Kale approached. Kale folded his arms and glared at Lesly. She tried to glare back, but Kale was actually one of the scarier people she knew. If Tristan knew she thought Kale was scary, he would have laughed at her. However his view of Kale was skewed, it was like a child with a large dog. The child could not see past the fluffy fur, while everyone else saw a beast with sharp teeth.


    ¡°Why would you bring Tristan anywhere near his father,¡± Kale grumbled, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine a worse way to do it either.¡±


    Lesly sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know Shadow Fist was his father. I thought he was just here to retrieve a miner to help in the mines.¡±


    Kale shook his head, as he watched two doctors led by Eve start dragging the man off, ¡°I guess I should apologize then. It was too much to expect him to properly explain the situation.¡±


    Lesly was surprised that someone like Kale would apologize. The strong did not need to humble themselves before the weak. Her family¡¯s business believed that there were three kinds of power, the power of money, the power of violence, and the power of standing. Admitting fault violated her worldview, but instead of feeling contempt towards Kale, her respect grew. It was counterintuitive causing her to fall into thought.


    ¡°Do all of your subordinates on your normal team still respect you?¡± Lesly asked. This was a genuine question. She struggled to get the hunters at the fort to listen when she was absent.


    Kale laughed, ¡°No, I have no subordinates, I have four teammates and a team leader. I probably rank lowest out of all of them,¡± he slapped his injured leg, ¡°This stops me from surpassing the youngsters who are always growing. Though to answer your question, yes they all respect me, most people believe that power and respect go hand in hand, well that''s a lie. Power buys sycophants, constancy and effort at self-improvement buys respect.¡±


    Lesly was not sure what to think about that, her father was a civil protector, the only tier four in the Forest Caldera. He had a lot of money and owned some less than noble businesses. However, Lesly had grown up in that environment, she was starting to wonder if her family had mistaken fear and greed for respect. The Golden Hearts had respect for what they were, but Lesly was finding more desire to be respected for who she was instead.


    ¡°Thank you for the thoughts,¡± Lesly paused for a moment and bowed to Kale, ¡°You have given me a lot to ponder, but I have to sort out this mess.¡±


    Kale gave a small smile in return. He loved the exuberance of youth. A few words spoken at the right time could change their lives, and if his life experiences could supply those words, he was happy to give them. Walking over to the middle of the now vacant sparing ground, Kale knelt and observed the sand. It should have been covered by silver-red blood, however, the only sign was the depressions in the sand where the liquid had fallen.


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    Kale frowned, he had seen things like this before, but he was not sure if he was happy or horrified that this was happening again. About twenty years ago, Kale and his team back then had fought a tier-eight mythical beast. It was a tough fight, but this thing was once a human, it was intelligent and could seemingly control death. It had a metal skeleton like a warped human one. Sharp teeth and eyes that were too large.


    The blood of the mythical beast was corrosive, its aura sapped them of essence, and it could fire off a beam of black nothingness that deleted whatever they hit. They only won because the creature had wanted to die, the pain it was in was too much for it, but it was unable to kill itself. Kale had never gotten the full story on it, however Elder Plain had purchased the bones at an auction. Kale was worried that he might be watching the creation of a second one of those creatures.


    Standing he left the sparring grounds and went to go do some work. Contrary to common thought, warriors had been trickling in from the Forest and Stone Caldera for quite some time. Enough that Kale was worried about the integrity of the wall. Some warriors were left behind to start with, but there were only five or six hundred to protect a nearly three hundred and fifty mile border. Leaving only one hundred behind seemed foolish.


    Regardless Kale was not in charge, and he was glad that he was not. In the second barracks that had been constructed was a large empty room in the center of the second floor. Most of the hunter teams were not aware that this building was occupied exclusively by tier three warriors. Kale was heading for the conference room built into the second floor.


    When he stepped in a deep voice said, ¡°Kale, good, you¡¯re early.¡±


    Kale nodded to the burly man. Cole, the civil protector of the Stone Caldera, and it was easy to see how his earth kern had influenced his growth. The man was muscular, with a square jaw, brown eyes, and short hair. He looked like he had a little bit of ogre in his ancestry. Still, he was a decent person, and Kale had decided that he was worth following.


    Cole waived a letter and grumbled, ¡°It looks like we might actually be seeing the first war in the last century.¡± He slid the letter across the table to Kale, ¡°Read it and you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    Kale had done his best to stay out of politics, but politics would always find you if you did your job too well. He opened the letter and started reading. It started off with the normal slander towards the opposite side. Evidently, both Elder Forest and Elder Stone were accusing Elder River of betraying his duty to the Caldera and demanding that he step down. Kale¡¯s eyes widened as he read further.


    ¡°Is this real?¡± Kale asked.


    Cole grimaced, ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°The exploration team actually found people?¡± Kale asked.


    ¡°Hostile ones,¡± Cole said with a nod, ¡°They used strange weaponry and used an unusual essence type.¡±


    The letter was one of those rare letters that let the warriors know why their leaders were acting. There was another nation with a border only one or two hundred miles from theirs. The Caldera needed to be unified, however Elder River refused to work with them. The letter was worded to shove all the blame on the enemy Elders, however, Kale had lived long enough to see the goal of this war.


    Whichever Caldera controlled the plains would have a near monopoly on food production. It was the reason why the four Calderas supported the Grass Caldera when it split from the Plain Caldera. The Forest Caldera would be particularly powerful with possession over the plains. With total control over the means of producing both weapons and food, no one would be able to stop them.


    Kale looked up at the civil protector, ¡°Is Elder Forest trying to become a king?¡±


    Cole folded his massive arms and nodded, ¡°That¡¯s my guess too, and I think it will work. The other people are alien and hostile, but not to the point of invasion, Elder River did try to stop a plan to save the Caldera from an internal threat, and he lost his civil protector to the alchemist. Anyone who thinks about it will see that it is more propaganda than reality.¡±


    ¡°Most people won¡¯t think about it though,¡± Kale said. It made him sad, supposedly there was a caste of teachers, called guiders. However these seemed to be mostly aristocrats, and they told people what to think, not how to think.


    Cole sighed, ¡°I look forward to the day when I can use this tier four kern for more than killing. It was fine when it was beasties, but I know a lot of Old River¡¯s warriors.¡±


    Kale eyed the civil protector¡¯s massive shoulders, ¡°I can¡¯t really picture you enjoying the quiet life.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I am damn good at making pottery,¡± Cole grinned, ¡°Only found that out when my son learned how to throw stuff.¡±


    The door opened and several other scarred men stepped. Each one took a seat, relaxing. Many of the older warriors had aches and pains that never quite went away, but sitting in soft chairs was always better than walking upstairs.


    ¡°Are we ready to get started?¡± Cole asked as he unrolled a map on the table. He set down some clay figurines, some painted blue and some green. Looking around to make sure he had everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°Alright let¡¯s talk about how to make Elder Forest into the King of the Forest.¡±

 84. New Deal

    Tristan wandered around the camp after the duel, quickly realizing something. He had never been given a bunk in the barracks, or at the very least he had not been told where it was. In fact, the only time he had slept in the fort itself, the barracks had been under construction or he had been in the hospital.


    So back to the hospital he went. He was unsure how long Shadow Fist would be out, but no one would bother him if he simply read in the waiting room. Normally less severely injured people would wait here while the medical team dealt with the more serious cases. When he sat on the padded bench and opened his book, the room was empty. Well, there were no patients, he had to tell the young nurse that he was healthy, and not to bother him. Aside from the confused looks of the staff, he was left alone.


    People came and went, most needing nothing more than disinfectant to avoid a cut going rotten. Tristan ignored them while he read. Despite the books only having fifty pages, a lot was packed a lot into them, while avoiding some crucial details. For example, the glasslike reservoirs that Hadrid had were retrieved from something called a soul revenant. What was a soul revenant? No idea. Unfortunately, Tristan needed to know how to get those reservoirs, but the book assumed that soul revenants were common knowledge.


    Tristan paused, he should probably stop complaining. It was quite good luck that the literature of an extinct civilization was still legible at all. Maybe Hadrid translated it. Regardless, he would need to ask the alchemist the next time he saw him.


    The reservoirs could be filled with a force if one incorporated them into the growth of a plant. It seemed that it would filter out the force that was foreign to the plant¡¯s natural state. Tristan sighed, gardening. He was going to have to take up gardening. There would be plenty of time later, after the war, he assumed that there would be dramatically less violence to go around. Hopefully, he could reach tier three or four and simply go do his own thing. Even if that thing was boring, he would literally have to watch grass grow.


    Someone sat down across from him. Tristan almost told the nurse to go away when he saw that it was Eve. He frowned, did something happen? Eve had puffy and bloodshot eyes like she had been crying.


    ¡°Do you trust Kale?¡± Eve blurted out.


    The odd question surprised Tristan, but he had not kept his amicable relationship with Kale a secret, ¡°Yes, he is a very good man. He is one of the very few who deals genuinely with others.¡±


    Eve took a deep breath and asked ¡°Do you trust his team leader?¡±


    ¡°Do you mean Conni or Siren,¡± Tristan asked, then realized that was a dumb question, ¡°Never mind, I trust them both. Why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°Lesly and I have become friends over the last few months,¡± Eve looked at Tristan like she expected some kind of response. For his part, Tristan just assumed that all girls did girl things, so it was not weird for girls to be friends. Eve took another deep breath and let it out slowly, ¡°She told me why we ended up at the River Caldera.¡±


    Tristan closed his book, he had not realized that had been intentional. He leaned forward and asked, ¡°Was Lesly trying to start a war?¡±


    That was the only option. There was no way it would turn out differently, Elder River would not be able to pass on a tier six artifact. Especially when it was headed to his mortal enemy. The only way a war would be avoided would be if had helped them deliver the artifact. Instead, he had both tried to steal the artifact and stop the crab plague. The Lake Caldera had tried to destroy the seeds as well.


    Eve nodded, ¡°Yes, that was the goal.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll go back to your grandfather?¡± Tristan asked. Most people would ask who a war would even benefit, but Tristan honestly did not care if a bunch of people he had never met killed each other. It was not his fault they were bloodthirsty.


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    ¡°No,¡± Eve shook her head, and fidgeted a little, ¡°I am going back to the mine with you.¡±


    Tristan could only stare at her for a few moments before inspecting her puffy bloodshot eyes. There was only one reason Eve would want to follow him to the mine, ¡°Have you been drinking?¡±


    Eve slapped Tristan, ¡°You, insufferable jerk. I¡¯m not drunk.¡±


    The slap actually hurt. It got Tristan right in the jaw where he had to extract the root to his shattered canine, ¡°Ow, explain why a sane princess would want to go and frolic underground with a bunch of dirty sweaty men.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t go back to my grandfather. Regis survived, and is the most powerful card in his hand as he is the most powerful civil protector,¡± Eve glared at Tristan who was motioning for her to get to the point, ¡°Regis wants me dead if my grandfather shelters me, then the man will switch sides. Then it will be Kerri against all the remaining civil protectors.¡±


    ¡°I admit that scenario is quite pleasant to imagine,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Wait remaining? How many are dead?¡±


    ¡°There are only three left. Regis¡¯s brother was killed by Hadrid and the Plains Caldera¡¯s was killed by a ghost crab,¡± Eve said, ¡°The River and Lake Caldera¡¯s cannot afford to lose the last real powerhouse they have.¡±


    ¡°Well, sucks for Grandpa, but why frolic with sweaty men? You do have other options, Hadrid for example,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t frolic. Hadrid is as unreliable as one can get,¡± Eve said, ¡°Lesly said that Kale has the disposition to protect me from the Forest Caldera, while still keeping Regis from attacking the River Caldera. It¡¯s a win-win.¡± Eve gave a forced smile, ¡°This Siren can even protect me if Regis came, at least from what Lesly told me.¡±


    Tristan raised an eyebrow. So she intended to hide in what was effectively his home from the man with the strongest fire kern in the Caldera. On second thought, Luke would jump at the chance to crack his kern on Regis. It was odd that the mine would become a second locus of power in addition to Alchehall. Elder Forest was not aware of what was going on beneath his nose.


    ¡°Will Regis show up at the mine?¡± Tristan asked.


    Eve winced, ¡°It¡¯s a possibility. But if we are quiet-,¡±


    ¡°Make it a certainty, if you can set the date of his arrival, then you have yourself a deal,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Well, Conni still has to agree.¡±


    Eve teared up, ¡°Thank you, I don¡¯t know how to thank you.¡±


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you are thanking me, Olfred is standard issue there. Most are just one or two tiers lower.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that nice man who saved us when Vin burned the bridges?¡± Eve asked brightly.


    Tristan could only stare, half in shock, ¡°That was one of his better moments.¡±


    ¡°When do we leave?¡± Eve asked, ¡°I already have everything packed.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean leave? I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± Tristan said.


    He intended to fight while he had the opportunity. If he could crack his kern a few more times, then he would be happy. Opportunities like this were uncommon, as violence tended to be frowned upon. Right now he had thousands of crabs and a war brewing, medics would be close at hand to save the lives of the warriors. It was perfect.


    Perhaps it was wrong to ignore right and wrong, however, most of these people had a reaction to Tristan on a sliding scale from apathy to hatred. He cared about who had the better benefits. His entire existence hinged on offering a service that was too valuable to throw away. Right now that could be war, silver devils were pretty good at it.


    Eve¡¯s face fell, almost making him feel bad. Tristan almost gave in to his sense of pity, when the door to the infirmary was swung open. Shadow Fist stepped out. Sticky poultices covered the decay sores and his wrist was in a cast, but other wise he looked fine.


    When his eyes met Tristans he stomped over and said, ¡°By order of the Elder of the Forest Caldera, you are to return to the mine.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s in it for me?¡± Tristan asked.


    Eve seemed uncomfortable, which was fair, it was an uncomfortable scene. Shadow Fist seemed shocked that Tristan dared to talk back to him. Tristan sat passively with his arms crossed protectively over his binder. He was not worried about Shadow Fist, his father was hurt, and Tristan had fully recovered his essence in the last half day.


    ¡°Because your elder told you to,¡± Shadow Fist said.


    ¡°My uncle is an idiot,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Now what¡¯s in it for me, or did you intend to do this by force.¡±


    Tristan knew very well that the goal was to force him to return. That plan would have worked if he was still tier one, but now, they would need a high-quality tier three to force him. He knew they needed him and was willing to return if they gave him something of equal or higher quality to jump to tier three. Tristan suspected they would not pay it.


    However, Shadow Fist gritted his teeth, ¡°What do you want.¡±


    Tristan flipped out his sword breaker and pointed to the marble at its hilt, ¡°I want as many of these as you have, I want information on soul revenants, and how to harvest these reservoirs.¡±


    Shadow Fist seemed surprised at the request, he had been expecting something hard to meet like money, ¡°I think I can work with most of that.¡±

 85. Back to the Forest Caldera

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 86. Soul Stone

    Shadow Fist pulled the large door open. It was the side with the silver demon lord¡¯s head on it. The inside of the temple was well made, despite the fact that most of the wood was pine wood. Stained glass windows depicting the various activities that the gods got up to lined the walls. Some depicted Vent lifting heaven on his back. Others were various gifts that the gods gave humans. Things like fire and water.


    Tristan was beginning to understand why Hadrid had such contempt for these beings. Even if they did exist, they were more likely to be people with exceptionally powerful kerns. After all, the grand ancestor most likely appeared as a demigod to the people around him, two or three more tiers and maybe people would start worshiping them. If they were people, then someday Tristan would surpass them. His gaze fell to the demon lord. It took three gods to stop him, which meant that even in legends there were powers greater than gods.


    They took a step inside and Tristan was taken back to his childhood. Shadow Fist and Helen had occasionally brought him to temple gatherings, though not with any regularity. It was one of the things that caused friction between Shadow Fist and Elder Forest. The pews that lined the walls were currently empty, the only human was an acolyte cleaning the pews.


    He was wearing the standard white robe with a three pointed hat in yellow, red, and blue. Currently, he was wielding a mop, and doing a good job cleaning the tiled floor. Shadow Fist headed straight for him, the acolyte did not even notice him until Shadow Fist had already arrived.


    ¡°Is Wise Guider Daphan in his office?¡± Shadow Fist asked.


    The acolyte jumped, looking up in shock at the man who had seemingly appeared, ¡°Yes, yes, he should be in. He is currently comparing the offerings to the attendance. So he should be there for the next hour or so.¡±


    Shadow Fist nodded and beckoned for Tristan to follow him. The acolyte looked quizzically at the duo as they left. It was rare to have unscheduled visitors. He adjusted the irritating hat, trying to hide that he was staring. Something on the guest of the Elder¡¯s brother-in-law caught the acolyte¡¯s attention.


    Two daggers sat at his hips, which on its own was not an issue, or even abnormal. The abnormal part was the two reservoirs attached to the daggers. Clearly, they had yet to be purified, and worse they had a metallic silver sheen. The acolyte¡¯s eyes widened, the boy was a servant of the demon lord. Instantly dropping his mop, the acolyte ran off to get help.


    Tristan was completely unaware of what was going on. He followed his father to the back of the temple. There was a room behind the raised podium. From the front door, the view of the back room was blocked by the alter and its three flames. Each fire was a different color, representing one of the three gods.


    ¡°The leader of this temple already knows about who you are,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°Currently, you are protected by the Elder¡¯s word, so don¡¯t pretend to be something you are not.¡±


    Tristan shrugged. It was kind of hard to hide his metallic golden eyes. It was possible to mistake them for a yellow flame or wind kern at a distance, but the neon yellow of flame and dull autumn yellow of wind were very different from gold. Tristan had to be glad he did not get something even more distinctive, like silver. To top it all off his kern had influenced his movements to be more direct, similar to an earth kern. The temple master would know what he was at a glance.


    Shadow Fist knocked once before pushing open the door, an elderly man sat behind a desk counting out stacks of steel and copper parces. He looked up in surprise as the two of them strode in. Tristan was not sure what he was expecting, but the man looked like any other man in his mid-seventies. Maybe something holy or radiant. He had looked much more impressive in Tristan¡¯s adolescent memories.


    ¡°Ah Shadow Fist,¡± Guider Daphan squinted at Tristan, ¡°Ooh, is this your son? I¡¯ve never met someone with a metal kern.¡±


    That was not the reaction he had expected. Tristan half believed that the old guider would throw something sharp while yelling ¡°Heretic!¡± Instead, the man inspected Tristan like he was a new toy.


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    Shadow Fist was evidently busy and got straight to the point, ¡°Tristan here will be helping source the materials for our warriors, the price that he has requested was the orbs that the alchemist likes to use, and how to gather them.¡±


    Daphan snorted, ¡°That bastard, I don¡¯t know how he figured it out, but it was the biggest hit our congregation ever took.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°why would that be an issue?¡±


    ¡°Bah! All religions make their claims based on who gets to manipulate souls,¡± Daphan said, ¡°we call everyone else evil because they are competing with us.¡±


    That only confused him more. He had clearly heard Hadrid say that souls were the only things that lacked essence. The marbles that he himself made would contradict that if they were made of souls. Though on second thought, a cup could hold water without being water, it was the entire premise of containment after all. Were souls something that could be harvested?


    ¡°Bingo,¡± the old guider said grinning as he read Tristan¡¯s changing expression, ¡°now you owe me for leading you to that conclusion.¡±


    ¡°You''re not saying that all these marbles are dead people?¡± Tristan asked horrified.


    ¡°Sure, though it is not too big an issue if you stop and think about it,¡± Daphan waved away, Tristans concern, ¡°All artifacts are made of a soul, after all, it is nothing more than essence locked into a shape by soul. Even tier zero peasants have a soul, though they refer to it as their free will.¡±


    Tristan was very unsettled, he did not want to craft essence reservoirs by killing people and stealing their souls. Then he really would be a silver devil in every sense of the word. The book had said he needed to find a soul revenant, so there was definitely another way. There was a monster out there somewhere that could be hunted for reservoirs.


    Tristan nodded mind made up, ¡°Now I need around ten of your essence reservoirs.¡±


    ¡°Kid, you already owe me, you should be paying me back,¡± Daphan shook his head.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I would have found out eventually in the same way Hadrid did. But, I do need the reservoirs, and no marbles means no metal for Forest¡¯s men.¡±


    Daphan seemed at a slight loss for words. Tristan thought it was shock, maybe a little fear. He was disappointed, ¡°You are a rude young man,¡± Daphan glanced at Shadow Fist, ¡°What did your parents teach you?¡±


    Tristan was about to get riled up at the old man, but he realized that Daphan owed him nothing. Elder Forest probably held quite a few favors from Elder Daphan, but the man did not have to give Tristan anything. In fact, it was probably detrimental to his position, after all, he was the head of an organization that supposedly worshiped the three gods.


    After taking a deep breath, Tristan stood and turned to the door, there was nothing more for him here. As he passed his father, Tristan said, ¡°I still need those reservoirs.¡±


    He opened the office door and stepped out. Daphan was waving goodbye with a smile on his face. The man was truly odd. Tristan was halfway across the sanctuary when Shadow Fist caught up and stood in his way.


    ¡°Tri-, young man, regardless of my ability to pay, thousands of people are counting on your ability to find a way to deal with the metal elemental,¡± Shadow Fist said, stopping Tristan with a palm, ¡°You need to help, if only because you¡¯re a man.¡±


    Tristan gritted his teeth at Shadow Fist. The man could not even say his name, and he questioned Tristan''s integrity? Pathetic. Then Tristan''s mind caught on the words metal elemental, he realized that he had never asked why he was needed so badly at the mine. Sure his presence would massively speed things up, especially with an almost eighty-five foot range on his scanning ability. Thinking of releasing the metal elemental was stupid. It was made of metal, and its traits would scale with its tier.


    ¡°You people are all idiots,¡± Tristan fumed, ¡°Why would you want to release that thing?¡±


    ¡°We need weapons and armor, that deposit has everything we need,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°Without it, this will be a long, bloody war. With it, the Forrest Caldera is assured a smooth victory.¡±


    Tristan stomped past his father, shoving him out of the way with his bulk. Despite them sharing genetics, their kerns had taken their development during their teen years in wildly different directions. Tristan was already half a head taller and much broader than his father.


    ¡°You people are idiots, who want to kill yourselves,¡± Tristan gritted his teeth, ¡°I won¡¯t be a part of that.¡±


    He could not believe that Elder Forest would be dumb enough to ignore Siren¡¯s warning. He knew for a fact that Siren should have his uncle''s respect. Siren was everything was warrior of the Caldera should be, strong, brave, and with an unyielding sense of duty. Frankly, Siren was the man most boys dreamed of growing up to be someday.


    Tristan reached the door and went to push it open. He did not get the chance, as someone opened it from the other side. Tristan blinked at the bright sunlight, then his eyes adjusted. The acolyte who had been cleaning the pews stood in front of Tristan along with three larger men and one woman.


    The acolyte put his fists on his hips and called out loudly, ¡°Yield, devil, your judgment has come.¡±

 87. Acolytes

    Tristan paused for a moment, not sure of what to say. Eventually, he went with, ¡° Everyone here really is an idiot.¡±


    He did not know how strong the kerns of the four acolytes were. He suspected they were all tier zero or one. Tier twos were not that common and tier threes were a military resource. Could there be a tier two, yes. But it was a one in ten chance, out of four people it just didn¡¯t seem too likely.


    They were all dressed in the standard robes of the priests. White with the borders and seams being sewn from a tri-colored thread. The newcomers lacked the three pointed hat, but it would not be the best thing to wear while arresting someone.


    They brandished their weapons, staves with hoops screwed onto the end. The male acolyte who had blue eyes stepped forward, ¡°Your opinions matter little, we will judge you,¡± his eyes fell to the daggers at Tristan¡¯s waist, ¡°Give up the creations of the demon lord, and we can lighten your punishment.¡±


    Tristan did not hear what the stupid man said. He was too focused on the staves. In the center of each hoop hung an essence reservoir suspended by wires every ninety degrees around the hoop. These acolytes all had artifacts with essence reservoirs attached.


    Now he wasn¡¯t going to attack somebody and rob them. However, if they attacked him, he had no qualms about taking their stuff. The Caldera might not see it that way, but they would side against him regardless of the reason.


    Tristan chuckled, ¡°Why would I do that? You know what, give me your weapons.¡±


    These people had really lightened his mood. He had come here for reservoirs and he could get them, they even brought to them. As a fight was imminent he inspected the four opponents closely. The janitor looked to have an air kern. Not only were his eyes green, but he had gone for help, the only other kern with common green eyes was earth, and he was not direct enough for that. Just to his left were the two larger men, both had blue eyes, but he actually suspected they had a flame kern. Quick judgments and assumptions were hallmarks of the fire kerns. The woman had purple eyes which was a dead giveaway for dark.


    Tristan nodded to himself. Even if they were tier two and could move their essence in their own body, none had abilities that countered his. The only one he had to even worry about, was the woman, if she had a dark kern, then she should be good at utilizing distractions.


    ¡°Do you take us for fools,¡± The other man said. Tristan mentally dubbed them as thug one and thug two.


    Tristan paused. The next words that he said would determine the reaction of the Caldera. Regardless of what he did, they would not like him. However, dislike was a far cry from the anger that assaulting a religious figure would cause. There were two ways to go forward, one run from these thugs, or two cause such a commotion that the civil protector was sent out.


    Shadow Fist stepped out and said, ¡°Don¡¯t do anything to them, I¡¯ll get us out of this.¡±


    That made Tristan¡¯s mind. Was it petty, yes, but he was fine with that. He sneered at the acolytes, ¡°At least you are smarter than your gods. Maybe if they had brought four people to fight the silver devil, we wouldn¡¯t only be hearing about them in stories.¡±


    ¡°Tristan,¡± Shadow Fist said warningly.


    Tristan glared at his father, ¡°Do you want to know something strange?¡± He did not wait for his father to answer, ¡°You deleted me from existence with your little stunt. The next time my name was officially recorded was when I was noted for heroic services rendered. The record called me Sage.¡± Shadow Fist took a step back under Tristan¡¯s glare.


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    The acolytes decided that was the perfect time to move. Thug one and janitor moved forward together, while thug two tried to get Shadow Fist out of the way. Tristan could only chuckle coldly, they believed Shadow Fist was an innocent bystander. Janitor and thug one were shocked when Tristan grabbed Shadow Fist by his shirt and threw him at them.


    Shadow Fist was not heavy, but he was still at the top of half a dozen steps. He was carrying enough momentum to drive the two men back down the steps, though not enough to knock them on their butts. Thug Two ended up reaching Tristan first, but his objective was gone. Instead, he found a silver devil waiting for him.


    Thug two frantically swung his staff, but when it bounced ineffectively off of Tristan''s shoulder, he panicked. Understandable, the man was tier one. Tristan grabbed the staff before the man could retrieve it, then kicked the man off the top of the steps. For a moment Tristan was confused. Why would a tier one be performing security for the Forest Caldera¡¯s religious organization?


    Elder Forest must not have excluded priests from his tier two call to arms. He grabbed the reservoir and tore it off its wire frame. It was burning hot, though not to the point of something like an open flame. So, the temple was using this as a flame artifact. He hoped they could be repurposed in the future.


    The janitor and thug one were coming back up the stairs. Tristan grabbed the staff he was holding by one end and swung it like a club. Both of the acolytes staggered back but forgot they weren¡¯t on level ground, toppling back down the steps. Tristan was starting to feel bad about this. These people were around his age, which barely made them adults.


    Most people lacked Tristan¡¯s advantages, he had been lucky enough to have not one but two tier fours giving him two on one attention. In addition to that, he got access to archaic training techniques from Luke and Hadrid had reluctantly taught him how to literally bend reality to his whims. To top it all off, he had been taught theoretical things, which he was able to immediately put into practice against elemental, ghost crabs, and humans.


    Tristan shook his head, he did not want to be a bully, ¡°Hey, we don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    The grin from thug one was all Tristan needed. He stepped to the left and watched a hand gripping a knife thrust past him. Reinforcing the palm of his hand, Tristan grabbed the blade. He could sense that the metal of the knife was mundane and had no essence running through it. So he was able to grip it hard enough to jerk the dark kern girl down the steps as well. In the end, he was left holding the blade and had four tier one acolytes on the ground in front of him.


    Tristan felt weary so he sat down on the top step. He was tired of all this stupid posturing from the people around him. Most of it was done to impress people they did not like or demonstrate dominance to someone they thought of as lesser. Kerri had done it, Shadow Fist had done it, and Lesly had done it. The only thing these people had in common was that they got offended if you did not march to their orders.


    Shadow Fist¡¯s face was scrunched in anger, ¡°You spoiled child, If-¡°


    ¡°Shut the Hell up,¡± Tristan barked, ¡°You were the one responsible for raising me, so you don¡¯t get to complain about what happens when you abandon your job.¡±


    All the acolytes flinched at Tristan¡¯s volume. When his golden eyes fell back on them he sighed, ¡°You can go, run along. I try not to hurt people weaker than me.¡±


    Evidentially, that was the wrong thing to say. The one thing you never do, if you want to make a peaceful resolution, is tie the surrender to pride. Many people are willing to die for their pride. Thug one was on his feet in an instant, his staff lighting on fire. Janitor and the dark kern girl rose as well, though with more hesitance.


    ¡°We are acolytes of the three gods, we will never surrender before the enemy,¡± He brandished his flaming staff above his head.


    This was mostly theatrics to impress the growing crowd. The people kept a safe distance, but there was no mistaking their curious gazes and excitement of flashy artifacts being used. Tristan could only roll his eyes at thug one. The other two stepped up beside him but were less flashy. They still let their staves light up with their elemental effects. Lightning for the janitor and a black miasma for the girl.


    Tristan inspected the black fog. He could not be sure, but it looked like the same material that the gelatinous elemental had spewed out. It had drained essence when spread over a large area, but this girl had a much smaller amount. Tristan got into a ready stance as he prepared for round two.

 88. Golden Level Enforcement

    ¡°Everyone stop!¡± A new voice yelled.


    A man in half plate trundled through the crowd toward the conflict. He was clearly a guard, but just like everyone else here, he was a pretty low tier. Tristan remembered seeing Kieth at the Stone Fort, so not even the guards were spared from the draft. The guard had no weapons, except a club with a metal cap.


    Tristan, who was still sitting, did not move. The four acolytes gritted their teeth, but they were the ones who had started everything. There were enough witnesses to prove that, and they would be left with the defense, he said mean things. Tristan was glad for the guard, he helped de-escalate the situation instantly.


    The man in half plate sidled up and glared at all the young people. It made sense that only young people would disturb his peace. His two subordinates stepped up behind him. They already had their clubs drawn. His eyes then landed on a hero. Well, not a literal hero, but an example to the people.


    Saluting Shadow Fist, the guard said, ¡°Lord Shadow Fist, what is the issue here.¡±


    Shadow Fist was a celebrity, a hero to the people of the Forest Caldera. He was born as a commoner and was raised to his current position through hard work and results. Despite him being second in line to the seat of Elder Forrest, he still treated the common man with respect.


    ¡°Captain Jon,¡± Shadow Fist nodded, ¡°It''s good to see you.¡±


    Jon grinned inside. Shadow Fist remembered his name, even the other guards straightened a little. Jon refocused on what Shadow Fist said. He did take note of the young man with golden eyes slowly getting to his feet.


    ¡°This here is Sage, at least according to any records that we have, he antagonized these acolytes, and stole their property after riling them up,¡± Shadow Fist gestured to the marble in Tristan¡¯s hand.


    Tristan, well he guessed it was Sage now, glared at his father. Everything that Shadow Fist had claimed was technically true. Even some of the people in the crowd were nodding their heads in agreement. The acolytes grinned in victory until Shadow Fist continued speaking.


    ¡°Fine the acolytes for the time they wasted and property damage,¡± Shadow Fist turned his dark gaze to Tristan, ¡°Apprehend Sage, he has a tier two metal kern, justice will not be served if the temple is left to handle it.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if he should be surprised or not. He had actually mentioned this as a possibility before he had set foot in the temple. He had called his father a coward, and thus should not be surprised when he acted like one.


    Jon raised his club and said, ¡°Come on young man, don¡¯t make this harder than it has to be.¡±


    Tristan was not sure what kind of kern the guards had, though, at tier one, a kern was only good for artifacts and limited visual effects. They had no metal artifacts, so he was not entirely sure what they were planning to do if he resisted. A fifty percent greater physique was a massive advantage. It was hard to overstate how big of a jump that was, it would normally require specialized training like Shadow Fist¡¯s to jump a tier or specialized weaponry. Tristan had both, putting these poor men solidly below Tristan¡¯s capabilities.


    Throwing a look at his father, ¡°You, really want to do this?¡±


    Shadow Fist folded his arms behind his back, ¡°Your actions are your own, take responsibility for them.¡±


    Shaking his head, Tristan turned back to the guards. He could not believe that his father of all people was lecturing him on responsibility. Tristan inspected the three men and the four acolytes that were slowly surrounding him. There was nothing for him in this fight. He pocketed the essence reservoirs he filched from the staves and took a deep breath.


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    ¡°Well, looks like we''re going to make this as hard as possible,¡± Tristan said. The guard prepared to defend himself, only to be shocked when Tristan ran away.


    ¡°What,¡± Jon spluttered, ¡°No, get back here!¡±


    Tristan charged at the observers who scrambled to get out of his way. This cleared the way for his pursuers, but he was not held back by heavy armor or ceremonial robes. Jumping onto the back of a wagon he followed up by jumping onto the roof of a smithy. It had tiles instead of thatch for obvious reasons, allowing Tristan to run over the roof and jump. He reinforced his ankles hips and knees to absorb the landing.


    Then he started running. While he was sure his endurance was greater than his pursuers, he would not bet on it with only one good lung. He crossed the opposite street and turned down an alley. There was an inset door where the craftsman here threw out his scraps. He ducked in just in time. Jon realized that Tristan would be unlikely to simply camp on the smith¡¯s roof and simply ran around.


    Tristan struggled to repress a grin as he watched the guards ask if they had seen a young man with black hair. As black, blond, and brunette were the most common hair colors, the man¡¯s description covered a full third of the young men in the Caldera.


    Tristan¡¯s mirth was ruined when Shadow Fist stepped out of the shadows, and pointed straight at Tristan, ¡°Right there.¡±


    Raising his eyebrows at the move Tristan turned his attention to the alley. It had an exit, but he was no longer sure if he could escape. Shadow Fist had shown some very advanced stealth skills and was faster than he was. It was not the full-on invisibility that dark elementals had, more like he was simply not noteworthy, a piece of the background that one¡¯s mind would naturally ignore.


    The guards warily inspected the alley. Jon turned to one of his subordinates, ¡°I don¡¯t like it. This is a choke point, go get back up.¡±


    Tristan decided to speed up their decision making process. Drawing his knives he stabbed them through the wall. He was slightly surprised that the stone held. Dagger over dagger he pulled himself up to the second floor of the building. It was a flat roofed structure that was clearly the domain of a gardener. Potted plants sat on every edge, most were vegetable pants, but there were a few flowers and some vines. Clothing lines made neat rows. Pants, shirts, and undergarments were hung from them and an extra spool of wire sat beside the post.


    While this would be an excellent spot to make a final stand, Tristan had no desire to make a final stand. He looked over the edge of the building and saw several more guards forming a cordon around the building. For a moment he considered jumping down, the guards could not really stop him from doing as he pleased. But then he made eye contact with Shadow Fist, who simply shook his head in disappointment.


    A thin man with almost white gold hair was led up to Shadow Fist by one of the guards. Tristan instantly knew he was someone important by how he was obviously mocking Shadow Fist. There were only so many people here who could do that. Elder Forest and the civil protector were the only ones he could think of. This man looked like how Tristan would expect the Golden Heart patriarch would. The standard hair and almost white eyes were a dead giveaway.


    At tier four, Tristan was certain that the man had enough control to stop his eyes from glowing like there was a lantern in his head. Tristan decided that the top of this crafter¡¯s home would be a great spot to fight a tier four. Light kerns were commonly thought of as weak, more of a commercial essence type that would naturally be good with plants. However, when it was scaled up to tier four, Tristan would not be surprised if the man would heal in real time, and have almost limitless stamina. He would also be almost twice as fast and strong as Tristan.


    Tristan knew that he would need an environmental advantage to win. He knew that his death was not the goal, so he could take some risks. Tristan could simply refuse to help if they took too much from him. That was something he could take advantage of. His knives could be damaged by what was most likely a tier three artifact weapon, but they would still make short work of the patriarch if he made contact.


    The thought of fighting the Golden Heart patriarch gave him a sick feeling. He paused while winding the excess clothing lines around objects at ankle level. That was odd, he had not felt this way when fighting Regis or Kerri. It took him a moment to realize where the discomfort was coming from. Somewhere along the line, he had started to consider Bruce a friend, and now he was contemplating killing his father.


    What was going on? He had gotten so used to fighting to the death that he was considering killing a friend¡¯s father. It had been a slow degradation, first it was elementals, then crabs, then people. There had always been a justified reason, and every time he had been the weaker party. Tristan gritted his teeth at the unfairness of it all, if it came down to his life or the patriarch¡¯s he would choose his own. Silently, he apologized to Bruce.

 89. A Hearty Lunch

    Henry Golden Heart was in the middle of lunch when a city guard barged into the restaurant. All the other patrons looked on, concerned at the situation. The guard, a young man with a blond mustache, marched up to Henry and knelt on one knee.


    Henry looked at the sandwich he had been about to consume and sighed, ¡°Speak.¡±


    The young man answered in a low tone, one that Henry could hear clearly, but the other patrons would struggle to, ¡°Lord Shadow Fist has requested your aid in capturing a silver demon. We have him cornered on a rooftop.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you just overwhelm him with numbers? There¡¯s what, fifty of you guards?¡± Henry asked. Was Shadow Fist really so desperate?


    ¡°He is tier two, with the draft of all tier two¡¯s being in effect, the body count to apprehend him would be very high,¡± The guard said.


    Henry¡¯s eyes widened. The boy had made it to tier two, that was impressive. It also explained why the guards were so wary. Henry could understand why they were wary of anyone with a metal kern. The advantages it gave to combat would often allow them to fight a tier above their actual level. It was the reason why the alchemist was able to destroy civil protectors like they were a joke. Metal was the least useful in crafting but balanced out with raw killing power.


    Dropping a silver parce, which was around ten times what the meal was worth. Henry picked up his BLT and motioned for the guard to lead the way. He sent his squire off to go collect his armor and weapons, then followed the guard to the standoff. The squire was another of Elder Forest''s nephews, though from his brother. The twelve-year-old had yet to determine his kern but was dead set on learning to be a warrior. He did everything with exuberance, which Henry supposed was normal for a boy.


    Shadow Fist saw them approaching. Henry was surprised, he hated the man, but for a tier two, he was a monster. Bandages covered most of his left arm and his right had a wrist splint. A massive bruise covered half his face. It took Henry a moment to realize what had happened.


    He started laughing, ¡°Your son beat the crap out of you, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    Shadow Fist glared at him, his eyes flicked down to the sandwich, ¡°At least I¡¯m not frivolously wasting the Caldera¡¯s resources.¡±


    Henry held up the sandwich at eye level and pulled out a strip of bacon. He started eating it slowly. Unfortunately, Shadow Fist could barely be called human. No sign of desire could be seen, the dozen or so guards within line of sight looked jealously at the meat. The Golden Hearts built their business on greed, specifically short sighted greed. It was the reason why Henry hated Shadow Fist, the man never betted against the house because he wanted to own the house. The problem was, that it was Henry¡¯s house.


    The squire returned with a backpack full of the gold half plate that Henry wore. It was simple steel, artifacts would have been better, but getting a full set of artifact armor was a pain. The only artifact pieces he had were gauntlets that boosted his stealth. He hated that despite the higher tier he could only be an inferior reflection of Shadow Fist.


    Shadow Fist started describing the situation while Henry put on his plate. The armor weighed almost three hundred pounds and would protect him from nearly anything. Most tier fours needed armor, or a kern that innately increased their mass at some point. They just had too much strength and too little friction with the ground. That went double for Henry, as light kerns were naturally fast.


    ¡°Did you say he has acidic blood?¡± Henry asked. It was not an ability that a metal kern should possess.


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    Shadow Fist nodded and unwrapped his bandages, revealing flesh that had suffered from necrosis. It was healing, but it was clearly painful. Shadow Fist expounded, ¡°I suspect that he has a metal and dark kern, which is why I called you. Your natural resistance to darkness should make you immune to it, at least from a source two tiers lower.¡±


    Henry begrudgingly nodded. That was true, the body count would have been truly ridiculous if Shadow Fist had tried to pry him out with low tier guards. His mind went back to Sir Ren. The blacksmiths had not made him a new sword, so he was stuck using the tier two machete. That man had a dark and earth kern. The idea that a tanky assassin who specialized in heavy weapons terrified Henry. Sneaky and berserker should never go together.


    ¡°Remember don¡¯t hurt him. We don¡¯t just need him alive, we need his cooperation,¡± Shadow Fist said as Henry snapped the latches that tightened his gauntlets.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hurt your son, sheesh,¡± Henry said, ¡°Though I do intend to put the fear of me into him.¡± He locked eyes with the boy and smirked, ¡°You call him Sage now, right?¡±


    Shadow Fist sighed, getting a smile out of Henry, ¡°That is what the records say.¡±


    The building was owned by a cobbler who had come upon hard times. With a shortage of leather for shoes, he had to resort to an older wooden design. Henry only knew of him because his wife made a sauce that was sold to the local restaurants. In fact, the BLT he had just consumed had some on it. People had accused her of using an addictive agent in it, which had turned out to be true. Henry could not understand the complaints when the same man would go to the bar one day and complain the next about being fed something addictive.


    Henry unsheathed his machete, it was a short sword meant for hacking. It was not his preferred combat style, as he was a fencer, but it was better than nothing. He took the steps up the outside of the building, watching for anything that could be dropped. It was unlikely that anything here could really harm him, but it was always better safe than sorry. Not a very profitable motto for his business.


    He made it to the top uneventfully and inspected the rooftop. It was full of shelves, which were full of flower pots. The pots had pink poppy flowers growing from them. She still hadn¡¯t given up on her business then. Some spices and herbs were also growing, but they were in the minority. Wires wrapped around everything. If Henry charged in he would trip and most likely tangle himself up.


    In the center of it all sat the silver devil. He had one hand shoved into a potted pant¡¯s soil. The poppy was dead. In his other hand, he loosely gripped a knife. It was large, almost as long as his machete. The edge was translucent, and from simple geometry, Henry knew it was razor sharp.


    ¡°So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,¡± Henry said, ¡°Think about how you¡¯ll be serving the Caldera.¡±


    In the back of his mind, he said, think about the new sword I can get with that service. He was selfish, he could admit that to himself.


    Tristan sighed, ¡°You civil protectors are really hit or miss aren¡¯t you? Are you sure you¡¯re even tier four? Because Regis, he was a beast. Cole was a giant. You¡¯re a child by comparison.¡±


    ¡°Kid gloves off then,¡± Henry muttered. He would not let a child disrespect him.


    He cut through the wires in his way, his artifact more than enough to take care of them. The artifact itself only had the effect of permanently killing trees it cut down. Great for clearing farmland, terrible for combat. He cut through another cord when the boy smirked.


    Henry sidestepped the shelf that was tipped over when he cut the wire. Poppies and dirt scattered everywhere. And so did Henry. He tripped over an ankle height wire, causing a second shelf to fall on him. It did nothing more than infuriate him. He tore the wires apart. He could lift almost a ton, and while the wires were strong, he was stronger.


    Henry cut the wooden shelf in half, which the artifact did assist in. He found the silver devil and glared at him. Then the boy threw his flower pot at him. Henry was not sure what the point of that was, but he still cut it out of the air with his sword. Mud splattered his face and upper torso.


    ¡°You¡¯re disgusting,¡± He yelled. Then the burning started.


    Something ate into his cheeks and eyes. He screamed and flared his light essence. It did nothing, how could it? This was not darkness, but a metal alloy. In a panic, he tore the edge of his tabard off and wiped the mud away. Next, he flared his essence to heal his eyes. His vision came back, but it was blurry.


    Henry was furious. Healing from this attack had taken an enormous amount of essence. He blinked his blurry vision and swung at the indistinct figure approaching him. He needed his eyesight back, he needed to see the wires. If he couldn¡¯t then he would die.

 90. The House does not Always Win

It arrested all of Tristan¡¯s momentum, allowing him to bring his blade around.


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 91. Soul Eater

    Feeling slowly came back to Tristan. He was grateful for that, he had been worried something had happened to his spine. The feeling did not come back fast enough, as Shadow Fist had time to cuff Tristan¡¯s hands and feet. He had been hoping that they would use wood or leather, but no, they used simple steel. Steel did not rot well.


    The Golden Heart patriarch staggered off holding his face, his long blond hair falling out on that side. Most of the guards avoided him instead of helping him, flinching away at the sight of his ruined face. Those guards also stayed a good distance from Tristan, from the hand shaped patch of necrosis on the side of the patriarch''s face, they could guess how it had happened.


    Shadow Fist dragged Tristan off to the holding cells. They were right next to the guard barracks, and underground. Tristan inspected the walls as he was led down a flight of stairs. It appeared that the supports to the doorway could be knocked out, creating a cave in. Not a bad way to stop violent criminals from escaping and harming the citizens.


    There was only one hallway and even that was not very long. The only light was glow stones set into the ceiling,  lining the stone corridor. Their white glow somehow gave the grey stone a hollow and washed out appearance. Tristan stayed silent for the entire trip, he had been looking for a chance to escape. He was battered and bruised, but that did not mean he could not run. Well, hobbling slowly would be more accurate, running might be a bit too much right now.


    Now that escape was not possible, he had a few questions, ¡°I thought you wanted to take me to the mine, why the prison stay?¡±


    Shadow Fist raised an eyebrow, ¡°You just disabled the only person here who was able to escort you,¡± He raised his splinted arm and pointed to the bandage on his arm that was moist with ointment, ¡°You hurt me bad enough to make moving you ill-advised. We need to keep you contained until Henry is back in fighting shape.¡±


    ¡°You have no tier threes here?¡± Tristan asked, making a mental note that the patriarch¡¯s name was Henry. Without his weapons, fighting a tier three would be difficult, an elite tier three might be impossible.


    ¡°No, on the off chance you have forgotten, there is a war they are preparing for in the plains,¡± Shadow Fist shoved Tristan into a cell.


    It was a simple ten by ten foot room. No bed, no chair, only a bucket in one corner and a drain in the floor beside it. A door made of metal bars was the only thing that made one wall different from any others. No one else was here, this was not meant to be a long term holding cell. Tristan assumed that most of the people here would either be executed or sent to the mine. He could imagine Olfred visiting a place like this.


    ¡°At least get me my bag,¡± Tristan complained.


    He did not expect anything, but Shadow Fist responded as he closed the door, ¡°That¡¯s fine, so long as there are no weapons.¡±


    ¡°Really, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re feeling guilty,¡± Tristan said, ¡°It¡¯s a little too late to redeem yourself.¡±


    Smirking, Shadow Fist shook his head, ¡°No, it''s simple courtesy for services rendered, I knew you would ruffle Henry, but I didn¡¯t expect you to disfigure the bastard. Good job.¡±


    ¡°You set this up!¡± Tristan yelled. He tried to grab Shadow Fist through the bars, but they were too narrow to get his hands through. So he settled for punching the door. The steel was not harmed in the slightest by his reinforced knuckles, ¡°Why would you hurt your civil protector before a war?¡±


    Shadow Fist shrugged, ¡°Politics don¡¯t stop just because a war is approaching, you were just unfortunate to be born as what you are,¡± He folded his arms, ¡°My oldest son died years ago, I grieved his loss and have had time to recover. You look nothing like him, act nothing like him, and most importantly, you have a different name. I am just using a naive tool to further my goals.¡± Shadow Fist turned to leave, ¡°I¡¯ll have a guard bring the bag from where you left it at the temple.¡±


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    Tristan wanted to yell at him more, but Shadow Fist slammed the door. He wondered if Shadow Fist actually believed the things he said, or if he was trying to convince himself by saying them. Either way, Tristan was sure he would have been more selective with his words if he knew why Tristan had been immobile.


    Luke was right, it did hurt less every time. Maybe it was because the last time had been extra horrible, with Hadrid and his forsaken decay essence. The pain this time had been a cakewalk compared to the concentrated decay reservoir that had scoured him last time. He had even been able to walk, barely.


    Henry had not held back with that last attack, a quarter ton of flesh and steel slamming the back of Tristan''s skull onto the sidewalk curbing. He would be a cripple now if he had lacked the available essence to brace his skull and the blood in his brain. The tier four had still managed to give him a nasty concussion.


    Sitting cross legged, Tristan put his studying to work. Learning about alchemy was really more about learning to categorize and utilize the natural laws of the world. Hadrid had mentioned that it was just a fancy word for research, but only now was he realizing how true that was. If he had been focused only on the craft of artifact construction he would have never discovered primordial forces. More importantly, he would have never discovered how important they were to his kern.


    When he broke his kern in the past he had seen, or felt this primordial force, though he had called it the origin. It felt domineering, it wanted to fuse with everything. At first, he equated it with a hungry beast, but now he saw more of Hadrid¡¯s personality in it. The desire to find, create, and build, by unmaking and assimilating, and growing into something new.


    Maybe it was not that it was like Hadrid, but that Hadrid had become like it. Tristan narrowed his eyes, he would have to keep a solid grasp on his mind. Just because his soul could not be affected by a force, did not mean it couldn¡¯t become a vessel for it, like some sort of living essence reservoir. In fact that was probably why the Alloy force was so dangerous, it could merge with the mind of the one who controlled it.


    Carefully, he reached out and pulled essence to his shattered kern. He kept his mind closed off. Most of his other breakings had taken a week to fully heal unless he was otherwise assisted. This time he could not wait that long. Tristan suspected the faster healing would reduce the benefit he would receive from his kern healing. However, he was quite literally in enemy territory and he wanted to be back in fighting shape before Henry was.


    Almost an hour later a guard came down with a backpack, he removed the three metal binders and slid them through the bars. Tristan had vaguely hoped he would open the door. Even if the man did not have the keys Tristan was sure he could find something to hammer the links apart with.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Tristan said. He felt no reason to be rude to some random guy who was just doing his job. The man wasn¡¯t Shadow Fist, just one of his pawns.


    His kern patching itself together with primordial essence was faster with him pulling it in intentionally, but the process was still largely automated. Like breathing, yes you could do it faster, no you could not control the way your lungs processed the air. Tristan leaned forward scooping up the books, he wanted to start reading ¡®Biological Tampering.¡¯ He wanted to research the skull, or at the very least, what that meant for the life form it was attached to.


    The guard cleared his throat, ¡°Um, you have a visitor.¡±


    Tristan glanced up, ¡°Huh, why?¡± He realized that the guard would most likely be unaware, ¡°Sorry, is it Helen?¡±


    Tristan really did not want to see his mother. He could not imagine something much worse than being locked in a small box while an angry woman nagged him. There was not was not even a way to leave.


    The guard looked very uncomfortable, ¡°No, it''s Harp.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if that was better or worse. Better probably, they did not have a history in which she had authority over him. Curiosity started to build up, what would she want now? They had to be as different as people could possibly be. The last time he had seen her she had been babysitting Tris. Then he had gone off and murdered a bunch of crabs.


    There was a squeaking noise. It took a moment for Tristan to realize it was the guard, the man was whimpering, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat my soul,¡± The man squeaked, his eyes flicked to the bag, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be an undead.¡±


    Tristan almost started laughing. That was one of the questions Luke had asked him when they first met, though he was excited and curious instead of terrified. Tristan stifled the laugh at the last moment.


    ¡°I don¡¯t eat souls, don¡¯t be¡­¡± Tristan trailed off.


    If essence reservoirs were containers composed of souls, then he had indeed eaten souls. Four to be exact. Maybe the bad reputation of metal kerns was not unfounded. He hadn¡¯t even questioned the morality of doing it again, asking Shadow Fist to stock him with them for that exact purpose. He would have to figure out exactly what a soul was.


    He refocused on the hyperventilating guard, ¡°I promise not to eat your soul.¡±

 92. Harp

    While both Tristan and the poor guard were having the same mental dilemma from opposite sides, the door opened. The sound of light steps could be heard, though neither of the two men paid it any attention. Harp was able to walk right up to the guard, who flinched back when he noticed her.


    Harp looked over at Tristan with wide eyes, ¡°What did you do to him.¡±


    It took a moment for Tristan to respond. Harp looked very startling, not pretty like Eve, but almost alien. Her brown hair was normal enough, but she had a dark and light kern. They manifested in an unsettling way. Purple eyes from the dark kern were visible, but they glowed a pale lavender. Actually glowed like something toxic.


    The pale skin of a dark kern was warring with the tanned skin of a light kern. The pattern looked like tears, as the darker patches outlined her jaw and cheeks starting at her eyes. Her build was small and made her look like a child. Seeing it in the dim light and gloomy ambiance of the prison was definitely not helping with the image.


    Tristan finally got some words out, ¡°I told him I would not eat his soul.¡±


    Harp frowned at Tristan, not sure if the myths were true or not, ¡°Is that something you¡¯re struggling with.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking that it''s something everyone struggles with,¡± Tristan shrugged, ¡°Everyone absorbs artifact essence to grow their kern after all.¡±


    Harp sighed, deciding that this was not a side trail she was keen to go down. She unfolded the chair she had brought with her and sat down, ¡°You may be wondering why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan nodded.


    Harp smiled a little, ¡°that was a rhetorical question. Have you seen my dad? Is he doing well?¡±


    ¡°Yes on both accounts, he is the only person who can cook ghost crab well. It pretty much guarantees his safety,¡± Tristan leaned back against the wall.


    ¡°Really, that is good to hear. Mom¡¯s been worried,¡± Harp said, ¡°Helen worries as well.¡±


    ¡°Does she?¡± Tristan said unconvinced, ¡°I made quite the commotion upstairs, almost killed the civil protector, almost got killed by that same civil protector. Yet, she¡¯s nowhere to be seen.¡±


    He made a show of looking around. After a few moments, Tristan shrugged folding his arms and leaning back against the wall. His parents hadn¡¯t been there before, why should they be here now?


    Harp sighed, ¡°Do you want her here?¡±


    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Then why are you angry that she is doing what you want her to?¡± Harp asked.


    The way she cocked her head to the side made her look like a broken doll. Tristan pondered what she had said. Was Helen doing as he wanted? No, was the conclusion he came to. Grace was the closest thing to a mother figure he had, and she and Helen were massively different in just about every way. The thing that Grace had always been was available. Tristan had rarely needed it, but it was always there. Helen had sided with her husband, opting to try and blunt the blows he gave instead of opposing them.


    ¡°I hate the hypocrisy of it. If you want something then you should not complain if you won¡¯t make the sacrifices to receive it,¡± Tristan said, ¡°She is weak by choice.¡±


    ¡°Not everything is about strength,¡± Harp said, ¡°Sometimes people are weak in an area - that means they need help, not scorn.¡±


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    Tristan raised an eyebrow, ¡°Really¡­.what if I were to tell you that Tris has a metal kern too?¡±


    Tristan did not know, but he had a strong suspicion. The artifact he had delivered to Hadrid could detect the trace metal essence in an object and rip it out. Humans naturally had very little metal essence, but the dream he had while William was leaving had shown him his younger sister with golden eyes. While it was not conclusive as far as evidence was concerned, it was enough for Tristan.


    ¡°Tris? Your sister, that does make things easier to sort out,¡± Harp muttered, ¡°Well, I can take care of her then. I am basically her permanent caretaker anyway.¡± Her eyes refocused on Tristan, ¡°What about you? Are you doing alright?¡±


    He was about to say something sarcastic, after all, he had been shoved into a small stone box by his father. Stopping, he pondered. Was he mentally sound? The issue was, that he no longer knew what mentally sound looked like. Normally someone could point to a parent or a community leader. His parents fulfilled both, Elder Forest started a war, and the leader of the temple did not even believe his own message.


    Tristan went through his life looking for stable people. He could only come up with three, and two of those were married. Eve never forgot who she was, a kind person born at a time when that trait was punished. The other two were Conni and Grace. Both were coarse, but they received respect from the malcontents at the mine, not due to a power disparity. They were consistent, fair, and most of all, looked out for their workers.


    He compared himself to the mine foreman. They were nothing alike, Tristan wanted to suppress the world around him, make it bend, and give him what he deserved. It was why he took so many risks. Conni and Grace built up the world around them. In their view, it was a garden to be tended not an enemy to crush. Looking back, even Olfred had given deference to Conni. Olfred did not respect anyone.


    ¡°No, probably not,¡± Tristan sighed. He hated all this reflective junk. Give him something to fight any day of the week, though that was the root of the problems, wasn¡¯t it? He continued, ¡°My focus has to be on survival first.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to a mine where you have friends and a monster of a tier four to protect you,¡± Harp said with a tinge of exasperation, ¡°Survival should not be an issue.¡±


    For a moment Tristan was panicking, they had found out about Luke. Then he remembered, that Shadow Fist had watched Siren thrash the Golden Heart patriarch. Chances were high that the family nanny had a lot of juicy secrets that Shadow Fist did not intend to share.


    ¡°You do realize we will be digging up possibly the most powerful elemental we have ever seen, that monster of a tier four has predicted it to be around tier eight.¡± Tristan said, ¡°So, yes, survival is definitely the most pressing issue.¡±


    Harp¡¯s eyes widened and the lavender in her irises seemed to both get brighter and darker, ¡°Tier eight, does Elder Forest know?¡±


    Tristan realized that he was seeing his reaction from when Conni first told him that tier seven elementals were a thing. The difference between Siren and a tier eight was the same as the difference between Hadrid and Clive. It would take a truly ridiculous number of Clive¡¯s to take down a single Hadrid, and they could not even guarantee that this elemental was alone.


    ¡°Yes, he has a war, remember?¡± Tristan said, ¡°So long as he gets the plains, he won¡¯t care how many people die.¡±


    Harp stood, ¡°I need to go. I need to let Mom know,¡± She folded her chair and started for the door. Pausing at the bottom of the steps, she looked back, ¡°If we end up needing to run, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take Tris.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Tristan struggled to keep the question out of his voice. What could she do to protect anyone? If his memory served, she had a tier one light and dark kern. Neither was that great at tier one, and she had little to no martial skills. Still, it was the thought that counted in this case.


    He tried to push the interaction out of his head by reading. It did not work. Biological Tampering was a fascinating book, but Harp¡¯s reaction had his attention. Letting the elemental out could create a calamity, especially if it was a sapient elemental like the dark one Siren had fought.  Shadow Fist had told him to think about the good of the Caldera. The lives of many Forest Caldera warriors were in his hands.


    Siren and his crew had put down a tier seven elemental. That was back when he was only tier three. Tristan wanted to believe he could handle one tier higher now that he was tier four. Relying on wishes was a good way to die. If Conni did not open up the deposit, then Elder Forest would just send someone who would.


    That new group would definitely be overconfident and get wiped out. Siren¡¯s best chance to lay a trap was definitely for Tristan to help him. While he did not believe he owed the Caldera anything, he did believe he owed the miners a lot. With his mind settled, Tristan refocused on his book. He would probably be here for a while longer.

 93. Science-ish Studies

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 94. Mine Time

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 95. Mine Time

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 96. Tower Plans

    At dinner that day a second person was there, serving food. Eve was dressed in the standard tunic and pants and wearing a leather apron that appeared to have been stolen from a blacksmith. She was watching carefully as Grace demonstrated how to layer and fry potatoes to make hash browns. Beans were mashed into a paste and mixed with lettuce to be applied to thin slices of bread.


    Tristan was slightly disappointed at the lack of meat, though that should have been expected. Even if the bulk of the cattle had not been killed, there was no way Eve would be willing to cook it.


    Tristan walked up to the pair while Luke and Siren went to sit down with the other warriors, ¡°So, how do you like the mine?¡±


    Eve looked up, she seemed happy. Smiling she said, ¡°It turns out, I don¡¯t mind frolicking underground.¡±


    Grace narrowed her eyes at Tristan. At first, he thought that he was in trouble, ¡°Boy, you¡¯re lucky she¡¯s helpful. If she had been dead weight, I would have kicked her out.¡±


    ¡°Why would that make me unlucky?¡± Tristan asked. It sounded like Eve was the one who had gotten lucky. Maybe Grace would have charged Tristan for the resources she used during Eve¡¯s stay. He had kind of expected that.


    Grace raised an eyebrow, but instead of answering Tristan, she pointed at the table, ¡°Go, sit. I will bring you food.¡±


    Eve laughed as Tristan was told to leave. Not seeing any reason to ignore the suggestion, he went to take a seat by Luke. It was odd, many of the warriors he had used to look up to were now only a few levels above him. One or two more breakthroughs and he would match them. It was a surreal thought.


    Some of the miners waved to him and he noticed that some people were missing. Other people had replaced them, but there were two people in particular that Tristan was looking for.


    ¡°Where are Chase and Sun Set?¡± He asked as he took his seat.


    Luke looked up at him, ¡°who?¡± Then he remembered the people Tristan named, ¡°Oh you mean the lovey-dovey couple that you were friends with?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan said unsure of what Luke was talking about.


    ¡° She got pregnant and they had to elope to escape from Sun Set''s very underprotective father, who decided to get overprotective at that exact moment,¡± Luke explained,¡° They are somewhere in the Stone Caldera, I believe.¡±


    Tristan was not sure how to take that, ¡°good for them I guess. ¡°


    The warrior across the table started talking. Tristan actually recognized him from the confrontation with the drug addict on the first day. He hadn¡¯t given the man much thought, but he was very incompetent. Now that Tristan was on the edge of tier three, he had a good grasp of the warrior¡¯s capabilities. It was easily within his power to stop a drug crazed man.


    Laughing the warrior said, ¡°It was the funniest thing I¡¯ve ever seen. A tier zero butcher, who was out of work, chasing around his tier one daughter and son-in-law with a knife.¡±


    Tristan tried to understand why it was funny. People could be injured by lower tiers, it happened all the time. In fact, he regularly did it. He felt more concern for the baby than humor.


    ¡°Why is that funny, ¡° Tristan asked.


    ¡°Oh, it''s something you would have to start dating to understand,¡± The man said.


    Tristan looked over at Siren who was rubbing his temples. After a few minutes, Siren pulled out the sketch Tristan had made, ¡°We need to set up a plan. Each floor is separated by around ten to fifteen feet of dirt, so we can take this structure one level at a time.¡±


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    Luke shrugged, ¡°There will be fewer of them than we originally thought. We can just walk in and take them apart.¡±


    Siren shook his head as did many of the other warriors, ¡°That would be the same as asking to get killed.¡±


    Tristan asked what he thought was an obvious question, ¡°Why aren¡¯t the traps you collected for the metal elemental being used and then reused on every level?¡±


    Siren smiled slightly, ¡°Of course, but not all the elementals will be willing or able to just come charging out. Remember the dark elementals with the elemental lord? They were asleep when we first came across them.¡± All of those who had been with Siren at the time shuddered. Except Luke, he grinned, ¡°We need to make a plan for the various elementals who stay behind.¡±


    The warrior across the table asked, ¡°Why does it matter? All elementals have the same weakness.¡±


    ¡°It matters because dark elementals would be a massive issue in an urban environment, fire elementals would turn the whole place into an oven, and air elementals would spread poison,¡± Siren massaged his temples again, evidently this guy was in the dumb as a brick category.


    ¡°Poison?¡± Tristan asked in surprise. He knew that air kerns could change toxic air to clean, but he had no idea it worked in reverse.


    Luke answered, ¡°It''s not something that humans can do, after all, you would have to create a toxic element with you at ground zero. And if you purify it so that you can breathe it, then the effect is nullified.¡±


    One of the newer warriors asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just flood the place with something flammable? It will hurt anything thats not fire or light, and even those two will be forced to come out into the traps.¡±


    Another tier three frowned, ¡°That would cost more than the metal we extract is worth, oil is expensive¡±


    Tristan listened in fascination as multiple suggestions were bought up and shot down. He learned more about elemental biology in that half an hour than in the rest of his time at the mine. Things like, light elementals were ridiculously rare, while dark ones were the most common ones. Fire was the most feared and water was the one most people preferred to fight, as it lacked many of the traits that made the others dangerous.


    In the end, a solution was found by Luke of all people. He yelled that if they were just going to hide, then they might as well build a wall. That had stopped the conversation before the tier threes started complimenting Luke. It turned out that the strength of a tier three would indeed allow them to move a wall. If there was a window at around the chest cavity, then they could just stab the elemental''s hearts through it.


    The idea seemed a little extreme to Tristan, but he really could not see a better option. There really did not seem to be one thing that was useful against all elementals, aside from tearing out their hearts. At least they were all corporeal. Whatever source animated them, also forced them into a solid state, which was good, otherwise air elementals would be impossible to deal with.


    It did get Tristan thinking. What did animate the elementals? They were very similar to artifacts in that they both were created by emptying a kern and condensing it into a preset shape. Artifacts even used a soul to hold the shape and collect essence, however they collected it from the owner or its surroundings. Tristan was not aware of any that pulled in primordial essence, though it was not impossible, as he had no real way to test it. Using this train of thought, he concluded that elementals were all solid for one simple reason. They were soul constructs, just instead of a tool, they were the shape of a kern.


    The temple master even claimed that free will and and the soul were linked, if not even the same thing. So an elemental construct created after death that acts on the person¡¯s greatest regrets, it sounded like a common denominator that could be used. If Tristan could find a way to dissolve or crack the soul shell keeping the essence in, then the whole elemental should collapse.


    The food finally arrived, Tristan absentmindedly thanked Grace only to receive a glare and someone stomping off. Tristan was pulled from his thoughts and realized it hadn¡¯t been Grace who handed him the plate, but Eve. She hadn¡¯t taken kindly to him misidentifying her. He did not see what was wrong with being compared to Grace though. That was one of the highest compliments he could actually give a woman. Shrugging Tristan turned his attention back to the conversation, he would talk to Eve later.


    ¡°Hey, do any of you guys know how to destroy a soul?¡± Tristan asked the warriors.


    If any of them knew how to accomplish it, their elemental problem would be permanently solved. He did not get the expected reaction. All the warriors stared at him, Siren included. The staring lasted for an uncomfortably long time.


    ¡°What?¡± Tristan asked, confused at the attention.


    ¡°Tristan,¡± Luke said, ¡°Breaking souls is not traditionally seen as a good thing.¡±

 97. Pride Before the Fall

¡°Alright then, we get to open this giant can as soon as the smith gets done with our shield.¡±


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 98. Plainar Shift

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 99. New Elemental

    Tristan stood at the top of the hole that they had dug, looking down. Currently, he had his arms crossed and was frowning down at the hole. Below him was a cavern that had gotten much larger. The warriors had dug out a pit just outside the structure.


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 100. Hestia’s Sickle

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 101. Farts with Attitude Problems

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 102. Lab Rat

It took him a few moments to realize that it was not a child, it was a short elemental. Maybe four and a half feet tall, and by the struggles it was putting up, the elemental was below tier three.


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 103. Waste Bin

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 104. Mental Corruption

    Hailey shook her head, for some reason she thought she had been looking at a skeleton. There was something massive going on outside, she was not sure what. The fortress rocked as cataclysmic amounts of essence were released. Sam squeezed her hand and smiled at her. Sam was Ajax¡¯s third in command, he could protect her. That¡¯s what he had promised to get her to come.


    And staggered as another shockwave tore through the fortress. Hailey looked, horrified through the now open hole in the wall. This was impossible, a city floated in the sky at roughly the same altitude as the fortress. A disk of land filled with stone columned structures. People in armor lined its edges trying to assist their fake gods with their prayer.


    Hailey scrambled back. She did not want to die today. The fortress listed to the side as the Steel Saint and the god of fire collided. The god lost, the floating city lost, and the fortress all lost as the saint tore the god in half. Even at a distance of thirty miles, the fortress of metal was shunted aside like a toy boat.


    Her mind went hazy as she was thrown against the wall. Sam, where was Sam? Hailey staggered out into the main hallway. Her foot caught on something soft, causing her to trip and fall to¡­


    You need to go,¡± the man she could not recognize said.


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    The man had black skin and the royal purple eyes of a dark kern. He was wearing thick engineer¡¯s clothing. Hailey had no idea what he was doing in elite warriors¡¯ quarters. She had no idea what she was doing here either.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m staying!¡± Hailey said, clutching the unconscious man.


    ¡°Sam¡¯s dead, dying too won¡¯t honor him!¡± The man yelled.


    ¡°Sai!¡± A big man with a hammer yelled, ¡°Save the willing ones, I need to help the general.¡±


    The engineer grimaced and staggered to a different room. Now that Hailey was sitting down the rocking did not disturb her as much. Though the spinning was an issue. The rotation was enough that she was actually sitting on the ceiling. She watched the world flash from the sky to a mountain range and back again.


    Sam¡¯s head lolled to the side at an unnatural angle. Just unconscious Hailey told herself. They would make it out of here. They would start a family in a new world.


    The mountains flashed by, they were falling toward the peak of one of them. The top was missing like something extremely sharp had sliced the top off. At least they would have a nice flat spot to start their farm.


    The force of absorption in the metal lessened the impact on Hailey¡¯s section. Everyone at the front of the fortress would have taken the brunt of the impact, though they were also the most durable. The general might have even survived, it was hard to kill legends.


    Now that the rotation had abruptly stopped, Hailey was hurled into the wall. She was beyond caring. They had landed, they were safe. Something dripped into her eyes, but she did not care. The hole that the Steel Saint had made was nearly ground level, Hailey was not sure if she should curse him or thank him for that.


    Throwing one of Sam¡¯s arms over her shoulder, Hailey limped out of the fortress. There was a slight drop, but she could make it. First Hailey poked her head out and inspected the surroundings. Pieces of the fortress had been sheered off and dropped all over the place like a bunch of children¡¯s toys.


    Unfortunately, her perfectly flat farming land had been converted into a crater. The biggest shard of the ship seemed to have punched all the way into the water table. Water was quickly filling that area. At least irrigation would be taken care of.


    A crack caught her attention. The sound was like a mountain being cracked open. When Hailey looked up, she realized that her guess might not be too far off from the truth. Above the crater, the cultist¡¯s floating city had been cracked in half. Both pieces were falling straight down. That would definitely kill them if it hit.


    Fortunately, Hailey had an armored shell to hide in. The floating city landed, driving the fortress down like a nail into the mountain. Darkness was everywhere, the hole that was an easy exit was now gone. She wanted to cry, so Hailey did. Sitting beside Sam, she realized that she was going to die. At least it would be with people she loved, reminiscing about a life she would never get to live.


    Darkness. Nothing but black. It did not know how long it sat holding the body. Long enough that it became dust. It needed someone, though it no longer knew why.


    ¡°Dig.¡±


    It was not what it was born to do. However, its instincts told it to obey. It shambled to its skeletal feet and went to the center of its world. Many others were there too, all scratching and clawing at the floor. It joined them.


    ¡°Dig.¡±


    They made no progress, but still, for hundreds of years they dug. Until the world was broken open. It did not know what was going on, all those it dug with were given a new command.


    Kill.¡±


    Its master wanted new, better soldiers. Those who could dig needed to dig would be recruited. It was grabbed by a man of stone and broken by a man of metal, but still, it had orders.


    ¡°Kill.¡±


    Tristan opened his eyes feeling the same feelings that Hailey felt, or at least her soul felt. His eyes dilated and locked onto Conni. The feeling was just as strong, the Lord needed soldiers.

 105. Sword Steps of Flame

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 106. Divine Madness

    Regis hit the metal carapace of the crab, loading it up with fire essence. It was normally impossible to trigger essence in another person''s body, but these crabs lacked whatever made most humans immune. Almost like they were trees. The front half of the crab was boiled, and explosive expansion caused the shelled beast to explode.


    Two more had charged into the farmer community turned fortress, interrupting a skirmish between some of the Stone and Forest Caldera¡¯s soldiers. A man across the clearing tore off one of the ghost crab¡¯s legs and stabbed it with its own scythe. Regis approved of that method, it was savage and got the point across that you were not someone to mess with.


    Grinning manically Regis charged the tier four. Either the Stone Caldera or the Lake Caldera would be down a civil protector today. The man saw him coming. He was a big guy two heads taller than Regis, his black hair was cut short, and he looked to be just edging past the prime of his life.


    ¡°Boss, wait!¡± Leo yelled, ¡°We need to work as a team.¡±


    Regis ignored the team healer. He was paid to worry and work miracles afterward. Leo was a miracle worker, he had managed to heal Regis¡¯s broken kern by using that silly spear the boy left behind. He was part of the reason that Regis could let loose.


    The Stone Caldera lackey smashed his knuckles together. Sparks flew from the point of contact as the earth artifacts started glowing. Regis swung while he was out of range. The tier three sword he held erupted in fire and he slashed it at the enemy. Droplets of flame splattered the big man and the people around him. Regis was taken by surprise when the fire exploded harmlessly off the metal armor, even the grunt soldiers only looked annoyed.


    ¡°You like it!¡± The tier four yelled, ¡°You can¡¯t touch me!¡±


    Regis gritted his teeth, there was nothing he could not burn. He was a flame, metal melts, wind burns, water evaporates, and earth becomes molten. All fall to the power of fire. So he tapped into the new resource he had attained ever since his kern broke. He coated his hands in white fire, dozens of times hotter than normal.


    ¡°Watch me!¡± Regis screamed and punched both of the fire constructs into the enemy¡¯s chest.


    Regis was blown back by a fierce explosion. All the grunts were blown away, but the big man only staggered. Eight dents could be seen glowing a rapidly dimming red, but the armor was still whole. Regis cursed, all he had done was leave knuckle dents. At least the common warriors suffered from severe burns and blunt force trauma.


    ¡°Damn, you pack a punch,¡± the man paused a moment as if expecting something from Regis.


    For his part, Regis gripped his bastard sword in both hands. He charged targeting the weak points he had created. If he could make a hole and shove his fire through, the man would be boiled alive.


    The big man raised both fists and coated them in stone, he had seen those gauntlets somewhere. Regis realized where he had met this man before. His name was Cole and his parents had no imagination. Didn¡¯t they know that coal only fuels the fire?


    Regis swung his sword to meet the stone fist. The blade sliced cleanly through all the way to the actual artifact, allowing all the flaming liquid inside the stone hand to explode. Cole¡¯s hand was thrown to the side, but he used the rotation the explosion caused to empower a swinging blow from the other hand. Regis ducked under it, one hit would lay him out, but they were slow. If he was a betting man, he would say the gauntlets prevented anything attached to them from disrupting Cole¡¯s balance.


    White flame wrapped around his index finger, and he poked the largest knuckle dent. When he released it, Cole yelped in pain. Regis was unable to dodge the kick aimed at his gut. There was a ludicrous amount of force in the kick, sending Regis rolling backward.


    When he finally regained his feet, he was able to witness his handy work. A perfectly spherical hole had been melted just above Cole¡¯s heart. There was more destructive fire in that one finger than in the entire wharehouse fight. His new fire was very helpful. Now that he had done some damage, Regis intended to press his advantage. He would melt the armor off of Cole if he had to.


    Somewhere along the way, he had lost his sword. Regis did not need it. Fire was the gift of the gods, why would he need a sharpened stick when he had access to the divine white flame? Laughing madly, Regis rushed back in. Cole was strong and Cole was tough, while Regis was fast and hit with the power of a force.


    He slipped around a punch and drove one of his own into Cole¡¯s chest plate. The flame gauntlet detonated, and a ring of fire and burning debris was thrown away. Both were staggered as the explosion pushed them apart. Regis felt his essence levels dropping low, normally that would concern him, but he fed it to the flames.


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    He hit Cole again and again. By the time the man fell, Regis had still not gotten a killing blow on the man. Half the metal plates were glowing at different temperatures. It was heat exhaustion of all things that had done the tank in. No matter who he faced, the divine flame would reign.


    He turned to his men, they needed to witness this historic moment. Regis barely had time to draw his blade and block the armored man attacking him. His hand found nothing, his scabbard was empty, so he settled for using his forearm to block. The enemy warrior was not very far into tier three, but he had a fire kern and moved like a ghost.


    Regis¡¯s arm broke. He growled and swung a fist at the man. No fire covered it, he was tired. The man spun into the punch, placing Regis¡¯s arm over one shoulder and with a pop of his hips, threw Regis over his shoulder. It was so unexpected that Regis did not react when the armored man drove a roundhouse into the side of his head before he hit the ground. A lesser man would have died there, but Regis was tier four, he could take a few hits.


    When he woke up, only a few minutes had passed, unfortunately, he was tied up now. All his surviving men were kneeling, most of them sporting injuries. They were all lined up, a clergyman praying for them individually, before a holy knight stabbed the prisoner through the heart. Regis snarled to himself, he was blessed with divine flame, why would the servants of the gods sentence him to death?


    He infused his bindings with flame, but nothing happened. Confused, he looked for the issue. It did not take him long to find it, there was something powerful draining his essence wrapped around his neck. While he could not see it he could recognize its shape. It was one of the marbles that the temple liked to decorate their weapons with. He was not aware they fed on essence, it had to feed a lot, as the regeneration of essence was fairly consistent between tiers. At least by percentage, a tier four pulled in five times the essence a tier zero would, this had to be a powerful marble then.


    Regis was close to the beginning of the line, so it did not take long for the priest to reach him. He wanted to burn the false prophet alive, if he was true then he would have recognized that Regis was chosen. The priest knelt and placed a hand on Regis¡¯s shoulder, their foreheads were almost touching.


    This man had a fire kern, and Regis could tell it was only tier one. Even tied up, Regis had a mid-tier four body, he could most likely kill this man with a head butt. The holy knight had a tier-two longsword ready to stop Regis from doing anything like that. Could Regis take the knight while tied up? Maybe, he looked past and saw the rest of the warriors collected around a fire cooking the giant ghost crabs. The man who had knocked him out was there, and he was old. Regis could not believe he had lost to an old man, though he had been exhausted.


    The prayer of the clergyman started, ¡°Vent, great god of the sky and prosperity. Furnace, the god of flame and crafting. Ripple, god of water and the fields. We ask you to take this confused warrior into your halls, to safeguard his soul so he might fight for you on the battlefields of the afterlife against the silver demons.¡±


    Regis was about to die anyway, so he might as well take this pompous man down with him. The man¡¯s prayer stopped him though.


    ¡°If the servant of the gods wishes to continue fighting, there is a silver devil in the mines of the Forest Caldera. It is the right of all servants to serve, after all, to slay the enemy where he may be found.¡± The priest removed something from his necklace. Essence started refilling Regis¡¯s kern.


    Regis could only stare at the man uncomprehendingly. He only knew of two silver devils. The one by the lake was a purebred monster, there was not much in the Caldera that could touch him. The other was strong, but within Regis¡¯s capabilities, there was a two-tier difference between them. He grinned at the clergyman and nodded slightly.


    The clergyman removed his hand from Regis¡¯s neck and placed a hand on his hip. Before he could get confused at the strange motion, the clergyman slipped a note into his belt. He stood and took a step back.


    ¡°May your soul be purified and tested by the gods. Now I release you holy warrior to fight for the gods.¡± It was the same thing he had said to all the other prisoners, but it had a different meaning.


    The holy knight kicked Regis onto his back and raised the sword above his chest. When it stabbed down all the onlookers would believe it went through Regis¡¯s chest. In reality, the blade slipped between his arm and ribs. The priest moved on to Leo.


    Regis would not leave Leo, he was the last living member of their group. The plan was probably for him to play dead, but he was tier four and light kerns were known for their endurance. So long as they had a head start, they would not be caught. In an instant, Regis burned through his bonds and jumped to his feet.


    The clergyman yelped and yelled, ¡°Help, prisoner escape.¡±


    All the people around the fire were on their feet and charging to help. Regis burned through Leo¡¯s bindings and hauled the man to his feet. Leo seemed confused but followed his leader.


    ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t blow my cover on the off chance you fail,¡± The clergyman whispered, ¡°Good luck hunting.¡±


    Regis and Leo sprinted away. With new essence flowing into them, Regis lit the corn behind them on fire, it would dramatically slow their pursuers down. After thirty minutes of running through corn fields, they had lost their pursuers.


    Leo was breathing heavily, ¡°So, what now boss?¡±


    ¡°Let me check,¡± Regis removed the letter. His eyes widened at the content, the clergyman had set aside some of what was called tower armor for him. The marble on his neck was actually a tier six essence reservoir, it had gone from sucking his energy to being an extension of his kern. The clergyman had solved his two biggest weaknesses, defense and endurance.


    Regis grinned and waved the note at Leo, ¡°We go collect some armor, grab some weapons, then we are going to kill that silver devil that killed Grant.¡±


    Leo¡¯s eyes hardened in resolve. He hated that boy like Regis hated Eve and Kerri. It would do the man some good to blow up some people.

 107. Strapped for Crime

    Tristan came around slowly. He felt like someone had spent an hour throwing rocks at his face. Focusing his mind, Tristan tried to recall the previous events. His memory was hazy, but he clearly remembered, Luke needed to die, Conni needed to die, and all the guards needed to die. Immediately, he sat up, intending to go and end their lives.


    Something stopped him. Frowning, Tristan raised his hand to feel what was wrapped around his forehead. His wrist was bound down, and so were his elbows, knees, and ankles. He tried jerking his hands-free, but the bindings were made of metal. Could decay break his bonds? The metal should be resistant, however the table should be vulnerable. He tried to feel what the table was made of, but the callouses on his palms made it difficult. The surface was smooth, so he had to assume either metal, stone, or polished wood.


    He tried to tear himself free, with no success. Tristan started panicking, how could he kill his companions if he was locked down? Something about that thought felt wrong. He tried to find out why, obeying the Lord should not be wrong. That thought also felt wrong, Tristan prided himself on having no real allegiances.


    Slowly, ever so slowly, Tristan started going over the entire event. It should¡¯ve been odd that Luke attacked him. However, it seemed normal for the Lord¡¯s enemies to target him. Conni drew a sword on him, the man could be harsh when he needed to be, but normally he was gentle. Again, all the Lord¡¯s enemies were evil.


    Moment by moment, Tristan slowly pried the memory off of his own. It was as if something had attached itself to his mind and he couldn¡¯t tell where his memories ended and the elementals started. He couldn¡¯t think of her as Hailey. A person could be pitied but a monster could be destroyed.


    Who was this Lord? the elemental had no concept of it aside from a greater power. Was it an elemental god or something similar? It had told the elementals to dig and kill. Tristan was aware that there were sentient elementals, Siren and Luke had killed one.


    Elemental Lords were strong, but more importantly, they could think. This was important, if they released a tier six elemental lord, the results of the catastrophic. The dark elemental lord had the essence reserves of a tier three but had exhibited power closer to a tier six.


    If Tristan was feeling a tier six elemental lord down in the mind would it exhibit power closer to tier nine? If the difference was consistent, then it could potentially be close to a tier twelve. That seemed preposterous. He had never heard of anything going above tier seven with the exception of some truly ludicrous mythical beasts. Though no one knew what tier they actually were. Survivors were required for that.


    Even if the elemental Lord was just tier nine, there would be very few people who could stop it. The difference between it and the next strongest person in the Caldera would be like the difference between Siren and a tier zero.


    Tristan was not sure how many tier zeros it would take to stop Siren. A lot probably. the problem was there weren¡¯t enough warriors in the Calera to stop a sentient tier nine. if it could control elementals, then it could just boost its ranks through slaughter. Judging by the memory he had, it was already keen on taking that route.


    Tristan was not sure how long he was out. At least long enough for everyone to get bored and leave. Not even his guards had stuck around. So much for getting a posse of butlers. He thought about yelling, but with the number of people he felt unsure about he felt that wasn¡¯t a good idea. He didn¡¯t want to run across Henry while he was immobile.


    So he waited. After what felt like hours, but was more likely to be only ten or fifteen minutes, someone finally stepped in.


    Tristan was surprised who showed up. He shouldn¡¯t have been, but he was still happy to see that Eve was the first person to walk through the door. She had been the one to visit him in the Stone Fort, so it was logical that she would do it now that they were friends.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± Eve said. For some reason, she seemed surprised at that.


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan said dryly, ¡°I am asleep.¡±


    ¡°I need to go get Conni,¡± Eve turned and hustled out, ¡°Don¡¯t move until I get back.¡±


    ¡°Sure, lots of moving is definitely going to be happening,¡± Tristan muttered as he obediently stayed put.


    He stayed there for a bit longer before he heard boots tromping down the stairs. Tristan realized where he was. The hole cut through the roof was not to let smoke out, but light in. He was in the conference room. The table¡¯s base was cut straight out of the stone, however, the top was wooden. He really could have rotted his way out.


    Conni entered, followed by Luke and Eve. The mine foreman folded his arms and looked down at Tristan like he was a rabid animal. Tristan supposed he had earned that reaction.


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    ¡°Are you sane,¡± Conni asked.


    Tristan almost said no, but he guessed that Conni was looking for reassurance, ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t jump up and kill any of you.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Conni asked, ¡°All I can get is that Siren asked you to experiment on some little elemental and then you started randomly losing control.¡±


    Tristan explained the experiment that he had done, ¡°I thought it would be the same as Luke when he pushes air essence into us to fuel his protein shakes.¡±


    Luke frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t push essence into your kern, I push it into your body.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°What''s the difference.¡±


    As far as he knew, all things were made of essence and essence was simply a composite of various forces working in conjunction with each other. It allowed everything to function predictably and smoothly. Pushing air essence into a body should be the same as pushing it into a kern, only the concentrations of essence should be different.


    ¡°My kern never touches yours,¡± Luke said, ¡°It¡¯s something you normally only have to worry about at tier four. Your bloodstream and your kern take up the same space but do not have the same protections, why do you think fire kerns don¡¯t suffocate from the fire in their blood consuming the air essence before it gets to where it needs to be?¡°


    Tristan had not really thought about it. He had just always assumed that it simply worked. His mother never complained about breathing troubles. He simply shrugged, Luke would explain it regardless of whether or not he wanted him to.


    ¡°Your kern is attached to your soul, while your blood is attached to your body,¡± Luke''s frown turned into an impish grin, ¡°If I shoved it into your kern, I would cripple myself, it¡¯s even possible for me to lose a tier as a piece of my soul is damaged. It sounds like you actually ate a piece, you weren¡¯t joking when you said you ate souls.¡±


    ¡°It was an accident,¡± Tristan complained, ¡°how was I supposed to know it would try to take me over?¡±


    Conni rubbed his temples, ¡°Would you by chance be asking how you were supposed to know whether it was dangerous to hook yourself up to a creature and exchange essence with it?¡±


    Tristan looked at him, not getting what made it a bad idea.


    ¡°You will give your future wife grey hair before she¡¯s thirty,¡± Conni said. The foreman shook his head to refocus, ¡°You said that you saw the past through the eyes of an elemental?¡±


    ¡°Yes, though, it does not feel like I saw it through someone else¡¯s eyes,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I think I watched Furnace die.¡±


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°Now if that was not a devil-like thing to say, I don¡¯t know what is.¡±


    Tristan had to admit that it did sound pretty ridiculous, ¡°Have you heard of anyone called the Steel Saint? I think he is the Silver Demon Lord in the temple¡¯s murals. He ripped the fire god in half, he hit him so hard that the fortress was almost knocked out of the sky.¡±


    Conni looked concerned, ¡°Yes, though he was a master warrior of legend, if he is real, then he would be one of the strongest creatures in existence.¡±


    Luke frowned, ¡°How come I haven¡¯t heard of him.¡±


    Sighing Conni pointed to his face, ¡°Haven¡¯t you guys ever thought that I might not be from around here?¡±


    Tristan hadn¡¯t. The people of the Caldera had a variety of builds and looks, to the point that it was impossible to tell who was from which caldera just based on a set of visible traits. Kerns simply affected a person¡¯s growth too much, two short skinny parents could easily have a tall broad-shouldered son if he had a high tier earth kern. He would likely have darker skin, while if his parents had light kerns then they would have lighter skin.


    ¡°You¡¯re giving us too much credit,¡± Luke said, ¡°I asked your wife if she was a werewolf. It was not too much of a leap to assume two ugly people fell in love.¡°


    Conni looked offended. Tristan felt like he should be offended on Conni¡¯s behalf, but he had honestly had the same thought. Conni was covered in scars that looked to have been made by a sword, he was missing multiple teeth, and his chin-length hair was not very well maintained. His brown eyes were odd for a fire kern, the slight slant to them was unique, but far from enough for Tristan to point him out as odd. The main traits people would notice would be the scars and the missing teeth.


    Conni sighed, ¡°Well, I suppose I should appreciate honesty. I basically raised you, so I can¡¯t blame your rudeness on your parents.¡±


    ¡°No, you can definitely say they got it from their parents,¡± Eve said. Tristan had forgotten she was there, ¡°Anyways, Conni, you were telling us where you heard of the Steel Saint.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, as you may have guessed, I am from outside the Caldara, though not from the same place the crier mentioned,¡± Conni said.


    Tristan wanted to raise his hand to interrupt Conni, but his hands were anchored down, ¡°Wait, there are people outside the Caldera?¡±


    ¡°Yes it was announced a day or two before you arrived at the mine,¡± Eve said, ¡°Supposedly they are hostile and very strong. They pushed a squad of tier three warriors away, though none died. You were in prison when it was announced as part of a justification for the plane¡¯s war.¡±


    Tristan had been raised on stories claiming that they were the last bastion of humanity, set up by the gods. Gods that Tristan suspected to be deceased. Their flying citadel had fallen after all. Tristan just could not imagine multiple beings powerful enough to lift civilizations and throw punches hard enough to shatter them. He had seen the top of the mountain sheered off, the Caldera itself was an accidental result of those being clashing. The world would have broken long ago if there were too many of them.


    Conni nodded, ¡°It is true, almost any people group with a hero at the helm can carve out a space in the wilderness. People at tier six are monstrously powerful, they get something new at that level, and I suspect it is what you two call a force.¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°Dad got the same one I have, it''s the reason I was able to pick it up early.¡±


    That was food for thought. Tristan wondered if he could get access to a second force at tier six. With the alloy force, it seemed that he could get access to multiple forces anyway. Even if it was an option, it would not do much for him. Luke, on the other hand, Tristan shuddered at the thought of Luke having something like conduction and erosion.


    There was just one thing that Tristan wanted an answer to, ¡°Hey, I want to hear about the Steel Saint and all, but can somebody let me at least sit up?¡±

 108. Steel Saint

    Tristan rubbed his wrists. They had decided that so long as Luke was there, it would be safe to unshackle his upper body. His arms and head were released, and he could undo the latches on his knees and ankles, but not before Luke knocked him senseless. Again. Now that Tristan could move he realised something.


    ¡°Luke, did you break my kern?¡± Tristan asked.


    For his part, Luke held a finger to his lips, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about that, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m a bully. Thankfully Henry was there, light essence can heal just about anything.¡±


    Tristan almost asked why Henry could work with kerns when he could not. Then he remembered, that surviving a broken kern was supposed to be almost impossible, you either needed to be tier zero to have a chance or an extremely powerful healing agent on hand. Tier zero¡¯s did not have the essence reserves to use it in a way that would result in a broken kern. Tristan had used a loophole in his synthetic artifact¡¯s recharging mechanism to break his kern. The phenomenon of a kern breaking was so rare that Tristan had only seen it close to happening in one other person. Even then, he was sceptical Regis actually took that final step.


    His brain caught on the second half of Luke¡¯s statement. He was filled with light essence and from someone with a tier four kern. That was something he would need to check later, light had a lot of forces he desperately wanted. Extreme efficiency was at the top of that list, endurance was not something that he struggled with most of the time. However, if he ever met someone with a metal kern at the same tier as him, the fact that he had an injured lung would decide the conflict in the other guy''s favor.


    Eve smiled, ¡°Yeah, Henry is kind, I can see where Bruce and Lesly inherited their personalities.¡±


    Tristan was not sure nice was a word that could be used to describe the Golden Heart patriarch. Eve would not be so positive about Henry if he was aware of who Eve was. Civil protectors rarely left the Caldera as it was their job to protect the Elders. Henry would have taken Eve hostage immediately if he had recognized her.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to thank him then,¡± Tristan said.


    Conni cleared his throat and started his story, ¡°When I was young, I was part of a sect.¡± Conni paused, all the people in the room were frowning. He sighed, ¡°A sect is a group of people gathered around an object, it could be a martial arts or a treasure any controllable resource will do.¡±


    ¡°So would the mine be a sect?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No, it is part of the materials arm of the Forest Caldera,¡± Conni answered, ¡°It does not really matter, I was part of the Agni Raja sect, a fancy way of saying Flame Kings. The story of the Steel Saint was widely circulated both as a tale of accomplishment and a warning against tyrants.¡±


    ¡°His name has been forgotten and his title has replaced it. The Steel Saint was born in a time before the mythical beast had taken over and the greatest threat he faced was from other humans. He had no sect, but he was happy with his simple life until raiders came and burned down his village. The Saint swore vengeance and trained himself to kill. Over time and many deadly encounters, he grew in power until he could rival the sect elders.¡±


    ¡°He killed the bandits. Unfortunately, he found that the bandits were actually mercenaries hired by a neighboring clan. This clan was led by a hero, so the Saint doubled his effort. One day, without warning he wiped out the clan to the last member. Again, he could start building his life. He built a clan of his own, he became wealthy and happy.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, it was not to last, a dragon was attracted by one of his treasures. It did not ask, it simply took, burning his home down again. This time the Steel Saint swore that he would never rest, if he had kept training himself, the dragon would not have stood a chance. So again he started working, he faced many experts and eventually overcame them. Prepared to fight, he faced the dragon and lost. See the dragon had learned the same lesson long ago.¡±


    ¡°Still, the Saint escaped and kept preparing. He set his sights higher, if he could not kill a single dragon, that just meant he was thinking too small. He set his eyes on the Elder Dragons, the strongest of the dragons. He trained and trained, lost battle after battle, he grew collecting more and more powers, until one day, an Elder Dragon lay dead at his feet. He moved from Elder Dragon to Elder Dragon killing them one by one.¡±


    ¡°When they asked why? He told them his story. The very next day, the dragon who had killed his clan was butchered by its own kind. This appeased the Saint, but he still needed to become greater, he set his eyes on the gods.¡±


    ¡°Supposedly, that was where the legend ends,¡± Conni said, ¡°It was told to inspire young men to work harder and deter violent people as you could never be sure a survivor would not grow and kill you in the future. I suppose he managed to even kill gods before he died, so maybe there is no limit to how powerful a person can grow.


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    Tristan started laughing, and everyone looked at him, ¡°It''s ironic, the Silver Demon Lord is called a Saint. One man¡¯s demon is another man¡¯s angel, I was just born in the wrong area of the world.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Conni said, ¡°They¡¯re not called silver devils, but anyone with a metal affinity is shunned.¡±


    That was a little depressing. It would have been nice if people would change with the location. However, if people changed, they really wouldn¡¯t be people anymore. Sure there were outliers like Conni, Grace, and Eve, but they were the minority. Luke too, but he fell into the same dangerous category as Tristan.


    The story of the Steel Saint seemed to be startlingly similar to Tristan¡¯s. Not in the violence done to him, but in the way he gained strength. He gained new powers by fighting. That sounded exactly like kern breaking coupled with the alloy force, taken to an absolute extreme. Tristan could not imagine how many times one would have to shatter their kern to crush mountains. It was more impressive due to the luck that would take than from the dedication it took. Life-or-death encounters should eventually come up death, and it only took one time.


    ¡°So, how does this affect what''s down in the mine?¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°With such an important person involved in destroying the original fort, I believe it is very likely that there is an elemental lord at the bottom,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Worst case scenario, the elemental lord is tier six.¡±


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°Like the dark elemental lord was tier six, or its three parts are tier six when added up.¡±


    The members of Siren¡¯s warriors theorized that the elemental lords were made when all three discovered types mixed. Normal skeletal elementals would form the structure, the fibrous ones would become the muscles and organs, and the slime elementals would become the eyes and brain. It lined up with what they suspected, the dark elemental lord had three overlapping essence signatures, and if one were to add the power of three tier-three elementals together, it would be around tier six. No one was sure if it would work with different kinds of elementals. It would be a huge issue if they got to the bottom and found an elemental with three different elements, especially if metal was covering the defensive weaknesses of other elements.


    ¡°It would most likely be composed of the elemental of Ajax,¡± Tristan said. That thought had just popped into his head, The memories he had stolen recognized Ajax as an extremely capable general, at tier six. He was also at the front of the fort when it hit the ground, even at the hero tier, there was no surviving that.


    ¡°Not possible,¡± Eve said, ¡°We, well Hadrid, has Ajax¡¯s hammer, warriors don¡¯t part with their weapons. so it has to be someone else.¡±


    Tristan shrugged, he had no proof, but he had definitely seen the hammer in the hero¡¯s hands. The memories were scattered, so he had no way of knowing how the hammer got from the front of the fortress to the Forest Caldera¡¯s vaults. He really did not care either, so he would not argue the point. One tier six elemental was the same as any other tier six of the same type.


    ¡°Either way, it''s probably best to let Siren know what¡¯s going on. The elemental lord is ordering the elementals to dig. Fortunately, they suck at it, or we would already be dealing with him, however, we are currently doing their job for them,¡± Tristan said.


    Conni nodded, ¡°I will let him know.¡±


    He turned to leave, however, Tristan stopped him, ¡°Can I get the rest of the restraints removed?¡±


    He paused for a moment. After weighing several scenarios, he finally nodded, ¡°Yes, please shadow Luke. I want someone around to stop you if something goes wrong.¡±


    That was probably prudent. Tristan had no idea what the long-term effects would be, but just like any other memory, he was sure he could dilute it with time. The hard edges and emotions would dull, leaving the foreign memories powerless.


    Luke nodded, ¡°you will be bored, but we can work with it.¡±


    Tristan had a few questions he wanted to ask Luke. He glanced at Eve, she was not privy to any of these things and she would most likely get killed by Luke if she found out. Luke had only spared Siren because the man was trustworthy beyond all reason. Eve was soft, her very personality clashed with the path of violence that the two of them were walking.


    ¡°Hey, Eve could you step out too, there are a few things that I want to ask Luke,¡± Tristan asked.


    Eve took on a hurt expression, ¡°What kind of things?¡±


    ¡°Personal things,¡± Tristan said, her face darkened more. Did she think that they were close enough to share things like that? Had she forgotten that from his point of view, her grandfather was a monster that wanted him dead? It reminded him that it would not be a bad idea to approach Grace with some questions, he lacked quite a bit of information when it came to Eve¡¯s emotional responses.


    He sighed, ¡°Things that could get me killed if someone found out.¡±


    Eve went from angry to concerned, ¡°You know you can trust me right?¡±


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°Why?¡±


    Eve glared at Luke, ¡°We fought together, we traveled together, that has to mean something.¡±


    Luke shook his head, ¡°That does not matter, if your grandfather showed up and decided to fight to the death with Tristan, who would you side with?¡±


    She seemed shocked by the question, ¡°I, I don¡¯t know. I would not want you to fight at all. That would never happen.¡°


    Luke shrugged, ¡°That exact scenario, no. Something similar, sure. You¡¯re forgetting that this living metal detector is why your grandfather is losing his little war. The spies will figure it out and they will send someone to kill him. We can¡¯t risk releasing an effective tier-nine elemental lord. In the end, your grandfather will die if Tristan lives. Not directly, but it is a certainty.¡±


    Eve was horrified by the statement. It was true however, Elder Forest had only ever left two loose ends and both were related to his younger sister. Elder River would die, he was too potent of a rallying point.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about you,¡± Luke said, ¡°I don¡¯t know you, just know this is the longest I have ever left a potential threat alive for emotional reasons.¡±


    Tristan cringed internally. Those words hit Eve like a hammer, her eyes started tearing up in both hurt and fear. Her whole world had started crumbling, she was about to lose everything and there was nothing she could do about it. Tristan could only watch as she clenched her fists and stomped out of the room.

 109. Counterfeit Currency

    ¡°Was all that really necessary?¡± Tristan asked.


    While he was not someone to care overly much about another¡¯s feelings, something about that confrontation felt wrong. Luke had only spoken the truth, so from an objective, cold point of view it was the right thing to do. Educating people only helped them improve.


    Eve was not cold and objective, the fact that she had been the first person to arrive was proof of that. She could not gain anything from a mentally unstable unconscious person, yet she still came. Tristan wondered if feelings were something worth protecting, all his experiences pointed in the opposite direction. Pain always preceded growth, and it did not matter whether it was physical or mental.


    Luke shook his head, ¡°You don¡¯t understand how dangerous we are to the people in power.¡±


    Tristan frowned, he knew they were dangerous, but not to a ridiculous extent. Luke¡¯s father had been tier six and he had still been taken down. Hadrid was only alive because he had acquired leverage on the nearest Calderas, and then set up his organization. Tristan was not sure he could get leverage or set up an organization. He did not exactly inspire loyalty from people.


    ¡°How are we dangerous?¡± Tristan finally asked.


    ¡°Imagine for a moment that everyone in the Caldera is made aware of the potential a broken kern presents. The bulk of the worker caste is made of poorly treated tier zeros. A civil war would break out and life and death encounters would pop up everywhere. Few would survive, but all would attempt to exhaust their kerns in an attempt to survive. Some would, even if it was only five percent, the elders would now be facing two thousand tier ones.¡± Luke held out his arms, ¡°It is not unreasonable that a few dozen would actually have a latent talent for violence. They would probably reach tier four or higher. Our Elders cannot stop one dozen tier fours, let alone thirty or forty.¡±


    Tristan was skeptical of a scenario like that occurring. People were generally reluctant to risk their lives and the suppressed workers were likely to do no more than daydream. Those few dozen may fight, but they might also get distracted by the wealth the Caldera Elders would offer to recruit them.


    Luke sighed, seeing that Tristan was unimpressed, ¡°It is not that people can get dangerous that is the issue. It''s the type of people who use this method who are.¡± He held up his hand and started counting off, ¡°Of the four people who utilize this method, Rail, Hadrid, you, and I which one of us is healthy for their rule? They will kill us at the first opportunity they get, and Eve is a vulnerability.¡±


    The answer to Luke¡¯s question was none. Rail and Hadrid had shaken the Caldera¡¯s leadership. If Hadrid had not killed Rail, the man might have paved the Caldera¡¯s streets with the blood of their head families. Tristan and Luke were in the same boat, rapidly growing. They even shared the same affinities and forces as their predecessors. There was just one huge difference, they weren¡¯t enemies. At the same tiers, they would be able to run roughshod over the Elders.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°That is true, though it is not what I wanted to ask you about.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Luke asked, leaning back against the wall.


    ¡°The Steel Saint, he sounded familiar. I can do most of what is described,¡± Tristan said. Luke nodded to show he was following, ¡°I confirmed he existed with that memory, but he was killing gods. How high do tiers go?¡±


    Tristan had imagined that they would stop at ten. The nice round number made him satisfied. Clearly, other people agreed, as even coins were counted in tens and most warrior groups were five which fit nicely into ten. However, he had a vague idea of what a dragon was. The people in the Caldera feared the draconic species, some of the more notable specimens were basilisks who sat between tier seven and ten, drakes which were no lower than nine, and kobolds which were around four but were sentient and came in packs. A dragon would be greater than a drake, so above ten.


    Conni¡¯s story had a human killing the bigger meaner cousins of dragons, so tier fifteen maybe. Tristan was not sure how to quantify that number. After a creature was thousands of times stronger than he was, calculating it seemed pointless. However, that was not even the end. The Steel Saint had fought and killed gods, the exact ones most of the Caldera worshiped.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°There has to be an upper limit, even if it is just a soft barrier. Eventually, you will run out of tests to face and events that can hurt you. At that point, you will become complacent, and your skills will dull, after all with no threats a sharp sword is unnecessary. Then you will fall victim to someone weaker, but dedicated, and the cycle will restart.¡±


    Tristan nodded. Even if the limit of the achievable tiers was more than ten, he could reach it eventually. The only question was, why? He wanted to be strong enough to tell everyone to leave him alone. Around here, that would be tier five or six, something that was becoming more and more likely as time passed.


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    ¡°So what¡¯s next on our agenda?¡± Tristan asked.


    He wanted to go check up on Eve, but that was not an option at the moment. Conni had made it clear that he needed to be with Luke on the off chance he decided to get murdery. Tristan did not think asking Eve about her emotional state while being shadowed by the person who threatened her would yield results.


    ¡°We need to figure out what kind of force you¡¯ve snatched,¡± Luke said, ¡°That beating should have shoved you over the edge into tier three, is that something you want to keep a secret?¡±


    Tristan waved his hand around. The speed he was able to do it was not significantly higher than before. At first, Tristan thought tiers were an arbitrary separation based on essence quantity, meaning a peak tier two and low tier three were nearly the same physically. A difference in workout routine could bridge the strength gap. Now he knew they were separated by the differences in the manifestation of essence.


    Not all kerns were made equally, especially if violence was the goal. Dark and light kerns had very little combat increase at tier three, as their constructs were intangible. Dark was toxic while light healed, but they were limited to constructs. Tristan could make armor and weapons at tier three, making it a much bigger boost. He was sure a metal kern would give very little when it came to infusion at tier four, while light and dark excelled at it.


    ¡°Yes, probably best to keep it a secret,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I should always have a surprise, my decay essence is getting too well known for that purpose.¡±


    Luke gave a devilish smile, ¡°I think we should see if you can make decay-edged weapons.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s horrifying,¡± Tristan said. The raw droplets were very dangerous, but if decay was released inside someone, they would melt like a puddle, ¡°So how do you make things?¡±


    Luke held up his hand. Tristan waited for something to occur, but nothing happened. He was not sure what a wind construct would look like, but he imagined that it would be something like the air elemental. A greenish translucent color, or maybe a wave above his hands like a heat haze.


    After a few minutes, Luke sighed, ¡°You know I¡¯m not doing anything visible right?¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Tristan squeaked, his eyes widened, ¡°What did you do to me?¡±


    Luke started laughing, then he held his palm up to his face and squeaked an answer, ¡°Helium! It''s fun isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Is it permanent?!¡± Tristan¡¯s voice went back to normal halfway through the sentence, ¡°Don¡¯t do that again.¡±


    Still chuckling, Luke explained, ¡°It works the same as condensing the essence in your kern, just on the outside. Unfortunately, you lose control over it as soon as it''s condensed. Which is a good thing for everyone because I could just surround myself with clouds of poisonous air that would never disperse.¡±


    Tristan held his own palm up and concentrated. He wanted to create a knife, something similar to his old sword breaker. Everything was familiar, the essence collected in his palm turning silver. Normally there was a barrier there, but it was absent. It shocked him so much that he momentarily lost focus, causing him to push the essence out in the shape of his palm.


    A thin metal sheath covered his palm, perfectly mirroring his skin. He could see his face reflected in the metal. After marveling for a few seconds, Tristan made a fist, crushing the paper-thin coating of metal. He tried to take it back in the same way Hadrid did, but nothing happened.


    ¡°How does Hadrid reabsorb his tools?¡± Tristan asked. If he was unable to do the same, then he would waste a lot of metal and time.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°You¡¯re the one with the alloy force, I have no trouble reabsorbing my air essence so long as I can inhale it.¡±


    Tristan grimaced. There was no way that he was going to attempt breathing in metal. However, it could have something to do with the tier four skill of infusing essence. Tristan lost control over the metal as soon as it was formed, while it was possible for Hadrid to maintain his connection through infusion. It was the only explanation Tristan could think of.


    Well, he would just spend a lot of time with a depleted kern. A thought struck him, if Luke could make different kinds of air, could he make different kinds of metal? Tristan closed his eyes and concentrated on making a gold talent. It would be depressing if the original reason silver devils were hated was because they broke the economy. He opened his eyes when he felt something land in his hand. It was a silver disk, no markings adorned either face, so it would not ever be mistaken for a steel parce.


    ¡°You wanted to create money?¡± Luke laughed.


    Tristan contained his disappointment, ¡°Why can you make different kinds of air, but I can¡¯t make different kinds of metal.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Luke said, ¡°But let me know if you ever succeed, I want a return on my investments.¡±


    He was not sure what investments Luke was referring to. Not seeing any need to respond, Tristan focused again on the sword breaker. He had practiced with it quite a bit, making him familiar with every detail of it. This one was longer than his hand, and it took substantially more essence on the parts that weren¡¯t in contact with his skin. He narrowed his eyes, there was a loss of essence while it was moving outside his body. It would be better to form the blade on his forearm to conserve essence.


    A minute later, he was holding a knife, which immediately broke. Tristan¡¯s original sword breaker had an extremely thin blade, this one was just as thin, but without a force holding it together. He would need something like the force of adamance to keep it together.


    A feeling of weakness overtook him. Tristan staggered to the side of the table and sat back down. His kern was heavily depleted, normally that would not result in weakness, but it seemed it had a mental component as well. His brain was just not used to operating the extra ability. It was possible to train it, but he was not sure if right now was a good time to do so.


    Tristan could not be sure how much he could improve before they finished opening up the fortress. Being in a mentally exhausted state would be lethal.


    ¡°Yeah, that part sucks,¡± Luke said, ¡°A good meal will help alleviate it, and some sleep will get rid of it altogether.¡±


    ¡°Let''s go get some food then,¡± Tristan said. Eve normally helped with food, so maybe he could get everything sorted out then.

 110. Some Times You Just Have To Hit Stuff

    Eve maintained her steady stride, remembering her father''s lessons about not showing weakness to an enemy. It was that lesson that had killed him, but he had died a hero¡¯s death against a giant bone sloth. People laughed behind her back at that. Sloths were slow, sloths were timid. Those people had never met a mythical beast before. Now that Eve had, she understood his lessons better, even the weakest monsters could topple civilizations.


    The worst part was, she had just left the most dangerous one she had ever seen. Luke¡¯s brutal personality explained many of Tristan¡¯s quirks, however, he was not held back by even the facade of morals. The man was like a wolf, either you were part of his pack or the fuel for its growth. He was not a dumb brute, Eve could tell he would not let his feelings stop him if she stepped too far onto the wrong side of his cost/benefit assessment of her. As it was she was straddling that line and she had been for a long time.


    She stomped up the stairs keeping her breathing steady and stride even. Eve did not want to give Luke any inkling of the fear and horror gripping her. As soon as she exited the echoing stare well and shut the surface door behind herself, her expression broke. Still, she let no sound out, she could hear Conni, Siren, and Henry in the other room discussing something. They had all been kind to her, and she did not want to burden them with her problems. Especially Henry, he did not know who she was.


    So she crept out the back door. Conni¡¯s home was not large, but it was also meant for a family of six, making it bigger than many. The lack of children wrecking the place allowed him to keep everything in good repair. Eve escaped out the back into the lightly falling snow. Her water kern did not stop the cold weather from chilling her, but it did prevent the snow from melting and soaking her clothing.


    The training field was off to her left and slightly beyond that were the milk barns. To her right was the mine entrance, though she could not see it due to the angle and large garden that Grace kept. It was all so much less than she was used to, while also being so much more. Here, her grandfather was not looking over her shoulder like a guard dog. People had no idea who she was, meaning they were both honest and sometimes offensive. Both were novel.


    Eve leaned back against the wall and slid to the ground. Sitting in the shallow snow, she finally let herself break down. How had everything gone so wrong? She had lost her father, her sister, and soon her grandfather. She had finally made two real friends only to have one lead a war against her family and the other supply that war.


    Eve did not doubt that Elder Forest would win. The forces required to crush this mine were ludicrous, there was a civil protector here and two more tier fours that eclipsed him. Regis could do enough damage to the mine to stop the supply of metal, but that exact thing was all that was holding those three in place. Once the mine shut down, the two strongest tier fours would be released on the plains, followed by twelve of the strongest tier threes she had ever seen. The only bright side was that she would never have to see Kerri again.


    She placed her head in her hands crying at her impotence. Sometimes a good cry was all she needed to clear her head, today that did not seem to be the case. The snot freezing to her face did bring her out of the emotions, but the clarity did not help. She was about to fall back into her despair when the door beside her opened.


    Eve panicked, trying to clean herself up before her hosts saw the sorry state she was in. Puffy red eyes and frozen tear tracks were difficult to hide. The mad scramble to her feet ended when she realized it was not Conni or Grace who stepped outside, it was Siren. Eve was not sure if that was better or worse.


    Siren simply stared at her for a moment one eyebrow raised. For a moment Eve thought he was going to mock her. Instead, he leaned over and grabbed two rods out of the barrel on the left corner of the back porch. They were for that tunnel combat exercise he had created. Her confusion only rose when he handed her one and walked toward the training field with the other.


    Not sure what he wanted Eve followed. Siren at least deserved her trust. She did not know him well, but from the stories told, he was either a great liar or more righteous than the Temple guiders. The fact that he had the raw power to ignore everybody¡¯s opinions led her to believe the latter, why go through the extra effort if you weren¡¯t genuinely that person?


    Siren paused in the middle of the field and simply raised his stick in one hand. Did he want to spar? Why, it had no benefit to him? He was at a high enough skill level coupled with a higher tier, that the only one who would gain anything would be her. Taking a deep breath, she stood across from Siren.


    ¡°What are you doing,¡± Eve asked. She had suspicions but wanted to make sure before attempting to hit the man with a stick.


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    Siren shrugged, ¡°Exercise always helped me.¡±


    Eve took another deep breath and decided to go for it. She had some pent-up feelings to get out. Over the last month, she had rapidly grown into tier three with all the artifacts Tristan had stolen and now would be the first time she would actually be using the new tier. The last time she had fought was when she had attacked a small crab. It was that event more than any other, that proved she was not made for war.


    Multiple creatures had died at her hand, most of them exactly like that ghost crab. However, she had not been able to protect her friends. It was not an issue of power, it was an issue of conviction. After all, as a tier one, Tristan had almost carried their team through the infested fields. He knew what he was risking. Eve had only just now found out, and how little she could do about it.


    Right now, there was nothing she could do. Maybe Siren was right and exercise was all she needed. Eve complied, swinging at the large man with all her strength. Of course, he parried it, bouncing her weapon harmlessly away, but he did not strike back. She swung again and again, not moving him an inch.


    It didn¡¯t take long for her to see two figures in his place. The first was her grandfather who wanted to chain her to Kerri, ¡®for the good of the Caldera.¡¯ Kerri was not what was good for the River Caldera, all he had going for him was the number four. He had a high-tier kern and a low-tier attitude. She would have put up with it too, if the man had not put on a mask before her grandfather. The Elder chose to believe the words of a stranger over his own descendant.


    While she would have loved to beat Kerri down, Siren proved to be an impenetrable target. Slowly she was able to release that hurt, even if it was only temporarily. Her mind shifted to Luke. His icy eyes, she did not know how many people he had killed, but it was probably a lot. He was not born to his position but had taken it through the law of the jungle. Everything was justified in the name of survival.


    Eve did not hate him, he was little more than a mythical beast in human skin. She did fear him. Eve wanted to run, but she didn¡¯t. This was Siren, not Luke, so she let her emotions run wild. She hammered on Siren, while he simply swatted away her attempts with simple flicks of his wrist.


    While she was tier three, her stamina could not last forever. Water kerns had some effect on stamina, however, it was more of a mental effect that helped with maintaining steady progress. More useful when crafting for long hours, than while swinging a stick. Still, she kept swinging away at her problems until she exhausted herself.


    Sweaty, Eve finally dropped to the trampled snow. There was a ring of hundreds of overlapping footprints around Siren, but even those signs of her effort would soon be covered over by the falling snow. She leaned back against one of the wooden free-standing walls that Siren had made. Her thoughts turned to a direction they perhaps, should have previously.


    ¡°Why did you stop and help me?¡± Eve said.


    Siren shrugged, ¡°I wanted to.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing you want from me and my family?¡± Eve said. She did not know why she was frustrated by his answer. People always wanted something from her, even if it was simply to leave.


    ¡°Your family has nothing I could not get for myself,¡± Siren chuckled.


    Eve glared at him. Siren knew who she was. There was quite a bit Elder River could do for him. At least that was what she initially thought. With a moment of consideration, she realized it was simply not true. A tier four would never struggle for money, struggle to find a quality spouse, Siren had no problem inspiring his followers, and he had the respect or fear of everyone around him. Oddly, this mine offered better opportunities for Siren than the rest of the Caldera put together. It offered progression, if her grandfather could give that, then his civil protector would not have died to Hadrid so quickly.


    ¡°Why are you¡­¡± Eve searched for the right word. Powerful was too one-dimensional and not something she cared to ever be. There was something she wanted to know more, ¡°Why are you so sure of yourself?¡±


    She needed to know what to do because at the moment she felt lost. Luke, Kerri, Tristan, Grace, and even Lesly were all sure what they were doing was the right thing. Some were selfish, some petty, and Grace could even be called kind, however, they were all sure their way was the correct one. The thing that set Siren apart was the tide he created, convincing everyone that his way was right.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Siren said simply, ¡°I know what is right and what is wrong, and I will never compromise on that. However, that does not mean I am sure of myself.¡±


    Eve glared at him. Siren sighed, ¡°Tristan recently asked a different question, but it has the same answer. Character, nothing more. It means doing what is right, not what feels right.¡±


    ¡°How do you know what is right?¡± Eve grumbled. She wanted a five-step process to getting your way, not a philosophical statement of a warrior''s worldview.


    ¡°Simple, does any action you take benefit more people than just yourself,¡± Siren thought for a moment, ¡°That makes it sound like I run around giving things to the poor. I am a warrior, and I made a vow when I started on the ramparts my strength is the Caldera¡¯s strength. I keep that oath not because I believe the people I made it to have any honor, but because the moment I break it everyone who relies on my power will question my word, which could kill a lot of people. However, because I value my word so highly, so do others. If I say push for another hour to a warrior I am training, he pushes for another hour. He might not know why, but saying it is important is enough.¡± Siren clenched his fist, ¡°People fear you for your strength, they love you for your integrity. I can¡¯t say I know what you are going through or how you¡¯re feeling, though I have a decent idea of it. There is a reason why my warriors and I are staying at the mine, the best of two evils is simply the coward''s way out.¡±


    Eve was not sure how to take that. Siren had just called her grandfather evil, though she was not sure if the lesser or greater evil was more accurate. The core of Siren¡¯s little speech was clear. There was always another way, she just had to find it.

 111. Returning Subjects

    Tristan looked over at one of his butlers, ¡°How long was I out?¡±


    Strangely, that topic had never come up. Now he knew why, Luke thought it would be funny to leave him in the dark. The operation had cleared another two floors. Instead of widening the hole to reset the trap pit, Siren had simply anchored the spikes to the inside wall of the pit like a pike line. It made the vertical tunnel look like the maw of a giant worm.


    The five cannons were placed about every seventy degrees around the hole. Anything climbing up would get shot or impaled on the spikes. In the event an elemental somehow reached the edge, the warriors had a pole with a U-shaped tip that they used to shove them back down. fifty feet was not a long way for an elemental to fall, but it was a problem when four cannons could take their time to shoot.


    The only person at any real risk was Luke. He was cutting out large slabs of metal and attaching a giant magnet to them. They would then be winched out by the miners. Luke himself was attached to a harness that was itself attached to a pulley by a rope. With Siren at the other end, Luke only had to survive a split second before he was jerked to safety.


    ¡°Around two weeks,¡± the man Tristan now knew as Butler One said. He was the one with the artifact axe.


    Tristan sighed, he had to stop taking week-long naps. He was wasting away his life with involuntary snoozing. It was frustrating, he had already proven that a broken kern did not necessarily result in unconsciousness. Unfortunately, it seemed to keep him out until it was repaired, and the higher he went, the longer it seemed to take. Would there be a time when he slept a whole month away?


    Regardless, he was similar to a caterpillar in that every time he woke up, he was better than he was before. This time he was not so sure, he inspected the new essence in his kern. It was a force related to light, but he was unsure of how to use it. While he had been hoping for efficiency, he was not disappointed when he received healing instead.


    At least that is what he first thought. Evidently, healing itself was composed of multiple forces, and he had only gotten a single one. Worse yet he could not figure out what force it was. Just like decay gave him the feeling of ancientness and rot, this one was odd. It felt like return, repair maybe reflection. Even the idea of a template was not too far off.


    He had thought that would narrow the force down. No, one of the broad categories in ¡°Natural Forces¡± was motion, there were dozens of forces that could fit the feeling he had. Deflection, Reflection, Reversal, Inversion, and those were just some of them. He checked the other sections and found that light was really good at bouncing. Every force that had to do with a sharp change in direction was connected to light essence. It was to the point that Tristan almost believed that all light kerns healed by reversing the injury.


    As to how he could use it? He could not. Each particle of this light force was mixed with zero effort and it was at an affordable rate. The issue came when it was mixed, it would stop moving and float in place. Nothing Tristan could do moved it, but it also did not obstruct any of his abilities. Frowning, Tristan cut himself on the palm right above the stationary essence. Nothing happened.


    Well, it was part of the healing suite of forces that composed light, maybe his was just too weak to work on a single part. Seeing no harm Tristan alloyed all the light in his kern, just to see if anything happened. It cost Tristan a little under a third of his essence, leaving the new alloy in a honeycomb pattern within his kern. It did not do anything, and his blood flowed smoothly through the construct. He could not see any use to this, so he tried to separate the essence.


    To his frustration, he could not. Growling Tristan tried to use consumption on the construct, but this was his body, his own force was not considered food. Had he really just locked a third of his essence into a useless force? He could not think of a way to get it free short of breaking his kern, which he would undoubtedly do in time.


    It just meant that it was now more important than ever to make himself some gear. He had chosen chain mail as the armor of choice. While full plate would be better, there was no way he could make it. The constructs could not be fused after they had been created, and he lacked the sheer essence reserves to just build it in one go. Especially now. Chain mail was different, all the links were already separate pieces and small enough to be constantly generated. It was slow, but coming along steadily, no one could see the progress as it was hidden under his shirt and jacket.


    Luke sliced away another large sheet of metal and attached the magnet. The piece of metal had to weigh at least two or three tons, but the thirty miners and dozen or so apprentice smiths hauled it out with little effort. Something tried to claw at Luke from the section of the building that had just been extricated.


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    ¡°Elemental!¡± Someone at the surface yelled.


    Tristan rolled his eyes. Of course, it was an elemental. These people had to have seen enough of these things die for them to lose their novelty. If Tristan had to guess he would say it was a tier four skeleton elemental. Probably of earth affinity due to its darker color, dark would have turned itself invisible.


    ¡°Elemental!¡± Another person yelled.


    Tristan was about to yell back. When he raised his eyes to the smiths, he witnessed chaos. The smiths were scrambling to get out of the way of a water elemental that was shambling through their crafting area. None of the warriors underground could see it, their view of the surface was limited to the edge of the hole.


    Tristan yelled, ¡°Hold on!¡± And started running around the hole. It was slow going as piles of loose dirt were in the way. No one had been too concerned about anything going wrong on the surface, causing them to pile the dirt in the most convenient locations. Fortunately, the elemental was not slaughtering people.


    In fact, it was placidly weaving around buildings and leaving the screaming smiths alone. It was just plodding towards the hole like it intended to jump in. That would be a weird regret, as the deceased person would have had to regret not jumping into this specific hole for it to head here. There was a much easier sewage pit to find in most of the Calderas and this hole was only made in the last few weeks.


    The only explanation was that it had been ordered here. Tristan was not sure how far the influence of an elemental lord extended, but any elemental that came into range was probably added to the excavation crew. Except the temple almost always caught them before they could do anything, so what was a local elemental doing here?


    Tristan jumped off the last dirt pile and charged through the smith¡¯s camp. The elemental was not fast, so he caught up relatively quickly. As he was lacking a weapon, he scooped up an almost finished tower steel halberd. The head was large, with a spike acting as a counterbalance, the metal sheath that normally covered the pole was all he could use as a handle. It was awkward to use a blade this large like a small camping axe.


    When he hit the elemental, he did it blade first. He was not sure what tier it was, but there was no sense in taking risks, so he used everything he had. What he did not expect, was to run the elemental over. He was used to them being powerful and dangerous entities. Tristan realized he had never fought a tier-one elemental before.


    The disparity between the force needed and the force used was so extreme that the light frame of the skeleton barely put up any resistance. If the blade of the axe had not embedded itself in its sternum, Tristan would have lost contact with it. As it was, Tristan crashed into a temporary smithy. The tent fabric blinded and tangled him up. It was not an issue until Tristan tripped over an anvil, he stepped into something hot while trying to catch his balance.


    The elemental struggled against him, but it was weak even for a tier one. Tristan was more concerned with the smoke he could smell than the thrashing elemental. He was resistant to many things, however, flames were not one of them. Heat would pass right through his metal, even be conducted to his organs by it.


    Someone grabbed him from behind. It was not a pair of strong hands, but they still managed to pull Tristan out. He left the axe embedded in the bones of the elemental, its points would catch on the canvas.


    ¡°We got you, sir,¡± Butler two said. Tristan really needed to get their names. The fact that they had started calling him sir was also quite odd.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I did not expect it to put up so little resistance. ¡°


    The canvas was truly on fire now though elemental was fine. It seemed that water''s high resistance to fire helped it survive. That was something Tristan could fix. He jerked one of the tent poles out it was scalding hot, but would not cause him any issues. Holding it like a spear, he shoved it through the elemental¡¯s heart.


    The sound of boots approached, Tristan looked up to see Conni approaching, ¡°What happened here?¡±


    ¡°For some reason, tier one elemental showed up, ¡°Tristan said.


    He had a guess as to why the element had shown up, but he did not want to sully any investigation that might happen if it was a case of a local death. While blacksmiths were more commonly known for fire and earth kerns, a water kern was not completely unheard of. Most temperature-controlling artifacts were either fire or water after all.


    Conni quickly called together all the miners and craftsmen. he asked them if anybody had recently been injured and killed, but nobody answered. He asked them to check and see if anyone they knew was missing. Several names popped up however, they ended up just being a master who couldn¡¯t find his apprentice in the crowd. That one confused Tristan as the apprentice had a flame kern.


    Conni could only groan and send them back to work. Tristan wasn¡¯t sure what they could do about elementals just wandering in but he did reveal his suspicions to Conni.


    ¡°Unfortunately, an elemental Lord makes too much sense, ¡° Conni said, ¡°the war should¡¯ve started not too long ago and we should start seeing some more elementals as people start dying. I heard that Elder Forest was sending in farmers to harvest the crops before they got trampled. I would say this is probably one of them.¡±


    Tristan could only nod in agreement, ¡°As Siren does not want me down in the mine you want me to keep a lookout for the elementals that are approaching?¡±


    Conni sighed again, ¡°That would probably be for the best, you should be able to handle a mindless tier three elemental right? ¡°


    ¡°So long as I have a weapon, ¡°Tristan said.


    ¡° well go get yourself one and be ready, ¡°Conni said.


    Tristan turned to the axe lying in the fire, which was slowly burning itself out in the snow. He was thinking about upgrading from his knives. If he couldn¡¯t have the unparalleled cutting power of his artifact knives, then he would go for the brutal chopping power of an axe. He had never fancied himself a brute, however it was not too late to start.

 112. Mad Tyrant

    ¡°Pretty disorientating isn¡¯t it?¡± Luke said.


    Tristan could only nod as he looked up at the circle of light at the top of the hole. The first four floors had all been copies of each other, arranged in disks that suggested that people walked on the walls. Hailey had seemed comfortable with sitting on a wall, but she was being held there by the spinning of the fortress. She was also insane.


    The floors had been around ten to fifteen feet tall with another ten to fifteen feet of dirt and soil between them, so the hole Tristan was seeing was almost one hundred feet straight up. As his metal sense only went around eighty feet the first time, Siren wanted him to take another measurement now that they were around the dangerous area.


    ¡°It is,¡± Tristan answered. He fingered the rope and harness that would be used to pull him up, ¡°you sure this is safe?¡±


    Luke shrugged, ¡°Safety is not something that I concern myself with overly much. Some of the smiths wanted to make a stairway out of packed dirt. Siren did not want to give the elementals an easy way out, we don¡¯t know how fast that big one will be.¡±


    Tristan knew that was not quite true. Because every tier was a fifty percent increase of the previous one, it was a simple geometric scale to determine its capabilities. An average mid-tier nine should be effectively fifteen times faster than a warrior at mid tier three. Tristan pulled up short, he was not built for speed, and the injured lung slowed him, but even he could still maintain an easy three-minute mile all day.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me this thing can jog at around three hundred miles per hour,¡± Tristan stared in shock at Luke.


    ¡°And fight at around the sound barrier,¡± Luke said, ¡°The tier scaling is always proportional to the one before it, but truly unfair to anything below that. It''s why tier ones don¡¯t fight tier threes.¡±


    ¡°No joke,¡± Tristan could only shake his head. He had only been able to stand up to higher tiers because of his cheat-like daggers. His new ax was nice, it had a nice impact, but he was not sure he could get through Siren''s stone armor with it.


    Kneeling down, Tristan placed his palm on the metal. It was unnecessary, but the contact helped him focus. His range had also extended and sharpened, within thirty feet he could make out small moving objects, though not their exact shapes. The normal sense went out a little more than one hundred feet.


    He could feel broken-off shards of the fortress that had embedded themselves in the earth just a few feet past the wall of earth. Tristan could feel the razor-sharp blade of Hesia¡¯s Sickle and the metal plates sown inside Luke¡¯s boots. He could feel the two eyes staring straight at him from below.


    Tristan jumped back with a shout, ¡°Oh, hell no.¡±


    Luke only cocked his head slightly, ¡°What, did the little under lord scare you?¡±


    ¡°Under lord?¡± Tristan asked, ¡°And yes, I could feel his metal eyes looking right into mine.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you weren¡¯t there,¡± Luke said, ¡°That dark elemental lord kept pining after this bastard like they were lovers. The name was so long that I abbreviated it to under lord.¡±


    Tristan could only shake his head. One day Luke would insult someone who could punt him through a wall. He had not actually gotten a sense of the shape of the room below, so he sat and pulled out his sketch pad. After he spread his senses out he felt the eyes again and something else. A ball? No, it was too flat.


    ¡°He¡¯s a slime elemental!¡± Tristan said.


    Luke swore, ¡°That¡¯s the worst-case scenario.¡±


    The slime elementals set up a domain to give elementals like themselves a home-field advantage. It was not such a big issue in this tower as a flame attribute slime elemental would often be placed next to other elementals weak to its influence. Dark would have its shadows driven away and air elementals would get burned.


    The domain would also help kerns of matching affinities, speeding up the absorption of essence. It was like they were a gateway to the primordial essence and people could use that. If they weren¡¯t so violent, they would be quite useful. A metal one was unpredictable, maybe metal in the area would erode or a storm of metal would be created with the elemental at the core. Either way, it would be a problem if its range was too large. Tristan felt confident though, If it could have broken out, then it would have, so tower steel was not something it could use.


    ¡°Do we have a way to deal with it?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Yes, it should have tier nine abilities as a tier six elemental lord,¡± Luke said, ¡°We have killed similarly dangerous things before.¡±


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    ¡°Really?¡± Tristan asked skeptically. He was not aware of the caldera ever killing anything at that tier.


    ¡°Sure, mythical beasts sometimes get that high, and the caldera is still here,¡± Luke pointed at the walls around them, ¡° it has everything to do with setting the stage, and buying a stupid powerful artifact from Hadrid.¡±


    Tristan chuckled at that, of course, they needed Hadrid, he was the very description of a necessary evil. It did put him at ease though, in the worst case, they could just bury him again. If anyone asked for his opinion, that would be his advice.


    The rooms below were massive, the larger one taking up the whole floor and going down around forty feet. A metal chair sat there and it appeared that the metal elemental was floating above it. As Tristan could not see other affinities, that confirmed it was an elemental lord. The room itself seemed empty save for a few desks that had been smashed in the fort¡¯s impact.


    A smallish room sat off to the side. It was odd, Tristan could feel metal, but it was so dense. If he compared the essence in steel to tower steel, there was only a slight difference. This essence was so much more, Tristan almost thought it was a solid chunk of metal. It was flavored with something unyielding. He tried to grasp for a word to define the feeling, and what came to mind was adamance.


    There was an extremely powerful artifact down there, one that had come from a hero at the very least. Maybe it was Ajax¡¯s real weapon. Tristan had to get his hands on it, that artifact might be his only opportunity to get his hands on a matching artifact.


    Luke noticed the reaction, ¡°What? Did you find something juicy?¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Yeah, I think I found a high-tier metal artifact. It has a force, adamance, I believe.¡±


    Luke snorted, ¡°A metal artifact has a force related to hardness. A bit redundant, don¡¯t you think.¡±


    He had to admit that it was a bit redundant. Metal was not invincible, but it was almost always strong enough to get the job done. It was often not as hard as stone, but its resilience was much better. There was a reason why even some people with earth kerns wore metal armor.


    Tristan quickly sketched out the room. It was a long square, though the throne was attached to the wall. If the fortress was oriented correctly it would have been the floor. As it was there was a thirty-foot drop to the crushed front and around halfway between the bottom and where they were standing was the room that the artifact sat in. Past that, there was nothing but earth with small traces of iron and other metals in it.


    Tristan stood, ¡°I think we have everything we need.¡±


    He was placing the pad of paper back in his bag when the eyes moved. Tristan jumped again, getting a laugh out of Luke. A laugh that died when something hit the other side of the metal. The whole platform shook, vibrating like a gong staggering both of them. The elemental lord had tried to bash his way out.


    Tristan felt a tug from below, not at the metal on his body, but at his memories. He frantically pulled on the rope, signaling for extraction. Luke for once was doing the sensible thing and calling for extraction as well.


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    Tristan jerked back, it was in his head. Did he still have some of the elemental¡¯s soul in his kern? He needed to get out before the elemental lord did anything. The rope went taut, Siren¡¯s prodigious strength hauling Tristan off the ground.


    ¡°Cut the tether.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s hand wandered to his ax. There was a lot he could probably learn down here. Where else could he find a teacher? Hadrid wanted to experiment on him, but he could¡­ Tristan grabbed the blade, the pain broke the fake desires and he took an unsteady breath.


    ¡°Stay out of my head!¡± Tristan yelled down at the abomination. He did not know if it could hear him through the metal, but he suspected it could feel his intent.


    ¡°Obey!¡±


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Tristan yelled, despite the fact that listening was in his best interest. He gripped the ax tighter and that impulse was broken as well. It was most certainly not in his best interest.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Luke asked with a concerned expression.


    Concern was such an odd expression for his friend, but it was reassuring, ¡°The elemental lord is speaking to me, right into my head.¡±


    Luke placed a hand on the cable holding him and sent a current up it. They both stopped.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Tristan yelled.


    Luke pulsed a few more times in a rhythm. He was jerked up twice, before being lowered again to Tristan''s level. They were about halfway up, and Tristan was not keen on hanging fifty feet above a steel plate. The fall probably would not kill him, tier threes were tough, but he was missing a third of his essence weakening his kern¡¯s reinforcement.


    ¡°We need to know what it wants, how it thinks,¡± Luke said, ¡°I just asked Siren to hold us here for a bit to dig up some information. Who knows, maybe he¡¯s a reasonable guy.¡±


    ¡°Kill him.¡±


    Tristan drew his ax, his anger at Luke¡¯s actions making him easier to manipulate. The tail end of the thought was all that stopped Tristan from swinging. It wanted a loyal soldier, it wanted Luke to become an elemental loyal to it.


    ¡°It just told me to kill you,¡± Tristan said, shuddering at the strain of putting his ax away.


    Tristan tried to communicate back, but all he got was another bang as the elemental lord tried to smash its way out of its prison. It was a lot less impressive from up here, no vibrations shook Tristan¡¯s bones. Evidently, the elemental lord picked up his irreverence.


    ¡°Do not mock your master. Subjects only obey!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s some sort of insane dictator,¡± Tristan said, pushing down the desire to say holy king, ¡°can we go now?¡±


    Luke nodded, pushing some lightning into the cable, ¡°What exactly did he say?¡±


    Tristan started explaining, and after the seventy-foot mark, he felt the connection get cut off. The elemental left him with a parting word.


    ¡®Traitor. I will kill all¡­.¡±


    Of course, the super-violent elemental would want to go on a murder spree. Tristan was of the opinion that they should just bury him and walk away. They had a small hill of tower steel, not enough to equip the whole army, but well over half of it. Elder Forest was already guaranteed his victory, why risk releasing it for no benefit?


    Except, Tristan would benefit. There was a chance to get ahold of a metal artifact, and a strong one at that. Even if it was something ridiculous like tier seven or eight, he could eventually grow into it. He was conflicted as he was pulled up, how much of the desire was his, and how much was the elemental lord¡¯s.

 113. I’m a Mighty Demon Lord! Please Believe Me.

    ¡°So it is not peaceful in the slightest,¡± Siren muttered, ¡° well then we¡¯ll just have to kill it. ¡°


    ¡°How do you intend to do that? The room moved when it hit it from the other side.¡± Tristan said.


    Siren only shook his head, ¡°If there is something down there with a brain connection to you, there is no way I can tell you how we intend to kill it. ¡°


    Tristan supposed that made sense, however it did not make him feel any better. He would not normally call himself a coward, but that thing terrified him. It could get inside his head and that was not a battlefield that he had trained himself for. Unfortunately for the elemental lord, Tristan had a fight reflex, not a flight reflex. There was no way around it, the elemental lord needed to die.


    Luke slapped him on the back, ¡°No worries this is a guaranteed method, we just need to go get it from Hadrid. It should be done in the next few days.¡±


    Siren nodded, ¡°Luke and I will be retrieving the tool and the elemental lord will die within the week.¡±


    He felt a little useless and a bit like he was no longer needed. All he had accomplished was to stop a few wandering elementals and be a metal detector. He needed to do something productive.


    At first, his mind went to the books on alchemy and forces. They were interesting, but nothing in them would make the upcoming situation easier. It was not like he would create his own mythical beast in the few days until they moved. Training would not help as even if he broke his kern every day for the next week, he would only reach halfway through tier four. At that time the elemental lord would only outclass him nine times over.


    Tristan looked down the hundred-foot hole. The shadows were deep enough that he could not see the bottom. A memory was brought to the surface, not his, though it felt like he had been there.


    The force of absorption in the metal lessened the impact on Hailey¡¯s section.


    There was a way to put a force into ordinary metal. It was the entire reason that the elemental lord could not break out. Normally Tristan would need to run back to his bunk and look up the force of absorption, but he was relatively familiar with the forces in the ¡®a¡¯ section. Absorption was a pretty standard force that earth, water, metal, and air had access to. All things that could be touched could absorb something, even if that something was just force. It made sense then that a metal specializing in absorbing impacts would stop the blunt strikes of the elementals, but still fail to stop Hestia¡¯s Sickle. Despite the sickle being five tiers below the elemental, it could burn as well as cut, neither process was impact-heavy.


    Tristan looked down at his palm, a savage red cut ran across it. Could he make a metal like that? It would definitely be weaker than the tower steel, but none of his alloyed essences were really defensive in nature. Well, the last one he got might have been, but he had no idea how to use it. He grimaced at that third of his essence, he had hoped it would be considered used and his kern would refill. No, it just wasted space.


    Still, he had two other forces he could use, neither were natural to metal, so he might end up with something interesting. Looking over his shoulder, he even had six people to arm and send into battle. He had to abandon that thought, if the tier nine was fifteen times greater than himself, it would be thirty times greater than them. No weaponry could bridge that kind of gap.


    It hurt his pride a little, but he was not sure that weaponry would help him at all either. If he could not use it then who could? Siren, maybe. He would be using whatever weapon the alchemist made. Was there really nothing that could be done? He was skeptical of decay being helpful, but consumption should do wonders if it could pierce the elemental¡¯s body. His eyes fell on a wooden rod around three feet long with a razor-sharp cap on it.


    He grinned as he picked up one of the bolts. This would be excellent, any warrior could use it and it would be easy to outfit with tower steel as only a sharp tip was necessary.


    ¡°Do any of you guys know how to forge?¡± Tristan asked his butlers.


    They all looked at each other for a few moments. Finally one answered, ¡°I did pottery for a short time.¡±


    That did not help. Tristan knew very little about either pottery or smithing. He was sure you would use fire to shape the latter and water to shape the former. Shrugging he made his way over to the smiths. Even if he was unaware of how it worked, there were a few dozen masters working on sight.


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    It only took him a few moments to snag one of the boys who was running errands for their master. To his surprise, Tristan recognized the kid. They went to the same sifting but had rarely seen each other around the Forest Caldera. Still, it felt odd to look at a young man the same age he was and think of him as a child. Maybe it was the violence that Tristan had been through, even if it was self-inflicted, it would leave its mark.


    ¡°Where is your master, I have a proposal for him,¡± Tristan asked.


    The boy jumped and looked around as if Tristan was threatening him. After a few moments, he deflated and sighed, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    They took several turns through the little gathering of tents before coming to a smith¡¯s workshop. The sound of hammering could be heard from within and smoke was rising from the open top. Tristan looked around, none of the tents had roofs. He wondered why all of them had set up what amounted to a flammable room, a room that did not even keep the snow out.


    The assistant stopped before the tent, ¡°Please wait outside while I get Master Doil.¡±


    Tristan nodded, he had almost a week to use. He did not expect that mixing his essence with metal would pose any issue. The affinities matched, they were simply different flavors of the same forces. Just like different foods complement each other, different metal essences should also be complementary.


    ¡°Sir, the silver devil has come to see you,¡± The boy said.


    ¡°Did the mine foreman send him?¡± Doil said. At least Tristan assumed it was Doil, as no one else in the tent was moving. While Tristan could not see the man, he was covered in a scattering of metal shavings giving Tristan¡¯s metal sense a decent outline of the man.


    ¡°No, sir, he said he has an offer,¡± The boy said.


    ¡°Probably wants to eat my soul,¡± Doil scoffed, ¡°he¡¯s tier zero, I was there when you two were sifted, there¡¯s no issue with telling him to leave.¡±


    Tristan was a little disorientated. It had been a while since anyone had mistaken him for tier zero. Even if he was not part of the military, he was still part of the Forest Caldera. Everyone in the plains conflict should have heard of him in one way or another, he was too strange of a figure not to be known. In the Forest Caldera, he had fought Henry Golden Heart in a very public duel. An entire building had been destroyed, there was simply no way for a tier zero to do something like that.


    The only thing he could think of was the temple not wanting to admit their priests getting manhandled by an unruly silver devil. Regardless of whether this smith was just an idiot or too focused on crafting to receive the local news, Tristan still needed a smith. One that had scorned him half a decade ago would work fine.


    Tristan shoved the tent flap aside and stepped inside, ¡°Hello Doil, I would like your help.¡±


    ¡°No. Get out.¡± Doil grunted.


    Tristan placed his hands on his hips and attempted to channel his best salesman, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to be the smith that saves the Caldera?¡±


    ¡°No - what?¡± The confusion on the bearded man¡¯s face was quite comical.


    ¡°There is currently a tier nine, intelligent elemental lord buried one hundred feet under our feet, and Elder Forest wants us to crack open its prison to get the metal sealing it in,¡± Tristan said this all in one breath as he did not want to give the man any time to talk.


    Doil shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t believe anyone would accept this trash.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± the apprentice said, ¡°Sir Ren did tell us that there was a highly dangerous entity down there.¡±


    ¡°How come no one told me?¡± Doil asked indignantly.


    ¡°I did, Sir Ren did, Conni did, and now this silver devil did,¡± The boy said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about the devil, but Sir Ren is trustworthy right?¡±


    Doil huffed, setting his hammer beside the bar of metal he was currently shaping. He folded his arms over his large belly, ¡°So what¡¯s your idea devil, and don¡¯t think you can trick me! I go to temple gatherings at least once a year, I¡¯ll smell your evil plans.¡±


    Tristan rolled his eyes, ¡°sure you will.¡±  Doil narrowed his eyes, so Tristan held up a palm to forestall the smith¡¯s rant. He needed to say something that agreed with the man¡¯s odd worldview and also got his goals accomplished.


    Uncertainly, Tristan started, ¡°I am very powerful for my tier, but I am not powerful enough to survive that elemental. I don¡¯t want to die, but I can¡¯t both let the elemental kill all you who worship false gods and survive the ordeal myself.¡± Tristan winced. That sounded so fake, he had basically spat out Hailey¡¯s opinions on Furnace right before the deity¡¯s death.


    The apprentice raised an eyebrow, clearly seeing through Tristan''s ploy. One of his butlers facepalmed. Doil however nodded smugly, evidently when semi-religious people were faced with the supposed enemies of their gods, they threw rationality out the window. Tristan was sure that if they dug around in the caldera enough, they would find the bones of at least Furnace, but still, he was thankful to the deceased being for making his life easier.


    ¡°Your schemes were foiled before you could implement them! Ha the irony,¡± Doil laughed.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to die,¡± Tristan decided to play up the spawn of the silver demon lord, so he brandished the bolt, ¡°These are the weapons that can kill the elemental lord. Although I cannot use them, I can still empower them. My blood is the same as the Demon Lord¡¯s it hungers and eats any essence it attaches to.¡±


    He demonstrated by placing a palm on the tent and pushed out some decay alloy from the conveniently placed cut. The tent eroded from the point of contact. The last time he had tried this on something with no essence, he had been strapped to a table. Now he was stronger and far more skilled at concentrating it. On top of that, he no longer needed to cut himself, as his skin was no longer a barrier to the essence. An entire wall of canvas was turned into a wet pulpy mess.


    Doil stared, slack-jawed. The man was high tier zero and had no way to control the essence in his body, to him it looked like Tristan had used the eldritch power of death.


    ¡°I want you to make a metal with my essence to do that to the inside of the elemental lord,¡± Tristan grinned evilly, ¡°After my survival is guaranteed, I promise we can talk about what you want for your soul.¡±


    Doil gulped and nodded, ¡°Right away, we¡¯ll get to work on that.¡±

 114. New Metals, Failed Goals

    Making a consumption variant alloy turned out to be very easy. The metal was brittle compared to ordinary tower steel, but it was as simple as shoving most of his metal essence into the furnace with a bar of normal metal. The construct melted and mixed with the normal steel. Unfortunately, having a foreign law, especially one from a nonmaterial branch diluted its resilience.


    Tristan inspected the new weapon, it looked exactly the same, he needed to test the efficacy, ¡°Is anyone willing to prick their finger with this to see if it works?¡±


    Everyone glanced at the mushy remains of the canvas wall and took a step back. No one wanted to have that happen to them. Tristan sighed, that was fair enough, he was the only one who knew that this metal was filled with consumption, not decay. While he was not sure he would be a good standard, as he would be resistant to his own essence, he would not be getting any volunteers.


    So he pricked his finger and focused on the reaction inside his body. It was very lackluster. There was no pulse that converted and absorbed the surrounding essence, instead, it simply consumed any metal essence that came into contact with it. This would make the bolt harder over time and would slow his essence regeneration. If he let it absorb metal essence for long enough, Tristan expected that the metal head would become an ultra-hard super metal. This would work on the elemental lord¡¯s kern, but it would not be an instant kill weapon on a being completely made of essence. It might not even work on anything lacking metal essence, as the core of consumption was converting materials into growth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try one more time,¡± Tristan sighed handing the bolt off to one of the butlers, ¡°This thing will only slightly hamper a metal kern.¡±


    Doil nodded, ¡°Of course.¡±


    The man was terrified that Tristan would melt him into a puddle. Tristan chose not to inform him that he lacked the requisite essence to melt him. Things with a will tended to resist alien forces, meaning it would take substantially more to melt Doil than it did to melt his tent.


    Tristan collected decay alloy in the stone smelter and placed a metal bar into it. Fortunately, nothing started rotting, Doil did not seem like a man qualified to receive tools refined from mythical beast hide and bones. It intrigued Tristan to find that his alloys melted faster than the steel around it. He was aware that different metals had different melting points, but he had not expected his to be so much lower than common steel. Tristan made a mental note to try with his regular essence without an alloy mixed in.


    Doil removed the metal and scraped the impurities that had floated to the top before pouring the metal into a mold. They had made it out of packed sand and the original basic steel head of the bolt. At first, Tristan had been disappointed that such a method was used. He had pictured the man hammering away at it for hours, but the head was not like a sword where the flexibility and rigidity had to be balanced. It did not need to even keep its point, as it only needed to be used once. It took what Tristan expected to be a multiple day process and completed it in just over three hours.


    ¡°So, what are you guys doing here?¡± A new voice asked.


    Tristan turned to find Luke and Shale standing just inside the tent. Shale was trying to wipe the tent goo off of his feet. Tristan motioned to Butler One to hand over the bolt and he obliged.


    He was about to explain its properties when Doil fell to his knees, ¡°Please save me, this devil has taken my labor and wants to eat my soul. I have a wife and kids, please.¡±


    Luke gave the man a confused look and glanced up at Tristan, then a mischievous smile grew on his face, ¡°Have you done any service for him, or,¡± his eyes landed on the still cooling steel bolt head, ¡°taken any of his blood? If you have, sorry, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±


    Doil face paled. Tristan actually felt a little bad for the man, but as he still had his soul, there was little harm. Also, Tristan did intend to pay him the value of the two bolt heads, he was not going to rob someone just because they were rude.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I wanted to mix consumption into the bolt head to see if we could make a weapon to drain the elemental lord¡¯s kern. The other one has decay.¡±


    ¡°Neat, does it work?¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°Barely, I¡¯m not sure how much effect it will have on a high-tier enemy and it most likely only works on metal essence,¡± Tristan explained, ¡°I have no idea how the other one will work.¡±


    ¡°Well keep experimenting, I am here to have Shale chaperone you,¡± Luke said, ¡°He should still be able to stop you if you get murdery.¡±


    Tristan looked at Luke skeptically. They both knew that was not true. Earth and Metal were the most durable elements, but there was a reason why metal chisels were used on stone blocks. Now that they were in the same tier, the simple fact that Tristan could use a force and Shale could not would tip the balance in his favor, even if Tristan¡¯s was less useful for combat than Luke¡¯s.


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    ¡°I know you¡¯re way better than you used to be, but I don¡¯t think you have quite hit the level of an elite yet,¡± Shale said.


    His confidence was earned and from his knowledge, Tristan was still only halfway through tier two while Shale was high tier three. Tristan shrugged, it was not up to him, however, that did not mean he should be rude to his babysitter.


    ¡°Thank you for your time, Shale,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°It is not the first time I¡¯ve played nanny for important figures,¡± Shale said, ¡°And it is only for a few days.¡±


    Turning back to Luke, Tristan said, ¡°Have a quick trip, I would like that elemental dead as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just along to make sure that Hadrid does not scam Siren, so I suspect that after a few minutes of name-calling, we will walk out with our weapon,¡± Luke said, ¡°It should take two days when it''s all said and done.¡±


    ¡°Well get going, troll,¡± Tristan grinned.


    Luke tossed the bolt back to Butler One, and turned to leave, ¡°One day I will troll everyone.¡±


    They watched Luke leave for half a minute. Shale turned to Tristan, ¡°What¡¯s a troll.¡±


    ¡°I,¡± Tristan paused, he did not know. He imagined a small fat creature with bad hygiene that squatted in abandoned structures, but he had never had the assumption confirmed, ¡°I have no idea. The alchemist uses the term interchangeably with turd though, so it can¡¯t be good.¡±


    Tristan turned back to what he was originally working on. Doil was off in a corner being consoled by his apprentice, so Tristan grabbed the file and the now cool bolt head. The metal was softer than the file, so it did not take long to remove the excess material. Everything went well until he placed the metal of the head against the shaft.


    The wood started darkening at the point of contact. It was not instant, like with the tent canvas, but it was still visible. This would need a metal or stone shaft. Fortunately, Luke had just brought Tristan a warrior with an earth kern.


    ¡°Could you make a stone shaft in the same dimensions as this wooden one?¡± Tristan asked holding out the cupped end of the metal bolt head.


    Shale was aware that the bolt head relied on the compressible aspects of wood to stay attached. Stone was not flexible so he created a stone shaft already secured to the head. It was quite a bit heavier than the old one, but it should be able to kill any living creature. The extra weight would stop it from flying as far but Tristan intended to throw it straight down with the help of a cannon. If the elemental lord could rot it would rot.


    Shale observed the decaying shaft for a few moments, ¡°I can see why people are terrified of you silver devils, if I didn¡¯t know you I would call this evil.¡±


    ¡°How many of these do you think we will need?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Zero,¡± Shale said, ¡°The cannons are strong, but they failed to put down a tier five anima elemental, and we shot it twice. This elemental lord will likely be immune to them all together.¡±


    Tristan grimaced, ¡°So none of this mattered?¡±


    Shale shrugged, ¡°That is how all the worker caste members feel. Us warriors fighting mythical beasts they can¡¯t do anything about. All they can do is wait and hope we succeed.¡±


    ¡°I lost my soul for nothing!¡± Doil yelled.


    Tristan yelled back, ¡°No, Luke was messing with you. I don¡¯t normally eat souls.¡±


    Shale quirked an eyebrow at the word, ¡®normally¡¯. Tristan was not willing to explain. Now that Luke was not shadowing him, he had other things he needed to get done. Primarily, he had to go talk with Eve, as she had been avoiding him for the last few days, though he was unsure if she was avoiding Luke or him.


    ¡°Thanks, Doil, ¡° Tristan said as he stepped out of the tent, ¡°Have a good day.¡±


    The smith did not respond, but his apprentice waved goodbye. Tristan could only imagine how exhausting working for Doil would be. He would rather fight a guard crab alone than apprentice with the man.


    Tristan assumed that Eve would be with Grace cooking some food, so he went to the dining table. The miners ate outside, even in winter, but the cooking fire at one end of the table and an ordinary fire at the other kept things bearable, even though it was a little damp from the melted snow.


    Thankfully Grace was there, steadfastly stirring her cauldron. With all the smiths and their helpers being on sight, she had expanded her customer base quite a bit. Unfortunately, she needed to focus almost exclusively on soups to feed everyone.


    ¡°Hey Grace, do you know where Eve is?¡± Tristan asked her.


    Grace looked up, obviously not having heard him approach, ¡°Well, good afternoon to you as well. Hmm, I think she¡¯s out in the training yard swinging her sticks around.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Tristan said as he started over that direction.


    ¡°Tristan?¡± Grace called to him. He stopped and looked over his shoulder, wondering what she wanted, ¡°Just remember, girls your age are like knives, handle them wrong and they¡¯ll cut you, don¡¯t give them enough attention and they will dull, but give them both and they will be someone you cannot do without.¡±


    ¡°Uh, thanks,¡± Tristan was not sure what advice Grace was trying to give him.


    He was sure she was not being literal, as Tristan was highly resistant to cuts. On an emotional level, he would compare Eve more to pottery than a knife. She was full of compassion and when she broke it would all spill out. Still, he was not sure how that would impact him. Tristan supposed he would just have to find out.


    He found Eve swinging around one of Siren¡¯s practice rods exactly where Grace said she would be. Eve was sweaty and breathing heavily. It was an odd sight compared to the Eve that Tristan was used to being around.


    After a few minutes of awkwardly standing around waiting for Eve to acknowledge his existence, Tristan decided to speak, ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    Tristan was no expert on sword forms, it was not a weapon many people he knew used. Siren used an axe, Luke used lighting, and Bruce and Eve normally used spears. Conni was the only one he knew who had a set of dedicated sword forms, even Henry mostly just worked with his life experience. It made sense that swords were rare, both axes and spears were better against mythical beasts.


    Eve stumbled to a stop and stared at Tristan, ¡°I¡¯m practicing, what does it look like?¡±

 115. The only Things I Fear are Feelings and a Fiery Death

    ¡°It looks like you are flailing around with a stick,¡± Tristan said bluntly.


    Eve ground her teeth, ¡°I have to do something, Luke was right I can¡¯t just sit around and do nothing.¡±


    Tristan sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t take personal advice from Luke, he¡¯s very genuine, but that is not always helpful.¡±


    ¡°That does not mean that he is incorrect,¡± Eve shot back.


    ¡°No, he was wrong,¡± Tristan said.


    That pulled Eve up short. Luke had claimed that it was either Tristan or River, which was a false dichotomy. The battle was between Elder Forest and Elder River. Tristan was only tangentially involved. In fact, if Siren had been unwilling to start excavation, Elder Forest would have probably sent in a separate team to mine. He did make the extraction safer, but that was the extent of Tristan¡¯s involvement.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Eve said.


    ¡°Luke overthinks things,¡± Tristan explained how the war was currently set up and how it would have gone without the mine¡¯s involvement, ¡°Elder River was always in trouble, he lost his civil protector and most of his elites to Hadrid because he could not let a grudge go. The only thing he got from the tragedy was an entitled brat. Kerri can¡¯t hold a candle to any of the tier fours I have met, several of Siren¡¯s elites could probably take him down.¡±


    Tristan pointed at Shale, who would most certainly stomp Kerri into the dirt. The man was being used as a glorified babysitter, while the strongest person Elder River could field was Shale¡¯s lesser. Tristan was pretty sure he could win against Kerry now, it would be a definite if he found a way to release the bound third of his essence.


    ¡°So nothing I do matters?¡± Eve¡¯s shoulders slumped.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tristan sighed, ¡°I just spent the better part of a day creating new weaponry, only to find that it was pointless from the beginning. It seems that any dispute is settled simply by who has the most power.¡±


    Eve shook her head, ¡°No there is a reason why politics are such a big thing. Some things can¡¯t be solved by violence.¡±


    ¡°I never said the only power was the one with the biggest kern, I watched a god get torn apart, so I am aware that nothing is absolute,¡± Tristan pointed at the stick Eve was holding, ¡°Siren holds no political power, but I would claim he has a greater say in the actions the caldera takes than even the Elders, simply by the way he is respected by his warriors.¡±


    ¡°What would you do if you were in my position?¡± Eve asked.


    Tristan felt this was a loaded question but he already knew what he would do, ¡°Kill Elder Forest, that or go and convince Ruth to nag Hadrid into wiping Elder Forest¡¯s military.¡±


    Eve had her mouth open, like she wanted to berate Tristan, but was not sure what to say. He was not sure what someone would say to ¡®I would go assassinate my uncle¡¯.


    ¡°You¡¯re just as bad as Luke,¡± Eve finally said.


    ¡°We get the job done,¡± Tristan said proudly.


    ¡°That was not a compliment,¡± Eve huffed, though most of her stress had been sapped away.


    ¡°You know, I can take it any way I want,¡± Tristan grinned, ¡°You should try to come up with a better insult¡­¡±


    BOOM.


    The explosion rocked the mine. Tristan looked around for the cause, but there was no sign of flame anywhere. So he turned to the pit. A cloud of smoke was rising from that direction. Some smaller pieces of debris were falling from the blast that had thrown them into the air.


    Shale looked from Tristan to the growing cloud, ¡°We have to go.¡±


    ¡°Well, see you later Eve,¡± Tristan said as he started running after Shale.


    ¡°I¡¯m a tier three, you can¡¯t leave me,¡± Eve said and followed the two of them.


    Tristan was worried that it was the elemental lord escaping, though he found that prospect unlikely. Something drastic would have needed to change for him to get out. No, he suspected several elementals coming from the war in the plains had arrived. Tier three elementals would not be anything too hard for the Siren¡¯s warriors to handle, but they would struggle to contain them if they came in great numbers.


    The two miles were crossed at a near sprint, taking a little over four minutes, mostly due to the fact that Tristan was terrible at sprinting. What they found was the smith¡¯s tents on fire. It was a backdrop to two men in full plate armor looking down into the hundred-foot pit. There were no markings on the armor to identify them, but Tristan would bet that they were sent by Elder River or Elder Lake.


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    ¡°That¡¯s Bruce¡¯s spear!¡± Eve yelled.


    Artifacts were unique for the most part. There would be multiple hammer artifacts, but they would have varying designs and effects. Weapons were much rarer, and a pure white spear was most likely the only one in the Caldera. Tristan had not paid too much attention to where the artifacts his party owned were placed. He did not remember seeing Bruce having it when they returned from Alchehall.


    The black double-edged sword the other man wielded was more telling. It was Regis and his little light kern buddy. Somehow they had gotten their hands on some tower steel armor, and Luke was absent. Tristan had trouble believing that they had known about Hestia¡¯s Sickle and scheduled their arrival to avoid it. It was more likely that they had just gotten lucky and avoided Luke and his force which would have turned their armor into a vulnerability.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Lake Caldera¡¯s civil protector, Regis,¡± Tristan informed Shale, ¡°Fire kern, I would suggest treating him like you would treat Luke.¡±


    The man was unhinged, there was no telling what he would do. Tristan also could not be sure the man lacked a force. While Luke had claimed it was more difficult the higher tier a person was, and Siren confirmed that any warrior who broke his kern died, the answer to a successful repair was a method to keep the body alive while it healed from the damage. It was something that spear was very good at, though it came with a massive risk. Namely, the spearhead had to be inserted into the patient¡¯s body.


    ¡°Then we need some backup,¡± Shale muttered. The elite warrior was someone who knew his limits, and knew anyone compared to Luke was beyond them.


    Fortunately, help arrived quickly. Henry arrived and inspected the two parties, his eyes landed on the spear, ¡°I think I will be taking that off your hands.¡±


    Eve yelled at Henry, ¡°That guy stole Bruce¡¯s spear!¡±


    Tristan had forgotten who Henry was, stealing from his son was not something the patriarch was willing to put up with.


    ¡°You think the three of us will be enough to deal with Regis,¡± Shale asked.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°No, though if anyone else shows up, then probably. He has a fire kern and suffers from the standard weaknesses that implies.¡±


    ¡°Low stamina?¡± Shale asked, when Tristan nodded, ¡°So it¡¯s a battle of endurance, will he burn through his resources or will we crumble to his flame.¡±


    Tristan cracked his neck, ¡°Crumbling is an earth thing, metal is refined in flame.¡±


    ¡°YOU!¡± Regis yelled, his eyes locked on Eve.


    The man jumped in an explosion of flame across the pit. Tristan noticed the flame was white, not the standard red or orange. So he did have a force. Maybe temperature or combustion? Either way, it would substantially increase the civil protector¡¯s damage output.


    Still, Tristan had learned some tricks since they had last met. He ran his thumb and forefinger down either side of the axe blade, coating it in a grey viscous liquid. The bolts might not work on the elemental lord, but the same concept would work great on Regis, assuming he could pierce the armor.


    Eve ran off to the side, to avoid Regis¡¯s landing. Fire was energy and it could be used in some unpredictable ways. Like changing trajectory mid-air. Regis crashed feet first into Eve, pinning her to the ground, in the same motion, his flaming sword spun in an arc to cut her head off.


    Eve activated her ice shield, stopping the blow long enough for Tristan to bash the man across the face with his axe. The fifteen-pound weapon staggered the man, but if his head was ringing he did not show any signs. The helmet was not even dented. Regis swung the sword, splattering both Shale and Tristan with glowing white blobs.


    Shale tanked them, while Tristan used his consumption alloy to convert them into metal essence. Regis seemed surprised at the lackluster effects of his white flames. The droplets that hit the ground all went off like firecrackers. Sure it would be an issue if someone had no way to deal with it, but Tristan had his consumption and Shale had his earthen armor.


    ¡°The gods demand your death, silver devil,¡± Regis yelled.


    ¡°The gods are dead,¡± Tristan yelled back.


    Something that was a mistake in hindsight. A ring of flames erupted around Regis, the pressure wave of the fire alone was enough to throw Tristan back. Shale was able to hold his ground due to the immense weight of his stone armor, but even that was shattered when the flames hit. Like filling a frozen glass with warm water, the shift in temperature destroyed the brittle material.


    They would not win if they did not get help. Henry was currently fighting the light kern ally that Regis had brought and was in a draw. He was clearly stronger but lacked the power to pierce the tower steel armor and the skill to overwhelm him. More warriors were on their way, but it would take a while. They would have to exit through the mine entrance and make their way here over the surface. Still, metal was known for its durability. Tristan could last until then.


    ¡°If the gods are dead then why was I blessed with divine flame?¡± Regis laughed, kicking the injured Shale in the chest.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re terrible at surviving without divine assistance,¡± Tristan scoffed, ¡°I think you have to be the only person in the Caldera to need a god to prop them up.¡±


    Regis strode towards Tristan. The man now only had eyes for Tristan, which was good, as Eve was still struggling back to her feet. She would not be able to take a flame wave as well as Shale could. As much as water was a good way to put out a fire, it was actually a terrible counter to it when it came to kerns. The high melting temperatures of stone and metal were much better answers to flame.


    Trusting his essence reserves to last long enough, Tristan ran at Regis. The armor would restrict his mobility and vision. Tristan ducked under a swing a slammed the blade at a small gap in the plate along the right side of the rib cage. There was no way to even fit a rapier through the gap, but Tristan did not need to cut through the armor. His blade bit into the pinky width of leather visible there.


    It did not sever it, but it did deposit the decay alloy onto the leather. One strap would not accomplish much, but time was on Tristan''s side, so long as he avoided that sword. Another ring of flame blew Tristan backward, he activated reinforcement on impact, rolling back to his feet without suffering any damage. How many of those could Regis pull off? He was still only tier four after all.


    Shale covered Tristan while he regained his feet. The man used a truly massive war hammer that forced even Regis to get out of the way. After jumping to the side, Regis shoved a white fireball in Shale¡¯s face, throwing the man backward. Tristan could not be sure the man was alive, but he needed to keep Regis busy.


    Tristan frowned, how could he use Regis¡¯s own defenses against him? The armor was the only reason the man was still breathing, Tristan¡¯s head strike would have ended him otherwise. He looked at the pit, if mass and speed determined force, a long fall would be the perfect answer.

 116. Prison Integrity

    Tristan¡¯s mind was made up when Eve started talking, ¡°I get why you want to hurt me, by why attack the smiths? They did not do anything wrong.¡±


    Shut up Eve, Tristan mentally yelled at her. It was too late, Regis remembered the person he hated most in this group and turned to her. His hand lit on fire. Regis took his first step towards Eve, but Tristan arrived first. Normally smashing into someone''s shoulder first was a bad move. The most common defense for that attack was to grab the back of the attacker''s head and use the leverage to drive a knee into their face.


    Tristan was able to successfully make contact and actually lift Regis armor and all. He was very heavy, but they did not need to go very far. Three long strides took Regis to the edge of the pit, however throwing him proved to be harder than expected. Like any person who was about to be thrown down a chasm, Regis grabbed onto the nearest thing he could. That thing being Tristan.


    Unable to keep his balance with the four hundred pound weight now dragging him forward, Tristan stumbled out into empty air. He wished he had a force that would let him fly because he was not looking forward to hitting the bottom. Though that was not his immediate issue, Regis had gotten his bearings and was now dragging Tristan around below him, clearly intending to use him as a cushion.


    Being the lighter person, he could not really resist, but he could touch Regis''s back. So he shoved his hand onto the visor of Regis¡¯s helmet. Then he used the advantage of tier three to shove a decay alloy powder into his helmet. It took only a moment for the screaming to start. Tristan was blasted against the wall by a sphere of flame.


    The concussive blast disoriented him enough, that he missed his chance to grab the wall. He was running low on essence, as he needed to keep enough to survive the impact. Tristan was sure it would still injure him, but so long as he survived, Henry could put him back together.


    Regis tore his helmet off and tried to wipe the decay out of his eyes. He gave up after a moment, as the metal gauntlets were not designed for that. Instead, he lit his head on fire, Tristan thought this was dumb at first, as when he used consumption on anything, it only fed decay. Unfortunately, that only seemed to apply to pure consumption, there was something different between the consumption of flame and the consumption of a living creature that allowed the element of fire to trump Tristan¡¯s decay.


    Still, the damage was done. Half of Regis¡¯s face was blackened from both the flame and forced necrosis. He now only had one good eye and was using it to glare murderously at Tristan. There was not much he could do as Tristan was both higher and across the pit, throwing any flame would only accelerate his own descent.


    Something around Regis¡¯s neck caught Tristan''s eye. An essence reservoir, what was that doing here? He could not be sure without inspecting it, but the reservoir appeared to be holding a ridiculous amount of essence. If he was guessing, he would say it was somewhere around tier five or six. He could not be sure what effect it had, but it probably facilitated those rings of flame.


    A ring of fire blasted out of Regis when he was only thirty feet from the floor. The fire and force normally would have spread out, but the tube shape of the pit actually sent it straight up into the air. Regis slowed dramatically before landing, completely unharmed on the ground. The blast slowed Tristan¡¯s fall as well, though not quite as much. He hit hard after being thrown against the wall again, but not with the bone shattering force he had anticipated.


    Tristan jumped to his feet as fast as he could. He did not want to give Regis enough time to close on him. The man had expended so much since they started the fight that he should¡¯ve run himself dry long ago. It was almost enough to make Tristan wonder if he had broken his kern and the boost that Tristan had gotten. The first time took him from tier zero all the way to tier one, if Regis had gone from four to five it would explain his ridiculous reserves.


    Tristan shook the thought out of his head, a two tier difference should be a one hundred and twenty-five percent increase in striking power. Sure, he was still stronger, but the difference was not large enough to get around Tristan''s defenses for now. How did the civil protector¡¯s kern hold more than his tier should allow?


    The artifact around Regis¡¯s neck glowed brightly before a wave of flame expanded from his body. Metal was highly resistant to flame, there was a reason why one used a metal hammer when smithing. Tristan was not made of metal and he was getting overheated. It was bearable for now, but if Regis had much more in his kern, Tristan would start suffering from hyperthermia.


    ¡°You¡¯re a fool,¡± Regis chuckled, ¡°you would trap yourself inside a clay structure with a metal platform at the bottom with me. It¡¯s like you want to die.¡±


    Tristan got the parallels. He had trapped himself inside a giant oven with a crazy zealot. If the analogy were taken one step further, Tristan even had a kern that facilitated an even temperature.


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    ¡°I was hoping you would splatter on the ground,¡± Tristan wondered, if the man was really a zealot, would he tell Tristan why he had so much essence, ¡°You have probably guessed, I made it to tier three, I should be able to match you. Why do you have so much essence?¡±


    ¡°The temple recognizes me for my gifts, I am blessed by the gods, so I am blessed by the temple!¡± Regis explained in the most unhelpful way possible.


    Tristan¡¯s eyes landed on the reservoir around Regis¡¯s neck. This reminded him of a different situation. Hadrid had fought off two tier fours and an elite hit squad of tier threes. He had made it look effortless. At that time he had assumed the overweight alchemist was a paragon of martial prowess. However, what would happen if he had an expansion to his kern, a reservoir to draw on? If it was already his essence, there should be no barrier to him using it.


    Tristan needed to remove that reservoir from Regis, if it was the same tier as he was, it would effectively give him the essence reserves of a tier six. Fortunately, it did not grant the other abilities a tier six would possess, no second force and no essence pulses.


    ¡°Feel the weight of my power!¡± Regis yelled, ¡°Turn to ash for your transgressions.¡±


    The temperature in the pit started rising. Regis stalked to the center of the pit and simply stood smirking with his arms crossed. Tristan could only feel anger that the same strategy he had intended to use on Regis was now going to be used on him. How long could his body hold out? Tier threes were very resilient.


    Tristan could not wait while the temperature rose to the point it would boil him. He needed to destroy Regis, thankfully he had just been given an excellent crash course on how flame burned. It turned everything to ash, he could do that too, after all his oldest force was consumption. Metal essence dripped down his hand solidifying into a solid gauntlet of consumption alloy. Fire may be able to weaken decay, but it was hunger, it would not stop itself. He tipped each finger with a claw that would tear the essence out of Regis. If he could not wear him out then he would bleed him dry.


    He shot towards Regis like an arrow, the temperature surpassing one hundred fifty degrees at the halfway point. Burns started collecting on his skin as he got closer. Tristan tried to consume the heat with his consumption alloy, but that only worked on essence invading his body. This was simply a poor environment.


    It hurt, but Tristan knew in his heart that he could do this. Regis realized that while his barrier was injuring the silver devil, it was not stopping him.


    The civil protector grinned, ¡°You would have made a fine warrior.¡±


    He spun his sword, now coated in an extremely hot white flame. Tristan slid beneath it, the rubber soles of his shoes actually melting to create a frictionless surface. His claws shot towards Regis¡¯s neck. Originally he had wanted to simply take the reservoir, but if he had access to the man''s neck, why wouldn¡¯t he destroy the esophagus?


    Realization dawned in Regis¡¯s eyes, he had gotten cocky and it had bitten him. He would die today and no divine protection could save him.


    ¡°Be still.¡±


    Tristan froze. He had known the elemental lord was down here, but he had wanted Tristan to kill Luke for the potential elemental he represented. The same should have been true of Regis. Tristan gritted his teeth and powered through the command. Their effects on him were getting weaker and weaker as time went on, but right now it was enough.


    Regis would not give Tristan another chance. A massive wave of white flame blasted out, increasing the temperature and launching Tristan backward like a meteor. He felt like one too; burning up during entry, then smashing into the earth. He used the essence he had intended to save for the fall when he hit the wall, leaving a Tristan shaped crater six inches into the wall.


    ¡°You got lucky,¡± Regis heaved, ¡°The gods gave me the power to melt the world, witness their gift, devil!¡±


    An aura of heat vibrated the area around Tristan as even the air started burning. If Regis had done this while they were face to face it would have killed Tristan. The world around Regis started glowing, and the tower steel plate he was wearing started glowing white hot. The tower steel!


    Tristan tore his focus away from the terrifying amount of essence that Regis was putting out. He expanded his metal sense to see the metal around Regis¡¯s boots softening. It would not normally be an issue, as the tower steel here was a good two feet thick, but something was heating the metal from the other side and together they were rapidly reaching the melting point of tower steel.


    Tristan realized they had only identified one of the three elementals that composed the elemental lord. What if one of its components was also fire? A tier six fire kern from below and an augmented tier four from above seemed to be enough to weaken the metal¡¯s integrity.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Tristan yelled, ¡°You¡¯re going to release an elemental lord!¡±


    Regis looked down briefly, ¡°Lies, that''s all a devil can do. Simply die in my holy fire!¡±


    Tristan had stopped sweating. He knew that was a bad thing, but there was simply not much he could do about it. All hope appeared to be lost, when a bolt slammed into the floor, mere feet away from Regis¡¯s feet. At the top of the shaft, a few of the purifiers were using artifacts to pressurize the cannons. It was slow, taking almost a minute each, but with five cannons that was a bolt every twelve seconds.


    Hope died when Regis sneered, ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    He raised a hand and the room abruptly cooled, though not because there was less heat in it. It cooled because Regis had concentrated it on himself, the next bolt was rendered into ash before it could hit him.


    ¡°You can¡¯t hurt me, I am chosen,¡± Regis yelled. Then the reservoir ran out of essence, even its massive reserves could not keep up with the pace he was going through essence. Regis staggered when the heat construct burned through his essence in less than five seconds.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think this means you have won. I am still more than enough to.. what the hell,¡± Regis yelled as the heat from below finally met the heat coming from above. The floor shuddered and buckled upward from a massive impact.

 117. Heartless Monster

    Tristan did not stick around to watch, he knew he could not handle what was coming. While there was no stairway leading upwards, Tristan had no issue holding his body weight with only his arms. He started climbing hand over hand as fast as he could.


    Below the metal groaned as something from below ripped it apart from beneath. Despite the relatively malleable state of the tower steel, it put up a remarkable resistance to the elemental lord. Tristan had not even made it ten feet up before the metal could take no more and cracked apart.


    What emerged was something that Tristan could describe as a nightmare. Luke and the other warriors had described the elemental lord that they had faced and this one was exactly the same, except for its colors. It was completely missing its skin, instead, its whole body was covered in slabs of molten lava for muscle that wrapped around an onyx black skeleton. The lava seemed to be flowing down the body, giving an optical elusion that the creature was in a semi-liquid state.


    Silver eyes sat within lidless sockets and were the only part that was metal affinity. It wore metal half plate, though it looked like it was less for protection and more for aesthetics. It rose straight up out of the hole in the floor, at first Tristan wondered what kind of platform it was standing on. The answer was nothing. The elemental lord could fly.


    It rose about twenty feet up surveying its surroundings with its hands clasped behind its back. Regis took a few steps back, he had correctly judged that this one was far out of his league. Tristan for his part redoubled his climbing efforts. The elemental lord seemed content to bask in its newfound freedom, all the way up until a bolt from one of the cannons slammed into it.


    There was a flicker of movement, and the elemental lord snatched the projectile out of the air. He rocked backward a few feet to bleed off the projectile¡¯s inertia. After inspecting the bolt for a few seconds, it was tossed aside.


    ¡°You dare strike your king?¡±


    There was no malice in the voice, simply confusion and disbelief that anyone would raise their hand against him. To be fair, the elemental had been buried in what was essentially a tomb since the founding of the Caldera. Tristan had never paid much attention to history though he knew that Grand Elder Sai had lived for almost three hundred years. It had been a few generations since his death, so it was possible that the elemental lord had spent four or five hundred years sitting on his butt.


    The answer to the elemental¡¯s question came in the form of another bolt. This time it just waved its hand and Tristan could feel the metal essence inside the head move to the side. Had it just taken control of the metal outside its own body? From everything Tristan knew, that should be impossible. Even if the elemental had the strength of a tier nine, its real essence reserves were that of a tier six fire kern, tier six dark kern, and a tier six metal kern. Powerful, but nothing in the progression path of a kern should allow it to control essence in the environment.


    The only explanation Tristan could think of was that the elemental lord had a dark kern, and the other two elements were different things altogether. Conni had called the elemental serving as a muscle structure an anima elemental, so was Tristan looking at an anima and a third unnamed power at work?


    ¡°Fine, accept your punishment.¡±


    The elemental lord had much more finesse than Regis and his indiscriminate rings of flame. The cannons were simply jerked off the edge of the pit. Anyone too slow to let go was pulled off with them, those who managed to avoid falling could only stare in shock. They did not even try to run when the elemental lord dislodged the spikes ringing the mouth of the pit and started impaling people.


    Tristan was pretty sure his reinforcement would not let him survive a spike to the face. He climbed faster, reaching the eighty foot mark. Something caught ahold of him and started dragging him away from the wall. His chain mail under armor dragged him out into the open air. Tristan had been proud of his chain mail, it required no rivets, making it slightly stronger than ordinary chain mail.


    He realized why no one above ran. The elemental lord had used their armor to hold them slightly off the ground. It was a minimal application of essence that invalidated most defenses. Tristan tried to pull the chainmail shirt off, but it was being squeezed tightly to his body like a large being was holding him in its fist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I have forgotten about you.¡±


    Tristan met the metal eyes of the elemental lord. They had the same texture a human eye naturally did, though the silver made it difficult to tell unless the elemental was far closer than you wanted him to be.


    ¡°What did I ever do to you,¡± Tristan asked. He struggled for a few more moments, before giving up. Even if he got the metal off, it was an eighty foot fall into a pit that the elemental lord was floating above.


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    ¡°You disobeyed, that is treason.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an elemental,¡± Tristan tried to explain his situation, ¡°I just took one of their memories.¡±


    ¡°Your defense against treason is that you both stole from and killed one of my loyal subjects?¡±


    The elemental lord cocked its head to the side like it was genuinely confused. Maybe it was. It was the one who had first given the kill order, sending its own ¡®subjects¡¯ off to get killed. He had sent the tier one earth elemental Tristan had hijacked to go fight Siren of all people. Tristan felt that the elemental lord had sentenced his own people to death, though Tristan did not intend to speak that thought.


    Instead, he said, ¡°They attacked first. What were we supposed to do? Let them kill us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you do not serve willingly, it is only reasonable that you shed your flesh and ascend to an eternal life. It is the kindness of a ruler to grant eternity to their vassals.¡±


    There was no reasoning with this creature. It had too alien of a viewpoint. It was immortal which was a benefit that it only received by dying. Tristan was sure that the eyes he was looking into were the last remnants of Ajax. That man had been a noble person from what little Tristan had seen, and he was nothing like this elemental lord, despite being formed of his regret.


    Tristan needed to find some way to talk his way out. The elemental lord did not need everyone to die, just the ones who would not serve him. There was a low chance that the elemental lord would spare him, there was just one problem. He would never serve another being. Tristan knew the dangers of putting his life in other people¡¯s hands and knew that he could trust no one more than himself.


    His thoughts were interrupted by a yell, ¡°Who or what are you?¡± Both Tristan and the elemental lord looked down to see Regis waving his sword around impotently, ¡°Are you a messenger of the gods or a foe for me to destroy.¡±


    Tristan expected the elemental lord to pin Regis to the ground like an insect. What he got was more philosophical than he had expected.


    ¡°I know not of what gods you speak, I have been trapped underground since my birth, so you will have to be the judge of that. As for who and what, I am the Lord of the Underworld, though my original host¡¯s name was Ajax, it shall suffice as a name. My title should make it clear, I am the darkness that fills men''s hearts, the steadiness and flame of passion that fills their steps, and I am the conviction filling a mind of steel. I am the Lord of the Underworld because that is where all men go and a realm I have surpassed. That is what I am.¡±


    Regis¡¯s eyes were wide in shock, then he did something Tristan should have expected, but still took him by surprise. He fell to his knees, ¡°You must be a mighty chosen of the gods. That could be the only way someone could return from the grave!¡±


    The man was not wrong, whatever remnant of the heroes from their legends were the components of this creature. As Regis had definitely never met an elemental lord before, he would have no way of telling what it really was. The Lord of the Underworld had burst through the ground like some sort of deific being and had shown powers no others could use.


    ¡°Good. I accept your fealty. Even a ruler cannot demand service without a price. What is your demand.¡±


    That took Tristan by surprise. The elemental lord had no problem throwing away the lives of its thralls just to free itself. Why was it being so generous now?


    ¡°Give me a sign or a token that I may take back to the temple to rally the people to your banner,¡± Regis said.


    ¡°So be it.¡±


    Then he did something truly horrifying. Ajax held out one clawed hand and a man came flying down to float beside Tristan. Henry frantically tried to take his armor off but was running into the same issues that Tristan had, the clasps were undone, but the plates were held together by an invisible force.


    ¡°Serve me.¡±


    Henry ignored the elemental lord¡¯s request. Opting to stab it with his spear. The spear was casually flicked out of the patriarch¡¯s hands.


    ¡°This outcome is suitable. You have loved ones? You will never be able to save them. Never protect them, and even if they survive the coming purge, you will never see them again.¡±


    The molten lines on the muscle tissue of the elemental intensified until the air around it combusted. It then spent the next thirty minutes burning Henry alive. Glowing palm melted the metal to the patriarch¡¯s flesh and scorched the skin from his skull. Ajax never touched the man¡¯s heart.


    Tristan knew what he was doing. If intense regret created an elemental, then he was artificially creating a situation that would result in the birth of a tier four light elemental. Was that his fate? Looking at the man who was currently having his flesh melted off, Tristan contemplated suicide for the first time in his life. If he was going to die either way he wanted it to be quick.


    When the screaming stopped, the body was released. It trailed smoke and the now brittle armor shattered when it hit the ground. After a tense moment, there was a light from the chest of the corps. A prismatic heart grew blinding white bones and blood vessels that pumped rainbows through them. The sight would have been mesmerizing if Tristan had not just watched Henry die.


    Another light joined it as a slime elemental filled with fire and crackling lightning crawled out of the hole in the ground. It was followed by another light elemental, though this one was an anima elemental. Tristan watched in fascination as the muscle crawled over the bones and the slime squeezed itself into the cranium through the back of the skull.


    The result was something that Tristan could only call an angel of death. It had a perfectly white body laced with pulsing prismatic veins and eyes that burned with fire and crackled with lighting.


    ¡°This will be my emissary, take her to your people, she will be a peacemaker.¡± Ajax turned to Tristan, ¡°For you, I have a different desire. There shall be no eternity for you. I will crush your kern and erase your name from history. Treason shall not be tolerated.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an elemental!¡± Tristan yelled, ¡°I can¡¯t betray someone I¡¯m not loyal to in the first place.¡±


    Ajax moved in a blur of fire and shadow, his fingers punched straight through Tristan¡¯s chest and out his back. The chain mail did nothing to protect him. He looked down at the arm shoved through his rib cage and distantly heard someone screaming something. Then the elemental lord shook Tristan off his arm and let him fall to the ground.


    The last thing he saw was the creature drop his now missing heart.

 118. Interlude: Viral and the Silent Nation

    Across the continent, a man stood before a workbench using delicate applications of specific forces to create the desired result. He was standing before a cylindrical vat with a young child floating in it. This was specimen 10-N or the two thousand six hundred and thirtieth time he had done a variation of the experiment. Every time he got closer and closer to creating his desired result. A perfect human, one who could ascend beyond the restrictions the almighty placed on mortals.


    Another brief exposure to the force of annihilation and the force of resistance simultaneously damaged the child and built up its resistance to the force of chaos. The door at the other end of the room swung open, revealing a slender woman wearing a white coat. She was one of the few people he had promised himself he would not kill, after all, someone needed to let him know when he was making emotional decisions.


    Breathing hard, Val jogged past all the glass tubes containing his experiments, ¡°Master Viral, I have some news that you would like to hear.¡±


    Viral simply folded his arms and waited for his assistant to get her words out. He had tried rushing Val to the point before, but that had resulted in an apology and an even longer explanation explaining why she had rambled on, all capped off with a round of tears. It made Viral want to break his promise not to hurt her.


    ¡°One of our operatives has detected an essence burst that appears to be a mix of flame and metal essence,¡± She scanned her notepad.


    Viral was confused as to why that mattered. Sure, dual essence users were rare, and metal variants even more so. Just because it shared the same affinities as him did not mean that it was valuable.


    ¡°Get this, it had the traces of the force of combustion, adamance, and gravity,¡± Val grinned as she noticed her master¡¯s attention sharpen, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that remind you of someone?¡±


    ¡°Vulcan,¡± Viral said. Those were the exact same forces one of his relatives had used in the war of the false god almost eight hundred years ago. What were the chances he had survived? Back then Vulcan had been stronger, while Viral had been a member of a weaker branch of the Numitor family. Now they should be about equal, as Vulcan had gotten a faster, albeit flawed, method of gaining strength.


    ¡°Give me the location, I will be back before evening with him,¡± Viral said.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s part of the issue,¡± Val said.


    She pulled out a map of the continent and used a pencil to circle their current location. Then she moved to a point just off of the border of a small nation at the edge of the world and drew another one.  In fact, the second circle was so close to the border of the small nation that if any of the map¡¯s cartography was off, it would actually be inside that nation¡¯s land.


    ¡°Well, we aren¡¯t ready to fight the Silent Saint, do you think that he could be sheltering Vulcan?¡± Viral asked.


    ¡°It is possible, though unlikely, I would suggest sending an emissary there to let them know that your actions aren¡¯t hostile,¡± Val said, ¡° make your presence known but make no overly hostile moves towards the Silent Nation and I see no reason why they would get involved, they have had a long history of isolationism after all.¡±


    Viral nodded. Basically, all that meant was that he could not rush over there as fast as he could. Most nations treated anything nearing the speed of sound as a national threat so he would have to make his approach visible and non-hostile. Turning what would ordinarily be a six hour flight into a month long trip.


    He looked up at the glass tub beside him. It could be a couple more decades before this experiment actually concluded. Even then there was no guarantee that it would be effective enough to take on a saint. Finding Vulcan was a guaranteed path, he possessed the uncorrupted methods of the Numitor family.


    Making a decision, Viral said, ¡°Tell that man we have in the area to make contact with the Silent Nation. I have the rights to anything Vulcan left behind, they have enough respect for ancestral inheritances that they should not object.¡±


    ¡°When will you be departing?¡± Val asked.


    Viral needed to recalibrate the forces for a month''s absence, ¡°Tell him he has two weeks, then I will be leaving.¡±


    ¡°I will let you know as soon as he confirms the Silent Nations passivity,¡± Val walked out to go play secretary.


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    Viral shook his head, he was lucky someone like her was loyal to him. Most tier twelves were quite a bit more independent.


    ~


    THE SILENT NATION


    ~


    ¡°What is going on in that mountain range?¡± One councilman asked.


    ¡°Did those barbarians really raise a legend, how could that happen without us knowing?¡± Another one asked.


    There was a round dais in the center of the room with a mat designed for meditation placed in the center. The councilmen sat around the raised platform, standing when they wanted to speak, but never setting foot on the round platform. To them, it was no different than a table.


    Messengers ran in and out bringing recordings and folders filled with important documents. The room was not private, nothing in the Silent Nation was. No secret could be kept while one was within the domain of the only nation filled with people possessing the rare sound kern.


    There were six seats at the edge of the platform and one throne, each was filled with the strongest beings the sound nation could muster, and not all of them were even human. Two elemental lords sat meekly in their chairs, they were recent additions, but the Silent Saint did not concern himself with the appearance of a citizen, only their loyalty to their new nation. Most were extremely loyal.


    The throne was occupied with the only imperium currently on this plane. Supposedly, she was one of the Saint¡¯s relatives, but the man was so old that he probably had thousands of relatives. Even the elemental lords could probably claim kinship with him.


    Teelei leaned forward on her throne, ¡°It is not our concern whether or not a powerful entity has arisen in another land, that can only be to those people¡¯s benefit. We should be concerned at the methods used to hide such an individual for so long and why he chose to make himself known now.¡±


    ¡°Do we need to send a suppression force just in case?¡± The elemental lord, Neza, asked.


    ¡°You just want to take that elemental lord that popped up into your camp,¡± The second elemental lord yelled.


    ¡°A tier six lord will hardly make a difference,¡± Neza waved a hand dismissively.


    Teelei could only smirk at the sentient elementals. She had feared beings like these when she was a child, moving calamities that could wipe out smaller civilizations that sprung up in the wilderness. A tier six lord was very powerful, and it would likely hold a second in command position in Neza¡¯s force.


    ¡°Leave them be,¡± A short councilor said, ¡°It is their trial to overcome.¡±


    The man stiffened, he had not spoken a word, yet it had been his voice. It was no difficulty for any child with a sound kern to copy someone¡¯s voice, but it became more and more difficult as the strength of a person rose. The control used when speaking was very exact and specific in the Silent Nation.


    Teelei understood what was happening when her voice spoke.


    ¡°A long dead friend has returned, do not disturb him.¡±


    Only one person could do that to Teelei. The fact that the founder of their nation could hear them was no surprise. Very little happened that the Silent Saint could not hear, he just was not paying attention to most noises. This time he chose to speak up.


    As soon as the counselors saw what was happening they dropped the topic. Many wondered who would be a friend of the Saint, but it was not really their place to dig for answers. The two elemental lords had the strongest reactions, both of them quickly stood and bowed. The rigid hierarchy that all elemental lords followed, made them dedicated, though fanatical followers.


    A messenger flashed into the room, and he announced, ¡°A messenger of the Pantheon Cult is here.¡±


    Everyone in the room groaned, one of the counselors even asked, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have left him at the border?¡±


    ¡°I feel that is unwise,¡± the messenger said, ¡°He is coming with a message and I quote, ¡®I come to give a message from the elder god of war, he wishes to make his desires to be made known to your king.¡¯¡±


    Several chuckles went around the room. The Silent Nation was very insular both by choice and because no secret could be kept there. Most kingdoms were unaware of who was sitting at the helm of this nation.


    ¡°Which one do you think he is spouting off about, the beast tamer? That guy starts plenty of wars,¡± The short counselor joked.


    Insular was a double edged sword. While most of the lower tiers lived short and delicate lives, the higher tiers appeared as unstoppable beings, and some chose to be venerated as gods. It was comical that all these self styled deities were weaker than their nation''s founder, who styled himself as a saint, like there was some being who was above him.


    ¡°No, he is referring to Viral,¡± Teelei said, her stomach churned at the name.


    He was a brute, but he had earned his place at the apex of this world. It was a place he shared with Teelei, but she held no illusions about who would win if they came to blows. The offense of fire and the defense of metal was a difficult combination to break. Despite his lower tier, he would win.


    ¡°Tell the cultist that he needs to stay out of our nation, if that butcher crosses the border, there will be retribution. If he does not then we will ignore him,¡± Teelei said.


    ¡°As you wish,¡± The messenger said, he seemed hesitant but finally continued, ¡°It came with a threat of his own.¡±


    Teelei motioned for him to continue. She was not concerned about the mad sovereign, he was alone, and she had a nation of allies and most importantly the Silent Saint.


    ¡°Stay away from the mountains, if you touch my relative or his inheritance there will be bloodshed,¡± The messenger said.


    Teelei took in a sharp breath, mentally thanking the founder for keeping them out of this conflict. If that was a relative of Viral, they were looking at the rise of a high tier Numitor. That family had been almost extinct for centuries, its only known survivors were Viral himself and its progenitor, the Steel Saint. Not something she wanted to get near.


    ¡°Let him know that we will not interfere, so long as he stays off our land,¡± Teelei said.


    Some of the other councilors had put similar clues together, but the general feeling of the room was relief. There was a reason all of them were so loyal to the founder.

 119. A Change in Management

    Elder Forest was pissed, ¡°What did your little Hellspawn do?¡±


    Shadow Fist looked confused, lately the man was always confused. At least today it was hurt confused instead of fake confused. Before them stood the civil protector of the River Caldera and a being that appeared to be made of light. The issue currently was, that Elder Forest had traded his civil protector to the mine and replaced Henry with two mediocre tier threes.


    It should have been sufficient, but then a civil protector and whatever the creature beside him was marched through the gates proclaiming the rise of a new champion. The worst part was, that Elder Forest was pretty sure that he was looking at a light elemental, and he had a bad hunch as to where it was sourced from.


    ¡°Nothing, the six guards I left never missed their twice-a-day check-in,¡± Shadow Fist, ¡°At least not until recently.¡±


    Forest weighed his options. The two tier three guards with Shadow Fist as backup should have been able to handle anything that walked through his doors. Even the River Caldera''s new golden child Kerri would be hard pressed to fight all three off. Regis was literally the only person who posed a threat to his safety, and the walls should have been able to hold against one man. It was his companion that was the problem it was not human despite the fact that it looked vaguely feminine, he could see its skull.


    The way he saw it, he only had two choices. First, run and abandon Shadow Fist to his death. It would be a noble death and had the perk of getting his unwanted brother-in-law out of his hair. Second, capitulate, which was not palatable at all, especially as there were only two of them. Elder Forest intended to crown himself king of this Caldera, he was so close to succeeding.


    The reports claimed that the tower plate had allowed them to exterminate the new breed of ghost crabs with few casualties. A few of his soldiers had distinguished themselves. A low tier three warrior named Kale had fought Kerri to a standstill long enough that the child had to flee or risk capture.


    Making his choice, Elder Forest narrowed his eyes. His army would have no trouble putting these two down. Even a tier nine champion could be worn down by hundreds of armored individuals. As politicians were prone to, he chose to spend other''s lives to secure his position.


    ¡°I refuse to submit to the whims of some unknown being. I am an Elder and no good leader willingly gives their people away,¡± Elder Forest stood, scooping up his staff at the same time.


    It was a tier four shadow and flame artifact, allowing him to use the hiding skills that were normally unique to dark kerns. The fire function simply kept the body from going into hypothermia and negated its need to supply its own heat. It was a coward¡¯s ultimate tool.


    The creature beside Regis spoke for the first time, ¡°I am here as a peacemaker, is rebellion your choice?¡±


    It was definitely feminine. Elder Forest sneered at the creature, ¡°I can¡¯t rebel against someone I do not serve.¡±


    ¡°The law of the predator forces the weak to follow the rules of the strong. Variance is not an option, only separation from the herd and eventual death. So yes, rebellion,¡± The creature said.


    Elder Forest¡¯s eyes flicked to the civil protector¡¯s hands. White tongues of flame started dancing between his fingers and despite the diminutive nature of the flame, Forest could feel the heat from where he stood. He decided it was time to retreat, he was not confident in surviving a single attack from Regis despite having a fire kern too.


    ¡°Kill the intruders,¡± Forest said, while at the same time stepping back into the shadows.


    The two guards possessed water and air kerns, as poison was the most common way to kill a leader. While it was no substitute for Henry Golden Heart and his healing, it was much better than nothing. They both attacked together, one using a crossbow, while the other used a halberd.


    The bolt screeched off of Regis¡¯s armor, leaving a long scratch in the metal. Normally, crossbows with a draw weight to match a tier three¡¯s strength could punch through most things. The draw weight would often exceed four thousand pounds, especially as this specific crossbow was an artifact.


    The marksman frantically started winching the string back into place for a second shot. He would have already died if the shining creature had seen fit to get involved. Despite the lack of interruption, he was still too late to save his partner.


    Regis used his gauntlet to backhand the blade of the halberd aside and grab the shaft in the same motion. He pulled the shaft and punched forward at the same time. The guard was smart enough to release his weapon, as there was no way his tier three strength would match a tier four in a direct contest.


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    Still, the man could not avoid Regis¡¯s punch. A shockwave of white flame tore into the man, not getting through his armor, but still melting it to his body. The next blow came from the black sword, the fire covering it cauterized the beheading. Yelling obscenities, the marksman took aim.


    Before he could pull the trigger, Regis threw droplets of flaming liquid at the man. The air kern exasperated the issue, and the second guard went up in white flames.


    Elder Forest was only halfway to the back door when a hand fell on his shoulder. Jumping in fright, he looked back to find Shadow Fist holding him by his shoulder. The man could not stop Elder Forest, not with brute strength at least, but he had identified and found him.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Elder Forest hissed.


    Shadow Fist simply grinned, ¡°You have committed the same crimes you accused Elder River of. You have chosen to sacrifice the lives of your people for a meaningless prize.¡±


    ¡°I am the Elder, you let me go,¡± He had no idea what Shadow Fist was rambling on about, but he had to go.


    ¡°For placing the Caldera in danger, you are under arrest,¡± Shadow Fist said.


    Elder Forest took a swing with his artifact, but he was a politician, not a warrior, despite his high tier. The strike missed, though not because Shadow Fist moved. There was a bright flash of light and a burning pain in his arm. He could only watch blankly as his arm fell to the ground, cut cleanly between the elbow and shoulder.


    It had been a long time since he had felt pain. Fear was a common partner, as it was with all prideful men, but pain was not. He screamed as he jerked out of his brother-in-law¡¯s grip. Elder Forest made it one step before an armored fist clenched around his throat and slammed him against the wall. His ears rang from the impact and the plaster covering over the pinewood frame cracked and flaked.


    ¡°You wanted to be king of the Caldera?¡± Regis said, disgust evident from his tone, ¡°You¡¯re a warrior, warriors are brave, we stand in the front, we slay monsters.¡±


    ¡°He is a coward,¡± Shadow Fist said standing a few steps away with his arms folded behind his back. It was not a subservient stance, but it was also not defiant.


    Elder Forest glared at the man he had just ordered to march to his death. Shadow Fist simply raised an eyebrow, like he dared Elder Forest to dispute the claim. Being suspended by one¡¯s neck is a terrible location from which to yell at traitorous subordinates.


    ¡°Interesting. Why did you choose to abandon your own kin for the true king? It does not paint you in a good light,¡± The glowing creature hummed.


    ¡°Well, um,¡± Shadow Fist paused uncomfortably, ¡°What do I call you?¡±


    ¡°I was not given a name,¡± The creature paused as if thinking, ¡°My lord named himself after the mind¡¯s original host. I shall follow his lead. Call me Hestia.¡±


    ¡°Hestia, you claimed to follow the law of the predator, how does that law work when raising powerful pack members? How would your lord feel if someone in his pack would grow stronger than him?¡± Shadow Fist asked.


    ¡°He would wait for them to challenge him for leadership, of course, this is an obvious answer, are you looking for something more specific?¡± Hestia asked.


    Elder Forest closed his eyes, he knew what Shadow Fist was about to say and there was no way for him to refute it. He could appreciate how the man manipulated the situation and even used different language to narrow down miscommunication. His posture did not show meekness nor a threat, he was really treating this creature like some kind of territorial animal.


    ¡°This man is not just my pack leader, he is also my sworn mate¡¯s brother. He stopped me from gaining power because I would have challenged him, so he kept me weak,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°I am an ambitious man, who I serve does not matter so long as there is a way to grow. In your words, become a greater predator.¡±


    ¡°Stopped you from growing? Why would he be afraid of you if he wasn¡¯t afraid of your brat? He made it to tier three before he got his heart ripped out,¡± Regis mocked.


    Shadow Fist winced, but sighed, ¡°May I demonstrate?¡±


    Regis nodded. The man was unarmed and with darkness''s crippling weakness to light, he would be completely stopped by Hestia. Her parts were a tier six hero from Hestia, a tier four body from someone down in the pit, and Henry¡¯s tier four bones. Adding all three together gave Hestia abilities comparable to an absolute peak tier seven, Shadow Fist would not know how he even died.


    Shadow Fist placed a hand on the bigger man¡¯s exposed temple. It was the only part of Regis¡¯s body not covered in metal. The civil protector almost dropped Elder Forest when he felt some of his essence get stolen.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Regis asked, more interested than concerned.


    ¡°The power of hunger,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°Humans fear power they don¡¯t understand, I hope the champion does not.¡±


    ¡°Intriguing, I will not make any decisions concerning your fate, you are too odd,¡± Hestia turned to the Elder, ¡°You though, need to die.¡±


    Elder Forest started kicking and flailing, but he could do nothing to stop the gauntlet from heating to an unbearable level. Just as it started branding his flesh, Elder Forest got a surprise from an unexpected source.


    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t do this!¡± Shadow Fist yelled.


    ¡°Do you defend your oppressor?¡± Hestia hissed clearly displeased.


    ¡°No, I can just tell, you don¡¯t practice politics,¡± Shadow Fist said.


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    ¡°If you kill Elder Forest this way he will simply be a martyr for your enemies to use. You claimed to already have the temple on board, so have Daphan bring his sins to light. Paint him as an enemy of the gods that your lord is championing, people will turn on him, then the action will gain you allies instead of enemies,¡± Shadow Fist explained.


    ¡°While my lord is a champion, he does not serve these unknown gods,¡± Hestia said attempting to comprehend the idea.


    ¡°That does not matter, the perception of it is what matters. People are fickle, they will support or oppose someone simply from second hand information, or a single relatively unimportant character trait,¡± Shadow Fist explained, ¡°Most people think of me fondly because I remember their names, even though it is an open secret that I am an assassin.¡±


    ¡°That seems prudent,¡± Hestia said, still a little unsure of herself, ¡°I will take this to my lord for his decision.¡±


    Regis set the Elder down and knocked him out with a straight punch to his face, ¡°It is true, we used to cover up killings and bad behavior all the time, reality is not what motivates the common man. Security is what they find most important.¡±

 120. Running at the Speed of Cow

    Eve watched in horror as the elemental lord burned Henry alive. She barely had time to evade as a white shafted spear almost impaled her as it spun over the edge of the pit. After a few minutes, Eve started running. Was it cowardly, she was not sure. Would she regret it? Yes, she abandoned a friend in a time of need.


    At least she had the presence of mind to grab Bruce¡¯s spear. Several miners and smiths were fleeing as well, however, they were heading towards the Forest Caldera, which would definitely be the next target. Regis was not stable, but the first city to feel his insanity would be the closest one.


    She barged into the main house of the mine to find Conni yelling at a horseman, ¡°Go to Elder Forest!¡±


    Grace had the cows hitched up to a wagon and had quite a few supplies piled inside. Eve was not sure if cows would make the best escape animals, but they were better than nothing. A gathering of burly men was gathered around the cart, most of the miners and the surviving soldiers. Eve did not see Shale. She felt sick at the thought of having left the injured man back at the pit, but she could not muster up the courage to go back and get him.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Conni yelled at her, ¡°We need to go.¡°


    ¡°Where to?¡± One of the miners holding the cow''s bridle asked. It was not that he was unwilling, just he needed to know which road to take.


    ¡°Now that she¡¯s here, the River Caldera,¡± Conni said, ¡°The rider will get your families out of the Forest Caldera before it burns.¡±


    ¡°Can that thing really fight the whole Forest Caldera alone?¡± One of the miners asked in disbelief.


    ¡°The difference between you and Siren is smaller than the difference between Siren and it,¡± Eve said with a shudder. Henry had been utterly helpless, ¡°And all the warriors are fighting in the planes, so no one is there to even resist.¡±


    There was a cracking sound, like a large boulder being broken in two. Everyone turned their gazes towards the pit. Of course, they could not see a hole over two miles away while it had tree cover, but they could see the thing rising into the sky. It was humanoid, but they could only watch as it stood with its feet planted in the air.


    Other objects floated beside it. The sunlight glinting off of them gave them away as metal. Slowly at first, but with greater and greater speed, they started spinning like wheels. Once they were moving so fast that only the center was visible, they slammed into the ground. Clouds of dust rose into the air before larger chunks of metal joined it in the sky. The chunks of metal were large and boxy, poorly shaped for any use.


    ¡°We need to move!¡± Conni said, his panic evident even in the other miner''s eyes. The normally cool headed Grace looked shaken.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on,¡± Eve pleaded as she followed behind the cart.


    ¡°There are a lot of elementals buried in this mine, he just dug them all up at the same time. He¡¯s building an army,¡± The warrior clenched and unclenched his fist around his weapon''s grip.


    Eve had to remind herself that this man was an elite of the caldera. If a man who was in the top fifty strongest was afraid, then she could be afraid as well. They left the cloud of dust behind, the elemental lord not paying them any mind as it dug up more monstrosities.


    They made poor but steady time, taking over a week to make it to the River Caldera. The supplies that Grace had stocked away were evidently for survival, not sentimental or valuable objects. Not to say she did not bring a sack full of silver parces, which she used to bribe a squad of Lake Caldera soldiers to guard them. They were hesitant at first, but quickly jumped on board once they learned that Eve was with them.


    There was a reward for whoever brought Eve back safely. So in the soldier''s minds, they got paid, homemade meals, and a short vacation. Eve felt a large amount of trepidation as she returned to her home. This was home, but she had no friends here only sycophants. She barely had any family, as her mother had started drinking like a fish to cope with her husband''s death. Her sister was in Alchehall, and her grandfather always put his work first.


    Fortunately, no one seemed to recognize her. The head family was recognized more by their attire and company than by their looks. Black hair and navy blue eyes were simply too common when one had a water kern. No one expected the heiress of the River Caldera to walk in with some dirty men and two cows.


    ¡°DAD!¡± A high pitched voice yelled.


    A little boy dashed through the marketplace just outside the city gate. Several merchants almost tripped over him, but most were good natured about the interruption. He latched himself onto one of the miner¡¯s legs. With a substantial tug, the man picked the kid up and held him up.


    Several other people had arrived, several women and half a dozen children. Eve knew that some of the miners were married, but she was surprised at how many. Her eyes landed on a strange girl with pale lavender eyes, she had brown hair and a mottled skin tone that made it look like she was crying. It was odd, but what gave Eve pause was the little girl beside her. It was a four or five year old version of Tristan, the biggest difference was the green eyes. Her kern was still dormant and no essence had bled into her irises.


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    Eve decided she would investigate if only to let Tristan¡¯s family know what happened. She had not seen him die, but Eve knew with certainty that he was dead, probably tortured into becoming an elemental. Shuddering at the thought of having to fight Tristan¡¯s reanimated kern, she made her way over to the pair.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Eve started, ¡°Are you looking for anyone in specific?¡±


    The girl fixed her eyes on Eve, who almost took a step back as they seemed to search her, ¡°Yes, his name is Tristan, though he may go by Sage, about this tall, black hair, pale skin, gold eyes, metal kern, and a bad attitude.¡±


    ¡°My name is Tristan!¡± The little girl claimed emphatically.


    ¡°He won¡¯t be coming,¡± Eve said, ¡°He didn¡¯t make it.¡±


    The girl sighed, ¡°So the elemental got him.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, who are you?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s step off to the side,¡± the girl gestured to a set of tables, just off the road.


    It was a place to make it more convenient to eat food from the vendors than to go home and eat there. While they did not have any food, the tables would be a suitable place to talk while staying out of traffic. Most of the tables were empty, but the girl took them to a table with a woman sitting at it. She wore a black cloak that was obviously expensive, but she was disheveled. Her hair was not taken care of and there were bags under her eyes.


    ¡°My name is Harp, and this is Helen,¡± The girl said, ¡°We were forewarned that something like this could happen, so we came here when we got the message.¡±


    The haggard woman looked up, ¡°Have you seen my son? Is he alright, please tell me he is alright.¡± She lurched forward as if to gain a tighter grip on reality, but stopped herself and let her hands fall back on the table when she saw the frozen look in Eve¡¯s eyes.


    The little girl patted her mom¡¯s knee, but her affections went unnoticed. Harp was the one who answered, ¡°He died fighting.¡±


    Eve had not actually said that, but it did not change the validity of the statement. Tristan had gone down swinging, she had at least seen his fight with Regis. A fight that admittedly made him look like a ball getting repeatedly kicked off of a wall.


    ¡°What were you to him?¡± Helen asked.


    Eve was not sure what she was looking for, but chose to answer honestly, ¡°Just a friend.¡±


    The woman started crying, Harp tried comforting her. Eve felt very uncomfortable, she had no idea what to do or how to react to the situation, or how to make it better.


    ¡°Eve,¡± Conni yelled, she turned to find him standing with a pair of unfriendly looking River Caldera patrol men.


    She sighed and left the broken family, to go have a family reunion of her own. The guards relaxed when they saw that Eve was both unharmed and healthy.


    ¡°Thank you, Conni,¡± They said, ¡°Let¡¯s get you to the Elder.¡±


    ~


    Luke


    ~


    ¡°Wait!¡± Siren yelled, trying to stop Luke.


    How could he, earth was not known for its swiftness, while Luke controlled lightning. He sprinted toward the mine, he needed to kill something. News had arrived that something big had happened there. A cloud of dust hung perpetually over the area. No one knew what was happening, no one but Luke and Siren.


    They had not even left the border of Alchehall when news came. He gripped one of the metal canisters as he approached the ferryman. It might be faster to run around, but not by enough. He did not want to arrive to an unfair fight with a depleted kern. Luke was angry, not suicidal.


    ¡°Across the lake now!¡± He ordered the boatman.


    The man scrambled to obey, terrified at the strands of electricity sparking off Luke¡¯s clothing. He needed a fight, and the elemental lord would be a good target for his ire. The capsule in his pocket would even the playing field enough, all he needed was even.


    Unfortunately, one of the gods Hadrid speculated about must have heard his thoughts. A figure stepped onto the surface of the water at the far side of the lake. At first Luke could not tell what it was, people could not walk on water after all. It approached the center of the lake, Luke was not sure if it was heading for them, or if they were coincidentally on an intercept course.


    Once it was close enough, Luke recognized the figure of an elemental lord. It had two water parts, and the brain appeared to be earth. It was a lackluster combination, but it allowed it to freeze the water enough to halt the boat. It wasn¡¯t the one Luke wanted, but it was the one Luke needed.


    ¡°Humans, the Lord would ask for the source of this lake. You will be rewarded for your assistance.¡± Its voice was watery and fluctuated oddly.


    Luke punched it in the face. He felt its skull fracture under the impact as it skipped a short distance. Then he made what was likely a dumb decision. He jumped out of the boat and onto the ice.


    ¡°Go back and pick up the angry man in yellow robes,¡± Luke said.


    He did not wait to see if the man would obey, simply making a beeline for the elemental. Luke was not sure where a second elemental lord came from, but he could make it disappear. For a moment he considered the prudence of capturing and interrogating the elemental. It was odd that they would be interested in a water source, as they did not need to drink. Then he fed those thoughts to his lightning.


    ¡°The Lord does not tolerate traitors,¡± The elemental said as it stood, dusting itself off.


    It was standing on an ever expanding ring of ice. Luke could only smirk at a water elemental being bad at fighting on water. It lacked the skill to stand on its surface and chose instead to freeze the liquid. It blocked the second strike and the third, before retaliating with a razor tipped knife hand of its own.


    The ice covered fingers took Luke by surprise, and the lack of traction caused him to slip when he jerked backward. He was faster, it was stronger. Between this one and the Dark one down in the mine, Luke would say this one was far more dangerous.


    It proceeded to create two ice daggers and stab down at Luke. He ignored them as his feet were between its feet. Scissoring his feet outward, he used the lack of friction against the elemental, taking it down and rolling aside. The daggers struck the ground behind him. Luke twisted back the way he had come and smashed an elbow into the elemental''s skull.


    Out of the three parts that made up the elemental Lord, the kern was the weak link on this one. Luke intended to take advantage of it.

 121. Extreme Waterboarding

    Capitalizing on the elemental lord¡¯s weaker bones proved to be very difficult. The creature was not stupid and knew its own weaknesses. The sudden shift away from the center of the ice caused it to tip by a degree or two. Water rushed over the top, it was only about two inches, but it was enough.


    The elemental froze it, locking Luke¡¯s side to the ground while giving itself a few moments to jump back. Luke simply growled and tore himself out of the ice. It took his top layer of skin, but at the moment he did not care. The elemental seemed surprised when Luke regained his feet so fast.


    Luke wished that he had brought Hestia¡¯s Sickle, fire and lightning both had reduced effectiveness when on water, but still the power it offered was intoxicating. He would also like to have something more than his belt knife to fight this creature. The elemental waved its hands and launched spinning blades of water that cut into the platform they were standing on.


    To Luke¡®s perception, they moved slowly, he palmed one out of the air and whipped the circular blade back at the elemental. He felt one graze his jacket, slicing a line through it. He paid it little mind.


    As they fought, Luke found that this elemental could be considered a perfect counter to him. Water did not conduct electricity, the minerals in it did, the earthen brain and eyes might have been a vulnerability if Luke could throw his lightning. Unfortunately, it was not willing to let him close to its skull again.


    It also demonstrated a truly ridiculous essence reserve. No one should be able to freeze the amount of water the elemental had. Luke understood that it was winter, but still, it threw out ice like Hadrid threw out insults. Poorly made but in large volumes. If they had been fighting on land he was sure that he would have already lost.


    Luke looked around for anything he could use but all he saw was water. Which of course made sense, they were on a lake. The issue was he had no way to put this thing down without a weapon. It seemed to have a greater essence reserve than him, so he could not outlast it, and it was resistant to his abilities.


    He needed to stall it, ¡°What do you want here?¡±


    The elemental paused, it seemed surprised that Luke wanted to talk, ¡°You are an enemy, you do not deserve an answer.¡±


    ¡°What would a walking corpse want with the lake,¡± Luke asked, ¡°It¡¯s not like you need to drink, are you trying to poison the Caldera¡¯s water?¡±


    ¡°No, is that why you are resisting, you think we desire your death?¡± It cocked its head to the side.


    ¡°No, your Lord destroyed my home, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± Luke drew his knife and removed the sheath from his belt. He knelt and dipped it in the half inch of water covering the platform.


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill us, you can barely contend with me,¡± the creature mocked, ¡°how do you expect to face my lord or his greater servants?¡±


    ¡°Watch me contend with you,¡± Luke said, shoving the knife back into its sheath and winding the attached cord around the crossbar.


    The elemental lord tried to say something else, but Luke had enough. He lunged at it forcing it to take a few steps back and raise its arm to block. While it was not as good as a heart shot, Luke still shoved the sheathed knife into the elemental''s arm. He then ran as much lightning as he could through the blade.


    The lake water was not pure, and unlike the elemental, it could conduct electricity. It was not under the elemental¡¯s control either, so when he ran electricity through it, there was a spark. The released energy was not provided with an outlet, so it made its own. While the knife was damaged, so was the elemental, its whole forearm was blown off.


    Luke had not wanted to take risks, so he had poured half his essence into that attack. Coming from someone near the peak of tier four, it was a substantial amount. The elemental staggered back, but Luke was not going to let it recover, and it would recover. That was the nasty thing about elementals. They had an absurd healing factor. In two hours it would likely be as good as new.


    Luke would not give it two hours. He slammed a lightning powered roundhouse into the creature¡¯s side. It failed to block due to missing an arm on that side, getting a few broken ribs for the failure. Luke grinned as the creature bounced across the ice. His grin faded as the creature slid off the edge of the ice and into the water.


    The elemental did not need to breathe, and without lungs full of air it was not buoyant. In fact, it had a literal rock brain, so it should sink straight to the bottom. Cursing, Luke ran and dove off the edge of the land. He demonstrated why fighting a water user on a lake wasn¡¯t as risky as one might believe, he converted the air essence in his blood into air in his lungs. Drowning would not be an issue while he had essence.


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    He paddled after the water elemental. It noticed him coming and chose to run instead of fight moving to the bottom of the lake. Luke cursed at his bad luck. Cursing was very unsatisfying underwater. The light dimmed to twilight, despite the fact that the noonday sun hung overhead. Long grasses covered the bottom and fish darted around avoiding the two invaders.


    Luke landed on something hard. His feet sank into the mud until they landed on something. His conductivity told him it was metal. Why was there an entire plane of metal at the bottom of the lake?


    The elemental looked down, pushing aside mud, ¡°It was here the whole time! Thank you, barbaric child, you have cut my search short.¡±


    Luke was getting a bad feeling about this. Tristan had said there were two flying structures, so was this elemental looking for a second army for its master. An untapped resource of minions, Luke would not let that happen.


    He ran at the elemental, his movements sluggish at the lake bottom. The creature just stood there as he approached, only moving when he got close enough. It punched forward, completely unrestricted by the water. Luke was too shocked to get out of the way in time. Water kerns should not allow a creature to ignore water resistance, it was not like Luke could walk in a tornado without getting sucked into the sky. The anima elemental, it had to be that.


    Conni had spoken about people from other planes and how they stored essence differently. If someone in a different world had different abilities, did that mean the forces in that world were different? If they were the same, then why couldn¡¯t Luke use the same power? The issue was, that it would not help him with his current circumstances. Having a body full of air essence might make him even more buoyant.


    The elemental attacked again, and Luke was unable to dodge, but he did manage to grab the elemental¡¯s arm. The strike hurt, but Luke returned the favor. He pulled himself in, grabbed the elementals head, and wrapped his legs around its waist. Water could be used to his advantage as well, it would both slow and support his lateral movements.


    Lightning lit up the lake floor, turning a good amount of the lake floor to steam and briefly causing some grass to blacken. If he got some sort of combustion force he might have started the world¡¯s first underwater fire. The elemental screamed and writhed, and then all of Luke¡¯s appendages froze.


    Ice expanded from the elemental¡¯s stomach, forming an ever expanding sphere. Luke¡¯s arms and legs froze a second before he tore himself away. Blood started dyeing the water from the skin he had just lost. Then the real purpose of the ice was made known.


    It rocketed towards the surface. The sphere seemed like a meteor traveling in reverse, dragging up a plume of mud from the lake floor in its wake. Luke filled his lungs with as much air as he could and swam after it. He was fast, as he was now working with the water instead of against it, but he was still too slow.


    Luke was running low on essence, he would make it to the surface, but he did not have another lightning storm in him. The ball of ice shattered letting the elemental out. A film spread across the surface of the water, getting thicker and thicker. Swimming for all he was worth Luke smashed into the bottom of the ice.


    He did not have the leverage to even crack it. Drawing back a fist he punched it. It cracked more with each punch. Luke wound up for another strike when a blue hand smashed through the ice and grabbed his arm. He was jerked halfway out of the water before his new hole was frozen shut trapping his other arm in the ice. In response, he ran lightning through the elemental¡¯s hand. It was more than his kern could take.


    The elemental noticed the sudden lack of essence as weakness overtook Luke, ¡°How does it feel to be faced with your mortality? That is a genuine question, we are eternal so it is something I will never feel.¡±


    Luke could only scoff at the irony, ¡°Really, you¡¯re going to live forever?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are born through death, we shall never, uhh,¡± It was cut short by a diamond headed axe smashing through its skull. Half a second later a similar spear was shoved through its heart.


    ¡°I softened it for you,¡± Luke said.


    Siren watched the dispersing corpse of a once powerful elemental fall to the ice, ¡°What were you thinking? It¡¯s clearly a water elemental, two of them actually, and it has an artifact.¡±


    ¡°Well, I thought I could handle it. Wait, an artifact?!¡± Luke¡¯s surprise turned to anger, ¡°The forsaken thing was cheating! Ha! That makes me better than it. Where was it at?¡±


    Siren knelt down and picked up something that looked like a necklace made of a blue string with a sapphire rose adorning it. He examined it for a moment, ¡°Looks like a tier four artifact, water affinity, I think he ate it.¡±


    Luke remembered the ice expanding from the elemental lord''s stomach. That was clever. He had assumed that it had possessed a massive essence reserve, though an artifact would have put its essence at around the same level as Luke¡¯s, if not slightly lower.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s mine,¡± Luke complained as Siren pocketed the artifact.


    The other man raised an eyebrow, ¡°Why should I trust you with it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m careful,¡± Luke lied.


    ¡°Hand me the spare weapon capsule in exchange, then,¡± Siren said.


    Luke reached into his pocket and felt for the capsule. Hadrid had created an alchemical bomb that would be super effective on the metal elemental lord. All he felt was ice. Confused he looked down only to see that the bottom half of his jacket on that side had been sliced off. The capsule was at the bottom of the lake. He gave Siren a helpless smile, at least it was the spare.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought, now let¡¯s get back to Frank before he decides to row away,¡± Siren pointed to a boat a few hundred feet away.


    Luke felt like a toddler asking to get held when Siren grabbed him by his forearm and wrenched him out of the ice. They had to swim, which Luke also had to ask for help with. He did not have a protein shake to heal his body quickly.


    When they got to the boat Siren sat down. The boatman looked down at Luke, ¡°You sure he has ten silver parces to his name?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that if you flip him upside down and shake hard enough, some money will fall out,¡± Siren answered.

 122. A Surprise Beating

    ¡°Thump-thump,¡±


    Was all he heard for what felt like years. It took a long time for Tristan to realize that the noise was odd. He should not be hearing anything right now. Slowly, he opened his eyes, it was pitch black above, but he could feel something below him. It was painful like he was lying on a broken piece of furniture that happened to be made of metal.


    ¡°Thump-thump,¡±


    Tristan flinched at the sound as memories came back. A hand crisscrossed with glowing red lines sank through his reinforced body like it was no more than water. Then falling. How was he alive, he could only feel coldness in his chest, no pain, though he assumed getting a heart removed should be pretty painless. At least the aftermath should be, the actual removal had been so shocking the pain had not registered over his panic.


    Slowly he moved his arm. The appendage was heavy like it did not want to move. Tristan did not care, he moved it anyway. Trembling he reached toward the injury. His hand passed the point where it should have touched skin, he felt bone and jerked away.


    Tristan struggled to move his head, however lifting it proved to be too difficult of a task. He tried to make a metal construct in the shape of a flat bar to leverage his head up, however, a sharp pain caused him to stop. Looking around, Tristan realized he was indeed lying on a pile of broken furniture. It was too dark to see the desks, but his metal sense let him know he was currently at the bottom of the tower.


    It also let him know that there was a chair leg right next to his hand. Evidently, he had landed on, and destroyed, an old piece of furniture. If he had not been using his entire reinforcement, the chair might have killed him. Though landing on a chair had to be less lethal than getting his heart stolen. Despite the situation, Tristan chuckled. Dad jokes were always great.


    He frowned at the thought, he was not a dad. Dad jokes were stupid. For some reason, he felt judged for that thought. The slight chuckle hurt, refocusing him on his task. He grabbed the metal chair leg and used it to pry his head up and get a look at his upper torso. Then he remembered, he could not see anything. This effort had been pointless.


    Tristan was glad Luke was not around, his friend would have made fun of him for not using his metal sense to inspect his kern. The result was shocking. A lattice of image alloy was making a mold for a construct. A construct that had perfectly copied his kern all the way down to the beating heart. It was consuming essence as fast as he regenerated it, but aside from the damaged muscle, it was keeping his body together. His exposed metal heart was guarded by a net of metal veins and bones as it beat within his chest. The organs that normally would have been displaced were held in place by the circulatory system and its omnipresent blood. It was the reason why it was hard to move anything, his whole kern was now mimicking a flexible alloy.


    It was flexible in the same way a spring was flexible. Any movement was resisted until he allowed it to return to its original position. He was also not recovering at all. No healing was occurring, just the maintaining of life and he would not recover essence until he found a way to fix this. It gave him time, though he was not sure how much.


    He started moving different muscles and quickly confirmed that so long as the muscles were attached, he could muscle through the tension of his kern. Tristan experimented with his leg first, as he would not immediately die if his leg broke the solidified kern. It was difficult and he was sure that it limited his strength while using it to around tier one. Pretty good for having a fist sized chest wound.


    Slowly, Tristan pushed himself up. His left arm was mostly useless, sticking out at an odd angle. He could still feel it, but many of the muscles that he would normally use to move it were located in his chest and back. Repeatedly, he pulsed his metal sense to make sure he did not trip and fall. Fortunately, everything down here was made of metal.


    Something was being done above his head, metal was being moved and inserted into the walls of the pit. It reminded Tristan of a hive with tunnels going into the earth. He could not feel people or elementals inside, though he would not feel them unless they had metal essence. If Ajax was planning on staying here, this pit would be almost impossible to assault. Normally an enemy force could just siege the exit, but elementals did not eat sleep, or breathe. Even if someone decided to fill the hole, the elementals could still force their way out.


    Tristan grimaced, this was not an ideal situation. He would need to climb out with the effective skills of a one armed tier one while being trapped in the enemy¡¯s center of power. Slowly, he made his way over the discarded debris and under the crack, the elemental lord had torn his way through. Once below he looked up, the stray sky above blended with the metal, creating an illusion that there were only a handful of stars left in the sky.


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    The roof was about forty feet above his head, well beyond his current reach. He considered whether or not he could build a ladder out of all this scrap metal. As he inspected it, he realized it was possible if he staggered the desktops and their supports. Unfortunately, it would also be extremely unstable, he did not think it would even stand on its own.


    Turning he panned his metal sense over the whole room again. This time his mental perception caught on something he had overlooked. There was a patch of dense metal essence floating inside a cavity inside the wall. He had mistaken it for a solid wall, as the metal essence was thicker than anything he had ever seen.


    This was about twenty feet up inside the wall. Fortunately, this one would be easier to climb. There was a railing running straight up, if the fortress was horizontal like it was meant to be, then the railing would be at about hip height. Still tier one would be enough to climb it, even one handed. Fortunately, he had his right hand had been frozen in a fist, so clamping it around the metal bar would be quite easy.


    Placing both boots against the wall, Tristan started climbing. It was slow and for the first time, he hoped this artifact was of a useable tier. If it was tier four, it would be useful for a shorter duration as he climbed through the tiers, but at least he could use it. If it was five or higher right now, he was not sure what he could do. There was no way for him to break his kern and advance without killing himself.


    He painfully climbed over the ledge and rolled onto his back. That short climb had been exhausting. His heavy breathing led him to another discovery, his kern refilled faster while inside this metal essence fog. Tristan would still not risk using it, even if the kern was full. There was simply no way to predict how using essence would affect his false heart.


    After around ten minutes, Tristan felt ready to go find the artifact in question. The air was surprisingly clear despite the aura being given off. He had expected a haze or fog, then with a start, he realized he was able to see. Looking back into the main chamber, he found a beam of moonlight entering through the hole. Tristan knew that the meager light would not last long as the moon moved through the sky.


    He hurried into the tunnel, the metal essence getting denser as he went. The area before him felt solid, no different from the surrounding metal, but to his eyes the space was empty. Tristan was starting to get worried, back when he tried to measure Ajax¡¯s abilities, he had believed that the majority of the metal essence was from the elemental. Now he was reconsidering, there was more metal essence in this room than he had ever felt. While it did not hold a candle to the Steel Saint¡¯s essence, it still dwarfed Tristans many times over.


    He took another step forward before he lost the advantage of the moonlight. The air resisted, not like metal, but like water and his essence recovery rose again. He slogged into a room with a dozen partitions with some kind of pot in them, pipes ran along the wall from the pots. The essence was emanating from the last section. Halfway through, the light faded, and he had to return to using his metal sense. It did not help, it told him that he was currently trapped within a coffin of solid steel.


    It was good to know that his senses could be fooled. However the fact that an ownerless artifact could do that did not bode well for the chances Tristan could use it. Placing a hand on the wall, he stumbled his way to the back of the odd room. The difficulty was more psychological than any physical difficulty. If he turned his metal sense off, he felt blind, if it was on he felt claustrophobic. Neither helped, as he was still surprised.


    ¡°Hello young man, how are you this fine evening,¡± A voice said.


    Tristan panicked, now he knew he was both claustrophobic and blind. It was as if he was underwater and a large beast he could not see was circling him. He was too hurt to react and too blind to run.


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to stall you,¡± the voice paused as if expecting an answer. A sigh followed shortly after, ¡°No one gets my humor. Heartless jerk.¡±


    Tristan realized that the voice was speaking directly into his head, however, he was not proficient enough in mental conversations to talk back, so he spoke aloud, ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want to make a deal, I give you some power, and at some point in your life, you take me home,¡± the voice said.


    Power sounded nice, but any being that could generate an essence field this dense had to either be desperate or the task was not as simple as it sounded. Tristan strongly doubted that home was as simple as finding the right homestead in the Caldera. Maybe he would have to go visit the hostile nation. Fighting his way through a foreign land was not a deal he could make good on.


    ¡°Where is your home?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°City of Wonders, the great citadel Sumendi of the Numitor empire!¡± The person said cheerily.


    ¡°That does not help, what is an empire?¡± Tristan asked. He only knew of two nation types, a Caldera and a Kingdom. The latter was only because of Conni¡¯s story.


    ¡°You really are a hillbilly. Mountain Billy, I guess. Anyway, it''s on a different plane which is why I need your help,¡± the voice said.


    Tristan had started to lean more toward the belief that other planes existed, but to have it confirmed was still a big deal. Still, it did not change his circumstances, he needed to survive, and if surviving took him to another world, all the better.


    ¡°I admit that exploring a different word is an intriguing idea, what kind of power are you offering to make it worth leaving my friends and family behind,¡± Tristan did not care about leaving Shadow Fist, Forest, and Helen behind, but if he could use them to get more stuff from this entity he would do it.


    ¡°ME!¡± The voice said happily, ¡°Behold the glory that is Vulcan Numitor!¡±


    A flame lit up the darkness, and inside the final partition sat a black lamppost topped with a lamp burning with an unconfined flame.

 123. Talking Lamp Post

    Tristan looked around the back of the room for whoever had lit the lamp. His metal sense still told him he was in a solid block of metal, but his eyes could not see anything more dense than dust particles floating through the air. In the back of this partitioned off area was another knee high pot.


    Just because he could not see the person, did not mean that they weren¡¯t there. Dark elementals and those with high enough dark kerns could go invisible in shadow. The fire got rid of most of the cubical¡¯s shadows, and all the ones present were not persistent at all.


    The flame contained at the top of the lamp turned blue, ¡°I see, so you¡¯re not impressed.¡±


    Tristan wished he could hear the voice with his ears, then he would be able to pinpoint its location. This telepathic stuff was annoying, ¡°Where are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m right here, can¡¯t you see me?¡± The person said, ¡°I¡¯m the artifact, I lit on fire and everything. I don¡¯t have eyes, but even I could see a flame in a pitch black pit.¡±


    Tristan stared at the lamppost before him. Sure, a talking artifact, why not? The grand elder had stuffed himself inside one, so why not someone else? At least the grand elder¡¯s artifact, the Abyssal Chalice was mysterious with black smoke floating out of it and always filled with a liquid that gave off a supernatural chill. This lamppost was just a four-foot rod of metal planted into the ground with a bulbous glass container set into a metal cage. The fire within ignored the glass flickering through it like it was an illusion. It was very mundane for what was probably a national treasure.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan nodded, ¡°I can see you, though, it''s not every day that I meet a talking artifact.¡±


    He took a step back. The last thing he wanted was for whatever mind inside to decide he had one too many lungs. He only had one left after all, and he was attached to it. Tristan was also sure that this weird template or copy force he had would not stop him from dying again.


    ¡°How can I be sure you won¡¯t try to kill me,¡± Tristan said, ¡°My experience with this kind of thing is less than positive at best.¡±


    ¡°I promise I will not try to hurt or kill you,¡± The lamp declared.


    ¡°How can I take your word, I don¡¯t know or trust you,¡± Tristan said incredulously.


    ¡°That was hurtful. I¡¯m a soul tool, not much different from an elemental, but I was made with achieving a goal in mind, rather than fixing a regret,¡± The lamp said, ¡°My creator''s goal was to get back to his children and provide a means for their protection. To facilitate that I have been given a template of his mind and memories.¡±


    Tristan had never considered that there could be a pattern to how artifacts were created. They seemed random and largely dependent on what a person had done with their life up to that point. Just like creating an elemental, it required the death of the person. It would make sense if tier six was a requirement to make one of these, it also was an artifact with no tier restrictions. The Abyssal Chalice could be used by a tier zero, so long as the requisite essence was added beforehand.


    ¡°Are you tier six?¡± Tristan tentatively asked, he really hoped it was higher. If it was even a single tier higher, it would have a chance of harming Ajax. If it was three higher it could kill him.


    ¡°Rude. If you¡¯re going to ask about someone¡¯s tier it''s always best to guess high, to show you have a high evaluation of them, ¡°The lamp said.


    ¡°So then you are higher,¡± Tristan said getting excited, he took the advice and asked, ¡°Are you tier nine?¡±


    ¡°Hill Billy¡¯s,¡± the lamppost muttered, ¡°No, I¡¯m not tier nine.¡±


    ¡°So are you higher or lower?¡± Tristan asked.


    The lamp practically vibrated in exasperation, ¡°Just grab me and I¡¯ll show you.¡±


    Preservation warred with greed as Tristan gazed at the lamp. Most people would back away from the slightly unstable artifact, however, Tristan had long ago thrown caution away. You don¡¯t fight a civil protector in a pit if survival is your ultimate goal.


    Tristan grabbed the lamp by the bar and pulled up. He almost fell over. Despite being relatively normal sized for a mace, the lamp was ridiculously heavy. Once he had it in a manageable position leaning against the back wall, he caught his breath. How would he use this artifact, even when he was healed, it would be much too heavy for him to use.


    When he looked back up, he was no longer in the cave. Well, he was, but it was rotated ninety degrees, so the interior of the pots was pointing up and the partitions were no longer hanging above his head. There was a sink mounted to the wall with a mirror above it. The room was so alien that he was not sure what to make of it.


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    ¡°So what do you think of the Numitor Flying Fortress?¡± The lamp said from behind Tristan.


    He whirled to find a big man standing behind him. He had sapphire eyes, a main of blue flame for hair, and dark skin that only enhanced the effect of the colors. He wore gold armor with blue accents, it was overdesigned and if Tristan hadn¡¯t felt the aura of high tier artifacts radiating off of them he would have called it gaudy. A massive sword that could have doubled as a shield was shoved into the metal plating of the tower like it was soft soil. It was also over decorated, but Tristan had to assume it weighed around two hundred pounds, so it wouldn¡¯t even need an edge to be devastating.


    Tristan asked the first question that came to mind, ¡°What are the pots on the wall, is this an alchemy lab?¡±


    The lamp man burst into laughter, his hair turning yellow along with his eyes as he doubled over. Tristan tried to figure out what was so funny, but he currently had a book on biological alchemy, and it would be nice if he could concoct or transfer a new heart. The old fortress of hero-level warriors, the very location the book was originally sourced from by Luke¡¯s father, should have good equipment.


    When the lamp man came up for air, his hair turned blue again, ¡°That¡¯s funny. This is a latrine.¡±


    ¡°You died while pooping?¡± Tristan said incredulously. He was skeptical of a man who would take a dump while gods and the Steel Saint were tearing into each other just outside.


    ¡°No! It''s just the most heavily armored location,¡± Lamp man denied, then with a somber expression, ¡°I was the only one who was able to survive the blast when Vent was killed. I did my best to shield them, but metal really is not good at stopping lightning.¡±


    The environment shifted, and the two of them were now standing in Ajax¡¯s prison. Only it had a massive window facing the mountain that would soon become the Caldera. Ghostly figures were arrayed before the window but behind the now empty desks. Tristan recognized the original Ajax, and beside him a woman looking at the viewport in trepidation. Several others were arraigned behind a transparent figure of the lamp man.


    ¡°I should have had them run,¡± Lamp man said, ¡°But I was excited, and I thought my uncle was better than he was. Even a newborn Saint can struggle with his lessers.¡±


    Below cyclones of water and glacier spears smashed into a single man. Green lightning lanced down from the sky and boiled the earth and water it struck. Tristan had thought that Furnace hit hard, but he was a martial artist, whereas the other two gods liked to bend nature itself. Something pulled on Tristan, not the whole fortress. Any loose metal was dragged at speed to the Steel Saint, it was torn from the earth and compressed between the man¡¯s hands.


    His skin was pure silver from all the blows he was taking. The Steel Saint stood immobile as thousands of tons of ice broke on his body. Parts were glowing red hot from the concentrated lightning being applied. He kept pulling in more metal and compressing it. Tristan could not tell for sure, but there was a lot of metal between the man''s palms. More than there was inside the fortress, yet the metallic ball never got any bigger.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Tristan asked.


    Lamp Man simply made a hold-on motion. The viewport lit up a blinding white before Lamp Man adjusted the view so Tristan could see what was happening. The ball of metal blew apart with enough force to ignite the air around it. It tore apart the water and dragged away the lightning. The now unshielded gods were momentarily defenseless. Ripple had her skull smashed at that moment. So fast that it appeared to be teleportation, the Steel Saint appeared and slashed Vent in half with a blade construct.


    Bisection was not instant death. In his last moments, the dying god decided to take the fortress down with it. A tidal wave of lightning smashed into the fortress. The transparent Lamp man made a tearing motion, ripping his fortress in half. In the next motion, he pulled his tower into the path of the lightning. He was trying to stop the civilians from dying.


    His skin went from black to silver as he tried to construct a shield to stop the certain death. The shield was melted, one second everyone was alive, and the next, just smoking bodies. They fell, the Steel Saint could have caught the falling fortress, but for some reason, he did not. It confused Tristan to find that the most powerful being he was aware of would treat his own nephew like this. Tristan was reminded of Shadow Fist and Forest, though scaled up.


    As this was a vision or a memory, Tristan could not feel the storm of electricity hit the falling spire. He could see the result, and it was messy. Lightning did horrible things to a body. Lamp man¡¯s skin blackened and bubbled while simultaneously turning cherry red. Tristan watched the barely living man stagger into the bathroom. He tried to make another tearing motion, most likely to rip his current room off the side of the fortress. The impact happened just before he was able to. A few seconds later a second object hit the but of the spire, driving it into the ground like a nail.


    ¡°So, yeah that¡¯s how strong I am, not quite enough. It''s never quite enough,¡° He mumbled the last part.


    ¡°So, Lamp man, I have seen this from the perspective of one of your passengers before, but it still confuses me. What was the purpose of this fallen nation?¡± Tristan asked. It was something he had wanted to know for a long time, and the more knowledge he found the less clear it became.


    ¡°Lamp man? My name is Vulcan Numitor, and no this was not a fallen nation. It was simply a military vessel designed to get to another plane the long way,¡± Vulcan shrugged, ¡°The other guys were a high tier cultist organization that worshiped those false gods. If I had to hazard a guess, then I would say that your current population is a mixture of cultist descendants and Imperial descendants.¡±


    ¡°That would explain all the overdecorated temples and the propaganda against silver demons,¡± Tristan sighed.


    ¡°To be fair, you have to realize, we are really good at hurting people. It should not come as a surprise that the most dangerous and least productive essence cultivators would be ostracized,¡± Vulcan said with a shrug, ¡°Now what do have to say about our deal? A ride home for a tool of untold power?¡±


    Tristan thought about it for a moment. There weren¡¯t any downsides, he had to get a sentient piece of metal home, but in return, he would get a guide, a powerful offensive weapon, and if his assumptions were true a crafting tool.


    ¡°So long as you don¡¯t expect me to drop you off right away, I can agree to that,¡± Tristan held out a hand.


    Vulcan shook it with a grin, ¡°You can¡¯t even attempt to go until you are tier six, so it might be a while.¡±

 124. Roping in Some Ghost Devils

    The vision shattered, leaving Tristan standing in the cave holding a lamppost. When he lifted it, it was substantially lighter, so much so that he almost whacked himself with the glass end. He used the light it generated to make his way back out to the main room.


    ¡°So what can you do?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°I can create fire and act as an extra storage of metal essence. I can also pop in and out of reality as needed,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Though I suppose you will need your kern to use any of those functions. Oh, and my greatest quality is my love of the arts!¡±


    For some reason, Tristan had trouble believing it. Though one part of that word slurry caught his attention, ¡°Pop in and out of reality? Like Conni¡¯s sword?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know a Conni, hope she¡¯s nice. Popping in and out of existence is not really accurate, artifacts like myself can move back and forth between the realm of primordial forces and the material realm,¡± Vulcan sent an image of himself shrugging over like it was no big deal.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡± Tristan remembered the crushing immensity of just the primordial force of alloy. He would be torn apart if he was thrown into that mess. The thing was, the primordial realm was filled with thousands of natural laws, most were more dangerous than alloy.


    ¡°For you sure, souls are immune to natural forces, though they work within their framework. As an entity made of essence wrapped in a soul, it is perfectly safe,¡± The shrug had turned into a man with two thumbs up.


    It would take Tristan a while to get used to someone beaming images into his head. How did Conni get ahold of what he assumed was a sentient weapon and why did it never talk? He supposed that it would only talk to its owner and if no one else could hear it, Conni would look crazy. The man already looked half crazy, so he supposed completing the image was not in his best interest.


    ¡°So you need essence to have any of your functions activate,¡± Another thumbs up, ¡°I don¡¯t have essence, making you useless right now?¡±


    ¡°That''s not fair!¡± Vulcan yelled, ¡°Did your parents pay you to be good?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no,¡±


    ¡°Then you were good for nothing. I will not be good for nothing,¡± Vulcan sent over an angry faced man that was scolding a child.


    Tristan was not sure how to take that. It almost sounded like the lessons economists were fond of giving. The Numitors sounded important, so maybe he was talking about the economy. Regardless, he needed to find a way out. The vent in the metal roof was about thirty feet away, but now that he could see with the help of the lamp, he could see that there was quite a bit of dirt inside now.


    Whatever was being done up above was slowly filling this room. He could wait for them to slowly fill the hole with excavated earth, or he could speed it up with the furniture scattered around. Every few half minutes or so another small amount of dirt was shoveled in. Tristan found it interesting that the Lord of the Underworld sought to fill the underworld with dirt. It was not as if it could be reused as a prison, though if he wanted to keep a noisy artifact quiet, burying it was a good way to go.


    Slowly he started moving furniture. His stamina was dramatically lower, reducing the work to a grueling crawl. Tristan had leaned the lamp against a corner, as he lacked the essence to resummon it if he dismissed it.


    Working quietly was paramount, but despite his best efforts, he still made noise. One of the desks made a screeching noise as he dragged it. Tristan winced and froze. Hopefully, none of the elementals filling the pit would comment on the noise. Unless they were elemental lords, they might not even register the noise. It was a hopeful thought.


    ¡°Did you hear that,¡± Someone from above asked.


    ¡°It was only a screech from Hell! Yes, I heard it,¡± Another gruff voice said, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure why that boy doesn¡¯t smother you with a pillow.¡±


    Tristan stopped halfway behind cover. He recognized both voices, the first one was Doil, there was no way Tristan would ever forget the very superstitious man. The second was a miner by the name of Jones, he had been part of Chase¡¯s mining crew before he eloped with Sun Set. They got along, despite them having completely different goals and methods.


    Jones wanted to save to buy a house before he got married. A real house, not a mud hovel with a thatch roof. Tristan wanted to cut his way through whatever got in his way. So yes, Jones was a better person.


    Tristan walked to the hole and looked straight up. It was still too dark to see well, but his eyes had adjusted enough to see the dark shapes of two men looking down. He had the flaming lamppost in his hand, so they could definitely see him.


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    ¡°Jones, Doil, how are you doing, can you help me out?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°It''s a Devil Ghost!¡± Doil squealed and dropped a shovel full of dirt on Tristan¡¯s upturned face.


    Jones had a much more reasonable response, ¡°How are you alive?¡±


    ¡°You know I¡¯m pretty hard to kill,¡± Tristan said with a shrug.


    The shadow pointed off to the side, ¡°Bro, your heart is over there. I could toss it to you if you wanted.¡±


    Tristan sighed, it would take too long to explain what the Alloy Force was and how he had broken his kern repeatedly. He went with a simplified truth, ¡°I got myself to tier three with the alchemist''s help, I made a construct heart to replace my old one, but its not good. Maintaining it drains essence as fast as I gather it. I¡¯m effectively tier zero again until I find something to heal me.¡±


    ¡°Did you know that tier three was the minimum tier for an engineer in my army? Sai was actually in charge of those guys,¡± Vulcan chipped in, ¡°You would not think that a bolt changer would work well with a dark kern.¡±


    Tristan ignored Vulcan. Answering him would only make Tristan look crazy. Both shadows whispered to each other for a few moments. Tristan was not sure what there was to discuss, just throw a rope down and pull him up. A rope was standard issue for miners, though he suspected the Lord of the Underworld cared little for the safety of his people.


    Finally, Jones said, ¡°Tell me something only Tristan would know?¡±


    Tristan frowned. He knew what Jones was trying to do, as elementals lacked memories of their original lives. If he had them then he was not a resurrected specter.


    ¡°I was attacked by a drug addict who wanted my wind tuber on the first day,¡± Tristan strained his memory, ¡°Carl was his name, I think.¡±


    Doil whispered, ¡°Is he a ghost?¡±


    ¡°Elementals and ghosts are different,¡± Jones hissed back, ¡°And yes it proves that he is not one.¡±


    Several minutes later a rope was tossed down, knots were tied at regular intervals. This left Tristan with another dilemma, he had wanted to keep Vulcan out, having a large flaming weapon on hand would be helpful. Unfortunately, he could not climb without his hands. One arm was useless so he would have to climb using his good arm.


    Sighing he asked Vulcan, ¡°So how do I dismiss you.¡±


    The lamp popped out of existence. One second it was there, the next it was gone. Tristan stared at the place where it had been in disbelief.


    ¡°All I had to say was go away,¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No, all you had to do was think go away. Now climb up that rope before they think you were talking to them.¡± Vulcan responded.


    Climbing was difficult with one hand though still easier than the railing. The knots allowed him to get a better purchase with his legs. When he got close to the top, Jones reached down and assisted him. The man was only tier zero, but his strength was on the high side for the tier, as he hauled Tristan out with only a light grunt. Every step up in tier had come with an increase in weight for Tristan, he was sure that he weighed between three hundred and three hundred fifty pounds.


    Tristan scrambled over the edge breathing heavily. His injury had exasperated his injured lung, though he supposed he should just be glad his trachea was intact. After all the trachea was part of the anima, so his kern would have little to no effect.


    When he had caught his breath Tristan nodded to Jones, ¡°Thanks, I don¡¯t know how I would have gotten out of there without you.¡±


    Jones took a half step back, ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t an elemental?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I am human still, by some miracle. Anyway, what are you two doing?¡±


    Doil was the one who answered, ¡°The forsaken elementals are making us dig their dwellings in the walls like some kind of hive.¡±


    ¡°This place is being constructed as some sort of capital. You can¡¯t see it from here, but the top is being expanded and two arches are being constructed that will meet right above our heads. I don¡¯t know the purpose of it, but I believe this will be used as the elemental¡¯s headquarters,¡± Jones supplied.


    Tristan frowned at an unsettling implication that they had made, ¡°You make it sound like there are more elemental lords.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Jones nodded, ¡°As far as we know there are six more, well five. One left and never came back, we don¡¯t know if he died or if turned traitor.¡±


    Tristan inspected the walls of the pit. It was still dark, but his eyes had long adjusted to the pitch blackness of the pit. Starlight alone was enough to make out the outline of a staircase that spiraled around the wall of the pit. It did not appear to be overhung, so the pit had been widened at the top to make way for the steps. Scaffolding was also visible, and masonry was being used to make the walls more presentable. The tunnels that Tristan could now sense were metal tubes with a room at the far end, which appeared like black holes in the wall.


    Shivering at the scale of it all, Tristan realized that when the time came he would be one of the people fighting to destroy this place. Those stairways would be a death trap, fighting elemental lords one at a time was suicide. It would be better to simply collapse this pit and kill the elementals as they dug themselves out.


    ¡°Well that just means I have a few more lords to put down,¡± Tristan said, ¡°So how do we get out of here?¡±


    ¡°That''s easy,¡± Jones said, ¡°The elementals make us work twelve hour shifts, so when the sun rises we can just walk out, we even still sleep in the same bunkhouses.¡±


    Doil scoffed, ¡°Those are glorified pig pens,¡± he turned to Tristan, ¡°Can you really kill Ajax?¡±


    Tristan pictured a confused face and sent it to Vulcan. He answered, ¡°Your guy¡¯s face looks constipated. Anyways, yes, I got killed by gravity, and I was stronger than the elemental lord by a good margin. All a tough nut requires is a different hammer.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tristan said with all the confidence he could muster, ¡°I might not be able to, but I am also not going to try alone. On a more pressing topic, how will I sneak past the elementals?¡°


    ¡°Why would you have to?¡± Jones shrugged, ¡°You''re dead and unless Ajax himself sees you, everything will be fine.¡±


    It did not take long for twilight to arrive. The sky lightened slowly at first then seemingly all at once as the sun crested the edge of the Caldera. Jones and Doil set their shovels down and started for the stairs. Tristan hoped that his possessions were still in the bunkhouse.


    He started to follow them when Vulcan yelled in his brain, ¡°Wait, Stop! Are you just going to leave your heart down here?¡±

 125. I’m not a Necromancer!

    Tristan almost tripped at the shouting focused directly on his mind. It was like someone yelling in his ear, but instead of ringing it made Tristan dizzy. He took a deep breath to center himself. Yelling at the stupid lamppost would only make him look crazy.


    ¡°I thought you were an alchemist, how can you abandon a preserved heart?¡± Vulcan asked.


    Tristan mentally sent back, ¡°Why want I a heart!¡±


    ¡°Anger will make your grammar worse,¡± Vulcan commented, ¡°Can you actually do alchemy, have you done any experiments, or taken any lessons?¡±


    ¡°I read a few books and was experimented on. Why do I want the heart, can I put it back?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Maybe? It has not happened before. In the Numitor Empire, it was not uncommon for an alchemist to cut off an arm to separate it from their soul, augment it, and reattach it. It was risky, as they needed to do it before any essence dissonance occurred, you have the chance to do the same thing with the organ responsible for gathering essence and distributing it through the body,¡± Vulcan said.


    There were a few terms in there that Tristan was unfamiliar with. He had assumed that it was possible to use biological alchemy on himself, but had never got around to trying. Mostly because he rightly assumed that the results would be permanent. Even if the experiment was successful, he would still need healing, so he lost nothing. Best of all he did not need to meld his mind with another elemental to do this. There was only one massive issue.


    ¡°I need essence for that, and this construct is taking it as fast as I can recover it,¡± Tristan sighed, his hope dying. He still trudged over to the frozen heart and picked it up.


    It was burned on one side, and bruised from where it had struck the ground. He tried to brush some of the dirt clinging to it off. No way could this be used again. Still, he kept it, he could experiment with it later.


    ¡°You have loads of essence if you ask nicely,¡± Vulcan bragged, ¡°I am a storage of essence that''s a third full.¡±


    ¡°How much could that possibly be,¡± Tristan scoffed.


    ¡°Three times what Lotu has at his peak,¡± Vulcan paused, ¡°Lotu is what I call the Lord of the Underworld.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s eyes widened. What was Vulcan before he died if he could casually mock a tier nine? Ajax could subdue the caldera alone, Vulcan might be able to simply wipe it off the map. This did give him hope, that he would make this work, he followed Jones and Doil out of the mine.


    It was quite a long walk. The stairway winding around the side looped four times, before finally ending at the top of the pit. Tristan knew in his head that it was less than a tenth of a mile in total, but his legs still burned as climbing what amounted to thirty stories worth of stairs was more than he was used to.


    The mine entrance along one wall was still there, but the hole to the surface had been widened. In each of the cardinal directions, an arch was being built. It looked like they would meet in the middle. Maybe Ajax wanted to put a roof over it, it would be useful to keep rain out. Two elementals were guarding the only entrance in or out.


    One was a light elemental though this one was a more subdued white, lacking the vibrant rainbow of colors that was normal. The other one was an air elemental, both appeared weak, around tier two. If Tristan was not injured he could handle them both. Now, however, he meekly slunk between the two skeletons.


    Fortunately, the dead creatures lacked the computation abilities to wonder why two people went down and three went up. Most likely not a task that was deemed necessary. Doil used a flint and steel to light a torch before walking into the mine.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t they let us go out to the surface to walk back, it would be faster,¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, they¡¯re clearing the dirt away for some reason, I don¡¯t think knowing makes much of a difference to us,¡± Jones answered.


    Tristan was not sure about that. If they were building ramparts and battlements, then knowing about them ahead of time would be a big deal. The only reason it would not matter would be if someone had no intention of fighting the elementals. Something that was fair in Jone¡¯s case as he would not be able to even stall the weakest elemental lord.


    Another two miles of walking brought them out into the base camp. There was a big difference. The house Conni and Grace had lived in was gone, and so were the training fields and all the equipment that was there. It was just an empty dirt lot with a stairway leading down from where Conni¡¯s home used to be.


    The bunkhouses were still there, and they were full. All the crafters that had been conscripted to help dig had been forced into the mud brick structures. Currently, they were mostly empty, as the day crew was currently out doing work for the elemental lords. Tristan sighed, it was depressing that the fall of the caldera might just be caused by him jumping off a cliff with Regis.


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    Stepping into the bunkhouse, he saw that every bed had been claimed. Bags of equipment sat on the mattresses, mostly smithing tools that had been salvaged from when Regis had burned his way through the tent city. His eyes were drawn to a bag sitting by the door. It was a simple metal bag with two leather straps.


    Tristan smiled as he walked over and picked up the bag, ¡°You guys saved this for me?¡±


    ¡°No, we thought you were dead, remember,¡± Doil said, ¡°No one was willing to touch it because everyone knows you¡¯re a necromancer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a necromancer!¡± Tristan exclaimed.


    ¡°You have a skull in that bag,¡± Jones said in a deadpan voice.


    Tristan frowned, but he could not deny it. At first glance, he did have what looked like a dead human skull in his backpack. He also did rot out half of Doil¡¯s tent, so he could see how it appeared that he was dabbling in necromancy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget you also have conversations with dead people,¡± Vulcan laughed, the image he sent was a skeleton and Tristan as drinking buddies.


    Tristan sighed, ¡°It''s a mythical beast skull that I found. Now where is a safe place that I can go and experiment on this heart?¡±


    Both of the men nodded slowly as Vulcan laughed, ¡°Man, your people skills suck.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll just go to bed now,¡± Doil said, ¡°If I die don¡¯t bring me back.¡±


    Tristan sighed again. He was doing that far too often nowadays, he wondered if stress would be bad for his metal heart too. Turning he walked out. He had places to go, primarily he needed to go visit an alchemist. If anyone could heal him it would be Hadrid, but also Hadrid would be able to help him understand some of what Vulcan said and put it into practice. He was glad he had allowed permission for experimentation on himself.


    He grabbed some water and started out. It was a few days'' walk at tier zero, so at effectively tier one he expected it to be a one and a half day trek. He was wrong, while his strength was around tier one, his stamina was less than that. After every few hours, he would have to stop and take a break to let himself recover.


    It was on one of these breaks that a scout found him. A light elemental might sound like a terrible scout, but this particular one was adept in camouflage, using its light ability to mimic the colors around it. Because of this and its inability to make natural noise, such as breathing, it was almost on top of Tristan before he could respond.


    The only reason Tristan survived, was that the elemental appeared before him and gestured for him to start moving back towards the mine. Did it think he was lost? He hoped so, as he could not take it in a fair fight. He was not sure what tier it was either, but as the bulk of all elementals were tier one and it was patrolling an unimportant stretch of wilderness, he guessed it was on the lower end.


    ¡°Thank you, can you lead the way, I am quite lost,¡± Tristan said.


    The elemental made another gesture, evidently, it was not dumb enough to let him walk behind it. So he did the only thing he could think of. He threw a rock at it and ran. The rock hit it square in the chest, knocking it over, and causing it to fall to the snow, giving Tristan a head start.


    ¡°You can¡¯t outrun the soul revenant, they don¡¯t get tired,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Even the weakest one has more stamina than the strongest men.¡±


    Tristan ran through the forest bending branches and jumping rocks as he went, ¡°Wait that¡¯s what a Soul revenant is?¡±


    That was frustrating, all his time trying to figure out what those were. He would not even be in this mess currently if he had known. The book described the process of how to use a soul core and how to process one. If he had known he would have processed that tier one earth elemental and never had his mind invaded. He would have been properly armed and armored before Regis had shown up and the elemental lords would have never been released.


    Tristan could hear the light elemental closing in. The snow did not slow down the animated kern, and while Tristan had better control over his body, the elemental was not hampered by needing oxygen. Tristan came to a small ravine that was about ten feet deep and five feet wide, what appeared to be a logging operation was set up on the opposite side. The camp was empty and the snow had no footprints, so no one had been here in the last few days.


    Five feet was a short jump, and he made it easily. He staggered a few steps forward and whipped his bag around behind himself. The elemental was caught midair, the metal skull and three metal binders more than enough to screw up its landing. Its glowing feet hit the far side, but its body was overbalanced and fell into the rift.


    Turning back to the logging cabin he kept running. Tristan held no illusions that the fall would even hurt the elemental, but it would give him time to find a weapon. The elementals were very studious when it came to disarming the population, so he was currently unharmed. An empty logging camp might have a weapon, or a wood axe at the very least.


    The loggers had a rudimentary setup, a long dirt shoot for sending logs down, and for dumping elementals in, a small cabin, and an empty field with stripped tree trunks and large rounds serving as chopping blocks. There was also a stable, but no weapons. Tristan ran up to the cabin door and tried to pull it open. It was barred from the inside.


    That meant someone was inside, or there was a second entrance. He ran around back hoping to find another door, finding another locked one. This one was locked, not barred. Taking a few steps back he prepared to ram the door open.


    The sound of crunching snow caught his attention. Tristan spun to see the elemental lunging at him, he was standing on a small porch with railings and there was nowhere to dodge. So he braced himself and prepared for impact.


    The elemental bounced off. Tristan blinked in surprise, the elemental looked up in shock. He was tier three and this thing was tier one. Tristan had estimated his strength to be around tier one, but that was only when working against the metal circulatory system he had. His durability was probably higher due to that, and while working with the metal, he might actually possess more strength.


    Reaching down Tristan gripped the elemental¡¯s ribs in one hand and squeezed. Slowly the bone cracked before giving out completely. The elemental beat him uselessly with its fists as he ripped its heart out.

 126. A Lighthearted Conversation

    Tristan looked at the glowing heart, a grin plastered across his face, ¡°I can do so much with this.¡±


    ¡°That is a relatively weak variant, though, with my essence, the core created should not be too bad,¡± Vulcan muttered.


    As they were alone Tristan opted to speak aloud, ¡°What do you mean, does it matter whose essence is used?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the process of mixing the heart with another essence will create an essence core that averages out the tiers of essence used, that''s why you never see peasants running around with tier ten weapons. A core of a low enough grade for them to use will end up with a tier too high to sustain,¡± Vulcan said.


    That actually made sense, but Tristan still wanted to verify, ¡°Back when I was tier zero, I purchased a pair of knives made with these cores. They were super useful but held the essence of a tier five kern. I was able to use them because it was a tier one essence core with tier five essence volume.¡±


    ¡°Yes, back in the Numitor empire we had a metric we used to measure essence quantity, tier zero got one hundred, and it went up by fifty percent every tier. If the essence draw of a weapon exceeds the maximum capacity by too much the owner will die, so it was illegal to sell an artifact of three tiers higher to anyone. Your knives had an essence draw of around eight hundred, they must have been mostly passive or it would have killed you,¡± Vulcan said.


    Well if he was running around with tier five knives, that explained why they were so ridiculous and why nothing could really stop them. He would love to get those back. He wondered how good they would be now that he was within the three tier minimum that Vulcan used.


    ¡°How high would this be if we mixed your essence with it?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Around tier eight,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°You would have to turn it into a simple storage device, and it would be unwise to touch it until tier five.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Tristan worked back the simple average equation and got a truly monstrous number.


    Tier fifteen did exist, and he had one talking to him right now. No, he had one who had offered to push him to tier six so he could go home. The frustration of having a mental parasite was washed away, this relationship was unbalanced in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Well then, I know an alchemist who has made at least tier five essence cores, we¡¯ll have him take a look at it,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Though on second thought, how did he make a tier five core while also being in tier five.¡±


    ¡°I assume he converted multiple cores at the same time, if you have two hearts and process them in the same container they will take the shape of the container,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Though it is quite the waste of potential, as two tier one essence cores will make only one tier two essence core.¡±


    That was a loss, two tier ones should make a tier three if they were simply added. It also was not as if these were easy to harvest as one could never get one without a revenant being harvested. Tristan was not willing to harvest people like the Lord of the Underworld did just to get at their revenants.


    Tristan set off towards Hadrid¡¯s labs. Over the next two days, he realized how lucky he had been. More and more elementals appeared, each looking for something. Most were so noisy that they were easy to avoid. One time a sickly fire elemental saw Tristan, but ignored him. That light elemental might not have been a patrol. Was there something in the forest that they needed?


    He would have to come back to find out later. That tier one fire elemental looked weak, but that was probably due to the snowfall, and while he could defeat that one, the last four he had seen could hear and wipe him out. So as long as they left him alone, he would leave them alone.


    It was nearing noon on the third day when he reached Alchehall, he chose to go around the lake instead of taking a ferry, the last thing he needed was to find out that his heart could rust. That day also brought with it a new issue. His ability would not keep him alive forever, an infection was starting to set in. It was slow, as it could not enter the bloodstream, but it would kill him if it was left unattended.


    So it was with a big feeling of relief that he entered Alchehall. It was a different city, a wall had sprung up around it though the guards at the top were very inconsistent. Despite the lack of dedication that the town of criminals showed to public safety, the people on the top of the walls were armed well. At the gate the man had a quiver full of artifact arrows between tiers one and three, the essence cores were easily visible, as they had been mounted as arrowheads.


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    The guard simply nodded as Tristan walked through the gate. He knew that all the criminal citizens had standing orders to allow anyone who had been here before. Still, having fifty people remember someone who had only been here a few times was impressive. Especially as he looked quite different.


    Regis had burned all the hair off his body, and the fall had given him several bruises. The metal kern being a solid now gave him silver veins running through the whites of his eyes. Only his golden irises were unchanged, though that might have been enough. Not many people had metallic eyes, as far as he knew it was just Hadrid and himself.


    Ignoring the populace, one he now realized was armed with the souls of hundreds of people. Tristan marched up to the castle. Had Hadrid killed enough people to build that many cores? The man had no morals, but he took evil to a whole new level if he was arming criminals with his victim''s souls. Still, he needed help, so he kept going.


    He walked up to the gate of the box shaped castle and pounded his fist on the door. The golize looked up from where they were napping on the front lawn, but nothing else happened. Tristan knew that Hadrid was inside, the man never left, so he continued banging on the door. Eventually, he made the occupants angry enough to answer.


    Tristan could hear the angry stomping through the thick double doors, and was greeted by the angry visage of Ruth when she opened the door, ¡°What do you want!¡±


    ¡°I want to do some alchemy, where¡¯s Hadrid?¡± Tristan answered.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just barge in here and demand anything,¡± Ruth scolded. She tried to slam the door, but Tristan stopped her with his foot.


    ¡°Your boss agreed to teach me, now I¡¯m here to learn,¡± Tristan said with a forced smile, ¡°You¡¯re not going to make Hadrid a liar are you?¡±


    Ruth looked conflicted, but eventually, she sighed and stepped aside, ¡°Fine, he¡¯ll decide, but if you¡¯re incorrect I going to beat you black and blue.¡±


    Tristan was sure that she would follow through on that threat. He was also sure that he would not survive the ordeal in his current condition. Stepping into the storage and tool shed floor of the castle, Tristan realized that all the tools had been replaced with tier four weapons. It appeared that Hadrid was capitalizing off the crab infestation and the war between Elder Forest and Elder River.


    They went downstairs into the underground lab and entered another room. Tristan had only been in the main workshop up to this point, but now Ruth turned left through one of the side doors. He paused at the doorway and inspected the interior, wary of some kind of trap or hazard. It was a simple room with a desk in one corner with cabinets overhead and a large square object that appeared to be a table with a glass dome over the top. A black sheet of metal with some paper clipped to it hung in the perfect position to take notes.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Hadrid, your apprentice is here,¡± Ruth said.


    The alchemist did not respond for several long moments. He made some notations and crossed out a few lines of text, before turning to Tristan, ¡°What apprentice? Oh, yeah, you. What do you want.¡±


    ¡°I want to make a deal,¡± Tristan said setting his bag down on the floor, ¡°I want to do something that no alchemist has ever done or ever will do again.¡±


    As he reached into his bag and removed the frozen heart he sent a message to Vulcan, ¡°I will need help letting this guy know what to do, but if if anyone can do it, he can.¡±


    ¡°Sure, though my knowledge of alchemy is limited to what colleges deem mandatory education, and the easiest ways to circumvent the soul to disable an alchemical beast,¡± Vulcan cautioned.


    Tristan felt that there were some things there that he would address later, but for now, he took the yes for what it was and pulled out his heart. If anyone in the caldera would be able to fix him it would be Hadrid.


    ¡°What do you want me to do with that?¡± Hadrid asked. He was watching his words closely, Tristan had taken advantage of him for his bad choice of words too many times for him to be comfortable.


    Tristan pulled his jacket aside, exposing the hole there, ¡°This is actually my heart, I managed to alloy with something that saved me, but I would like to use this opportunity to see if it is possible to improve a heart.¡±


    Hadrid¡¯s eyes widened, curiosity clearly evident, ¡°What do I get it of it?¡±


    He would probably do the experiment out of pure curiosity, however, Tristan would not have any control over the man. As he could not physically stop him even when he had full power, he would need another leverage, ¡°How about a tier eight soul core, I can¡¯t use it as the essence draw is far too high, I don¡¯t know if you will even be able to use it, but its value should be very high.¡±


    ¡°You have a tier eight essence core?¡± Hadrid said with his eyes wide.


    ¡°Not on me, I could not risk the essence draw while this construct is keeping me alive,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Once I am no longer one bad decision away from dying we can go get it.¡±


    ¡°Little troll, you have yourself a deal,¡± Hadrid grinned.


    He went to the table and lifted the glass dome, revealing a clutch of eggs. Tristan assumed they were Golize eggs, though it was possible that the goat, lizard, dog hybrids had live young and this was some other species. After wiping down the surface with some alcohol and a rag, he took Tristan¡¯s heart and placed it on the table.


    ¡°So what is this machine?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°A focus, have you read the book on biological tampering?¡± Hadrid asked.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Yes, though I must admit my comprehension was low.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, Trolls are known for their low intellect,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°This focus allows me to sort through the inputs I get from infusing essence into my environment. With enough time, I can sort the uses and tasks each different part of the body has. Most of it is far too small to see, so I need some assistance to find and affect only the desired area, and then apply to all matching processes. It is unwieldy, but it is also the only way to effect a developed organism, as going one piece at a time would take thousands of years.¡±


    Tristan nodded and went to Vulcan, ¡°Could you translate that.¡±


    ¡°Your body is made of cells which are given instructions by genes. Genes are made of even smaller bits of information locked in spirals called Living Libraries, these living libraries are transcribed by small bits of information that work like scribes. There are hundreds of these scribes per library, hundreds of libraries per cell, and millions of cells in that heart alone. This alchemist needs to change them all, or the heart will kill itself,¡± Vulcan said. Tristan was sure the lamp had dumbed down his terminology halfway through, but this still seemed to be a massive undertaking.

 127. Growth Minded

    ¡°What you want is the force of growth, it is the half of your healing force that you are missing,¡± Vulcan said.


    Tristan relayed that to Hadrid, who nodded, ¡°It''s a cheap force to get a hold of, basically every plant bleeds growth. However, it will cause cancerous growths, as the tissue expands beyond the borders of what is natural.¡±


    ¡°I know, it''s missing the the architect force, but I have already alloyed with that one, it¡¯s the only reason I¡¯m still alive,¡± Tristan said.


    Vulcan had explained that the force Tristan had gotten his hands on was more of an imaging force and that it had utility far beyond healing. It was mainly used by architects and engineers to test their inventions out. Many crafters would use it to give items or materials self repair qualities, and the only downside was that it was extremely rare in nature. It was actually pretty useless for healing unless it was coupled with growth.


    ¡°So how does this process work?¡± Tristan asked.


    Hadrid inspected him for a moment, ¡°I don¡¯t really know why it works, though I do have a theory. The body is made of essence and the soul dictates what forces are used. I believe that this process creates a dependency on a certain force and a draw from the primordial realm is established to fill that new dependency.¡±


    Vulcan sent over a picture of a man face palming, ¡°No you fool, that''s how you kill people. You can¡¯t just create a dependency and expect it to work out. He¡¯s on drugs I bet.¡±


    Tristan looked from the heart in the glass container to Hadrid and asked, ¡°It sounds like you use trial and error until you get a result you like?¡±


    Hadrid nodded proudly, ¡°Of course, though don¡¯t be too worried, I have millions of chances to get this right.¡±


    ¡°All he needs to do is influence the scribes with the force of growth and leave everything else alone. No need to touch the mitochondria for a heart,¡± Vulcan explained.


    Tristan relayed that to the alchemist, who simply nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t talk down to me, I know what I¡¯m doing. When you reach tier four you¡¯ll realize how hard this is.¡±


    ¡°How long do you expect it to take?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Impatient much,¡± Hadrid¡¯s eyes flicked down to his chest cavity, ¡°I suppose that makes sense. It will only take a few hours after I find the right piece. Finding that scribe as you say, could take me a day or more. The building blocks that make up a person are very complex.¡±


    Tristan nodded and instead of asking about the progress every five minutes, he watched and asked Vulcan some questions, ¡°What is a mitochondria? And why is it bad to enhance it?¡±


    ¡°It is the energy source of those building blocks. The building blocks of the body can be broken down into three main areas. The nucleus which is what we are working on now, the mitochondria which is the power of the cell, and the cell wall. Each corresponds with and can be attuned to certain laws reminiscent of the three types of essence use. The nucleus is the mind and roughly correlates to the dominion, the mitochondria matches the kern quite nicely, and the cell wall is tied to the anima. The reason why I don¡¯t want him touching your mitochondria is that it should already be attuned to Alloy,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°If it''s changed both your body and soul could reject it, and believe me that is a painful way to go.¡±


    Tristan had been under the impression that the body and soul were separate things. It was common for an elemental or an artifact to be created upon death, and that required a soul, but not a body. If the elementals could use a brain, then he saw no reason why they would not.


    ¡°Vulcan, what exactly is a soul?¡± Tristan asked, ¡°How is it attached to a body.¡±


    It was a few moments before Vulcan answered, ¡°It is complicated and quite debated in my homeland, but the main definition that most people accept, is the ability to act in accordance with your instincts, to build habits, and to change those habits with enough effort. In animals we call it instinct, in humans, we call it free will. I am inclined to call it our conscience, it is the voice we have in the back of our head telling us right from wrong.¡±


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    ¡°As to how it connects to the body no one knows, some people believe it is like a set of clothes, others believe it is anchored to some part of the body. One of those theorized areas is actually the heart, so I suppose that one can be discounted. I believe that it is anchored to the body, every part, which is why alchemy has a nearly impossible time working on living beings. It''s also the reason why someone with a powerful water kern can¡¯t just rip the blood out of your body.¡±


    Interesting, that was good to know. Tristan had been worried about that after meeting Kerri, though at that time he was unsure of the boon that tier five would give him. Now he suspected it was the tier that let one reclaim their own essence.


    ¡°Got it!¡± Hadrid said.


    Tristan refocused on the experiment. He concentrated his metal sense on the the heart. Then he did something he never had before, he could push his metal sense out a little more than a hundred feet in every direction, but he had never tried to squeeze the sense onto a smaller point to get a clearer picture. When he did he could almost taste the metal at the point of his focus.


    The heart was full of metal essence, not surprising as it was what circulated metal essence through his body. He also felt Hadrid with a far narrower beam of focus. Tristan knew that if his range was one hundred feet, then Hadrid¡¯s should be around two hundred twenty-five, that should have given him a very clear picture of what was going on. However that massive range was narrowed down to a far smaller point than he thought was possible.


    The only reason he noticed was he could see a narrow stream of growth alloy snaking down towards the heart. It was a wire so small that even with what was essentially a one hundred times magnification, it was difficult to see. So this is what Hadrid meant by focus, if he had used his normal focus, he would have had a better view than Tristan, however, he needed a far narrower view.


    Tristan attempted to narrow his focus again. He succeeded but a headache started, after he had shrunk his area to a single square foot. Pushing harder, he halved the area to six square inches. Something snapped, and Tristan staggered back. His metal sense expanded back to its natural state, but the migraine did not leave. He crouched on the balls of his feet and clutched at his head.


    Helen had often complained about migraines and explained them as really bad headaches brought on by stress. Tristan had simply written off his mother as weak, unable to push through a simple throbbing pain. She had neglected to tell him that it hurt worse than getting his heart ripped out. Logical as all the pain receptors in the body communicated pain via the brain.


    Hadrid chuckled as he watched Tristan writhe on the floor, ¡°You¡¯re a goober, which is a step up from a turd. That is what happens when you overtax your mind.¡±


    Tristan wanted to yell at the alchemist to shut up, but he was sure that yelling would hurt worse than simply letting the man finish. Vulcan was mercifully quiet as well, which Tristan was grateful for, he was not sure he could have taken someone talking directly into his head. It took a good four hours for the pain to fade to tolerable levels, it felt longer, but still, he had more respect for his mother who still did chores while having an episode.


    Getting back to his feet Tristan groaned, ¡°That was so much worse than I thought it would be.¡±


    Tentatively Tristan refocused on the heart which was gradually being converted into a brassy red color to his overlapped vision. Focusing caused his headache to intensify, but so long as he did not narrow it past the one foot mark it was bearable. The brass color of alloyed essence slowly spread across the heart.


    ¡°How are you spreading the essence through the organ?¡± Tristan asked unable to see the effect on Hadrid¡¯s point of focus.


    ¡°Simple, there is a force called synchronicity, it makes it so that whatever I do to one object also occurs to the paired object. I am simply pairing all the nuclei to affect them all at once. You should be happy that hearts are made out of a single cell type,¡± Hadrid said.


    Twenty minutes later Hadrid was done, he yelled at no one in particular, ¡°ICE BOX NOW!¡±


    He popped open the container, grabbed the heart, and held out a hand. For a second, Tristan thought he wanted his backpack, but like it was choreographed, Ruth stepped into the room and placed a small box into Hadrid¡¯s hand. He placed the heart inside and shut the lid.


    Passing off the box to Tristan he said, ¡°I am not a healer, you will need to find someone to heal you. Just sticking the organ back in your chest won¡¯t be good enough.¡°


    ¡°I figured as much,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Do you know any healers?¡±


    Hadrid nodded, ¡°Every Elder except Forest has one. Henry doubles as his healer and Civil Protector. Don¡¯t take too long the ice box will slow down the heart¡¯s repair, but after the growth force finishes repairing it, the heart will expend all its essence becoming cancerous.¡±


    Tristan nodded, handing the heart back to Hadrid, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in about an hour with that tier eight essence core.¡±


    Hadrid smiled as Tristan left, rubbing his hands together. Tristan was not looking forward to what kind of nightmare machine Hadrid would make with the highly powered core.

 128. Down to the River

    Vulcan walked Tristan through the creation of an essence core. It was much simpler than he had expected. Find something that he could fill with water. It did not need to be waterproof as he would be using a powdered essence construct and mixing it in said container. So Tristan decided to do something fun he took out the metal skull and ran a torch over its surface.


    When he placed it in the snow it melted in. He retrieved the skull and let the snow freeze before repeating the action before he got the desired result. A frozen bowl of ice in the shape of a skull was left.


    ¡°Vulcan, give me some tier fifteen powder,¡° Tristan sent over an image of Vulcan as a doting father giving Tristan some money.


    Vulcan sighed, ¡°You know, making skull shaped power cells out of deceased souls is not going to convince people that you¡¯re not a necromancer.¡±


    Tristan had not thought about it that way. He had just thought it would look good. Shrugging, Tristan realized that he had no idea how to utilize Vulcans essence store. The indentation was filled with powdered metal essence, it had a distinctly different mix of forces. Vulcan could utilize his essence on his own. That was a good thing to know, but it was also concerning. Tristan had assumed he was in the position of power here.


    Keeping the unsettling thoughts to himself, Tristan placed the light elemental heart into the powder and stirred it with an ice sickle. The heart slowly dissolved like an ice cube in a warm drink. However, it turned from a pale white to a clear glass, the translucence spread out filling up the bowl Tristan had made.


    Vulcan was kind enough to narrate the process, ¡°A soul revenant is no longer connected to the primordial essence, so it needs to pull its abilities from the material realm. This means they will always lack access to a force, it also means they are susceptible to an overreaction when surrounded by foreign essence. The heart will push out any and all essence to get rid of the toxic essence. With no essence inside it any longer the soul lacks a purpose, so no will or drive to continue. It will settle into a solid at the average tier of any applied essence. It''s a bit like mixing an equal base and acid.¡±


    Tristan nodded, he was familiar with bases and acids, but he was not aware of how they reacted when mixed. He sat back on his heels and waited for the essence reservoir to coagulate. Gently he prodded the hole in his chest, it ached in an almost addictive way. Like a scab that hurt when it was picked, but was also so intriguing that it was difficult to stop. His fingers came away with a sheen of puss. It was a good thing, it meant while the infection could not travel through his bloodstream, his immune system could still fight it.


    Leaning down he picked up the skull shaped reservoir. It was a very inconvenient shape, due to being the same size as the front half of a skull. The bottom mandible was missing, but still, it was unwieldy. Tristan wondered if Hadrid would mount it on a shield or a staff, the weapon would be the most powerful in the caldera. Well aside from Vulcan, though he was more a teacher than a club.


    The trek back to Alchehall was fast. The guard simply nodded and let him pass. Tristan knocked on the castle door and to his surprise, Ruth was the one who answered. He had assumed Hadrid would not want to let anyone touch a soul core this powerful.


    Ruth saw the confused expression on Tristan¡¯s face and smirked, ¡°You are not worth master''s time, he is preparing for the core.¡±


    She held out a box which Tristan quickly checked with his metal sense. The forces of alloy, growth, and infusion were visible. He cracked the box open to make sure and when it was confirmed, he passed the reservoir over. He relished the confused look on Ruth¡¯s face before pulling the door closed and walking away.


    Where to go. There were really only two options, he could hop in a boat and travel to the River Caldera or cross the lake and plead with the Lake Caldera. It would be better if he could have used the Stone Caldera, as he was on good terms with everyone there, but it was across the plains, he was not sure if he had that kind of time.


    There was also the issue of bargaining. He had a bag full of books, a skull, and a few herbs to his name. The only way he could barter would be if he had some other kind of leverage. Elder River was someone he might have leverage with. Yes the man tried to kill him, and Kerri was a nasty piece of work, but if Eve had fled there, he would have a chance.


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    It was a lot to risk on a maybe. The deciding factor was the death of most of River¡¯s stealth forces. Tristan¡¯s chances of being spotted were dramatically lessened, and with the real civil protector gone his chances of escape in the event of a fight were higher. Still, it was just the less bad out of two bad options.


    He moved down to the ferry between Alchehall and the other coastal calderas. No boats. Tristan stared blankly for a few minutes, was he going to have to walk to the River Caldera? He remembered a part of the river was shallow enough to fjord, but still what could have happened to scare off all the greedy boatmen?


    He could see some movement from the other side of the lake, fishermen rowing out with hammers to break the ice that was too thin to step on and too thick to row through. Tristan sighed, it was time to walk then. If the ferrymen were out of business he would have to rely on his legs.


    This trip was more miserable than the trip to Alchehall. Watching out for murder happy elementals had a way of taking his mind off how cold it was. He had gotten winter gear from Jones and Doil, as they had more clothes than bodies due to Regis¡¯s entry. Still, it was cold, now that he knew that the Caldera was on top of a mountain, things started making a bit more sense. Well, it made sense after Vulcan pointed out that elevation was linked to a drop in temperature.


    He claimed that beyond the clouds there was a place that was so cold and empty that even sound would be frozen. Tristan was skeptical about that as the sun was up in this cold empty place, and the sun was most certainly warm. At least during summer, it was.


    Tristan would light a fire in the evenings and regret that he had not thought to bring more food. Sustaining himself on pine tea was not a pleasurable experience. Every night he would bury the ice chest in the snow, the last thing he wanted was for it to warm up and start sprouting tentacles or some other type of horror. He even had one nightmare where it ate him.


    He shook his head to clear the memory, it was clear stress, fatigue, and a moderate fever were messing with his mind. The hardest part was crossing the river, none of his clothes were waterproof, but he soldiered on. He had worse things than hypothermia to worry about. The thought made him chuckle, maybe the hypothermia would balance out the fever.


    Snow was falling and his clothes were frozen by the time he made it. If Tristan had the fortitude of a lower tier the trip would have been far more perilous. It only lent credence to Luke¡¯s mindset, you¡¯d either pay for power now or you would pay for lacking it later. The guard at the gate stopped Tristan, halt the toll is one copper parce.


    Tristan gritted his teeth, half a day''s wages was quite a steep cost for entry, ¡°I am a warrior by the name of Sage with a message for Her Highness Eve and Elder River.¡±


    Tristan fell to his knees as he pulled a minute amount of essence from his artifact alloy to activate the lamppost¡¯s other feature. Pain lanced through his body as for a split second the image deactivated. It was enough for Tristan to cough up blood and a red spot to seep through the ice on his chest and his back.


    The guard stared at the flame hovering over Tristan¡¯s palm. Thankfully Vulcan was able to remotely control this as well, so coughing up blood did not do anything to the quality of the fire. After a few moments, the small flame flickered out.


    ¡°Please, I don¡¯t know how long I have left,¡± Tristan knelt before the two armored men.


    ¡°Do we need to verify this?¡± One of the guards asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he will live that long,¡± The other man said, ¡°Send a runner to River¡¯s steward, I¡¯ll take him there as fast as I can, the runner can stop me halfway if it''s a problem.¡±


    The man threw Tristan¡¯s left arm over his shoulder and started hauling him into the city, ¡°You are a heavy one aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Tristan gave the man an exhausted bloodstained grin, ¡°There are a lot of perks at tier three, definitely give it a try if you get the chance.¡±


    They limped their way towards the center of the caldera. Tristan did not have the presence of mind to look around, so the sound of footsteps was sounding all around him. There was no reason for him to focus on one in particular.


    ¡°Tristan? A high pitch voice yelled,¡± Tristan ignored it, for a few moments, then the sound entered the recognition side of his brain. Helen yelled, ¡°What did you do to my baby boy.¡±


    ¡°Do you know her?¡± The guard said.


    ¡°Mom, ignore, message is too important, elemental lord fortifications,¡± Tristan wheezed.


    The guard nodded, his face set in an expression of determination. Tristan was not sure what he was thinking, but something about the sacrifice being made. It was not too much of a sacrifice. Thankfully a few people in the crowd restrained Helen. The fact she was here did give Tristan hope that Eve made it. Eve was a higher tier and more than capable of handling herself.


    They left the screams of his mother behind, only to be met by the runner. The runner did not stop to talk, instead, taking Tristan''s other arm, ¡°The elder and princess are occupied, the steward will take you.¡±


    Tristan nodded, both disappointed and relieved. The journey would end soon. They entered a stone building, coming face to face with the steward. He was sitting behind a large desk with a large painting of a sunset from the ramparts hanging in a glass frame behind him. Tristan froze when he recognized the steward.


    Kerri raised an eyebrow, ¡°He looks awful,¡± he narrowed his eyes before recognition dawned, ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here return to your posts.¡±


    The guards simply passed Tristan off to Kerri and marched out.

 129. Value of Knowledge

    ¡°You look terrible,¡± Kerri said, ¡°I would say I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t like lying.¡±


    Tristan grimaced, he kept his face calm but was frantically looking for a way out. He had considered Kerri to be an issue, but the tier four should have been on the battlefield. Having him here was a waste of resources.


    Kerri seemed to be waiting for a retort, However, when no response was forthcoming he continued, ¡°The runner claimed you wanted to see Eve, I can understand that, she has an inexplicable soft spot for you. However, why would you want to see Elder River? He has no love for you and I assume that feeling goes both ways.¡±


    Tristan finally had to ask, ¡°Why am I still alive?¡±


    Kerri sneered, ¡°I¡¯m not a savage, I am pragmatic. Yes, you will die, but you will do so in a way that serves my purposes. I¡¯m thinking of making you die a hero¡¯s death, then being the one to console poor Eve when she mourns your passing.¡±


    Normally that would be a good thing, as the repair of his kern would be necessary for him to die heroically. If he was put back together, then he could handle anyone in the River Caldera, it was a simple fact that a tier fifteen artifact was simply too big of an advantage, even if he could only utilize a single percent of its capabilities. The biggest issue was, that Tristan had already died that death, at least as far as everyone else was concerned.


    Kerri¡¯s grin widened as he watched Tristan connect the dots. Tristan realized it was time to bluff, ¡°I don¡¯t think you can get rid of me, you''re too weak,¡± He waited for Kerri to explode, ¡°Not that your inability matters, I only have a few days left to live.¡±


    Kerri jumped to his feet, then had his steam stolen by Tristan¡¯s second statement. Tristan set his bag down between his feet, carelessly letting it tip over backward. Grabbing his jacket he unbuttoned it revealing the injury from the Lord of the Underworld.


    ¡°Someone much stronger than you already tried, but Silver Devils aren¡¯t feared for no reason, we¡¯re hard to put down,¡± Tristan was counting on Kerri¡¯s vindictive nature.


    Most people would feel pity for a dying man, but not Kerri. He was immature and would take whatever choice caused the most pain. Tristan had asked to see his fianc¨¦, the likely course of action would be some sort of humiliation. Maybe being forced to live in a latrine, or being allowed to see freedom and life while chained up as he slowly expired. It would be something to prop up his shallow ego.


    ¡°Hmm, It¡¯s infected,¡± Kerri observed, ¡°I think I can work with this.¡±


    Tristan frowned. This Kerri was reacting more calmly than he was comfortable with. Tristan needed to act fast, so he made a real sound of exhaustion before slumping down onto the deep chair. They were built into the wall and made of stone, so the chair did not even rattle when he dropped his three hundred pound bulk onto it.


    ¡°You might think that I am rash and immature, and while that is true sometimes, you don¡¯t know me well enough to jump to those conclusions,¡± Kerri said, ¡°Here¡¯s how this is going to go, you do have information we need. That accursed mine went from weapons depot to fortress, and we have no information on it. You will demand healing in exchange for that information,¡± At Tristan¡¯s slow nod he continued,  ¡°I won¡¯t let you live and you won¡¯t give me all your bargaining power. However, I have bargaining power as well, your friends and family are currently inside the city. Every day that goes by without that information one of them will die.¡±


    Tristan raised an eyebrow, ¡°You were there the day of the sifting, just a few spots ahead of me. Do you think I care about them?¡±


    On the outside Tristan tried to look defiant, but if he was being honest the tone his mother had sounded desperate. Almost like someone barely clinging to sanity. Not surprising, she was married to Shadow Fist. Did he particularly care about a relationship with her, no, but was the information worth more than her life? No, it was not. Next in line would be little Tris, despite the shared name and the part she played in his abandonment, he could not doom a five year old.


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    Kerri shrugged, ¡°We have enough time to get through them all, and it''s not a great loss to sacrifice Forest Caldera civilians for the benefit of the River Caldera.¡±


    Tristan sighed, closing the drawstring on his bag and kicking his feet under the chair, ¡°So what, you¡¯re going to keep me in your office and bring people here?¡±


    Kerri nodded, ¡°Yes in fact.¡±


    Walking over he grabbed Tristan¡¯s bag and hauled him up by the arm. He was at least gratified to watch Kerri nearly tip over from the weight. Still, he was high tier four, and Tristan was base tier three, there was no way he could resist with strength alone. They moved down a hallway, it was made of stone like everything else the only decoration being paintings of previous stewards being sworn in. Kerri¡¯s image was suspiciously absent.


    Tristan assumed there was some kind of holding cell in the basement. It would be a little odd for the stewards offices to be sitting on top of a prison, however, it would not be the worst decision, as part of a stewards job was civil service. It was the job Shadow Fist had, and he was very good at it. Knowing the whole Forest Caldera by name helped him excel at this duty.


    They turned left almost immediately through the first door they came to. Tristan thought it would be something dark and gloomy, but what he found was a relatively well furnished room. It was not lavish by any metric, but the room had a bench, two chairs, and a window that looked out into the main office.


    For a moment Tristan wondered where Kerri had hidden a three foot by five foot pane of glass behind his desk. The painting of the sunset off the ramparts, he realized. When he focused, he could see the painting on the other side of the glass, it tinted everything inside the office various shades of pink and green. It was a pretty clever way to hide that there were observers.


    There were observers too. Warriors sat in each of the chairs, both of them were armed with large artifact axes, one giving off the feeling of earth, the other a feeling of frost. It was rare to have two identical artifacts, and upon closer inspection, he found the tier three essence reservoirs mounted in the pommel of the weapons.


    The one with the earth kern looked up at Kerri, ¡°Boss, who¡¯s this, and why would you bring him in here?¡±


    ¡°This is a renegade warrior who wants to extort us for the vital information he has,¡± Kerri informed him, ¡°We are going to make him give us that information one way or another. If he struggles, cut an arm or leg off, but don¡¯t kill him.¡±


    ¡°You want us to lock the door?¡± The man asked.


    Kerri nodded, ¡°Yes, he got away from that blasted elemental lord wreaking havoc on the plains, so don¡¯t think he can¡¯t get away from you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± they both said.


    Tristan was shoved into the room and the door was closed behind him. For a moment he thought about fighting his way out. He could win a fight with these guys, this room was too small and crowded to make use of those axes. No, he would die. They were not elites, but they were more than enough to stop an injured silver devil.


    ¡°Sit down boy,¡± The one holding the ice axe said, gesturing at the bench.


    ¡°Can I at least get names, Frosty and Dirty don¡¯t seem to fit,¡± Tristan tried to make them less chop happy by making a joke as he settled in.


    ¡°No, those names work,¡± Frosty said, living up to his name. After Tristan was seated he proceeded to ignore him, though he moved his chair to keep Tristan and the window in his line of sight.


    Unfortunately, that also had the effect of blocking off the door. Maybe his judgment of them had been too quick, no they did not have the fluid movements to match even Kale, but they were rigid and professional. Someone who headed off risks would be more dangerous than their tier would indicate.


    Kerri entered his office and stepped behind his desk. Before he sat back down, he turned and knocked a fist against the glass. There was a dull thumping, then he mouthed something that Tristan didn¡¯t catch. It was only when the door opened and a secretary started giving Kerri documents while talking the whole time, that Tristan realized that this room would soundproof anything that was not directly impacting the glass.


    Tristan sat there for a few hours, watching Kerri sift through his bag. He seemed to take interest in the book ¡®Natural Forces¡¯ though he tossed the skull in the trash bin beside his desk. Tristan¡¯s eyes flicked to the chair in the office beneath which he had stashed the ice box. Hopefully, the chill it emitted would be chalked up to poor insulation.


    After a good thirty minutes of actual paperwork, which Tristan believed to be a waste of a tier four¡¯s talents, Kerri straightened slid the books into a drawer, and folded his hands on his desk. Several minutes passed, then a pair of men dressed in the livery of the River Calderas guardsmen marched in, trailing in melted snow. Between them was Conni. It appeared that he had taken Tristan¡¯s comment seriously, or did any amount of fact finding.


    It was the right choice, Tristan would not let Conni die. Sighing he slumped his shoulders, ¡°Fine I¡¯ll talk.¡±


    Tristan was not sure what he expected, them to escort Conni out and tell him that he had made the right decision. What he did not expect was for Dirty to say, ¡°Talk then,¡± and not change posture at all.


    ¡°You have to guarantee his safety first,¡± Tristan demanded.


    ¡°I guarantee his safety,¡± Dirty said without missing a breath.


    There was a good chance that everything that Dirty and Frosty said was a lie. All they wanted was in his head, and for all Tristan knew, Kerri never had any intention of killing Conni, they could be having an amicable conversation and he would not know. If Kerri knew about Luke and Siren the chances he would target Conni were low, the last thing Kerri needed was two tier fours on a revenge quest.


    Was he willing to risk it? Kerri was right, he had made assumptions based on only a snippet of information, but that meant that he could not assume Conni¡¯s safety.


    Sighing in defeat at the futility of it all, Tristan opened his mouth to speak. The door was slammed open and Helen of all people barged in yelling loud enough to faintly be heard through the glass. An angry Eve stepped in behind her followed by Bruce and Lesly.

 130. Breaking Limits. And Also Windows!

    Tristan stared in disbelief at the four people who just stomped in to ruin Kerri¡¯s day. The conversation started congenial, he could not hear what was being said, but it was mostly centered around calming Helen down. Kerri forced her out of his office and took an antagonistic stance towards Bruce and Lesly.


    The fact that those two were even here was odd. What had happened in the plains, were the ghost crabs dealt with?  Was the war between Elder Forest and Elder River over? These two should be enemy warriors especially as they were related to the Forest Caldera¡¯s civil protector. The only conclusion Tristan could come to was something had happened in the Forest Caldera.


    On the other side of the glass, Eve was saying something with a serious expression. Kerri was leaning back in his chair, though, Tristan was at the wrong angle to see his face. He was able to notice Kerri¡¯s body language change when Eve¡¯s eyes landed on his trash bin. He stiffened up when he noticed the silver skull sitting on top of paper cuttings and food scraps. It was not as if there were two skulls like that in the Caldera.


    The conversation heated up and Tristan realized that he needed to do something. He looked at the two warriors who were focused on the office. There was nothing they could do, sure they needed to protect the steward, but they would not do that by harming the heir to the River Caldera. Not that Kerri was in need of guards a tier lower than himself.


    Still, Tristan needed to act. He thought about jumping at the window, but if he did, Frosty and Dirty would kill him on reflex. That¡¯s what a good security team did after all. His eyes landed on the bench he was sitting on. Pinewood was not a heavy wood, the bench was also not much larger than what would be placed at a small dining room table.


    Slowly Tristan got to his feet. It was a foolish hope to think he would be able to move and not catch the warrior''s attention. Tristan quickly calculated his odds of success, they weren¡¯t good, but at this point, he would take anything above zero.


    ¡°Take your seat, boy,¡± Frosty growled.


    Tristan gave him a faux smile of apology. He placed one hand on the edge of the bench to lower himself down. He needed to twist himself in a very specific way, so the spring like circulatory system would assist instead of hinder. A tier one would not be able to throw a forty pound bench with one hand. However, a tier three could.


    Frosty was no fool, while he was not sure why Tristan was doing an odd stretch, he had a keen nose for trouble. He picked his axe up from his lap fully intending on chopping off an arm or leg. What he was not expecting was a bench to be thrown at the back of Kerri¡¯s head. This room was not designed to hold prisoners, it was designed as a way to give powerful units an effective way to protect the steward.


    If the steward was endangered beyond the capabilities of the tier one and two security team, they would break the window and kill any intruders. Both of their weapons were made to destroy brittle objects. They would evacuate with the steward and collapse the stone building with the same ability that would allow them to break the window.


    All this was to say, there was no way the bench would break the window. The guard most likely knew that, but he had been trained to take the killing blow for his charge. He stepped in the way of the bench and cut it in half. The power of the weapon was in the essence reservoir, not the blade, and it lacked the perfect geometry of Tristan¡¯s original daggers, so the cut bashed the bench aside.


    Unfortunately for Frosty, Tristan needed to hit the window. He needed to make as much noise as possible, so he tackled Frosty into the window. They hit hard, and the thump caused Kerri to flinch and look back, his eyes mere inches from Tristan¡¯s. No one else in the office seemed to be able to hear it over the crying of Helen and yelling of Eve.


    Tristan was pinning Frosty to the glass wall with his body weight. The warrior broke Tristan''s grip, he decided to drop his weapon, a good choice in a confined space like this. Now that Tristan was working against his architect alloy, Frosty was easily able to overpower Tristan. So Tristan''s head butted the glass, it was quite a bit louder as Tristan''s head was basically a metal ball at the moment.


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    No one heard that either, but it did give him an idea. Tristan head butted Frosty. Cartilage was pulverized as Frosty¡¯s head bounced off the glass as well. Unfortunately, the man was not even stunned, he managed to shove Tristan back a step. He glared, then punched Tristan in the face. That was the day, Tristan learned the nose was not a bone.


    Frosty¡¯s jab was assisted by Tristan¡¯s architect alloy, staggering him back a few steps. A blur flashed past his face, barely missing his nose. Tristan blinked, he had completely forgotten about Dirty. The second guard had tried to cut him in half vertically, the axe blade cracking the floor.


    Not wasting any time Tristan kicked the flat of the axe as hard as he could. Dirty lost his grip and the surprisingly light weapon was launched into Frosty¡¯s legs. It would have been nice if it was blade first, however the hilt still tripped Frosty. This time Dirty played it smart, he grabbed Tristan.


    Tristan tried to resist, but earth kerns were known for the irresistible nature of their strength. In fact, the two biggest people Tristan knew were Siren and Cole, both of whom had earth kerns. Dirty pulled him into a takedown, then followed Tristan to the ground to grapple. Tristan knew he couldn¡¯t let Dirty take him down, and resorted to a tactic he loathed to try¡­.


    He bit the man''s massive arm. Sure, there was leather in the way, but it was not from a mythical beast, so he got a mouthful of blood and tendons. Dirty bashed Tristan on the back of the head, bouncing his face off the floor, before taking a step back. Tristan hadn¡¯t really paid attention to where he bit, but he could not have gone for a better spot. The inside of Dirty¡¯s elbow was a mess of arterial blood that would kill him if he did not have it treated.


    Fortunately, he had a coworker who could do just that. Frosty lived up to his name and coated the wound in a tight ice construct with a simple touch. He turned his blue eyes on Tristan in rage, just in time to see Tristan take advantage of the short triage to scoop up Frosty¡¯s axe and throw it at the window.


    Tristan was aware that he was only alive because they wanted him alive and able to talk. He was also willing to take advantage of that. A cripple deserved some leeway after all.


    The axe hit the window, sending a huge spiderweb of cracks through the glass. It arrested the axe¡¯s momentum, meaning it did not imbed itself in the back of Kerri¡¯s skull. Too bad. It landed butt first, then the head tipped into the glass, causing it to fall apart completely.


    ¡°That is nothing, just a freak crack. It happens to paintings all the time,¡± Kerri said. His voice grew quieter as the sound of falling glass could be heard.


    ¡°You are so dead,¡± Eve said.


    Tristan briefly wondered what Eve had threatened Kerri with. Maybe calling off the marriage, though it did not sound like she had that option. Helen jumped out of the chair that Tristan¡¯s heart was under and ran towards him. The image was quite horrifying as she did not look well, her hair was greasy and her crimson eyes were bloodshot. Helen also moved like a malnourished person, somehow every action was both twitchy and laborious.


    Kerri slapped her, he obviously would not let a woman climb over his desk. Tristan felt a little anger at that, he went to squish the emotion as he had done with most of his feelings about his parents. Helen had saved him though, so he let the feeling stay.


    ¡°Alright I informed the man from the Agni Raja about our situation,¡± Vulcan said.


    Tristan frowned, ¡°Where were you when I was fighting Frosty and Dirty?¡± Everyone turned toward him, Tristan coughed when he realized he had spoken aloud, ¡°Sorry, talking to my imaginary friend.¡±


    That did not help the stares, fortunately, Vulcan took his mind off the people, ¡°It would be stupid for me to distract you when I had nothing of value to offer. I need you alive after all.¡±


    ¡°Also how did you know Conni was part of the Agni Raja when he was younger?¡± Tristan managed to keep his mouth shut this time.


    ¡°I talked to his soul tool, it''s right in front of me in the primordial realm, also I just found out Conni is a dude and his soul tool is his grandmother¡¯s remnant, he has her name,¡± Vulcan overshared.


    Tristan raised an eyebrow at Conni, who raised one right back. They would need to talk. The entire mental back and forth had only taken a second. Long enough for Conni to stand, dust off his dirty tunic, and walk to the chair.


    He retrieved the ice box and stood, ¡°We will be back for the other belongings, so long as they are returned, I see no need to inform the lightning devil, as you call him, about this.¡±


    Kerri clenched his fists, Tristan let a smile slip, so that is why Eve said Kerri was dead. Luke had even gotten himself a name, lightning devil was a bit odd though, as Luke shared an element with the chief god in the temple. Tristan tentatively stepped through the broken glass of the window and around Kerri. The steward twitched like he wanted to strangle Tristan, but he held himself back.


    ¡°You might want to get a healer for Dirty, I had to bite him,¡± Tristan said as he was led out of the building. He had no animosity towards the two guards, they had done their job as well as could be expected.


    ¡°Animal,¡± Kerri muttered, as they left.

 131. Crowded Home

    Exiting the stewards office was a relief, though Tristan was faced with a very different, but vastly more desirable issue. He was the center of attention and would need to explain how he was even alive. That would be difficult without explaining the concept of kern breaking. While he was not opposed to telling most of the people here, Lesly and Helen still made him wary.


    Conni led them towards a building near the edge of the River Caldera. On his way back out, he was no longer suffering from exhaustion and most likely hypothermia. He was still tired, and the fever was still there, but now he had the presence of mind to look around.


    The River Caldera was very different from the Forest Caldera. All of the mud homes were better maintained and larger, sporting multiple rooms. The average wealth of the citizens was also higher, judging from the quality of their clothes. Tristan knew that the Forest Caldera was wealthier than the River Caldera, however, the income was generated by a few large organizations there, while here it appeared that every worker was their own business.


    Bruce finally turned and made eye contact. There was something hard in them, an anger that had been absent before, ¡°If you survived, how about dad?¡±


    Lesly seemed to want an answer as well, but Tristan was hesitant to tell them, ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡±


    Bruce nodded, ¡°Please we have to know, tell us everything.¡±


    Solemnly Tristan nodded, ¡°All right, Eve probably told you how he fought and defeated the elite warrior from the Lake Caldera. Well, he did not run when an elemental lord calling itself Ajax emerged. This creature could control metal, he picked Henry up using his armor and then taunted him while he tortured Henry to death. He wanted him to die with regrets and succeeded. Henry¡¯s elemental is now part of an elemental lord traveling with Regis.¡±


    Bruce did not look surprised, it had been the obvious outcome, he asked a different question, ¡°How did you survive then?¡±


    ¡°Well, I got my heart torn out, Conni¡¯s actually holding it in that box over there, and I will die if it does not get put back,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I won¡¯t say that I have survived quite yet.¡±


    Everyone except Conni looked at the box. He already knew what was in the box, as Vulcan had already told him about the contents. Conni smiled at Tristan, ¡°I am told to say, he is totally not a necromancer.¡±


    Tristan would have glared at Vulcan if he was not currently in a different plane of existence, he decided to explain, ¡°I was able to use metal essence like the elementals do to keep blood flowing, but I still need it replaced soon,¡± Looking at Eve he asked, ¡°I was hoping you knew someone who could handle that.¡±


    Eve looked unsure, ¡°Maybe, though I don¡¯t think any of them has ever healed something like this.¡±


    ¡°How do they go about healing?¡± Tristan asked. He knew light kerns made healing available at tier four, but Tristan was sure Henry had been the only tier four with a light kern in the Caldera.


    ¡°Doctor, herbalists, and other people specialized in healing spend their whole lives healing. They die and leave behind an artifact designed to alleviate certain ailments and injuries, over the generations enough artifacts have been collected to deal with most issues,¡± Eve explained, ¡°It¡¯s why you will never find a healing artifact for sale. It either goes to the elder¡¯s physician or the ramparts to assist the warriors against the beasts.¡±


    Tristan was disappointed by the knowledge. He had been hoping for a healer who could just put him back together. What Eve described was much more logical than the Elders having a second secret tier four stuffed away in their vaults. Still, it was Tristan¡¯s best chance.


    ¡°That is less ideal, will I be able to meet the healer or is it off limits for outsiders?¡± Tristan asked. He had never heard of these healers when he was younger. While the Forest Caldera did not have one because of Henry, Tristan should have still met one. The fact he hadn¡¯t made him believe there were intended to be a secret.


    Eve sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know, my grandfather has the final say. Do you have anything to trade for the service?¡±


    ¡°Information. I woke up at the bottom of the elemental¡¯s construction site. Is that good enough?¡± Tristan was not sure how important the information he had truly was. He had not seen the ground level after all, for all he knew there was a full blown castle above the surface.


    Eve shrugged, ¡°Maybe. Let me go talk to him, and tell him the information, it will be much easier for me to spin it in a positive light if you aren¡¯t there.¡°


    Tristan frowned, he knew he was not the most congenial of people, but was it so bad that near strangers would be aggravated? Maybe, he had caused issues for every person he worked for or with. The only one who was an exception was Luke, and only because he was more aggravating than Tristan was.


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    Tristan explained the situation in the pit. How it was being converted into some sort of hive, the arches being built over the top and the general state of the slaves. The Lord of the Underworld was not cruel to those who obeyed, but he was also not paying them or giving them the option to leave, that was betrayal after all.


    Eve nodded, then waved goodbye to Lesly and Bruce before jogging off into the city.


    They made it to the building the miners and Conni were staying in. The group had filled the large building. It was a two bedroom home, making substantially larger than most of the other buildings in the River Caldera. Still, most of the floor space was taken up by bed rolls and a small gathering of tents had popped up outside.


    Grace was trying to cook dinner while avoiding a small tribe of children ranging from three to ten who always knew just how to be in the way. Everything was pure chaos, Tristan took a long look around and decided that if he had to stay here he would be sleeping outside, snow or no snow.


    ¡°So what now?¡± Tristan asked.


    Conni held up the box, ¡°We need to talk about how you managed to get to tier three while we wait for Eve to get back.¡±


    EVE


    Eve dashed through the streets, heading towards her family¡¯s estate. She was wearing mythical beast leather armor as opposed to the formal robes that one of her station normally wore. After traveling through the plains, fighting ghost crabs, and elite warriors, and running from elemental abominations, the thin layer of sturdy leather gave her comfort. It also made her look like a wealthy bodyguard.


    Merchants and pedestrians yelled at her when she cut them off. She always said sorry, but she needed to move fast. The artifacts Tristan had stolen for her had actually managed to push her most of the way through tier three. All the artifacts were tier three, and while she could use tier threes to get through tier two, it made more sense to leverage her family''s wealth to buy the cheaper artifacts.


    All this is to say, Eve was very fast. She made it to the estate where her grandfather was holding a meeting with the head families of the four remaining free Calderas. While the meeting was important, Eve had no interest in participating. The older men in there would not appreciate the opinion of someone as young as she was and she would never make these decisions in the future. That odious task would fall to her future husband, which was fine with her.


    She knelt on a pillow set just off to the side of the door. Seats were not built into the reception hall, and chairs tended to scratch the soft marble. Thick pillows were the solution the estate¡¯s staff came up with. Several other people were waiting, all of whom moved down a spot to make room for Eve at the head of the queue. She nodded her thanks and took her place.


    Eve sat for about an hour. Messengers brought current information and new developments in real time. Most of the time they did not even bother shutting the large double doors before delivering their messages. Eve was surprised to find that the crab plague had not been dealt with, they were fewer in number but were more than a match for an experienced warrior now. Elemental lords had also been spotted on the plains to recruit or kidnap warriors. It was a real hellscape on the plains.


    She fiddled with her rings while she waited, she had two one from Kerri and one from Tristan. The first was simply a sign of her duty and station, the second, she wasn¡¯t sure. All she knew was that it was the first genuine gift anyone had given her since her sister was taken. Tristan had claimed it was to help him get through the plains, but she and Bruce had talked afterward. Both believed that even at tier one Tristan could make it through the plains more safely by himself than with a group.


    The door finally opened releasing the head families and their retinues. Most were giving orders, or running ideas past their advisors. The fact that they were not pale or despairing was a good sign. They were sure that they could win despite what was stacked against them.


    A few minutes later, a doorman stepped out to invite the first person in, ¡°The first may enter. Oh, Mrs. Eve, welcome.¡±


    He led her inside. Elder River was sitting at a table with a stack of documents, looking utterly exhausted. The eighty year old man would not live much longer at this rate, that was most likely why he was desperate to marry off Eve. He needed a successor the people could respect.


    The elder¡¯s face relaxed when he saw Eve, ¡°Ah, and what can I do for my granddaughter today?¡±


    Eve smiled, ¡°Good evening, grandpa. I have both a message and a request from a friend.¡±


    A sad look wrinkled his face, Elder River sighed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t.¡± Eve was not sure how he knew what she wanted, a confusion that his next statement cleared up, ¡°Kerri made contact with the temple, if I provide healing to the silver devil, it will fracture the people. That cannot happen now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Eve said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t even participate in the weekly services?¡±


    ¡°He donates quite a bit of money, and¡­¡± Elder River¡¯s eyes dropped to the ring on her right hand. Kerri wanted to protect his property.


    ¡°Is there anything you can do?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°The best that I can do is lend a single artifact, and only if the information is truly valuable, it won¡¯t be public, and the healer will not be notified,¡± Elder River said.


    Eve¡¯s hope was popped like a bubble. There were artifacts for bone growth, organ repair, and even ones for damaged hearts, but they were all separate artifacts. If the heart was repaired, blood loss would kill Tristan in seconds, if anything else was repaired they would not even be able to put the heart back where it was supposed to be.


    Elder River rubbed his chin as if he was in thought, ¡°I think it is time we trim the fat from the Caldera.¡±


    Eve cocked her head at the odd statement.


    ¡°You know, the best warrior is a well fed one, a hungry man can¡¯t hold a spear,¡± Elder River said. His tone suggested it was a leading statement.


    Eve stopped and thought. Her grandpa could not help her, so he was giving her hints that would allow him to honestly say he did not give her what she needed. Food, fat, hunger, how was that relevant?


    Eve jumped out of her seat when she connected the dots, ¡°Give me the best artifact that assists with healing malnutrition!¡±

 132. Don’t Eat Your Sentient Tool

    Tristan froze and looked at Conni uncertainly. While it was not something he was opposed to telling Conni, he was not sure if he trusted either Bruce or Lesly. Both had emotional reasons to cause him some issues. After all, he had survived, and their father had not. There was also the issue that he and Lesly had never really seen eye to eye.


    ¡°What are you talking about? ¡°Tristan asked.


    Conni turned to Bruce and Lesley, "Is there any way I can get some privacy to ask some questions?"


    Bruce looked at his older sister quizzically. Lesly frowned for a few moments before answering, "Yes however I need to know anything that''s relevant to us afterwards."


    After the siblings had left, Conni beckoned Tristan to follow him into one of the bedrooms. This room also had sleeping bags all over the floor, however, there were no children. Conni sat down on the floor and motioned for Tristan to join him.


    "We need to talk about your ancestor blade," Conni said, "you are growing in power too fast and you need to know the dangers and risks of consuming an ancestor blade and the moral issues with participating in such an act.¡±


    That statement caught Tristan off guard. Did Conni assume that he was consuming Vulcan like regular people absorb essence from artifacts? The thought had never crossed Tristan¡¯s mind, though he assumed it should be possible. However, there was probably a dramatic downside to it. It would not be much different than when he tried to take essence from the elemental.


    There was another problem with absorbing essence from Vulcan. One could only absorb essence from artifacts with a tier of their own, and only artifacts of an equal or higher tier would progress the consumer''s kern. Vulcan was tier fifteen, meaning Tristan had eleven tiers before it would even be a possibility.


    Still, it did bring up a question that Tristan sent to Vulcan, ¡°is it normal for people to try to absorb you guys.¡±


    ¡°The really old ones yeah. Old soul tools have memories from before the false god sundered the worlds. If you were able to absorb one before that time and ended up with the dominant memories, you could potentially become one of the most powerful people on your plane, the actual progress from absorbing essence from a soul tool is identical to a standard artifact otherwise,¡± Vulcan answered, ¡°neither I nor grandma Conni are that old.¡±


    Tristan had already experienced the phenomenon before, mixing souls would allow memories to jump hosts and it was not pleasant. He had been lucky that he had to deal with mostly decayed memories with no real direction behind them. It would be substantially more difficult to overwhelm the active soul of a soul tool.


    ¡°I think there has been a misunderstanding,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Are you not consuming the ancestor blade¡¯s essence?¡± Conni said he raised an eyebrow as if he could not see any other possibility.


    ¡°He¡¯s a lamp, and no, I met him less than two weeks ago,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Vulcan was in the same place that the Lord of the Underworld was.¡°


    Conni seemed relieved, ¡°That¡¯s good, ancestor blades are important heirlooms, it is not proper to destroy them frivolously. Though if you are not using its essence then how are you progressing?¡±


    Tristan almost gave the answer. He liked Conni and was grateful to him, however, it was not just Tristan¡¯s secret. Luke also had a stake in it and it would not be proper to share without his approval. After all, Tristan would not be where he was today if he had not befriended Luke, however, the same was true of Conni.


    ¡°That is not something I can tell you about,¡± Tristan said with an apologetic smile.


    Conni frowned, ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my secret to share,¡± Tristan explained, ¡°As this conversation was predicated on a soul tool miscommunication. How did you get your soul tool?¡±


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    ¡°Simple,¡± Conni summoned his sword in a flash of flame, ¡°If someone with a law makes an artifact before they start dying, you will end up with an ancestor blade.¡±


    ¡°Law?¡± Tristan asked.


    Vulcan was the one who answered, ¡°Many people outside the Numitor Empire called forces heavenly laws. My uncle hated the idea of heaven having any say in his life and outlawed the term in his territories, choosing to use the word force instead.¡±


    Tristan had to chuckle at the idea of using a law to outlaw the phrase heavenly law. Then he stopped when he realized that if someone achieved enough power they could assert power over people¡¯s thoughts across planes and spanning hundreds of years for simple matters of taste. That was ludicrous. Then he realized something else.


    ¡°Conni, are you from another plane?¡± Tristan asked.


    Conni simply raised an eyebrow, ¡°Was it not obvious by now?¡±


    ¡°How? It¡¯s not like you can just hop from one plane to another like some kind of Caldera border,¡± Tristan asked.


    Shrugging, Conni explained to the best of his ability, ¡°No clue, one day I was there, the next I woke up in some farmer''s bed from the Lake Caldera.¡±


    ¡°Vulcan, how?¡± Tristan went to his next best source of information.


    The lamppost sent over a red circle with a slash through it. Tristan had no idea what that stood for, but Vulcan¡¯s words gave him a good guess, ¡°That information will be off limits until tier six when it will help you. A developed kern is necessary before I push your development further.¡±


    Tristan grumbled at that, ¡°So, do you have a kern?¡±


    It was a weird question. From Tristan¡¯s point of view, everyone had a kern, it was like asking if someone lacked a liver or a heart. However, some of Conni¡¯s past comments put that into doubt.


    Conni shook his head, ¡°No, I have an anima. It is stronger than a kern but lacks a way to replenish itself. I use my ancestor blade to recoup erased lost essence after she recharges in the primordial realm.¡±


    ¡°What does it do?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°A kern is the power of the blood while an anima is the power of the body. One promotes life, the other promotes power,¡± Conni said, ¡°Though in practice both can be used to achieve similar results.¡±


    Tristan was about to ask more questions when the front door was slammed open, he could hear Eve yelling, ¡°Where¡¯s Bruce, go get Bruce!¡±


    Concerned, Tristan ran out to find Eve carrying about twenty bags of food. It almost blocked her from view and she had to set bags down to get through the door. Several of the roaming children came over to inspect the bags, a few of the older ones assisting Eve in hauling them inside.


    ¡°What is all of this for?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°You, you¡¯re going to eat all of it,¡± Eve said excitedly.


    Tristan was not sure he would be able to consume his own body weight in food, even if he had a week. These were all high calorie foods as well, meats and loaves of bread. It had to have cost a small fortune with the events occurring in the plains driving up the prices. Well, Eve had a large fortune, so Tristan supposed the cost was relative.


    Bruce came barging through the door a short time later, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, I heard you needed help?¡±


    He was dressed in armor that was clearly tower plate and was holding his spear. Tristan was not sure what Eve had told him, but he assumed the message had been misinterpreted as a call to violence. Bruce looked around and saw the room in chaos, but safe.


    Gently leaning his spear against the wall, he cleared his throat, ¡°You said you needed help and to bring my spear?¡±


    Eve nodded proudly displaying a blue glove with luminescent white gems embedded at the knuckles, ¡°Yes, we can use this to fix Tristan.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Tristan asked. Normally he had an easy time deciphering what an artifact did. Most of them were made out of a pseudo-metal substance which allowed the use of his metal sense. This one was made out of cloth and lacked even the barest traces of metal.


    ¡°It is an artifact that helps cure malnutrition!¡± Eve said, ¡°The healer normally uses it to help the infants of the head families that refuse to take milk, so it is rarely used.¡±


    ¡°So, Elder River would not let us make use of his healer,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Was the knowledge not valuable enough? Is it because of my kern?¡±


    ¡°No, it was not that,¡± Eve said, ¡°Grandpa has very little enmity towards you, in fact, I would go so far as to say he has not paid you much attention since the sifting.¡±


    Eve went on to explain how Kerri had gone to the temple to stop the Elder from helping. At least publicly, he had to remain antagonistic to keep the temple¡¯s support. Especially now, as the Lord of the Underworld was being heralded as the champion of the gods by a flame wielding lunatic in the Forest Caldera. Supposedly Guider Daphan had already sided with the elemental lords, effectively ending the war while also filling the River and Lake Caldera with high value refugees. There were also some issues in the Stone Caldera, however Eve was unaware of what was happening there.


    Tristan looked at the glove skeptically, ¡°So, if I¡¯m understanding you right, you want me to eat my way to health, while Bruce here stabs me with his torture spear.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Eve nodded, ¡°The spear heals the victim into a state of malnutrition by healing them around the incision, which is only an issue if you lack the nutrients. I bought enough to replace your whole body if we have to.¡±


    ¡°You know the fastest way to a man''s heart is through his stomach,¡± Vulcan snickered, ¡°I think she took it a little too literally.¡±

 133. Surgical Spearmanship

    ¡°So all I have to do is eat?¡± Tristan asked uncertainly, holding a meat stuffed bread roll.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Eve nodded, ¡°Fit as much as you can in your stomach as you can.¡±


    Tristan learned the horrors of gluttony that day. Each bag Eve had been carrying weighed around twenty pounds. Tristan got halfway through the first one. He felt like vomiting and grimaced at the meat bun. These had tasted so good at first, but now he would rather get stabbed than eat another one.


    ¡°Am I good to activate the artifact?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan said.


    They had forced him to lie down on the dining room table as they weren¡¯t sure if speeding up the digestion and absorption of food would make a person dizzy. Supposedly, the glove would force one hundred percent of the beneficial materials to be absorbed, while leaving the rest to pass through the digestive tract naturally.


    Eve poured water essence into the artifact activating it. Instantly, Tristan felt dirty, breathing became a little harder, and he felt his stamina slip away. He also felt hungry again and the meat bun did not look so bad.


    Bruce cringed, ¡°Sage, you put on some fat.¡±


    Tristan looked at his gut, then glared at Eve who just shrugged, ¡°Why are you making me fat?¡±


    ¡°Well, that''s how the body stores excess food, you¡¯ll lose it in a few minutes,¡± Eve said not a hint of apology in her voice.


    They repeated this process another five times. At least if he died from this procedure, he would die well fed. After he was good and ready, with a small village¡¯s worth of calories, they were ready.


    Eve pulled out a leaf, ¡°The healer advised me to use this on more extreme surgeries. It will put you to sleep so you don¡¯t flinch and kill yourself.¡±


    Tristan sighed, ¡°Well, see you in a few minutes, or in the afterlife.¡±


    Bruce snorted, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to fight in the army of the gods.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to fight the army of the gods,¡± Tristan said as he took the leaf from a surprised Eve before popping it into his mouth and swallowing.


    The effects of the artifact were still going strong, so it only took a few seconds for Tristan to be out cold. To him it was like closing his eyes, no drowsiness at all, one moment he was awake the next he was unconscious.


    Eve looked over at Bruce in panic, ¡°He was supposed to drink that as tea.¡±


    ¡°What happens if you eat it?¡± Bruce asked. He was not a fan of tea it was just juice but with the bitter part of the plant.


    ¡°The concentration of the drug is too high, it can lead to low blood pressure and heart attacks,¡± Eve realized that the first case would be helpful and the second was irrelevant, ¡°Well, I suppose it could be worse, can you go get Grace?¡±


    They had sent the cook outside to bury the heart in the snow. Nobody knew if that would help, but both Conni and Grace had fire essence, making them very resistant to cold weather. Grace would be the one holding the heart in place while Bruce applied light essence through his spear.


    Grace had butchered enough animals that she was familiar with the organ. Sure a cook was no doctor, but the temple had stopped any doctor from assisting, so they had to take what they could get. If they had a limitless amount of time, then they could figure it out, but they had less than a minute before permanent brain damage set in, as no heart meant no blood flow. Once the heart was in and working, they would have another minute before blood loss killed him. They needed to be fast and they needed to do it right the first time.


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    Grace came in with the wooden case with a blue gem inset into the cap, ¡°Alright, where will we be work¡­. what happened to him?¡±


    ¡°He ate a sleeping drug,¡± Bruce said, ¡°It was supposed to be made into tea.¡±


    ¡°No, why is he fat?¡± Grace asked.


    Bruce shrugged, ¡°He ate a lot, I¡¯m pretty sure it was a good sixty pounds of food.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope you didn¡¯t clog up some of his arteries,¡± Grace grumbled as she trundled up to the table.


    Eve had not even thought of that. There were many things she had apparently forgotten about. Still, this was their best hope.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start,¡± Eve said.


    They started by locking down the house. The last thing they wanted was a gaggle of children to come running through and bump into Bruce while his spear was embedded in Tristan¡¯s chest. Bruce positioned himself so that he could hold his spear steady with minimal effort. While he was now tier three, the spear was also weighted for a tier three, he did not know how long he would need to hold it and did not want to get tired while working.


    Eve was ready with more food, though it was not like it would help. Tristan could not eat right now, it just helped her not feel useless. Conni was ready to give a message to someone named Vulcan. Eve had no idea who this was, but Conni reassured her that he could interrupt Tristan¡¯s essence flow to deactivate the fake metal kern.


    Grace popped open the lid and pulled out a heart. It still looked slightly burned, but it was also frozen solid. Eve knew this was actually a vast improvement over its original state, no bruising was visible, and the blackening was faint. A few more days and it could have been too late.


    Eve watched as the heart was lowered back into place. Right as it was above the wound, Grace looked up at her husband, who closed his eyes for a moment. For a brief moment, there was something in the room, it was a sense of an unyielding blade, the weight of a mountain, the incinerating heat of a forge. It was like for a moment, ten thousand blacksmiths all struck their anvils at once.


    Everyone flinched at the power in the presence that did not linger for even a moment. Eve remembered the story Conni told of the Steel Saint, and it made her wonder if the teachings of gods were true. The biggest issue was, that this god was partial to metal.


    Grace was the first to start moving, only hesitating for a second, as that presence had swept away Tristan''s essence. He was now on a much shorter timer. She held the heart up with a string tied around it, in the other hand she had two metal rods, with which she held one of the arteries.


    Lowering it in, Eve winced at the amount of space Grace had to work with, ¡°Start here.¡±


    Grace held the artery up to its counterpart, which was leaking blood. Eve had expected it to spray blood everywhere, but no pump meant no pressure. The spear glowed with light essence as Bruce lowered it in and pricked the artery. The artery was healed immediately, it made Eve want to cheer, this could work. A weapon that could starve a man in seconds would be used to save one instead.


    Working methodically Grace connected all the arteries and veins. Eve mentally counted down the seconds, Grace worked fast and the last one was put in place at fifty-two seconds. The heart did not beat, it remained inert as the sixtieth second ticked by.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, why isn¡¯t it working?¡± Eve asked in a panic.


    Grace frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I take them out and cook them, I haven¡¯t put them back.¡±


    Conni was the one who was the most calm, ¡°Dear, can you massage the heart while Bruce here heals everything back up.¡±


    Uncertainly Grace reached in and squeezed the heart. Blood leaked out of all the damaged blood vessels, so it was working. Grace kept squeezing as Conni calmly gave directions.


    ¡°Start from the back, rebuild the tissue there as fast as you can,¡± His voice was soft and not at all stressful, ¡°It¡¯s not like you can make it any worse.¡±


    Bruce followed instructions, scoring the tissue at the back and watching as it almost leaped for the blade of the spear. Bone grew out and the ribs folded in around the spear. Bruce retracted it from the bone, and it did not heal, leaving a razor thin cut in the bone. It would not heal past its borders and the spear had to be inserted to achieve the effect.


    ¡°Ignore the minor damage, bones heal,¡± Conni said.


    Grace kept squeezing the heart, as Bruce worked his way back. Eventually, the meat and viscera threatened to close around her fingers, forcing Grace to retract her hands. It was fascinating in a disturbing way to watch fat shrink back. Eve had not realized how much energy the body burned to heal itself.


    ¡°Keep going,¡± Conni encouraged.


    The ribs closed up, and skin grew over the wound. A thin cut ran across the top of Tristan¡¯s gaunt chest. It was razor thin, but the spear was ultimately a weapon of torture and death. What was left was a thin emaciated body body. The wiry muscle was gone, replaced by saggy skin. Tristan looked more like her grandpa than the young man he really was. Worst of all, he was not breathing.


    ¡°Out of the way,¡± Conni said, almost shoving Bruce aside.


    He put both palms on Tristan¡¯s sternum and shoved as hard as he could. Eve watched in horror as Tristan¡¯s rib cage deformed and some of the recently healed ribs groaned. At first, she panicked, but she was tier three, Conni was tier two, and she could actually do something about this.


    She stepped forward to remove Conni, but Grace stepped in the way, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Stay back,¡± Grace said, ¡°This is a good thing.¡±


    Eve loved the woman, she was kind and always saw the best in others. All that history was thrown out the window when she heard a bone break. Conni may have been tier two, but Grace was tier zero, she stood no chance at all of stopping Eve from going around her. She pushed Grace aside and went for Conni.


    Bruce had beaten her to it, he had his spear pointed at the man, ¡°Stop, or, or I¡¯ll have to stab you.¡±


    One more shove and Bruce moved to club Conni with his spear. The tip cut a smooth line in the wall before smashing into Conni, knocking him to the floor. Eve felt some relief that Bruce did not stab him. That relief turned to shock when Tristan sucked in a deep breath before falling back into sleep. Maybe the old miner knew what he was doing when it came to getting people breathing again.

 134. Carnage and Chaos

    ¡°Move, Move, Move!¡± Kale yelled.


    He took his own advice as a giant metal claw carved a groove through the dirt. Most of his men took his advice, but one of the slower ones took the claw to the shoulder. The tower plate held, but Kale could still hear the cracking of bone.


    An explosion went off as an elemental lord that had flame affinity threw a fireball. Kale hoped it was at a ghost crab not one of his people. He hefted his great sword and smashed a tier two skeleton out of the way. Its water essence bones shattered under the impact of the tower steel blade.


    In ordinary circumstances, Kale would have stopped, reversed his grip on his great sword, and stabbed its heart. Today he had a ghost crab to kill. He ducked under a massive scythe claw as its sharp edge whistled over his head. The bottom of its jaw was still a little higher than his head, allowing him to run under the entire crab while standing upright.


    Not that he would try that. The first few warriors who had tried were sat on by the multi-ton creature. Those with artifacts had secured themselves a kill, but it was mutual destruction at best. Kale had a different goal, he regained his feet and swung a mighty blow at the joint on the forward leg.


    The sound of metal echoed as dozens of men fought a similar number of elementals. It had been hard before these mythical beasts had interrupted. Seven in total had plowed their way into the fight, turning an organized retreat by the humans into a desperate fight for survival. The one thing they had learned about these metal beasts was that peace was only reached with the complete annihilation of the opposing force.


    Kale''s sword managed to punch through the metal film protecting the joint and cut through to the other side. The four foot section at the end of the leg fell to the ground. The crab screamed, a sound like a rusty hinge the size of a building being pried open. Several warriors around him flinched, almost costing them their lives.


    Faster than was reasonable the crab spun, its five remaining legs doing a good job spinning it on its axis. Kale ran counter to its turn, it could move faster than he could, but it could not overcome its own momentum. The ghost crab tried to cut him down as he passed in front of it, but it missed.


    One of his soldiers finished an elemental with his axe and went to work on the far leg while, Kale sliced into the front one. An axe ended up being the better tool for the job, but the Guard Crab went from five legs to three. It was forced to use one of its scythes to stay upright, slowing it down dramatically. Slow enough for Kale¡¯s fellow warrior to cut the final leg off his side.


    ¡°Kill, or leave,¡±  The man yelled.


    ¡°Leave,¡± Kale yelled. The crab was now immobile, it would take too long to kill and it was not harmless yet, but something had removed its stinger earlier making it too difficult a task to risk. Even if they won, another guard crab would show up and eat it later.


    Nodding the man opened his mouth to say something. Something flaming and red crashed into him, burning its way through the crab''s armor. Kale instinctively stepped back into a ready stance. A cadaverous creature walked up, a brown skeleton covered in flaming muscles and red flickering eyes. Molten armor covered its body and a helmet with two massive horns was sitting on its head.


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    Kale cursed and stepped around behind the crab''s corpse as the creature summoned a dull red spear and threw it at him. Its obsidian tip dug into the ground as the molten shaft splattered all over the chaff on the ground. Damn elemental lords. They were monsters without equal, combining weird powers and the durability standard with elementals to make borderline unstoppable menaces.


    Fortunately, the metal crab did not know. It saw a threat and it killed a threat. Another crab, this one with its stinger intact crashed into the elemental lord. Its stone armor was undoubtedly heavy, but still, it was lighter than the two ton steel battering ram that ran it over.


    The lord yelled indignantly and summoned a sword of obsidian, and cut all the legs off one side of the crab. Kale was not willing to miss such a distraction, he ran as quietly as he could at the lord¡¯s back. Admittedly, running in armor with a limp was anything but quiet, however, it matched the sound of violence all around.


    The crab fell on the molten elemental lord, however in a display of immense strength it caught the crab. Both hands held above its head, burned into the metal, liquifying it and cooking the animal inside. Kale slammed into the elemental lord¡¯s back, point first. The lord staggered forward as the sword went straight through a crack in the armor.


    Tower steel swords lacked a lot of the flexibility that made spring steel so popular, but that made them better at stabbing. The blade slid in, bounced off a stone rib, and crunched into the interior of the front plate of the elemental lord''s armor. It staggered forward and the body of the crab fell on it.


    Kale turned and ran. There were two outcomes to the attack. Either the lord had just lost his heart and would separate into a pair of flame elementals or he would get back up, unharmed and super pissed. Kale did not want to be there in either case.


    He kicked an air skeleton over. It was tier three but those elementals had very low mass. Kale¡¯s great sword bashed through a second elemental rib cage and bisecting its heart. The warrior they were ganging up on nodded his thanks as he crushed the downed air elemental with his polearm. This battlefield was pure chaos, and it was basically a giant game of hot potato.


    They would kill as many skeletons as they could until the elemental lord showed up and started butchering people. The crabs would get excited by the smell of blood and stomp in like a bunch of blood thirsty puppies looking for a treat.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± Kale yelled as they rushed to the nearest clump of warriors.


    An explosion, followed by a rain of fist sized armor and pieces of meat told Kale the elemental lord was still alive. Where did they get all their essence from? No matter, Kale could not do anything about it at the moment.


    What he could do was lead his new partner to a group of six warriors and a healer facing off against a team of nine earth and fire elementals. The pole axe worked like a spear, crushing a tier two rib cage, but missing the heart. It was hard to overstate how difficult it was to hit a fist sized heart protected by a rib cage of solid essence. Normally, a warrior only needed to do enough damage to win, and unless trained for these elementals specifically, many of their tactics would become useless.


    Kale smashed his own elemental to the ground. This one was fire, good thing he had a fire kern as well. Once the elemental hit the ground Kale stomped onto its rib cage three times to break through and crush the heart. An earth elemental tackled him, and unlike most other kinds, earth elementals were freakishly heavy.


    ¡°Die!¡± A maul crushed the elemental''s head, not killing it, but knocking it off Kale. Surviving out here was more about luck than skill.


    Kale shoved his hand up into the diaphragm and created a compact fire construct. It would look like a marble no bigger than his pinky nail. But it held half his essence.


    BOOM!


    The upper body of the elemental was torn apart as a tiny sun lived out its life right above his head. He would have died again without the Tower plate as stone shrapnel ripped through everything around him. The warrior with the maul was thrown back, and all the fire elementals were killed. Hundreds of fast projectiles were good at slipping through their ribs and pulping their hearts.


    ¡°Which one of you stabbed me!¡±  The elemental lord yelled, ¡°The one wearing a silver shell, Where are you?¡±


    None of the warriors paid him any mind, as all of them were wearing a silver shell. A crab scuttled toward the now prone Kale. He tried to get to his feet but was too slow. He was saved yet again by another warrior with a maul, however this one managed to kill the ghost crab in six savage blows.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Kale asked his old commander. He was supposed to be at the mine.


    Siren shrugged, ¡°The mine is gone, have to stay occupied somehow.¡±


    Kale felt a pang of worry, ¡°Grace, Conni, are they alright? What about the boys?¡±


    Siren shook his head, ¡°Conni and Grace are fine. Tristan is unaccounted for, and Luke well, just watch the show.¡±


    Kale frowned, what show? He got his answer in the form of lightning and fire.

 135. Frozen Balls of Death

    The elemental lord throwing around fire and lava was having a bad day. Luke intended to make it worse. Gripping Hestia¡¯s Sickle he jumped, he had no reason to cut his way through the rabble if he could just go right over them.


    The elemental lord had brought down one of the warriors and was ripping plates of armor off the man he had pinned down. Luke hit him like a bomb, which was not too far off from what he really was. Lightning scorched the surrounding area and fire burned into the elemental lord. Fire might seem like a bad match up against fire, but Luke¡¯s was better. Well, the lord¡¯s skeleton was still susceptible.


    That skeleton was tier four, too low to take a full force blow from Luke. It made him feel giddy to say tier four was too low, but truth was truth and the truth sent the elemental lord bouncing along the dirt. Luke did not capitalize on the attack, why would he? Without their general, the normal elementals would be rounded up and put down relatively quickly.


    Impatiently, Luke waited for the creature to get back up. It had obviously focused on power over speed, the tanky set up did not suit the fire elemental. Fire was fast and unpredictable, while earth was unyielding, it made the elemental good at nothing. Regis could output more destructive power, and while he was in his tower plate, he was more durable.


    ¡°You dare strike a herald of the Lord of the Underworld?¡± The elemental lord hissed as it got back to its feet, ¡°I am his general, the traitors will all be forced to kneel.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Luke said cleaning out his ears, ¡°It¡¯s quite noisy out here.¡±


    ¡°I said, you dare strike a herald¡­¡± The elemental lord looked down at the earwax that Luke had just flicked at him, ¡°YOU DARE!¡±


    Luke did. Fire exploded out of the gaps in his armor, a bonfire at each of the joints. It made him look like a creature stepping straight out of Hell, a large sword of onyx formed and fell into the Lord¡¯s open palm. The elemental was now incensed and charged at Luke, he used explosions at the soles of his feet to accelerate himself.


    However, no matter how fast he made himself, Luke was faster. His eyes glowed a neon green like they were back lit by a storm. Despite using lighting, Luke was less flashy than the elemental. He could be, there was just no reason to exhaust his reserves impressing a whole bunch of warriors he frankly did not care about.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blink,¡± Luke said as he used the same technique the elemental lord was using to accelerate.


    Fire had nothing on the speed of lightning. It was a good thing lightning kerns weren¡¯t a thing, as they would easily be the most dangerous type out there. It was why Luke was better than everyone else, a final gift from his father that made him who he was.


    Luke hit the elemental lord blade first, the point of Hestia¡¯s Sickle slid into the armor, before the hook of the blade caught on something harder. Bones, they were at a bad angle to cut, but that was the beauty of sickles. Hestia¡¯s Sickle hooked the rib allowing Luke to throw the elemental lord to the dirt again.


    For a brief moment, Luke contemplated letting the general back up. He watched the obsidian blade move toward him in slow motion and made his decision. No, this was not an enemy he could break his kern with. The elemental lord was not weak, but it was made of three overlapping tier three elementals, making it an effective tier six. It was not much different from the dark elemental lord, though more of a brawler than an assassin.


    Still, the elemental was the same tier, but Luke wasn¡¯t. His weapon was better than back then, his tier was better than back then, and he had better control over his essence than back then. He frowned as he sucked in a deep breath, using his kern to siphon out the more explosive elements.


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    Tier five did have a perk, though not the one he thought it would. State of matter, he was sure that temperature would have been a force and maybe it was, but a ball of compacted nitrogen formed in his fist, so cold that it smoked a white color and burned his skin. He stepped around the obsidian sword and when the elemental lord roared he tossed the ball into its mouth.


    Luke felt his connection to the construct get cut off as it entered the elemental. He was not sure what would happen, but it went exactly how he predicted. The explosive went off, throwing Luke back off his feet and pushing everything away in a ring around the elemental lord. When he looked up, the lord¡¯s head was gone, along with a good portion of the upper torso.


    The earthen bones were slowly dissolving into brown smoke, as Luke had just carved the heart in half. Only the anima elemental had survived, slowly healing, but it was a shadow of its former self. It was missing both its brain and its heart, Luke decided to simply put it out of its misery by cutting it in half.


    Luke inspected his handiwork. Craters and lines of lightning blackened earth criss crossed the ground. A few unfortunate elementals had been flattened and the warrior who had been getting his armor opened like a can had cooked in his own armor. He might have died before Luke arived.


    Had he reached the level of his father? His father had been a tier higher, but he had always played it safe. Both had a talent for bloodshed, clenching his fists Luke grinned. Soon it would be possible to step out of his father¡¯s shadow.


    The fighting had started winding down, most of the elementals were dead or incapacitated. Luke watched Siren dismantle one of those metal crabs. The axe in his hand having no issues opening the creature up. They technically shared a tier, but no one would guess that from the one sided beating that was being handed out.


    He wondered what force Siren would get. There had to be a way for him to survive the process, after all the path to power could not be limited to those lucky enough to start at the bottom. The idea that tier zero could grow through what was essentially adaptation but not tier one or higher flew in the face of nature. The big lion got the food and grew bigger after all.


    Thinking was not his strong suit. Filling creatures with so much electricity their eyes glowed was, so he found an unattended metal ghost crab that was eating the corpse of a warrior. It was missing two legs and its tail dragged on the ground, but it still ate happily.


    Luke walked over, killed the elemental that had spawned from the cadaver and inspected the crab. It hissed at him, trying to get him to leave. For some reason they did not see him as food, but their hunger was also a stronger emotion than their fear. He placed a palm on the metal shell, the crab tried to break the contact but Luke ran a few lightning bolts through the shell.


    Metal was a terrible defense against him, its beady eyes popped and started smoking before it collapsed to the ground. Smiling, Luke dusted off his hand like the miners did when they were proud of themselves.


    ¡°You two are going to have to tell me how you keep doing that,¡± Luke turned to find Kale standing behind him.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Luke asked.


    His opinion of Kale was neutral. The man was too weak to truly get anything done, but he was also trustworthy enough to give any responsibility. It was an unfortunate combination of traits, he was also old and Luke did not really like old people. They were wrinkly and creepy, a good man fought and died young, before he expired like a loaf of bread.


    ¡°How do you and Tristan keep going up in tier despite lacking the artifacts to do so?¡± Kale had his arms folded, ¡°I¡¯m sure you did not find a cache of tier four or five artifacts to get to tier five.¡±


    Luke shrugged, ¡°Find strong people, hit them really hard, survive it when they do it back. After a few times, bam, tier upgrade.¡±


    ¡°That seems really stupid,¡± Kale said, clearly not understanding Luke¡¯s delivery.


    ¡°Do Tristan and I seem terribly smart to you?¡± Luke asked.


    It was the best defense against probing questions. When in doubt, just play dumb. After all, he couldn¡¯t give information that he did not have.


    Kale realized that he was not going to get any new information out of Luke, so he asked a more pertinent question, ¡°So what are we doing next?¡±


    ¡°We are gathering up all the warriors before the elementals can torture and turn them into mindless puppets,¡± Luke said, ¡°Then we get to go to the Stone Caldera to break the siege there.¡±

 136. Does he Still Work?

    Tristan awoke to something poking him in the face. It took him longer than he wanted to admit to realize it was a finger. When he finally opened his eyes to see a pair of copper eyes staring down at him. Then the frame of black hair and then the child¡¯s face. Tristan blinked a few times, the eyes were red now.


    It took him an embarrassingly long time to recognize his little sister. Tris smiled and looked over her shoulder, ¡°HE IS ALIVE!¡±


    Tristan braced for the pain that shout would cause to his head. Then he realized, possibly for the first time in his life, that he had gone through something traumatic and did not have a headache. Somewhere else in the building, he heard what sounded like a frightened animal scrambling up the steps. It did not take long for said panicked animal to reach the doorway and reveal itself as Helen.


    ¡°Oh, god¡¯s love, you''re alive,¡± Helen said breathing heavily due to heavy emotions.


    Tristan said the first thing that came to mind, ¡°Sai¡¯s boss¡¯s uncle killed all three of them.¡±


    Helen didn¡¯t seem to hear, ¡°Are you hungry, is it hurting, how can I help?¡±


    No, he was not hungry, he had just eaten several weeks¡¯ worth of food. His stomach disagreed, it rumbled at the word food, and before he could say anything Helen was gone. She had left Tris behind and he had no idea how to interact with the child, he had been the youngest one in any group that he had been a part of.


    She poked him again, and Tristan snapped at her, ¡°Stop.¡±


    ¡°Alright, now that your mom is gone, let''s start with the mental test,¡± Vulcan said.


    ¡°Why,¡± Tristan croaked.


    ¡°To see if you are dead,¡± Tris said.


    ¡°To see how bad oxygen deprivation damaged your brain,¡± Vulcan answered.


    He struggled to get into a sitting position, it was hard like he had lost all his strength. When he saw his arms, Tristan realized that might just be the case. No matter how much he exercised or trained, he had never been able to bulk up. Siren was a human tank, made of stone with biceps bigger than most people¡¯s thighs. He hid it well with his combat robes, but the earth kern had done him many favors.


    As earth and metal seemed like adjacent elements, Tristan had assumed he could get big like Siren. It should not have come as a surprise that a metal kern came with a wiry build. At least until he met Vulcan. In the vision he was built like Siren, making Tristan believe he just had failed to inherit anything impressive from his parents.


    ¡°How many fingers am I holding up,¡± Vulcan said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have fingers,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Yes I do, see,¡± Tris said, waggling her fingers in Tristan¡¯s face.


    ¡°Stop being annoying,¡± Tristan said trying to wave the little girl away. Even that motion was hard, however dealing with a child would be more exhausting.


    ¡°Stop being an eyeball,¡± Tris shot back.


    What, Tristan thought as he frowned down at the child, ¡°No, I meant to get off the bed and leave the room.¡±


    Tris ignored him and said, ¡°My dad is forty-three, he¡¯s older than you are.¡±


    This was going nowhere, so he decided to block her high pitched voice out and focus on the ancient entity examining his brain, ¡°So do you need me to do anything else.¡±


    ¡°Examine your kern,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Once we know you will live, we can work on your life story.¡±


    Tristan immediately turned his vision inward. His kern was there, but it was raw. Strangely the area around his heart was perfectly fine, his whole diaphragm was fine. Beyond that, however, organs and muscles were swollen and damaged from having a piece that was supposed to be organic converted to metal. The damage was probably caused every time he reinforced his body, but he never did that for days on end.


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    That was expected, no life saving measure was perfect. What was unexpected was the health of his heart. It should be barely hanging on. In fact, Tristan had expected to need the rejuvenating effects of Luke and his protein shakes to fully recover. It did not take him long to find the answer.


    His heart had taken on a trait of light kerns. It was now pulling on the force of growth, however, unlike the other alloyed forces it stayed around the heart. When it made contact with any architect alloy, it immediately fused and bonded to any damaged tissue. So he had gotten his hands on a limited form of the healing abilities of a light kern.


    As an experiment, he made as much architect alloy as he could. He kept it under a third of his essence so that it would not spread out and form a backup of his kern. Then he fed it through his heart. The area that was healed expanded out as the alloy found damaged areas and fixed them.


    Tristan grinned as he realized his recovery might be shorter than he had initially thought. The only downside appeared to be the fact that the cost to heal was so high. He had used almost a third of his maximum essence to repair a few inches of tissue. Yes, it could save his life, but it would not help him win any fights. Though it had one huge upside, it replaced Luke¡¯s shakes quite nicely, and that was what really mattered.


    Tristan reported his findings to Vulcan. He was excited, but the lamp post had to douse his enthusiasm, ¡°Be careful, it healed while you were unconscious. There is a good chance it''s an ability you can¡¯t turn off, so inspect your body every few weeks or so and make sure it''s not feeding any cancer. You have both decay and hunger, so that''s not terrible, but it could become a problem if you don¡¯t pay attention.¡±


    Tristan nodded, not wanting to turn into an abomination. Though he was hurt often enough that he would rarely have to worry about it. Even workouts revolved around damaging the body to make it stronger. He wondered if enhanced healing would make exercises more or less efficient. Considering the ground he had lost he hoped it was the former.


    ¡°Now give me your life story as you remember it, start as early as you can, and move to the present day,¡± Vulcan said.


    So Tristan obliged, starting with the earliest memory he could think of. The sifting, it took Tristan a few moments of talking to realize that he struggled to remember anything before the sifting. The lack of knowledge only even became apparent when he commented on how he disliked Clive. He had disliked the man for telling his best friend to stay away from him.


    He had no memories of this friendship. Were they close? Thirteen was old enough for tentative marriage talks to start. More oddities started appearing, Hailey¡¯s memories were still there, but Tristan could not tell where they started or ended. They felt like formative memories that he knew had happened to him, but could not tell exactly when.


    ¡°Am I going to keep forgetting things?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Well, maybe, but you don¡¯t have to worry about becoming a different person. Humans have a massive advantage over all other creatures, we have a sapient soul, which holds our personalities. There is no way for essence to go in and warp it. Sure it can take your memories, but it won¡¯t change you as a person. Though it is possible that it could strip away the facade that you give to others.¡±


    Tristan was not sure how he felt about that. He would argue that he was his memories. Anger at his father had pushed him forward, without that memory his motivation would most likely wane. Maybe he had lost one of those pieces of his past and would only be left to wonder what had changed between yesterday and today.


    He was pulled out of his thoughts by sniffling. Tristan looked down to see Tris wiping a tear away, ¡°That is so sad.¡±


    ¡°That is just so cruel, you made her cry,¡± Vulcan scolded.


    Tris lunged forward and hugged Tristan, getting snot all over him. He tried to resist, but the power of a tier zero little girl overwhelmed him in his weakened state. She patted Tristan on the head while saying,¡± It will be alright, Harp is here.¡±


    Helen finally came in with a plate full of food, followed by Eve and Conni. All three of them stopped and stared at the scene before them.


    Helen cooed, ¡°Ohh that¡¯s so adorable.¡±


    Eve simply smiled, while Conni said, ¡°Tristan, why did you make the poor girl cry?¡±


    ¡°I am going to dunk you in the river,¡± Tristan said to Vulcan. He made sure to keep the comment mental and sent an image of him drowning the human form of the lamppost. All he got back was laughter.


    ¡°Just bring the food over,¡± Tristan griped out loud.


    Helen finally relented and came over. She set the plate on the bed and picked up Tris, ¡°So, what will you be doing after this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to grind my way through the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s army until I¡¯m strong enough to kill him,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Baby, he hurt you,¡± Helen said like that was a valid counterargument.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tristan said slowly, ¡°You get rid of those things before they do it again.¡±


    He was very clear on that point. Despite its sentience, the Lord of the Underworld was an it, not a he. It was not human, it was little more than an animated corpse that should have been left where corpses belong. Buried underground.

 137. Screw You

    Down. Up. Tristan pushed as hard as he could, but try as he might he could not force his muscles to obey. It had been less than a day since he managed to push the healing through his extremities. Not wanting to wait to regain what he had lost, Tristan tried to perform his daily routine.


    Getting off the bed proved to be a challenge. The floor proved much easier to get to, though his goal of a full workout was shrunk to a set of pushups. Then a single pushup, and finally he made it a goal to get off the floor. Unfortunately, he was not sure how he would go about achieving that.


    He clawed at the bed frame, but his denser body proved to be too heavy. Normally it was a benefit, but it was also much harder to move. Gritting his teeth, Tristan hauled himself up into a sitting position.


    ¡°Any advice,¡± He asked Vulcan.


    ¡°How about starting with walking as opposed to pushups,¡± Vulcan sent him an image, ¡°Make one of these.¡±


    Tristan inspected the image. It was a scaffold of metal with four legs and bars connecting three sides. In the picture a nondescript man was standing inside the contraption, placing his weight on it, before sliding it forward and repeating the act. It functioned in the same way as crutches seemed to, but this had even more support.


    ¡°How will I move that?¡± Tristan asked. He could barely move himself, so a metal crutch was out of the question.


    ¡°Those metal bars are actually pipes, they are thin and hollow as they only need to hold your weight,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Use your architect alloy to build the model, it should let you make a perfect replica.¡±


    Tristan had forgotten about that aspect. Creating a construct could be done regardless of the shape, the architect alloy simply automated the process at the expense of durability. It was still metal, but it had more in common with aluminum than steel. He pictured the image and mixed his metal essence with the architect''s essence, then pushed it out to make the image.


    He gasped when his kern emptied out. A hollow object like this should be no issue, he should have copied the image perfectly. A crash forced him to open his eyes, he was looking at the half completed image. Only he had also pictured the nondescript man, the blank face and shoulders fell to the floor.


    ¡°You know, if I had known you were going to make a bust, I would have used my own face,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°You could have put it in your temple and I could become a god!¡±


    ¡°Your ego is so big that I would run out of metal before I reached your nose,¡± Tristan said.


    Vulcan chuckled at that. Tristan prepared to wait the three or four hours it would take to recharge his essence. For the moment he would practice making images in his mind with only the desired object in focus.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± A feminine voice said.


    Tristan opened his eyes to see Harp standing in the doorway, inspecting the metal bust. She was holding a small child in one arm and the tribe of little people were all gathered behind her. All of them were staring at the disembodied head on the floor.


    ¡°Sorry, trying to make something from essence to help me walk,¡± Tristan said.


    Harp paused, ¡°people can¡¯t do that, can they.¡±


    Tristan was only half paying attention, more focused on visualization than the conversation, ¡°of course they can, warriors can all do it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re tier three,¡± Harp said quietly. Then, ¡°how, no one has ever seen metal artifacts.¡±¡¯


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°They exist, I have seen them in the mine.¡±


    It would be illogical for anyone to expect metal artifacts to be present in the caldera. Tristan was one of two people who had the requisite metal kern to make artifacts. Well, that or metal elementals.


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    ¡°Oh,¡± Harp did not seem to know what to say.


    Tristan finally had the image down. It was harder than he expected. He could not be too focused as it would cause him to pay too much attention to one area. It was an uncomfortable process as relaxed focus was not a skill he had developed. He assumed it was the talent that allowed old people to enjoy watching grass grow from the front porch.


    Harp jumped in surprise when a metal object wove itself into existence. Hollow tubes with rounded bumps at the bottom. It took a little bit over half his essence, which was good as it gave him some ideas on making construct weapons.


    He could build pole arms with hollow shafts. They might bend rather easily, but if he got his hands on the force of adamance, then it would not be a problem. Absorption should work as well, after all, that was the force that was used to empower tower steel.


    It was still a struggle, but the scaffolding was able to support Tristan''s frame, ¡°Vulcan, what do you call this thing.¡±


    ¡°It''s a walker, old people use it to maintain their mobility after movement becomes difficult,¡± Vulcan answered.


    People tended to either stay healthy or die younger in the Caldera. The oldest person he knew was Elder River and that man had no issues moving around. Most people died in their sixties or even a little earlier, so these contraptions would not have much purpose outside of injury, or physical therapy.


    Originally, Tristan had intended to work his way back to peak condition, however, at the moment, it was clear that simply going about his day would be a workout in its own right. Harp moved out of the way as he hobbled his way to the door. The rest of the home was empty and silent, Tristan had expected Grace to be in the kitchen. For the entire time he had known her she was always cooking something.


    ¡°Where is everyone?¡± Tristan asked.


    Harp answered, ¡°There was a mandatory gathering of people for the announcement of a draft, the only people exempt were the injured and those who were deemed unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°You were deemed unnecessary?¡± Tristan asked.


    Harp nodded, ¡°Do you know how dual kerns work?¡±


    Tristan shrugged an action that was difficult while putting his weight on the walker, ¡°Sure, you have two elements, a smaller amount of essence per element than normal, but an overall larger kern. It is also easier to progress as any artifact with one of your elements will work for you.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why Siren is the only powerful dual kern,¡± Harp said, ¡°The essences don¡¯t stay separate inside my kern. Earth and darkness essence are like oil and water, they don¡¯t mix, but they also don¡¯t conflict. Light and dark, however, are as opposed as one can get, I effectively don¡¯t have a kern. I will never be able to use dark to hide better or light to run farther.¡±


    That did explain a lot of things that had confused Tristan. Having a dual kern seemed like an insurmountable advantage, so it would be something the Caldera would want to develop. Siren was so powerful that having fifty more just like him would be a good thing. However only one out of every forty-nine people with dual kerns would have Siren¡¯s kern. Tristan was sure it had to do with the forces that composed the element. The healing of light would be negated by the decay of darkness.


    That brought Tristan back to the warning next to the force of alloy. Adding a bunch of random essences could conflict and weaken the host. Tristan was glad his decay and hunger had to be activated, otherwise he would have lost all his alloys due to stupid decisions. He had two dark and two light alloys after all.


    ¡°Well, give me a few weeks, and I¡¯m sure I will be able to fight,¡± Tristan said, ¡°In the meantime, how can I help?¡±


    He hated the feeling of powerlessness that being useless came with. There was not much he could physically do, but maybe he could find something to occupy himself with.


    Harp¡¯s answer surprised him, ¡°Sure, can you make more metal?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Though not large objects, I only managed this because it is hollow.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back then,¡± Harp said.


    She left Tristan to gimp around and went outside. It took her a good thirty minutes, during which Tristan had to keep some of the younger children from climbing on his walker. He swore he would not have kids if they all acted like this.


    Harp returned, holding a silver object, ¡°This is a screw, they are like nails but better.¡±


    Tristan was aware of what a screw was, and that they were expensive. The inclined ramp running around the shaft was very difficult to make a proper mold for and the best screws were identical. That exact nature was difficult for smiths but would be easy for Tristan, as he would not have to worry about his mold warping or filing the edge perfectly.


    The only question was, ¡°Why do you want me to make screws?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what this sells for?¡± Harp asked.


    Tristan had not needed to use one before, at least not in his admittedly fractured memory. He shook his head.


    ¡°This sells for a copper parse,¡± Harp said, ¡°One of these is half a day''s wages.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Tristan said, ¡°What do you need the money for?¡±


    ¡°Food, clothing, proper survival gear, and weapons for these children¡¯s parents. I like running a daycare, not an orphanage,¡± Harp said, ¡°From the stories, my dad tells, the Caldera throws the regular infantry some cloth armor and a pointy stick before saying, best of luck.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough, let me experiment on the composition, and I can definitely do this,¡± Tristan said, then thought about it, ¡°It does not matter so long as it is made of metal right?¡±


    Harp shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not a smith.¡±


    Tristan hobbled over to a wall and leaned back against it. His thigh was cramping from fighting to hold him upright. Taking the screw he held it, turning it over and inspecting it. It was relatively simple, a hexagonal head that any gripping tool could hold, a shaft like a nail, and a spring shaped ramp coiled around it.


    He started with the architect alloy, and he had an exact copy of the screw. A few more times gave him several more copies. The essence investment was not low for their size, but the screws were so small, that he could make one or two hundred a day. He handed them off to Harp and then tried to make them without the architect essence.


    The result was garbage by comparison. It had a straight shaft, and the hexagonal head had rounded corners, almost making it round. The ramp was a set of rings bulging out of the shaft. It was not a marketable product, but the essence cost was halved. The ability to copy things was great, but the architect alloy was a guarantee of quality, not quantity.


    This little piece of metal would be great practice for free crafting metal constructs. It would not be good to become dependent on his alloys, especially if he could lose one by incorporating the wrong force in the future.

 138. Check Your Mindset

    Tristan groaned. It was a happy groan, but also a hurt groan. The healing from the combination of growth and architect essence did in fact increase the effectiveness of his workout. Unfortunately, it also made him hungry faster. That hunger made him pause his experimentation and spit out a good forty architect alloy screws. Four silver parces were enough to buy the food he needed.


    He might not have any memories of a childhood with Harp, but he was glad she was around. Every hour or so she would collect his products and exchange them. Tristan wondered if he was about to impact the economic viability of screws in the River Caldera. Maybe not, was tended to be expensive after all.


    That evening Conni and the miners came back, surprised to find food in addition to all their children. It was also at that time that Tristan realized how spoiled the miners were. They had gotten used to eating Grace¡¯s home cooked meals, and try as she might, Harp was not her equal.


    ¡±Can all tier three people monetize their abilities like this?¡± Conni asked.


    Tristan could only shrug. He assumed there was a way, the ability to make something from essentially nothing had to be in demand. Well it was, the ability was reserved for war, whether against beasts or humans. A more stable environment would allow for invention to move away from violence. Tristan could see several uses for air pressure that he would not have thought of without the cannons.


    A thought struck Tristan, ¡°Conni you said you were part of the Agni Raja right? That was some kind of warrior cult right?¡±


    Vulcan started laughing, ¡°Grandma Conni is yelling at me for not raising you right.¡±


    ¡°A sect and a cult are different,¡± Conni explained, ¡°A sect is built around a productive environment and a system of beliefs. We in the Agni Raja venerate our ancestors while gathering at the temple mountain.¡±


    Vulcan explained, ¡°They worshiped their dead ancestors like gods and had their religious services around the soul tool of their strongest ancestor. Most likely it is a scepter or crown as the name Agni Raja simply translates to Flame Kings.¡±


    Oh, well that was weird. It was just as weird as the Caldera having temples dedicated to dead gods. At least Conni¡¯s cult could still go talk to their founder, assuming the soul tool could speak.


    Conni paused, looking like he was listening to someone. His eye twitched a little and he took a deep breath to push down his irritation, ¡°Let¡¯s step past labels, what do you need to know about my sect.¡±


    ¡°Can you teach me the martial arts you use?¡± Tristan asked, ¡°They seem more efficient than the ones that Luke taught me.¡±


    Luke had the tendency to just blitz his opponents with fast attacks. Normally one would associate fast with weak, as most of the time one would sacrifice form for speed. Not so with Luke, he would hit fast, and also discharge a ludicrous amount of lightning at impact.


    He had taught Tristan this method of fighting and it worked for him. While Luke had speed, Tristan had mass and density, which meant they would hit just as hard at the same tier. Unfortunately, that was where the usefulness ended. Luke could easily evade a strike that Tristan had no hope of avoiding. Sure Tristan could take a heavier beating, but that was only a valid method when dealing with opponents of equal tier.


    Conni on the other hand was taught a system of martial arts that incorporated a soul tool. It was based more on finesse, as his anima would not allow for extended bouts, he had to compensate for the lack of resources. If there was one thing Tristan was good at, it was dragging a fight out until he managed to pull out a win. Learning a martial arts designed to assist in that exact situation sounded perfect.


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    Conni thought about it for a few moments, ¡°No, I can not teach you. I can show you some of the forms, but I do not have time to truly instruct you.¡±


    ¡°Why not,¡± Tristan asked, surprised. He had not expected the instruction to be free, but it was not as if money was an issue at the moment.


    ¡°Tristan, I can almost pardon your ignorance, due to your injury,¡± Conni said, ¡°But not completely, as your ignorance stems from a place of selfishness.¡± That was offensive, and Tristan opened his mouth to say so, Conni held up a hand. ¡°Let me finish. You released what is effectively a tier nine elemental that can control any metal except for tower steel. It grows its power every time someone dies with deep enough regrets, which a conflict with your family''s remnant causes. The temple is split, half calling it the coming of the gods¡¯ champion, half calling all people to a holy crusade. Food is limited, as the majority of the crops were left mostly unharvested and the only thing keeping us from starving is the fact that mythical beasts wiped out over a quarter of the Caldera¡¯s population this summer. A draft has been called, forcing all able bodied men into service and all able bodied women above tier zero. There are very good reasons why no one has time for you.¡±


    Tristan could only stare wide eyed at Conni, ¡°Why haven¡¯t I been drafted then?¡±


    He was tier three and more importantly he would be able to regain his muscle mass in less than a month. His stamina would take far longer, but even with low stamina, he had a tier fifteen weapon, and he was sure he could face down anyone below tier four.


    ¡°Able bodied, you can barely walk,¡± Conni said, ¡°They don¡¯t want to just feed the elementals more recruits.¡±


    The excitement Tristan had to learn a martial art waned. He felt bad about not paying attention and his first response was to throw the excuse of why should he care about an uncaring caldera at it. Only, that was no longer applicable. The man before him cared, each one of the missing sleeping roles was filled with miners who cared, and he had friends who cared in both the highest and lowest strata of the calderas classes.


    He could not with good faith say that the caldera was uncaring when Eve, the heir to the position of Elder River challenged the temple to help him. It was just his father and uncle, like any child his parents were his world. Uncaring parents meant an uncaring world. However, Tristan was not a child anymore, the punishment of being sent to the mine was actually his greatest blessing.


    ¡°What can I do to help then,¡± Tristan was not sure how to change. The caldera as a whole still opposed silver devils, but he did not need to worry about what a bunch of strangers thought.


    Conni gave Tristan a small smile, ¡°Making screws is a good starting point, they are necessary for many of the war machines the warriors are building. I can also have Eve or Bruce send an engineer with the parts that are in the most demand. Until then get better, and if you can, go help Luke with the Stone Caldera.¡±


    Conni patted Tristan on the shoulder before heading into the kitchen to talk with Harp. For some reason he felt pride at that motion, it was not something he had expected. He started copying the screw as fast as he could.


    This was the beginning of a cycle, Tristan would empty the metal essence out of his kern using the architect alloy. The last screw was always done freeform, as he wanted to see if he could increase his control. It was never worth using, but it slowly became more recognizable as a screw. This was followed by a workout, with the only goal being to stress as many muscles as possible.


    He would eat, and then use the accumulated essence to create a healing pulse. Micro tears did not take much essence to repair, it was simply exhausting and stimulated his hunger. This would be followed by a rest period where he would focus on siphoning as much essence out of the primordial realm.


    Vulcan taught him ways to speed this up, surprisingly praying, chanting, and singing sped it up. Tristan was not sure why it worked that way, but Vulcan advocated for chanting as it did not require anything but willpower to accomplish. Before their deaths praying to the three gods would have resulted in faster recuperation for anyone with a flame, water, or wind kern. He was not sure why that was, but he was sure it was something he would discover at a higher tier.


    This cycle only stopped after a few days when a stranger showed up. He was the engineer and he brought two objects, a spool of wire and gear.


    ¡°Will you be able to forge these?¡± The man asked, looking skeptically at the house. It clearly lacked a smithy. Tristan also still looked gaunt, so it was not surprising.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°How will I be paid for these?¡±


    The engineer shrugged, ¡°Money is losing value fast, so I assume you will be paid in food. Maybe at a ratio of three gears a meal or so. The wire is probably worth more. If you¡¯re fast enough you can probably work out a deal for low tier artifacts or other valuables.¡±


    ¡°Food should be good for now,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to make both screws and these, which is more necessary.¡±


    ¡°Some lady has been filling buckets with screws and delivering them almost daily, we should be good for a while,¡± The engineer said.


    Tristan had to resist looking back at Harp, ¡°Thank you, come back tomorrow and I will have some finished products for you.¡±


    The man nodded and jogged off to his next task. Tristan continued his routine, swapping out screws for gears. He just had to hope the healer had access to something that would help with atrophy, and that gears would make him valuable enough to access it.

 139. Meeting of the Minds

    Pushing the perfectly weighted doors aside, Eve stepped into the council chamber. Her grandfather had told her to look as regal as possible. Elder River most likely wanted her to wear the expensive robes that the head family favored, however, she took it differently. She still wore the mythical beast leather armor, but it was died a deep blue with gold borders. The artifact sword Tristan had given her was strapped to her back.


    She was not tall enough to draw it from that position, but this was a council meeting, if anyone got past all the guards and Kerri, there was little she could do. Eve had braided her hair, going with the style that she had seen Lesly wear, and on her head, she wore a golden circlet. She wanted to send a message to the council, but they were too indecisive. Eve wished someone else could send that message, no matter how much she wore or spoke, the message would be better received from someone who inspired awe.


    Unfortunately, those people were rare and the ones she did know of were doing their jobs. Siren was attempting to break the siege on the Stone Caldera as they spoke. Cole was most likely doing the same, the list of those who were beacons of hope ended there, no one else seemed to understand why it was a bad thing when your two rallying points were sent into a nest of creatures two to five tiers higher than themselves.


    ¡°Welcome Eve, glad you could join us,¡± Elder River said. He quirked an eyebrow at her garb.


    ¡°Thank you, grandfather,¡± Eve said.


    She was not the first to arrive, Guider Mathis from the temple had preceded her. He was a younger man who was completely unlike Guider Daphan from the Forest Caldera. Guider Mathis actually believed in his own religion, it made him both predictable and wholly unreliable. Most of the teachings of the gods were simply stories about their exploits, deriving moral rules from those was unreliable at best. Was Furnace raining fire down on people attacking a village a story about killing the unbeliever or protecting the innocent? Depends on the interpretation.


    At least in this situation, Guider Mathis was reliable. The Lord of the Underworld was part metal elemental, and that piece was literally his brain. Mathis was of the opinion that it was more likely to be a champion of the demon lord than the three gods. He also wanted to burn Guider Daphan alive for betraying what he called the Guider¡¯s sacred duty.


    People slowly trickled in, the head of finance, commerce, security, the commander¡¯s voice, and the steward. Two surprise guests showed up Elder Lake and Elder Plain whom she had assumed dead. The last person to arrive was the new civil protector. He was a thin man named Herod with a light and water kern. Eve did not know where her grandfather had found him, but he had been elevated to tier four because his dual kern made it cheaper to do so. She did not like the fact that her grandfather had chosen to promote someone even weaker than Henry Golden Heart. Henry was a dedicated healer who just happened to be handy with a sword,


    Elder Forest stood, ¡°Let us start this meeting, Guider Mathis will be here to receive the blessing of the gods. We have two guests to introduce if you are not already aware. This is Elder Lake and Elder Plain, thank you for joining us.¡± Everyone politely nodded in greeting, ¡°Now to get a sense of the situation, I will ask the head of Finance and Commerce to give us an overview.¡±


    The head of finance stood as Elder River sat down, ¡°We are sliding into a barter system, which is bad as we can¡¯t tax a barter system. If we can¡¯t pay our soldiers then we will have trouble making them fight. We can pay the engineers and crafters with food, a deal that heavily favors the crafters with the inflated prices of food. Even if we can¡¯t drive out the elementals, we need that farmland back if we want any sense of order to be restored.¡±


    The head of Commerce didn¡¯t stand but he still spoke, ¡°Well said, however you undersold the issues we are having. Elder Lake has made me aware that elemental scouting parties are investigating his lands. They have not proved hostile to larger groups, but to the unarmed or small parties, they have proved lethal. The fish and kelp that are getting us through the winter may be good food, but we need to have a way to safely transport them. I would suggest taking some of the warriors off the battlefield to secure our supply lines.¡±


    ¡°Those warriors are fighting to take back my home!¡± Elder Plain yelled, ¡°How would you feel if your home was in a war zone?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have enough citizens left to be concerned about the Plains Caldera,¡± Elder Lake said, ¡°Take care of the living first, then we can take care of the grave you call home.¡±


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    Nothing had been proven, but a rumor of Elder Plain¡¯s involvement in the Ghost Crab plague that had started everything had spread. A letter was evidence, but not damning evidence. It had not done anything good for the Elder¡¯s reputation.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Kerri asked the question everyone was thinking.


    The commander''s voice answered, ¡°While Elder Plain has lost his Caldera and most of his elite warriors, he still controls around twenty percent of the standard warriors. The better question is why do we have two tier fours sitting at a table when they would be better suited to taking command of our troops.¡°


    Kerri stood fast enough to knock his chair over, ¡°Take that back, you are only here because of who you represent, while I am here on my own merits.¡±


    The Commander¡¯s Voice sighed, ignoring the insult, ¡°Two previously unknown tier fours have shown up and single-handedly stolen control of the warriors out from under the commanding officers. I can¡¯t blame the warriors either, these two are getting results, and our people are tired of bleeding in pointless conflicts.¡±


    Kerri narrowed his eyes, ¡°Who are they?¡±


    Eve decided it was time for her to step in. The commander''s voice had obviously done some digging and knew who these two were, but his opinion would be told from his viewpoint which was third hand information at best. Eve could not risk him truthfully saying that Luke was unstable and having this council making him an enemy.


    ¡°They were part of the security detail at the Forest Caldera¡¯s mine, you know how artifacts were unearthed there with regularity?¡± When Eve got nods, ¡°Well, a lot more than were advertised have been recovered. They managed to nurture Siren, a tier four warrior, and Luke who you may know better as the lightning devil, is actually tier five, same as the alchemist.¡±


    ¡°For clarification,¡± Guider Mathis said, ¡°He is called a lightning devil due to the heretical use of one of our ancestor¡¯s holy weapons while having a strong friendship with a silver devil.¡±


    Eve nodded in false thanks to the guider before continuing, ¡°As Guider Mathis has said, Luke is young and inexperienced in anything beyond violence. Fighting elementals in a mine shaft does that to young boys,¡± the sentiment was back in her favor, ¡°Siren is the one you want to communicate with, the handful of what the public called super elites were all trained by him. He is trustworthy and takes his promises seriously, if you can get him on your side he can sway every man he meets to your banner.¡±


    Kerri narrowed his eyes, ¡°Do you support them over the River Caldera.¡±


    Eve raised her palms to placate him, ¡°No, I support those who are doing the work. The heads of Finance and Commerce are doing work, and the commander¡¯s voice is doing the best he can to keep channels of information open. Elder Lake is keeping everyone fed while preparing for a potential siege, and the head of security is barely keeping public order. Herod at least has the excuse that he was brought on this morning,¡± All the people who were mentioned nodded, Eve had learned that her congenial attitude was not always a boon. However, true praise never fell on deaf ears, ¡°Kerri, I don¡¯t know what you''re doing, and I don¡¯t care, because some miners have decided to do your work for you. So sit on your hands and do nothing, we have found better people for the job.¡±


    Kerri opened his mouth to argue, but Guider Mathis was the one who spoke, ¡°It is a sad day when the duty of the steward is outsourced to a Heretic.¡±


    Kerri wisely shut his mouth and sat down. His backer, Elder River, had not chosen to defend him, so there was little he could do. Herod gave Eve a thumbs-up and a dumb smile. Definitely chosen because he was cheap.


    ¡°All this is well and good,¡± The commander¡¯s voice said, ¡°but you need to get the rogue elements under our command before they can truly be considered assets.¡±


    ¡°I do not believe they will submit themselves to Elder River or Elder Lake, they barely submitted to Elder Forest,¡± Eve said, ¡°They follow those they respect, and the Elders have not comported themselves with dignity in the last year and a half. Instead, I propose a different method, make their goals align with ours and treat them as allies. We both want the leader of the elemental lords dead, find a way to use that. Once he is gone, their participation is irrelevant.¡±


    The commander¡¯s voice nodded, ¡°I assume you have a plan?¡±


    Eve nodded, ¡°We need to get one of three people to go to them,¡± Eve held up three fingers, ¡°Conni, the mine foreman, Tristan, who is both a friend and something of a disciple, or Hadrid who can manually keep them in line.¡±


    Guider Mathis exploded, ¡°This is preposterous, you can¡¯t expect us to willingly place our lives in the hands of a silver devil!¡±


    Eve shrugged, ¡°This council is an exchange of ideas and planning. Feel free to bring forward your own ideas.¡±


    Guider Mathis straightened his robes and sat back down. His outburst was very embarrassing, he had nothing to offer to a military strategy. He spoke to peaceful people who sat quietly in pews, this was not that setting. All the Elders gave Guider Mathis dirty looks, the temple had caused issues for Elder River, and Eve could see that being something all elders had in common.


    The discussion went on for the next six hours. Everything from the rations being distributed to the distribution of tiers. Even whether or not women should be considered a tier lower in terms of fighting strength. The only thing that was going smoothly was the construction of war engines, the bountiful forest around the river, and skilled craftsmen making it possible to keep up with demand.

 140. Getting Stoned

    BOOM! Fire rocked the stony landscape. Luke was standing around five miles away, but the firepower that shook the Stone Caldera was overwhelming. The wall of the caldera cracked but did not crumble. Warriors with earth kerns inside franticly cemented the wall back together with stone constructs. Areas not under current assault were being addressed by lower tier masons and stone workers.


    Those with fire kerns quickly dried any mortar or concrete used to patch up the wall. It would be weaker than the original wall, but better than having no wall. City warfare was poorly developed in the caldera, but that did not mean that the elemental lords had not developed the skills while still alive. Trebuchets threw projectiles into the Stone Caldera with limited effect.


    Turns out that building a home like a bunker made a city resistant to common siege equipment. The brick facade hid a much sturdier structure. People were able to shelter in their homes while every able bodied man returned the shattered boulders back to their attackers with slings. Luke was surprised at the power that could be achieved with a simple strip of leather and a rock. He watched an infantryman have his helmet dented so badly that he had to get help removing it.


    Currently, Luke stood beside Siren. He was not sure how he had found himself in a lieutenant role, but evidently killing elemental lords had a great effect on morale. On the opposite side of Siren was Cole, he was an impressive man, a head taller than Siren. However, despite them being in a similar tier, and having similar kerns, Luke could only think of him as a discount Siren. The sign of an elite was the ability to punch a tier above one¡¯s own.


    Siren could fight tier fives, he had done it on multiple occasions, and even won some of the time, while they were excavating the tower. He was able to stall tier six elemental lords as well. Cole was average with his mass being his greatest strength. He was a nice enough fellow though.


    The final member of their group was someone called Commander Blacklake. He was a tier three elite who was in charge of the Lake and River Caldera¡¯s united forces. Fittingly, he had a water kern and several powerful artifacts, including the one that Siren had taken from the water elemental lord. Luke had thought it was stupid until the man laced his water constructs with poison and then froze them into bladed weapons. It was so vicious that Luke couldn¡¯t help but respect the man.


    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Cole asked. He was getting fidgety watching his home being assaulted while he had an army of four hundred strong at his back.


    ¡°I want to understand,¡± Siren said.


    ¡°Understand what? People are dying, let¡¯s save them,¡± Cole said.


    ¡°Where is the Lord of the Underworld? Why is a Caldera filled with ten thousand potential elemental thralls not worth his time? There are only four elemental lords too and they all look to be built out of low tier elementals,¡± Siren pointed at one that was pounding on the gates, ¡°That one puts out less force than me, considering that it has a fire, dark, and light elementals composing it, it can¡¯t have an effective tier above five.¡±


    Cole did not seem to understand what that meant, so Luke took the opportunity to mock, uh educate the civil protector, ¡°Do some basic math, that tier five means it is made up of tier two elementals. It''s the closest thing to fodder that the Underlord can get, without it actually being trash.¡±


    ¡°So you think this is a trap?¡± Commander Blacklake asked.


    ¡°Or a distraction, we have most of the Caldera¡¯s fighting power with us right now,¡± Siren said, ¡°Though if it is a distraction, it''s not one we can afford to ignore, ten thousand people are great bait in either case.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Commander Blacklake asked, ¡°Even if their army is almost a thousand strong, it is made mostly of civilians. Though with proper incentives, even civilians can put up enough of a fight to kill warriors.¡±


    ¡°You think the lords are holding family members hostage?¡± Siren asked.


    Blacklake shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not what I would do, though I must admit I don¡¯t know how elementals think. I would offer a massive payout, but only if they survived. If their loved ones needed the payout then an elemental would be almost guaranteed. I would then break my own rules and give the payout to the families of deceased soldiers to curry the goodwill of the populace. In short, I would treat people like cattle, feed them, treat them nice, get their milk have them plow a few fields, then butcher them when they are good and fat.¡±


    Luke nodded, definitely savage. If this man had been in charge instead of that fool Regis, Elder Forest would not have stood a chance. He liked Commander Blacklake, though the feeling was not reciprocated.


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    Siren nodded, ¡°It''s not a surprise that they turned their backs on a Caldera that would draft them to fight a mythical beast outbreak that their own Elders caused. We will kill all the elementals, but leave as many of the civilians alive as you can. It will make the Lord of the Underworld look incompetent without giving him more elementals to mash together into elemental lords.¡±


    Luke skeptically looked out at the mass of people. He had never seen a siege before, though the concept was made to slowly starve a city out. This one seemed to be geared to bash down the gate and swarm the city with armed civilians. There were at least one hundred basic elementals scattered in the army, all of them were of the skeletal variety. Still, it would not help when one thousand armed civilians entered into urban warfare with five times their number of armed Stone Calderans. The walls were doing as much to protect the invaders as the city''s occupants.


    He had to change his opinion when the elemental lord who appeared to be in charge blasted the wall again. It was a combination of elementals that Luke had thought impossible. Air kern, Fire anima, and fire mind. Luke could feel the air construct being formed almost like a putty, pressed into the wall, and finally detonated. Any crack or gap was brutally exploited as the detonation rocked the walls.


    The most genius part of it was how cheap it was. The small spaces in the wall lacked room for expansion, so the wall started crumbling. Warriors then had the very essence heavy task of sealing the wall back up. Luke made a mental note, he needed to kill that one, it was at least tier six, maybe seven. If he could break his kern that would be even better, as there weren¡¯t any other real threats.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking the big guy throwing the fireballs,¡± Luke said.


    No one argued. If the crazy young man wanted a death match with the crazy undead pyromancer, then let him fight.


    Siren nodded, ¡°Start with the canons. Blacklake, do you have enough toxin to incapacitate the enemy?¡±


    Blacklake shook his head, ¡°No, but I can give most of them a bad rash by diluting some of my more dangerous stuff.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, let''s lower the population of elementals by a hundred,¡± Siren said.


    <>


    Elder Stone ducked behind the parapet as another wave of fire scorched the wall. As soon as it passed he started spinning his sling. Most people underestimated the power of slings. After a few rotations, he stepped out from cover and loosed the stone with a crack.


    The rib cage of an elemental exploded. Unfortunately, he missed the heart, but the spine and sternum were shattered leading to the shoulders and head sliding off. That would have been lethal on anything else.


    ¡°Sir,¡± a young man barely old enough to be called one ran up and slid to a stop on his knees. This was not out of respect, but out of a desire to keep his head. Several arrows coated in a viscous black liquid flew overhead before splattering into the city. They had learned the hard way not to touch the highly invasive neurotoxin.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Elder Stone said as he grabbed another piece of rubble. The wall was basically made of rubble by this point, glued together by layer after layer of stone construct.


    ¡°The last warrior fainted from essence exhaustion. One even went so far as to break his kern and died,¡± The messenger said.


    ¡°Is everyone evacuated  into the limestone quarry?¡± Elder Stone launched another stone. This one hit true, killing the tier one elemental it connected with.


    ¡°All those who are unable or unwilling to fight, sir,¡± The young man flinched as the gate below them started shuddering.


    ¡°Damn elemental lords,¡± Elder Stone grumbled,  ¡°How many stayed to fight?¡±


    ¡°All able bodied men and most of the women without children,¡±


    Elder Stone felt pride at that. His caldera had been hurt the worst by the ghost crabs, after the two that had been annihilated. His tier twos had been sent out, and the rush to harvest had paid enough to lure out most of the tier ones. When the metal crabs arrived, barely anyone made it out. Only a quarter of his Caldera was male now due to the losses. His warriors were mostly in the plains right now fighting for their lives against their fellow man.


    Despite all that his people fought on. They were like the stone they quarried, Stone could be broken, stone could be sculpted, but stone would always be stone. Hard, dependable, and even when ground to dust it was still an aggregate one could use to rebuild.


    A final BOOM, the gate crashed and he heard the weird mental laughter of the elemental lord as he stepped through the broken gate. Elder Stone grinned. If he was going to fall, he would do it before his people. After all, stone also has nothing to fear.


    ¡°Sir, what are you doing?¡± The messenger said.


    ¡°Time to fight in the city!¡± Elder Stone yelled.


    Everyone on the walls hurled their last volley before retreating. Taking the city would be expensive for the Forest traitors. Elder Stone had never liked Elder Forest, the man could make good seem like evil and evil seem righteous with all his fancy words. He should have known that was the trait of an evil man.


    Elder Stone pulled out his tower steel mace. He avoided the stares, opting to simply jump over the wall. The surprised elemental lord looked up, just in time to take a mace to the face. None of its elements specialized in durability, so Elder Stone¡¯s gravity empowered strike smashed it into the ground.


    A beam of light lanced through his shoulder, but Elder Stone was here to take as many with him into the afterlife as possible. He ignored the pain and brought the mace down over and over. He had driven spikes for the cart tracks in the quarry, he simply treated the elemental lord as a nail.


    Something broke his shin and he fell to his knees. He did not stop swinging. Another explosion sounded out, these ones more distant. He looked out through the gate. He had wondered why the attackers had left him alone, someone was approaching from their rear. Then hundreds of jagged pieces of ice rained down on the landscape.


    It was like some kind of snowfall Elder Stone would expect to see in Hell. He grinned, help had arrived, and his city was saved. Elder Stone just needed to do his job. At the moment his job was to beat an elemental lord to death.

 141. Rail Gun

    Elder Stone was helped to his feet, shocked that he had survived. His people who were mostly women and men so old they should have grandchildren or men so young they shouldn¡¯t even be married yet, seemed to share his opinion. Having an elemental lord bombarding the walls for the last few days had been nerve-wracking. Stones falling from the sky from foreign lever like machines had caused fear, even if only a few people had died to them.


    The young woman supporting him under one arm asked, ¡°Did we win?¡±


    Normally, a victor would be obvious, as one side would be disarmed and bound. Not so in this conflict, no one seemed willing to surrender until the conflict in the center was resolved. It was an odd standoff, every elemental had been torn apart in the last few minutes, but the people were hesitant to give up and the new group seemed hesitant to kill their countrymen.


    ¡°Brother!¡± A deep voice boomed.


    Elder Stone looked over and saw his younger, big brother. When they were younger that had always been a sore spot. Elder Stone was the tallest elder by quite a margin, but his little brother still had him beat by an entire head. Still, it turned out to be a good thing, bulk was rarely useful in the duties of an elder, while it was highly sought after in warriors. In fact, he was sure hitting his forehead on doorframes had resulted in brain damage that turned off volume control.


    ¡°Hey Cole, good to see you¡¯re not dead,¡± Elder Stone said.


    ¡°You think anything can kill me!¡± Cole laughed.


    The woman tried to bow causing Elder Stone to almost tip over. She quickly apologized, however as irritating as it was, Elder Stone could not be mad when people showed his family the respect they had earned. It was one of those social things that inconvenienced both the giver and receiver, while both felt obligated to complete the ritual.


    ¡°I think they could,¡± Elder Stone inclined his head at the last two elemental lords.


    The one who had been cracking the walls like an egg was in a relatively even duel with a young blond man. Most of the stones were faintly glowing as both seemed to share the same elements. Fire and air were both antagonistic and synergistic. Fire consumed air, but air could also smother fire, and that dichotomy was visible as flames were snuffed out in some areas and lightning ignited other patches while a good acre was radiating pure heat.


    The other elemental lord was a gemstone. It had translucent muscles, and Elder Stone could vaguely see an earthen brown skeleton inside. Its eyes were sky blue. It had a giant club that it swung around with great speed. No accuracy, however, as a man in a blue coat common to the Lake Caldera had encased its head in a block of ice.


    Normally it would have just broken the ice off, but a second man with an axe was calmly evading the blows. If there was even a small opening, he would jump in and strike. It was clear that the second battle was only a matter of time as the elemental lord was whittled down, in a literal sense as slabs of refractive stone were carved off.


    ¡°Well, they don¡¯t count, they¡¯re on our side,¡± Cole huffed folding his arms.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Elder Stone said, ¡°My little brother is the strongest, but only because his betters don¡¯t pick on him.¡±


    ¡°You just watch!¡± Cole yelled as he turned and ran toward the gem elemental lord.


    Adding another tier four ended that conflict in an instant. The elemental lord was so focused on the other two, that it missed the stone armored Cole. He shoulder slammed it off its feet, allowing the axe man to cut off its arms and legs before making Cole back down. Elder Stone raised an eyebrow, Cole never backed down, was he not the leader of this army?


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, could you set me down on the rubble over there?¡± Elder Stone said, ¡°Then send a soldier over, I don¡¯t want to take you out there if we need to go out.¡±


    She simply nodded, and they hobbled their way over to the large piece of rubble he could use as a chair. The woman bowed and said, ¡°I will be back, though it may take a while. Most of the soldiers are more injured than you are.¡±


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    ¡°Thank you,¡± Elder Stone waved her along.


    Several armed civilians gathered by the gate to watch the duel in awe. Elder Stone had to admit two people with flashy kerns did make quite the spectacle. Green lightning clashing with the full spectrum of flame was very impressive. Especially as the scale of the essence was so impressive.


    Elder Stone was peak tier three, but not impressive in any other way. He was a fighter but was more comfortable in a bar scuffle than with his mace in hand. It was always amazing to him that despite only a single artifact separating him from tier four, there was a massive difference in essence between tiers. Cole had mentioned that he only had slightly more total essence than him, but that he could infuse it and use it more efficiently.


    Elder Stone had not believed his brother at the time, but now with ten or twenty times the essence he possessed contaminating his front door, he changed his mind. The tempo sped up, the clouds of superheated dust swirled around like a small funnel, the air went hazy, and static electricity coated everything.


    The blond haired boy yelled, ¡°I did it!¡±


    Elder Stone was confused, the elemental lord was still standing. It seemed confused as well when the boy dropped the artifact he was holding and drew a simple belt knife. Frowning, Elder Stone saw nothing impressive about it, at least until the boy held it between his hands. His metal gauntlets started glowing.


    The flat of the blade was nestled between his palms, in a ridiculous position. Then small pieces of metal started sliding slowly toward his palms. Elder Stone had seen him use lightning and fire, did he have a metal kern as well?


    The elemental lord must have realized something as he shot straight a the boy, taking no evasive action. If any of the spectators had stepped in the elemental lord would have been killed. So would the boy¡¯s savior.


    Elder Stone¡¯s advanced senses managed to see a ring of white air expand from the gauntlets. Then the loudest noise he had ever heard tore apart the field. He could not see exactly what happened, but the knife had flown out from between his palms on its own. One moment it was there and the next a line of green lightning connected the boy¡¯s fingertips and a rock a quarter mile away. Elder Stone could only see that rock because everything between those two points had been annihilated.


    The elemental lord¡¯s skull fell bouncing off its now visible pelvic bone before bouncing to the ground. Nothing existed between the pelvis and lower jaw. A smear of gore and shattered bodies paved a path to the stone which had a deep crater in it. Wide eyed, Elder Stone glanced at his brother, who had a similar expression.


    The boy let out a tired cheer before falling to his butt, ¡°Ow hot, hot,¡± he grabbed the sickle, which was evidently the source of his fire abilities, and sighed in relief, ¡°Can someone stomp the brain I am worn out.¡±


    A warrior with a slight limp walked out without hesitating. The man had a fire kern, he also had a hammer which he used to smash the skull of the decimated elemental lord. Elder Stone believed the weakness of elementals was their heart. His gaze went back to the trail of broken men, what did he know about killing things compared to these people?


    The sound of clattering weapons and vomiting started up as people started processing what had just occurred. Elder Stone had a similar feeling and probably would have lost his lunch as well if he had been close enough to smell the mess. The force from the Forest Caldera well and truly surrendered.


    Elder Stone was left with a dilemma. He wanted to thank these people, but at the same time, he could not let them into the Stone Caldera. They were too dangerous to handle, and he had no desire to watch his people be rendered to a paste due to his misplaced trust. However, he also could not stop a child from walking through this gate at the moment due to his broken leg.


    ¡°Commander Blacklake, take care of their surrender. Luke, get to the top of the wall and use your finger cannon on any that resist,¡± A big man in opalescent armor said.


    The boy, Luke, either disliked the term finger cannon or disliked following orders. However, he just groaned as he got to his feet and scaled the wall. It had enough cracks to make the task trivial. Elder Stone doubted Luke could use that technique again, but it was not like he would risk it if he had to face it.


    The man shouting orders turned to Cole, ¡°Get over here, why haven¡¯t you gotten one of the healers for the elder?¡±


    That seemed to wake his brother up. Cole grabbed a man decked out in a small fortune worth of light artifacts and followed the man Elder Stone could only call a general. Only the Caldera did not have those, those were myths who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Grand Ancestor.


    When they arrived, both surprised him. The general bowed in respect, and Cole did as well. The stranger because he was definitely a higher tier, and Cole because he never followed common courtesy.


    ¡°Elder Stone, it is good to meet you,¡± The stranger said, ¡°My name is Siren, we are here to break the siege, but we cannot stay.¡±


    ¡°Why,¡± Elder Stone asked.


    ¡°Because we still have elemental lords to kill,¡± Siren said, ¡°And because if we fail then it won¡¯t matter if this Caldera was saved at all.¡±


    Elder Stone did not like those words, but he held in his anger at the dismissal of his people. He glanced at Cole, who gave a slight nod. So this threat was real. How could something more dangerous than the fire and explosion elemental lord be out there?


    Sighing, Elder Stone said, ¡°How can I help?¡±

 142. Go Break A Leg… And An Arm

    ¡°I will never speak!¡± The limbless elemental lord shouted.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need answers now,¡± Commander Blacklake said while polishing a needle, ¡°Simply before we arrive.¡±


    Blacklake had been surprised to find that elementals felt pain. At least the ones Siren called anima elementals had a nervous system. He dipped his needle in a necrotoxin, one of his nastier fluids. He then pricked the elemental and watched as the flesh discolored before it was sterilized by the elemental lord''s healing abilities.


    It was not that the healing factor nullified the poison, it simply healed faster than the poison could rot. The efficacy was quickly exhausted as it tried to eat through the same piece of flesh over and over again.


    The army was currently heading towards the next greatest concentration of elementals outside the mines. Both Siren and the man child believed that there was something in the lake. Something that they could use to lure out the lead elemental lord. Blacklake was not sure if he believed them, but he had to admit they had united the caldera¡¯s warriors in a way he thought impossible.


    It did not hurt that many of the elite warriors had credited Siren with their rise to prominence. How Blacklake never heard of this mysterious figure who controlled the military from behind the scenes, he was unsure. The simple answer ¡®he sat at a mine and trained his men to fight a tier up¡¯ made little sense.


    He cleaned the needle again and asked again, ¡°Tell me what are you elemental lords searching in the Lake Caldera?¡±


    ¡°Release me, stupid human!¡± Was all the elemental said in response.


    Shrugging Commander Blacklake dipped the needle into a blood thinner. It was not too useful for killing people and was more often used for pest control. It had an odd effect on tier three and up warriors. The blood was thinner, and wounds would bleed more freely, but essence constructs would also be constructed faster. While this increased speed did not guarantee a worse construct, all warriors were very used to a certain ease of use, so a blood thinner often resulted in weak constructs. He was curious about what would happen to the elemental.


    Pricking it in the armpit, he watched as the healing sped up in that arm. However, it was only the kern. The anima was unaffected. Before the arm was regrown, Blacklake grabbed a large cleaver and chopped the limb off. Then he tried again, the limb grew back, and he chopped it off again.


    ¡°What are you doing,¡± Blacklake could not be sure, but he thought he could detect uncertainty in the elemental.


    Three rounds of poison and chopping later he noticed why. The bone was becoming translucent, almost like those marbles the temple had. So blood thinner helped elementals heal faster, but it did not increase their actual recovery rate. They still had to supply the necessary essence, and unlike humans, they lacked the fleshy body that could sustain itself on food alone.


    ¡°Hmm, I need to get Siren,¡± Blacklake muttered. He was not sure how this would change anything, most elemental lords would not let an enemy repeatedly poison them.


    He quickly chopped off the nubby limbs that were already regrowing before hopping out of the covered wagon. Quickly signaling a warrior to take his place he jogged to the front of the caravan. The Stone Caldera had supplies that they needed, not food as it was more plentiful in the plains than in the other Calderas, but crafters. Most warriors could repair their equipment, but they did not specialize in it. Oils for preserving armor, and medical supplies like bandages had been in desperate need.


    Elder Stone had stayed with his people but had given them several wagons and coachmen to expedite their travel. Despite this, it would take a little less than a week to reach the Lake Caldera. Almost twice as long as it normally took.


    Siren marched at the head of the column, he was comparing notes with a light kern scout. When he noticed Blacklake¡¯s approach, he thanked the warrior and focused on the commander.


    ¡°Blacklake, how can I help you,¡± Siren said.


    The commander took a few moments to adjust to the odd address. People were rarely polite in the military, ¡°I think I might have found something of interest, but it is something easier to show than to explain.¡±


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    Siren nodded and gestured for him to take the lead. They entered the wagon, which was now cramped with four people inside. Blacklake dismissed the guard, who left with a salute, before pulling out the bottle of blood thinner.


    ¡°This is a blood thinner, are you aware of the effects it has on a kern?¡± Blacklake asked.


    Siren nodded, ¡°Speeds up essence construct creation. We used to give it to warriors with fire kerns, it made them easier to kill, but they were able to pack more flame into a smaller area.¡±


    Blacklake nodded, ¡°Watch its effect on a disembodied kern.¡±


    ¡°I have a body, infernal human,¡± the elemental lord said.


    Some of the color had returned to the earthy brown skeleton. Blacklake stabbed the elemental with a large dose of the poison, it was enough to kill any tier zero human. The effect was immediate, the kern started regrowing rapidly, though the anima elemental did not seem to be affected.


    Siren watched the limbs, it was not the normal recovery process of reconstructing the body with ambient essence. Instead, it appeared to be spreading the essence already in the kern to the recovering area. Grabbing the knife, Siren chopped off both legs and the right arm.


    ¡°Let this one regrow,¡± Siren said, ¡°I want to see if it is still a tier two elemental.¡±


    Blacklake nodded and took a step back. He was interested to know as well, but he held no confidence in stopping the elemental lord by himself if it managed to recover. It took around ten minutes for the arm to fully recover, though it had a wispy and almost phantom appearance. This was almost an hour and a half faster than normal, and coloration was slowly returning as ambient essence was absorbed to strengthen the bone.


    The elemental lord was an intelligent creature, it knew that it would lose the arm if it attacked. So instead it flopped over on its side, trying to cover it with its body. All that it succeeded in doing was looking pathetic, as Siren grabbed it by the neck. He hefted the whole body off the wooden planks and held it at eye level.


    ¡°You are just a corpse that has forgotten that it''s already dead,¡± Siren muttered.


    Blacklake chuckled at that, a little gratitude leaking through. The incapacitated lord had gone on and on tirelessly about how he was immortal and eternal. He had been unaware of how insulting being called mortal could be after two hours of berating.


    ¡°I am immortal ahhhh,¡± The elemental lord cried.


    Siren had interlocked his fingers with the elemental lord¡¯s and then squeezed. Both had the earth affinity, however, the elemental was supposed to be at tier five. The fact that Siren had a greater grip strength meant that the elemental¡¯s strength was related to the essence it contained, not the soul that housed it.


    ¡°Make a note that the current tier of this kern is slightly above base tier one,¡± Siren said. Then he tore the entire limb off, ¡°Can you apply another dose?¡±


    Blacklake obliged, he assumed that Siren was checking the degradation between each dose. It was something that Blacklake had already started documenting, but his notes were far from concrete as he would not let an entire limb regenerate.


    Ten minutes later, Siren crushed another limb, ¡°Mid tier zero, if the rate is constant it loses three-quarters of a tier with every dose and subsequent regeneration.¡±


    Blacklake nodded as he jotted that down, ¡°Does this information help us?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Siren said, ¡°If an acid can be applied to constantly drain an elemental, we can effectively remove their unlimited stamina.¡± he then pulled out a wooden capsule, ¡°Do you know what gallium is?¡±


    Blacklake shook his head, so Siren explained, ¡°This is the material we intended to use on the Lord of the Underworld while he was trapped in the pit. It is a metal that erodes metal essence. As he is the only elemental with a metal part, it is only useful against him. My thought is, can you make something that similarly destroys other elementals? Maybe a fog that our warriors with air kerns can purify, but will wipe out any elemental it comes across?¡±


    Commander Blacklake inspected the capsule with interest, ¡°Would this gallium hurt humans?¡±


    ¡°It is not toxic to the touch, but it was designed to be released in a cloud. I can¡¯t imagine it would be healthy within a warrior¡¯s lungs,¡± Siren said.


    ¡°No, if a person with a metal kern got ahold of that, would it hurt them?¡± Blacklake asked.


    ¡°It would damage any constructs they make, but no, it would not even inhibit the natural reinforcement they possess. As I said it only works of essence, and even silver devils are still made of flesh,¡± Siren explained.


    ¡°Good, I think I know where to start then, though if you can catch and detain the other five types of elementals it would allow me to make sure any discoveries I make can be transferred between different essences,¡± Blacklake cracked his neck as he approached the elemental, ¡°I also need you to send the man child in here.¡±


    Siren was already halfway out of the wagon, ¡°Do you need protection?¡±


    ¡°No, that chemical you have attacks the weakness of all elementals. Their lack of actual bodies. Also have you noticed that none of them show off quirks that would indicate a force? I think that is exploitable, and Luke is the only one here with a force that I can test with,¡± Blacklake explained.


    Siren nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll send him and the priests, use the essence reservoirs on their staves if you have to feed essence to the elemental lord.¡±


    The commander got back to his experimentation. Back when the Caldera was peaceful, he had been with the underground team of specialists who got all the dirty things done that the Elders could not publicly order. He was just glad to get back to his roots.

 143. Fire Sage

    It had been almost three weeks, and it had been some of the most productive three weeks of his life. Tristan inspected the freeform screw he had made. It looked like a screw, not a pretty one, but still, it was leagues better than he had been before. Everything had improved rapidly, his essence control was just the only new thing.


    Having access to healing was very helpful. Combined with the food his production brought in he was able to recover to around ninety percent of his original abilities. It would take him a while to squeeze out those last few repetitions, but it would not stop him from being helpful. Making a fist he nodded to himself, he intended to help the mine¡¯s unit when they left for the Lake Caldera.


    They were part of a group that included only tier zero and one people, and Olfred, who had somehow survived. Having a warrior in their group would dramatically increase their survivability, so he intended to put his hand on the scale as much as possible.


    ¡°You going with Conni and the others?¡± Harp asked.


    She was standing in the doorway with a plate of toast and eggs. Tristan only nodded as he finished emptying his essence reserves to marked gears and wire. He should not need the spare metal essence while traveling.


    ¡°You know your uncle is scheduled to be executed next week right?¡± Harp said.


    ¡°So?¡± Tristan asked. He was genuinely unsure of why she would ask that question. Nobody liked Elder Forest, while that was no reason to kill a person, it was a good enough reason not to sacrifice lives to save them. Elder Forest was ambitious and foolish, Tristan believed he was comparable to Elder Plain. The only difference being the type of apocalypse they released.


    ¡°He¡¯s your uncle, don¡¯t you think you should care a little?¡± Harp said.


    Tristan only shrugged, ¡°My memory gets fuzzier the farther back it goes, I have no positive memories of him. However, just because someone is related to you, that does not make them worth your time.¡±


    That did not seem to sit well with Harp, but she had a good relationship with her dad and presumably her aunts and uncles. Tristan could not blame her for projecting those familial feelings onto him. It was not that he did not want to have a great family, however, he would argue that he had one. It should have been obvious to even Harp with the people he asked to put his heart back. He trusted Conni and Eve with his heart and if that was not a metaphor he did not know what was.


    He took the offered breakfast and motioned to the pile of metal, ¡°I am leaving these here to get you by until we can return.¡±


    Harp nodded, ¡°Thank you, just don¡¯t die.¡±


    Tristan grinned, ¡°I¡¯ll try not to, but as you know I am pretty hard to kill.¡±


    She did not smile, simply nodding and stepping away as two children got into a fight in another room. Grabbing a coat he stepped outside, strangely the temperature was rising. It was by no means warm but it was far warmer than it should have been at this time of year. The snow had started melting over the last few weeks and the Caldera had received warm rain as opposed to snow.


    Any wind coming from the west was frigid while any wind blowing from the east was comparatively warm. Vulcan had theorized a volcano had erupted somewhere, Tristan had no concept of what a volcano was, but a mountain that spewed out molten stone seemed quite far-fetched. However, it was pretty normal compared to the demigod lamppost giving him that information.


    Walking outside he found a man in a well-pressed military outfit and stopped him, ¡°Do you know where the recruitment station is, I just recovered from an injury and want to enlist.¡±


    He was not worried about the man turning him down or being irritated. Tristan knew the paper pusher was paid a commission on every recruit that he brought in. A tier three had to be worth quite a bit.


    ¡°Uh, yes,¡± He looked Tristan up and down, ¡°What injury did you have?¡±


    Tristan did not look like he had just recovered from anything. The lack of a scar, limp, or any sign at all was odd. If an injury only just now healed, then he would have been fine for the draft three weeks ago.


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    ¡°I had a few broken ribs and a punctured lung,¡± Tristan said, ¡°A buddy managed to get some time to heal me with a healing artifact.¡±


    ¡°You have a healer for a friend?¡± The man perked up.


    ¡°Well, it was an artifact meant for prolonging torture, so I was unconscious for most of it,¡± Tristan said. He was not willing to throw Eve to the wolves by saying she was the only reason he survived. Bruce, on the other hand, the Temple would not go after him. Not because he was too valuable to target, but because that spear of his was classified as a torture implement.


    ¡°Well, uh thank you for your rush, what tier are you,¡± He asked hesitantly.


    His eyes widened when Tristan held up three fingers. There had been a shortage of warriors, there had only been a little more than six hundred to begin with and few had stayed behind in their respective calderas. Aside from those who had reached tier three through their political connections, there were probably only a handful in the city.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± the man said.


    Tristan started regretting his actions when he was led to the steward¡¯s seat of power. He was not being placed under Kerri, he no longer feared the man, He just was unwilling to to serve under him. They entered into the main atrium but did not enter Kerri¡¯s office. Instead, they entered an identical room save for the black marks on the wall and the painting behind the desk. This one was of a shield that looked to be made of granite bricks with a hamlet set behind it.


    ¡°This is Holden the head of security,¡± Tristan¡¯s guide explained as they entered the room, ¡°He is responsible for assigning patrolmen and protectors to VIP personnel.¡±


    ¡°You sure you want me guarding anyone?¡± Tristan asked uncertainly. It was not something he had done before, his version of guarding was killing the threat before it reaped too many lives. He did not even have that good of a track record.


    The guide did not have time to answer as Holden looked up from his papers. He was average in just about every way, brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, the only thing distinctive was the white hair at his temples and running along his jawline. The head of security would have made a decent undercover agent, which truly could have been his post before taking up this position.


    ¡°Who did you bring me?¡± Holden asked curiously, ¡°I hope it''s important, I don¡¯t have time to waste.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the guide saluted, ¡°I was approached by, uh, what was your name?¡±


    ¡°Sage,¡± Tristan answered, with Kerri down the hall he would not risk throwing his name out there.


    ¡°Sage is a warrior who just recovered from his injuries due to a private artifact owned by his associate,¡± The guide said, ¡°He asked for directions, and that is why I brought him here.¡±


    Holden nodded, ¡°Good job, I vaguely recollect that name crossing this desk. Let''s get the test out of the way, you are dismissed.¡±


    The guide marched off, most likely to take care of some paperwork. Tristan expected the man to be a warrior, most likely with an earth kern considering all the earth tones present in his appearance. He was curious about what test he would be made to perform, he could make a construct, you could not get much more proof than that. Instead, Holden rummaged around in a drawer and pulled out a needle and a piece of paper with four marks on it.


    Tristan remembered this from the recruiters that had come to the mine, but he had to ask, ¡°Why do you want a blood test when I could just make a construct?¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t from the River Caldera are you?¡± Holden said, ¡°We like our bureaucracy here and that means paperwork. I can put a slip of paper into a folder with your name on it, but I can only place stone constructs in the same place. You don¡¯t look like you have stone kern, yellow eyes, or fire I would guess? I¡¯m not able to put a fire construct in a folder.¡±


    Tristan could fake a weak fire kern. He was not resistant to it, and he could only keep the tier fifteen flames from Vulcan up for a few moments. It would be enough to fool any test. He had hoped that the tier of the fire would increase its power. While that was technically true, it required an ocean of essence to use that power. A fire burned fuel, Tristan had poor essence to use as fuel and he lacked the volume to compensate for the low quality.


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Tristan said, he wrote Sage at the top of the strip of paper and pricked his finger. Predictably, the red line at the base turned dark up to the fourth mark.


    ¡°Now you can demonstrate your essence type,¡± Holden said, nodding as he watched the candle like flame light at the end of Tristan''s finger, ¡°Thank you for not making a fireball.¡±


    He placed the slip of paper in his desk and removed a second document. Tristan looked at the wall, well that explained the scorch marks. Some bozo had tried to make a large fire construct in here.


    Holden cleared his throat, ¡°As you have noticed we will be heading to the Lake Caldera to assist them with their infestation. However, due to our shortage of able bodied men, I am assigning you to protection detail.¡±


    ¡°I am not the best at protection,¡± Tristan played into fire kern stereotypes, ¡°You know that fire kerns have large area of effects and suck at taking hits.¡±


    ¡°No problem, the guards of the head family will be loaned mythical beast leather,¡± Holden said, ¡°It''s just as good as the Forrest Calderas tower plate, only lighter.¡±


    Tristan knew that at tier three, lighter armor was not a perk. He could get away with it due to how heavy he was and so could most people with earth kerns, but they were already pretty tanky. Other types of essence benefited from the extra mass of heavy armor with it being a requirement for anyone at tier four who lacked a compensating force.


    The first part of the statement processed, ¡°Wait, I¡¯m protecting the head family?¡±

 144. Gaudy Golden Boy

    Tristan felt like a clown. The ¡®armor¡¯ that he was offered was nothing like he had imagined. Leather armor could be colored in any way the creator wanted. Navy blue with black accents was a pretty good color scheme. However, why did the River Caldera have to pair it up with shiny golden shoulder plates and bracers? Golden greaves protected his shins and a belt with a huge golden buckle was strapped around his waist. He had on his head a golden bucket that barely qualified as a helmet. Who in their right mind puts peacock feathers into the crown of a helmet?


    The metal was simple steel with a gold colored coating over the top. He thought it was some kind of powder, and could only be grateful that it was not actual gold. Holden had tried to make him take a golden sword, which Tristan vehemently refused. He had no idea how to use the long two handed sword, so he summoned Vulcan in a flash of fire and the groaning of sundered metal.


    ¡°Impressive,¡± Holden said, ¡°An artifact will indeed be better than any weapon I can provide.¡±


    Tristan mentally grumbled, it''s better than every artifact you can provide put together. He had not realized he projected the thought until he got a return message from Vulcan. It was sent in the form of an odd feeling that Tristan could only describe as masculine pride.


    ¡°Do you really expect me to wear this gaudy gold armor?¡± Tristan said, ¡°Won¡¯t it make it more difficult to protect the head family?¡±


    ¡°Yes, blue and gold are the official colors of the River Caldera,¡± Holden explained, ¡°No, it won¡¯t make it more difficult, in fact, pushing through crowds will be far easier if they know who you are.¡±


    Tristan realized he was under a misconception. He had assumed that the threats would be in the wilderness. Maybe one of the few remaining ghost crabs, or an elemental that could pop out from behind the tree cover. Instead, Holden was saying that he was supposed to protect Eve from other people. Why would other people attack her?


    ¡°Pardon the confusion, but Eve has a very good reputation everywhere, why would someone try to hurt her? Especially during this time,¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°The human pet of the elemental¡¯s leader is the former civil protector of the Lake Caldera. He despises her, so it is not unlikely that there will be an assassination attempt. The steward of the Forrest Caldera has partnered with the temple guider to turn the whole population into extremist zealots,¡± Holden explained.


    Tristan remembered how Doil acted. Most people were semi-religious just like him, going through the motions, paying the money, and feeling justified when they got offended. It would not take much hardship to turn the people against the temple or much blessing to make them devoted believers.


    The elemental lord with Henry¡¯s kern could have healing abilities, and the Lord of the Underworld could repair tools and homes with a simple wave of his hands. He could command the weakest elementals in his service to assist the humans. The battle for the heart of the Forrest Caldera had already been lost.


    Shadow Fist had helped turn his people into little more than cattle for the elemental lords to harvest. Elementals did not die to old age, so it would not be too long before the dead outnumbered the living. At that point, there would be no hope of victory.


    ¡°Well I won¡¯t let any of them get to her with or without the reflective armor,¡± Tristan nodded stoically.


    Holden grinned, ¡°Nice try, you get to do it with the armor.¡±


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    Holden finished up with the armor and patted Tristan on the back. He barely felt it through the mythical beast leather. The leather must have been from a high tier beast, as Tristan had no issue killing tier three mythical beasts at tier one. While that was mostly due to his knives, he knew that with a war pick, he could have done something similar. If it came from a tier seven or higher beast it would explain why it was so rare. Despite the constant fighting at the ramparts, anything above tier six was still extremely rare and hard to kill.


    ¡°Alright, follow Kobe here, he¡¯ll take you to the leader of your group,¡± Holden said, ¡°Now don¡¯t get too comfortable in the position, we simply lacked the warriors to protect both the Elder and his heir while they are in separate locations.¡±


    Tristan gave the man a thumbs up, ¡°Great, I will return this horrible uniform as soon as possible.¡±


    Kobe turned out to be the secretary who had led him there. He looked rushed, ¡°We need to run, Lord Kerri wants to push up the arrival time, so you might be a little late if we don¡¯t.¡±


    Tristan was fine with that, he doubted Kobe¡¯s tier one speed would be able to wind him. Even a tier three with low stamina should have more than a tier one. Kobe led him outside before jogging to the outskirts of the River Caldera. The wealth of the citizens made it a longer jog than it would have in the Forrest Caldera. A richer people built bigger homes, which expanded the caldera¡¯s footprint by at least double.


    They arrived at what Tristan recognized as a parade ground, though it was messier than any he had seen before. The warm eastern wind had melted all the snow drifts piled against the River Caldera¡¯s wall. So the entire field was covered in mud. It was not deep enough to get the wagons bearing war machines stuck. However, it was bad enough to give everything a slightly dreary and dirty feeling.


    Kobe led Tristan to a group of ten other golden people. All of them were wearing the same uniform. Tristan had to admit he was not impressed, while he could not feel their tiers, none of them would be a match for even the weakest of Siren¡¯s warriors. Kale was Tristan¡¯s benchmark for competency, if a warrior could not match an old man with an injured leg, then they were squandering their potential. Sure, Kale was a very experienced veteran, but all the others Siren trained would trounce him one sidedly simply due to the effort they were expected to put in and the power of youth.


    ¡°Temper your arrogance,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°The one in charge is tier four with a dual water and light kern.¡±


    Tristan met the man¡¯s eyes. He lacked the bearing of a civil protector, giving Tristan what he could only describe as a slimy feeling. Was he putting on an act? Without Vulcan¡¯s warning, Tristan would have assumed he was the weakest in the group.


    When they arrived, one of the golden armored men stepped forward extending a hand, ¡°Good morning, I am Captain Janis. I¡¯m glad that you could join us.¡±


    ¡°Uh, nice to meet you,¡± Tristan said, now very confused. Janis had green eyes and a handheld cannon identifying him as possessing an air kern. He was also not the tier four, that man was standing meekly behind Janis like he wanted to avoid attention, ¡°My name is Sage, I only found out I would be here this morning.¡±


    Kobe nodded once introductions were made and ran back to work. Tristan inspected each man, they all held artifacts of some kind. Most of them were the odd metal adjacent substance that many artifacts were made of. There were ten of them there, one with a dual kern, two healers, Janis with his air kern, one with a fire kern, and the remaining four had earth kerns. If the tier four could heal, then the party had three healers, three ranged warriors if one counted Tristan as fire, and four tanks to take blows. It would be ridiculously hard to take this team down with anything other than overwhelming force.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re new, but then again so are most of the others,¡± Janis said, ¡°What tier are you?¡±


    ¡°Three, why, isn¡¯t everyone here the same?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No, we are short on warriors, so these four are tier two,¡± Janis gestured to the three earth kern warriors, ¡°If we can¡¯t get firepower then we need someone who can take some hits, and oftentimes a tier two earth kern will make someone more durable than a tier three with a fire or wind kern.¡±


    That was something Tristan was aware of. The body scaled with the tier, but each kern would produce a different outcome. Before it had seemed like a simple law of the world. He now knew that it was the forces that composed essence affecting the body. Air had the force of mutability, making anyone with that kern naturally more flexible, while earth had the force of adamance, which made it harder to gain flexibility, but made the body stronger. Tristan had personal experience with this one as metal also had adamance, he could survive a truly ridiculous amount of punishment, but could not touch his toes.


    ¡°We will be running a simple strategy, the healers will be right next to Lady Eve, the walls will be in a ring around them,¡± Janis nodded to the four men with earth kerns, ¡°the rest of the warriors will be staggered between each of the walls. No one is allowed to reach the Lady unless she asks for them and even then we need to search them first. Direct all messengers to me and I will relay their message.¡±


    If this was how Eve grew up, no wonder she was so desperate for human interaction when they first met. Her naivety at how the world worked was also clear if she was kept in a golden cage. He wondered how she had gotten away with going to the Stone Fort and fight her way through hordes of crabs. Now he suspected her story of a trade of heirs was bogus and she had snuck out forcing her friend, Lesley to keep quiet about it.


    ¡°Get in your positions, the Lady has arrived,¡± Janis yelled.

 145. Alloy Issues

    ¡®The Lady¡¯ had arrived in armor very similar to what Tristan was wearing. It had one difference that made it look much more impressive. The metal plates were absent. Navy blue with black accents looked very professional. Eve arrived with two other people, one was Kerri and the other was a portly man.


    Tristan had always associated fat with laziness. He had to reconsider his assumptions about this man. From the two tier one artifact rings, he had a fire kern, however, there were also callouses on his palms and scars running across his fingers and knuckles. Those weren¡¯t injuries from a life of violence, many miners had similar hands, injuries just built up over a lifetime of manual labor. Tristan believed this man to be like Henry Golden Heart, a common man who worked his way to power through competence and intelligence.


    Kerri was the exact opposite. He was born with talent and had let himself coast on it. Also, he was wearing golden armor as well, so he looked just as ridiculous as the rest of the guards. Kerri did not pay much attention to his protectors, which was good as Tristan did not believe an open faced helmet was enough of a disguise. The flaming artifact was though.


    ¡°Everybody form up!¡± Janis yelled.


    The simple formation was quickly put together. Both warriors with light kerns hovered around Eve and the two others, while the other eight were staggered one warrior, then someone with an earth kern. Tristan could think of several ways to invalidate this formation, a crossbow would be the way he would attempt it. Luke was the only person he knew fast enough to react to a bolt, and even he needed to know it was coming.


    Were there people with dark kerns in the area? If there was a third layer of protectors, it would cover that issue. The River Caldera most likely had them in the past, and he was pretty sure Regis¡¯s little brother was a civil protector here with a dark kern. Tristen realized Hadrid had wiped them all out, that layer of protection was gone and they had subsidized it with a layer of earth kern meat shields.


    It took another few hours for the army to get ready. Three thousand people took a while to get going. Kerri gave a speech that Tristan was sure nobody paid attention to. Seriously, who talks about the honor of serving, and the good work being done to a bunch of people who have just been drafted?


    After fifteen minutes Eve stepped forward. Tristan was surprised to see many of the zoned-out people refocus. Eve looked out at them and gave a very short speech.


    ¡°I know most of you don¡¯t want to be here, just like me. I tried fighting and killing the ghost crabs and it made me sick. It is something that has to be done though. I know what I¡¯m ordering you to do, I have been there, and I will be there. This is not an enjoyable task, just a necessary one for the Caldera to survive. I¡¯m not asking you to do more than I would, in fact, simply follow the tail I walk,¡± Eve got off her horse and nodded to the gathered people, ¡°Let''s go kill some elementals.¡±


    With that, she turned around and started walking towards the Lake Caldera. Tristan was not sure what to make of the words, as someone who knew and cared about Eve he wanted to say it was a good speech. The cynical side of him had to point out that while she had done many things beyond what was expected of the head family, she currently had two healers and four warriors surrounding her. Kerri was well known as a tier four, he was just an arm''s length away riding on his horse.


    The only people in the caldera more protected than Eve at the moment were probably Siren and Hadrid. Both had an army of highly trained well armed individuals whose entire purpose was to kill any disturbances. Still, the people seemed to appreciate the gesture. Tristan didn¡¯t understand, but if that was all it took to raise morale it would be foolish not to start walking.


    Tristan had made this journey before, though last time it had been with the intent of speed. They had traveled light and had been given the best horses. It was a short trip for a small group, but a three day march for three thousand.


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    Initially, Tristan was ready for an attack of some kind, that was what guards were supposed to protect against after all. However, after the third elemental they met was annihilated by the simple weight of numbers. Three thousand armed people snaked along the road between the River and Lake Caldera.


    The slow plodding of the army let Tristan ask a few questions he wanted answers to, ¡°Hey Vulcan? How come the Alloy force seems so much more potent than any other force?¡±


    ¡°Where do you get that idea from?¡± Vulcan asked.


    ¡°Well, currently I have four forces compared to the one that Luke has, it seems unfair,¡± Tristan said. He did not mind the unfairness, but it was there.


    Janis stepped forward and intercepted a messenger. He patted the man down for weapons and then motioned him through the ring of guards. Had Eve asked to meet with this messenger? Tristan was not sure. The man had a few light artifacts on him, so he was not too dangerous.


    ¡°Do you believe that?¡± Vulcan scoffed, ¡°The only person with a force you have beaten was your father, and that was after years of training with the best your little kingdom has to offer and while in possession of the greatest combat oriented force.¡±


    Tristan did not have an answer to that. Was the Alloy force not all-powerful? He had assumed that with time he would grow to possess every force, when that happened he would even be a match for the Steel Saint.


    ¡°The Alloy force is a jack-of-all-trades force. You can do many things with worse efficiency and higher expense. In fact, a normal force increases the effective amount of essence you have, as the flavored essence is more adept at handling certain tasks. You on the other hand have your effective essence reduced, you sacrifice quality for quantity,¡± Vulcan answered, ¡°I am the nephew of the Steel Saint, do you think that I lacked the opportunity to get Alloy, but instead chose combustion, gravity, and adamance?¡±


    Tristan detected a small amount of irritation in Vulcan¡¯s tone. He had not intended to mock the lamp post. Vulcan did bring up a good point, Tristan had not measured up well against others with forces.


    ¡°So Alloy is a bad force?¡± Tristan asked, less sure of himself.


    ¡°If your only measure of good is how much damage it inflicts or negates, then yes,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°However, it is a great force if you want to dabble in multiple crafts. Having multiple forces unrelated to your kern on hand can be super beneficial, after all some essences like the architect essence are very rare in the plant kingdom. In a fight the only real advantage is unpredictability.¡±


    Tristan nodded, he had noticed something similar. He lacked the overwhelming power of either Luke or Regis, but he could surprise an opponent with an expensive splash of decay. It was odd that metals stability in the face of mounting pressure would be where he was weakest. Fortunately, he knew of a solution to his essence problems, essence reservoirs allowed Hadrid to fight well above what his tier would normally indicate.


    ¡°If I solve the essence reserve issue, it should make the Alloy force viable in combat, right?¡± Tristan asked.


    Vulcan scoffed, ¡°I think you are underestimating the value of always having access to high level equipment. If you snag adamance and combustion, then you will be able to make some impressive weapons when you reach tier six.¡±


    Tristan wondered what happened at tier six, why were people at tier five impressive nobodies while people at tier six were called heroes. Did they get called heroes when they reached tier six or did the term hero come about due to their actions beforehand? He was about to ask Vulcan about something when his metal sense picked up something odd.


    He glanced over at the man with the light kern who was speaking to Eve. There was a fluctuation like something was both there and not. It was an artifact that was both light and earth, neither element was problematic, especially in a tier one bracelet. The issue was it was blinking. That was the best word for it, the bracelet had also picked up a tinge of metal essence.


    Tristan focused on the conversation, ¡°The people are restless, how can the people know what is true when not even the temple does?¡±


    The bracelet was not blinking it was a light artifact that was turning into an earth artifact, one with a fully charged hand cannon attached. The next second the cannon disappeared and then reappeared strapped to the inside of the man¡¯s wrist by the bracelet. Why was no one reacting? Surely the tier four with the light kern could sense the odd transition, if not him then what about the four with earth kerns?


    ¡°STOP!¡± Tristan yelled, making everyone jump.


    Eve¡¯s eyes widened as she recognized Tristan, Kerri¡¯s narrowed, Janis looked for a threat, and the messenger pointed his hand at Eve. Tristan did the first hint he could think of. He threw Vulcan like a spear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, youuaah¡­¡± Vulcan yelled. The sound of him traveling away, completely unnecessary due to the telepathic nature of their conversation.

 146. Shoot the Messenger

    So maybe yelling stop when half the people he needed to get out of the way knew him and would focus on him was not the best idea. Still, the lamp post did its job. Kind of. Tristan had never practiced throwing anything before, well he had skipped stones, but the concept was different.


    The goal was to stop the man from shooting Eve. Tristan intended to accomplish this by hitting the would be assassin with Vulcan. He actually accomplished it by hitting Eve instead. The lamp post hit her in the chest, knocking her over, a hiss of air went off right where Eve¡¯s head used to be.


    ¡°Detain him!¡± Kerri yelled, ¡°I want him alive!¡±


    Unfortunately, the four guards on Tristan''s side could not hear the hiss of air over Kerri¡¯s yelling. Tristan pointed at the fake temple acolyte, when no one responded he ran at the man himself. The acolyte panicked, and his bracelet started blinking, taking the hand cannon with it. Tristan was not the first to arrive, one of the healers around Eve tried to stop him.


    The attempted tackle was at a bad angle, mostly because she believed that Tristan was aiming for Eve. He was not and outweighed her by nearly a hundred fifty pounds. She bounced off looking a little shocked. The acolyte panicked and scrambled away, but Tristan was on him. He used the architect''s force to rapidly create a simple knife and stabbed it into the man''s chest. As he had survived a destroyed heart, Tristan tried to go for the throat next.


    One of the men with an earth kern reached him and swung a golden fist at his face. Tristan caught his fist with one hand, spinning with the charge and tripping him. The next was Janis himself, he was holding the golden sword, and he could not use his hand cannon with Eve and Kerri in the background.


    ¡°Call them off Kerri,¡± Tristan yelled.


    ¡°Do not listen to this man, he is a killer,¡± Kerri said. None of it a lie, as Tristan had just killed a man, but misleading.


    Shrugging Tristan looked at Janis, ¡°Sorry about this, you seem like a decent guy.¡±


    Janis looked confused until Tristan summoned Vulcan. The lamppost popped out of existence beside Eve and then back into Tristan''s waiting hand.


    ¡°If you get blood on me, make sure to wash it off. I hate that sticky feeling,¡± Vulcan said.


    Tristan had intended to use him like a quarterstaff with a flaming mace at one end. It had not occurred to him that he would be a person hitting another person with a person. An odd thought that did not stop him from clobbering Janis. He tried to block, but the advantage of pole weapons was their ability to hit hard at a range, due to simple physics.


    Janis staggered back under the force but managed to push the flames up and away. Tristan turned that motion into a spin, bringing the but of the lamp post into Janis¡¯s groin. They were wearing armor and cups, so it was not an incapacitating strike. Still, a man''s first reaction is to guard their family jewels, so when the flaming head came back around it met no resistance. Janis went down, Tristan would have been worried about the flames and blunt force trauma if healers weren¡¯t present.


    ¡°Tier four, to your left.¡± Vulcan warned, ¡°Laser incoming.¡±


    What¡¯s a laser? Tristan did not know, but he rolled to his right. A beam of white light lanced through where Tristan had been standing. So thats a laser, it seemed to be a more fire related application of light. Looking up he saw the tier four make a weird construct of water and light. It was a bowl with many small faces on the inside, it only lasted a split second. That seemed to be enough to launch the light in whatever direction the bowl was facing.


    Tristan could not be sure of the power of a laser, but he was sure of one thing. It was light and it could bounce. He made a smaller, yet identical lens with his artifact force. He had noticed that as soon as the construct was formed, there was a white dot where it would strike. He simply had to place the mirror where the beam would arrive.


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    Another construct was built and another beam fired. Tristan intercepted it, he made two miscalculations. First, he could not aim a lamp post, what made him think he could bounce light with any accuracy. He ended up lighting Kerri¡¯s horse on fire. It bucked and threw Kerri to the ground while it tried to put the flames out.


    Second, lasers are hot, really hot. In a second the bowl Tristan had made went from room temperature to scalding. He threw it at the next guy, he caught it, not reacting at all to the hot metal. Oh yeah, that one has a fire kern. Tristan had to take care of the tier four, though there was something off with the man. Dual kerns could clash in very unhelpful ways, but water and light did not seem like a bad pairing.


    Tristan quickly approached, and the man pulled out two daggers that shone with reflected light. It was similar to seeing the sun¡¯s reflection off of glass, only from every angle. The golden armor also started shining, so Tristan stopped using his eyes. His opponent was using metal weapons while wearing metal armor, His metal sense could pick it up.


    The tier four rushed in. Knives were terrible weapons in a real fight. They lacked the leverage to stop a pole arm, and the raw kinetic force to both kill and push an enemy back. Most of those issues were sidestepped if you could blind your enemy.


    Tristan swung, it was a heavy horizontal blow. It should have hit him right in the chest. Unfortunately, the tier four was still a tier four, he had the speed and flexibility to slide under the strike. He came up inside Tristan''s guard and thrust a dagger into his stomach. Instinctively, he reinforced his body, the combination of essence and mythical leather made for a stupendous defense. Hadrid had struggled to kill Kerri through this leather as well, so what hope did this man have?


    Tristan did not try to make distance, as his opponent''s speed was greater than his. As a stab to the gut was ineffective, the man decided that one to the face would be better. That exchange was fine, He tilted his head forward to take the thrust on his forehead instead of to the eye. Grunting, the tier four stabbed with the second knife, a stab that never landed because Tristan hugged the man.


    Three hundred pounds of Tristan and a hundred extra pounds of gear was a lot of extra weight, even for a tier four. The man staggered and failed to stop Tristan from grabbing him by the chin. It was not a point that he had leverage from, but it was contact, and contact was all it took for him to smear some grey viscous metal across the man¡¯s jaw.


    This one force, the force of decay was why Tristan believed that the force of Alloy was so powerful. This was a diluted version of it, so what would a pure decay force do? Tristan hoped to never meet someone like that.


    The tier four let out a scream of agony as parts of his face sloughed off. Tristan felt bad for the guy, but there were healers here, so he should not lose anything too important.


    A wave of fire rolled over Tristan. It was a huge amount of essence, and it punched straight through his natural defenses. He managed to protect his eyes, but that was about it. The guard with the fire kern seemed shocked that Tristan was still standing albeit on the crispy side. Patches of skin were red, and other areas had cracked, leaking his silver tinted blood.


    ¡°What are you?¡± The guard said as he watched the injuries lessen at a visible speed.


    The pulses of healing had been able to fix organ damage, so burns were well within its capabilities. It would still take more than Tristan''s whole kern to heal completely, but he only needed to get back into fighting shape. A single pulse of healing alloy was enough to heal the skin enough to not crack every time he moved.


    ¡°I¡¯m a guard who¡¯s being attacked because other guards aren¡¯t using common sense,¡± Tristan said, then he pointed at the dead acolyte, ¡°He has a hand cannon.¡±


    ¡°No he doesn¡¯t,¡± Janis said, ¡°I searched him.¡±


    The healers had worked fast, getting him back on his feet. That was a good sign for all the other people and animals that had been injured today. The other healer was beside Eve, slowly getting her back upright. She looked groggy, her eyes unfocused. Maybe he had thrown Vulcan a bit too hard.


    ¡°You, mr earth kern,¡± Tristan pointed to one of the tier twos who thought he was being sneaky, ¡°Check the body, inside of the left arm. The hand cannon is still there, alongside an earth artifact that was formerly a light one.¡±


    When the item was found Janis glanced back at Tristan, ¡°How did you know it was there?¡±


    The question caught Tristan off guard, ¡°I used my metal sense, don¡¯t you have something similar for air?¡±


    It turned out that most people did, but because their elements were everywhere it was substantially less useful. It seemed pretty foolish, as people always had air in their lungs, so why not work to sense that?


    Kerri managed to get back to his feet, he inspected the carnage and pointed at Tristan, ¡°What are you doing, subdue him, he tried to harm Lady Eve.¡±


    ¡°Grow a pair and do it yourself,¡± Eve muttered as she got to her feet, ¡°Help Herod before the rot gets to his eyes.¡±


    The healer nodded and left her with a hand braced against her horse.

 147. Grow the Flock

    There was an agonizing scream, what was going on? A man yelling, fighting, and an explosion. Had they been attacked, something had struck her on the head, it was heavy and made of metal.


    ¡°Come on Lady River, wake up,¡± a female voice said. Eve did not recognize the voice, the screaming did not stop.


    Eve opened her eyes to a pounding headache and saw the ground around the messenger torn up. The head guard, Janis had a massive bruise covering the left side of his face, his helmet was on the ground. Whatever had hit him, dented his helmet into the side of his face. One person was standing, fending off several others.


    ¡°How did you know it was there?¡± Janis asked.


    ¡°I used my metal sense, don¡¯t you have something similar for air?¡± Tristan was here, he had also thrown the staff he was now holding at her.


    Why? Her gaze moved to the earth kern guard, Walter, who was holding a discharged hand cannon. The Temple¡¯s messenger lay at her feet a knife completely made of silvery metal protruding from his chest. Had Tristan just killed an assassin, and then beaten most of the guards? Why would he have to fight guards? She could see the silver grey of decay and the white enamel of Herod¡¯s molars being eaten away.


    ¡°What are you doing, subdue him, he tried to harm Lady Eve,¡± Kerri yelled. The noise pulsed a wave of pain through Eve¡¯s head.


    Kerri had been her intended, he had been perfect and the darling of the Caldera. Eve had known who he was behind closed doors, he was spoiled, a godchild raised being told that he was better than everyone else. Elder River had corrupted the boy with his praise. His reputation had fallen in recent times, with him hiding from true danger only confronting those he believed to be safe targets. Like the alchemist, as a crafter, and Tristan, while he was injured.


    The pain caused Eve¡¯s attitude to slip. Solution attitude, it is what she had grown into from the toxic positive attitude. Still, she let some of the unproductive emotions out, ¡°Grow a pair and do it yourself,¡± Eve grumbled as the healer helped her up, ¡°Help Herod before the rot gets to his eyes.¡±


    The healer¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Rot?¡± Then the implication sank in, and she ran to Herod. She swapped out the ring on her thumb for another, most healing artifacts were jewelry, and knelt over the writhing man.


    Kerri also looked shocked, ¡°Me! You want me to fight this lesser?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Eve answered, cringing from her position leaning against the horse, Kerri¡¯s voice was so shrill, ¡°I want you alive because we desperately need every tier four we have, but it¡¯s better a tier four who does nothing dies than a tier three that will fight.¡±


    ¡°You think he could defeat me?¡± Kerri huffed.


    Covertly, Eve glanced at the unconscious Herod before nodding, ¡°Yes, you would not be the first tier four I have seen him fight. You need to drop this frankly pathetic feud you have, it makes you look weak, it makes my grandfather look weak, and it makes the River Caldera look weak.¡±


    When Kerri tried to defend himself she decided to ignore it. She had more important things to do, like inform the army why they had stopped and why the guard had fought itself. Also an explanation as to why a single individual was able to non-lethally challenge the nine other members and survive.


    ¡°Walter,¡± Eve called.


    ¡°Yes, mam,¡± Walter saluted.


    Eve preferred the more militaristic tones of the four tier two guards. The trained protection detail always used Lady River and Lady Eve, which was fine, she was a lady. It just lacked both the familiarity of her name and the efficiency of the military.


    ¡°Please find some people to spread the news of what happened here, just leave out Kerri¡¯s squawking, please,¡± Eve said. Better to let the people think the guard made a mistake than one of their leaders was controlled by a petty grudge.


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    Tristan took the man¡¯s original position, which was fine, a metal kern would make him a better wall than an earth kern would. The head of finance got off his horse and offered Eve his arm.


    ¡°Are you feeling good enough to continue?¡± He asked.


    Eve gratefully took it and nodded, ¡°Thank you. Most likely not, but it would be a bad decision to arrive late due to a scuffle.¡±


    They started forward again, the entire ordeal taking less than five minutes. Herod was back on his feet, glaring daggers at Tristan, but he did not say anything. He had acted foolish as well, Kerri did not outrank a Civil Protector. In fact, Civil Protectors outranked everyone save for the Elder, not even Eve could dictate his actions. He should have possessed the wisdom to understand the situation.


    Tristan should have also known that no one would have known what he was talking about when he yelled stop. Then clubbed the person they were guarding and stabbed the messenger. Yeah, she was just glad no one on her side died.


    ¡°Lady Eve,¡± Carra, the other light kern healer trotted up, ¡°Look at this.¡±


    She held a bracelet in one hand, and due to its brown color, she assumed it to be an earth artifact. In the other, she held the hand cannon. Eve wondered what was so special when the healer slipped the bracelet on and slid the weapon into it. Then she activated it, it flashed the white of a light artifact, then back to brown several times and each time it turned white, the cannon vanished.


    Frowning Eve asked, ¡°What is that, I have not seen anything like that.¡±


    ¡°It''s a twinned artifact,¡± Carra said in awe.


    That still did not explain anything, so Eve motioned for her to continue. Carra obliged, ¡°There are times where identical twins with dual kerns will have a shared kern each owning a single essence, though it is rare even among these rare births. The phenomenon is always considered a disability as it takes twice as many artifacts to advance and if one of the twins dies the other¡¯s kern will shatter. I have treated only a single case of this, and that was only because they wanted to create a paired artifact. You see if they decide to condense an artifact upon death there will be two identical artifacts with different affinities.¡°


    ¡°So this one can what, make weapons disappear?¡± Eve asked. The explanation was interesting but failed to explain anything pertinent to their situation.


    ¡°No, they were made of the same kern and can trade places with each other. The twins I mentioned wanted to make a box to allow their family to stay in contact. The boxes could switch places at any time and immediately deliver the mail, food, or anything inside the artifacts. I believe their mother got one, and their father who was a warrior got the other,¡± Carra said.


    ¡°So the messenger did not have a weapon when he arrived, are these common enough that more could be around?¡± Eve asked. It was concerning that such potent tools could be created without the knowledge.


    ¡°Doubtful,¡± Carra answered, ¡°As I said this is a rare situation in a group of people that is already quite rare. How many identical twins do you know?¡±


    Eve frowned, she knew several twins, but no identical ones. It was not as if she knew most of the people in the River Caldera, but it was a sizable enough percentage to say there could only be a handful in the Caldera. Still, if they were so rare, why would the temple waste such a rare artifact on an assassination?


    It was not as if Eve could simply ask a priest as there were two obvious answers one religious and one assumptive. They are heretics, of course, they act the fool or Regis just really hates your guts and Daphan has to do what he says. Neither felt right, Guider Daphan was not a believer in his faith and would not sacrifice something so valuable unless he was forced to. Also, this particular messenger had been a parishioner at the River Caldera for a long time, she remembered because he was part of the choir.


    The rest of the trip was calm, they started meeting more elementals as they entered Lake Caldera¡¯s area of influence. Their first casualty came from a surprise slime elemental creating a fire domain and boosting the power of a wind elemental. Eve had the body of the man wrapped in a shroud and prepped for burial upon arrival at the Lake Caldera.


    When they crested a small rise, she gawked at what was happening in the distance. A small force of four or five hundred people marched towards the city, crushing their way through any opposition. The Lake Caldera itself was fine, but from the top of the hill, she had a clear line of sight across the lake.


    Alchehall was a small blip on the other side, but even from this distance, she could see the ring of flames surrounding the small hive of criminals. Above the city was a cloud, it was not white and fluffy, but jagged, reflecting the sun''s light. Soundless explosions went off, the distance too great for the sound to travel.


    That was not all, the show came with a voice.


    ¡°Witness humans, the power of a true king. I rule not by the blood of my fathers, but by right given by no man. But don¡¯t think me as a tyrant, a king serves the needs of his people, not their wants. Your former leaders have convinced me that this cancer must be excised for the flock to grow. An apt description from their own mouths, now witness the power greater than that of your ancestors and kneel to your Lord.¡±


    Eve watched in confusion and mounting dread as the cloud descended on Alchehall. They had assumed that the Lake Caldera was the target, they were now on the wrong side of the lake. She could only bear witness to the death of her only sister.

 148. Battle for Alchehall

    Hadrid was having a bad day. He had failed to transplant the organ sack from an anima elemental into a human. The information Rail had brought him made it clear that the power of the human body was massively underutilized. Two more methods of essence control were out there, one connected to the mind, and one connected to the heart. A failed experiment was simply a normal occurrence, it had taken him hundreds of attempts to get his little golize. He could work past that.


    However, Fealy, no Ruth had said his name was Felix, had started banging on the front door in a panic. Some bastard had parked a cloud of knives over his city. So here he was with the biggest interruption to his work possible while a cocky elemental troll brought an army and preached his greatness like a newly ordained priest.


    ¡±Witness humans, the power of a true king. I rule not by the blood of my fathers, but by right given by no man. But don¡¯t think me a tyrant, a king serves the needs of his people, not their wants. Your former leaders have convinced me that this cancer must be excised for the flock to grow. An apt description from their own mouths, now witness the power greater than that of your ancestors and kneel to your Lord.¡±


    The interloper opened his mouth as if to continue. Hadrid did not have time for this, ¡°Shut up you flying turd,¡± he realized that there was a word for flying turds. Bird poop.


    ¡°You dare interrupt,¡± The Elemental lord dodged to the side, barely avoiding the projectile that tore a hole through his cloud of knives.


    ¡°My property, My rules!¡± Hadrid yelled and made another motion. He was older than he looked, any force a kern possessed would grant a resistance to that force. Little Tristan would live a ridiculously long life with resistance to decay and a propensity for growth, no he wasn¡¯t jealous, not at all. Still, in his ninety some years of life, he had invented weapons armed his populace, and built himself a fortress.


    A fortress city that aimed every one of the seventy-three artifact-powered canons at the interloper. The best part about artifact cannons, they did not need to shoot metal. The stupid elemental¡¯s eyes widened as the sky lit up with volcanic rock, acidic explosions of steam, beams of light so concentrated that they could cut the Lake Caldera in half from where they stood, and vortexes of pure annihilation force that simply deleted anything within their area of effect.


    ¡°You stupid mole! You should have stayed buried, that''s where corpses belong!¡± Hadrid yelled.


    The Lord of the Underworld, which Hadrid believed was a good name for a mole, lost an arm before he realized that maybe staying in the air was a bad idea. He hit the center of Alchehall like a meteor decimating a block and crushing three of the cannons.


    The Lord of the Underworld seemed smug as he watched the fleeing citizens, ¡°What will you do now that I am in your city.¡±


    Cute. He thought the civilians were running from him. Hadrid raised an eyebrow, ¡°Build a new one?¡± What else would he do?


    The cannons went off again. All of the people survived, they knew him, and they also knew he did not care about them. When the cannons had been introduced foxholes had been cut at every street intersection, enough space to protect the entire population many times over. A wise choice as the entire place was leveled with the Lord of the Underworld at the center.


    He tried to evade, but several golems held him down. Metal copies of Hadrid held him in place, the detonation of all the volatile forces creating a cloud of dust and debris. The mushroom shaped cloud had multicolored discharges of chaotic energy, it would have been beautiful if it had not happened on his property. No, he could turn this into an opportunity.


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    Pulling his notebook and pen out, Hadrid watched the interaction of forces, black lightning. Was that a mixture of the annihilation force and the conductivity force? Too bad Luke could not get annihilation, a user of black lightning would be imposing. The fact that pure destruction could be conducted put his understanding of the force of conductivity into question.


    It was an enlightening light show. He did not learn anything, but he did find many new questions with which he could direct his search. All good things come to an end while the bad things never seem to.


    ¡°My subjects aid me.¡± The mental voice of the Lord of the Underworld projected out.


    The army advanced, but Hadrid was unconcerned. His beasts and citizens could handle them, he was more curious about how the elemental lord survived. While it appeared that they were stronger, an elemental lord was really just a complete person. If Hadrid had an anima and a mind of metal, he would be a match in power without his toys. He did possess something that evened the playing field, a force. A warrior with a force would be worth multiple without one, it just so happened he was in that exact situation.


    Hadrid¡¯s interest in the miraculous escape faded when he witnessed the method. He burrowed into the ground, the creature was a mole, a very big irritating mole. He ruined cities instead of flowerbeds.


    Hadrid sighed and gestured to his pets. The golize and terror birds moved to his commands. He made the terror birds some time ago, but this was the first time he would get to truly witness their effect on a large scale battle. Unfortunately, he would not be able to watch, maybe the mole could go play in a sandbox or something while he took some notes.


    The molten puddle of stone that the elemental lord crawled out of bubbled with his anger. Sighing, Hadrid resigned himself to do some pest control. He ran his hands along his side, where he had removed a kidney. Only one was needed, so he had replaced one with a tier eight essence reservoir. Several lesser batteries were stashed all over his person. A molar filled with the healing force and earrings with smaller essence reservoirs, he was almost ready.


    ¡°Dear can you go get me my fly swatter?¡± Hadrid said.


    Ruth grinned, ¡°Really, I get to see you use it?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Hadrid said, ¡°The temple¡¯s feral attack mole needs to get kicked into a gutter.¡±


    Ruth ran off. Hadrid patiently watched the mercenaries, civilians, and beasts clash with the army of elementals and Forrest Caldera warriors. The elementals had tiers on their side, while Hadrid had both numbers and equipment. The elemental lords wreaked havoc on his people, but even they went down to focused crossbow fire. A dark elemental lord was shattered like glass as one of Hadrid¡¯s few sound artifacts struck it in the chest. Another made of light cut through his golize like a light through the dark.


    The mole seemed fine with waiting. It would be able to heal quickly in that environment, as it had a dark kern and a dual anima of flame and stone, three elements heavily featured in his cannons. While he waited on Ruth he had an idea, rummaging in his pockets, he pulled out his spare pen and notepad.


    ¡°Fealy take this,¡± Hadrid said.


    Fealy muttered, ¡°It¡¯s Felix.¡±


    ¡°Take notes on how the terror birds do, write down everything even if it seems stupid,¡± Hadrid said.


    Fealy nodded, ¡°If it keeps me out of that mess, you can call me Fealy as much as you want.¡±


    Hadrid shrugged at the strange man, why wouldn¡¯t he use his name? He was distracted when Ruth returned with the flyswatter. The temple acolyte had a conniption when he had asked for the holy relic of Ajax back and he had called it a superb fly killer. That alone made it worth keeping the artifact around.


    He grabbed the tier six artifact. Instantly his metal sense sharpened, and he could feel the particles of metal floating in the air. Hadrid could only smirk at the destruction that his weapons had caused. This glorified rodent had thought that it could walk in with a show of power, that it could use a cloud of metal daggers on the most capable alchemist the Caldera had ever seen. Folly.


    Liquid metal leaked out of the grip of fly swatter, coating Hadrid¡¯s arm. The liquid formed a film, it was both flexible and resilient, more resilient than anything Hadrid had ever made. Ajax had wielded a tier six artifact, and the common thing among all people in the realm of heroes was the acquisition of a force, a force that had been passed on to the artifact. The force of resistance, pulsed through the armor.


    The metal coated his whole body leaving only his nose, mouth, and eyes exposed. He inspected himself, it was an interesting, if impractical tool. Metal essence already made him quite durable, but it was the irony that mattered. He knew who this elemental was.


    He started walking towards the mole, a grin plastered to his face, ¡°So little rodent, how do you intend to rule all the creatures that scurry around.¡± Hadrid saw uncertainty in the Elemental Lord''s posture. It took a step back, Hadrid kept speaking, he held up the hammer, it was preposterously large, ¡°King¡¯s like fancy words, right? So here is something poetic, Ajax¡¯s corpse was laid to rest by his own trusty hammer. Don¡¯t you like it, king?¡±


    The mole looked around for its aids, but they were not coming, they had come for a fight and had received one. Hadrid grinned at the cornered creature. It had assumed that Hadrid was no threat without his toys. It had forgotten that toys were for children, if it could not stand up to what a child toddled around with, how then could it stand when the owner returned to remove the trash?

 149. Fall of Alchehall

    Fear, even the dead feared it. Hadrid had no idea if there was an afterlife, but he did not care. A just god would have struck him down decades ago, so it was not a concern he worried too much about. It was one the elemental lord would be finding out.


    Scorched and rotting cobblestones crunched under his weight as he strode purposefully towards the interloper. Metal in the area started levitating. The domain abilities of the mental piece, interesting. When the jagged shards struck, he reinforced his skin, but let them strike the armor. Hadrid was skeptical of the durability of a liquid, but it held up admirably. Some points found his skin but stopped before drawing blood.


    A wave of essence tried to take control of the armor, however he was able to rebuff it with his own essence. His force of alloy subjugated the familiar substance and refilled Hadrids kern. This creature thought itself a ruler simply because it could disarm most of its foes, granted that worked for most rulers so it may not have been an incorrect assumption.


    The elemental seemed to want the first strike, ¡°Die mortal!¡±


    It launched itself forward in a blast of fire and stone. An earth and fire anima, Hadrid noted the effects. Enhanced speed, most likely from flame, and strength and mass from the earth part. Hadrid created a metal wall, which the elemental smashed headlong into. It did not stop it, but it both stunned and slowed it long enough for Hadrid to bring his hammer down upon its skull.


    It staggered, but its essence invaded the wall, stopping Hadrid from reclaiming it. He had yet to use his essence, so it was no loss. Then the wall was thrown at him.


    Hadrid was willing to tank shards of metal, but a wall was a little much. He caught the piece of metal and shunted it aside. The elemental followed it in with a full-bodied punch, sending Hadrid¡¯s half ton frame bouncing down the ruined street. He started laughing, when was the last time he had been hit that hard? Rail, yes, Luke¡¯s father was the last one to strike him like this.


    ¡°You hit hard for a rodent,¡± Hadrid yelled.


    ¡°You are stupid for a human,¡±  The elemental lord said.


    No, he didn¡¯t go there. No one insulted Hadrid''s intelligence and survived. Well, Ruth had at first, but she had been an important hostage. The creature would die.


    Hadrid charged in, his peak tier five body was fast, though still too slow to truly take the elemental lord by surprise. The elemental lord smirked and reached out to catch the head of the hammer. It smirked until Hadrid activated the final effect, it pulled all metal, not carrying the owner¡¯s signature towards it. This did not work on living creatures, but the elemental was not living.


    The pull dragged it off balance, and by the time it had stabilized itself, Hadrid smashed it in the chest with the hammer. It was not elegant, but it had power. Hadrid launched the elemental backwards and through the retaining walls of a few homes, before bouncing to a stop two blocks away. Hadrid retrieved a glowing bead filled with a crackling blue light. A two-pronged fork was generated on the back of his arm.


    The elemental lord stood with a grimace. It placed one hand on the ground like one of those competitive runners. Hadrid never understood why running quickly was something to be proud of. They were just people who could play fetch the best, like Fealy.


    He calmly inserted the reservoir into the port he had built into a construct. It had taken a lot of work to create constructs that accepted reservoirs, the key was the alloy infusion force. He set the hammer down, leaning its shaft against his leg, and generated a long metal cylinder.


    The elemental pushed off, and the glowing lines of fire across his body dimmed with the essence expenditure. A sonic boom rocked the decimated city, but Hadrid calmly aimed the weapon at the Elemental Lord. Maybe he thought he could tank this, maybe he had no clue what it was. It didn¡¯t matter dead was dead.


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    The magnetic accelerator cannon, Mac for short, discharged its payload. A quarter of Hadrid¡¯s reserves vanished as the metal rod and the Lord of the Underworld collided at supersonic speed. Everything within five feet of the projectile was shredded, the elemental tried to dodge but it was moving too fast.


    Hadrid smirked as he sidestepped and let the ruin of the rodent¡¯s body skid past, ¡°That¡¯s why trespassing is ill-advised.¡±


    He hefted his hammer and started stalking towards the broken body. Somehow it was still alive, well half its body was gone, the left half. It would die soon. Ruth was screaming something, but the armor did make it hard to hear. Hadrid looked over at her, she was jumping around and waving her hands. That was what made Ruth so endearing, she was always excited to see him. He waved back.


    A moment later he stood over the dissipating corpse of the elemental lord. It had been born as a rodent, and it would die as a rodent. He loaded a slug into the Mac and aimed it at the remaining half, he paused when the elemental spoke.


    ¡°Did I do good? Tell me I did good?¡±


    ¡°No, you forsaken creatures suck,¡± Hadrid said. Then the black and red anima of the elemental flickered as it finally died, dispersing into essence. Light essence. A light elemental wearing a helmet.


    Something long, sharp, and made of dense stone, punched through Hadrid¡¯s spine. He staggered forward from the blow, he tried to turn to look, but he could not feel his legs. The creature dropped him, he reflexively activated the healing reservoir, but the stone spike needed to be removed first. Now that he was on the ground he could see the real elemental lord, he had been tricked. That was the most galling thing about this situation, being outsmarted by a corpse.


    ¡°You know, if I was a brute, you would have won. However, a king has soldiers for a reason. Hestia did a good job, and yes it is poetic that one of this nation''s civil protectors brought down the only creature with the resources to stop me.¡±


    It crouched down and picked up the hammer. Hadrid refused to let go, it was his flyswatter, and he still had control of his arms. He used his essence to reinforce his grip, he had just as much essence as this bastard, and he would win a battle of endurance. At least that was what his blood-deprived brain said.


    ¡°Still you fight, I can see why the False God hates you usurpers so much. Fine, I will end this,¡± The Lord of the Underworld created a construct axe, it was made of obsidian, fire, and a smoky darkness.


    Hadrid growled, he would not let this creature have the last laugh. Before the axe could remove his head, he did something that everyone in the Caldera had assumed that he would do from the start. He absorbed the essence contained in Ajax¡¯s hammer. The force of alloy assimilated it in seconds, pulling into his kern. He broke into tier six, which felt cold, and probably would have been better without a giant hole in his chest.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± The elemental lord roared.


    Hadrid grinned a bloody grin as he looked up at the mole, ¡°I¡¯m a hero now, turd!¡±


    The confusion in the elemental lord''s expression turned to rage. Hadrid survived the first blow. In his anger the lord used his fist, he struck three more times before Hadrid¡¯s armor finally cracked. The man was spent, the next blow killed him. The Lord of the Underworld yelled in anger. He had lost the weapon, he had lost Hestia, he looked over the remnants of the wall, and he had lost most of his army. None of the elemental lords had survived, most of the elementals were dead.


    In a disgusting turn of events one out of five mercenaries escaped, their lack of true loyalty causing them to flee when their master fell. All this to kill one insignificant mortal, one mortal that would have ended him if Hestia had not broken through the swarms of the enemy to aid him. This was a blow he was not sure he could recover from. Not without finding the other half of the Flying Fortress. He was running out of high tier elementals with which to create elemental lords.


    ¡°Time to send a message,¡± He muttered.


    With the dregs of his metal domain, he felt for the pieces of metal around him and slowly levitated them. He had to be careful, as while humans could benefit from a broken kern, he would die. A pulse of metal essence came from beside him.


    The Lord of the Underworld looked down at the body. How did this man possess so much essence? He would inspect the corpse after leveling the castle. Then the essence seemed to be skewed, the Lord of the Underworld recognized dissonance. The boundary between metal flame and air thinned. He couldn¡¯t, not in this primitive place.


    The Lord of the Underworld abandoned the message in favor of survival. He moved as fast as he could, but even he was almost too slow to escape the detonation of the alchemist''s kern and all the essence in his body. Silver flames consumed everything as the oxidation flame was known for instead pumping flakes of metal into the air.


    The pressure wave threw the Lord into the lake. He hated water, but it was still preferable to the flame that burned on its surface. He floated halfway between the lake floor and the surface. Maybe he would need to be more wary around mortals.

 150. No Time to Grieve

    A dome of silver expanded across the lake. Tristan could feel the amount of metal essence from where he was standing. The dome of silver light thinned as it traveled leaving behind reflective flames that slowly ate away at everything. No buildings were visible from this side of the lake, but Tristan doubted any were left. The cap of the giant mushroom-looking cloud still flashed with lightning in odd colors lit from below by a field of flames. If Hell was real, Tristan imagined that was what it looked like.


    ¡°Hey Vulcan, what tier would you need to be to use power like that?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°You do realize I don¡¯t have eyes right and my senses are limited to the range of your metal sense?¡± Vulcan sniped.


    Tristan quickly explained what he had seen. Vulcan thought for a few moments, ¡°The most talented could do something like that at tier seven.¡±


    ¡°So, the elemental lord did not even struggle,¡± Tristan said despondently. Even with a counter how could they oppose something like that?


    ¡°Oh, no he did not do any of that, elementals are kind of weak after tier six. I would guess that he discovered why you never mess with a well-funded crafter,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°From the sounds of it he won, but I bet he wishes that he hadn¡¯t made a spectacle of it.¡±


    ¡°Please explain,¡± Tristan asked. He knew that someone like Vulcan could easily look down on the Lord of the Underworld, but the man had been a tier fifteen in life, there was not much he couldn¡¯t look down on.


    ¡°You people have been wandering around saying it''s three tier six elementals stacked. You¡¯re right that does add up to a tier nine elemental, but only in its physique. In every other way, it is simply three tier six essences working in synchrony. Could you fight three tier threes right now,¡± Tristan nodded, he could. Just a few hours ago, he had fought a tier four, two tier threes, and a few tier twos. ¡°Well then what would happen if a tier six fought the elemental lord? An even fight, all tier six¡¯s have a force. A skilled tier seven will have two, it would be a one sided beat down.¡±


    That was true, even with what many considered a cheap crafting force, Tristan could do some pretty insane things. While he was sure that he was not going to get to tier seven, there was an army of tier threes out there. If even one in ten survived, the remainder could destroy the elementals with no issue. Tristan shook his head, that was a fanciful thought, he needed a way to sway the odds in his favor.


    He looked over at Eve, she was staring in horror at the destroyed city.  It took several moments for him to realize why, her sister had been there and nobody could survive an explosion like that. As he had the thought, something breached the surface of the lake, it flew straight up before arcing over the Lake Caldera and heading toward the Forest Caldera. Almost no one could survive the explosion.


    She collapsed to her knees. The portly man hugged her, saying comforting words to her. Kerri stared in shock, he was well aware of the power Hadrid possessed, he had only survived due to the sacrifice of the civil protector. In a way Kerri going after Hadrid had started all of this, Regis would not have gone crazy without the death of his brother. The war would have still happened, but the camp would not have been attacked, and even if it had Regis would have lacked both the force of combustion and the essence reservoir.


    A messenger ran up. Janis seemed preoccupied with the fireworks so Tristan intercepted him. The value of Vulcan was once again shown, the display in Alchehall was terrifying, but he had put it in perspective. It had allowed him to break out of his stupor faster than anyone else.


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    ¡°Halt,¡± Tristan said, barring the man¡¯s way.


    He scanned the man for weapons. The messenger was armed, but his axe was visible and he had no artifacts. Tristan gestured for the blade, which the man handed over immediately.


    ¡°You may have heard about the incident earlier today, while you are speaking to either Eve or Kerri my hand will be resting on your shoulder,¡± Tristan said in a stern but passive voice, ¡°Pretend like I¡¯m not there because I¡¯m not unless you have any ill intent.¡±


    This was not something that Janis had discussed doing, but Tristan did not want to take any risks. Especially with the healers all being disturbed and all the other guards distracted.


    The man simply nodded, ¡°As you wish.¡±


    They walked over to Kerri first. Tristan thought the man was a weak leader, but he was better than the distraught Eve at the moment, ¡°You have a message.¡± Tristan said.


    Kerri jumped, looking around like a startled rodent, ¡°What? Oh, what is the message.¡±


    When he was not sneering at Tristan, he could see Kerri for who he was. The tier four was the same age as Tristan and was still a teenager. He had far too many issues weighing him down. Tristan had hardships, but he would argue that those made him better. Kerri had power without the tempering as his hardships were all of the emotional variety. He was isolated.


    ¡°Sir, are we still going to the Lake Caldera? The army needs to know what the plan is,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Well, uh,¡± Kerri looked around for help.


    Tristan sighed, to think he would be helping Kerri of all people, ¡°The Lake Caldera is in a more central location than the River Caldera, going there will give us more options for our next step.¡±


    Kerri was not very appreciative of Tristan¡¯s advice. His distaste was evident, but it only held upsides for him, so he took a deep breath, ¡°We will continue to the Lake Caldera, regrouped with our warriors, and then crush the elemental lord.¡±


    It was meant to sound firm, however, his voice trembled halfway through. The messenger nodded and bowed. Tristan handed back the man¡¯s axe before he left.


    They watched the messenger for a few moments, ¡°I could have handled that myself.¡±


    ¡°Sure you could have,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Now let''s stop gawking and go meet with the other warriors.¡±


    He ignored the glare Kerri sent his way. The other guards started refocusing on their charges. Tristan was both disappointed and amused. Their first reaction should have been to protect Eve, but on the flip side, what could they have done if that much power had fallen on them? Now that she had protection, Tristan turned towards the grieving woman.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you could have done,¡± The portly man said.


    Tristan felt bad for what he needed to do. Eve was the leader of this expedition, she needed to either pass off command to Kerri or find the inner strength to keep going. He walked up and stood before her.


    The man patted her on the back. Was he an uncle or something?  ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Like Hell it''s alright,¡± Tristan interjected.


    Eve flinched and the tubby man looked up sharply, ¡°Know your place.¡±


    ¡°I know my place!¡± Tristan almost yelled, ¡°I just don¡¯t think you know yours. You asked three thousand mothers and fathers, sisters, and brothers to go and die, to feel the same pain you are feeling now. You can mourn the dead with everyone else, but you have two choices, kill the bastard that did this or hand the job off to someone who can do a better job.¡±


    Eve glared up at Tristan, ¡°How would you know what it feels like.¡±


    There was venom there, but Tristan did not back down, she would die, and everyone would be harvested if no one pushed her into a decision. He wished that the older man who was making everything worse would do this instead. Age had a weight in and of itself, instead of fixing the issue, he chose to validate the sorrow she felt. The worst part was, that the sorrow was valid.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to lose family or even a close friend. I do know what it feels like to die though. It''s cold it''s lonely and most of all it''s dark, it is not a feeling that I would have you or any of the people standing behind you go through if it can be avoided.¡±


    He did not know what caused it, maybe the steady tone, or the words themselves, but it seemed to have some effect. Eve sniffled a few times, before standing up straighter. Tristan felt like a bit of a hypocrite it was not too long ago that Conni had called him selfish for his inattentiveness and to get his act together. He had told a hurting woman to stop being selfish and to get her act together, he did not like it.


    Eve pushed herself off the big man, who was still glaring at Tristan, ¡°Let''s get going. I think Commander Blacklake and Siren are in the army up ahead.¡±


    So she had chosen to hand the responsibility off. It was not the worst choice, and Siren would do a much better job than Kerri.


    Tristan gave her a false smile, ¡°Well then let''s get going.¡±

 151. Dissonance

    War was both intense and boring. Tristan stood outside the the stewards compound in the Lake Caldera with nothing to do. Upon arrival to the city he had been fired and several of the River Caldera¡¯s warriors had taken his place. As far as he knew the room inside held, Siren, the commander of the Lake Caldera¡¯s forces, Eve, Elder Lake, and a few others Tristan did not care about. Luke was not among that group, he was instead bombarding Tristan with questions.


    ¡°Did it hurt to have your heart ripped out?¡±


    ¡°Yes, having anything ripped out should hurt.¡±


    ¡°Did the metal heart rust?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think so, I couldn¡¯t actually see it.¡±


    ¡°Would magnets stick to you, I would have gotten a magnetic mask.¡±


    ¡°I did not try. Isn¡¯t there something more productive we could be doing?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Probably,¡± Luke said, then he grinned, ¡°You want to see my Rail cannon?¡±


    Tristan looked around at the packed streets of the Lake Caldera. They lacked the infrastructure to house three thousand extra people within the walls, so it was an understatement to say it was crowded. He had heard stories about the devastation of this ability and he would prefer to keep it out of the city.


    ¡°Sure, but not here,¡±  Tristan said, ¡°I want to go see what is left of Hadrid¡¯s lab. There shouldn¡¯t be anyone there, so its a good spot.¡±


    What he was planing was technically grave robbery, but he did not care. Another thing he did not care about was the claim the Lake Caldera had laid on the site. No one had been sent yet, as silver flames were still burning in patches. However, the fire was somehow able to burn on top of the water making traversing the lake dangerous.


    Luke frowned uncertainly, ¡°Are you sure we should go there?¡±


    Tristan inspected Luke. He never worried himself over what was right or wrong, instead choosing to do what was beneficial. Being the first to pick over Hadrid¡¯s stuff would definitely be beneficial. So, it was an emotional reason. Tristan had never been clear about what the relationship between Luke and the alchemist was, but Luke had to have lived somewhere between his arrival at the mine and the death of Rail.


    ¡°Did he mean a lot to you?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway.¡± He took a deep breath then gestured forward, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Interpreting emotions was not Tristan¡¯s strong suite, and sifting though them behind a facade of bravado was even harder for him. So instead of pushing he followed Luke through the Lake Caldera. The guard at the gate was supposed to stop people from entering or exiting with out documenting it, however he did not stop them. He probably already knew who Luke was, even if the man was a civilian. Arriving at the head of an army of warriors was a pretty important event.


    They made their way to the docks. Hundreds of small boats and a few larger ones bobbed up and down in the water. One might think that the lake would have been over fished with this many boats, and that may have been true in a normal lake. Every few years the fish would come back to the lake, swimming upstream. Most people assumed that mythical beasts drove them upstream.


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    As none of the boats were being used, they only needed to grab the one they wanted. Sure the owners might have something to say about that, but Tristan intended to have the boat returned before they ever found out. They chose one of the smaller ferry vessels and pushed out into the lake. Most of the ferrymen were tier zero, so Tristan made much better time with the oars than they did.


    ¡°Get closer to the fire,¡± Luke said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Tristan asked.


    The fire was randomly scattered across the surface. It would be easy to make it through without hitting any of it. Getting close would still be a risk, as the fire was not stationary. Most of the patches floated along lazily like driftwood, Tristan did not want to be nearby if the wind picked up.


    ¡°I can feel air essence in it,¡± Luke said.


    Tristan started rowing closer, and as soon as he got within the hundred foot range of his metal sense, he felt metal essence within the flames. Luke had a larger range on his air sense, though as it was not possible to feel the absence of air essence, it was much less useful than Tristan¡¯s metal sense.


    ¡°Stay back,¡± Vulcan said.


    Tristan hauled back on the oars so hard that Luke almost toppled out the front of the boat.


    ¡°Hey, what was that for?¡± Luke complained.


    ¡°Vulcan said to stop, let me get an explanation,¡± Tristan turned his attention to Vulcan, but still spoke aloud for Luke¡¯s benefit, ¡°What makes it so dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what the word dissonance means?¡± Vulcan asked. Of course Tristan did, it was primarily a musical term for bad artists, ¡°Well that lack of harmony can occur within elements to blend them. Its very useful when you want a sword to have fire properties or mass produce glow stones for indoor lighting. The issue is you need an anima or a dominion to handle it, as it is now you have no resistance to that dissonance.¡±


    Tristan relayed Vulcan¡¯s words, Luke had a question, ¡°What makes it more dangerous than normal fire?¡±


    ¡°It has an unknown mixture of the forces of those three elements. It could be hard as steel, as volatile as fire, and have a nearly limitless fuel source from air. Or it could have the force of magnetism, and drag you in if you get to close. The most probable danger is likely the fumes it is releasing, they quickly decay back to their natural state, but a lung full of metal affinity air is bad for your health,¡± Vulcan explained.


    ¡°We¡¯ll stay away from the silver death flames then. So how can I make them, I want to have a silver fire sword,¡± Luke asked. Tristan had to agree, though Vulcan was essentially a flaming pole arm.


    ¡°Inject essence into any object, I believe that is a tier four ability, enforce a balance. Assuming the object survives, you have created dissonant essence. If it fails it will explode as the forces involved violently reject each other, if you want a crash course on the use of essence dissonance go to the Silent Nation.¡± Vulcan explained.


    Tristan made a mental note to go there when he returned Vulcan home. He had quite a few places he would like to visit. Hopefully he would be strong enough to get an audience with the Steel Saint, Tristan also wanted to visit the Agni Raja, Conni¡¯s people. Adding a whole nation should not be an issue.


    The boat ground up on the shore next to Alchehall. For once Tristan took the lead, as Luke was unable to purify the metal flakes out of the air. If there were fumes it would be best for Tristan to be the one to breath them. His lungs were right next to his heart making them trivial to heal.


    The fire was more prevalent out here, but still far from all consuming. They made their way to the top of a ridge. Tristan realized that they would not be scavenging anything from this area of Alchehall. The dirt was a good three feet lower than it originally had been and it sloped downward at a shallow angle towards the center.


    Not that Tristan could see the dirt, it looked like a giant mass of liquid metal was flickering before his eyes. The area seemed to have the center of the town as the point of detonation, the castle was gone, the city was gone, a good portion of the farmland was gone. Heat radiating of the fire pit had started some more regular fires in the rest of the wheat.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯m staying away from dissonance,¡± Tristan muttered. If this is what a failure looked like, he would never be able to live near people.


    ¡°Right, it makes my Rail cannon look like a toy,¡± Luke agreed.


    ¡°Did you have a tier eight in this nation?¡± Vulcan asked.


    ¡°No, the metal part of the fire is easily identifiable as Hadrid¡¯s. Unless he rose three tiers, then no,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°This is way more essence than a tier five should be able to generate,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Even if he corrupted his own kern, the explosion should not be this big.¡±


    That sent a jolt down Tristans spine. Had he almost become an earth and metal version of this when he traded essence with Hailey. He was only alive because his total essence eclipsed hers. Would he have turned to stone, or turned into a giant bomb? All he could say is that he was lucky to be alive.


    ¡°There is nothing left here,¡± Luke said, ¡°We should go check the battle field.¡±


    He pointed out to where the two army¡¯s had wiped each other out. Hundreds of corpses littered the area the varied clothing and equipment of mercenaries stood out starkly against the uniforms of the enemy. All the deceased elementals had already been rendered into their base essence, however the human part of the army was till there, lying in the grass unmoving.


    Then and idea struck him, ¡°Hey Luke, if I take an essence reservoir off one of those mercenaries and fill it with healing essence, do you think I could get Siren and his elites a broken kern?¡±


    Luke¡¯s smile turned predatory, ¡°You want to make a few dozen people with forces I take it?¡±

 152. Soul Input

    Tristan kicked a golize off the man it was gnawing on. Some of Hadrid¡¯s pets were having a good time chowing down on the intruders. Tristan absently wondered if the Caldera would struggle with a wave of golize infesting everything. The creatures were tier zero, but they had good natural armor, were very stealthy, and hunted in packs. Being the size of a sheepdog made them unlikely to kill a human alone, but two or three of them could manage quite easily.


    The small creatures were only paying attention to the invaders, all of whom were wearing grey jackets with a patch depicting a spiky circle floating over a mountain with fire pouring out of it. A crown and a volcano, as Vulcan was able to identify them. It seemed to be the symbol of the Lord of the Underworld.


    It was a mess out here, but it was one he could make use of. Tristan jerked an arrow out of the corpse, he had probably met the man in the Forrest Caldera before. He inspected the crystalline head of the arrow, this was an essence reservoir. It still had a small amount of earth essence inside.


    ¡°So to infuse it I just need to stab myself with it?¡± Tristan asked. He was uncertain because things hadn¡¯t gone so well the last time he had tried adding things to his kern.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°You have the force of hunger right? Use that to destroy the essence within, then fill it with whatever alloy of essences you like. It appears to be a tier one reservoir, so it can¡¯t hold too much essence.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, he pricked his finger with the arrowhead. The earth essence dripped out and into his finger slowly enough for his hunger to consume it completely. The next step was to essentially build a construct inside the reservoir, it would release the essence in the construct when it was inserted into an object. Vulcan had been a crafter, specifically a smith, so for his crafts, he would insert it into tools with channels to funnel the essence inside to where he needed it.


    In Tristan¡¯s knives, the essence reservoir had been filled with adamance. Being attached to the knife''s hilt, they applied those traits. Tristan was able to constantly keep the construct inside filled with his own essence, as adamance was a pretty basic force of metal. For the longest time, he had assumed that he would need to wait until tier four to use this, as he could not currently infuse his essence into things. While he did not need it to refuel a reservoir, he still needed it to make true essence weapons.


    He created as much decay alloy as he could reasonably expect to fit inside the arrowhead and created a construct inside it. It was an odd feeling as the metal he could sense filling the arrowhead was substantially larger than what the arrowhead should hold. He could have made a construct the size of his fist with it, but it all seamlessly fit into the head with no issues.


    ¡°So that''s really all that there is to it?¡± Luke asked inspecting the head that was now a nearly black chrome color.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot easier than I thought it would be,¡± Tristan answered. This arrow would now be one of the deadliest implements against a human military. Despite its ridiculous lethality, it would be useless against the elementals.


    Luke held out a hand, ¡°Give it here.¡±


    Tristan handed it over without really thinking about it, ¡°Just be careful, the essence in there is very, wait stop.¡±


    Luke turned around and stabbed it back into the original corpse. The man may have been tier one or two in life, but that was not enough to stop the decay from spreading through the torso. Tristan backpedaled away from the body, as did Luke. Neither of them wanted to be around when rotting pieces started falling off.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Tristan yelled.


    ¡°Why did you make a death arrow!¡± Luke yelled back.


    Tristan was about to yell back, but Vulcan chipped in, ¡°Why did you? You have the healing alloy and no one would benefit from your other forces.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the one I¡¯m the most familiar with,¡± Tristan sighed after getting his initial irritation at being reprimanded under control.


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    ¡°You are most familiar with decay?¡± Vulcan said, ¡°And you wonder why people think you¡¯re a necromancer.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Tristan muttered.


    Luke started chuckling, ¡°You know, I thought I would be the first one to hear voices in my head.¡±


    Tristan could only shake his head as he picked up another reservoir. He had been lacking reservoirs for so long that having access to hundreds of them evoked some odd emotions. Excitement would be his primary emotion if he was not going through a field of corpses. He picked up a dagger with a glowing red sphere in the hilt.


    He inspected the weapon. The essence channels were undetectable, which was odd, as he was able to sense metal and its makeup to some extent. There was a difference between steel and gold after all, he was not sure what the difference was, he could just feel it.  What he could feel was metal essence.


    Tristan picked the scab off his finger and placed the reservoir in. None of the fire essence leaked out. Did he need to make a bigger cut, Tristan remembered pushing the marble into a cut before he broke into tier one, and that had hurt. Before he did anything stupid he sent a query to Vulcan.


    ¡°The arrow just needed me to prick myself, why is this one not doing the same?¡±


    Vulcan sent an image of a man facepalming, ¡°It''s pointed the other way.¡±


    ¡°How does that explain anything? It¡¯s round,¡± Tristan grumbled.


    ¡°It''s kind of like a magnet, even round ones have a north and south alignment. Reservoirs are souls, and all souls have an input from the primordial forces and an output in the real world. For obvious reasons the output is almost always built pointy end out in weapons,¡± Vulcan explained, enunciating his worlds like turning ownerless souls into knives was normal. Maybe it was where he came from.


    ¡°Do you expect me to stab myself with the knife?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°That would be truly stupid. If the essence affects the knife instead of something inside your body, you won''t be able to consume it. Pry the orb off and use the output side exactly like the arrowhead,¡± Vulcan explained.


    That made as much sense as anything else in this situation. Tristan started using his architect alloy to make a tong like the blacksmiths used to pull the hot metal out of the fire. Gripping the reservoir with the metal, he stepped on the flat of the blade and pried upward. Whatever anchored the reservoir was strong, it was likely too firmly attached for even a well built tier one to break. He was tier three, so it only took a good bit of strength and leverage to pry it off.


    Tristan had to marvel at the adaptability of the metal kern. For the longest time, he had assumed that it was simply the best at combat, however, he had never met a person with a metal kern who did not also have a force. Sure they could make their weapons and armor, but so could everyone else, just not on the spot. It seemed to be an essence type that lent itself very well to production. Need a weird tool, just make it, it was a very convenient essence that did not seem to excel at anything, but was not lacking either.


    He picked up the red reservoir, the metal tong had not left a scratch on it, ¡°Why don''t people make armor out of this?¡±


    ¡°Some people do,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Chainmail mostly, it acts as hundreds of different essence batteries, though one of my uncle¡¯s disciples made a worn tunic out of it, it looked stupid but was very soft.¡±


    Someone would have to be very rich to do something like that. Each ring would be an elemental¡¯s processed kern. A  set of chain mail would represent hundreds if not thousands of lives and would be an artifact of unprecedented value. Even one hundred tier one reservoirs could store enough to still be beneficial at the same level as the Lord of the Underworld.


    Placing the outlet of the reservoir against his small cut, Tristan felt the hot essence of flame enter his kern. It was swiftly devoured by hunger and converted into metal essence. Tristan then ran some architect alloy through his heart to pick up some growth force and finally become healing alloy. He had never made a construct with it simply because the healing alloy had little use outside his body. It was simply a vastly inferior version of what a light kern could accomplish.


    Still, it was not difficult to push it through his skin and into the reservoir. The cut fixed itself as the essence left his body, Tristan was not sure what he was expecting. He had been hoping for it to start glowing golden like some kind of holy object, instead, he got a glowing blue-brown color.


    ¡°Why is it this color?¡± He muttered to himself.


    Tristan was not expecting an answer, but Vulcan had one, ¡°Growth is part of water and earth as well, so it should not be surprising that a reservoir filled with that force would be a mixture of those colors.¡±


    That was good news. It would mix better with Siren¡¯s kern and probably Eve and Bruce as well. He looked over the battlefield. The sun was setting making all the luminous reservoirs stand out. Tristan frowned looking out to the east, it looked almost as if the sun were about to rise again, most of the stars blotted out by its light. Something that was impossible as the sun had set in the west just a few minutes ago.


    ¡°Is this one of your volcanoes?¡± Tristan asked. He explained what he was seeing.


    ¡°Maybe?¡± Vulcan said, ¡°Does the light look like it''s moving this way?¡±


    ¡°No,¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Vulcan said.


    Tristan shrugged, he had more important things to do than to worry about strange lights on the horizon. He had an entire field of reservoirs to turn into healing devices.

 153. Intruding with Gifts

    They spent most of the night collecting reservoirs and various weapons. The pile they were left with was almost more than their little stolen ferry could take. Much of the mercenary''s armor had essence reservoirs with random effects. And by random, Tristan meant as weird as they could get. There was a chest plate that heated up like a stovetop, a pair of boots that would attract dust, and a helmet that messed with a person''s voice, making them sound like a woman. It was an open-faced helm.


    Hadrid had made the most random junk, still, it was built with reservoirs, and he could recycle those. Luke dusted his hands off, picked up his new pet, and hopped into the boat. Tristan was on the rows again, propelling the boat to the other side of the Lake. It was still dark, so they would most likely get back unnoticed.


    Tristan stared at Luke¡¯s new pet, ¡°Why do you need a pet golize.¡±


    ¡°It''s cute,¡± Luke said, petting its forest green scales, ¡°And if you get an imaginary friend, I want one too.¡±


    ¡°He did not just compare me to a hillbilly alchemist¡¯s experiment. Tristan kick it into the lake,¡± Vulcan fumed.


    Fortunately, the lamp post lacked legs, otherwise the little creature would be drowning at that moment. Tristan had other thoughts, ¡°How can you think the unholy offspring of a drake and goat is cute.¡±


    The creature lolled its forked tongue out of its mouth and cocked its head to the side. It was a position that made most dogs look adorable, but the little abomination looked like it had swallowed a piece of Hell. Orange light glowed from its throat and flickers of flame leaked from the corners of its jaws like drool.


    ¡°It''s not that bad,¡± Luke waved his hand to dismiss the claims, ¡°He¡¯s a good boy, he just has a nibbling problem.¡±


    They had found it eating someone¡¯s face. Tristan sighed and just kept rowing. He would not win an argument with Luke, instead he would just enjoy the show when something stupid happened. Like the golize starting a drool-powered brush fire.


    Several minutes later, they returned to the dock where a panicked-looking man was standing. He started shouting as soon as he saw them but paused when Tristan picked up two silver essence reservoirs and built them a cart with three times his natural essence. It lacked suspension and the metal tires would damage any floor he pulled it over. The axles were also not greased, so no one under tier two would be able to move it.


    It was not an issue, as Luke was tier five now, the cart would move with or without the wheels. The person Tristan could only assume was a ferryman could only watch them as they loaded piles of armor and weapons out of his boat.


    ¡°Am I an accomplice now?¡± He asked hopelessly.


    ¡°Nah, Frank, you¡¯re rich, there is a silver lining to everything,¡± Luke patted the ferryman on the shoulder, ¡°Take this, it is an artifact of immense power that, uh, it does something. Tristan, what does this do?¡±


    Tristan looked over from where he was securing a tarp to stop things from falling out. Luke was holding up a gauntlet with a blue gem set into the back. Tristan used his metal sense to try and get a feel for what would happen if essence was run through it.


    ¡°It makes your grip tighter, is resistant to corrosion, and is also watertight,¡± Tristan said, slightly impressed that Hadrid had come up with an artifact that allowed him to handle hazardous materials.


    He chuckled to himself when the ferryman yelled, ¡°Powerful! You tryin'' to scam me, boy! If you''re going to ruin my good name, I might as well just yell to call the guards!¡±


    Tristan pulled a metal disk that he was sure was a coaster out of the cart. The mercenary who had it was trying to use it to stop blood loss, the effect of the tool was simple and worked both on tea and blood.


    ¡°Take this one,¡± Tristan snatched the glove and handed the metal coaster over, ¡°It stops liquids from spilling in or out of containers, I believe that also includes boats.¡±


    ¡°That''s more like it,¡± Frank snatched the artifact that was probably worth more than the boat, and stomped off, ¡°You still owe me my twenty silver parces.¡±


    Tristan could only shake his head. That artifact was worth a gold talent or two. They were intending to take these to the steward''s hall and break some kerns. Normally he would not be so generous, but he had already squirreled a dozen away so he was covered. Also, he assumed that the Temple would be receiving these afterward. He had no issue robbing them.


    The biggest reason was that he wanted Siren to get the option. There were many reasons that the leaders of the Caldera would want to stop Siren from receiving a force. He was already difficult to handle due to his influence, giving him a force might make him impossible to stop, especially if it was one of the more esoteric dark ones like encroachment. A super durable brawler, that was invisible, and could teleport through shadows was terrifying.


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    Luke grabbed the handle of the cart and started pulling. A screech echoed throughout the Lake Caldera as bare axle ground against its frame. The little golize covered its head with its paws and even Vulcan sent an image of a man dragging his fingers down a dark green board mounted to a wall.


    The city was packed, tents were set up in the pedestrian walkways, and houses were above capacity. It was also around two in the morning. People glared at them through tent flaps and windows.


    ¡°Luke I think we might have to just carry it,¡± Tristan said. He was not relishing carrying a seven hundred pound load a mile and a half to the steward''s office. Still, he could lift a little less than double that and he had help.


    They carried the wagon through the street with a sleeping goat lizard resting on top. Thankfully, no one stopped them. Some guards gave them odd looks, but Luke seemed to be a good deterrent. To be fair, if four hundred warriors showed up at the gate all wary of a young man who could turn people into red paste with a belt knife, Tristan would be wary as well.


    They set the wagon down with a grunt. Tristan rolled his shoulders to loosen them back up, ¡°Do you want to stay while I go get Siren, Eve, and Bruce.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Luke said, pointing up at the door to the office. The golden armored guards were still there, as were several other uniforms. Janis stared down at them quizzically, as did Herod. At least twenty people were stationed there, just staring at them.


    ¡°They started before sunset, how can they still be having a discussion?¡± Tristan said in disbelief.


    ¡°We still need to get Siren right?¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°Yeah, and the other two, but I suspect that they are inside as well,¡± Tristan said. He suspected he was about to witness the spectacle he knew was approaching.


    Luke picked up his pet and held it under one arm. He pointed at the door past all the guards, ¡°I am going through those doors, you going to stop me?¡±


    Janis frowned, then asked in more of a questioning tone, ¡°Yes? We¡¯re guards, that¡¯s what we do.¡±


    ¡°Luke, stop,¡± Tristan said, placing a hand on his friend¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We can wait, no need to hurt some guys who are just doing their jobs,¡± Turning to Janis, ¡°Tell Eve that we have some news on the state of Alchehall and the less than decisive nature of the battle.¡±


    Several of the guards relaxed as Janis nodded, motioning for Herod to take his place at the door. He stepped inside to deliver the message.


    <Eve>


    ¡°You unlawfully took control of our military, and you expect to just keep your position!¡± Elder Lake yelled at Siren, who just stared back impassively.


    Eve wanted to bang her head on the table. It would at least help her stay awake. The argument had been going back and forth for well over an hour. The worst part was that Siren was not even arguing his own points, Cole was. There was a reason Cole was not an elder.


    ¡°You shut up, slimeball. You were hiding in your stone palace while my brothers and sisters bled and died. He saved my home and even if you take back your soldiers, the Stone Caldera stands with him!¡± Cole yelled.


    At least it distracted her from her problems. It was difficult to grieve a sister who she had only just started to get to know when a bunch of peacocks were trying to argue morality into war. If war was moral, people would not get conscripted, killed, or stolen from. Yet Eve had participated in all of these things, as much as it sickened her. Tristan was right to say she needed to pull herself together, if only so those things weren¡¯t all for nothing.


    ¡°My soldiers don¡¯t serve the Stone Caldera, they made their oaths to me!¡± Elder Lake said as he turned to Commander Blacklake, ¡°You hold most of the blame, why did you secede command to a stranger?¡±


    Blacklake looked the most bored out of all the participants, his feet were kicked up on the table and he was whittling a block of ice with a belt knife. Eve had met him before, he was a man who valued efficiency and getting the job done. It made him cold and difficult to approach, but excellent at getting results. If Eve understood his latest task correctly, it was to push the allied Stone and Forest Caldera forces out of the plains, which he had done even with the addition of elementals halfway through.


    The Commander raised an eyebrow, ¡°I accomplished my task with a minimal loss of life, I am not so insecure that I would not offer my post to someone who can provide greater results. You, however, are free to replace me if you can find someone better.¡±


    Eve had to cringe at that. Most people in power knew of Blacklake''s skill as an assassin and interrogator. He was a risky person to make angry and let live. Fortunately for everyone, his emotional range went from disappointment in his work to contentment in the same task.


    Siren raised his hand for the first time in hours. He had stopped talking when the conversation started heading in circles. Elder Lake kept ranting, but everyone else quieted down.


    ¡°Eve, please take this message out of earshot,¡± Siren said.


    Everyone frowned in confusion for a moment, until there was a knock on the door. Looking back and forth between Siren and the door, Eve got up and answered it. Normally, she would have sent one of her two guards to answer the door, but she trusted Siren. How he knew who was coming was more than a little unsettling.


    She opened the door, and stepped out, followed by her guards. Bruce and Lesley had taken the role of personal guards, as she trusted them more than most. Janis stood in the atrium, head bowed, waiting to be ushered in.


    ¡°You may stand,¡± Eve said, ¡°What message do you have?¡±


    Janis looked up in surprise, he had been expecting one of the two Golden Hearts, not Eve, ¡°Lady Eve, Sage and another young man are standing outside, demanding an audience. They claim to have investigated the battle across the lake. I would advise against meeting them, as Sage had to stop his companion from using violence to enter.¡±


    Eve felt a headache coming on, she muttered, ¡°Could they not stay out of trouble for twelve hours in a row?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, Lady Eve, I do not understand,¡± Janis said.


    ¡°You made a good choice to not antagonize them. If you are ever in a conflict with Sage¡¯s companion prioritize retreat over neutralizing him, as I¡¯m not sure you could even hurt him,¡± Eve said.

 154. Scared old Men

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Eve asked, her tone accusing.


    ¡°Nothing bad, we just wanted to get some information to you, and maybe some gifts,¡± Tristan answered holding up his hands like he was warding off a beast.


    Luke was petting his golize like it was a cat and smirking at their interaction. Tristan did not know what he was thinking but was sure that it would be offensive if verbalized. Bruce and Lesley were standing behind Eve dressed in the golden paraphernalia of the elite guards and Janis stood off to the side.


    ¡°What information do you have?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Well, for starters, the Lord of the Underworld barely won. Most of those fancy explosions came from Hadrid, as did the ball of silver fire. Vulcan says that it is a type of essence called dissonance, which is extremely volatile if handled incorrectly,¡± Tristan answered trying to spit out all the relevant points as fast as possible, ¡°Oh we also looted all the dead mercenaries, and Luke got a pet.¡±


    Eve could only shake her head, ¡°I thought we told everyone to stay away from the city.¡±


    ¡°You really expect me to believe that anything productive is going on in there?¡± Tristan pointed to the steward''s office, ¡°It''s morning, the entire army is going to have to wait just because its leaders need their sleep.¡±


    She winced at that. The only one who wouldn¡¯t need rest was Kerri, and that was because he fell asleep halfway through. Still, the knowledge that Hadrid had put up a good fight was good news. Vulcan being able to identify the dissonance was an issue, as it was unverifiable in the Caldera. They just had no way to test it and very few people would take a lamp post¡¯s word as an authority on anything.


    ¡°I want a private meeting with you, Bruce, and Siren,¡± Tristan said.


    That statement took her by surprise, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I need to get you all to tier four, and Siren on his way to five,¡± Tristan said nonchalantly like it was not an achievement the Caldera Elders had been trying to figure out, ¡°The only reason we even came here was because it is where the Lake Caldera steward sleeps, and he will know where everyone else is, I didn¡¯t expect everyone to still be awake.¡±


    Bruce looked surprised, though he should not have been. Eve had been curious as to the method Luke and Tristan were using to advance. There weren¡¯t any metal artifacts below tier six, so how did he gather a supply large enough to grow his kern to tier three? Luke had a different issue, there weren¡¯t enough artifacts above tier three to get him to tier five, yet they had both managed. It was almost as if taking reckless risks came with a tangible boost in power. The fact that both a metal and air kern were able to use the method meant that it was not locked to a specific essence type.


    ¡°How do you propose we accomplish that?¡± Eve asked.


    Tristan shook his head, ¡°No, I will offer it only when Siren is available, I would not be surprised if there was a substantial section of the leadership who would be adverse to him gaining more power.¡±


    Eve sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll set up a time, within the next few days.¡±


    Tristan glanced at Luke, something unsaid passing between them, he turned back, ¡°That''s great, We¡¯ll be going to find Conni.¡±


    They picked up the wagon, a wagon filled with hundreds of artificial artifacts, and started walking off. Eve could not just let them walk off with weaponry like that. They would be much better used in the hands of the warriors than by some miners.


    ¡°Wait, leave the artifacts,¡± Eve said.


    She heard Luke mutter something, which she was sure was, ¡°Everyone¡¯s a Frank today.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan said back, ¡°I told you, Siren first. Until then, these are ours.¡±


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    Then they kept marching off. It looked ridiculous, them hauling off a wagon like it was a crate. Eve sighed, she was glad she was not an Elder yet, otherwise, she would have to worry about all the issues they caused.


    ¡°Should we stop them?¡± Janis asked.


    Bruce snorted, ¡°You¡¯re funny. There is no reason to steal something when we will eventually end up with it through a simple application of patience.¡±


    There were many times that Eve was jealous of Bruce and Lesley¡¯s business background. It helped them find the shortest route to getting their desired outcome. Janis however, was indignant at the condescending nature of the response. His failure to properly stop an assassin had not won him any points with Bruce.


    Eve cut off the offended response from Janis, ¡°We need to go and end this meeting, the faster we can get Siren to meet him, the better.¡±


    Janis nodded, ¡°As you wish, Lady Eve,¡± He escorted them back into the steward¡¯s office, ¡°The other guards will have also noticed what was in that wagon, do you need us to subdue them?¡±


    ¡°No, most of those warriors recently returned from the plains. They won¡¯t do anything stupid, I hope,¡± Eve answered, as she rendered the room, which was still filled with arguing.


    It was still Elder Lake yelling. Eve wondered how the man¡¯s voice could be used so harshly, yet never go hoarse. Now it was something about Siren lacking the authority to order Eve around. He hadn¡¯t ordered her, he had given advice in the form of a statement. Good advice in hindsight, as Luke would have probably kicked the doors down likely using the excuse that he was using his hands to hold the cart. A fight would ensue, the leadership would suffer an embarrassing defeat, and Siren would have come out of it looking even better as the only person with common sense in the group. It was not as if the returning warriors had not warned the leadership about Luke.


    ¡°Was there a messenger?¡± Elder Lake asked in a condescending tone.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Eve said, ¡°I have some good news about the battle across the lake.¡±


    She explained the situation to the best of her ability. Granted that was not much, as Tristan had only given her about two sentences to work with, half of it was taken up by alchemist jargon and Luke¡¯s pet. Unfortunately, Elder Lake did not focus on the fact that the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s power base was weakened, he focused on the cart of artifacts.


    ¡°We need to go get them, maybe throw them in prison,¡± Elder Lake said, slamming a fist on the table.


    ¡°I second that,¡± Kerri said, his voice still laden with sleepiness, ¡°Why are we getting the silver devil?¡±


    ¡°We are not,¡± Eve said, she felt a small plan forming, but it all hinged on what Tristan and Luke were cooking, ¡°Siren, they asked to meet with you. I don¡¯t know what they wanted to talk about, but I think it had something to do with making more tier fours.¡°


    Siren¡¯s eyes widened an expression that looked foreign on his perpetually calm face. Eve realized, Siren knew, he might have even been covering for them. After recovering his expression, he nodded and stood. He bowed to Elder Lake, then Eve before making his way to the door.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going!¡± Elder Lake yelled, ¡°You don¡¯t have permission to leave.¡±


    ¡°I do not serve you,¡± Siren said calmly, ¡°I serve the Caldera, and I believe a better use of my time has just presented itself.¡±


    Elder Lake opened his mouth to keep yelling, but he was cut off by an exhausted sigh. Commander Blacklake stood as well, ¡°Thank the mute gods, I will take this excuse to leave. Elder Lake, have a good night and I hope you can find a good psychologist to help with that temper before you ruin your reputation.¡±


    Both of the men walked out of the room, to the apoplectic rage of Elder Lake. Eve knew that statement was a challenge from Blacklake. It was easy to forget that underneath the fancy uniform and blunt speech, he was an assassin, propagandist, and inquisitor. He had seen Elder Lake and found him wanting, a prospect that was only a problem for the Elder because the people¡¯s hopes were divided between him and the savior of the Stone Caldera.


    ¡°And you¡¯re alright with this,¡± Elder Lake growled.


    Eve raised an eyebrow, ¡°Do you expect me to stop them?¡±


    ¡°He will set himself up as king of the Caldera if he is not stopped,¡± Elder Lake said, disbelief in his voice.


    Maybe that was true. Maybe it was Siren¡¯s master plan. The issue was, that Eve could not say he would do a worse job than the previous set of elders.


    ¡°Would that be so bad?¡± Eve asked, getting shocked expressions from everyone. She was the only person left in the room, aside from Cole, who knew Siren¡¯s character. Not due to a lack of opportunity, there were four hundred witnesses of his conduct, and they had almost twelve hours of meetings to confirm it.


    ¡°What about your position, Eve? You will be the next Elder if nothing changes,¡± Elder Lake asked.


    ¡°What about my position?¡± Kerri muttered.


    Eve sighed, ¡°Nothing except death due to us offending two of our greatest assets, threatening to incarcerate two others, and alienating our entire fighting force. Are you not aware of what the people are saying, the temple is using Siren¡¯s deeds and his dark kern to draw a link between him and the grand ancestor.¡±


    The local Temple Guider nodded her head, ¡°It''s true, we haven¡¯t said anything concrete, but made the connections to build the morale of our congregants.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he would make a bad king?¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Guider said, ¡°He is a soldier, and he does not donate to the temple. I do not believe it is something to worry about, he does not care for political power.¡±


    Eve was surprised the temple was able to keep track of donations. Most parses looked identical after all. She was not surprised that the temple was unconcerned about Siren¡¯s ambition. Siren had made no secret about his belief that the path to power was paved with service and the service he provided was violence.


    Elder Lake slumped into his chair and rubbed his eyes. Now that the emotions were simmering down he just felt tired, ¡°Have we really been so bad?¡± He leaned forward, resting his forehead on the table, ¡°Not alone, but as a group, yes. Please find me tomorrow or the day after, I might need to make apologies.¡±


    Eve could not tell if he was truly sorry or if he was swallowing his pride to keep his position. Either way, the stupidly long meeting ended, allowing them to get to bed. Everyone but Eve and Bruce. Tristan had specifically asked for them, and it was something important.

 155. Forcing a Decision

    ¡°This won¡¯t work on me,¡± Conni said, holding the glowing marble.


    Tristan frowned, sure Conni was fire attuned, which lowered the chances of him absorbing the essence reservoir, but it should still be possible. His anima worked on the same principles as a kern. Forces could be leveraged to increase the effects of the body just like a kern.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Tristan asked, ¡°Most people assume that a broken kern will kill a person as well.¡±


    Conni shrugged, ¡°The highest tier in my sect was only tier six, so I don¡¯t know. Artifacts work, but also tend to dilute our cultivation.¡±


    Odd words aside, Tristan could agree that testing the possibility was best done on someone other than Conni, ¡°If you did not absorb artifacts, and you don¡¯t break your kern, then how do you advance?¡±


    ¡°Our sacred lands nourished our bodies, it is why I am only tier two despite living here for more than twenty years,¡± Conni explained.


    ¡°Vulcan, please translate,¡± Tristan asked the only person from another plane he was aware of.


    ¡°Remember when you asked about forces in plants while we walked to the alchemist¡¯s place? Entire ecosystems can be generated by a force taking over a biome. The Agni Raja was too small for me to pay much mind if their highest tier was only six, but they probably lived around a volcano, with most of the plant life picking up a force from it. Think trees with ever-burning leaves and sooty trunks,¡± Vulcan sent an image over of a mountain covered in burning plants, ¡° Animas have no connection to the primordial forces, and thus need to recoup their losses and advance in tier from their environment. Fire animas congregate around fire, water around lakes and oceans, and so on.¡±


    Tristan¡¯s desire to go sightseeing outside the Caldera went up a few notches. His books on alchemy made it sound like these plants were rare, but everything was relative. In a warm climate, trees that produced heat might not be appreciated as a resource. Tristan had no idea what a volcano was like, but he assumed it would heat up the area.


    Grace pulled aside the tent flap and stepped inside. She was holding several baked potatoes on a tray. Her fire kern was developed enough to grant her heat resistance, so the temperature of the potatoes came as a surprise.


    After passing them out, Grace sat down beside Conni, ¡°So you waiting on Siren?¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you think this tent will be a safe place to do whatever you¡¯re planning to do?¡± Conni asked.


    ¡°Safe for us,¡± Luke said from where he was sitting, ¡°Not for you.¡±


    Tristan looked at the cramped tent. It was designed to host five people, but he assumed from the size that three of them were supposed to be children. Conni and most of the army were sleeping in these tents. Normally the unseasonable warmth would make it better, but the ground hadn¡¯t dried out from the melting snow. One had to either get one of the few patches of stone or sleep in the mud.


    It was only an hour before Siren stepped inside, ¡°Good morning Conni, Grace.¡±


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    Siren took up all the remaining space, forcing all of them to squeeze closer together. Grace handed over the final potato, while Tristan handed over the essence reservoir containing healing alloy. Siren inspected it for a short time before looking back up at Tristan.


    ¡°What you are holding is a large amount of healing alloy, I believe that with it we can safely break your kern,¡± Tristan explained, ¡°Hadrid was skeptical about the chances of getting a force out of it, but I know of no other way to get one.¡±


    ¡°You think this is safe?¡± Siren asked, not quite convinced.


    ¡°Well, safer for anyone with a light, earth, or water kern, as both the architect force and growth force can be found in those three elements. We know that the key to a successful breakthrough is to keep the body stable while it is deprived of essence,¡± Tristan explained, ¡°The only reason it is always lethal at higher tiers, is that your body becomes more and more dependent on essence. I weigh around three hundred pounds, and if I lost my kern for the first time, my body¡¯s density might kill me. It is something that needs to be built up over time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you have been doing?¡± Grace asked, she looked horrified at the thought of Tristan committing what people considered suicide to advance.


    ¡°I assume this is not just unsubstantiated theory?¡± Siren asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Luke was the one who answered, ¡°Most people do not know about my father, but they do know of his exploits. He did experiments on the Plains Caldera¡¯s civil protector and many of the Caldera¡¯s soldiers. All of them died until he got to tier four, which was when he could infuse someone with his essence. Once the wind tuber was introduced, survival went up to almost ten percent.¡±


    ¡°You want me to bet my life on a ten percent chance?¡± Siren shook his head, ¡°I do not believe it is a wise risk.¡±


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°It''s not really my place to decide, if you don¡¯t then pick some of your weaker people. They don¡¯t even have to be tier three, just people we trust. If they get into a fight with the Lord of the Underworld, they will die anyway, so you might as well give them a chance to survive.¡±


    Siren grimaced. He was right there was a large risk, that many people would die. It would be better to give those who would most certainly perish a fighting chance. Only that was not how Siren worked. It was a trait that made him a great captain, decent general, and terrible king. He would not make his warriors go through the pain he was not also willing to experience.  This gave him the people¡¯s respect, but no leader would ever be able to do everything, so it limited him to smaller groups.


    Without Blacklake and Cole¡¯s support, Siren would have struggled to get the army here. Tristan knew, and he believed that Siren also knew, that he was a rallying point, but that did not make him irreplaceable. Whether that made this a risk worth taking did not matter, Siren needed to take the risk to ask others to also do so.


    Sighing Siren nodded, ¡°Alright then. What do we need to do?¡±


    ¡°Well here¡¯s the part we can¡¯t do in the tent,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Luke and I fight you to the death, or at least that¡¯s the situation we need to set up. You won¡¯t break your kern for that chance at survival unless death is truly imminent.¡±


    ¡°But I know you won¡¯t kill me,¡± Siren said, ¡°it isn¡¯t even a possibility.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Sure, that¡¯s true, so we will have to set up a situation where it is.¡±


    He set an artifact on the table. A pair of handcuffs, though the chain was broken, Siren recognized them. They were essence siphons, too often used by the temple to subdue criminals. Tristan had not received any during his stint in prison for two reasons. First, they did not have a metal variant, and second, the last silver devil they tied it on stole them.


    ¡°You want me to wear these?¡± Siren seemed skeptical, ¡°To what end?¡±


    Siren was more than a match for Tristan, though he believed he had somewhat closed the gap with both his architect and growth alloy. However, Luke was still ahead and had only built his lead over time. Tristan could not be sure, but he assumed from the recounting Luke had broken his kern on three different occasions, which should put him near tier six. Unless the speed of progression dramatically slowed down.


    ¡°We need to limit the amount of essence you have. We need to make sure it is as authentic as possible,¡± Tristan smiled.


    Siren stood, ¡°Fine then, where will we be fighting?¡±


    The tent was too short for him, so he was left hunched over while he stepped out. It was good that they would be doing it now. Days of marching followed by a sleepless night would lead to mistakes, that would in turn lead to a genuine experience. Siren would not be in any real danger, but he would not know that.


    ¡°We are going across the lake to Alchehall, no one is around to watch, and no one will interfere,¡± Tristan said, following Siren out, ¡°There is a boatman named Frank who was generous enough to let us use his boat in exchange for an artifact.¡±


    Siren snorted, ¡°That does sound like Frank.¡±


    Luke paused at the exit of the tent, ¡°Tristan you go ahead, I¡¯ll grab some artifacts that will help us out and follow you.¡±


    Tristan nodded and waved as he left for the docks. Luke was not grabbing artifacts, he was waiting for Eve and Bruce. Luke had some wind tuber, Bruce had his spear, and Tristan had his essence reservoir. Siren was not aware of this, but with three ways of keeping him alive, this experiment was unlikely to end with his death.

 156. Fired by Vessels of Clay

    ¡°You¡¯re insane, I¡¯m not jumping in there,¡± Siren said. He had yet to put on the essence draining cuffs, but even without them, this would be problematic. Before him was a field of silver fire, evidently it had been taller a few hours ago, but it was still flickering at around knee height.


    ¡°Well, you wanted to know how I could turn a friendly spar into life or death? Add an environmental factor that drains us,¡± Tristan smiled, ¡°Look at the bright side, the dissonance version we have here is not very hot.¡±


    No, it was not hot compared to fire, however, it seemed to burn through a process similar to erosion. It would file away at anything inside it, grinding away at stone and flesh alike. Siren struggled to imagine a more horrifying way to die. He glanced over at the crazy young man beside him. The boy had come a long way from the twitchy boy who had arrived at the mine, not all of that path was good, but now that he had more influences than Luke he was being pulled the right way.


    None of that made him any more sane, which is why it should not have come as a surprise when something heavy slammed into Siren¡¯s back. He stumbled out into empty space with only fire below. There was only a split second for him to sheath himself in stone. It was draining, but he could not let the fire touch his skin.


    Someone else fell in behind him. A sound like thousands of swords scraping against stone filled the inside of Siren''s helmet as the dissonance went to work eating the armor. He infused the stone with dark essence to slow the flame down. Forces would struggle to destroy themselves, while they were in similar quantities. He was hoping whatever hunger or consumption force was in the fire would be counteracted by the hungry void of darkness.


    The noise did not stop, but it did lessen. Still, his stone sense was telling him that he only had minutes before his armor was breached. His dark sense was all but useless at the moment, as the fire eliminated all shadows. All but the ones that came from his attacker.


    Siren jumped out of the way as a metal staff slammed into the dirt where he had been standing. The flame around its tip regained the natural orange color for a moment. Tristan grinned, planting the butt of his weapon in the dirt. The little twerp had pushed Siren in, then jumped after, this allowed him to land on his feet and only forced him to protect his lower body.


    He pocketed two dull silver orbs, then brandished his staff. No, it was a torch or lamppost, definitely an artifact of some kind, ¡°You ready for a rematch?¡± He yelled.


    ¡°No,¡± Siren said honestly. He knew he could beat Tristan, and the saying ¡®playing with fire¡¯ was not a description of folly for no reason. Siren was willing to risk his life, he had done it many times, but every other time he had been standing between a danger and someone who could not defend themselves. Right now he was a lab rat.


    ¡°Too bad,¡± Tristan said, ¡°You can¡¯t go invisible now, so I think things will be much more equal.¡±


    Siren grimaced and received Tristan''s attack on his vambrace, he lacked a weapon, so he created spikes on his knuckles. They did not get used, the overhead blow packed a tremendous amount of power. Almost as if the staff could augment its weight. It shattered the stone armor and staggered Siren.


    He had received more powerful strikes, and it was by no means decisive. However, it allowed Tristan to seize the momentum. Siren needed to take it back. Owning the momentum in a fight did not give one an esoteric advantage like the bards claimed, it simply was a contest to who would be orchestrating. The conductor never took orders from the choir.


    Siren gritted his teeth and took a strike to the ribs, his chest plate cracking. He ignored it and stepped inside the effective reach of the staff. To his surprise, Tristan dropped it and it popped out of existence. Siren got a sinking feeling. The boy had mentioned feeling a very powerful artifact in the same room as the Lord of the Underworld, had he stolen it out from under his nose?


    Tristan accepted the punch, just like Siren had taken the staff. In return, he drove his metal plated shin into Siren¡¯s calf. The stone had been eroded by the fire, shattering easily. Silver flames rushed into the opening eating away Siren¡¯s clothes and several layers of skin before he replaced the stone.


    The armor was expensive to maintain, especially if he had to keep repairing it. Tristan had brought two reservoirs with him, he was not risking his kern depleting, regardless of how inefficient his kern was.


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    They were still close together, so Siren stepped in to grapple and almost tripped. The staff had rematerialized between his legs, catching his foot as he stepped. Siren had enough, he swung a wide punch, aimed directly at Tristan¡¯s face.


    It was telegraphed, giving the boy plenty of time to duck. He ducked right into Siren¡¯s ascending knee. Stone and cartilage cracked as the armor smashed him back. Tristan staggered, but he did not fall. He blinked a few times to get past the pain of a broken nose. Before he could clear his vision, Siren threw a second punch. This one was straight and fast, the way all strikes were meant to be. This one finally laid the boy out.


    He quickly reached into his pocket, before all the clothes on his upper half were eaten. A suite of armor encased him, it was stylized, like he had copied one of the temple¡¯s sculptors, as opposed to making normal armor. It was rather cumbersome as Tristan had trouble getting back to his feet.


    ¡°I¡¯m done with this,¡± Siren said, before turning and walking out of the fire.


    Why the boy thought this would stress his kern, Siren could not say. Though it had an obvious answer. Tristan was not supposed to be here alone and only started early because Siren was showing signs of doubt.


    Siren wondered if he should help Tristan out, but metal did a much better job of keeping the fire out than stone. The boy was also regaining his feet with the help of his staff. He would wait by the boat, no sense making him walk back.


    Sirens only warning was a flash of green light. Something hit him in the right shoulder, pulverizing the crystalline armor and fracturing two ribs. The transference of force was instant, blasting Siren back like a bolt from a cannon. The world spun as he bounced across the dirt and back into the silver fire.


    Stone once again crusted his chest, negating burns, but more cracks were created with every bounce. When stone breaks it tends to shatter, exposing Siren briefly to the fire. His kern was straining to keep up with the repairs. While he regained his feet, a flaming staff bashed him in the shoulder.


    Looking up he saw the sole of Tristan¡¯s boot. He staggered, trying to catch the leg. Still dizzy from the strike that had knocked him back here, he missed the grab. It opened him up to a one armed thrust to the gut from the staff, cracking the armor yet again. Tristan held his other arm to the sky, a nonsensical gesture that was explained when the lamppost disappeared. Half a second later it appeared in his raised hand, Siren was still recovering from the stab, he could not react.


    The pole came down on his shoulder driving him to one knee, before teleporting to his other hand and performing a wide swing into Siren¡¯s knee. Gritting his teeth Siren again repaired the armor. He was far enough into the fire that if he did not get out now he would die. From the kneeling position, he surged up, intending to use his superior weight to throw Tristan aside.


    Tristan stepped aside, completely avoiding Siren. The lamppost was again manifested between his feet. This forsaken artifact, Siren internally yelled. He could objectively say that Hestia¡¯s Sickle had shown more power, but the raw mobility this pole demonstrated made it much harder to deal with. He went down again.


    Thankfully, his armor held. Siren scrambled to get up, he felt sluggish, a feeling those with an earth kern were prone to, but he had worked to overcome it. Again he pushed past it, looking over his shoulder he noticed a metal construct molding itself to the end of Tristan¡¯s lamp. It was a common weapon, a crow''s beak, something Siren had commonly used to crack open the tough shells of Mythical Beasts.


    Siren rolled out of the way as the now much deadlier instrument whistled by. He had to get rid of it. Strain and exhaustion were starting to take hold of Siren. Normally he would have seen the crow''s beak as a good sign, sure it was an armor killer, but the staff could not blip around and keep its accessory. Now his mind stopped at the term armor killer.


    Something shifted. A flood of untapped essence filled him, he had experienced this a few times in his youth. It was something his unit called the glory killer. A second wind for warriors that always preceded death if not used to escape, the last gasp of a kern for survival.


    He ran, he opted to avoid Tristan. The boy had extra essence from his reservoirs, Siren could not compete, not without the active use of his dark essence. Tristan was slower, he was a tier lower and had the only kern less speed focused than earth. Siren quickly outpaced him, he looked at the rim of the flaming crater and his heart sank.


    Luke stood there grinning. He took a deep breath and blew on the flames. Despite not following any other rules fire was supposed to, the area he exhaled on flared up. Siren skidded to a stop as the extra fuel created a ripple effect in the lake of fire. He protected his eyes as he was buried in silver fire for half a second.


    Once the wave passed, he looked up. Luke was still there, but he mouthed, ¡°Behind you.¡±


    Siren cursed, just before Tristan slammed into him. That was when Siren realized that ornate ceremonial armor was far heavier than it should be. He was knocked over quickly enough to also trip Tristan. The young man had expected this and regained his feet.


    Both of them stared at each other, breathing heavily. Siren¡¯s armor was full of fissures that he could no longer repair, Tristan¡¯s armor was bent and warped so badly that some of the joints did not work properly.


    ¡°Good fight,¡± Tristan said, exhausted.


    ¡°Out of my way,¡± Siren said. He took one more step and his armor once again thinned down, cracked beneath his weight. Fire flooded in. Siren instinctively repaired it, only there was no essence available. He staggered, then collapsed.

 157. Play Dumb Games Win Dumb Prizes

    Even with his dark essence crippled and lacking a weapon, Siren was more than Tristan could handle. He had an extra force, two backup tier two reservoirs, and the most powerful artifact in the caldera. He had set up an advantageous battleground, as metal resisted the grinding effects of the dissonance much better than stone, while the silver glow eliminated the cloaking effect of dark essence. With all of that in his favor, Tristan would have still lost to Siren if Luke had not punted him back into the fire.


    As it was Tristan could feel the cracks running through his kern. It was not broken, yet, but it was close enough that he could push it over the edge if he wished. With a good amount of effort, he heaved Siren onto his shoulders. Earth kerns did not normally make someone quite as dense as a metal kern,  but Siren was a head taller than Tristan. If he was to take a guess, the man weighed more than three hundred and fifty pounds.


    ¡°Good job,¡± Luke laughed as Tristan approached, ¡°You are the world¡¯s greatest punching bag.¡±


    ¡°I feel like the world''s greatest punching bag,¡± Tristan said. It came out nasally through a nose he was sure had been broken twice.


    Eve and Bruce stood beside Luke with horrified looks on their faces. Tristan wondered if Luke had told them what was going on, or if he just wanted to see their reactions. It did not matter, Tristan rolled Siren off his shoulders and onto the edge of the crater.


    He put the reservoir of healing alloy in Siren''s mouth. Tristan was not sure why placing a soul inside another soul dispersed the weaker one, but it was an interaction that turned this little marble from a choking hazard to the world''s greatest medicine. Luke poured some of his protein shake down Siren¡¯s throat, even in his unconscious state he grimaced as his instincts made him swallow.


    ¡°Now he¡¯s a soul eater too,¡± Tristan muttered to Luke.


    That got a chuckle out of Luke, ¡°There isn¡¯t much you can do now, so I suggest you take advantage of the situation and go break yours as well.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Toss me a metal reservoir?¡±


    Luke threw him the only tier four one they had been able to find, it had been earth attuned before. Tristan had emptied it and then restocked it with metal essence. It was not a tier four quality, but he hoped that quantity would be enough. Then he got an idea, a dumb idea, he had quality essence all around him, and he only needed to collect it.


    ¡°Luke, how do those handcuffs work?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Huh, they drain fluid essence from the body, why?¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°That''s a reckless idea,¡± Vulcan said, ¡°You could pop yourself like a giant bloody bubble.¡±


    ¡°Fluid essence is normally only found in a kern, but I have an entire crater full of it and a force that allows me to mix my forces with other forces,¡± Tristan said.


    Luke¡¯s eyes widened, and a slightly manic grin spread across his face, ¡°Do it.¡±


    Tristan had two options. Listen to the ancient and wise entity whose goals depended on Tristan¡¯s survival and growth, or fold to peer pressure. He had been through a lot, it had made him grow up fast, but ultimately, Tristan was only eighteen. Of course, he chose peer pressure.


    Removing the earth reservoir from the cuffs, Tristan replaced it with the metal version, with one crucial difference. The input pole and output pole were reversed. Instead of sucking essence out of him, it would shove it in. This would hurt and have a chance of poisoning his kern as he was not dealing with pure metal essence, there was also air and fire. He felt his chances were good though, as he not only had alloy to dilute it, he also had consumption to convert it, and healing to repair the damage.


    ¡°Oh, good morning, I¡¯ll be back in a few hours,¡± Tristan waved to Eve and Bruce as he left.


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    He ran for the center of the fire, pulling off a glove and letting his hand trail through the fire. It ground into his skin until he reinforced it, slowing down the destruction. Despite that, the fire worked like a file, removing layer after layer, forcing more and more essence to be utilized. Finally, the cracked kern shattered.


    Every time it hurt worse, but Tristan¡¯s tolerance grew. Stars floated in his vision, but he was still able to keep his consciousness. It was time, he snapped the cuffs on, and essence flooded in. He also realized that he might have made a mistake.


    One was not supposed to use an essence source more than two tiers higher. It was dangerous, and lethal over a prolonged time unless the source was extremely stable. The daggers he received from Hadrid were a good example, their tier was way too high, but adamance was stable by nature. The issue was this essence was not tier five like Hadrid supposedly was, it was tier six. Tristan had just hooked himself up to a pump full of heroic-level unstable essence.


    Tristan was flooded by an enormous amount of essence as the entire crater''s worth of flame was dragged towards him. A tier four metal sense was over one hundred and fifty feet in every direction, meaning almost two acres of dissonant essence were dragged in. Slowly at the edges and speeding up as it came closer.


    His broken kern was flooded with primordial essence on one side and dissonant essence on the other. The process of repair was skipped in favor of simply filling the whole vessel. Tristan¡¯s veins turned silver, and falling to his knees he vomited up silver blood. It was not like normal, silver tinted, no he could see his reflection like it was a mirror.


    He could feel his veins calcifying. That was not right, he was not being converted into metal, it was growing inside him like a crystal. The fire and air essence were being converted into metal essence at a truly terrifying rate, the waste product activated every piece of decay in his body. Pieces rotted away only to be replaced by shining metal as the architect alloy tried to keep him whole.


    All this was going on and the ordeal had only just started. Waves of silver fire bathed him eroding his armor and grinding away his skin, only to get consumed as well and feeding even more decay. Tristan would have died right then and there if Vulcan had not been there. Through the pain of being ground down by the forces of nature and chaotic flames, Vulcan finally made himself heard.


    ¡°GROWTH, FOOL,¡± He yelled, ¡°Decay feeds growth!¡±


    Tristan had never tried using the growth force alchemically baked into his heart in such a manner. It was the only force he had that could work independently of Alloy, thus he had to be wary of it causing uncontrolled growth. However, at this point, this was what he needed. His lack of skill in utilizing this force was quickly shown as tumors and pocked flesh replaced the decayed areas.


    This growth still had nerves, making the whole ordeal more painful. But now it was survivable. Tristan could not be sure of what would be left, but he would survive.


    Vulcan mentally grimaced, boy did not realize how screwed he was. The ancient being decided to take some of the burden. While fire and air essence were lethally toxic due to their compounding nature, dissonant fire was only harmful to Vulcan, not lethal. His kern was contaminated, with essence from the material plane.


    Unlike Tristan, Vulcan lacked a body. He could not process the foreign essence only dilute it over time as he expended his reserves and refilled them with primordial forces. The air essence was left for Tristan to handle, as Vulcan could not manipulate it.


    This was the fastest breakthrough Tristan had ever experienced. It took less than ten hours, but the breaking and reforging of his kern was not the end of his struggles. He was forced to pull chunks of metal out of his body and let the healing essence repair them. Decay had to be used to cut away tumors and growths.


    It was exhausting. Tristan knew he had made good progress, but that it would take a few days free of fighting to put himself back together. Right now he just needed to be mobile and stable. The first pieces of metal growth he replaced were the few in his guts. He ate a second marble full of healing alloy, as the dark arterial blood needed to be stemmed quickly.


    Thankfully, the healing radiated out from his stomach, which was not far from the injury. Once death was no longer imminent, he grabbed another shard and tore it out. Piece after piece fell to the side, leaving Tristan in a puddle of his blood with a pile of gory shrapnel beside him.


    The tier four reservoir was filled to the brim with essence, he removed it from the cuff and started on the bone growths. Using rot to remove pieces of his body was the most painful thing he had ever done. It was cold, itchy, and somehow burned all at once. Normally he would have stopped, but he was not sure he would be able to start again if he stopped halfway. Thankfully most of it was centered around the wrist with the cuff on it, if he had gotten a brain tumor, or shrapnel then he would have immediately died.


    He did not get to finish. Ignoring pain can cause exhaustion of its own, and with a broken kern, Tristan was already near his limit. He could not tell the point where consciousness ended and the darkness began.

 158. Cohesion

    Eve was having a really bad day, well it was a bad evening and morning, but a bad twenty-four hours would not be an inaccurate description. She watched an ancient entity destroy her last remaining family member, She sat through a twelve-hour leadership planning session where the only ones to plan anything were two teenage miners who weren¡¯t even present. The commander had threatened his elder, and now the two miners had conspired to kill Siren. It looked like they had succeeded too.


    ¡°Glow Stone get your spear over here,¡± Luke barked.


    Bruce hesitated, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re strong, you can¡¯t just order people around.¡±


    ¡°Willingly,¡± Luke said, beckoning Bruce over, ¡°Now get over here before before I start making threats.¡±


    Bruce gritted his teeth and stepped forward, but Eve stopped him. She was not going to let Bruce anywhere near Luke if he was going to levy threats. The only reason she was willing to go with him was that Tristan and Siren were supposed to be there as well. While that was technically true, Siren was unconscious and twitching with a pale disposition. Tristan had run off to who knows where and taken a bath in the silver fire.


    ¡°What are you planning,¡± Eve asked.


    ¡°I am planning to keep Siren alive,¡± Luke said, impatience creeping into his voice.


    The stone shell on Siren''s chest crumbled as Luke did something. It appeared as if he froze the stone, cracking it before clenching his fists to turn it to gravel. He placed a finger on the metal plates protecting his chest. Luke ran his finger along the edge, leaving behind a glowing line of heated metal, which he tore open exposing padding that had caught fire and yellow robes. Putting out the fire, he tore off the robe to expose Siren¡¯s well muscled torso.


    ¡°I need you to put the spear I get here,¡± Luke¡¯s finger rested right over Siren¡¯s heart, ¡°The tip will miss every vital organ and artery, but be adjacent to the heart. When I say to, start pushing essence into the spear.¡±


    Bruce looked questioningly at Eve. This was a less risky version of what they had done with Tristan. Eve had seen Luke force feed Siren some of his healing elixir, then push large quantities of air essence into him. Whatever was happening was dangerous if Luke believed that the spear was also necessary. Eve gave Bruce a slight nod.


    He was halfway there when the screaming started. Both of them looked out into the flames. A ripple expanded from the center, and then the flames started crawling towards the center. What was Tristan doing to hurt himself so badly?


    Luke simply nodded, ¡°Pain is just weakness leaving the body.¡±


    Eve would strongly disagree with that. Pain was a warning to keep oneself safe from harm. It was how children learned not to touch hot stoves, a lesson Tristan had not learned.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to do anything to help?¡± Bruce asked. He and Tristan were not anywhere near the brotherly bonds some soldiers had, but he would consider him a friend.


    Luke gave him a flat expression, ¡°I told him to do it, I thought this would happen. Now this is the last time I ask, get over here.¡±


    Bruce complied this time. He positioned the spear over Siren¡¯s chest, ¡° Where do I stab?¡±


    ¡°You are a light essence battery,¡± Luke said, ¡°Unless you developed an air kern and can sense the oxygen variations in Siren¡¯s bloodstream, I will be doing the stabbing.¡±


    Bruce frowned at the insult, but not having to be responsible for someone¡¯s life took a good portion of the burden away. Luke gripped the spear just above the head. He did not shake or hesitate as he slid the artifact¡¯s needle-like tip between Siren¡¯s ribs. Then he sat patiently.


    Eve was not sure what she expected, but she had believed there to be some kind of visible or auditory cue that things were going well or poorly. Instead, they sat there for several hours with the only change being the screaming quieting down on the second hour. Bruce stood like a statue, not daring to move. His arms started trembling from the strain of holding the awkward stance.


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    Luke ignored it, keeping the spear stable, ¡°Alright, just a trickle of light essence should be enough.¡±


    Bruce complied, the shaft glowing with a dull light. Then everything went back to monotony. The sun started rising, blotting out the glow on the horizon with its light. The sun was near its zenith when footsteps could be heard. Eve looked over and had to take a step back in horror. A creature was limping towards them, caked in blood.


    Growths covered its whole body and pieces of silver made it look like some kind of half golem. Golden eyes were the only identifying factor as all the clothing had been scoured away as had much of the skin.


    ¡°Tristan is that you?¡± She asked tentatively.


    The thing she presumed to be Tristan tried to say something. It coughed, before finally settling on nodding its head. She watched him sit down and place a hand on one of the fleshy lumps. Most of those were covering his arm and upper torso. The color was leached out of the growth before it started deforming and becoming slimy. The smell made Eve gag, and then Tristan tore it off with a grunt.


    ¡°That fire screwed you up pretty good, huh?¡± Luke asked, getting another nod from Tristan.


    After a round of self-mutilation, he crossed his legs, folded his hands, and started mouthing something. Eve was not sure what he was saying, but it looked like he was praying. She knew Tristan claimed that he had seen the gods die, so praying to them would be largely meaningless for him.


    Things quickly settled back down for another two hours which was when Siren finally opened his eyes with a gasp. Luke jerked the spear out and deftly avoided the grab that Siren made for him.


    ¡°What did you do to me?¡± Siren growled.


    ¡°what do you mean,¡± Luke asked, he seemed genuinely unsure of what Siren was talking about.


    ¡°While I was unconscious, something hard covered me,¡± Siren said, he looked down at his hands, ¡°You put it inside me.¡±


    Luke thought for a moment, ¡°Let''s see if I can put what I suspect you are feeling into words. Something singleminded, and foreign, enough power to destroy the world while at the same time being the only reason it is standing. It is fast yet still, spread out, yet concentrated. Everything moves through, and everything is consumed. It was like looking at the corpse of a god, inert and still omnipotent.¡±


    Siren nodded, ¡°Yes to the first half and that last part. What I saw wanted to make everything still and unbending. It was like looking at death.¡±


    ¡°Bro, your force is going to be awesome!¡± Luke exclaimed, ¡°We need to get you a skull mask, a black cloak, and a scythe.¡±


    ¡°What are you on about?¡± Siren frowned, and then Luke¡¯s words caught up to his brain, ¡°That was a force? And there¡¯s more than one of those?¡±


    Eve was surprised. Siren sounded mildly panicked. She was not sure what could cause this level of concern in Siren. The Lord of the Underworld did not cause this reaction. She stepped forward to interject herself into the conversation. The head families of each Caldera were aware of forces, they had been trying to get them for a long time. Forces did appear randomly among the peasant class, though no one was sure why. If nurtured they would become unparalleled warriors, with supernatural abilities.


    ¡°What is a force, not the definition, what is it in terms of the danger it poses?¡± Eve asked.


    Siren shook his head, ¡°Resistance is futile, it is an overwhelming power beyond anything I have ever felt. If the gods have even a fraction of its power they could tear this world apart.¡±


    A raspy voice answered, ¡°A force is nothing more than a fundamental law that works with other similar laws to create the essence on which the physical realm works.¡±


    Eve looked over at Tristan, ¡°So these forces that you and Luke, and now Siren have, are just Laws? Who makes the laws?¡±


    She had been in politics for her whole life. If there was one thing she was aware of it was the falsity of the statement, ¡®You can¡¯t legislate morality.¡¯ All laws were an expression of someone¡¯s beliefs, would she need to be concerned about a being that could legislate reality? Were they below its notice, and what would happen if it did something on a whim that changed the world? Her grandfather had been fond of bending laws to suit himself after all.


    Luke laughed at her concern, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. They are called forces or laws simply because no one can truly disobey them, only bend them. There is not some force police that will arrest you if you figure out how to break it. In fact, I believe that if there is some ruler over the forces, he would likely appreciate someone creatively utilizing his work, otherwise he would not have made forces something we could use.¡±


    That put Eve¡¯s mind at ease. However, it was not like stressing about something she had no authority over would help. There was just one other thing she wanted to know.


    ¡°Siren what force did you get?¡± She asked.


    He shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t know. Though my essence feels weird, both the dark and earth essence mix better.¡±


    Holding out a stone plated hand he created a pitch-black construct. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tristan wince at the needle of dark material. He twitched his hand back and forth, and the black material flexed slightly as if it were made of wood.


    ¡°If I had to take a guess, I would say something like stability or solidness,¡± Siren said.


    That was enough information for Tristan, ¡°Cohesion. You have the force of cohesion.¡±

 159. I Ate an Alchemist

    Cohesion. So that was the force the grand ancestor had. If it could make shadows solid, then maybe an engineer could get some use out of it. While that was great for Siren it made Tristan feel a little replaceable. It was kind of his thing to make tool constructs. They walked back to the boats slowly. Siren was not back to one hundred percent yet, and Tristan still had a limp.


    The plan was to get Bruce and Eve a force as well, but Tristan had used the two healing reservoirs meant for them on himself. Not that he regretted it. He could always make more.


    ¡°Hey Vulcan, what did the people in the other plane use cohesion for?¡± He asked.


    There was silence. He waited a few moments and tried asking again. Still nothing. Frowning he summoned the lamp post. It hurt, as his kern was not fully reconstructed yet. The now familiar weight of the lamp post fell into his palm. It had a shaft made of black metal and a glass container on top that held the flame, despite that fact, it ignored the glass.


    It had changed. Silver fissures ran down the shaft and the fire had taken on a metallic sheen. Normally a cracked weapon would make it unusable, but Tristan was sure that he would be unable to bend a tier fifteen string, so the integrity of the lamp was not in any danger. The person inside it was hurt though.


    Tristan remembered what it was like to pull foreign essence in from an elemental. Its soul had waged a war on his own, and thankfully his had been stronger. It appeared that Vulcan had done something similar thing with Tristan. He could not be sure, but he believed that Vulcan was fighting Tristan¡¯s memories for dominance.


    When he started on that hair-brained venture, he had assumed the only person to be hurt was him. Vulcan had seemed larger than life, and if he still had a body, the situation would have been trivial. He was a peak tier fifteen, mere tier six dissonance would not be enough to even slow him. Now, he was vulnerable, all because Tristan had not listened. To make it worse, he would have died without Vulcan¡¯s interference.


    Grimacing, Tristan dismissed the artifact back to the primordial realm. There was nothing he could do. He would just have to let the artifact rest and make do with constructs. Not that he needed a staff to compete with the caldera¡¯s elite before, but now that he had effectively consumed a field of tier-six essence his growth had been ridiculous.


    He inspected his kern to find a new force, one he had always wanted, yet was also not useful at the current time. Infusion. Yes, every tier four could move their essence into another object, though this had limited practical effects. It was not as if Siren moving earth essence into a sword would give it stone properties, while if he pushed it into the dirt at his feet it would bear his weight more easily. It simply allowed a person to reinforce their own element, and supply resources to anything that consumed it. Like Luke''s protein shake.


    Infusion allowed Tristan to bend those rules. He could give a rock healing properties, though it would still need to be ingested. He could infuse a bubble of air with the architect force to make it ridged and hold its shape, though it would be brittle and would not move with him. It would be useless in fighting the Lord of the Underworld, but it would streamline alchemy.


    There was one more concern. It was on the list of forces that Hadrid had been in possession of. That explosion had been at tier six, and Hadrid was on the edge of the heroic tiers. Did he eat the essence that was once in the alchemist¡¯s kern? He knew he had been consuming a dormant soul every time he ate a reservoir, but he did not know those people. It was a very different feeling when he knew the person.


    Someone slowed down so they could walk beside him, ¡°So how far into tier four did you make it?¡±


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    Tristan looked a Luke in surprise, ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    Tristan could normally guess a tier by a person¡¯s posture and equipment. He had still missed Herod in a group of tier threes simply because he did not advertise himself. Currently, he was hunched over and had a tattered tunic on, nothing to say this is a tier four.


    ¡°You got something similar to my conductivity, and you did not replace any body parts to achieve it,¡± Luke said.


    Infusion was similar to conductivity. The difference was one was about moving essence through an object while the other was about storing it inside an object. The similarity made Tristan wonder if it was possible to fuse or upgrade essences to higher forms. The book on forces he had did not mention anything, but it was also not designed for anyone in the higher tiers of the world.


    ¡°Yes, infusion,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that,¡± Luke looked back at the crater, ¡°Bro, did you eat Hadrid?¡±


    He started laughing. Tristan had been worried that Luke would have been angry about Hadrids death, but he did not seem to care overly much about it. Hadrid must not have been a beloved mentor figure then.


    ¡°You did what?¡± Eve said, both concerned and horrified.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Tristan tried to defend himself, but Luke betrayed him.


    He tossed Eve a reservoir, and between laughs, he said, ¡°He eats these, they¡¯re souls.¡±


    Eve¡¯s face paled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you feed Siren one of those?¡±


    Tristan glared at Luke, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal. All artifacts are souls wrapped around essence, and we have no issue with absorbing them. All of you have eaten at least a few.¡±


    ¡°How have we not known about this?¡± It was Bruce this time, and he looked concerned.


    ¡°First because it¡¯s not very important information, and second you would need to process an elemental to prove the theory. The Temple does that, and it is why all their acolytes are armed,¡± Tristan explained.


    They arrived at the boats. There were quite a few of them, several people in blue uniforms with gold half plate rushed over. Tristan recognized Janis and Herod, along with the two healers. He inspected other people, there were several warriors, but most seemed to be a scavenging team. Tristan realized that with the fire mostly gone, Elder Lake had seen fit to start looting the ruin of Alchehall. They were late to get anything enhanced with essence, but there were plenty of dead mercenaries wearing mundane armor and wearing coin pouches.


    ¡°Lady Eve, please do not disappear like that in the future. It makes it very difficult to protect you,¡± Janis said with a bow.


    ¡°Thank you, Janis,¡± Eve said, ¡°I will try to inform you in the future.¡±


    Janis appeared to have more to say, the man was irritated, but he took up his position with Eve. Herod was quite a bit less discreet, he folded his arms and stared at Eve.


    ¡°What could possess you to run off like that? Our lives are attached to yours, don¡¯t forget that,¡± Herod scolded, ¡°Your grandfather needs to know his last granddaughter is safe, so if you won¡¯t do this for us, do it for him.¡±


    Eve flushed and looked to the ground. Tristan patted her on the shoulder, which only succeeded in turning Herod¡¯s ire to him, ¡°You are a bad influence, you should stay away.¡±


    Unlike Eve, Tristan did not feel bad about ignoring Herod, ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m better protection.¡±


    Before Herod could respond, Tristan turned and hobbled after Luke and Siren. They were leaving and Tristan had no desire to be stuck on this side of the lake. Rowing would be borderline impossible in his current state. The rowboat dropped dangerously close to the water line with both Tristan and Siren inside. Both weighed as much as two normal men, and this boat had only been designed for three people.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we take Frank¡¯s ferry back to him, it can carry more weight,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°No,¡± Luke said, almost sounding offended, ¡°That greedy bastard will demand some silver or an artifact, I am not paying that.¡±


    Siren nodded, ¡°Luke still owes him some money from when he was unable to pay a few weeks ago.¡±


    Luke grumbled inaudibly to himself while he rowed. Despite being tier five, it still took him quite some time to get across the lake. Tristan decided to use the time to speed up the reconstruction of his kern. Vulcan had told him that prayers, chants, and songs would speed up essence recovery, especially if it was to a god of the same essence type.


    It did make the Temple seem more logical. People would reap a tangible benefit from following them, though he was unsure of what the high tier beings got out of the relationship. It had to be good for them to bother.


    As all the gods were dead, Tristan hummed an undirected tune. It only sped things up marginally, but it was worth it if he could get back in fighting shape a minute sooner.

 160. Lord’s Plan

    The mountains burned. Viral passed through irradiated towns that burned at his approach. They were all vacated, the lords of these lands getting the people out of his way. He walked straight to the edge of the world, letting his aura flare out, filled with steel and flame, scouring his path clean of life.


    Once a newly ascended legend had tried to stop him. Forgetting that just because he did not rampage like the beast master, did not mean that he couldn¡¯t. He had paid special attention to that civilization, leaving them as nothing more than a memory.


    An anomaly occurred. Viral had been locked onto Vulcan¡¯s essence signature, as the force of gravity was not typically one achieved on this plane. The signal disappeared, guttering out like a candle in the rain. Maybe it was not gone, but the signature had shifted enough that the tracking method he had devised would no longer work.


    At least he knew where his last known location was. Speaking of the location, something was watching him, something that was not aware of how to hide its gaze. He contemplated simply rushing over or shooting it from a distance, but antagonizing the Silent Nation was not in his best interests. So he settled for scaring the foolish creature.


    He smirked, ¡°Hello little elemental.¡±


    <Lord of the Underworld>


    For the past few days, The Lord of the Underworld had been feeling uneasy. It was not unease due to losing his army, he could always rebuild it, that¡¯s what the humans were for after all. Nor was it his near death at the hands of the alchemist, he had been arrogant, but not even decades of preparation were enough to stop him.


    No, it was something so minute that the cattle had probably not noticed it. Even his two remaining elemental lords only barely noticed the effects. It was understandable, they had access to neither metal nor fire essence. Elementals saw the world in gradations of their essences, making their sight poor until they were fused into elemental lords and attained enlightenment.


    The Lord of the Underworld was blessed with four essences, fire, and earth from his anima, a metal domain, and a dark kern making his sight more complete than most. What he saw was unnerving. The air was filled with an unusual amount of fire and metal essence. It was not to the level Vulcan¡¯s hideout had achieved over the years, but it was concerning.


    It made his vision less reliable, while at the same time expediting his healing. The arches over the pit he had been in were completed, and he was currently sitting in the throne room that was being constructed by the humans where the arches intersected. It had no roof as of yet, a fact that the Lord of the Underworld took advantage of.


    Using his domain he took control of his armor, using it to pull himself off the ground. The workers gawked as he defied gravity and shot into the sky. Flying was essence intensive, but if he was not in combat, there was always essence to spare. Once he reached an altitude of around a mile he spun looking for the anomaly.


    It did not take long to find. An elemental''s eyesight struggled with depth, as denser sources of essence would appear with greater clarity, even if they were at a distance. Normally he would not be able to see more than a mile in any direction, but when he looked to the east there was a second star.


    ¡°What is that?¡± He muttered to himself.


    It was so far away that he could not feel the essence between it and the natural range of his essence. That was unsettling, it could be a mile and one foot away, or it could be a thousand miles from here. He started drifting away from it to see if it faded from his sight. The closer it was the more quickly it should fade. When there was no change, the Lord of the Underworld frowned, that was a very powerful source of fire and metal essence, two elements he possessed. Should he retrieve the object?


    The bubble of essence pulsed. There was no sound, but the Lord of the Underworld understood, ¡°Hello, little elemental.¡±


    He broke eye contact and dropped back to the ground. No elemental lord was a coward, but they all lived in accordance with the law of the predator. There was no mistaking it, compared to that creature he was prey. It only noticed him because he made eye contact first, he would have to hope it was uninterested in him and his kingdom.


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    Still trembling slightly, the Lord of the Underworld took a few minutes to steady himself before dropping back through the roof and settling on his wooden throne. It was the one the Elder of the nearest settlement had passed judgement from. That same elder was scheduled for execution in the next few days, advice given by a man who was quickly becoming his favorite mortal. A mortal that was currently kneeling before his throne.


    ¡°Is everything going well, Lord Ajax?¡± No deceit was discernible in his voice.


    ¡°An anomaly in the east,¡± He answered, ¡°have you achieved your goal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Ajax, thanks to the show you put on over Alchehall, we were able to raid the alchemist''s lab,¡± Shadow Fist said.


    The Lord of the Underworld had spent considerable artifact resources to push the man to tier four. One might ask why, and the answer was simple. He needed someone sneaky to steal the research of the alchemist while he was distracted. The cost of seventy artifacts to push the man to tier four paled in comparison to the harvest he would reap after finding the lost part of the warship.


    While many elemental lords lacked the memories of their human vessels, they still possessed their greatest regrets. Ajax regretted failing his duty to protect his people. That regret had come with a memory of the Flying Fortress from the exterior, even accounting for the activities of these human termites, only half was present.


    Where did the other half go? The whole vessel had been forged with the absorbtion force. Normally that was the best middle ground between stealth and durability, which would have served them well while on campaign. The cultists found them first, tearing the fortress in half, and crashing it into the ground. He would eventually eradicate the temple, as they were the descendants of those same cultists. He was the only god they should worship.


    The absorbtion force hid the other half of the ship. He had sent out elementals to find it without much luck. After a month of coming up empty-handed, the temple approached him about killing the alchemist. Originally he had been against that. Yes, the man was dangerous, so what? He was an inventor, cattle with a purpose beyond eventual consumption. A resource more valuable than the goodwill of some acolytes to a dead god.


    Shadow Fist had been present at the time and had pointed out that the man had spent over half a century in this crater atop the mountains. It was a small area for a hero to call home, most local tier six people oversaw hundreds of square miles if they lived a nomadic lifestyle. There was no reason to believe he had not scoured the entire caldera, dug for minerals, and cataloged every species that could be found.


    ¡°Were you able to locate the other half of the fortress?¡± The Lord of the Underworld said.


    ¡°The other half of the mine, Lord Ajax?¡± Shadow Fist questioned.


    Humans could be so dull. He had woken to find a herd of humans who were unaware of what a king was, and the closest thing they had to a fortress were the walls to keep beasts out. It had to be expected, they counted their lifespan in decades and were unable to amass any wisdom. The Lord of the Underworld wanted to snap at the human but realized he was still unstable. Had that being unsettled him so much? Yes, he was not used to being prey.


    ¡°Yes, it should be mostly composed of tower steel,¡± The Lord of the Underworld.


    ¡°We have two leads,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°The first is in the Lake Caldera. Some notes into experiments on aquatic plants mention a large quantity of metal, resistant to rust was located at the bottom of the lake. He wanted to see if he could engineer a metal plant due to the metal below the mud. The second one is just outside the caldera to the north, a small tribe of tortoise mythical beasts have gathered around a ruby stone. They developed shells made of a metallic red substance after spending some time there. If you want me to go check them out I can take a squad of soldiers and head in. The notes say that they are tier four, but are lopsided in defense.¡±


    ¡°A Kharkodine deposit, interesting,¡± When he saw the confused expression on the mortal''s face, ¡°Blood metal, named after a large sea-bound predator drawn to blood.¡±


    Blood metal was a good crafting material, and would need to be harvested in the future. However, it was not important at this time. He had escaped from the insane alchemist¡¯s suicide attack by diving into that very lake. Had he been floating a couple hundred feet from his quarry? Water was one of the few things that blurred his sight, it not only formed a barrier, but it also moved, distorting the essence by the time his senses received it. It was also a spot where he had previously lost contact with one of his elemental lords.


    The alchemist had killed him to stop the Lord of the Underworld from finding the rest of his people. If the man had not blown himself up, the Lord of the Underworld would have killed him outright.


    ¡°Gather the elite humans we have left, and have them march towards the Lake Caldera,¡± The Lord of the Underworld said.


    ¡°Lord Ajax, I will obey, but there are no longer enough fighting men in the Forest Caldera, we will not be able to achieve your goals,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°It may also be prudent to execute Forrest before, turn it into a crusade and channel the people¡¯s distress into action.¡±


    The Lord of the Underworld nodded. He appreciated the fact that the man spoke his concerns. It would make him a better vassal when he achieved immortality, ¡°Leave that to me, there is an army of elementals in the Stone Caldera after all.¡± He paused for a few moments, ¡°You are right, we will execute him in a week, I will have time to claim victory in that time.¡±

 161. Patricide

    ¡°We need to save Elder Forest,¡± Elder Lake said.


    ¡°Why would we trade lives for that dirtbag,¡± Tristan said. He had been having a splendid day. Janis had asked him to rejoin the guard, so he was back in the gold and blue.


    He had originally wanted to reject the invitation until Janis came clean with the reasoning. The royal guard had been spying on him and noticed his ability to heal quickly. He had also been on the receiving end of what Tristan could do, so when he found out that Siren had gotten stronger and that Cole was slightly unstable, he wanted someone in the room who could stall them. Janis was at least wise enough to know that he could not stop Blacklake¡¯s poison and Siren and Cole¡¯s brute force.


    Tristan had originally been resistant to the idea. Being a royal guard was a little better than being a well-paid babysitter, except he was not getting paid. Janis had tried to pay in money, but parces came easily with the architect force. Tristan had demanded alchemy resources, not really even knowing what those resources were.


    Janis¡¯s only exposure to alchemy was ¡®fluffy¡¯, the ridiculous name of Luke¡¯s pet. So he had jumped to the conclusion that Tristan needed mythical beasts. A sentiment that was not completely inaccurate. So when he offered Tristan an artificial artifact that would give him access outside the ramparts and react when near a warrior safe house he accepted.


    Looking back he was no longer sure why he had accepted. Escaping the caldera should be easy, especially now that he was tier four. Still, a promise was a promise. He would babysit for the time being. That did not mean he had to passively babysit.


    ¡°He is nothing more than a self-centered jerk,¡± Tristan finished.


    ¡°Eve, please keep your subjects under control,¡± Elder Lake said, not even glancing at Tristan, ¡°As I was saying, we need to rescue the Elder, or at least stop the Lord of the Underworld from being the one to kill him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Siren frowned, ¡°Dead is dead, and while I don¡¯t think he deserves death, I don¡¯t see why he¡¯s worth the risk.¡±


    Tristan did. It was one of the benefits of growing up in the head family. Eve most likely thinking the same thing. Leaders loved a good scapegoat, all their sins and mistakes could be piled upon one person, and annulled with the punishment of that person. Tristan was willing to bet that Elder Forrest had used Shadow Fist as a scapegoat after Tristan was sent to the mine. It was the only way there would be any benefit to erasing Tristan¡¯s existence.


    It would also explain why Shadow Fist was so quick to betray Elder Forest, while at the same time sending the rest of his family to the River Caldera. He knew he had an opportunity and that violence would come to the Forrest Caldera, so he got his wife and daughter to relative safety while taking revenge on his brother-in-law.


    ¡°Shadow Fist and Guider Daphan both have the good of the Forest Caldera,¡± Eder Lake paused at a muttered ¡®heretic bastard¡¯ from the local guider, ¡°Anyway, the two of them have done a good job of swaying public opinion against their elder. It would have been more difficult for them if you three had killed more than a handful of human soldiers at the Stone Caldera.¡± He glared at Blacklake, Siren, and Cole, ¡°He has been set up as a villain, and all the Elders as a suppressive force.¡±


    ¡°But you are?¡± Everyone turned towards Tristan, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Sage,¡± Eve said, she looked angry, ¡°You are here to stop any violence that would start, until then hold your tongue.¡±


    Tristan frowned. He nodded, somewhat confused. Meetings like this were foreign to him, he had never been in a room where dissenting voices were disdained, and the value of information presented was determined by social status. It was the life that he would have led with any other type of kern, and it was one he was glad he avoided.


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    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Tristan said with a nod.


    Elder Lake glared at Tristan for a few moments, ¡°As I was saying, we can¡¯t let all that ill will that Elder Forest has accrued be converted into goodwill for the Lord of the Underworld. Blacklake give us your take on the situation.¡±


    ¡°As I see it, there are three problems, Guider Daphan, Shadow Fist, and Elder Forest. If it were a perfect world, Siren would kill the fallen elder, harvesting a portion of that goodwill for himself. Sage over here would then murder, or at least take credit for the murder of Elder Daphan and Shadow Fist. They are using religious fervor to rile up the population, and it would not be difficult to play the narrative that the second coming of the grand ancestor is fighting against the second coming of a demon lord.¡± Blacklake looked at Tristan, ¡°You would have to take the fall for the Caldera¡¯s salvation.¡±


    Tristan kept his mouth shut. Would he be willing to kill his father and Daphan to keep the Caldera safe? The Caldera did not hold some special place in his heart, and he wanted to hate his father. Now faced with the opportunity to kill him, the anger he had simply felt petty. Sure, he would still break the man¡¯s nose for emotionally abusing Helen, but even after everything he did not believe he could be party to his father''s murder.


    Blacklake raised an eyebrow at Tristan¡¯s hesitation, ¡°The alternative is war in the streets. Did you know that there is a little boy named Terry here? His parents just moved here, Chase and Sun-Set, I believe. These are the people who will be fighting. There is nowhere to retreat, if this city is attacked, it will be our last stand. So it is not a question of whether or not you will kill someone, it is a question of who you want to kill.¡±


    Tristan frowned. If he had not been privy to an almost identical discussion between Luke and Eve he might not have had a response. This was a false dichotomy, similar to the one Eve was given between her friends and her grandfather. It had shaken her, she was not accustomed to death. Tristan was different, not in the sense that he was more accustomed to human death, he had not killed many people and all of them had been in self-defense. No, the difference was their worldview, he cut the world into the correct shape, while she grew it into the correct one.


    He had come to learn that it was a spectrum. One had to grow to have material to cut, while trees eventually needed to be pruned. Did his father need to go, probably, but the answer was not necessarily to kill him. Tristan wondered if the abuse of his potential reputation had been the catalyst for Hadrid¡¯s insanity.


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan said simply, getting another frown from Elder Lake.


    ¡°No?¡± Blacklake said, he sounded confused, ¡°You would rather sacrifice a friend than a foreign politician?¡±


    Tristan was confused, did the man not know that Shadow Fist was his father? Sure the records were blank, but he only needed to ask any of the people in the room to find out. Kerri was at the sifting, Siren had trained him, and Eve was also aware. There were a multitude of other people who knew, a good portion of the miners, the Golden Hearts, and all the Elders.


    ¡°You did not have time to do anything more than legal research, did you?¡± Elder Lake asked.


    ¡°I am not trying to assassinate him, why would more be necessary? Sage has several notations of savagery, a brutal fighting style that killed two of Regis¡¯s squad in the plains, and he already has shown aggression towards Shadow Fist in the past, what more information could be valuable?¡± Blacklake looked from person to person, realizing he had missed something both important and obvious.


    ¡°Shadow Fist is his dad,¡± Kerri said.


    Blacklake nodded, ¡°Alright, we can still work with that, we just need you to take the fall for it.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Tristan said, ¡°You¡¯re not killing him.¡±


    ¡°I did not say you had to be willing,¡± Blacklake said, ¡°However, I did say this was in a perfect world, it is not that world.¡±


    Eve stepped in, ¡°I think that killing Shadow Fist would be a waste. He knows the fortress over the mine and we need a contained space to activate the capsule.¡±


    ¡°So capture and interrogation,¡± Blacklake mused, ¡°We could actually fuse the stories, Shadow Fist only has to be known as dead. You can handle him right?¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°I could handle him at tier two, so now it shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡±


    ¡°How will we make it known that he was the one who pulled off the kidnapping?¡± Elder Lake asked.


    ¡°Give me a day or two to make a mess of the city,¡± Tristan shrugged, ¡°Unless the Lord of the Underworld shows up, I should be able to handle it.¡±


    That statement made Elder Lake uncomfortable, ¡°You could not make a mess of a whole city militia alone could you.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Most of the tier two and three were drafted, I should have at least two tiers on most of the people there.¡±


    Tristan was not comfortable killing his father. However, the idea of beating the daylights of him, shoving him in a bag, and running off with him, sounded like a great time.

 162. Sneaky Boy

    ¡°What do you mean I can¡¯t take Luke?¡± Tristan complained.


    You need to sneak in there not fight the whole city, ¡°Commander Blacklake said, ¡°stealth and that boy are opposites he throws around forsaken thunderbolts.¡±


    Tristan grumbled, but there was not much he could do. Blacklake was right, and if this didn¡¯t succeed, Plan B was just straight up kill his father. It felt weird going on a mission to save his dad¡¯s life by kidnapping him, but it was necessary.


    When the plan was first made, Tristan wondered whether or not Siren would be comfortable, killing Elder Forest. The idea of loyalty and honor seemed to be opposed to murdering a helpless victim. Surprisingly Siren had been fine with it. He had no qualms about killing someone who had done so much harm to the Caldera as his oath had been made to the people not any member of its leadership.


    Tristan had wondered why the oath was worded that way it seemed like an issue for the elders to leave such a loose end. Elite warriors did have to swear to their specific elders, but the standard warriors needed to work with each other on the ramparts, so anything that would make them inherently, suspicious of each other¡®s motives was counterproductive. Siren had noted that Elder Forest was unwilling to take counsel on multiple occasions while both Elder Lake and Elder River constantly asked for advice. In short, he saw this as removing a tyrant.


    ¡° You don¡¯t want a horse? ¡°Blacklake asked.


    ¡°No, ¡°Tristan answered, ¡° I can jog at around 30 miles an hour. Tier four is kind of fun.¡±


    Blacklake gave the first smile Tristan had seen, ¡°Must be nice being a superhuman. ¡°


    Tristan shrugged as he hefted his pack, ¡°A year and a half ago I would¡¯ve thought you were a superhuman. ¡°


    He had gone from tier zero to tier four in a record time. Unfortunately, the methods used weren¡¯t repeatable on a large scale. It was akin to flipping a coin, if it came up heads he lived, tails he died. No matter how many times it came up heads, it only took one tail to spell death. This period had also been the most chaotic in the caldera¡¯s history, except for its inception.


    Outside of war breaking a kern had little benefit unless the person was tier two. Sure the extra strength was nice, but not worth the risk of death. Warriors lived a little longer, but Tristan chalked that up to the hardships of life impacting a stronger body less harshly. Forces might sway that number up or down, unfortunately, he had no knowledge of anyone who was both old and had a force.


    ¡°You should reach the Forest Caldera in about four hours, assuming you can actually maintain that pace,¡± Blacklake said, ¡°Maintain your disguise, and remember your job.¡±


    Tristan rolled his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not inept, I just don¡¯t care much for what the Elders think.¡±


    He turned and strode toward the Forest Caldera with a maul in hand. Originally he had assumed that a cover story would be necessary. Maybe a farmer, or merchant. Both were rejected as, despite the relatively warm weather, it was still the middle of winter, and no crops were being grown. There were no merchants either because of the packs of elementals.


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    It would be less suspicious if he was carrying the tools of a lumberjack, at least when he was on the road. When he arrived at the Forest Caldera, there was no way to avoid being suspicious. While his rapid rise made his movements appear more like a tier two than the lithe lethality of the average tier four, there would not be many people coming and going from the city.


    He was considering simply climbing the walls. They were meant to keep beasts out, not people. Making a pair of spikes should allow him to easily scale the wall, and he could just jump off the wall from there. The walls that had appeared very tall when he was young were a very manageable obstacle now.


    The plan was for him to cause as much chaos as possible so that Siren could come in like a wrecking ball two days later. They would leave that same day in different directions. Tristan was also not going alone, Blacklake had already sent people into the Forest Caldera as soon as it fell, though none could offer any real backup in the case of a fight. While he could not be sure, Tristan assumed they were all between tier zero and two, not good at fighting, but they could still knock over a candle to burn a barrack or inn.


    No one was even there to wave him off as he returned home. It was understandable, all of them had a bunch of stuff to accomplish. Luke was torturing Siren¡¯s elite into breaking their kerns. Eve was doing something in administration and Kerri was wasting space. Not that he wanted Kerri here. It was an odd feeling, one that he did not like, but one that was also probably a good sign.


    He sent a mental nudge to Vulcan, ¡°You doing alright.¡±


    The artifact was still silent. Conni had not been sure what was wrong, but his ancestor blade claimed that he looked injured. Tristan hoped that was something that would heal with time, but he could not be sure. If he did not heal, Tristan would need to leave the Caldera to see if an expert existed in another nation who could heal Vulcan. He owed the lamp at least that much.


    With no more fanfare, Tristan started jogging. The pack he was wearing had a few important supplies and a load of more mundane items. A bed roll, several dried rations, a first aid kit filled with gauze, and a glass vial filled with a paralytic nerve toxin. He would use that to subdue his father and drag him out.


    If anyone searched the bag, they would find nothing amiss. Maybe the lack of money would raise some eyebrows, but the value of a parce had dropped off a cliff with trade all but stopping. He had a rough cornsilk tunic and a straw hat, it was different from the cloth armor that most people had seen him in.


    The pine trees passed quickly, the lack of snow making the trip faster. Most of the mud had hardened back into dirt, at least on the upper part of the Caldera. Both the Forest Caldera and the Stone Caldera were at a higher elevation than the Lake Caldera, so it was uphill all the way. Maybe he could just shove Shadow Fist in a barrel and roll him back.


    Four hours later he arrived at the edge of the fields of grain. They were empty now, and a few cows grazed on whatever greenery they could find. Their handlers were nowhere in sight, the only thing stopping Tristan from simply walking off with one of them was the bored-looking guard dogs. He made a mental note of the vacancies and kept on running.


    He continued towards the city. Originally he had been considering cutting his way through the sewer pit and making his way through the subterranean network to the Elder¡¯s home. That was now impractical, as the guards had nothing to distract them from his approach. Tristan was not known for his stealth, his physical adaptation to a metal kern made it almost impossible for him to move without leaving any trace.


    His weight had jumped another seventy pounds, making his body incredibly dense. Though now he was starting to realize why higher tiers moved differently. The control they exhibited was not due to their skill, but instead due to the fragility of their surroundings. If Tristan leaned against the wrong wall, he had a good chance of damaging it. Especially if it was a mud hut.


    Without any other method of approach, Tristan simply jogged up to the gates. He slowed down to around base tier two speed, still a good thirteen miles per hour, but nothing these guards hadn¡¯t seen before.


    Predictably he was stopped, ¡°Hold up, are you trying to dodge the draft.¡±


    Tristan stared at him blankly. Both guards stared back, waiting for an answer.  What should he say? Tristan was not going to be here long enough for a web of lies to be important. If all else failed he could just knock both guards out and enter anyway.


    So he went with the truth, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Was a draft called, and for what?¡±


    The two looked at each other before the larger one answered, ¡°Lord Ajax has called a crusade to rid the Caldera of the infestation of devil worshipers at the Lake Caldera.¡±


    Tristan tried to look as shocked as possible, he had thought that the knowledge of his survival was still unknown to the Lord of the Underworld, ¡°What devils are they worshiping?¡±


    ¡°One served Elder Forest in his machinations to have Lord Ajax killed, and the other you may have heard of,¡± The man leaned in conspiratorially, ¡°They call him the lightning devil. He can kill people with a glance.¡±


    Lighting devil? Why had Luke never bragged about that title? The other had to be Siren, no one else had conspired to kill The Lord of the Underworld. Ironically, they did not have to march to war to find the only silver devil in the Caldera.

 163. Rotten Shrine

    Tristan was held up at the gate for almost twenty minutes. It was only such a short time because he was able to place where he had seen the chatty guard before. His name was Kieth he was gossipy and could drone on about anything better than a beehive. After recognition came a sense of frustration and impatience that built up as time was wasted.


    ¡°I got to see the new steward. He took Shadow Fist''s old position once. He¡¯s a scary guy, let me tell you, I would not want to meet him in a dark alley,¡± Keith pantomimed what he assumed would be a scary posture.


    Tristan asked the other guard for help, ¡°So a draft?¡±


    Yes, Kieth had talked about everything but the draft. So Tristan made one last pea for the other man¡¯s help. Otherwise, he was going to knock Kieth out and step over his sleeping body.


    Thankfully the other guard was merciful, ¡°Go to the sifting grounds to register and get your equipment. Lord Ajax has decreed that this draft is not optional and that avoiding it will be grounds for execution.¡±


    The man sounded like he had said those lines more than he had ever wanted to. Tristan nodded, ¡°Thanks, have a good day. Kieth.¡±


    He waved as he went towards the sifting grounds. Once he was out of sight he changed directions heading toward his parent¡¯s house. Now that he had been out in the wider Caldera, Tristan realized that the home he had grown up in was small compared to the ones other families in his position normally had. The two-bedroom home was what one would expect a skilled craftsman to own, not someone fulfilling the role of a steward. The small home was most likely part of the reason for Shadow Fist''s popularity. He came from the people and did not set himself above the people with a display of his wealth.


    He did consider seeing what the draft was about, but he had been part of two different ones. Only two things were made clear during them. First, you would be fed only what the leadership wanted you to be aware of. Second, the Caldera had ordered more drafts than an alcoholic farmer in the last year. Tristan would not be able to learn anything that Blacklake¡¯s spies could not also uncover.


    It would also not further his two objectives. He needed to get Shadow Fist away from the Forest Caldera and make a large, public disturbance. He had several targets in mind, though only one truly served both his role as a silver devil and as a release for some of his anger. The Temple and their three gods had sent an assassin after Eve, so he would have no compunctions about burning the place down.


    The city got busier as he made his way closer to the center. More elementals patrolled, all tier one, and businesses were still open. Aside from the wary glances of the citizens at the walking corpses, life looked normal. People went to work, most of it was preparations for war, but the frantic panic in the River Caldera was absent.


    Tristan walked confidently towards his old home, no one gave him a second glance. He entered the ring of trees surrounding the Elders mansion and made his way toward his father¡¯s home. Unsurprisingly it was locked, though not with the complex locks typically found on vaults. The last time he had come across a lock he had been able to simply slice it apart with his two daggers, this time he had a better way.


    All these locks were similar, and he had held the key before. He was sure of it. Frowning he tried to remember what it looked like. Things before his sifting were hazy, it was a different life, so while the feelings remained, associated memories were frustratingly absent. Normally his life before and after were completely separate, with little to no crossover. Growling Tristan decided to forgo the key. Unholstering his axe he smashed the bolt, his tier four strength making short work of the bolt.


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    Pushing the door open, he stepped inside. Part of him had been expecting to find Shadow Fist here, though an active man would be gone during mid-day. Looking around, Tristan found a clean house, almost like it was not lived in. Dust coated the bed and the stove. The pantry was empty, and the latrine was unused.


    Only one thing was out of place. A shrine sat in the middle of the spare bedroom. It had a painting of Tris and Helen, with flowers around them. Separated from the others was a charcoal sketch of a younger Tristan, he would have been around ten in the image. Fingerprints smudged the edges of all three images.


    The display of flowers for his sister and mother was expected. A funeral setup for Tristan threw Shadow Fist¡¯s words and actions against each other. He had made it clear that he viewed Tristan as a tool, but people did not mourn the death of a tool. It did give him an idea. Shadow Fist came here often, perhaps every day. Why couldn¡¯t he simply leave a message for him?


    Tristan picked up his image and inspected it. It would be a shame to destroy it. He used his architect alloy to create a knife and scratch a message into the wall.


    ¡°Meet me at the cobbler¡¯s home. Sunset tomorrow.¡±


    He stepped back and looked it over. The penmanship was atrocious, but it would work, the contrast between the whitewash and dark wood made it visible, even in low light. Not that that would be an issue for Shadow Fist with his dark kern.


    Now to prove it was Tristan who wrote it. He used an ability that Shadow Fist had seen before. Placing a hand on the bed he let decay alloy drip from his fingers as he trailed them along the sheets. His tier four alloy was way more efficient than his tier two variant, breaking the bed down into a pile of gooey wood in only a few minutes. Once the alloy had exhausted its power, he placed the picture of himself in the center of the mess.


    If Shadow Fist came, there would be no way for him to misinterpret that. As far as Tristan knew, no one else was able to use decay like him. He did his best to shut the door, but it was obvious someone had forced their way in. Lumber mauls were not meant for discretion when committing arson.


    Just because he had not found Shadow Fist did not mean he would stop looking for him. There was a good chance that his coming here was a once-a-week activity. Tristan did not want to miss his chance to catch him due to bad luck. The next most likely location was the Elders mansion, a place in which Tristan would also gladly make a disturbance.


    Walking up the short path to the structure he was blocked by two guards. They had been hidden from sight by the foliage, but Tristan¡¯s metal sense was able to pick up their armor and weapons. After a brief inspection, they both relaxed ever so slightly. Tristan did not look like a threat, he was young and armed poorly. The fifteen-pound maul was too heavy for a tier zero or one to use efficiently as a weapon. It was a little on the light side as a tier four weapon.


    ¡°What are you doing kid?¡± The warrior on the left asked. He had his war pick resting casually against his shoulder.


    ¡°Who lives in the building,¡± Tristan asked, not bothering with the question. Elder Forrest had been dethroned, so he was not occupying it. There was enough value inside to warrant occupying two tier three guards. Regardless of their answer, he would find out.


    ¡°None of your business,¡± the same warrior said, ¡°Go back home, or get in some training before you fight for real.¡±


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°Have it your way.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened as Tristan stepped in faster than expected. He was still able to swing his war-pick, but only the shaft hit Tristan¡¯s shoulder. Tristan grabbed the shaft of the weapon and dragged the warrior in while he punched straight. To his credit, the man did not lose consciousness. He was unable to keep a hold of his weapon.


    Tristan reinforced his palm to catch the war-pick coming from the other guard. That one tried to jerk it back, only to find that Tristan¡¯s grip was greater. He bashed that guard with the flat of the war-pick, before whipping around to use the backside of the pick on the first guard''s shoulder. Warrior two dropped after getting clubbed over the head, Warrior one staggered back crying out as his pauldron caved in.


    The maul was brought to bear, smashing into the warrior¡¯s chest plate. It was less capable than the pick but still did substantial damage to the sheet of metal. Several ribs cracked as the warrior staggered, tripped over a low bush, and fell into the foliage he had been hiding behind. Tristan waited for the man to rise, and when he didn¡¯t he continued on his way.


    ¡°Intruder!¡± A loud voice yelled from the now open doors.


    The warrior¡¯s cry had attracted some of his friends. Tristan grabbed one of the rocks lining the path and pitched it at the warrior. He avoided it, but the action wasted on avoiding the stone allowed Tristan to make it up the steps and kick the man through the open doors. Bones broke, causing Tristan to wince, that had not been a warrior. The well-armed tier one was knocked backward into Elder Forest¡¯s reception hall.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Tristan apologized as he stepped into the mansion.


    He was greeted by half a dozen shocked acolytes of the temple. Including the four that had accosted him almost a year ago. He hadn¡¯t really thought about them much, but it seemed that the temple had taken up residence in the Elders mansion.


    ¡°Long time no see,¡± Tristan started grinning as he walked towards the acolytes.

 164. Temple Run

    At least this knocked one thing off his bucket list, he would not have to go find Guider Daphan. It should not have come as a surprise that the Temple would move its operations into the much larger and better equipped mansion. They were part of the leadership claiming that the Lord of the Underworld was the champion of the gods. Also, Guider Daphan loved his wealth, so why not move to the most lavish place?


    Another guard rushed at Tristan with his spear aimed at him. The man was so slow, that he might not even be tier one. Tristan grimaced, is this what tier fours had thought when he fought them before? Catching the spear just below the head, he pulled the point off target and swiped the shaft of his maul into the guard''s shin.


    The leg broke, but the maul still swept him off his feet. He left the injured man on the floor, discarding the spear as he made his way to the four acolytes. For their part, they had started moving towards the far doors. Tristan thought for a moment about sprinting to catch them and beat some answers out of them. However, he already had some experience with these people and knew they would lead him to their companions in the hope of mobbing him.


    They shut the door at the end of the entry hall, and the sound of a bar falling into place locked the door. Tristan smirked, that would not have stopped him, even when they first met. Making a small bead of decay essence, he ran it along the door, right under where the bar should be. It left behind a line of dark silver liquid that quickly started eating into the door.


    Tristan waited for the alloy to eat into the wood, ¡°Ready or not, here I come.¡±


    With that, he smashed the blunt side of his maul into the base of the door. It broke cleanly where the decay had notched it, sending the lower half of the door flying into the room. He got a grunt and a curse when it collided with someone on the other side. Normally he would have ducked under the remaining half, but there was no way to tell if there was someone ready to kill him when he came through.


    There was only one hinge keeping the top of the door attached, so he grabbed and twisted. The screws holding it in place lost their grip after a few back-and-forth twists. Dropping the half-door off to the side, Tristan saw there was a man with an axe standing just on the other side of the door. It was a man he recognized.


    ¡°Butler three?¡± Tristan asked in surprise.


    The man was one of the six babysitters that Shadow Fist had left with him. Their faces all blurred together, and he still lacked their names, but the concave artifact axe was easy to recognize.


    ¡°Huh,¡± The butler said, ¡°Why do you call me butler three.¡±


    ¡°I never got your name,¡± Tristan shrugged. He used the blunt side of his maul to pop the bar off the brackets to fall on the floor.


    ¡°You never,¡± Butler Three said brows furrowing in anger, ¡°You thought we were servants?¡±


    Tristan was not sure the man expected an answer, as he attempted to rush in with a horizontal chop. Not wanting to hurt the poor guy too badly, Tristan kicked the bar back up into the air. While it was no longer anchored to the wall, it was still wider than the doorway. Butler Three took it to the thigh, kept going, and flipped over the top when it jammed into the doorway.


    ¡°Just go home,¡± Tristan said shaking his head. The man was way out of his depth.


    Not caring where Butler Three chose to go, Tristan stepped over the bar and into the hallway beyond. Finally, he was faced with something that he wanted. Two elderly acolytes with staves topped with glowing essence reservoirs stood at the end of the hallway. One had a foggy grey-white reservoir while the other one had a glowing red and orange orb topping its staff. The standard metal halo surrounded the reservoirs, giving them their classical ostentatious appearance.


    ¡°Stop, or we will have to use deadly force!¡± One of them said.


    Both were old, one had a long white beard, while the other was bald. Tristan wondered if the bald one lacked hair due to possessing a fire kern, maybe he burned it all off. Both pointed the tips of their weapons at him and awaited his response.


    ¡°I have been looking for someone who knows where everyone is,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Can you tell me where Guider Daphan is? I need to make a scene.¡±


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    ¡°You intend evil. You must be allied with the devil in the west!¡± Baldy said.


    Tristan sighed, ¡°You know all this devil stuff is really annoying.¡±


    He leaned down and picked up the bottom half of the door. It had a ¡®C¡¯ shaped handle, making it a passable shield. The old men immediately activated their staves, filling the room with oxygen and fire. Tristan tried to block it, but while a shield was excellent at stopping impacts, it was horrendous at stopping gas.


    The invisible cloud of air buffeted Tristan, not budging him. Fire followed a split second later. It went around his shield and burned everything. Tier four made a person roughly five times more resilient than a tier zero, and while that helped immensely in most situations, today it meant that Tristan was only badly burned. This barrage would have killed any at tier one or lower.


    The cotton fiber tunic was burned away, and so was the backpack he wore. Grimacing, Tristan threw the door at the two old men. He would need to find a new sleeping toxin. Making something that worked on a man with a consumption force was very difficult. Also unless he wanted to add streaking to his list disturbance list he needed one of the old men¡¯s robes.


    Beards took the door to the chest and something cracked. He coughed up some blood on his white and gold robes. So Baldy¡¯s robes were the ones. Tristan rushed at the man, his burned joints protesting at being stretched, but he kept going. He was surprised at how much it hurt, a full-body burn like this caused more pain than having his heart removed. Well, he was not in shock this time, so it was not an accurate comparison.


    The man grinned as Tristan did not even attempt to dodge, ¡°Die Heretic!¡±


    The fire at the end of his staff was pitiful. Both Tristan and Baldy realized the issue at the same time.


    ¡°Balthazar, more air!¡± Baldy yelled at the other old man.


    To slow, Tristan¡¯s fingers wrapped around the tip of the staff. He ripped the reservoir out and drove a reinforced fist into the man¡¯s temple. Knocking him out immediately without a drop of blood being spilled on his robes. Beardy groaned as he tried to rise. These two men were high enough up in the hierarchy that he would have known about the assassination attempt on Eve.


    Tristan meant it when he believed that the Caldera had never cared for him. Eve, Conni his wife, Luke, and Bruce, even Harp, to some extent, had shown him he was wrong. No one would take that from him, he would make sure the rest of the Temples received the message from the fall of this one.


    Beardy raised his hand to protect himself from the maul. He was a powerful tier two at the very least, but he was old. Tristan broke the burnt shaft of his maul with the final blow. He traded it for the Beardy¡¯s reservoir and tossed Baldy over his shoulder before leaving the hallway and the body behind.


    This mansion had been frequented by Tristan when he was younger. Most of those memories were absent, but feelings remained. He thought of where he would go when he was tired and let his feet take him where he wanted to go. He was greeted by a scream when he got there.


    A young acolyte woman was in the room he apparently had slept in, ¡°Pervert!¡± Then her eyes widened in shock, ¡°Guider Warner, is he injured.¡±


    ¡°Not really, I did not hit him that hard,¡± Tristan lied. The man probably had a pretty severe concussion, ¡°Wait in the corner while I take his clothes.¡±


    That was the wrong thing to say her eyes widened, ¡°You are a thief!¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan said as he barred the door from the inside. Thief was kind of a refreshing new insult, at least it was true. He started stripping the white tunic and linen trousers. They were on the small side, Baldy had been both thinner and shorter than Tristan, but the clothes fit reasonably well. Tristan was surprised at how comfy they were, he should have mugged those acolytes back before he fought Henry Golden Heart.


    The woman¡¯s eyes bounced from Tristan to the door, ¡°What do you want with me?¡±


    Tristan sat down cross-legged in the doorway. As it opened inward he would be notified if anyone short of the Lord of the Underworld attempted to break in.


    ¡°Give me some answers,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Oh, and I¡¯ll be humming while you give your answers, don¡¯t mind it, just keep talking.¡±


    He held the two reservoirs. They were both tier two, and he intended to fill them with healing alloy. It was something too valuable not to have on hand.


    ¡°For starters,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Do you know where Shadow Fist is?¡±


    The woman glanced at the door, ¡°He should be at the throne, leaving a draft report with the elemental lord, Custodian.¡±


    ¡°Will he be back today?¡± Tristan asked. She nodded, ¡°Good, now tell me where is Guider Daphan?¡±


    Her loyalty to the Temple was greater by far than her loyalty to Shadow Fist. It was admirable that she only trembled slightly when she said ¡°That is not something I can tell you.¡±


    ¡°Your guider, tried to have my friend killed, so you have two choices, tell me where he is or I smash my way through the acolytes until I find someone less loyal than yourself,¡± Tristan held both hands out to his sides like he was holding a bowl, ¡°Either you think everyone is like you, in which case, everyone gets wiped out or you think there are some more cowardly members. If it''s the second option, all you are doing is sparing the loyalists between myself and the coward by telling me.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if this would make his point or not, so he created a construct. It was a dagger, a downsized version of one of the horns that grew from the Demon Lord¡¯s skull. It got the point across.


    The acolyte paled muttering, ¡°Silver devil,¡± she took a deep breath, ¡°You have to give me Guider Warner and not hurt anyone else.¡±


    ¡°You can have Baldy here, but I cannot spare my targets,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I can agree to leave anyone who does not attack me alone.¡±


    The woman swallowed, ¡°Do you know where the throne room used to be?¡±

 165. The Dinning Hall with a Throne

    Tristan hummed away for the next two hours. People ran back and forth on the other side of the door, but other than a brief knock on the door no one attempted to come in. Evidently, a young woman barring herself in her room was a good plan when someone like Tristan showed up. He was surprised she did not rat him out, but the acolyte who checked in sounded young, so he supposed she did not want him harmed.


    Once his kern was topped back up and the burns were mostly gone, Tristan stood and unbarred the door, ¡°Have a good day random acolyte.¡±


    She did not answer. When he stepped outside, he heard the bar slide into place behind him. Another pair of white-robed acolytes ran past, not giving Tristan a second glance. Both of them held staves and he was tempted to take the reservoirs, however, he had made a promise for some obvious information.


    The throne room. It was not far from where he currently was and was slightly misnamed. It was a dining hall with a raised platform at one end where Elder Forrest would keep his large wooden chair. When he was holding meetings the tables would be pushed against the walls and the chairs would be lined up in rows before him. Now that Tristan thought about it, that was similar to the Temple pulpit and pews.


    He left the wing dedicated to bedrooms and entered the public wing again. There was a small crowd of acolytes being held back by a guard. They were surrounding the doorway to the body Tristan had left behind. He shook his head as he passed, these people had never really seen anything like this. No one dared to mess with the Temple, so they had lived easy lives and the horrifying was also fascinating.


    It was fine, so long as Daphan was not in the group, he would leave them to their staring. When he entered the throne room he was startled, there were another thirty acolytes in there. Where did the temple keep all these people? With the people inside this room and the acolytes he had seen and heard, their numbers were around one hundred. It may not sound like much, but it meant that acolyte was the second most common profession behind farming.


    The tables were pushed up against the walls and the chairs were lined up, but no one was sitting. Most of the people here were middle-aged and older, all of them wanted to get their say and created chaos simultaneously.


    One of them looked over as Tristan entered. Seeing the robes he turned back to his heated argument. Tristan scanned the room and found Guider Daphan. There was just one giant problem. Regis was standing right beside him. Tristan frowned, Regis would be a problem, he was better at fighting and farther into tier four. He also had that necklace that gave a pool of essence twice as large as what he started with.


    Tristan had held his own back at the mine. Sort of. He had been blasted around the mine shaft, but he did think it was possible to win this time. First off, they were in the same tier, second, Regis was not wearing tower plate. The armor he was wearing was mythical beast leather, but it was a vest, grieves, and bracers. Tristan could work around that. He was also not sure if decay alloy would work on it, but he saw no reason for it not to. Even mythical leather was made of organic material.


    There was also no reason to announce himself before striking. Regis believed him to be dead and it was possible that Tristan could walk up and smack him with Vulcan. Giving Regis a concussion before the fight started would be preferable, but breaking a knee, or collarbone would suffice.


    The man in the nearest gaggle of acolytes kept glancing back at Tristan. He ignored the man, trying to get him to stop looking would invariably draw more attention than it deflected. Moving smoothly through the crowd, Tristan made his way towards where Guider Daphan and Regis were speaking to a man in formal dress. A member of one of the prominent families? Tristan did not know, but the aristocrat had a tier three light artifact with him.


    Several people complained as he pushed passed them. The disturbance drew a glance from Regis, but except for a raised eyebrow, he did nothing. Half the people here had black hair, and Regis was at a bad angle to see Tristan¡¯s eyes. Both times Regis had met him prior, Tristan had been wearing padded armor, making it nearly impossible that he would be recognized in acolyte garb. That did not mean that Regis would not recognize him as a threat, just not as one worth his time.


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    The sound of the door on the far side of the room slammed open, causing everyone to turn towards the intruder. It was Baldy, breathing heavily and wearing a shiny woman¡¯s bathrobe. He was breathing heavily and glaring around the room. Tristan ducked to avoid his line of sight.


    Baldy opened his mouth to speak, but one of the other acolytes spoke first, ¡°Why are you wearing my daughter¡¯s bathrobe!¡±


    ¡°It was an emergency, now listen to me,¡± Baldy said.


    ¡°No, what were you doing with my daughter?¡± The girl''s father demanded, ¡°You beast, she¡¯s a married woman!¡±


    Tristan took advantage of the distraction and moved towards the raised platform. He decided on a direct route, it was in Regis¡¯s line of sight, but Tristan only had until the two squabbling acolytes made piece. The stage was only about two feet tall, not tall enough to be a barrier, but still tall enough to make the average person visible from anywhere in the room.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Regis yelled, ¡°I have not called you all together to hear you squabble, I called you to ask a question.¡±


    Everyone froze, turning to the ex-civil protector. Even Baldy settled down. Tristan wondered if Guider Daphan was the head of the temple in the Forrest Caldera, they seemed to pay much more difference to Regis.


    ¡°Shadow Fist asked me this question,¡± Regis looked around, ¡°Why is the Temple necessary when a champion of the gods is present and makes himself available?¡±


    There was some mumbling, but Guider Daphan spoke up, ¡°You ask why a god or his chosen would need us? The answer is they don¡¯t, we serve at their whim. They decreed this structure, Temples, offerings, and even the clothing we wear are all because they commanded it. If they had ordered something else we would be doing that instead.¡±


    That did not seem to be the answer Regis expected. Most people would defend themselves in the face of Regis¡¯s veiled insult. He had told them they were useless, and Daphan had chosen to sidestep the whole confrontation. He had done so while also forcing Regis to agree or take a stance against the gods he was so fanatical about.


    Regis took a moment to think of a response, ¡°Lord Ajax has ordered all men capable of combat to join the draft, are you not capable?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at the guider. The moment his attire attention was on the man, Tristan summoned Vulcan and smashed the metal pole across Regis¡¯s knees. It happened so fast that the man could not react, he was swept off his feet, spinning far enough to land on his neck. Tristan was on the stage before the acolyte¡¯s shock could turn to action.


    He punched down at Regis¡¯s face, intending to infuse decay alloy directly into his brain. Regis was not an elite among civil protectors for no reason. Instantly reading the situation, he caught the punch with his bracers. The punch left a grey fist-shaped film on the crimson leather. Decay did eat into leather, though it would run out of power before it made it through the armor.


    It took a moment for Regis to realize who was attacking him, ¡°How are you alive?¡±


    Tristan answered by kicking the man in the ribs. Without his tower armor, Tristan felt a bone crack. Fire kerns did not do much for someone¡¯s mass, so Tristan¡¯s kick launched him across the stage where he crashed into the back wall.


    ¡°That¡¯s him!¡± Baldy yelled.


    Tristan ignored him and sprinted at Regis like a bull. He could not let the civil protector regain his feet. Regis also knew this. He managed to get his sword out in time to receive a swing from the lamppost. Tristan put his substantial body weight into the swing smashing the blade so hard that its reverse edge pushed back into Regis¡¯s shoulder.  The civil protector¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the edge of his sword chip under the impact of a far superior artifact.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown, little demon,¡± Regis muttered, before creating a ring of blinding white flames that tossed Tristan backward. He fell off the stage and into the crowd of acolytes, knocking several over like cheap toys. Tristan had reinforced himself, so he would not break anything, but that had resulted in other people breaking their bones instead.


    Tristan managed to land on his feet where he slid a few feet on the tile floor. Standing he looked up at the stage where Regis had also gotten back up. Flames dripped off his sword igniting the stage. He left burnt footprints on the wooden surface of the stage, his clothes were somehow unharmed by the fire.


    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Regis answered,¡± How did you survive and where did you get that weapon?¡±


    Tristan inspected the shimmer coming off Regis¡¯s body, the man was not using a large amount of essence, but it should be outpacing his regeneration. Regis had a large essence pool due to the reservoir around his neck, Tristan inspected the necklace. He needed to get rid of it, once it was gone his chances would be much better.

 166. Down Down Down in the Burning Ring of Fire

    Tristan took in the room. He had been so focused on Guider Daphan and Regis that he had neglected to take in the room. The acolytes who had not been injured by his crashing into them stood quietly around him. Each one had a hand inside their robes and was extracting wooden batons ending in the emblem of their favored god. An essence reservoir was set into the image, none were very powerful, but there were at least thirty.


    They were made of wood, which made Tristan¡¯s metal sense much less accurate. Without metal, he could not sense an artifact at all. Regis grinned down at Tristan, his smile was slightly too wide to be natural.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to talk? How about running? We can hunt you down and kill you for good,¡± Regis said.


    Guider Daphan was trying to sneak off the stage and out the back door. Tristan had two choices; flight or fight. At tier four he could probably get away. The only one able to keep up would be Regis, and fighting him alone would be preferable. However, he also needed to get Guider Daphan, who was running in the opposite direction.


    He looked over the crowd of acolytes and saw no melee fighters. Their artifacts might be melee-oriented, but Tristan would put money on them all being ranged. If so, he would just need to keep Regis in the line of fire. He was much less durable than Tristan, so even if they did launch their attacks, it would hurt his opponent more.


    Tristan nodded at Regis, ¡°I choose to run.¡±


    Regis laughed, ¡°So you prove you¡¯re a coward, just as I¡­¡±


    He barely got out of the way as a metal lamp post pinwheeled through the space his head occupied. Tristan sprinted at him, summoning Vulcan back, he swung horizontally at Regis¡¯s face. The man stopped it with the flat of his sword, only for the staff to vanish and reappear on the opposite side of the sword. The force was lessened, but Regis still stumbled as he took the flaming end of the lamp to his teeth.


    Several acolytes jumped, and several beams of fire and sharp icicles crisscrossed the room. Tristan made a note, that all the artifacts seemed to be either fire or ice-based. He knew air ones existed, but none were currently in use. These people had most likely never used their weapons on mobile targets, as they all aimed where he was, not where he would be.


    A wave of flame from Regis came at Tristan, unlike previously, he had an answer to this. He swept Vulcan¡¯s flame into the fire, splitting it to either side. Even the fist sized ball of fire at Vulcan¡¯s tip was vastly more potent than Regis¡¯s entire kern. Tristan was pretty sure that if it were fully unleashed it could melt the Forrest Caldera into a puddle of lava.


    He stepped through the corridor of fire he had created and stabbed the butt of the lamp at Regis. Screams started as the fire laden with the force of combustion ignited the stone tiles, the walls, and the people. Regis was also screaming, though in anger not in fear.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Thought you were going to hunt me down,¡± Tristan mocked Regis as he pinned the much lighter man against the wall.


    ¡°Die in agony,¡± Regis snarled. He dropped his sword and grabbed the butt of the lamp with one hand and pointed the other at Tristan. A white flame flickered at the end of his finger, no larger than a candle. It seemed to collapse in on itself becoming brighter until it was a blinding white.


    Tristan realized what was happening just as the miniature star detonated. Energy could be squeezed into a very small area, but that did not mean that was its natural state. This explosion contained as much essence as Tristan had, he reinforced himself, but the heat moved straight through, burning his skin and muscles.


    If it had been a directed attack, Tristan would have had a cauterized hole blown in his body. As it was the undirected power was still enough to hurl him across the room. He hit something hard and narrow before it collapsed and he hit the wall. It was the open door at the far end of the dining hall. Pieces of flaming lumber fell on him as he came to a stop. Burned again, he did not care much for the feeling.


    He consumed one of the healing reservoirs, before looking up. The whole room was filled with fire, slowly bleeding from its pure white color to a natural orange as it ate through the pinewood rafters and walls. Some acolytes thrashed as their skin was charred, but none were standing. Baldy was lying just beside the door, his head twisted at an odd angle.


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    Tristan grimaced. Vulcan had been right when he had said that Alloy was not a combat force. None of his alloys would get anywhere near this level of destruction. If Shadow Fist had dominion over decay, he could probably replicate something similar to this if he ever reached tier four. Well, neither of them had versatility, Tristan could heal, destroy, and create.


    Regis picked up Vulcan, ¡°What a marvelous weapon, where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°It chose me,¡± Tristan said. He got back to his feet.


    ¡°Sure, like anyone would choose a silver devil when there are better options,¡± Regis scoffed.


    The healing reservoir had accomplished enough. He took the opportunity that Regis granted him and rushed through the fire at the civil protector. Regis wound up his attack, ready to clobber Tristan with a horizontal sweep. He swung, and the lamp vanished. Regis staggered slightly at the abrupt change in weight.


    His eyes widened when he saw the lamp post pop back into existence in Tristan¡¯s grip. He did his best to dodge, but already off balance the best he could do was to protect his face. The civil protector probably expected the mythical beast leather to hold, and it did for one bracer. The other was mostly eaten through by decay.


    There was the crack of breaking bones as Regis¡¯s forearm snapped at the point of impact. He was stunned, giving Tristan enough time to grab the necklace. His fingers wrapped around the metal links and pulled. All he succeeded in doing was stopping Regis¡¯s backward momentum.


    How could a simple chain resist him? Was it an artifact before the reservoir was added? He would need to inspect it later, so for now he released the red chain. Regis was fast, he threw a jab covered in white flame at Tristan¡¯s chest. However, as fast as he was, Tristan already had a hand at his throat.


    Half his essence went to resisting the punch, the other half went to decay. He was knocked backward through the doorway, but the damage had been done. That much decay would be able to rot Regis¡¯s head off. Tristan grimaced at the burns covering his chest and the black knuckle brand. Fortunately, it was next to his heart and would heal faster.


    Tristan sighed, it was worth it to get rid of Regis. He was about to turn and start towards where he had last seen Guider Daphan when an animalistic scream pulled him up short. Quickly looking back at Regis, he saw that the man had not succumbed to the decay.


    Bubbling flesh had been scorched by flames, eliminating the decay. Tristan grimaced, he was very low on essence, while Regis seemed to be an unending font of flames. There was no safety net this time, no army to save him, or any extraneous purpose that he was needed for. He was in enemy territory, breaking his kern here would only leave him helpless before even the simplest guard.


    So he ran. Regis was between him and Guider Daphan so he resigned himself to finding the Guider later. Elder Forest had never seen fit to tell Tristan of the secret passages and escape routes that his estate had, so Tristan was relatively certain Guider Daphan was also unaware. Exiting the dining hall, Tristan found that the whole building was starting to burn.


    It was not yet to the point of a full blown blaze, but it was beyond what anything short of a powerful water artifact could stop. Regis screamed again, the burnt vocal cords gave it a ghastly tone that was somehow less natural than the elementals occupying the Forest Caldera. For once Tristan cursed his denser body, he was slower than Regis.


    Tristan ran around a corner, almost bouncing off the wall in his haste. A wave of white flames followed him, they did not handle the corner as well. The hallway was well and truly burning now. Regis came around a few moments later, murder in his eyes. He roared and activated another circle of fire, with nowhere for it to expand it washed down the hallway in both directions.


    Tristan summoned Vulcan and cut the fire apart. Using him like this still took essence, which Tristan was running short on. Regis tried to say something, but it was completely unintelligible. Tristan still knew the gist of it. Die in agony!


    Another wave of fire was built and released. Tristan was too far from the next corner and had too little essence to activate Vulcan. So he did the only thing that would give him a chance. He swallowed his other healing reservoir and rushed into the flames. Regis was just as blinded by the white light as Tristan was, so he did not see him until he already had a palm on the pendant.


    Tristan recognized the design. It was a version of the essence cuffs with the polarities reversed. All he needed to do was spin the round reservoir. It was not easy, almost as if there were some kind of catch holding it in place. Tristan pushed as hard as he could, the catch broke and the reservoir spun until it caught on a second catch.


    He had a moment to notice the reservoir was not round, it had notches inside it. Then Regis collapsed as all of his essence was siphoned away. He struggled back to his feet before Tristan could do anything to him. Now that Regis was without essence, they were on even footing. At least until Regis did the obvious thing. He took the pendant off.


    The civil protector still looked tired, but not completely drained. Tristan still had a grip on the amulet so he jerked it out of Regis¡¯s hands and ran. If he could not kill the man, then he would take his most valuable possession. Regis stood to give chase, but without the enormous essence pool to throw waves of fire, Tristan¡¯s familiarity with the structure allowed him to escape.

 167. Dark Thoughts

    Shadow Fist was jogging back to the Forrest Caldera, carrying orders from Custodian. It was an odd elemental lord. Shadow Fist had asked for a name, simply to get a gender, and got a job title instead. It had a water kern, an earth muscle structure, and an air elemental housed in its brain. The undead caretaker was very specific in its instructions, but it also never forgot to hand out rewards. Custodian was the only reason no one had to oversee the construction work, the workers had grown to admire the cadaver.


    The parchment that Custodian had handed Shadow Fist had a blueprint for a weapon he did not understand. It had four wheels and a stick with a bucket on the end. Custodian had promised that it would shoot large stones over walls and into cities.


    The very concept of building weapons for the sole purpose of subduing those weaker than oneself put a bad taste in Shadow Fist¡¯s mouth. It was yet another reason these creatures weren¡¯t to be trusted. In the Caldera, most war machines were made to kill high tier enemies.


    The most common one was a wire contraption that was wound up with the help of a large turn wheel.  Once set, the warriors could hide inside while a mythical beast approached. They would release the wire when it got close enough. The wire moved at such high speeds that it could cut into anything up to high tier seven, and kill as high as tier eight if it had a weak skin.


    It was good for the weak to use their mind to overcome the strong. The strong should not need fancy tools to overcome the weak. It went against the law of predation.


    He made good time running over the countryside between the Forrest Caldera and the small city that was springing up around the mine. Tier four was amazing, he had reached it so fast that he still had struggles when doing mundane tasks. Shaking a guard''s hand had almost turned into a set of broken fingers when his grip strength almost doubled. Cooking became more difficult, as stirring soup became a struggle not to splash it everywhere.


    Shadow Fist was getting used to it, he was sure he would still lose to Henry, but he was also Shadow Fist¡¯s worst matchup. Time and practice were the only solutions to his problems. Time he lacked. As soon as these war machines were built the Forrest Caldera would march. Shadow Fist would have to fight, and he was not sure how he would handle the Lake Caldera¡¯s heavy hitters.


    The boy he had insulted on the road to the mine turned out to be a bigger menace than Siren. It was enough to make Shadow Fist doubt the competency of the information-collecting agencies. How could they miss both a tier four and a tier five sitting just eight miles down the road?


    His musings were interrupted when he cleared the tree line and received an unobstructed view of the sky. A thick column of smoke billowed. Shadow Fist panicked, was the Forrest Caldera under attack? It looked like the center of the city was on fire. He was too far away to see what was happening, so he redoubled his speed, going from a jog to a sprint.


    Both guards at the gate scrambled to get their weapons ready when they saw someone approaching at a truly ridiculous pace. Shadow Fist would ordinarily enjoy scaring Kieth, the man was irritating, but he was in a hurry. He blew past them and continued into the city.


    Most of the people in the poorer districts were simply standing and gawking at the sky. Shadow Fist could only feel exasperation at their lack of action. The building housing head Guider was on fire, all the acolytes lived there, and most of the city¡¯s artifacts were housed there. Regis was also there, how could a fire get out of hand? His artifact consumed any fire it came in contact with to fuel its owner. The very fact that a fire existed meant that an enemy had breached the walls.


    Shadow Fist had to slow down as the path became more congested. Wagons and boxes of construction materials littered the streets. The wealthier district had the foresight to take refuge and let the authorities handle the problem. They had left everything they were doing in the way.


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    ¡°With me!¡± Shadow Fist yelled at a group of elementals that had been patrolling.


    It should have been obvious to the mindless creatures. Go fight the invaders was one of the main commands that Lord Ajax had given them. Shadow Fist knew that the Elemental Lord only viewed the people as cattle, but was that any different than how Elder Forrest had treated the people? The difference was, that Lord Ajax wanted his cattle fat and ready for the harvest.


    It was both insidious and genius how the elemental lord planned things out. Oppressed people died with regrets, yes, but ascetic people lived a regret. They wished they had explored, built, or served more. They looked back and noticed how wasted their lives had been. It was a regret that would not even require torture.


    The elementals were all armed with simple shields and clubs, an effective combination. They were all tier one and much slower than Shadow Fist. He contemplated slowing his pace to match theirs but did not want to waste the time.


    He changed their instructions, ¡°Find the intruders and kill them unless they surrender.¡±


    They did not even acknowledge his order, though he knew they would obey without question. He quickly accelerated only stopping to give more elementals the same orders. When he arrived at the head family¡¯s mansion turned temple, it was a bonfire. White flames mixed with orange, as everything was consumed.


    Shadow Fist stood half in horror half in awe. This is the power that his force should possess, it was the the most primal representation of consumption he had ever seen. Unfortunately, his force flavored a dark kern, not a fire one, Hellen¡¯s would look like this if she had the force. Darkness was creeping, it covered everything, and without anyone noticing it would devour its prey. It was not for no reason that all people feared the dark.


    ¡°Thank the gods you¡¯re here,¡± a man panted as he ran up to Shadow Fist.


    It took a moment for him to recognize the man through the burns, soot, and rags, ¡°Guider Daphan, what happened? Who attacked us?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Guider Daphan answered wincing as the skin on his neck cracked, ¡°We were attacked by your son, Regis started this fire while fighting him.¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°Lord Ajax personally killed him.¡±


    He made sure to keep his face impassive. Over the last few years, he had tried to kill any feelings of empathy for his son. He needed to provide for the family he could still help. Where had that gotten him? He was tier four, had real power, and still felt hollow. His wife had run away when a messenger from the mine had come to collect the miner¡¯s families.


    Like many other men, he struggled to see what he had until it was gone. So maybe, the elemental lord had lied to him. If it wanted him to serve killing his son and getting rid of his other ties would certainly be an effective method. He quashed the hope that was building before it showed on his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to call the Champion a liar, but who else has golden eyes and spreads decay?¡± Guider Daphan said.


    ¡°I know, it''s just that I don¡¯t see how anyone could survive a fight with Ajax,¡± Shadow Fist shook his head, ¡°Did anyone else get out?¡±


    ¡°A few, Guider Warner¡¯s girl, and those tending the herb gardens,¡± Guider Daphan answered, ¡°Other than them, more than fifty people are dead.¡±


    ¡°Torrey survived,¡± Shadow Fist had only met the girl once, but she was responsible enough, ¡°What about Regis?¡±


    There was an explosion, and almost as if speaking his name summoned him, Regis stumbled out. His arm hung at an odd angle, a large patch of charred flesh coated his neck and lower jaw,  and he moved with an obvious limp. His eyes locked on Shadow Fist, they were filled with rage and murderous intent.


    Normally, Shadow Fist did not like his chances against the man. As he was now, Shadow Fist likely did not need to utilize his essence to win. Regis made a guttering fire construct and tried to burn Shadow Fist with it. He activated consumption to remove the flames and caught Regis¡¯s extended arm by the wrist.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Shadow Fist said with a stony expression, ¡°Do not try that again. Elder Daphan find a healer, I believe my skills as an assassin would be better at accomplishing this task. Tell the elementals that are en route to put out the fire.¡±


    Regis tried to yell again but only succeeded in tearing his vocal cords. Shadow Fist activated his camouflage, disappearing from view. He frowned to himself, where would Tristan hide? Harp¡¯s old home? There weren¡¯t many places that held fond memories. He would have to start with the obvious locations.


    It was oddly gratifying to see the broken lock in his old home. Not many people would rob this place, as he made no secret that it was his little place of mourning. While it was not robbed, it was vandalized. He smiled at the decay filling the room and the message carved into the wall. He would be meeting his son tomorrow evening.

 168. Robbing Vaults 2.0

    Tristan was unsure where to go once he got out of the building. Most of his memories of the Forest Caldera were foggy at best, he remembered the temple, the smithy he had used as an obstacle to evade the guards, and the two-story building where he had fought Henry. Aside from that, all he had were his old home and the sifting grounds.


    On the upside that guaranteed anywhere, he hid would be random. The downside was, he had no idea what places were prudent hiding locations. So he decided on a location that was both obvious and unexpected. He went to the old temple. It was just as large and gaudy as it was previously, though a layer of dust covered the statues of Vent, Furnace, and Ripple. Tristan was not sure if that was a type of sacrilege or if they believed the wooden carvings were simply well-cut pieces of timber.


    When he pushed on the doors he found them barred from the interior. The fact that it was a bar was a good sign, as it could only be placed from the interior. After circling the building he found a back door that had a fancy brass lock on it. It would not take the standard key, but it was made of un-augmented metal and Tristan was several times stronger than the people it was made to stop. He backed up and sprinted into the door shoulder first.


    The lock held, but the wooden catch did not. It splintered inward giving Tristan access to the temple. Everything inside was dark and it became even darker when he shut the door behind him. He was in some kind of storage closet, there were spare desks, extra lecterns, what looked like painting supplies, and many other things that were difficult to identify in the gloom. Tristan dragged one of the desks over to block the door closed. It would not stop anyone, but they should still assume the door to be locked.


    What he was looking for was a quiet place to meditate. He needed his kern to be repaired as quickly as possible. Thankfully it was a simple break, not something like the destruction that had occurred in the dissonic silver flames. This empty temple would be just what he needed. He exited the storage closet and found himself in the main court of the building.


    The stained glass of the windows was darkening as the sunset. Tristan looked over the room, all the wooden pews had cloths draped over them, presumably to keep the dust off. He decided the Guider¡¯s office would be the best location, not because strategically it was better. If hiding was the most important factor, then he would crawl under the pews and meditate there. The Guider¡¯s office simply had comfy chairs.


    Chairs that were fortunately still there. He walked around the desk and sat down. He started to hum a mindless tune while he focused on recovery. The last healing reservoir he had taken was not able to completely heal him, but he would say he was at around eighty percent, at least physically. He still had a fist-shaped brand in the center of his chest, it was not the worst scar he could get, but also not one he would prefer to keep.


    The broken kern put itself together in a relatively rapid period of time. Eleven hours was not bad. He did suspect that the more forces he was able to draw upon the more quickly it would repair. It would never be fast enough to make it safe during a fight but, eventually, it might not ruin his day.


    He sighed in relief, and let his metal sense expand again. It was disconcerting to lose something he relied so heavily on every time his kern broke. It covered most of the temple by this point, informing Tristan of every nail and screw within a hundred and fifty feet. He was interested to find that the frame that held the stained glass in place was metal. There was also something much closer.


    Right behind Guider Daphan¡¯s desk was a false wall. It was well hidden even from Tristan''s senses. In fact, the only reason he discovered it was because the camouflaged door still possessed metal hinges. Was it a secret escape passage to the sewers?


    Tristan probed the wall trying to find a way in. It had to be something Guider Daphan could do. He was tier three, but he was also old, meaning it was not a strength based latch. Sliding his nails along the wooden slats of the wall found no gap. There was not even the outline of a door he could trace.


    The opposite side of the door was in a corner, making the straight edge that would allow the door to swing blend in seamlessly. When scraping did not work, he tried prodding. He only found something because he was looking for it. At any other time, he would have chalked it up to degradation due to the passage of time.


    Two separate boards could be depressed. This would flex the opposite side up and release a catch that was holding the door closed. Once the door was released, it swung open silently revealing a hole cut straight into the ground. It went down almost as far as his metal sense could. Tristan frowned, that was much deeper than the sewers should be. If his senses had not expanded by a few feet he would not have been able to feel the faint amount of metal coming from below.


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    It was almost as if it was made specifically to avoid the senses of civil protectors, as they should barely be tier four. That thought caused a greedy gin to spread across Tristan¡¯s face. If it was hidden from a civil protector, then it was something a person in his tier would want. Well, that was only true if it had not already been moved to the head family''s home. That dowsed Tristan¡¯s excitement, there was a good chance he had burned all his prospective valuables before claiming them.


    There was a ladder made of wooden pegs set into the wall. Again, no kern would be able to sense those. He tested his weight on them, it was very likely that they would support Daphan and not himself. They groaned under his weight but did not break. Not wanting to test his luck, Tristan hurried down. No light came from below and there was not enough metal to see his surroundings with.


    He groped around for a few minutes. There was a strong feeling of metal essence coming from the opposite side of the room, but he soon realized he was seeing it through one or more walls. That was one of the flaws of his metal sense, he could not feel what was between himself and the metal.


    Thinking for a moment, he retrieved the pendant he had taken from Regis. It glowed ever so slightly, but not enough to illuminate his surroundings. He was after the essence inside. Turning he tore one of the rungs out of its bracket. The amulet was set in its natural formation, draining every piece of fire essence from the one wearing it. When reversed it would push fire essence into anything that was wearing it.


    He wrapped it around the rung and then inverted the reservoir. Sure enough within a few minutes, he had a torch. It would not last long, but it gave him enough light to find and light a candle sitting on a side table. He stomped the rung out on the floor and proceeded with the candle. The whole interior was made out of stone bricks and had a half-cylinder construction.


    There were no glow stones, most likely to avoid Henry¡¯s attention. Along one wall were barrels filled with wooden staves, all of them painted a golden color. Beside them were hoops with mounting brackets. He was standing in the room where the acolytes had their weapons constructed.


    Next, his eyes settled on trays of round molds, and beside them was a box filled with essence reservoirs. Most had not been attuned to an element yet. There was a good number of them inside. Tristan was not going to waste time counting them, he would steal them and make something with them. Or more realistically, make healing reservoirs.


    The underground area was split in half by a wall. He felt something filled with metal essence waiting to be claimed inside the other room. He found a doorway, that lacked a door. Any intruder that successfully found this place would not be impaired by a simple lock. Inside the other room were completed staves with untuned reservoirs installed. He liberated those.


    The opposite wall held several objects some familiar, some foreign. He was excited when he discovered his daggers. Once he discovered how valuable the reservoirs attached to them were, he assumed they would be repurposed. Their cutting ability had to make this this workshop¡¯s job much easier.


    He picked them up. They no longer felt familiar, he had grown too much without them. They had a tier five reservoir, meaning it was a safe artifact to use now. However, the unstoppable cutting power was no longer as absolute as it was before. Most of what they could slice he could simply break with his hands.


    Adamance was a good force, but these blades relied on simple geometry to cut. The enemies he had to worry about could bend the laws of nature to serve them. He would keep the daggers, but as his opponents grew they would quickly reach their limit.


    Next on the wall was a familiar bracelet. It was the pair to the one the assassin tried to use. Tristan couldn¡¯t use it, but he still pocketed the device. His hands were already full, but he promised to return and reclaim the rest.


    That was when he heard voices, ¡°I don¡¯t know why he left the door open?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be considered a secret room if you don¡¯t lock it up?¡± Another voice scoffed.


    Tristan blew out his candle, plunging the chamber into darkness. Now that he had seen both rooms he would be able to navigate through them. He just hoped that neither of them had a dark kern.


    There was a thud followed by some swearing, ¡°Forsaken Guider, there¡¯s a rung missing.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the warning,¡± Two feet landed on the floor, ¡°Where is the candle? Jin, I think there¡¯s someone down here.¡±


    ¡°Then be quiet, oaf,¡± The one who fell said.


    Tristan approached the empty doorway. When he felt the stone touch his fingers, he hid just inside the doorway. It would be hard to see him unless one fully entered the room.


    ¡°Do you want me to make some light?¡± Oaf asked.


    ¡°No, wait while I check things out,¡± Jin said.


    So a light and a dark kern. The light kern could glow like a glow stick, though this one needing a candle meant he had a weak kern. Dark kerns could see well in darkness at any tier, but from his fall, Tristan assumed him to be low tier as well.


    He could not hear Jin¡¯s footsteps, but the man kept up a constant stream of whispers, despite telling Oaf to be quiet, ¡°the essence spheres are gone,¡± he kept moving, ¡°the candle is in the middle of the other room. I think this place was robbed.¡±


    ¡°Are they still here?¡± Oaf asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any oh, for-¡° Jin¡¯s voice cut off when Tristan''s left hand closed around his shoulder and his right knocked him out with a single strike to the face.


    ¡°Jin, Jin. Are you dead?¡± Oaf asked his voice trembling.


    Tristan needed to ask these two some questions.

 169. You Work for Me Now

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I have a wife, and a pig,¡± Oaf pleaded, ¡°We might eat the pig, but don¡¯t kill me before I can.¡±


    Tristan stared down at the kneeling man. He had never realized how uncomfortable it was to watch a grown man cry. Tristan had dragged the unconscious body of Jin over to the mouth of the cave, and upon hearing the noise, Oaf had panicked and started glowing. The man could not glow for long but it had been enough to utterly terrify the man.


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to kill you,¡± Tristan sighed, ¡°Now who are you and what are you doing here?¡±


    Oaf sniffled and looked up, ¡°We are the people who make the staves for the temple. Now that there is no one left to use the staves we are out of a job. We thought that if the temple did not need the artifacts, we might as well take them for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not very acolytish of you,¡± Tristan said dropping Jin¡¯s unconscious body on the floor.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t acolytes, just craftsmen, I¡¯m a carpenter, specializing in detailed engraving, my very good and definitely should be left alive friend, is a jeweler,¡± Oaf said all of this on a single breath.


    Airside from the the oddity of a dark kern specializing in the creation glittery objects, Tristan should have expected something like this. When warriors traveled to the ramparts, they would use merchants to carry their supplies, despite them not being part of the military. It was reasonable for the temple to outsource.


    Tristan felt a little bad about ruining these people¡¯s livelihood. Jin stirred. Both of them looked over at the prone man. Head shots either knocked someone out until a healer was found, or only for a minute or two. Tristan was glad that this was the former scenario.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill him,¡± Oaf begged.


    Tristan rolled his eyes, though the only person who could see it was coming out of unconsciousness, ¡°What¡¯s going on upstairs, I assume a search of some kind? Where are they looking?¡±


    Oaf slowly nodded, ¡°Yeah, some maniac burned down Elder Forrest¡¯s old mansion. Guider Daphan almost died. It was bad, man.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°They¡¯re going from house to house looking for him, though if he¡¯s any good at hiding he¡¯ll get away. Anyone that can hurt Ajax¡¯s mad dog won¡¯t be stopped by a simple search team,¡± Oaf babbled, ¡°They are passing out charcoal sketches of him, but he looks pretty average. Black hair pale skin, well built¡­¡± Oaf trailed off when he realized that he was describing Tristan, ¡°Oh gods, I¡¯m going to die. This is my punishment for stealing from the temple.¡±


    Tristan considered knocking Oaf out and trying his luck with Jin. Unfortunately, Jin was still a little loopy. So he settled for slapping Oaf.


    ¡°You work for me now,¡± Tristan said, he had a small plan forming, ¡°I will not pay you in essence reservoirs, but artifacts. Upon the completion of this task I will allow you to ask for one artifact to use for yourself, and I will custom design it for you.¡±


    ¡°Can you do that?¡± Oaf asked, greed creeping in.


    Tristan could in fact, not do that. However he was not far off. From what he could gather, he would need to form something called a channel. Normally this was done through rune pathways, as most creators could not simply make metal with the required channels within. Once Tristan figured out those channels, it would be simple, plug in an essence reservoir of the correct essence type and the job was done.


    While all of that was most likely a gross oversimplification of a complex process, Tristan was sure he could figure it out. What could these two want that he couldn¡¯t make? He had mainly light and dark alloys after all. The only one that did not fall under those essence types was infusion, which seemed to have a foot in every element, even fire.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan said projections his confidence, ¡°Find several people for me and direct them towards their local vault.¡±


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    Oaf¡¯s face fell, he most likely thought that Tristan wanted him to pillage several other Temple vaults. There were so many reservoirs down there that it would not be hard to skim some off the collection.


    ¡°There is a woman by the name of Harp, she¡¯s looking after a few dozen children in the River Caldera. If things get really bad tell her where to hide,¡± Tristan said, ¡°And a person named Siren. Tell them that Tristan sent you. He is a warrior, but also honorable, you can trust him. Once you have done both tasks I will make your artifact.¡±


    Oaf nodded quickly, ¡°Yes sir, I can do that.¡±


    Tristan was not sure if he was saying yes, because that was what he genuinely intended to do or because he was scared of saying no. Either way, preparing a warning for the people he knew had paid off when the Lord of the Underworld had gotten free. He saw no reason for it to change now. He chose Harp and Siren simply due to the fact that they had the most overlap with the people he cared about. Harp watched the miner¡¯s children and would also be in contact with their spouses, while Siren led the army that Conni and Luke were part of.


    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll leave you to your looting then,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I was not able to find a large enough bag to take it all.¡±


    While he wanted to return and take it himself, Tristan was aware that he would probably never be back. Not unless the caldera defeated the Lord of the Underworld and Tristan somehow beat the temple to this underground workshop. It was better to let these two take everything, Tristan already had most of the items that were immediately useful.


    He climbed the shaft, leaving both Oaf and Jin down in the darkness. Jin to regain awareness and Oaf to one day enjoy his pig. He thought about breaking off some of the lower rungs. It would not trap them, as there was more than enough material to make more, but it would delay them. In the end he decided against it, he should not hinder a person he was requesting a service from, especially as he lacked a way to enforce it.


    The temple was the same, with one exception. This was one of the few buildings with a direct connection to the sewers, courtesy of their toilets. There was a ladder propped up against the interior of the toilets. Tristan shuddered at the thought of slogging through the sewers, his last experience had been horrifying. He would use the back door.


    Moving furniture out of the way, he exited the Temple. The back door was in an alley, the temple took up an entire side, while various businesses took up the other. He started towards the end of the alley and stepped out onto the street. People were wandering around doing their daily chores. They did not seem perturbed in the slightest that someone had broken into their city and attacked its heart.


    Shaking his head Tristan knew that his appearance was not uncommon. However one thing set him apart, and it was something he had no way to hide at the moment. Golden eyes. Normally he liked them, but right now he wished the color was grey to blend in better. He thought about it for a moment and decided that if he could not hide, then he would just walk confidently out in the open.


    Regis was the only one who could stop him, and he should still be recovering. Tristan remembered Eve saying something about healing artifacts being hoarded by the Elders. He saw no reason for Elder Forrest to be any different, so while the artifacts most likely survived, they would need to dig them up with Tier two and below labor before healing Regis.


    He stepped forward and started walking around the temple. This time he intended to go around the smithy, instead of over its roof. Curiously, simply not acting suspicious was enough to stop people from looking at him. They would look right at him, but not register his existence. They had seen a charcoal sketch of him last night, though a well made sketch could not be mass produced in the necessary numbers in just a few hours. Not unless it was simple, which would make Tristans already generic features harder to notice.


    Smiling to himself he crossed a street, went around the smithy and laid his eyes on the building he and Henry demolished. The wall had not been properly repaired. A sheet of wood plugged the hole, making the building look abandoned. The cobbler could still be seen making boots through the window, so Tristan knew it was still occupied.


    Originally he had intended to wait atop the building¡¯s roof. However, if Shadow Fist was true to form, there would be some other angle he was trying to control. Maybe there would be reinforcements, maybe Regis would show up. Tristan had no way to know.


    His inspection moved to the building adjacent to the cobbler¡¯s home. It was just as tall and owned by an elderly seamstress. He decided to wait on top of that building for sunset. If Shadow Fist was good and showed up alone, Tristan could always get his attention with Vulcan¡¯s flame. On the other hand, if Shadow Fist resorted to his standard set of tricks, Tristan could take him by surprise.


    Climbing the building was easy. He only needed to jump and catch the second story window sill, pull himself up onto the ledge that ran around the first floor, then jump again to grab the edge of the roof. While he did loosen a brick, it was much less damaging than using the reverse edge of his knives to climb.


    This roof had two rocking chairs, a table, and a cabinet full of drying tea leaves. Aside from the low wall running around the edge, it was bare compared to the cobbler¡¯s roof. Tristan sat and started having a one sided conversation with Vulcan. He hoped that one day the lamp would heal enough to talk.

 170. Don’t Kill Him

    Boredom was Tristan¡¯s greatest enemy. He had arrived on the roof about three hours after sunrise and had scheduled his meeting with Shadow Fist at sunset. Why hadn¡¯t he picked noon? He had successfully kicked the ant¡¯s nest and could not risk wandering around. Tier four was strong, but not enough to clean out the entire guard force of the Forrest Caldera.


    Vulcan remained silent, and talking to a lamppost stashed in a separate dimension got boring after fifteen minutes. He did not even have his books on alchemy to distract himself with. So he decided to experiment with his infusion alloy. Rummaging through the old seamstress¡¯s tea cabinet he found a few potted plants. He could not identify them but assumed that they were some kind of herbs. Keeping potted herbs in a cabinet was odd, but what did he know about plants?


    Infusion alloy did nothing when he injected it into the plant. Plants could absorb forces, so why was this one resisting? Frowning he poked one of its leaves. Plants normally lacked metal essence, but infusion should bypass the issue. Any plant growing in an area filled with a force would absorb it and start exhibiting traits similar to that force. Trees with the force of combustion might have flaming fruit and be resistant to fire, for example.


    Growth. They needed to absorb it as they grew. Tristan could accomplish that. He grabbed the largest volume of growth essence he could and shoved it into the herb. The already fully grown plant exploded. Tristan was covered in a light film of green particles. He returned the now empty pot, hoping that the seamstress did not need the plant too badly.


    Hours passed and Tristan watched as people passed below. There were even several patrols who came through and checked the business. No one came upstairs. Finally, the sun started dipping toward the horizon. Tristan inspected the opposite roof, he could not see anything. Sunset would last for around twenty minutes, so there was still time.


    If Shadow Fist did not show himself, Tristan was not sure what he would do. Siren would be arriving tomorrow, and that was when the real chaos would begin. If Tristan did not get Shadow Fist out, Commander Blacklake would kill him. Tiers did make people resistant to poison, but not to the same degree as physical assaults. A poison that could kill twenty men would kill anyone up to mid tier seven, some snakes produced venom that potent, so it was not hard to come by.


    The sun disappeared, leaving only the pinkish-red tint staining the east. Shadow Fist had not shown himself. Tristan sighed thinking about his next step. Some of the guards might know where Shadow Fist slept. Getting the information out of them would not be too difficult. Even without violence, they only needed a mortally sick relative for a healing reservoir to loosen their tongues.


    He mused on that. Being fixated on the path of violence had shut so many doors. While he still believed violence to be a valuable skill to have, he was coming around to Vulcan¡¯s point of view. The path of a crafter opened nearly every door and made few true enemies.


    ¡°I thought we were meeting on the other rooftop?¡± Shadow Fist said.


    Tristan almost jumped out of his skin. He turned in a circle, looking for his father, but he was nowhere to be found. The roof only had a wicker chair for cover, so he couldn¡¯t be hiding. Taking a deep breath, Tristan stopped using his eyes. The chair was made with wooden pegs as was the cabinet. There was a faint ring of metal about ten feet off to his left.


    Tristan looked over at the empty space, ¡°Tier four?¡±


    A surprised looking Shadow Fist materialized on the edge of the roof, ¡°How did you find me, I removed all the metal from myself.¡±


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    Tristan smirked Shadow Fist was incapable of removing every piece of metal. Marriage into a head family involved a tattoo, it was supposed to signify both loyalty and as a permanent sign to the whole Caldera that a person was important. The Forrest Caldera had a tree encapsulated in what was supposed to be the moon. A moon that got its color due to the silver mixed into the dye.


    ¡°Your shoulder,¡± Tristan smirked. The information was not too important, after all, what would Shadow Fist do, slice his arm off?


    Tattoo aside, Shadow Fist had done a good job avoiding metal. He was wearing black leather armor with ties as opposed to buckles. Two bone knives were sheathed at his waste. Tristan did not believe that mythical beast bone was superior to metal, but he did not know what the properties of the material were.


    ¡°Why are you here? Did you come just to throw a temper tantrum at the temple?¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°No, that was an impulse, they sent an assassin after a friend. So I made sure they couldn¡¯t do it again. The reason I came was for you.¡±


    Shadow Fist tensed. Tristan was now sure the only reason he had arrived alone was entirely due to his invisibility. Hadrid had made it very clear that every force was all powerful, but the people who used it could be worked around. If Shadow Fist had lacked the tattoo there were other ways to find him. Compressing his metal sense to just the five hundred square foot rooftop would make his metal sense over fifty times more intense. At that level, Tristan would be able to see the iron in Shadow Fist¡¯s blood and also get a headache.


    ¡°Why? Is it for revenge?¡± Shadow Fist said.


    ¡°No, I was told to remove you from the Forest Caldera, and I chose to just capture you,¡± Tristan kept his focus on Shadow Fist while he looked up at the sky, ¡°Despite how terrible you are, I don¡¯t really want to kill you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± There was an odd tone in his voice. Tristan was not good at reading emotions, being around both extremely stable and extremely volatile people made his judgment of the average very poor.


    ¡°You think I just run around killing people for no reason?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Kind of,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°The last time I met you was when you were about to stab Henry after pulling you off a battlefront where you were known for your confrontational personality. Then you burn most of the clergy alive.¡±


    ¡°You instigated the first one, and the second was deserved, anyone following those forsaken dead gods is bound to be crazy,¡± Tristan said, his patience running out, ¡°Now are you coming willingly, or do I need to drag you out of here?¡±


    ¡°No, you may think I¡¯m a monster, but I have the best interest of my family in mind,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°You can¡¯t beat Ajax. What¡¯s more, why would you want to, he¡¯s a fairer ruler than any of the Elders were.¡±


    Something inside Tristan started heating up. He wanted to keep his emotions under control. Last time he had snapped and beaten Shadow Fist half to death. With weapons involved, the man would die, bone weapons would fail before the might of Vulcan.


    ¡°Still you go on about what is best for the family. Do you not hear yourself? Your wife¡¯s brother is being executed. Helen fled to the the River Caldera as a broken mess,¡± Tristan grimaced when Shadow Fist¡¯s eyes sharpened, he hadn¡¯t known where Helen was, ¡°You abandoned me, you¡¯ve abandoned your family.¡±


    ¡°I did all I could for you. What more could I have done?¡± Shadow Fist yelled, ¡°I sent you to the fairest person I knew. Do you think Conni showed up in the sifting yard by accident? He¡¯s a warden, why would he inspect innocent children for work among convicts? I warned you about the ghost crabs. You know how inheritance laws work, why would I deny my secondborn the chance to be the next Elder? My daughter was the only child in the family. Did you want to take that from her just to feel good?¡±


    Tristan could admit that Shadow Fist had been dealt a bad hand in the last few years. However, who hadn¡¯t? Everyone had been affected in some way by the events of the last few years. Two different apocalypses had occurred, one from mythical beasts and one from the undead.


    ¡°No, I simply expected you to be a dad, but this is not about your lack of qualifications as a father,¡± Tristan answered keeping his anger under control, ¡°You are coming with me.¡±


    The sheer entitlement made Tristan even more angry. Shadow Fist and Helen claimed to do everything for their family it was a load of garbage. He had been woken up by little Tris after his heart was healed. She had parroted ¡°Harp is here.¡± Neither was really there for her, the neighbor¡¯s kid was though.


    ¡°I¡¯m not coming with you,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°And I don¡¯t think you can make me.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°What, are you just going to run away? Sure I would struggle to find you in the dark, but you won¡¯t be able to make any appearances in the city while I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to hide,¡± Shadow Fist said, ¡°Don¡®t kill him.¡±


    Tristan was unsure what he was talking about. Then Shadow Fist jumped off the roof before the building exploded.

 171. Capturing Memories

    Rage filled Tristan. Now that he was no longer focused on Shadow Fist, he could feel the artifact sword that Regis normally used. He could also feel the full suit of tower plate. They had planned this, before ever arriving.


    It was logical. Shadow Fist was political, Regis was military, and Tristan had attacked their city. In hindsight, that message had been stupid, a boyish desire to build a bridge. The upside was he now had someone to take his anger out on.


    Vulcan was summoned as the roof exploded. Tristan had never used the artifact to his full capacity. The way Tristan normally used it would lead people to assume that teleportation was Vulcan''s only ability. It was just a standard ability that all soul tools shared. Vulcan was a tier fifteen reservoir of flame and metal with the forces of gravity, adamance, and combustion.


    A plate of adamant enforced metal formed under his feet. He shot up into the air like a cork from a bottle. Mentally he heard a groan, it was pained. Tristan¡¯s anger was immediately dowsed. Did he hurt Vulcan? Should he stop? Escaping would not be an issue, but he could not win if he was planning on holding back.


    There were no words, just pain, a desperation to remain conscious, and an image. Tristan had trouble seeing it through the tiredness and pain, but an image of a brackish pond with a dam at one end came into view. The dam was shattered allowing the dirty water to flow out and the river feeding it to replenish the pond with new water.


    Tristan understood. The benefit of communicating mentally was that intent was always baked into the message. Tristan needed to empty Vulcan so he could refill with pure essence from the Primordial Realm. Only that would not happen in a single day, Vulcan had over one hundred times the essence reserves and the quality of the forces within were extreme.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you back,¡± Tristan muttered.


    Armor imbued with adamance coated his body. Gravity dragged it back down. All of this was scaled down to tier four as that was all Tristan could handle, but the result was still cataclysmic. Regis scrambled to get out of the way as Tristan slammed into the, now open, second floor. He was so heavy and moving so fast that he punched straight through the second floor without buckling it.


    The impact on the ground floor caused a shockwave that damaged several load-bearing walls. Tristan sent out a pulse of compact metal sense to find the seamstress. She was gone, the narrowed field of his sense would have picked up the iron in her blood even if she were dead.


    With his last hesitation gone, Tristan copied Regis. A wave of combustion-imbued flame washed out. The walls caught fire even though they were made of stone. Cursing came from the floor above as Regis decided to bail from the burning building.


    Tristan intercepted him on the way down. Gripping Vulcan with both hands, Tristan swung as hard as he could. Regis¡¯s fall was abruptly redirected into the smithy across the street. Now outside the seamstress¡¯s burning home, Tristan found the building surrounded by an assortment of enemies.


    Most were human, they were looking between Tristan and the smithy that Regis had yet to exit. None of them seemed like they wanted a fight. The rest of the group was made of various low tier elementals.


    ¡°I will burn this whole street in five seconds,¡± Tristan yelled over the crackling of the bonfire behind him.


    The humans took a step backward. Tristan knew some of these people, Keith was in the crowd. He knew some of their families and had no desire to kill them just because his father was a fool.


    ¡°One!¡± He raised the lamppost over his head.


    He needed something flashy. A common fire warrior tactic was to compress a flame construct to a single point before releasing it in a massive explosion. It was powerful and looked like a tiny sun. The dissonance Vulcan absorbed gave the flames a metallic hue as Tristan collected the fire.


    A ball of roiling golden energy formed above him. Tristan had a thought, did gravity affect fire? Moreover, did adamance? He couldn¡¯t picture adamance and fire working together, but gravity just pushed things down. Not putting any thought into the consequences he applied it to the fire.


    ¡°Two,¡± Tristan yelled.


    The compressed orb took on a dark color, looking almost like an eclipse. Wind started to drift towards the point, and the weight of his armor lessened. The fire behind Tristan flickered toward the black construct like it wanted to consume it.


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    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°If you forsaken cowards run, I will gut you!¡± Regis yelled as he limped out of the wrecked smithy.


    So he was not completely healed. Something sharp slid between the joint on his pauldron and armpit. He felt the sharp point prick his skin, but the chain mail he had made stopped the blade from sliding deeper. While turning to confront Shadow Fist, he sent consumption alloy to remove any toxin involved.


    Shadow Fist ducked under Tristan¡¯s kick. Catching the foot and throwing it into the air, he sent Tristan flailing to the ground. Tristan was not used to fighting in armor, it slowed him and made him more clumsy in exchange for borderline invulnerability. Regis closed in and swung his black flaming sword at Tristan. There was no way for it to break adamance-laced armor, but he was not going to bet that combustion could not ignite it.


    The sword fell and Tristan intercepted it with the eclipsed sun at the tip of the lamppost. The result was immediate as everything the gravity was holding in place was released. Tristan had not known what to expect from a fusion of multiple powerful forces, a bigger boom probably. What he got was both that and nothing like it.


    Everything color was drowned by white, as light escaped the construct. Then the tier three artifact Regis held was ripped apart. Not like metal, more like sand, then the force hit. No fire - only pure, oppressive force. If it was standing it was flattened, the flames on the seamstress¡¯s shop were smothered at the building was flattened. Guards were forced down with cries of pain, elementals were snuffed out, and Tristan was pressed down a few inches into the cobblestone street.


    The adamance-laced armor handled the blast easily, leaving Tristan mostly unharmed. Regis and the guards had similar luck due to their armor, though they started in a standing position. Most cried out in pain as they clutched at injured legs. Regis could barely move his leg, most likely because of a torn muscle or tendon.


    Tearing himself out of the road Tristan could only look around in awe. This was scaled down to his tier. An entire city block had been damaged. Not all of the buildings had collapsed, but all looked ready to be condemned. If he could do this in three seconds as a tier four what could Vulcan do? Tristan remembered the blast that had sheared the top of the mountain they now called home off. His feat was nothing, it was done with help, but one day he would be able to do things like that.


    Looking down at his father, Tristan shook his head. He had warned the man, come willingly, or come unwillingly, it did not matter. Shadow Fist was conscious but dazed, his ankle was swelling, whether, from a break or a sprain, Tristan did not know. It would stop him from escaping. He grabbed his father by his arms and made a set of manacle constructs. He did not bother with any specific force, as Shadow Fist could nullify it with consumption over time. What he could do nothing about was a fifty-pound metal brick encasing his hands from the wrists down.


    Turning to Regis, he contemplated killing the man. Though he was not sure how long it would take to get through the armor. Just because he was immobile did not make him defenseless. Not that it was an issue, Tristan could just make a large metal construct, set it on top of Regis, and then stab him in the eye with a decay coated needle. Tristan frowned, the ease of it was unnerving, and he was starting to understand the dismissive attitude that the gods showed for their follower¡¯s survival. When the strongest of men was forced to kneel, what did that make their conqueror? Something more than a man.


    Regis seemed to read his mind, ¡°Stay away or I¡¯ll combust my own kern.¡±


    Tristan called his bluff, rapping his knuckles on the armor, he said, ¡°Right, this armor was made with the force of adamance, it is harder than tower plate. At worst I¡¯ll have to walk a few feet farther to leave the Caldera.¡±


    Regis¡¯s kern would not generate force as caustic or as powerful as Hadrid¡¯s death. It would be powerful, every fire attuned part of his body would explode. However, every part of him was not enough to scratch force enhanced armor. There was even a chance his tower plate would contain it.


    Golden flames started collecting around the ethereal glass frame at the top of the lamppost. Regis seemed to realize that his armor would be just as undamaged as Tristan¡¯s, he tried to stand, but the damaged muscles and heavy armor kept him down.


    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t kill me, I am blessed by the gods,¡± Regis hissed. Tristan had expected fear, maybe pleading, but not disbelief. The fool really could not understand why this was happening.


    He had a good answer, ¡°Four!¡±


    All the guards who weren¡¯t already crawling away began to flee. He did not want to catch them in the blast so he paused for a few seconds. Lacking a fire kern hobbled his innate understanding of flame, so he had no idea how big the blast zone would be.


    ¡°I am blessed by the god of Fire! You can¡¯t kill me with fire,¡± Regis started laughing.


    Tristan felt a little pity for the man, he had pushed too hard and shown Tristan another way to use his power. He dipped into his reserves and mixed infusion, consumption, and decay. It did not take long after all the forces of alloy and infusion enjoyed mixing. In the past he had wondered if composite forces were possible, not even realizing that was what the healing force was.


    Then he mixed gravity and combustion. No finesse was used, just the brute power that Vulcan brought to bear. This time Tristan utilized the deadly cycle of consumption and decay. He infused the flame with decay alloy. It faded to a dull brown and rippled more like a liquid than like a flame.


    ¡°Five,¡±


    Tristan let the condensed decay infuse fire into the prone man. He stared at the result. Combustion made everything barring the armor light on fire, consumption allowed it to eat through things it normally couldn¡¯t, and decay took that fuel and eradicated anything organic. This flame would not run out of power until the combustion force that fed the whole chain was exhausted. Regis did not even have a chance to scream, as the mud colored flames poured through his visor.

 172. Fleeing the Scene of the Crime

    The fire had barely any blast zone, functioning like a hose spewing liquid. The cobblestones burned as the flame started spreading across them. Brown slowly bled into orange and yellow as the forces that gave it supernatural properties could not sustain themselves. Still, there were many divots and craters around Regis¡¯s corpse. Tristan would bet that whoever found the armor would only find ash inside.


    Grabbing Shadow Fist he draped him over his shoulders in a fireman carry. He had a long walk and could not drag the man the entire way. None of the guards tried to stop him, both the ones that could still walk simply averted their eyes from Shadow Fist. Blacklake had wanted a distraction, and Tristan would say he had outdone himself. He wondered if the execution was still set to proceed, Elder Forrest might be a forgotten commodity after this.


    Tristan started jogging. It was night time and the recent twilight was eery. The light in the east had been getting progressively brighter over the last few weeks. The winter night was warm. Tristan was starting to get concerned and wished Vulcan could reassure him that it was a simple volcano. He pushed his worry aside, it was not productive, and it would not do to worry about the light.


    He was slowed down by Shadow Fist, but not to an unreasonable degree. When he had approached the Forrest Caldera, he had been base tier four. After fighting Regis he wanted to think he was around twenty percent of the way into the tier. The second fight had not been a challenge at all. Regis had not waited and healed himself, Tristan would have been surprised if the man had a partially empty kern.


    Vulcan would be an issue. This was the first time he had utilized the soul weapons full power. In short, Vulcan was too strong to keep and too important to set aside. There would be little danger in the Caldera after the Lord of the Underworld was dealt with. He needed to heal Vulcan as fast as he could.


    Emptying Vulcan of essence was not possible, as he was always absorbing more in the primordial realm. However, if enough polluted essence was removed, the problem would get diluted into being a nonissue. Tristan had no idea how long it would take, but he already had an idea.


    The armor he had was starting to turn into a silver steam. It was a surprise and also concerning. If constructs eventually reverted to essence, then what about the screws holding the war machines together? Another Vulcan question. He knew that his constructs lasted much longer, the chain mail shirt he had made back at the mine had shown no signs of dispersing. Tristan was doubtful that it was due to his power.


    Testing out the comparison he made a bracelet on his left arm using Vulcan¡¯s reservoir, and one on the right using his own. If neither disappeared, then he would know something else was amiss. However, that would take an hour or so, in the meantime he had a father who was slowly coming out of shock.


    ¡°What in all that is unholy was that,¡± Shadow Fist whispered.


    There was a good amount of horror in his voice. The last time they had fought, Tristan had been mid tier two as opposed to Shadow Fist¡¯s peak tier two. Now Shadow Fist was a base tier four against Tristan¡¯s early tier four. Tristan had better weapons, training, opponents, and teachers than Shadow Fist. It should not have come as a surprise when the heavy armor lays out a beating to the stealth specialist.


    ¡°Did you expect it to go any differently? I almost beat Henry as a tier two, you were there,¡± Tristan snorted.


    Shadow Fist took a few moments to process Tristan¡¯s words and a few more to gather the air to respond, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a strong fighter. I should have only needed a little help.¡±


    There was a relatively unknown fact in the Caldera, one that Shadow Fist was unaware of. Fighting changed as someone grew stronger, an invisible tell would become easily noticed at higher tiers. Elements affected the body more, adding and removing options. In short, an experienced tier two would not result in an experienced tier four, unless he was also fighting tier fours at tier two.


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    This was why Tristan was better than most people he met. He had been trained against tier fours, and Luke was even keeping his lead. Cutting his way through several elemental armies had gotten him halfway to tier six. That was what separated Siren¡¯s elites from the rest of the caldera. It was a brutal and often discouraging way to grow, but Tristan could not argue with the results.


    ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Tristan said, ¡°You were handed your tier, and you get what you pay for.¡±


    Shadow Fist did not talk for the next thirty minutes. It gave the armor plenty of time to dissipate, however, Tristan noticed something odd. The construct around Shadow Fist¡¯s hands showed no sign of dissipating. Taking down both Shadow Fist and Regis had only taken a few minutes, so why would the metal show no signs of dissipating?


    Looking at the bracelets, he saw no sign of dispersal. Was it as simple as both objects lacking a force? Tristan made a third bracelet with Vulcan¡¯s reserves and dumped as much adamance as he could into it. A few moments later, the world¡¯s most durable bracelet was made. Five minutes after that, it started smoking.


    So this was the reason force channels were important in crafting. It was not a perfect conclusion, as tower steel lacked those channels, but was still filled with a force. This was frustrating, a lack of information was not something he was used to. He would just have to use trial and error to learn, like a normal person.


    ¡°What are you planning to do to me?¡± Shadow Fist muttered. His voice was hollow, almost as if he had given up.


    Tristan tried to shrug, but the way he was carrying Shadow Fist made it difficult, ¡°I don¡¯t know. We will likely throw you in a cell where no one has to deal with you.¡±


    Originally, Tristan would have said no prison could hold a tier four. However, his understanding of the tier¡¯s limits let him know that was false. They were just stronger versions of a regular human, so many of the answers that could halt a normal person would still work. Tranquilizers would work, and it would be entirely possible to snip some tendons. Healing could patch them up later if it was ever found to be necessary.


    ¡°Then why did you even bother?¡± Shadow Fist asked.


    Tristan had been wondering the same thing. He could not understand it himself. Because we are family sounded nice, but it was also shallow. It was a feeling of unwillingness to do nothing and watch his father die. It was likely the same reason that Shadow Fist had not slid one of his poisoned bone knives between Tristan''s ribs. He did not have to announce himself, in fact, the ambush would have been successful if he hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°There is a man who rattles on about doing what is right, not what feels right,¡± Tristan started, unsure himself where the train of thought was heading, ¡°I don¡¯t think it''s a creed that gives him what he wants in life. It gives him something I want though, he has a purpose. After the Lord of the Underworld is dead, my current purpose will be pointless. The only two people in the Caldera able to oppress me will be friends. It makes struggling to grow my power seem meaningless. Maybe I will leave the Caldera, but I don¡¯t want to leave with regrets.¡±


    He had channeled his teenage anger into a bullheaded pursuit of power. It would have killed him if anything had been slightly different. Now, there seemed to be less and less to be angry about and more to be grateful about. When some random person scorned him for his kern, it felt less like a system was oppressing him and more like a child was throwing a temper tantrum. Best to ignore it and move on to people he could get along with.


    The trees gave way to plains. Tristan had to jump the ditch dug around the large grassland. He was pretty sure that all the ghost crabs had been wiped out, but they were still a threat to him. A guard crab variant would be able to do a lot of damage with its scythe like claws if it caught him by surprise.


    They did not see any sign of the large creatures. The unseasonable warmth had allowed the snow to melt and water the ground. Weeds, wild wheat, and corn had started to sprout. All the deaths and corpses had probably been good for the soil.


    Two hours later, the River Caldera had come into view. Tristan had contemplated taking Shadow Fist to the Lake Caldera, but he was not sure where they could put him. He also did not want Blacklake to have access to him until after everything had blown over. Not that Shadow Fist would not be questioned, he just would not be tortured.


    He also knew that Helen was fragile. She was like a broken vase that had been poorly glued together, and he was sure that being able to speak to her husband could help. Little Tris would probably want to see him as well.


    There were no guards outside the gate at this time of night. It was a few hours past midnight, but nowhere near sunrise. A few people patrolled the top of the wall. Tristan contemplated getting their attention, but no guard worth their salt would open a gate for what appeared to be a kidnapping. They would not be wrong either, but if it was sanctioned by the Elder, someone would be expecting Tristan¡¯s arrival.


    He would need to wait. So he set Shadow Fist down against the wall and prepared to wait until sunrise.

 173. Warden

    ¡°What was that gods blighted, forsaken, mentally stunted, little pest thinking,¡± Commander Blacklake raged at a thin pale faced informant.


    Siren simply leaned against a tree and watched the spectacle. He had never seen the commander this angry, but whatever happened must have been bad. An informant had been waiting about two miles outside the Forrest Caldera to receive them. Siren could have chosen to step in, but informants weren¡¯t something he wanted to get himself tangled up with.


    He preferred clean, honorable combat, not the information warfare that Blacklake specialized in. It was why he had chosen the ramparts and the mine. Beasts and elementals were obvious, you killed them or they killed you. No malice was involved, just a clean struggle for survival with few moral dilemmas. Killing humans put a bad taste in his mouth, it was nearly impossible to be certain that the person he killed deserved death. Forrest was an exception, the man had not directly done anything, but his decisions had sent the Caldera into a civil war.


    The only upside was the lack of mythical beasts assailing the walls. It was as if they had all gone dormant or left. Either way, Siren was grateful another beast wave was not in the near future. He refocused when Blacklake dismissed the informant and came stomping over.


    ¡°Do you know what that hooligan did?¡± Blacklake yelled.


    Siren was not sure if the question was rhetorical, or if an answer was truly expected.


    It was rhetorical, ¡°He burned down the Elder¡¯s Manson, knocked over the temple, and wiped out most of the governing body. Guider Daphan is the only one with any status left in the city.¡±


    Siren raised an eyebrow. That was a bit extreme, he had known Tristan was an angsty kid, but going on a murderous rampage seemed a little off. Though if he was true to his mission, throwing a torch at the Elder¡¯s pinewood mansion would be a decent way to go about it. Siren struggled to make himself care. It was easy for him to build indignation and anger when innocence was being oppressed, but these people had mostly decided to back an undead in its domination of their entire civilization.


    ¡°So, why is this a problem?¡± Siren asked, ¡°Fewer leaders just means no opposing voices to the story you intend to spin.¡±


    ¡°No one knows where the forsaken Elder is!¡± Blacklake yelled, ¡°Well maybe Daphan does, but no one knows where he is either.¡±


    That was a problem, so Siren asked, ¡°What about Regis, or whoever is the current civil protector?¡±


    ¡°Regis got himself turned into a bloody paste, the informant was very clear on that,¡± Blacklake said, ¡°No protector has been established because Shadow Fist was elevated to tier four, and your little silver devil friend ran off with him.¡±


    Siren had to take a moment to digest that. What the hell had happened? He knew Tristan could be a menace, and now that he possessed the force of cohesion, it made even more sense. From what he had been told, the boy had a force that allowed him to use multiple forces. It sounded very potent until he had been told that the force lowered his essence efficiency by at least thirty percent.


    Still melting Regis seemed like a bit of an exaggeration. The man¡¯s death was a long time overdue. That meant they would have very little opposition in the city.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just walk in and just start asking the people?¡± Siren asked, ¡°One of the guards might have an idea.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the guards,¡± Blacklake grumbled, ¡°Tristan crippled most of them, torn tendons and sprained ankles mostly.¡±


    Shrugging, Siren turned to the city. That was not a no, and while they were here, he might as well take a look around. The two guards at the gate stopped Siren. He could have snuck past them, but both looked exhausted and they could be the first two he questioned.


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    ¡°The Forrest Caldera is not accepting visitors at this time,¡± one of the guards said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not visiting, this is my home,¡± Siren answered honestly. He did not own a house or any land, but the Forrest Caldera was where he was born, ¡°I heard that Forrest is going to be executed, he mistreated a lot of people I know.¡±


    The guard eyed Siren suspiciously, ¡°Give me the address to your home.¡±


    ¡°I never bought a home, I was on the ramparts so much that I did not see the point, will my parent¡¯s old homework?¡± Siren asked. His parents had him late in life, and had they still been alive, they would be over ninety now. Still, they had not been inactive in the community, so there was a decent chance these guards had met them when they were children.


    Glancing at his companion, who nodded, the guard slowly said, ¡°Yes, though if you¡¯re lying we will know, we have both patrolled the Forrest Caldera for over a decade.¡±


    Siren smiled, ¡°My full name is Gravis Ren, my parents used to live in the third house from the intersection of Circle Street by the wall and that alley that never drains properly.¡±


    The guard looked up at the sky and ran through various memories. Slowly he nodded, ¡°I think I knew them, what business did they own.¡±


    Siren smiled, ¡°They ran a postal business, their motto was Ren, sleet, snow, and hail.¡±


    The guard¡¯s eyes widened in realization, ¡°Oh, their name was Ren, I thought they were just bad at spelling.¡±


    Siren saw the moment both guards relaxed, ¡°So where will we be going to watch the event?¡±


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know,¡± the guard said, ¡°We have been a little busy, there aren¡¯t enough guards right now, so it''s all we can do to stop the panicking from turning to rioting.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t complain about a serviceman doing his job with pride,¡± Siren responded, ¡°Who can I ask to get the directions.¡±


    The guard thought for a moment, ¡°Shadow Fist was taken, but his warden might know. He manages most of the executions and prison blocks. I don¡¯t know where to find him, but if I were looking I would try the crime scenes.¡±


    Siren continued talking for a few minutes until he found a good time to break the conversation off. He and Blacklake walked into a city that was currently locked down, and Siren hadn¡¯t told a single lie to accomplish the feat. Blacklake had a concerned look on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong,¡± Siren asked.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard of a warden in the Forrest Caldera? As far as I knew, the River Caldera and Stone Caldera were the only ones with that position,¡± Blacklake explained his concern.


    They walked past rows of mud and straw homes. People seemed mostly unconcerned with the events that had just occurred. Their productivity was almost nonexistent, but none of the panic a hyper-violent invasion should cause was noticeable. The Caldera was nearing a full year of constant violence, maybe the people had just gotten numb to their fear.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Siren explained, ¡°Conni was the warden up until the fall of the Forest Caldera.¡±


    Blacklake mused on that for a few moments, ¡°He had no prisons and no escape attempts, how was he a warden?¡±


    Siren shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know why his methods worked, I just know that most of the convicts liked him. He was not any kinder to them than anyone else, but he was fair.¡±


    Blacklake had not spent enough time in the city to navigate the Forest Caldera, so Siren took the lead. The temple was closer to the gate, making it the first place they would go. People became more scarce as they approached the business district, it was eery. At first, the change was unnoticeable. A broken ceiling tile here, a cracked window there, slowly changed to broken shutters, cracked walls, and homes stripped of their siding.


    The temple had three walls still standing. It appeared that the building had relied on gravity to hold the rafters on the walls. Whatever had happened, pushed the roof off its supports and the opposite wall had buckled under the weight. Broken stained glass and pinewood splinters covered the area.


    Siren wanted to go through the rubble if only to figure out what did this, but that was not his mission. As no one was sifting through the rubble, they needed to look elsewhere. This was not the epicenter of the damage. The smithy across the street was broken, and beyond that, a two story building had collapsed onto the neighboring building.


    When they arrived at what Siren assumed was the center, they found a group of five people. They were inspecting multiple pieces of armor and the pitted cobblestone beneath their feet. It looked like acid rain had fallen in a twenty foot area, melting wherever it touched. The spherical symmetry of it was at odds with the ruined chaos around them.


    One of the people noticed Siren¡¯s approach, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You may call me Sir Ren, now where is the warden? I was told to speak with him,¡± Siren used his most commanding voice. It would not work on anyone with self-confidence, but few people had that in the first place.


    Another man looked up from where he was prodding the wall of a divot with his knife, ¡°Who told you to speak to me.¡±

 174. The Idea was Mine

    ¡°Ah good,¡± Blacklake said, ¡°We need to know where either Guider Daphan is or where you are keeping Elder Forest.¡±


    The warden frowned. He stood from the hole he was scraping at and inspected Siren and Blacklake. Recognition flashed across the warden¡¯s face.


    ¡°You used to be the head of security at the mine?¡± The warden asked. At Siren¡¯s nod he continued, ¡°Well, you won¡¯t find either of them here. Lord Ajax is returning in the next day or two, and Forrest will be executed then.¡±


    ¡°Where would we find them?¡± Blacklake asked, folding his arms with a disgruntled expression.


    ¡°At the mine,¡± The warden answered with a smile, ¡°The tunnels make a great prison.¡±


    Siren was fine with that. Mines were one of his best environments, it was rare that darkness and earth were so plentiful. So long as the Lord of the Underworld did not arrive, Siren would have an uncontested advantage.


    Blacklake scrutinized the warden, ¡°You¡¯re sure? It seems like you are giving up the information too easily.¡±


    The man was still smiling, ¡°The alternative is getting tortured by a bunch of devil lovers. No thanks, I would rather you just go and tussle with a horde of elementals.¡±


    Siren placed a hand on Blacklake¡¯s shoulder, ¡°It''s only an eight mile run. That''s only a fifteen minute run, we can afford to lose thirty minutes on the round trip.¡±


    It took a bit of prodding, but he got Blacklake to follow. Once they were out of earshot, Blacklake said, ¡°He was lying about something. Maybe about Forrest being located in the mine itself?¡±


    Siren did not know, though only one part needed to be true. The Lord of the Underworld just needed to be absent, though it might not be the worst event if he arrived. He ran his hand along the lacquered capsule that he always kept with him. Detonating it inside a tunnel would be almost certain victory.


    They exited the Forest Caldera from the opposite gate and made their way to the mine. There was only one guard here, and he only had a tier zero kern. Unlike the other guards, he was alert. Roughly sixty percent of the Caldera was tier zero, at least naturally. Thirty percent was tier one, and around ten percent was tier two. Around one percent were naturally tier three, none of those numbers were exact, but they were rounded to the nearest tens.


    They were also the numbers at the last census. Seeing a tier zero guard sent a pang of sadness through Siren. When the common man had to pick up a weapon, their civilization was close to collapse. It was a sign that the Caldera might be too far gone to be saved.


    The mine quickly came into view, and it took Siren by surprise. A village of people prepared for war. Siren would have called it a military camp, but all the buildings were made of stone. They had too many points of ingress to be defensible. This was a village, a very well armed village. He lacked Tristan¡¯s ability to identify metals, but he would not be surprised to learn that everyone was wearing tower plate.


    Drills were being performed in the training yard Siren had built. It had been expanded and outfitted. Docile elementals worked as opponents, they would react as though they still lived when struck with a blade. Constantly healing opponents gave the trainees a real sense of what combat was.


    Siren felt like cursing. He had been confident that the combined army of the Lake and River Caldera would be enough to crush the weakened Forrest Caldera. Most of their warriors had sided with Siren, mostly due to the fact that he had trained almost a third of the Forrest Caldera¡¯s tier threes. Still, an army outfitted in near artifact level armor would be a problem. A trained tier two with tower plate was more than a match for a tier three with normal equipment.


    ¡°Why was I not told about this?¡± Blacklake looked around, just as shocked as Siren.


    There were nearly a thousand people here. A tenth of the Forrest Caldera¡¯s population, the strongest tenth, had vanished and no one had noticed. They hadn¡¯t been able to get any spies near the mine, but something this big should have still been noticed.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Siren jumped, almost striking the speaker on reflex. A wiry man with dark skin, black hair, and dark purple eyes smiled at them, ¡°Are you new from the city?¡±


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    Dark kern, not a weak one either judging by the influence on his physique. It did explain why he was able to get so close while Siren and Blacklake were distracted.


    ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t know this was out here,¡± Siren said, the man nodded proudly, ¡°I asked where to watch the Elder¡¯s execution, I wasn¡¯t expecting this when I arrived.¡±


    All true, the man¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°Who told you?¡±


    Siren forced himself to act startled, he was a terrible actor, but Blacklake was not, ¡°The warden, was he not supposed to?¡±


    The smile returned, ¡°Of course, he is looking for recruits. You haven¡¯t heard of this place because no one ever leaves. Everyone here was slaughtered ruthlessly at the Stone Caldera. That¡¯s what the Caldera thinks, and those thousand absent soldiers were brought here and trained. Everyone passing through, or delivering supplies joins, we have around two thousand now.¡±


    It was going to be a blood bath. Two thousand soldiers, and an unknown number of elementals, that line of absolute collapse the Caldera was teetering on seemed more frayed with every word this man uttered.


    ¡°Are you ready to get started?¡± The man said.


    ¡°Not really,¡± Siren said.


    ¡°Too bad, you¡¯re here now,¡± He said.


    Siren felt thoroughly out of his depth. He had expected something quick, march in kill an Elder, walk out. Infiltration was not something he was skilled in. Blacklake walked up to him with a smile. Siren shuddered slightly at it, there was even a twinkle in the interrogator¡¯s eye as if the emotion was genuine.


    ¡°Lord Ajax truly does prepare for everything,¡± Blacklake made a bashful expression, another creepy face on him, ¡°I admit, I doubted his ability to overcome the silver devil, but he had a plan, one he chose to¡­¡± Blacklake paused as if thinking, then looked straight into Siren¡¯s eyes, ¡°move in the shadows.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, the devil lovers won¡¯t ever see it coming,¡± The man with the dark kern nearly vibrated in excitement.


    Siren for his part, started looking for a place to vanish. The limiting thing about his dark based stealth was its reliance on darkness as, currently, it was slightly before noon. There weren¡¯t enough connected shadows for him to move unseen with impunity. Fortunately, the man started leading them to a familiar building.


    Conni¡¯s little home looked petite next to the larger stone buildings around it. Still, it was the only one designed with hospitality in mind. Stepping into the familiar room Siren surveyed his surroundings, they were less clean than Conni kept it, but most of the furniture was still the same. The dining table was being used as a desk and was covered in papers and other important looking objects.


    Siren had little experience in leading a war against people, but if it was anything like fighting mythical beasts, the papers were budgets and correspondence. Their guide gestured for them to take a seat before exiting. A metal map covered the center of the table, showing the Caldera in excruciating detail. Siren inspected it, most likely this was made by the Lord of the Underworld himself.


    He opened his palm and made a small replica of it out of a black diamond, including all the small figurines scattered across it. Siren was pretty sure that they were troop positions but he did not recognize any of the war machines, and the divots cut into the ground made no sense. Passing the replica to Blacklake he continued looking at the table.


    A few minutes passed until their guide stepped back in, ¡°Let me present to you, the current leader of the human domain, Guide Daphan.¡±


    The previously mentioned guider stepped in and all three of them froze. Siren started using cohesion to combine his two essence types. He would rather wipe out everyone here than let himself and Blacklake get captured. Daphan¡¯s face paled, most likely realizing what Siren was about to do.


    Fortunately, Daphan acted first, ¡°Gravis, it¡¯s been a long time, your parents were good friends.¡±


    That was a lie. Siren¡¯s parents despised Daphan. His lies to take the leadership of the temple ran counter to the integrity needed to carry valuable packages. Still, Siren took the olive branch.


    ¡°I admit, I was worried you had been killed in that unfortunate fire,¡± Siren said.


    ¡°Yes, I bet you were,¡± Guider Daphan was not quite able to keep the bitterness out of his voice, ¡°You can leave us, Hans, I won¡¯t need a guard around family friend¡¯s.¡±


    The guide, Hans, simply nodded and stepped outside, most likely to ambush other visitors.


    Siren watched him leave, then waited, just to be sure the man was actually gone. He used his dark sense to feel for nearby people. The military village was busy, but no one was loitering around Conni¡¯s home.


    Once he was sure, he nodded toward Daphan, ¡°So, where is Elder Forrest?¡±


    Guider Daphan sat down across from them, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you on one condition.¡±


    Blacklake laughed coldly. Siren knew he wasn¡¯t entertained, he did it to unsettle the old Guider, ¡°I know your type. Most Guiders have a very low pain tolerance, we won¡¯t make deals with traitors.¡±


    Guider Daphan sighed, ¡°You are right, at least you would be in any other situation. Did you know that the elemental lord follows the law of predation, that is he believes the strong devour and rule the weak? What place does an old man have in that hierarchy? Here is my offer, I lead you to Elder Forrest, and you get me out of here,¡± He held up a hand to forestall the obvious question, ¡°No you won¡¯t kill me, Siren here doesn¡¯t break his word.¡±


    Siren nodded without hesitation, getting a frustrated glare from Blacklake, ¡°I will protect you to the best of my ability, and I will discourage the angry people of the Lake and River Caldera from taking action. I will not protect you from the temple, those are your affairs and I will not meddle.¡±


    Guider Daphan thought about the terms before nodding, ¡°I can¡¯t get much better. You could just search the mine as a wraith and I¡¯m sure you would eventually figure out his location. I agree.¡±

 175. Minutes and Seconds

    Siren expected to be led down into the mine, it made a perfect prison. However, it turned out that it had been turned into living quarters for the first thousand people who arrived. The village had been constructed so quickly due to the absurd stamina of the elementals. They could not be trusted with complex tasks, but mixing mortar, laying stone, and digging holes were all within their capabilities.


    No sleep and no rest made them extremely efficient. Siren could see a future where elementals serviced the Calderas¡¯ needs. It was just as likely that the people would be put in cages to preserve space. Either situation was undesired.


    Guider Daphan led Siren and Blacklake out the back door. The garden behind the house had been replaced with a gravel road. A carriage sat there and a single horse was hitched to it. Daphan climbed in followed by Blacklake.


    ¡°I¡¯ll walk,¡± Siren said. He was not sure what the maximum pulling weight of a horse was, but two humans and a carriage had to be close. Siren was as heavy as two people, he couldn¡¯t be sure the horse could handle it over gravel.


    ¡°Suite yourself,¡± Daphan said with a shrug, ¡°We are going to the throne room, so it is quite a distance.¡±


    Siren could only shake his head. Only an elderly tier three could think that the throne was a long ways away. Daphan explained what they would find when they arrived. It was constructed on the intersection of two bridges over the pit The Lord of the Underworld was originally trapped in. They had the possibility of meeting an elemental lord who called itself Custodian. Daphan was not familiar with its tier, but it was composed of water, earth, and air elementals.


    He was confident that he could handle it. Water and air could be potent weapons, but elemental lords tended to reject advanced equipment, preferring to use constructs of their creation. Earth could be an issue, depending on the tier, but he would be surprised if it exceeded four.


    The pit came into view, and everything about it was different. A large plaza of cobblestone expanded thirty feet out from the edge. Stairs had been cut into the wall and balconies appeared to lead to future residences. Two arches made a cross and a square building was sitting in the intersection.


    To call it a building was a bit misleading, as it had no walls. Pillars held up beams that crossed over the gap between the arches. A roof was being constructed over the stone beams. The design seemed to be made to allow anyone a view of the Lord of the Underworld while being unable to approach.


    The open-air design gave Siren a good view of what was inside. A throne, a cage, and an elemental lord. The cage was situated behind the throne and inside Siren could see the dirty figure of a man. He knew it was Elder Forest, though he held little resemblance to his former self. The imprisoned man had a ratty beard, torn robes, and a vacant expression. It had been quite some time and he had been suffering from solitary confinement. Siren wondered if there was anything left of the former head of the Forest Caldera.


    He turned his attention to the elemental lord, who was sweeping. It was incongruous with an elemental lord¡¯s typical pompousness, but Siren supposed that was why it had chosen to be called Custodian. They pulled up to one of the arches, and Guider Daphan exited the carriage with a groan.


    ¡°Follow me,¡± He said, then grumbled under his breath, ¡°Stupid steps.¡±


    The arches had enough of a slope that step needed to be cut into them. Both Blacklake and Siren followed behind the Guider. Blacklake was ready to kill Daphan in the event of a betrayal, while Siren was prepared to protect him because of his choice to switch sides, They made their way inside the structure without any incidents. No guards were posted and the only people who were present were the construction workers, Custodian, and the Elder.


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    ¡°Good afternoon, Custodian,¡± Guider Daphan said with a deep bow.


    Siren quickly followed Daphan¡¯s example, though Blacklake did not. He briefly wondered why, but the elemental lord quickly supplied the answer.


    ¡°Daphan, you have thrown your lot in with the traitors? Why?¡± Custodian asked.


    It lacked the facial expressions of a human, but Siren could still hear the curiosity in its voice. It did not sound angry or hurt, not even like this had been an unexpected outcome.


    ¡°The Laws of Predation,¡± Guider Daphan said simply.


    ¡°Yes, it is unfriendly to those who age. I could liberate you of your mortality and allow you to ascend unto eternity,¡± The elemental lord offered, it had not stopped sweeping while holding its conversation.


    ¡°No, I would cease to be, you know as well as I that you are a soul without a spirit,¡± Guider Daphan answered, ¡°You are only eternal in the most finite sense, you live as long as you live, but no gods can accept into the afterlife a spirit you lack.¡±


    ¡°Why would you not want to meet these gods a little early then?¡± Custodian asked. Siren wanted to know that as well. Daphan knew much about theology but lacked the faith that underpinned it.


    ¡°Simple, I have lived an unworthy life,¡± Daphan said, ¡°And we found the corpse of one of our gods.¡±


    Siren remembered what Tristan and Vulcan claimed. The gods were people, just very high tier people. So was Daphan claiming that he had found a corpse above tier ten. Siren had no benchmark for the power of a god, tier six seemed like a nearly unreachable goal. He was not a proponent of using materials made of humans, but a corpse like that might be an exception.


    ¡°I see. I have no choice but ask you to leave my lord¡¯s domain or face the consequences,¡± Custodian brandished the broom as if it were a weapon, ¡°Otherwise, I will put your eternal souls to use in my lord¡¯s service.¡±


    Siren could tell when a challenge was issued. As luck would have it, the shadow of a pillar connected the three of them and Custodian. He stepped into the darkness, wrapping it around himself, and moved towards Custodian. Stealth was not a big part of Siren¡¯s skill set, however most people couldn¡¯t handle an invisible opponent as skilled as he was.


    ¡°You leak earth essence,¡± Custodian braced his broom shaft on his forearm and took the blade of Siren¡¯s tier two axe head on.


    To Siren¡¯s surprise, his axe was the one to be chipped. Who makes a tower steel broom? Still, the block did not stop Siren¡¯s forward momentum. He slammed into the shorter elemental lord. It weighed about the same, but Siren had speed and it was enough to knock the elemental over.


    They tumbled to the ground, almost crashing into the throne. Siren was now in the sunlight, making him perfectly visible. Somehow the elemental squirmed and rolled to end up on top. An earthen spike formed in Custodian¡¯s hands, but earth was slower to form than darkness. A black gauntlet tipped with razor sharp claws coalesced around Siren¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What?¡± Custodian lurched back once he realized the claw was able to inflict damage.


    He didn¡¯t move fast enough. Siren stabbed his shadowy fingers into Custodian''s flesh. The earth anima was tough, but it was still flesh-like. Once he was deep enough, Siren curled his fingers and tore out a good chunk of the elemental lord''s chest.


    ¡°How does your darkness harm?¡± Custodian said, holding the wound that exposed his beating water kern. A sheet of ice grew over the top to protect the organ.


    Siren did not answer he was back in the shadows. Turning invisible, he made his way towards Custodian. The elemental could track his movements, somehow. Tristan could do it if Siren was wearing metal armor, and what was that about him leaking essence? He was unable to evade the elemental''s attention, so he created a lance of darkness and held his artifact axe in his other hand. Aiming the lance, Siren charged.


    Just as before, Custodian prepared to block with his broom. He had no awareness of the lance, taking the lance to the chest. Without his ice armor to push the point to the side, he would have died. The lance still took him in the chest, punching straight through the elemental¡¯s body. Custodian staggered backward, and Siren kept pushing.


    Normally he would try to kill an elemental lord, but there was currently a faster way to deal with him. He kept the lance embedded in Custodian and kept running until it stepped back and found nothing but empty air. Custodian tried to grab the lance to save himself, but it was just a shadow with some earth forces mixed in. Once Siren stopped applying the force of cohesion, it became intangible.


    The fall would most likely not hurt Custodian, but it would stall him long enough to deal with Forest. He turned back to Blacklake and Daphan, intending to move on to the next step of the plan and froze.


    ¡°Not a bad display. For a mortal.¡± The Lord of the Underworld said from between a trembling Daphan and pale Blacklake.


    The warden had lied. It was a small detail, but his estimated time of arrival had given them a false sense of security.

 176. Gallium to the Face

    ¡°I believe it is fair, you took two of my best mortal subordinates, so I will take the two of you,¡± The Lord of the Underworld said, ¡°But first the traitor.¡±


    Siren¡¯s mind raced he needed to find a way out of this situation. The issue was, that The Lord of the Underworld was nearly a perfect counter to Siren. With a dark kern, the elemental lord could also cloak himself and have an easier time seeing through Siren¡¯s obscuration. He had a dual anima of fire and earth and could take control of any metal around him.


    The Lord of the Underworld never stopped talking, ¡°Though I won¡¯t kill you yet. Your pet metal kern has a tool that I need. You will get him to bring it to me.¡±


    Tristan had mentioned finding the lamp post in the same room as the Lord of the Underworld. If the two of them had been trapped as roommates for the last few hundred years, why hadn¡¯t he claimed it? It did not matter at the moment. There was nothing he could do to save Daphan and Blacklake, he needed to get out. It was not exactly the truth.


    His hand fell to the capsule at his waste. It could and would work, though it would be substantially less effective when used in an open space. He looked down into the pit. There was an enclosed space that he could use, though it would mean abandoning Blacklake and breaking his promise to Daphan. He had never broken a promise, and he did not intend to start today.


    ¡°Run you idiot,¡± Blacklake yelled.


    The Lord of the Underworld clenched the hand resting on Blacklake¡¯s shoulder, pulverizing bones and sending the commander to his knees. He did not scream, only letting out a grunt of pain.


    Siren chose to ignore Blacklake and charge the elemental Lord with his ax raised. However, the next movement, the commander made was so shocking not even the Lord of the underworld had time to stop it.


    ¡° To hell with your honor!¡± Blacklake yelled.


    In a single motion, he created a jagged blade made of ice. It was discolored a slight green and shoved it straight into Guider Daphan¡¯s gut.


    It would not have been a lethal blow if the volatile mixture of hemotoxin and neurotoxin hadn¡¯t been mixed into the blade''s creation and deposited straight into his intestines.


    ¡° that was unexpected,¡± the Lord of the Underworld said, ¡° I thought you had come to an understanding. ¡°


    Guider Daphan agreed, ¡°We had a deal. ¡°


    ¡°You and Siren had a deal, ¡° Blacklake hissed.


    Then he lunged backward, not at the Lord of the Underworld, but over the edge.


    It took a few steps for Siren to come to a stop. All that had happened too fast. He was aware that Blacklake took his oaths seriously, and the interpretation of oaths was one of the largest differences between Siren and the commander. While Siren would not condone Blacklake¡¯s actions, he would not let the opportunity go to waste.


    Spinning on the ball of his foot, Siren took a running leap off the side of the throne room as well. He aimed for the shelf that led to the mine. It was a long distance,  but with his running start, he crossed the distance with room to spare. Halfway across, he felt the metal rivets pulling against him. In one motion he removed the capsule and abandoned the belt.


    Landing in a roll, Siren sprinted into the tunnel system. He made sure to commit the network to memory, but it had been altered. New tunnels were added and some were blocked off. Doors were set into the wall, and his dark sense detected large rooms at regular intervals. Glow stones were set into the ceiling at regular intervals, drowning out the shadows in the nearby vicinity. It did not make it bright, but it did dramatically reduce the effect of his invisibility.


    ¡°Your alchemist called me a mole, yet it is you humans that are fascinated with living underground,¡± The Lord of the Underworld¡¯s voice echoed in Siren¡¯s head.


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    The issue with mental conversations was the lack of a location. It was the same volume whether the Lord of the Underworld was ten steps away, or a mile away. Siren turned a corner and came face to face with half a dozen well armed soldiers. They stared at him in shock, and Siren slammed into them.


    The tunnel was a good spot to fight a larger force of enemies, but Siren did not have time to work his way through their armor. He plowed through two of them before his momentum was finally arrested. Even his inertia had its limits.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± One of the armored men said.


    Siren drove his fist into the open face of the helmet, grabbed his gorget, and threw him into the last two standing men. Their attempt to get their long swords ready in a tunnel failed when they were knocked down. It was a short scuffle, but still too long.


    ¡°He is one of the leaders of the silver devil worshipers,¡± The Lord of the Underworld said as he stepped into view, ¡°His companion killed the old man Daphan just a few minutes ago.¡±


    And just like that, his mission failed. It was true that Blacklake had killed Daphan, and the knowledge of his betrayal was not widespread. They had created a martyr while also missing their objective by a few minutes.


    ¡°Drop, your weapons,¡± The Lord of the Underworld said while making a flicking gesture toward the ground.


    Siren assumed the elemental lord was speaking to him, but all the other soldiers responded. Four swords, several knives, and two halberds fell to the ground, before quickly levitating back up off the floor. Siren was unsure of how much damage these weapons could inflict, but the soldiers were wary enough. They all stepped back and away from their floating armaments.


    If they could hurt a man in armor, then they could hurt Siren. He needed to get close to the Lord of the Underworld inside a confined area. This tunnel would have to work. He sprinted at the elemental lord as the smaller weapons started spinning. The swords and gloves spun as well, though like drills as opposed to the wheels of silver that the knives appeared to be.


    The weapons were fast, but still slower than darkness. Light was thought to be the fastest element, but darkness is not just a void. It either exists or it does not, there is no travel, no half-state, and no degrees of darkness. It was a fact commonly overlooked, due to dark constructs being intangible. Siren was an exception.


    A black carapace blinked into existence over his body,  receiving the strikes of the weapons. All of them targeted his extremities, not aiming to kill. The Lord of the Underworld was trying to take him alive. Siren was battered by the weapons, but they lacked the mass to stop him. He was cut, but not badly enough to stop.


    He made his way to The Lord of the Underworld and smashed him with a mace made of solidified darkness. Almost casually the elemental lord let the mace slam into his palm. The attack with his whole momentum was stopped dead. Siren yelled, creating a second weapon, this one a morning star. He whipped the weapon at the Lord of the Underworld.


    ¡°Why do you struggle?¡± The Lord of the Underworld asked. It sounded weary as it caught the chain out of the air.


    Several blades slammed into Siren''s back, piercing his armor. He grinned, ¡°To win of course.¡±


    The chained weapon vanished. Both watched the wooden capsule hidden in the head of the morning star drop to the floor. Then it exploded. Siren was not familiar with the mechanisms behind the explosive, but the elemental lord was. The Lord of the Underworld scrambled back, avoiding the worst of the blast. All the weapons lost their life and fell to the floor.


    The elemental lord started screaming in pain. It did not stop him from using his powers to grab his deteriorating armor and use it to drag himself out of the rapidly growing cloud. The weapons were turned to dust and the soldier¡¯s armor fell apart in seconds. Unfortunately, the Lord of the Underworld was made of sturdier materials.


    Siren swore as his target rocketed away. He would never get a better chance than right now, it was injured and most likely blinded for the moment. Giving chase, Siren charged recklessly back the way he came. The elemental lord could fly, though it was jerky at the moment.


    It flew into the center of the pit, then straight upwards. Siren gave chase, following The Lord of the Underworld up the wall. He was not unskilled at climbing, there were many cliffs near the ramparts making it a valuable skill. He crested the edge of the pit next to one of the arches only to find himself face-to-face with thousands of elementals.


    All of them were skeletal, many were made of earthy brown essence. They also protected their injured leader. Siren was strong, but he was not worth a thousand elementals. Where had the Lord of the Underworld gotten all of them?


    ¡°We need to go,¡± A familiar voice said.


    ¡°Blacklake? How are you alive?¡± Not a very pertinent question, but he was trying to get his mind around the amount of death that would be needed to create this army.


    ¡°Adhesive infiltration artifact. Again we need to go,¡± Blacklake said.


    The army only occupied one side of the pit, meaning he had an easy route of escape. Still, this was the weakest the Lord of the Underworld would ever be. It was so close but so far out of reach. Siren growled and nodded, before turning and running.


    ¡°Where did that army come from?¡± Siren asked.


    ¡°The damn elemental paid a visit to the Stone Caldera,¡± Blacklake said, wincing as every step jolted his shoulder, ¡°It killed every last person.¡±

 177. Reunion

    Shadow Fist was having a bad day. Tristan made sure of it. The guard the next morning was bribed to ignore the blatant kidnapping. It was his lucky day as all Tristan could bribe him with was one of Shadow Fist¡¯s mythical beast daggers. He had no idea of their true value, but the wince that his father gave was a sign of the downward slope his day would travel down.


    From the gate, it was a short trip to the house Harp and Helen were renting while they took care of all the miners'' children. A young teen girl opened the door and refused to let Tristan inside until Harp arrived. For her part, Harp only sighed and shook her head.


    ¡°Let me clear out the bedroom,¡± She rubbed her forehead, ¡°This is going to get loud.¡±


    Get loud it did. Helen and Shadow Fist were given some alone time in that room. Mostly it consisted of accusations and yelling and it seemed to cycle through topics. Tristan had never heard a married couple fight, Conni and Grace were the only married people where he was familiar with both people. It was more vicious than he had imagined.


    Harp sighed again, ¡°Why did you bring him here?¡±


    Tristan had intended to make him face what he had done, but he had also thought that it would simply be Helen slapping him and then stomping out and maybe little Tris calling him a bully. Instead, Tris was sitting in a corner crying, while one of the older kids tried to comfort her and everyone was on edge while the adults yelled.


    ¡°I thought it would be the best move,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would go like this.¡±


    Harp narrowed her eyes, ¡°He is a violent criminal who is not above using children, why would you bring him to a house full of children?¡±


    Tristan could tell in hindsight that this was a bad idea. He also could not tell Harp that he no longer considered his father dangerous, because while he was not a credible threat to Tristan, that did not make him safe for children.


    ¡°What else was I supposed to do with him?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Take him to jail! Helen could have visited him there.¡±  Harp answered.


    ¡°He¡¯s tier four, what kind of prison would be able to hold him?¡± Tristan asked. He knew that no one in the River Caldera could hold him. The Lake Caldera could, but Blacklake and his people would torture him.


    Informing Harp of Shadow Fist¡¯s true tier was not a good idea.


    ¡°Are you crazy!¡± She hissed, ¡°You brought an enemy civil protector here?¡±


    Tristan would have said something back, but Tris pulled on Harp¡¯s skirt, ¡°Why are you fighting?¡±


    Harp had a conflicted expression, but she told the truth, ¡°I am worried.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± The question all adults fear from children.


    ¡°Your, dad is very angry, we need to be careful,¡± Harp said.


    The short silence after that statement highlighted the lack of yelling. Tristan and Harp exchanged looks. If Shadow Fist decided to run, the wall would not stop him, though the sprained ankle would slow him down. He may not know what to do with his father, but escaping was not part of his plan.


    He barged into the room and was greeted with an odd sight. Helen was sitting in Shadow Fist¡¯s lap, having shimmied between his arms and the block of steel restraining them. She had been crying into his shoulder, judging by the wet batch on his tunic. And the reason they weren¡¯t yelling, well they were using their mouths for other things.


    Both stopped kissing and looked at Tristan a little breathlessly, he had no idea how to react, ¡°Uh, just checking. Don¡¯t escape.¡±


    Then he quickly closed the door. Harp saw Tristan¡¯s bewildered expression. She raised an eyebrow, asking what was happening. Tristan had no explanation, they had been angry at each other and now they were making out.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Little Tris asked, picking up on the odd atmosphere.


    ¡°Oh, nothing, you just won¡¯t be able to see dad for another thirty minutes or so.¡± Harp said, ¡°How about we go outside and play.¡±


    Most of the children were more than happy to go and play in the front yard. Harp had procured a ball and was letting them kick it around. True to Harp''s predictions, thirty minutes later, both Helen and Shadow Fist stepped outside.


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    Tristan glared at his father, ¡°Really? You couldn¡¯t have warned me?¡±


    Shadow Fist grinned and shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve always taken every opportunity presented. It¡¯s called ambition.¡±


    Tristan considered coating Shadow Fist from the neck down in metal and leaving him here. He would make a great lawn ornament. Tristan mused over what to do next, he had to confine Shadow Fist in some way or have someone do it for him. The man was not trustworthy in the slightest and could convince himself that any action was the correct one, given enough time.


    ¡°What should I do with you?¡± Tristan finally asked.


    Shadow Fist shrugged again, ¡°I don¡¯t know, you have already made a decision I wouldn¡¯t have. I would have gone straight to Siren and let him handle the issue.¡±


    ¡°Siren would have killed you,¡± Tristan sighed, ¡°He might still do it.¡± However, the statement did give Tristan an idea. He summoned Vulcan and used some of the metal essence to make a metal frame chair, ¡°Please sit.¡±


    Shadow Fist sat, though he did not look happy about it. Another set of constructs locked his upper arms and shins to the chair. The whole contraption probably weighed two or three hundred pounds. Still, the sea of polluted metal essence Vulcan contained was barely changed.


    ¡°I will be back,¡± Tristan said.


    Helen gave him a disapproving look, but there was little she do about it. Tristan didn¡¯t care either, he also knew who to talk to. He jogged towards the center of the city. The River Caldera was almost a ghost town, children showed up here and there, and some women took care of them. From its appearance nearly seventy percent of the people were missing.


    The road to the Elder¡¯s home only had a token guard force. Each one had at least one artifact, but Tristan could tell from how they moved that none were above tier one. Well armed civilians. Tristan was not sneaky, but the gaps between patrols were large enough for him to sprint through. His sprinting speed neared ninety miles per hour, so maybe it was too much to ask them to be prepared for it.


    He crossed the garden and walked inside. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his shoulders and strode confidently in. The Forrest Caldera had taught him posture was half of any good disguise. He was not in particularly clean clothes, but the adamant armor had kept most of the soot from staining his white acolyte¡¯s robes.


    Once inside, Tristan realized he had no idea where he was going. All the Elders had big homes. This one was middling, Forrest had the smallest, while Elder Plains had the most extravagant. It was still morning, though twilight had replaced nighttime due to the light from the east. It was something that was starting to concern Tristan. In the deep winter, nights should drop well below freezing, but now it was not uncommon to have lows in the mid-sixties.


    After a minute or two of pondering, Tristan followed the sound of cooking. If he could not find the Elder, he would just ask a servant who knew where he was. The kitchen was easy to find, though it was emptier than he expected. An overweight woman and a preteen girl were making food in it. Mostly vegetables and some kind of fish.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Tristan said to get their attention.


    The woman yelped before spinning and pointing a bottle filled with vegetable oil at him, ¡°Ah, oh, good morning acolyte. How can I help you.¡±


    ¡°I needed to see the Elder, though I hadn¡¯t realized this building was quite so large,¡± Tristan gave his best smile, ¡°Could you point me in his direction?¡±


    The cook flipped some of the cooking fish on the hot stove, before focusing on Tristan again, ¡°He should be hosting two guests in the reception hall, Elder Plain and Guider Mathis, I believe.¡±


    ¡°Where is that?¡±  Tristan asked. He was sure an entire hall would be difficult to miss, but he would still like to ask.


    ¡°Go straight from the front door and make a left when the hallway tees, and go straight. It will be the only door with guards,¡± The cook waved him off. She looked overworked, which shouldn¡¯t come as a surprise. Not only was she tier zero, she was most likely doing the work of two or three people.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Tristan nodded to the two cooks, then jogged back the way he had come.


    It only took a few minutes to find the front doors. They had to be on an exterior wall after all. From there it was easy to follow the cook¡¯s instructions. He found a door with two over armed guards. They each had at least five artifacts on them, the axes were the only obvious weapons, but all the artifacts could likely be used in a fight.


    More importantly, Tristan recognized them, ¡°Frosty, Dirty, how are you doing?¡±


    They glanced at each other uncomfortably, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I caught a high value enemy, and need a place to store him,¡± Tristan replied honestly.


    The two of them had been around the Elder enough to recognize when someone was a threat. It meant they were not keen on allowing him entry, but also did not like their chances if things got violent. Dirty nodded to Frosty.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to the Elder, please wait,¡± Dirty stepped inside.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Though, just know I can see through the door using my metal sense.¡±


    Not exactly true. He could focus on just that room and track everyone inside via the iron in their blood though. He wanted cooperation to be the method by which the two warriors kept their charge safe, not a secret extraction. Dirty showed no sign of being surprised, simply ignoring Tristan to step inside.


    Frosty let the blade of his axe touch the floor, spreading a thin coating of ice between them. It wouldn¡¯t help, though against someone not in possession of a tier fifteen flame artifact it may have worked. Tristan made no aggressive moves, simply focusing on his metal sense. To avoid the headache, he pulsed some healing alloy just before he focused.


    He could see the metal inside the room, though the gaps between were indistinct. His essence sense was more like smell than vision, though it still had some visual traits. He could tell what an object was made of, roughly how far away it was, its shape, and how much was there. It struggled to give him any information on their relative positions, except the relative distance from him.


    All this was to say, he felt five people in the room. He knew of Dirty, Elder River, and his two guests, but who was the last one? It did not take long for one of the people to exit.


    Dirty stepped out, and nodded, ¡°The Elder will see you.¡±

 178. Whack-a-Phsycho

    Dirty and Frosty glared at Tristan and followed him into the room. They presumed that he was deadlier than anything outside the room. Probably not an incorrect assumption, given the empty city outside. It gave Tristan a feeling of power that was probably unhealthy, as he stepped into the room where Elder River sat.


    Not long ago, this Elder had advocated for Tristan¡¯s death. He had not understood why back then. Now he knew the Caldera was founded by the survivors of a fortress and a cult city. The temple had a hatred for the Steel Saint that had caused trouble for Tristan hundreds of years later. The Guider most likely still wanted him dead, and Elder Plain, aside from his genocidal nature, seemed like a very punchable man.


    The odd thing was the corpse in the center of the room. Well, not a corpse, he was alive, but he was not moving, and judging from the artifact sitting over his chest he was in some kind of forced deep sleep. He was a big man and would have been intimidating if he was not lying inside a glass case filled with flowers.


    ¡°Uh,¡± was all Tristan could say upon seeing the body.


    Unfortunately, that gave Elder Plains the time he needed to speak, ¡°What do you want? Or are you just here to bully us?¡±


    Tristan blinked at the man. Did the Elder that had imported the ghost crabs just accuse Tristan of bullying? It was so far away from what was reasonable that Tristan was not sure if he had heard Elder Plain properly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, silver devil¡¯s always lie,¡± Guider Mathis said.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tristan said, not particularly caring what Mathis thought, ¡°Anyway I just got back from a mission to destabilize the Forrest Caldera. I need something that can stop a person from refilling their kern.¡±


    He knew artifacts like that existed. Regis¡¯s amulet was one such artifact, and if the temple had one made for fire kerns, it stood to reason that ones for dark also existed. The only one that should be lacking is metal, as they would need someone with a metal kern at tier three to inject metal essence to attune the reservoir.


    ¡°See, he¡¯s lying, how could one person destabilize an entire Caldera,¡± Guider Mathis said.


    Tristan frowned at the man. It was kind of obvious, in fact, Tristan was in a position to destabilize the River Caldera too. Both its elder and guider were in the room and no one here could stop him.


    Elder River frowned disapprovingly at Guider Mathis but did not reprimand him. He addressed Tristan instead, ¡°I do admit, I have not gotten word of what you are describing. Please elaborate.¡±


    Tristan gave Guider Mathis his most innocent smile, ¡°I only caused a fire by fighting Regis that killed most of the acolytes. I burned down the head family¡¯s home, then I collapsed the temple itself, then I killed Regis, crippled the guards, and kidnapped the acting leader. The elemental lord elevated my father to tier four and gave him control over the human part of the Forrest Caldera,¡± Tristan held up a hand to forestall Guider Mathis, ¡°And if you don¡¯t believe me, I will tell you how to find an underground facility where the Temple creates artifacts.¡±


    Guider Mathis¡¯s mouth opened and closed several times before he folded his arms and stayed silent. Good, Tristan was tired of crazy zealots. At least Mathis lacked the physical power of someone like Regis, a fight might have broken out otherwise.


    Elder River leaned forward at the mention of artifact creation, ¡°You are hiding a method of creating artifacts? During times like this, we consider that betrayal.¡±


    Elder Plain jumped in and spoke like the hypocrite he was, ¡°Why would you put the Caldera in such peril for your greed?¡±


    Guider Mathis griped back, ¡°You¡¯re one to talk. Two whole Caldera¡¯s were eradicated because of you.¡±


    ¡°Nothing has been proven,¡± Elder Plain said. He never denied the accusation.


    Tristan¡¯s opinion of Elder River had been steadily on the rise in the last few months. He was the reason that his heart was able to be returned to his chest. Also, Eve was someone Tristan respected, some of that respect was invariably spread to those who raised her. However, Elder River was someone who could casually share a meal with a man who would kill nearly twenty thousand people with little remorse.


    The three men started arguing. It was more insults and pseudo-philosophical justifications on the morality of each person''s decisions. Tristan could only shake his head at the ridiculousness of these old men. He had good reasons to kill each one of them, but they easily forgot he was standing before them when their tempers flared.


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    Would he interrupt them, yes, when he got bored? Currently, there was a preserved body that held his interest. He inspected the glass casket first, primarily to see if it had a hinge or opening. More information could be gotten if he could touch the artifact. The reason why it interested him was it was a light artifact that primarily used the architect force.


    Architect force was a misnomer. It was how most people used it, but it was more of a mold or image force. In healing, the body had an image that it conformed to, then growth would refill the missing parts of that mold. It was the reason someone born missing a limb could not heal it while Tristan could get it back if it was chopped off. He had gotten his lung back after all.


    He found a plaque in one corner, it had the standard grave inscriptions. ¡®In loving memory of Merrick. An Elder fallen before his rule could ever begin.¡¯ Tristan glanced up at Elder River, then down at the man, Merrick he assumed. No family resemblance was visible. Not surprisingly, this man was only twenty-five or so, still had his hair and sun-tanned skin. Elder River was hunchbacked, bald, and wrinklier than a box of raisins.


    Merrick did share many of Eve¡¯s features, though the age gap threw him off. Maybe an uncle? No way was this Eve¡¯s dad, he would have been seven or eight when she was born. Still, he was definitely family, especially if he warranted such a potent artifact. Though why did they think he was dead? Iron was frozen in his veins, it was not congealing, but neither was it flowing. The body was not resinating with his decay alloy, so the body was not rotting either.


    Still, Tristan knew he could heal the man, even if he was a tier five. He had filled the tier seven essence reservoir with healing alloy and slotted it into the amulet. It was just not cost-effective to keep eating his supply, the amulet could also force the healing essence into whatever part of the body he placed it against, as opposed to radiating from his heart.


    Well, Eve had lost a sister. Tristan decided he could assist her by returning an uncle. He placed a hand on the glass and tried to move it. It was bolted down. Tristan was not going to remove it one bolt at a time, he drew his sword breaker and cut straight through the glass. It was good to have these back.


    Only after removing the glass panel did Tristan realize the room had gotten deathly quiet. He looked up, the five conscious occupants of the room looked at Tristan in various stages of confusion and horror.


    ¡°What?¡± Tristan asked, setting the glass aside.


    ¡°You dare desecrate my son¡¯s corpse!¡± Elder River yelled. Though he remained sitting, ruining the effect.


    ¡°No?¡± Tristan said, though he said it as a question. At least it clarified who Merrick was. Did Elder River think this was a corpse? The artifact would probably work on a corpse as well, but did he not try to heal his own son? Any competent light civil protector should be able to heal him. He was surprised that Henry hadn¡¯t offered to in exchange for some mercantile benefits.


    ¡°The silver devil shows his true colors,¡± Guider Mathis said smugly.


    ¡°You know what,¡± Tristan said, ¡°You three and your organizations have impressed on me the value of who has the biggest stick. I am done being cordial with you three psychos. Sit still and don¡¯t talk unless I ask you a question.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell..¡± Elder Plain was cut off when Tristan punched his punchable face.


    The old man toppled out of his chair. He was still conscious, Tristan had not hit him that hard. Cutting a wad of fabric out of the man¡¯s chair, he stuffed it into Elder Plain¡¯s mouth. Then he summoned Vulcan to create a helmet molded to the shape of his face. Elder Plain couldn¡¯t take it off and it stopped him from spitting the fabric out.


    Tristan sighed. Vulcan would have thought this was hilarious. Soon, just wait. As soon as I can, I¡¯ll get you back.


    Dirty and Frosty had moved to protect Elder River though they did not seem to like their chances. Tristan felt bad for those two. They were competent people saddled with incompetent bosses.


    Tristan did not say anything. He made no threats, as he believed that he had made himself very clear. Walking back to Merrick he placed a hand on the artifact. It was light-based, and to his surprise, tier five. Had this been owned by Hestia at one point? Merrick was tier four at the very least. It made more sense why healers would struggle with him. Healing a subject became difficult if there was a tier difference between the patient and the healer. It was part of the reason why Tristan had used the tier seven reservoir for healing, it would be more effective because he was a lower tier.


    Looking up at Elder River¡¯s anxious expression, Tristan scoffed. The man looked concerned but did nothing to stop Tristan. He even had a demonstration showing Tristan¡¯s unwillingness to kill them.


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± Elder River grumbled, though at Tristan¡¯s raised eyebrow, he continued, ¡°He broke his kern fighting a mythical beast. He was then killed when the beast stabbed him through the heart.¡±


    Tristan inspected the body again. He pulled the ceremonial jacket aside to look at the chest. There were two puncture wounds, he used his metal sense and scanned the pathways, then compared it to his own body¡¯s structure. The heart was still there, but the arteries and lungs just to the left and right were a mess. If the heart did not narrow towards the base, it would have been pulverized as well.


    ¡°Why do you think he¡¯s dead though?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°He broke his kern and was stabbed through the chest by a giant sloth, that artifact only works on corpses,¡± Elder River sounded indignant like Tristan had insulted his intelligence.


    ¡°Does it work on livestock?¡± Tristan asked. Cows did not possess kerns, but every human did. It was more likely that if Hestia had this, she would use it to stabilize a patient, while she moved them for treatment. Breaking a kern was the standard method of progression and this would be a way to make the process safe. Or at the very least it would remove every variable.


    ¡°The holy artifact will never be used on..¡± The Guider got his cushion shoved into his mouth as well. He rolled around trying to get the helmet off.


    ¡°Uh no, why?¡± Elder River asked uncertainly.


    Tristan did not answer. He was going to take this artifact. Safely growing all the miners sounded like a great deal. Cracking his knuckles like he imagined all competent people did, Tristan got to work.

 179. Abyssal Chalice

    Pulling the amulet off his neck, Tristan inverted its polarity. Instead of taking and storing his healing alloy, it would inject the healing alloy into his target. He placed it into the wound and ran into his first issue. Healing filled a mold, Merrick was currently in a mold that kept him injured.


    The architect alloy that had kept him alive had also stopped anyone from treating him. Tristan chuckled, Merick had to be the luckiest man alive. Well, aside from getting stabbed by a sloth. Any healer would have to possess the architect force to stop him from dying. While that was something a light kern could give, they would also have to be aware that kerns could be safely broken.


    Tristan placed a palm on the man''s chest and infused the body with his architect alloy in much the same way Luke had done with air essence. Only Tristan would not torture Merrick with a protein shake afterward. He made sure to overlap his essence with the artifacts and then he removed the tier five artifact.


    There was an instant drain on his essence, as the task of holding Merrick together ate through his kern¡¯s reserves. He placed the amulet against the wound and slowly weaned his architect alloy off its essence flow. It highlighted the fact that Tristan was underutilizing his Alloys, there was a lot he could do, and it did not all have to be war themed. He would perform better outside of a military setting. His mind started to wander with the possibilities as he waited for the combined alloy and healing amulet to do their work.


    The amulet was covered in blood as Tristan slowly removed it from the injuries. He didn¡¯t want a simple surface level healing, now that the torso was finished, Tristan set the amulet on Merick¡¯s forehead. He wanted to preserve whatever was left of Merick¡¯s mind, not that he was sure the brain worked like that. Maybe healing it would do nothing for lost memories.


    ¡°What kern type did he have?¡± Tristan asked not looking up.


    ¡°He has no kern, it''s broken,¡± Elder River answered.


    ¡°Answer or I¡¯ll put your head in a bucket too!¡±


    ¡°It was a water kern, all the River Caldera¡¯s head family has a water kern,¡± Elder River answered quickly.


    Tristan fished around in his bag before removing a water essence reservoir he had taken from an acolyte. It was a good thing that Ripple was a water god, otherwise the acolytes might not have had the appropriate reservoirs.


    ¡°You know the head family of the Forrest Caldera all had fire kerns until I showed up,¡± Tristan said, as he made Merick consume the water reservoir.


    Now all they had to do was wait. If he lived, the reservoir would boost his gains from the broken kern and expedite his recovery. While he waited Tristan turned back to his original objective.


    ¡°So, can I get something to restrict a tier four¡¯s essence generation?¡± Tristan asked.


    Elder Lake sighed, and pointed at the amulet, ¡°That would do it, though it will only work until the gem fills up.¡±


    ¡°Are you advising me to leave a potentially violent tier four here, only held back by an easily removable necklace?¡± Tristan asked incredulously.


    He had obviously thought of that. The amulet would be great for restraining prisoners during transport but would be relatively useless for long-term confinement.


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    ¡°No of course not.¡± Elder River said, his eyes never strayed from his son. Tristan wondered how such an old man could have such a young son.


    ¡°Then tell me, what do you have that will restrain a tier four,¡± Tristan asked. He had intended to walk in here and ask for a simple favor that was beneficial for everyone. These people were exhausting, he was not sure why, but common sense and self-reflection seemed absent from them. Maybe it was the inherited power, he didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°I have only one thing,¡± Elder River said, ¡°But I can¡¯t use it without at least three of the elders agreeing.¡±


    Tristan frowned, he was sure he could get Elder Plains to agree. Elder Forrest was dead, so was his brother, and, and. Tristan started laughing. Little Tris was Elder Forrest, the idea was so ludicrous that it was funny. The rightful ruler of the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s subjects was a newly six-year-old girl.


    ¡°I can get you that, now what have you got for me?¡± Tristan smiled.


    ¡°Well, it''s the Abyssal Chalice,¡± Elder River said, ¡°It manifests the power of the grand ancestor by consuming the essence of the elders. If three of us aren¡¯t present, we will not exceed its rate of consumption and will lose access to our kerns until the other elders can be gathered.¡±


    That was a weird ability. Tristan had long assumed that the Abyssal Chalice was a soul tool, Vulcan had shown him a similar vision to the one Sai showed. Though any soul tool suppressing the wielder would be doing it intentionally. Unless there was some trigger or exemption that Tristan was unaware of.


    ¡°How does it determine who is an Elder?¡± Tristan asked. His thought was, that he could just substitute a bunch of essence reservoirs if it only needed a specific amount of essence.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I assume the grand ancestor has his ways,¡± Elder River said.


    In other words, Elder River had no idea. Tristan only had access to two soul tools. Vulcan and Conni¡¯s grandmother. One was too powerful to be a realistic comparison, and the other was in the same tier as its owner. Times like this where he could get important answers with little effort made him miss Vulcan.


    ¡°Mr Frosty, could you go and get my mother and younger sister?¡± Tristan was not worried about them being harmed by Frosty. The man would if he was ordered, but Tristan did not see it coming to that. Elder River¡¯s only experience with metal kerns was the alchemist, and he had just watched his son¡¯s chest wounds heal, no way would he risk his son over something like this.


    Frosty glanced at Elder River, who gave a simple nod. The guard jogged out of the room silently. Dirty stepped forward to compensate for Frosty¡¯s absence.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why do you need your sister?¡± Elder River said.


    ¡°She is the current heir of the Forrest Caldera. Siren should have killed Elder Forrest earlier today, so she is the new Elder,¡± Tristan explained.


    Elder River smiled happily at the news, ¡°Serves that young upstart right for causing this mess.¡±


    Tristan frowned. Elder River was sheltering the elder that started this mess, so what did that mean Elder Plain should have done to him?


    Elder River held out his hand in much the same way Tristan did when summoning Vulcan. Dark smoke started coalescing in his palm and dripping between his middle and pointer fingers. It formed a stem and cup before the smoke appeared to pool out into the stand that the cup stood upon.


    There was one dramatic difference between this cup and the one Tristan had seen during the sifting. It was empty, no smoky liquid was sitting within it.  Without it, the chalice was less impressive. Tristan summoned Vulcan again, causing Dirty to tense, but he simply wanted to compare them. He could see nothing that could draw a connection between them. The Abyssal Chalice was not made out of metal, it was made out of glass or stone, so if he didn¡¯t know what it was, Tristan would not have known he was looking at a tier six artifact.


    He had thought that artifacts were locked to matching kerns. It appeared that soul tools were the exception. Vulcan pulled essence straight from the primordial realm, and could also activate himself on command, though with only a fraction of his power.


    Tristan¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by the return of Frosty. He stepped inside followed by Tris, Helen, and finally Shadow Fist. Tristan narrowed his eyes at the man. He had not told Frosty only to bring Helen and Tris, but bringing another variable could not be safe for the Elder.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Tristan asked.


    Shadow Fist shrugged, ¡°Getting in some family time, a walk sounded nice,¡± He glanced over Tristan''s shoulder and saw the two men trying to get custom helmets off, ¡°That is the reason Forrest never let me get to tier three.¡±


    ¡°If you cause any issues, you will be joining them,¡± Tristan threatened, ¡°Either way, how does the succession work in the Forrest Caldera? Who is the new elder if Siren killed Elder Forrest?¡±


    Shadow Fist grinned, ¡°Helen would be, but she is currently married to me. My treason disqualifies me, so it is passed on to Helen¡¯s eldest child.¡±


    Tristan raised an eyebrow and pointed at Tris, ¡°So her?¡±


    Shadow Fist nodded and looked at his daughter, ¡°Honey, you¡¯re the new Elder Forrest.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be Elder Forest. I am Princess Forrest,¡± Little Tris said, ¡°Also why is there a man sitting in a bunch of flowers?¡±


    Tristan was about to pass her words off until he realized that she had said sitting. He spun around to find Merrick sitting up and looking around blearily at everyone.


    Merrick yawned then said, ¡°Dad, you look like a raisin who was left in the sun for a thousand years.¡±

 180. Parasite Cup

    Everyone stared at Merrick for a few moments.  Tristan was smug, he knew what he was doing, kind of. Helen and Tris looked on with confusion they had no idea what was happening. Shadow Fist and Elder River with shock. Tristan was not aware that his father knew Merrick.


    ¡°Son,¡± Elder River said hesitantly, ¡°you¡¯re alive.¡±


    Tristan rolled his eyes. They had used a medical stasis artifact on the man. It was only due to a lack of knowledge that he hadn¡¯t been brought back sooner. Tristan was ninety-nine percent sure that somewhere within the healing artifact stash of the head family was something to stop blood loss.


    Couple that with a healing artifact and even with the tier difference, the injury should¡¯ve been healable.


    The only thing they couldn¡¯t have known was that an essence reservoir could subsidize the body¡¯s reliance on essence until the kern could supply it. Not that they could have known, the temple would¡¯ve just had to have shared the knowledge on how to harvest them. They kept that secret as a religious funeral ritual for any elemental they came across. So, anyone with a proper education on forces and essence could have brought him back.


    Tristan couldn¡¯t blame them for the lack of education.  He had a tier five alchemist and a tier fifteen soul tool teach him quite a bit that wasn¡¯t available to the common man or even the elders. If the Caldera survived this war and defeated the Lord of the Underworld there would be a new golden age in the Caldera.


    Merrick looked at his father uncertainly, ¡°am I not supposed to be alive? And who are all these other people, none of them look like the healers that I¡¯m aware of?¡±


    ¡°You were dead, ¡°  Elder River said, ¡°this young man brought you back. ¡°


    Tristan got a bad premonition.


    Elder River continued, ¡°He is a silver devil and apparently has necromantic powers.¡±


    Tristan groaned.


    Little Tris tugged at Shadow Fist¡¯s arm, ¡°Dad what is a neck romantic?¡°


    Shadow Fist smiled, ¡°it is somebody who can do special things with dead bodies.¡±


    ¡°I am not a necromancer, ¡° Tristan huffed, ¡° now can we get back to sealing up Shadow Fist¡¯s kern?¡±


    Merrick blinked several times, ¡°Helen, you have a girl? I could swear you had a little boy.¡±


    Shadow Fist looked uncertainly at Tristan. He wondered how his father would get around this one. Continuing the charade no longer had any value. The Temple¡¯s influence was massively crippled, and the laws of the Caldera had little authority.


    Shadow Fist shrugged noncommittally. Helen slapped him in the back of the head, ¡°This is our second child, uh Tristan,¡± She pointed at her son, ¡°That is our son,¡±


    ¡°Who is also called Tristan?¡± Merrick asked slowly, he looked Tristan up and down, ¡°How long was I, uh¡­ Where is Laura?¡±


    Elder River grimaced, ¡°Your wife is dead, she couldn¡¯t handle losing you,¡± he looked over at Tristan. He set the Abyssal Chalice on the end table, ¡°Do what you need to with the chalice, I need to talk with my son. Many old wounds will be fresh for him.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Take as much time as you need. I¡¯ll be heading back to the Lake Caldera after this, if you have any messages for Elder Lake or Siren let me know before I leave.¡±


    Elder River led his son out. Merrick looked to be in shock. Tristan couldn¡¯t understand what he was going through, one day he was fighting mythical beasts to protect his home, the next he woke up to find out the people he fought for were dead. Just because he couldn¡¯t understand it did not mean he didn¡¯t pity the man.


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    ¡°So what¡¯s this about sealing my kern?¡± Shadow Fist asked. He sounded more inquisitive than fearful. His dark kern was not his most potent ability, his ability to motivate and win over the common man was. That made the River Caldera a surprisingly good place to dump him. Not many common men to win over.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°You¡¯re not important enough for me to deal with, but you¡¯re also too important for me to let Blacklake¡¯s people slice you up for info.¡±


    Shadow Fist¡¯s face paled a little. Evidently, he knew Blacklake. It should not have come as a surprise, they basically had the same job. Shadow Fist just did more with propaganda than murder while Blacklake was the opposite.


    Tristan pushed aside the family drama. This soul tool should be bound to the one who possessed it, however it was designed to be used by six individuals. No five, the Grass Caldera was a recent addition within the last two decades. How could that be? Tristan had little knowledge of artifact design, to the point that he called true artifacts formed upon a person''s death, reservoir imbued tools, and soul tools all artifacts. However, he was sure that artifacts were not designed to have multiple kerns interacting with them.


    Not knowing what else to do, he decided to be a good silver devil and force some answers out of an old man. He walked over to Elder Plain and picked him up by his collar. The old man was so thin that his extra weight barely registered. Drawing his knife, Tristan sliced the helmet off the elder¡¯s face.


    Elder Plain spat out the piece of seat cushion, ¡°I will have you skinned alive for this-¡°


    Slap!


    Tristan sighed, ¡°You are under a terrible misconception. You will die today if you don¡¯t cooperate, you are responsible for the deaths of nearly twenty thousand people,¡± Tristan slapped the man as he tried to speak, ¡°I don¡¯t care if it hasn¡¯t been proven in the nonexistent wartime courts. Before you think the information you have is valuable, remember Elder River will be back in here within the next few hours and he can tell me what you know.¡±


    Shadow Fist nodded approvingly. That more than anything else made Tristan consider that he might be going a little too far. Had power gotten to his head? He was treating violence as his first option. Elder Plain certainly deserved it, but Tristan was not looking to get justice, he simply wanted to waste less time.


    Conni was right. He was prone to selfishness and anger. He was fine with working with Hadrid, and that man was the criminal overlord of the Caldera, so he could not even hold the moral high ground over Elder River. Of course, he would not tell the now pale Elder Plain these thoughts. Frosty and Dusty had followed their lord out and he was now alone in a room surrounded by a silver devil and his family.


    Tristan smiled, it was fake, his enjoyment of suppressing the man had faded, ¡°Tell me, how does the Abyssal Chalice function?¡±


    Elder Plain flinched, but he answered, ¡°It is simple, any of the grand ancestor''s descendants can use it. Fill it with essence and he will be able to answer.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°How does that pertain to the current dilemma of sealing away Shadow Fist¡¯s kern?¡±


    ¡°The essence is not used, only stored in a different area. That is why we have the sifting, the grand ancestor takes some essence and can tell us your kern and potential,¡± Elder Plain was nearly in tears. It seemed that the threats were having an effect, ¡°The reason why we need three or more Elders is the essence won¡¯t be released until more is put into the chalice than it can hold. Though only a descendant of the grand ancestor can complete the process and release the essence.¡±


    Tristan tried to wrap his mind around that. The soul tool was like a bucket, but it stored essence instead of water, the grand ancestor would only awaken when one of his descendants topped the bucket up. Vulcan had said soul tools all eventually went insane, they were immortal beings with a very specific purpose. Eventually, that purpose would pass away or be completed, the grand ancestor had dodged insanity with a type of sleep state.


    Being woken up a few times a year would stop his mind from decaying at a noticeable pace. Once his line died out, he would just never wake up, becoming nothing more than a super sturdy cup that could be summoned and dismissed. As to how he could do this, Tristan could think of a few forces. Encroachment was the one he wanted Siren to get as it was all about moving things around without passing through the intervening space. Emptiness, it would be able to store a person''s kern, though it contradicted the image of a full cup.


    He thought back to his experience. The black spear looked exactly like Siren¡¯s cohesion. There was a very real damage that it inflicted, but it was nothing like what a spear would inflict. He had coughed up blood but had no hole poked in his chest. Mentally he ran through the list of forces he had memorized in the book that would cause that effect.


    He had nothing else to read, so he had read each of the three books dozens of times. The biology one was boring, so he hadn¡¯t done much with it, but ¡®Collecting and Transferring Essence¡¯ and ¡®Natural Forces¡¯ were fascinating so he read them many times. For educational purposes, of course, it wasn¡¯t because he wanted to make a glowing lightning sword that would destroy his enemies.


    Parasitism or possession were the only two forces that came to mind. Neither sounded nice. Both would allow the grand ancestor to take things, especially from a defenseless tier zero child. Vulcan had shown the ability to shut down Tristan¡¯s essence before. Eve had described it like a god had entered the room for a moment, while the grand ancestor was weaker than that, he would still match the Lord of the Underworld. Within a vision, this soul tool had ripped a piece of Tristan out, he was not sure how to feel about that. The zealots in the temple would have killed him otherwise, but it still sucked.


    It also explained why the lung hadn¡¯t truly healed until he received a force that could literally replace body parts. He turned to his father, he had a force, but if anything it would make the chalice more effective. The last thing a person should do is inject a parasite full of consumption.


    ¡°Alright, start pushing essence in,¡± Tristan told his father. The cup was empty right now and would be able to store all of Shadow Fist¡¯s essence. Once Elder River returned, he would take the chalice with him and pass it off to Siren or someone else he could trust. He did not want Shadow Fist to think he could just kill Elder River, take the chalice, and take over the River Caldera.


    Shadow Fist sighed, before placing his forearm up to the chalice. Once the cup was halfway full of essence, he shuddered and stepped back. He looked like he wanted to vomit.


    ¡°Good, now to make you harmless,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°What, I¡¯m already harmless.¡± Shadow Fist complained.


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Yes, for a person with a tier four physique. Those hand restraints would be weighing you down more if you had lost it.¡±


    Shadow Fist went home that day with his ankles restrained as well. He complained the whole way.

 181. Rings of Honesty

    ¡°Remind me again, why are you coming?¡± Tristan asked Merrick. True to his word, after locking away Shadow Fist¡¯s kern and hobbling him, Tristan intended to leave the River Caldera. The final step of the conflict was coming. He had no intention of missing it.


    ¡°We are fighting, while I never got the opportunity to become an Elder, I still intend to protect my homeland,¡± Merrick said, then he shrugged, ¡°Also there are quite a few people that I would like to see again.¡±


    More tier fours would always be better than less tier fours, even if Merrick and Kerri were the weakest specimens. Hadrid had alluded to the idea that not everyone who broke their kern received a force. Merrick had received a sizable boost from the essence reservoir, but he hadn¡¯t gotten a force. It was slightly disappointing.


    Tristan shouldered the pack. Elder River had filled it with essence reservoirs from the temple¡¯s exposed stockpile, an odd hot plate that could liquefy metal, some forging tools, and a care package for Eve. He was not sure what was in the box, but he wouldn¡¯t pry into his friend¡¯s family life. Well, not more than returning a lost uncle.


    Helen had given him something as well, though he was not sure what to think about it. In a normal family, he was sure it would have been sweet, but a shirt with Trys¡¯s little palm prints dyed into it did not appeal to him. Even if he did wear it, the first flame elemental he ran across would ruin it.


    ¡°Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing, maybe I know them,¡± Tristan asked as they started jogging.


    It would only take an hour or two to arrive in the Lake Caldera thanks to the amount of ground a tier four could cover.


    ¡°Do you know Eve, Gravis, or Cole?¡± Merrick asked.


    ¡°I know your niece, we fought the horde of ghost crabs that Elder Plain dragged in and she spent a lot of time with me at the mine before the Lord of the Underworld showed up,¡± Tristan was about inform Merrick about Cole, but the man was giving Tristan a death glare.


    ¡°She spent a lot of time with you?¡± Merrick asked, ¡°Did anything happen between you two.¡±


    Tristan was bad at reading situations, but even he could tell what Merrick was angling at. He did not like the insinuation that he couldn¡¯t control himself. Maybe things would be different if Merrick stood a ghost of a chance of enforcing any threat, but if the man could not give Tristan the benefit of the doubt, then Tristan would push back.


    He decided to mess with the man, ¡°Sure, after we fought Regis, the renegade civil protector of the Lake Caldera, I realized that I could not live without Eve in my life and gave her my heart. Since then we have been through many painful things, but she made me whole.¡±


    All of it was true. If Eve had not gone to Elder River and gotten the malnutrition artifact, Tristan would have died from Bruce¡¯s spear. He did hand Eve his heart, literally, without her it would not be beating in his chest.


    Merrick¡¯s face turned red and he looked like he was about to explode.


    ¡°I am messing with you,¡± Tristan sighed, shaking his head, ¡°You take things way too seriously.¡±


    Marriage was not something Tristan had seriously considered. Definitely, not with Eve, she was already engaged even if it was to a coward. Though if he had to pick someone, she was the only one who came to mind. He shook his head to dislodge the frivolous thoughts that Merrick had put in his head.


    ¡°Oh, good,¡± Merrick smiled, ¡°I was worried she had been smitten by a necromancer.¡±


    That was about the most insulting way that Merrick could have phrased it. Tristan chose to focus on the second part, ¡°Once again, not a necromancer, you weren¡¯t dead. Why is it easier to believe that I can break the laws of life and death than you simply not being dead?¡±


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    Tristan slowed a little to allow Merrick to keep pace. It was a surprise to Tristan that he was faster than another tier four. All the ones he had spent time around had forces, even if they weren¡¯t related to speed, normal forces flavored the essence with a bit of the force''s potency. A sliver of any force was a substantial boost to anyone''s essence, as most forces were colossal world consuming things that only spared the planet they stood on due to being in a separate realm.


    Tristan did not benefit from the same essence quality upgrade that Siren, Regis, and Luke enjoyed. It was a worthwhile trade off for versatility in his opinion. Vulcan proved that a good weapon could more than close the gap. He just needed to learn to make a replacement for Vulcan before he was returned to his descendants in the other plane.


    ¡°Yeah, you are suggesting that a silver devil is more skilled in healing arts than any of my father¡¯s specialists,¡± Merrick said, ¡°I mean no insult when I say this, but silver devils are known as savages.¡±


    ¡°Aside from me, have you ever met one?¡± Tristan asked. He would not deny that he was a bit of a savage, he lacked manners.


    ¡°Well, no,¡± Merrick said, ¡°So what does the metal kern let you do if you can¡¯t affect death and life.¡±


    Tristan opened his mouth and then paused. When his abilities were listed off, rot, hunger, healing, and infusion, it did sound like a zombie lineup.


    ¡°I can make metal, it''s a metal kern,¡± Tristan answered like it was common sense because it was.


    ¡°Well, regardless, thank you,¡± Merrick said.


    His eyes widened slightly as they topped a hill and the Lake Caldera came into view. It was a sight from their elevated position. A ring of tents surrounded it, and even from this distance soldiers could be seen drilling in formation. In the distance, intermittent flashes of lightning could be seen. Tristan had left a few healing reservoirs with Luke. Was he manufacturing more tier fours or just beating up on some poor warriors?


    ¡°I can guess where Cole and Eve are, but I have no idea who Gravis is,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Where would you like to go, I have things to do so I will just be dropping you off.¡±


    Merrick smiled slightly, ¡°Take me to Eve.¡±


    Tristan nodded before continuing towards the Lake Caldera. Predictably, Eve, Cole, and everyone else of importance were in a meeting at the stewards building. Janis was guarding the door in his gold and blue armor.


    ¡°Hey, Janis go get Eve, tell her that her uncle, Merrick, is here,¡± Tristan said.


    Janis gave Tristan an odd look, as did Merrick. The man stepped inside though. Good, now that this task was behind him he could focus on what was important. Getting Vulcan back. If battles were won on information, having a super ancient and knowledgeable general would be a great boon. The fastest way to get him back would be to expend the metal and fire, a spar with Luke was what Tristan had in mind.


    Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Kerri, ¡°How dare you use¡­¡±


    Tristan looked over his shoulder to see Kerri¡¯s mouth halfway open. He was impressed that the idiot could halt his flow of words before making a fool of himself.


    ¡°Who is this,¡± Merrick stage whispered to Tristan.


    ¡°He¡¯s the idiot who¡¯s engaged to Eve,¡± Tristan stage whispered back.


    The dark expression came back and Merrick glared at Kerri. Tristan decided that watching Kerri getting his teeth knocked in would be a great use of his time.


    Then Eve came out a frown on her face. It was aimed at Tristan, and she barely seemed to register Merrick, ¡°Tristan, you know you shouldn¡¯t interrupt these meetings, they are important.¡±


    Instead of defending himself, Tristan pointed at Merrick. The man had a weird expression. It was an odd mixture of loss and happiness that Tristan couldn¡¯t quite place. Once Eve saw the her uncle, she froze, almost like she was seeing a ghost.


    Then she said something very confusing, ¡°Dad?¡±


    Dad? He would have been less than ten when he had Eve. Ruth was a bit older, so even younger for her. Tristan inspected the artifact. Tier six, it was super potent, maybe it could have locked all the body¡¯s processes. Age was not something that could just be casually overcome, but he would also be shocked if a force like the architect force was incapable of interacting with it.


    Tristan was not sure what to think of the situation. Merrick was not even ten years older than his daughter anymore, he had lost the chance to be a parent.


    Merrick nodded at Eve¡¯s question. They both approached each other, meeting in the middle of the steps. Eve frowned, smiled, then hugged Merrick and started crying. Her dad returned the hug.


    ¡°Everything will be fine,¡± He said.


    It took a few minutes, but Eve finally regained control. She took a deep breath and took a step back.


    ¡°It''s been a while, I missed a lot,¡± Merrick smiled, ¡°I have a lot of lost time to make up.¡±


    Eve nodded.


    ¡°I hear you''re engaged,¡± Merrick said, glancing approvingly at Kerri, ¡°I see you took my advice on the value of rings.¡±


    Kerri¡¯s face froze. Tristan mirrored him.


    ¡°Uh, Tristan gave this one to me,¡± Eve said with a laugh. Merrick¡¯s glare landed judgingly on Tristan.


    It was time to be anywhere else.

 182. Like a Bull in a Shooting Range

    Tristan had a new theory. Dads were all strange. It took him quite some time to get Merrick to believe nothing untoward had happened. How could Tristan have known that Eve had decided to keep the ring around? He had no idea what it did, but he was sure that it must have a good effect if it was worth keeping.


    Eventually, Merrick was mollified by Eve, who was mortified at the situation occurring in public. Tristan sighed as he left the city, what was wrong with people? Closing his eyes he reoriented himself and started heading toward where he had seen the flashing lights. Turns out it was much harder to locate on sight than from a distance, the flashes of light were strangely silent.


    Tristan finally pulled aside one of the men running back and forth with supplies, ¡°Hey, can you point me towards Luke, uh the guy with lightning.¡±


    The man repositioned the bag of flower he was holding. His eyes were confused until Tristan mentioned the lightning, ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t want to meet him. He¡¯s crazy.¡±


    Tristan couldn¡¯t argue with that, but it did make him curious, ¡°What did Luke do?¡±


    ¡°He advertised himself at tier five, then offered lessons,¡± The carrier said, ¡°some of the warriors tried it and I saw a few be taken out on stretchers.¡±


    ¡°Well, that sounds tough, I still need to know where he is,¡± Tristan pushed.


    Finally, the carrier nodded, ¡°Sure, he¡¯s over in the old rubble pile, ¡°at Tristan¡¯s uncomprehending expression, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s where we put all the dirt from the foundations of any new home that is built. It¡¯s about a mile to the east.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Tristan nodded, then turned and started jogging towards the rubble pile.


    Digging foundations for homes was a new concept for Tristan. In the Forrest Caldera, many homes did have foundations, but none had been built in his short time in the city. Most homes there were made of mud and straw to create a sturdy but small structure, they were built on top of the dirt.


    It contrasted what he grew up with against what the other calderas experienced. The Forrest Caldera was the second wealthiest, but its people were the second poorest. Tristan could only believe that it was yet another sign of bad management.


    After a few minutes of dodging around wagons and busy people, Tristan left the camp behind. The piles of dirt were less obvious than the courier made them sound. Yes, they were made of dirt, but many were so old that trees had taken root. He would have missed them entirely if bricks from a condemned building hadn¡¯t caught his eye. Once he saw one piece, more came into view. A chunk of tile, some broken glass, and other parts of buildings were scattered about.


    The hills were wider than they were tall, standing at about twenty feet tall and between thirty and fifty feet wide. The sounds of grunts and the thudding of wood against metal could be heard from the other side. Sounded like something interesting was going on. Tristan climbed the dirt pile and was surprised at the design.


    All the piles were arraigned in a ¡®C¡¯ shape. A road led directly into the center where the construction workers would presumably park carts of dirt while they unloaded it. Where that cart would be, a three way sparring match was occurring. Kale and another of Siren¡¯s twelve were trying to strike Luke.


    The other nine were standing off to the side. So Shale did not make it out after all. The other eleven were all present, and all sported bruises. Luke was out of their league at tier four. Now that he was a good chunk of the way through tier five, they did not stand a chance. Though tier was not the only reason he was winning.


    Luke¡¯s father had taught him to fight before he could walk. Rail was a relatively unknown figure, as he never made himself public, but he was one of the most dangerous people in the Caldera¡¯s history. That young start and brutal upbringing did pay dividends when he needed to kill something. An unfortunate lesson that was being driven home to the warriors.


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    Tristan summoned Vulcan. He needed to expend a large amount of essence, multiple times over to empty Vulcan¡¯s reserves and there was no time like the present. A set of adamant armor wrapped around him and a sphere of metal enclosed the fire at the lamp post¡¯s tip. He did not want to burn anyone. Then he charged down towards the combatants without considering the fact that no one could see his face.


    Luke noticed him at the last moment. He tried to spin out of the way of Tristan¡¯s charge, but he made a handful of marble constructs and threw them. Luke managed to avoid being run over, but the marbles all startled him. It did not do any damage, but when he tried throwing lightning at Tristan, the metal orbs pulled it off target.


    Tristan was about to start laughing at Luke¡¯s incredulous expression, but he had to scramble out of the way of a sword. The armor probably could have taken it, Tristan was not used to fighting in it. Kale¡¯s swing went wide, but it allowed him to step in and shove a small sun into his chest.


    The fire construct exploded, doing little to the armor. However, Tristan was launched backward. Those suns were too powerful. Also wasn¡¯t Kale armed with a tree branch? He looked over to see the other warriors setting down their club¡¯s and removing their real weapons. The man who had been fighting alongside Kale had gotten a hammer from somewhere.


    Tristan scrambled to his feet and brought the shaft of his lamp post up and braced himself. The hammer was heavy, but not to the point it would stagger Tristan.


    ¡°He has tower plate!¡± Kale yelled.


    Tristan reinforced the armor as it slowly drifted into smoke. He kicked the warrior back. It probably packed as much power as the hammer blow, which startled the man. Tristan lacked both the desire and time to capitalize on the prone man, as Kale came in again, followed by another warrior.


    ¡°Hey, it''s me,¡± Tristan yelled, he did not want to hurt them. Also, he did not want to get hurt, as there was no way he could handle eleven of them non-lethally. Even then it was only possible to survive due to Vulcan¡¯s ocean of essence, as Kale¡¯s firebomb would have seriously injured him without it.


    Unfortunately, they either didn¡¯t hear, or ¡®it¡¯s me¡¯ was not descriptive enough. The great sword was unable to get through the adamance plate, Kale¡¯s blade threw out sparks as it scraped into Tristan''s pauldron. Tristan grabbed Kale¡¯s wrist and pulled him into another warriors swing. Tristan coated his knuckles in gravity empowered metal. Then set the gravity on it to pull on the oncoming warrior.


    The man had an air kern causing him to weigh substantially less than Tristan. Now the ground effectively became a wall and he fell at Tristan. He fell right into the smooth knuckles on Tristan¡¯s gauntlet. Nothing broke, but it still knocked the wind out of the air kern.


    Someone would be seriously hurt if this continued. He reached up to pull off his helmet when something inconceivably fast slammed into him. It dented the adamant armor and threw Tristan into one of the piles of dirt. A quick scan of his kern revealed that the chest plate had a concave section that had broken a rib.


    A quick pulse of healing alloy informed Tristan that he couldn¡¯t heal the rib until the armor was gone. Unfortunately, it was a construct, generated as a single piece with no buckles. He would have to wait for it to dissipate. Who had hit him hard enough to dent his armor, Tristan hadn¡¯t thought that was possible.


    He looked up to see Luke with a lattice of electricity connecting his forearms. One of Tristans beads was smashed into a puck and floating between them. All thoughts of taking his helmet off were gone as he wove a shield first, then a wall. Good thing too, as Luke released the pent-up energy. The wall was thicker than his armor but also had a lower concentration of adamance. An impact rung the metal like a gong, as the small projectile hammered into it.


    He had found an issue. Vulcan had the forces of a tier fifteen, but Tristan was tier four, and his ability to use them was drying up. A headache started forming as he tried to pull more and more. Fine, he could admit that running at a group of highly trained killers was stupid, he needed to end this.


    Fire collected at the end of the lamp post as Tristan powered through the headache and shoved combustion and gravity into the rotating ball. The charge on the attack was rather slow, which was an issue because Luke was rather fast. He closed the distance with plenty of time to spare.


    In frustration, Tristan activated the attack early. Everything about it was lesser, but at this distance, it was still enough to drive them both to their knees. Luke gritted his teeth under the downward pressure and slowly got back to his feet. Then his eyes saw the now visible flames at the end of the metal pole.


    ¡°Tristan. You¡¯re an idiot.¡± Then Luke slapped him.

 183. Tier Up the Elite

    Tristan did feel very stupid. What did he think would happen when he hid all identifying markers, then charged into a dozen overtrained warriors? Well, he hadn¡¯t expected to almost die. If adamance was not a step away from invulnerability he would have been cut in half by Luke¡¯s rail cannon. Tristan shuddered at the thought, with a tier fifteen¡¯s resources, Vulcan hadn¡¯t been able to survive a single strike from the chief god. He needed to remember that awesome power was not the same as ultimate power.


    ¡°Boy, what is wrong with you?¡± Kale asked, shaking his head in disbelief.


    ¡°It sounded like a good idea at the time, I needed to run through a lot of essence fast,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Also, I¡¯m tier four, I thought I could hold my own.¡±


    The older man slid his great sword into its sheath before extending a hand to help Tristan to his feet, ¡°You¡¯re lucky that you survived. How did you survive? Not even tower plate is quite able to stop that attack!¡±


    Tristan thumped the chest piece, wincing as the motion moved his broken rib, ¡°This is laced with adamance, it¡¯s superior to tower steel.¡±


    Tower steel had a force. He skimmed his memories and found it not in his own, but Hailey¡¯s. Tower steel had the force of absorption, why hadn¡¯t it dissipated into a cloud of essence? Tristan¡¯s armor was already smoking, though it was still a ways from dissipating. He had read about essence channels, they could be used to funnel forces through normal metals, but the tower steel had been melted down. They should have lost all their essence channels.


    ¡°What?¡± Kale asked after Tristan stood still while staring at his great sword.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t tower steel turn to smoke like the adamant armor?¡± Tristan asked. He was not sure why he asked, none of the people here held the answers. He would need to ask for some tower plate, even a single link of chain mail would work. Then he would be able to examine his knives and the metal for similarities.


    ¡°A better question is how come a force named for ¡®not moving¡¯ turns to smoke?¡± Luke said.


    That was the question Tristan wanted answered. Unlike Tristan, Luke had no interest in learning to do anything that involved creation. This was sad because Tristan would bet that conductivity was one of the better crafting forces.


    ¡°We have observers,¡± The warrior with the hammer said.


    Up on the ridge several dozen curious people could be seen. Surprisingly, Tristan could recognize Merrick, Grace was also there, along with twenty or so that Tristan didn¡¯t recognize. Seeing Merrick did remind Tristan of something. Something that he had left in his bag at the top of that hill.


    ¡°Hey, Luke,¡± Tristan asked, ¡°Have you tried to tier them up?¡±


    Luke shook his head, ¡°No, was not willing to risk it without your healing abilities. These tier threes will be better than many tier fours, as you no doubt just learned.¡±


    Tristan rubbed the spot where Kale had nailed him with the compressed flame. He had lacked the time to fortify himself¡­without the armor, it would have seriously injured him. Kale was also the weakest one here. The rest hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to bring their skills to bear.


    ¡°I found a way to make it safe,¡± Tristan grinned, ¡°It¡¯s expensive, but I raided the temple so they can fund the project.¡±


    ¡°You heretic,¡± Luke grinned back. He turned to the assorted elite warriors, ¡°Alright, who wants to reach tier four?¡±


    Tristan wondered how Luke intended to convince them that it was life and death. He jogged to the top of the hill, and couldn¡¯t help but throw a jab at Merrick, ¡°How do you like your future son-in-law?¡±


    Merrick scowled, ¡°I will need to have a talk with my father about matchmaking. That doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s available.¡±


    Tristan chuckled as he passed Merrick. Eve was only a year older than himself, but she had also been leading the River Caldera part of the army admirably. If helming an army did not qualify someone to make simple life choices, Tristan did not know what could.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Kerri will grow on you, I¡¯m sure. Anyway, what are you doing here?¡± Tristan picked up his bag, waved at Grace, and turned back down the hill.


    He hadn¡¯t cared much about what the man thought, but Merrick¡¯s next words pulled Tristan up short, ¡°I came to apologize.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tristan was confused. Merrick had been irritating with his assumptions. However, Tristan could only wish for a dad like that, so he was just happy for Eve to have someone back. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t feel so alone.


    ¡°I made several untrue assumptions about your character,¡± Merrick answered.


    This man was heir to the highest position in the caldera. If Tristan hadn¡¯t taken the Abyssal Chalice, Merrick would have been its keeper. People in power did not apologize. Well, two did, one was Conni and he was from another plane.


    And the other, ¡°Eve told me you were apprenticed to Gravis, he would not tolerate anything like that. Ah, you know him as Siren, his full name was Sir Gravis Ren. He was part of my squad back in the day.¡±


    Tristan blinked several times. Why would someone with the first name Gravis choose to go by Ren? Also, Siren was in his squad? Tristan supposed that the strongest was not necessarily in charge, however he could not see a world where Siren was less skilled than Merrick.


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Merrick said, reading Tristan¡¯s face.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Tristan said holding his hand up to forestall Merrick¡¯s next words, ¡°It¡¯s just, have you met Siren? You are not his equal, let alone his better.¡±


    To Tristan¡¯s surprise, Merrick smiled, ¡°It¡¯s good that a student thinks so highly of his teacher.¡±


    He thought about arguing the point, but only Siren himself would convince Merrick. Tristan was not sure what stars had aligned to create Siren. The man was more talented at violence than anyone aside from Luke, and Luke at least had the excuse of being trained as a child super killer. Siren was just naturally that good.


    ¡°Well, thank you, I guess,¡± Tristan did not mean for it to come out dismissive and thankfully that was not how Merrick received it. He nodded before clasping his hands behind his back, settling in to wait.


    Tristan was not sure what he was waiting for, possibly for Siren. The mission to remove Elder Forrest should have been completed. Unless something went wrong, Siren should be back at any time. Any injury could delay the return substantially. Pushing Eve¡¯s dad out of his head, Tristan jogged down the hill.


    The last of his armor had dispersed by the time he arrived at the bottom and all the warriors were watching him. Luke had most likely explained the process, and while most people would be skeptical, these people had all wondered how Tristan had jumped tiers without the artifacts he needed. In addition, they had witnessed both the results of Luke and Siren completing the process. They had all seen what an unmonitored broken kern resulted in, but they had also seen the opposite result.


    ¡°Tristan here claims that he has found a way to make the breaking process as safe as life or death can be,¡± Luke said, before turning and waiting for Tristan to explain his reasoning.


    Tristan removed the artifact that had preserved Merrick. Normally he would not be able to utilize a light artifact, however, because it primarily used the architect force, he could supply the necessary force. It was a good thing too, otherwise, he would need someone with a tier four light kern. As far as he knew, no one in the Caldera met that criteria.


    He held up the artifact, ¡°This is a tier five stasis artifact, it will keep you alive while we prime your body with essence and healing. What normally kills is the sudden essence deprivation. At tier three, you are at least three hundred and thirty percent stronger than a tier zero, and that difference between you and a tier zero is based on the essence your kern saturates you with. I can subsidize that deficit and keep you alive.¡± Tristan paused, ¡°The only thing I might struggle with is genuine danger, as I am not willing to murder any of you.¡±


    One of the warriors, this one had two short swords strapped to his back, ¡°I am not worried about the risk, we¡¯ve fought under-tiered against elementals and mythical beasts for over a decade. Tell me though, why has no one discovered this method before you? I mean no insult, but many more intelligent people have tried to remedy this issue.¡±


    Tristan could tell them that there was a dearth of reservoirs due to the temple, or explain how dangerous the situation needed was. He went with the simplest explanation, and pulled the Abyssal Chalice out of his bag, ¡°I asked someone smarter than both of us.¡±


    All the warrior¡¯s eyes went wide. It shut down any questions, after all, who would dare question the grand ancestor? Well, Tristan would, but few others would.


    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± The dual-wielding man asked.


    ¡°I healed Elder River¡¯s son in exchange for it,¡± Tristan said, ¡°I¡¯m going to give it to Siren, I bet he could eventually find a use for a tier six dark artifact.¡±


    That answer satisfied everyone present. All of them would follow Siren anywhere he led, powering him up would only result in good things. Now how were they going to do this?


    Luke whistled, and the sound of excited scrambling answered him. Tristan was confused as Fluffy approached. Its tongue lolled out of its glowing Hell maw as it tumbled down the hill towards Luke. The golize showed off the dog part of its alchemical design as it approached. All of this would have been sort of cute if the creature did not look like it had eaten a demon.


    ¡°Everyone,¡± Luke said as Fluffy scrambled up his leg, ¡°This cut little guy will bite you. You have until the venom kills you to both find and acquire the antidote, which is in that amulet.¡±


    Everyone followed Luke¡¯s pointing finger to the necklace that Tristan was wearing.

 184. Trial by Fluffy

    Eleven sets of eyes landed on Tristan. He wondered why Luke always set him up to get slapped around. When they had broken Siren¡¯s kern, the plan had been to place Tristan between Siren and survival. There was just one flaw, it was one that the warriors also saw.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± the dual wielder scoffed, ¡°We both know that we are too valuable to kill off just because you refuse to heal us. Nothing about this is truly dangerous.¡±


    That was the crux of the issue. Any situation did not have to be dangerous, Tristan just needed to convince them that it was. It was theoretically possible to be completely safe while convincing yourself that you were in enough danger to warrant that extra third that a kern withheld. Also, it did not need to be them that was in danger, if their child was in danger it may create the same reaction. Not that Tristan was willing to risk a child for this.


    Luke seemed surprised at the warrior¡¯s cavalier attitude, ¡°Well, you¡¯re right. I guess.¡±


    Tristan mentally groaned. That was not something one could admit to the victim, and still have them take it seriously. They needed to get beyond the rational mind that would realize their value and target their animal mind. Really, he needed to make them afraid.


    ¡°Luke, what does the venom in your pets mouth do?¡± Tristan asked, depending on the effect it might work.


    ¡°Blacklake said it was something that causes a fever, why,¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°They need to be afraid, so I was hoping it would be a hallucinogen,¡± Tristan deflated slightly.


    Luke growled in exasperation, ¡°You know what, screw this whole thing, I don¡¯t care about this. If you can¡¯t fight for your lives then you¡¯re not worth keeping around.¡± He gently set Fluffy down and waited for his pet to scamper off, ¡°Tristan, hand Fluffy the amulet.¡±


    Tristan had seen Luke get frustrated before. He seemed to have a set amount of patience, after which he would solve his problems with violence. Fluffy ran over tail wagging, Tristan made an identical copy with architect alloy and let Fluffy take it in her mouth. The original went into his pocket.


    The man with the hammer shifted from one foot to the other warily, and the dual wielder crossed his arms, ¡°You can¡¯t seriously believe that. We are the best the Caldera has to.¡±


    Luke flashed forward and grabbed the man by his face and slammed him into the ground. The man grunted, but the soil was soft enough to soften the impact. Both swords were drawn from their scabbards, but not by the warrior. Luke drew both of them and shoved them through the man¡¯s guts.


    Everyone stared in shock for a moment before Luke ripped the weapons out and pointed at Fluffy, ¡°Heal Dane. Or don¡¯t.¡±


    The man with the hammer sprinted for Fluffy, who was startled by the large man charging him. Like any smaller creature does, the golize fled. Not that it mattered, Luke closed in and stabbed the man through the thigh, his leathers barely putting up any resistance. He cried out as the weapon slid in, but Luke did not stop, he punched the larger man in the sternum.


    A flash and the sound of burning clothes followed. By this time, all the others were moving. Tristan was not sure who to help, on one hand, Luke seemed unhinged, on the other, the warriors were taking this seriously. He decided he would go and check on the dual wielder, Dane he assumed.


    The man was slowly getting up, his face contorted with the pain of movement. Tristan¡¯s metal sense washed over the man, discovering something startling. Dane was not bleeding. He was injured, but the wound was not gushing the arterial blood it should be. Why?Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡¯ Dane asked. His hands went for weapons that were absent as Tristan probed the injury.


    Luke had cauterized the wound. Gut wounds were notoriously slow to kill in most situations, the seared flesh would slow it down further. It would still be lethal if left untreated, infection would just take the place of blood loss. However, Tristan had multiple healing reservoirs infection was a nonissue.


    Dane knew none of this, and Tristan was not willing to share the discovery. He needed to put Dane in survival mode. Tristan had just the method. He used his tier four abilities to inject the clothes around his hand with decay. From the warrior''s perspective, Tristan was trying to rot him apart, when all he was doing was destroying the top layer of skin and clothing.


    The warrior shoved Tristan back as hard as he could. It only pushed Tristan back by one step, which gave Tristan enough space to wind up a large sweeping punch. Haymakers were generally not advised in combat, highly telegraphed strikes were the easiest to counter. Tristan paid for taking it easy on an elite.


    Dane stepped into the blow, grabbing the arm and pivoting Tristan over his leg. That left Tristan on the ground with a very angry Dane standing over him. Thankfully, Dale had an air kern, so he was unable to make weapons. Tristan reinforced his ribs as Dane stomped down on them, before summoning Vulcan and driving the flaming end into Dane¡¯s face.


    Tristan couldn¡¯t just beat Dane up. That would not be helpful, he needed him to use up his essence. As air was a poor offensive essence type, Tristan needed to make him use it. Adamantine flakes were constructed midair and flames circled around the two of them. Smoke and small blades of fluttering metal should keep him from breathing.


    The next task was to keep Dane inside the circle. It was not easy, but Tristan kept the exertion high enough to plow through the man¡¯s essence reserves in a short time. When Dane finally took a breath, Tristan knew that he had exhausted him. The warrior staggered before Tristan caught him.


    It was a simple matter to give the healing he needed and pass him an air reservoir. Dane should be fine. Tristan just hoped the man would not hold a grudge.


    With that, he turned to his next victim. He focused on the people with fire, water, and air kerns, as he had a large number of those reservoirs. He had no dark or light reservoirs, so the warrior with the dark kern would need to be put under the effect of the stasis artifact. Kale was the perfect target.


    Luke was flitting around, keeping the warriors from grouping up. Blasts of combustible air constructs would rock the elites every time they tried to get coordinated. All of the ones without a fire kern sported burns, but despite having a fire kern, Kale was doing the worst. His injured leg slowed him down. He struggled to follow the combat or catch the golize, who was happily playing keep away with the fake amulet.


    Using Vulcan, Tristan made a long needle like construct. He coated its tip with a touch of his decay alloy before throwing it at Kale. Just as before with Eve, Tristan missed. Fortunately, he hit someone else with a fire kern, it was the dominant kern in the Forrest Caldera. He decided then that he would need to practice his aim.


    The warrior who was hit ignored the glancing blow for a moment. Normally that would have been the right call, but the decay on the spear started eating into his arm. He cursed and brought a flaming palm up to his arm. While burning the injury would be problematic for most people, it would burn away the decay and leave the fire resistant body alone.


    Luke filled the air with droplets of smoking air. Tristan had been told that the quirk of tier five was state control. Solid air was not something that Tristan had ever considered, and it made him wonder where the line between earth, water, and air was truly drawn. He was only in a position to wonder because the droplets weren¡¯t hosting him.


    They were so cold that skin received frost burns and any exposed fire exploded out of control. Including the fire being used to wipe away Tristan¡¯s decay alloy. The warrior screamed as he was burned down to the muscle. It made Tristan feel a little sick inside. He had never really been close with many of the warriors, they mostly saw him as a little kid back at the mine. Still, he did not like watching them get hurt like this.


    Hurt is better than dead. Tristan chanted to himself as he pushed forward. Kale and the injured man noticed his approach at the same time, mostly due to the golden flames collecting with his approach. Tristan would bet that fire resistance was more similar to his reinforcement than innate immunity, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for the skin which was not part of the kern to share the kern¡¯s immunities.


    With that thought in mind, he threw the rotating ball of fire at the two warriors. To Tristan¡¯s surprise, Kale stepped in front of the other man so only one would expend essence defending against the fire. Once the flames passed, Kale stood, sooty but otherwise unharmed. The man he protected stepped out from behind cover holding Tristan''s spear.


    He was a much better shot. Tristan lunged to the side before launching more fire out of Vulcan. His goal was to get them to break their kerns, but he also needed to empty Vulcan. Tristan had noticed something odd about the soul tool. It was not recovering essence as quickly as it should. Normally that would be a bad thing, but currently, it was something he wanted, he needed to expend essence faster than it recovered.


    That was a bad thing for his two opponents. Tristan dumped as much flame as he could pull out of the artifact. Yes, it was scaled to a tier four, but he was torching tier three foes. It took only a few seconds for the flood of fire to tear through the warrior''s already drained kerns. Tristan winced at the burns they received. Both were alive, but crispy, he hadn¡¯t taken into account how hot the stones they collapsed on would be either.


    One fire and one healing reservoir each. Tristan was simply glad that he had raided the Forest Caldera¡¯s stockpile before this.

 185. Breaking Light and Dark

    Luke missed this. When Rail had taken him from his mother and butchered the Civil Protector who she had married after he had abandoned them, Luke had been young. The ex-pit fighter was blessed with a strong body and a weak mind, always blaming others for his problems and taking it out on Luke. He was happy when he broke his son¡¯s kern.


    To this day Luke was not sure how that was possible. Kerns weren¡¯t accessible until puberty was well underway. It gave Luke a taste of what his father sought at a young age. Having the potential of one''s body jump by fifty percent in one night was intoxicating. More intoxicating than the pain of injury. He never feared for his life, it would end one day, regardless of how he lived it.


    Rail had shown him the rush of a petty life. He had also shown him the wonder of flipping that coin, not knowing if today would be the last. There was only one person he had ever met who even vaguely understood that. Tristan would jump into unfeasible situations, and he would still survive. They were nothing alike other than that, but a pack of wolves did not need to be the same, just to be in the same hunt.


    He grinned as he watched Tristan unleash a torrent of flame on Hastings and Kale. Luke also saw the softness as Tristan quickly administered first aid before jumping back into the fray. The warriors had said that they were too important to be killed, which was true, but only from the Caldera¡¯s perspective. They were not part of his hunt.


    He caught the fist of Jenna. Her eyes widened as the spiked gauntlets she used crumbled. Normally, Luke viewed women as weaker variants of men. Within the tier, they were slower and less muscular. Jenna was an exception. She consistently trained herself to exhaustion, and her earth and light kern more than made up for the physical deficits that were the norm. The light and earth essence did not conflict too badly, she couldn¡¯t make light constructs and all her earth ones had to be prisms.


    Luke crushed the prismatic gauntlet and punched her sternum. He enhanced the conductivity of a hair-thin piece of stone. All the force of the blow was directed into that section, shearing it in two. Most people thought lightning was the force he held. It wasn¡¯t, Tristan¡¯s book defined it as the ability to direct waves of excitation.


    Jenna staggered back out of Luke¡¯s range. He made an air construct made of pure nitrogen to smother a fire, the warrior blinked in shock as his power simply shut off. Before he lost control of the nitrogen he packed a dozen times more volume into the same space. The sweet spot was about fourteen times, Luke had no idea why, but when loaded to that level, it went from smothering flame to causing it.


    The explosion threw everyone, including Luke backward. One of Jenna¡¯s arms was bent the wrong way. Luke smiled at her and pointed his stolen sword at her. She gritted her teeth and tried to get up. Her leg seemed to be injured too.


    Grant rumbled in with his earth kern and a giant hammer. Of course, the explosion wouldn¡¯t keep a man covered in three hundred pounds of stone down. He also had an injured leg but was doing a good job ignoring it. Luke sidestepped the hammer and stepped into Grant¡¯s arms. A ball of super-heated air formed before Luke shoved it into the stone on Grant¡¯s chest. The heat inside was instantly transferred into Grant¡¯s armor, Luke pumped more and more in utilizing his force. It turned the chest plate into a stove.


    Luke left him to disassemble the armor and turned to find the last fire kern getting treated by Tristan. Two people aside from Grant were still standing, or at least attempting to. Jenna and Haver, so light and dark were the last ones standing. He did not have to worry about Grant, Tristan moved around Luke after rendering aid. The sound of cursing and crunching stones followed.


    Luke looked over at the final two. Normally it would be difficult to break a dark kern. There were few occasions where the essence was useful in a dangerous occasion. It had no mass and desperately needed a force to be dominant to show the power dormant within it. Luke had a theory that the strongest kern, in the end, would be a dark kern. All the forces in it dealt with destruction or forceful seizure. Kill an enemy and then take their power.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    At tier three with no force in the middle of the day, it was cute. Haver at least had two dark artifacts. Two kitchen knives that would always stay clean. It was a nasty weapon, annihilating any dirt, grime, and flesh that it was stabbed into. It would be better if Haver had a spear or sword, but he did not pick the shape of the available artifacts.


    ¡°You alright, Jenna?¡± Haver asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll manage,¡± she gritted out. Jenna whimpered slightly as she pulled her arm the correct way, then braced it with stone. A similar boot construct was formed around her left ankle. So it was at least sprained.


    ¡°You both done dawdling,¡± Luke said, affecting a bored tone.


    ¡°Oh, you shut,¡± Haver¡¯s words were cut off when Luke rushed him.


    Knives met the short sword, blade on blades. Haver¡¯s were artifacts, both digging into the short sword. Luke pressed down with one hand, grinding the weapons together. Haver was bent backward as Luke tried to cut him. Finally, the man activated his artifacts, and slowly they started cutting through the stolen weapon. It was odd to see a cleaning function turned to violence so effectively.


    Jenna didn¡¯t let the standoff last. She came in swinging. Luke released the pressure on Haver, letting him stagger forward into Jenna¡¯s path. His knives were trapped in the short sword, and he could not get them out before Jenna arrived. With her bum leg, she could not evade. She tripped over Haver and would have gotten impaled on the sword if she hadn¡¯t patched her armor.


    ¡°You forsaken dog,¡± Jenna swore at Luke.


    ¡°Forsaken golize,¡± Luke corrected.


    She wasn¡¯t given the opportunity to process Luke''s correction. Tristan arrived. He punted her in the chest. Luke frowned, that was way less force than Tristan could generate. Jenna landed on her back wide-eyed at the strike that came out of nowhere. Tristan caught up to her and hammered the butt of the lamp post down on her cracking the armor she was frantically repairing to keep him out.


    He broke it three times before the exhaustion dimmed her eyes. At that point, he stopped and knelt beside her. He fed her a healing reservoir and then an earth one. So much money was being fed to these warriors, each reservoir had the potential to be an artifact. They had probably blown through a couple of lifetimes of riches in the last few minutes.


    ¡°So it''s just you and me,¡± Luke said to Haver, who was getting back to his feet.


    ¡°Oh, go to hell,¡± Haver hissed back.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°Probably, the temple considers me a heretic.¡±


    He clenched his fist, for dramatic effect, he did not need to do that to coat it in lightning. Haver readied himself to evade Luke¡¯s attack. Somewhere in the background, Tristan cursed. Luke ignored it once he heard that it was something about dual kerns. Probably just meant it was twice as expensive to break her kern.


    Luke charged, Haver successfully dodged to the side despite his obvious exhaustion. Then he stabbed out at Luke with both knives. He was far too slow, Luke shoved both weapons aside using Haver¡¯s wrists. Electricity burned the hand he touched, still, it did not stop Haver from pushing forward with the other knife. Luke pumped more electricity into his wrist causing him to jerk.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Tristan yelled.


    Luke froze for a moment. He felt that there was something off with his tone. Haver jumped at the opportunity and stabbed Luke. It was a shoulder wound, and not that dangerous. The effect on Haver was immediate, no one realized how tiers affected the body. Luke was very resistant to tier one kitchen knives, his skin was almost ten times tougher than an ordinary person''s. It was a durability that most would associate with mythical beasts.


    Did that stop the knife? No, but it ramped up the essence needed to resist Luke. The effect was a broken kern for Haver and an injured shoulder for Luke. Tristan slammed into Haver a moment later, dragging the blade back out of Luke¡¯s shoulder. Luke was confused at the almost frantic look in his friend¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°What happened,¡± Luke asked, putting pressure on the stab wound.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know she had a dual kern,¡± Tristan said. He pulled out the amulet that Fluffy should have had and pressed it to Haver¡¯s forehead. Then he fed the prone warrior another one.


    ¡°So?¡± Luke asked. It did not seem like that big of a deal.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any light or dark reservoirs,¡± Tristan said, ¡°We only have one stasis artifact.¡±


    Luke frowned, he did not see the issue. Sure Haver¡¯s life would be at risk, but safety was a relatively new phenomenon, at least when it came to breaking kerns. However, risk of death was expected, Haver would either pull through, or he wouldn¡¯t. Luke could tell that it distressed his friend, even if he struggled to understand why.


    ¡°Hey, could you¡­¡± Luke trailed off as Tristan sprinted up the hill and over the top, ¡°Sure, I¡¯m just bleeding everywhere, I¡¯ll just drink this wonderful protein shake.¡±

 186. Count the Dead

    Tristan scrambled over the top of the dirt pile, fifty or so people were warily standing on opposite sides. All were too afraid to poke their heads over and risk getting hit by a stray fireball but too curious to prioritize their own safety. He was thankful they were there, he would have even been glad for more of them.


    ¡°Does anyone have a tier three dark kern!¡± Tristan yelled at the people. They all stared at him blankly.


    Of course, there was not anyone with a tier three dark kern. Merrick was the only one who was of any power in attendance. Tristan wished he had thought to stock up on reservoirs of all six common essence varieties. It would have been easy, but no he had to go along with Luke on a whim.


    ¡°Anyone have a light kern?¡± He asked. It didn¡¯t matter if he got a dark or a light reservoir, he could use it to support one and use the stasis artifact to freeze the damage to the other¡¯s body. Jenna¡¯s dual kern made her more resilient, as Tristan had given her an earth reservoir, normally she would be safe. Unfortunately, Luke had shattered all the ribs on the right side of her sternum, it was soaking up all of the healing the reservoir offered.


    People shook their heads. Warriors were rare, though Tristan was only now seeing just how rare. He had grown up surrounded by fifty or so people, and at any time seven were warriors and one was Luke. There were only about five hundred in the whole Caldera, so they were quite uncommon. To make it even worse he was looking for the two rarest kern types aside from metal. There were only likely thirty of each in the pre-conflict Caldera. Running through the numbers did not paint a good picture, as Hadrid had killed six of those, Bruce had killed William in the Plain Caldera, Shadow Fist was imprisoned, Siren was absent, and Haver was barely hanging on.


    Bruce, Tristan knew where Bruce was. It was about a two mile run, but a light reservoir would allow him to transfer the stasis artifact from Jenna to Haver. Tristan was on the slower end as far as tier fours went, however, he could still crack a two minute mile. He coated himself in armor, it gave him a headache, like he was breaking some rule, but he used Vulcan¡¯s gravity to pull himself upwards. It was not enough to float, but he went from three hundred fifty pounds to one hundred.


    A quick application of healing alloy pushed the headache down before he shot off. Lightening himself did not help as much as he had hoped, it actually made it harder to take corners as his traction no longer matched his mass. The crowd of people scrambled out of his way as he barreled toward them.


    The gate to the River Caldera was around half a mile away, the road to the dirt pile had fortunately not been obstructed by tents. The guard scrambled to bring up his halberd, making the judgment that it would take too long to shut the gate. Not a bad choice, normally. Tristan was moving at forty-five miles per hour in full plate armor.


    The halberd would either snap or punch straight through Tristan¡¯s armor, but either way that guard would get flattened. In this armor, Tristan had more mass than some wagons. Thinking fast Tristan made a pole of adamant metal and shoved the butt into the ground.


    What he had pictured was a graceful pole vault through the air between the top of the guard''s head and the arch of the gate. What he got was more like a catapult. The rod dug into the dirt, and then it jerked Tristan up, his head bounced off the gate arch and he went sprawling to the ground. Tristan staggered to his feet with ringing in his ears on the other side of the thankfully unflattened guard and started sprinting again.


    The city was where turning started becoming an issue. Shadow Fist could just run along the walls to bleed off his inertia and avoid the pedestrians at the same time. Tristan would plow through any walls he slammed into, being a higher tier was not all upsides. One day he might be too heavy to enter standard dwellings.


    Still, he made good time, and within five minutes of leaving the landfill he arrived at the Stewards office, and his heart fell. Janis was not standing out front. In fact, no one in the golden and blue livery of the River Caldera elite guard were present. However, there were a few guards, so someone important was there.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Do either of you have a dark or light kern?¡± Tristan asked.


    Both men had just watched an intruder sprint towards them at high speed while in full armor. It would set off warning bells in any protector¡¯s mind, ¡°Identify yourself.¡±


    ¡°Tristan,¡± He answered quickly, before realizing that it was not that uncommon of a name. There had to be something they would remember him for, he was not the most subtle of people, ¡°My friend and I came through with a wagon full of artifacts,¡±


    Recognition lit up their eyes, however they did not lower their guards. If anything, they raised it, bracing for a fight that Tristan was not willing to pick right now.


    ¡°Do you know where I can find someone with a dark or light kern?¡± Tristan was almost yelling now.


    A familiar voice came from behind Tristan, ¡°What do you need a dark kern for?¡±


    He whipped around to find Siren giving Commander Blacklake a piggyback ride. Tristan rushed over and started infusing healing alloy into the splinted leg while he explained.


    ¡°I found an artifact that would give me a one hundred percent success rate with kerns. My issue is that I have two people who need it, Haver and Jenna. I can fix the issue with a reservoir of either light or dark, but I need to get back now,¡± Tristan handed over an empty tier two reservoir while he explained.


    Thankfully Siren did not comment on how dumb it was for Tristan to start breaking kerns without doing any research into the materials he would need. A part of Tristan wanted to shove blame off onto Luke, much of it did belong there. Tristan had not planned on breaking any kerns today, he had just gotten excited and Luke had run with it.


    It took only a few moments for Siren to fill the reservoir with inky dark essence. Tristan did not wait for Blacklake¡¯s leg to heal, he snatched up the orb and sprinted back towards the landfill. He did not know if people expired faster at higher tiers, but he would not be surprised. The standard method of progression with artifacts were safer, but Tristan was pretty sure it polluted the kern. Conni had mentioned something like that with the anima. A polluted cut was much more dangerous.


    The whole trip took less than fifteen minutes. Tristan avoided the piles of dirt entirely this time, but what he found was disheartening. He slid to a stop beside Haver, the man was pale, but also hollow. Tristan¡¯s metal sense told him that there was a hole. Blood pumped into it, but his connection with the iron in the blood was cut off when it entered the void.


    ¡°Luke, what happened?¡± Tristan yelled.


    Luke walked over with far more ease than the situation warranted, ¡°He¡¯s dead, we knew that one would probably die.¡±


    Tristan punched Luke in the face, ¡°What do you mean probably? I have a safe way to do this! No one should be dead!¡±


    Tristan was not close to Haver in any way. However, this was the first person he could truly say he had killed through negligence. It hit different, especially when Luke was so casual about it.


    Luke took a few steps back holding a split lip, ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°With even a little bit of preparation, this would not have happened,¡± Tristan said pacing back and forth. He tried feeding Haver the dark reservoir anyway, but when Tristan tried prying his jaws apart the skin cracked like paper.


    ¡°You thought that a special reservoir would be enough to make this safe?¡± Luke said incredulously, ¡°What was your test sample, Siren and Merrick? You are quite literally exposing yourself to primordial forces and you think a little essence is enough to make it safe?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tristan asked, but he was already looking around. One of the fire kern warriors was a blackened husk and another with a water kern was emulsifying. That was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen, and he quickly removed his helmet to throw up.


    Luke crouched down beside Tristan, the protein shake he had drunk already healing the split lip, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, between Siren, Merrick, and these eleven, a seventy-five percent success rate is pretty good. Not everyone can handle having a force crawling inside their body, it''s another reason why tier zeros have the easiest time. It''s a very small dose.¡±


    Tristan wanted to punch Luke again, but he had been naive. If it was that easy to advance, everyone would be tier six by the end of next year. His shoulders slumped and he looked up at Luke. He did not look angry, or dismissive. Tristan realized that Luke was more concerned about Tristan than about the three dead warriors. It was both comforting and revolting somehow.


    He looked up at the crowd at the top of the hill. Merrick looked around in shock. He had most likely never seen the destruction forces could cause. Many more looked down in horror as they witnessed what an uncontrolled force did to a human body.

 187. Remorse is not Redemption

    It did not take long to move the eight survivors to a more comfortable location. There was a tent near the wall where several of the healers were keeping diseases from festering in the cramped living conditions. Tristan hadn¡¯t known that a hospital had been set up, his need for one was greatly reduced compared to the average person.


    All the doctors gave him dirty looks as they bustled about the unconscious warriors.  There was one tier three healer on staff, but the rest were tier one or two light kerns that had access to some of the army¡¯s healing artifacts. More mundane doctors were available, but they were mostly trained in first aid.


    ¡°What were you thinking,¡± Siren asked. He gazed down at the four-by-four block of beds that his friends and students now occupied.


    ¡°I thought I understood how to make it safe,¡± Tristan answered. The only person he could have asked was currently in a pain filled coma and he was not sure how long it would take to wake him up. Vulcan might not have even possessed the answers.


    ¡°There was no way you could have verified it,¡± Luke said. He was much more relaxed and was probably the true reason the medical staff was grumpy, ¡°You should be proud that only three died, normally the mortality rate is higher.¡±


    Tristan desperately wanted to blame Luke for everything. He had started it, but Tristan had enabled it. Plus he could do nothing about Luke, while he was supposed to have control over his own actions.


    Luke¡¯s words touched a nerve, causing Siren to turn and glare at both of them, ¡°If it were any other point in the Caldera¡¯s history, you two would be jailed for murder or simply put to death. High tier people do not get the choice to make careless decisions, we are walking disasters if we lack the foresight to use self-control.¡±


    That was something Tristan was becoming more and more aware of. Due to the fifty percent geometric increase every tier, a baseline warrior was more than three times stronger than a tier zero person. If a force was added in that was skewed even more, though in a much less measurable way. Everything from houses to tools were designed with tier zero and one people in mind. Tristan remembered having the thought that if he torqued his wrist too hard, he would rip door nobs off.


    Luke sneered, ¡°No one was there to help me when high-tier people killed my mom and stepfather, no one was there when high-tier people wiped out a whole Grass Caldera, and no one was there to stop high-tier people from releasing elementals. Wait, you were in the same room when Forrest made that decision. I don¡¯t care if you are evil or holy but at least be consistent.¡±


    That was not fair. Siren had attempted to mitigate a bad situation, but it was true, none of those people had been held accountable by the legal system. Rail had been killed by Hadrid, a criminal, Forrest was still alive, and so was Elder Plain. Unpopular people at high tiers were punished.


    ¡°Luke,¡± Tristan said, ¡°Just because it''s not the way things are doesn¡¯t mean that it is not the way they should be. I have talked with Vulcan a lot and his civilization was not ruled that way, so it¡¯s not impossible for things to change.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but this is not his civilization,¡± Luke said, ¡°It¡¯s also not something that I really care to talk about.¡±


    He opened the tent and stepped outside. Tristan could only shake his head sadly, Luke was the strongest in the Caldera, except the Lord of the Underworld. He was the villain in his argument. Still, Tristan did not know how to make his blunder right. He was not sure that death became reversible at any tier.


    Looking up at Siren he asked, ¡°What do I need to do?¡±


    Siren sighed, ¡°If you are trying to soothe chaotic emotions, nothing you do can really help. If you want to be productive, then I would suggest making something, I heard you made springs and screws in the River Caldera,  more of that will help.¡±


    Screws and springs seemed underwhelming, but he was not making them for himself. Making some things would take his mind off what happened. He stood and exited the tent as well. For a moment he thought about simply making screws and dumping them at the nearest carpenters work station. It was dumb, he had something vastly more productive he could use his time with.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He pulled a piece of tower steel out of his pocket. If he could make a few dozen suites of adamance armor, it would dramatically increase the survivability of everyone. Maybe he couldn¡¯t bring back the dead, but he could keep the living alive.


    Finding a quiet area he sat down and examined the shard of tower steel. Luke had done something that directly countered the force of absorption. The more Tristan saw it in action, the less Tristan was sure conductivity was about lightning. This piece had been from Jenna, It was from her chest plate, and not an edge.


    Tristan pulled in his metal sense. As it was, he was filtering out most of the stimuli. The fist sized deposit of iron, buckles, knives, tent steaks, and so much more filled Tristan¡¯s sense. It was a tool he mostly used to find things and one he should be using better. Even just training himself to notice objects moving quickly could alert him to danger.


    Narrowing his focus decreased the number of objects within his range, but it also increased his awareness of them. It was not quite noise, but the awareness could give him a similar headache. He stopped when it became strenuous just before the point of pain. Ten feet was as narrow as he was willing to go, but it was so much more detailed that he suspected he would not need to.


    The piece of tower steel was odd, it acted like a void. It took in the energy exerted upon it, then released it over a period of time. Tristan frowned, absorption should absorb and keep it. From his understanding, the force was similar to hunger, except it took impacts instead of essence.


    Tristan prodded it. Nothing happened. His issue was that he did not know what he was looking for. He held out his hand and created an architect alloy copy of the metal shard. Aside from the force used nothing was different, the alloy also showed no signs of dispersing. Comparing two things that were the same did not help, so he removed his dagger.


    It could channel a force from a reservoir, but it was normal metal. The indestructibility of adamance was carried over to standard steel somehow. Under such intense magnification, Tristan saw something similar to a spider''s web inside the metal. It was so thin that he would never see it with this intense magnification.


    The threads connected to the reservoir and extended throughout the dagger. Tristan blinked in surprise when he realized that they were threads of infused adamance. It was exactly the same as his armor, except that it drew from a reservoir like a battery. He summoned Vulcan and created an adamant ball to compare the two.


    Identical, then he compared it with the first two. The ball was already starting to disperse into smoke. Comparing the shard of tower steel to the adamant ball was confusing. They were different, but not in a way that he had expected. The tower steel felt dirty, almost unclean when held next to the adamance.


    All of them were made out of pure essence, condensed into a construct how could they be dirty? It should not be possible, he had just made the architect alloy. The spiderweb of adamance filament had the same feeling, while the steel had the same dirty feeling.


    There was only one reason Tristan could think of for the difference. Tower steel was an alloy while adamance was a pure manifested force. It was by nature unbalanced and unable to exist. It would make sense, only an essence reservoir could contain a pure force. A soul''s inability to interact with it allowed it to exist within a sterile environment.


    This theory had little beyond circumstance and a few baubles substantiating it. That was fine, he had a way to test it. He couldn¡¯t make a pure alloy force, as it was by definition impure. Tristan decided to make an alloy with adamance, he gazed at the lamp post and steeled himself. It was a risk, Vulcan¡¯s forces were at tier fifteen, Tristan¡¯s alloy grew by adding more mixtures, while everyone else seemed to grow in volume and control.


    Could he even make an alloy with something that much larger? The deciding factor came when he realized that he would be the only one to suffer the consequences if this went wrong. He set the lamp post across his lap and placed both hands on it. Reaching out with alloy was easy, it wanted to be part of a greater whole, to mix everything together. Making it only focus on adamance was harder.


    As soon as it mixed, Tristan took it back and immediately made a construct with it. It was adamance, but no longer clean. He smiled as it stayed put, not even a wisp of smoke was present. Then the sickness hit him.


    What? Tristan thought. Was this the consequence of using a higher tier force? He remembered Vulcan saying it was best to stay within three tiers. Turning his sight inward he inspected his kern and saw something worrying.


    A bubble floated lazily though. It was similar to the earth elemental¡¯s, but unlike Hailey, this one seemed to have the weight of a star. Tristan already knew there was no way to stop it, only endure it. Looking around he noticed all the people, he couldn¡¯t risk losing his mind here. Not that he had a choice. So much for only harming himself.

 188. Soul Bubble

    ¡°Uncle¡¯s coming!¡± Vulcan shouted pumping a fist into the air.


    ¡°Can-Can, act your age,¡± Ailinn chastised.


    Vulcan looked over at his wife and slumped back into the throne, ¡°None of my retainers would say that to me.¡±


    ¡°Am I a retainer?¡± She folded her arms and faked a disapproving frown.


    ¡°Uhh,¡± The retainer in question was uncomfortable interrupting the chosen emperor. Most retainers in other countries would not dare to do even that much, but while Vulcan had an unpredictable attitude, it rarely was volatile.


    When both royals trained their gazes on the kneeling man, he shuddered slightly before continuing, ¡°No, he should be here, any minute.¡±


    ¡°That''s great!¡± Vulcan glanced at Ailinn, and cleared his throat, ¡°That is good news, prepare a reception, Uncle, uh Lord Enoch can not be made to wait.¡±


    The retainer did not seem relieved. Vulcan did feel for the man, legends were different kinds of people. Possessing multiple forces caused people to affect the world in strange ways. With his force of gravity, many people felt heavy or light based on how they felt about Vulcan. It had a placebo effect that made people think of him in a religious light. Oppress the traitor and lift the loyal.


    Vulcan was about to give orders to his head butler when the door was blasted open. The force was excessive, but the trees used in them were cultivated with resilience. On the other side was Enoch standing with his hand outstretched and a look of bemusement on his face.  Behind him stood the mercenary priest Reverb, who was shaking his head. Vulcan often wondered what his real name was.


    Ailinn sighed, ¡°Honored elder, could you please refrain from putting palm prints on our home.¡±


    Enoch made a face somewhere between apology and indignation. It had been his door once upon a time. Reverb teleported past Enoch using his force of passage. He inspected the room as if the man was somehow able to protect Enoch from anything. Still, he was a loyal follower, something which Vulcan could appreciate. Reverb nodded in satisfaction.


    Enoch stepped through the door, glancing at the trembling retainer before refocusing on Vulcan and Ailinn, ¡°Nephew, I bring some problematic news. The Sect of holy death has found their patron, you need to prepare the empire for war as soon as possible.¡±


    Vulcan scratched his head, ¡°Who?¡±


    Ailinn answered, ¡°The Sect of Holy Death follows the path of the phoenix. Most of them have a light and fire hybrid anima, that''s not the issue though. They believe that the world can only be improved if it is destroyed and remade.¡±


    ¡°Oh, them, I had been calling them the Self-righteous Masochists in my head,¡± Vulcan smiled. Sects tended to be weak. Any group that focused solely on a single essence type had glaring vulnerabilities that empires and nations could exploit, ¡°So by patron, you mean one of them became a saint?¡±


    It was rare, inconceivably so, but sometimes it did happen. Typically, a new saint would do one of three things, most often set up a pantheon of people above tier fifteen, leave on a journey of self-reflection, or start helping those in need. The last two were how the realm of power got the name saint in the first place, at least that was Vulcan¡¯s assumption.


    Enoch nodded, ¡°Yes. The Sect of Holy Death has already gathered a large number of the greater sects to their banner. I suspect that fighting will break out with the civilized world within the next few decades, though revolts and assassinations could have already started.¡±


    Vulcan grimaced. Sects and empires did not respect each other''s borders, meaning an empire as large as the Numitor Empire had hundreds of lesser sects and cults scattered across it. They weren¡¯t even all known, a war with all of them would be more akin to a civil war than a war between nations.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Is there any way to stop the fighting?¡± Vulcan asked, ¡°Maybe cut off the snake''s head?¡±


    Enoch glanced at Reverb gesturing for the man to speak. Reverb nodded, ¡°The patron in question is an anomaly with a dissonant kern. Most of his forces are powerful, and mathematical in nature. Finding him is difficult and killing him might not be possible.¡±


    Vulcan frowned, ¡°He¡¯s not stronger than you Uncle?¡±


    ¡°Stronger, no,¡± Enoch shook his head, ¡°But you try killing someone leverages the concept of multiplication and ratios against you. It is damn irritating when a dodge rate is applied to his people.¡±


    Vulcan blinked a few times, how did that even work? He could make most things. At least if they were made of metal. His entire skill set was built around constructing higher tier tools for himself to use. It was not the best at lower tiers, but later on, equipment became impossible to find. What armor could be used when your body was more durable than its protection, and what blade was valuable when a simple punch could sunder mountains?


    ¡°If I could make you some things to shut down his advantages, could you stop the war?¡± Vulcan asked.


    He had some ideas. Even if it bankrupted the Royal Family he was willing to construct something to assist his uncle. Money could always be made again, but millions of deaths might not.


    Enoch was not a crafter, he was a warrior, little more than a barbarian. He scoffed, ¡°What could you make that would rival a saint¡¯s power?¡±


    Vulcan shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can, but you claimed mathematics as his force?¡± At Reverb¡¯s nod, he continued, ¡°Math is based on quantity, so the void force might help, maybe stasis to stop him from changing anything. If you could get ahold of any chaos, I know for sure that would work.¡°


    Enoch did not expect Vulcan to have an answer, ¡°I do have some chaos, though I don¡¯t know how it would help. It is simply pure destruction.¡±


    He pulled out a soul sphere. It was hard to look at, both being colorful and invisible, bright and dark, and also being nothing. Immediately it gave Vulcan a headache, it was wrong on every level. This was the first time Vulcan had seen the force of chaos. Most of the elite were taught to fear it, but chaos was nothing more or less than the fundamental building blocks of reality. It was the force that all other forces were drawn from if the legends were to be believed.


    Vulcan reached out to take the soul sphere, but Enoch snatched it back, ¡°No, make me something useful without chaos, this is a last resort. I am truly not sure what it is capable of.¡±


    It had to be tamable, otherwise, how could Enoch store it? Vulcan smirked, ¡°At least tell me where you found it.¡°


    To Vulcan¡¯s surprise, his uncle¡¯s eyes, the color of oxidized copper, unfocused, ¡°There is a tree, it stretches up to the heavens. It is a befuddling tree. I can climb for a long time without rest, yet I never reached the top. However, from a distance, it is simply the tallest tree among a forest of redwoods, notable yes, but not insurmountable. It is injured, was injured, I¡¯m not sure. Regardless, out of this tree flows sap like water. Death and chaos come from one side while life and peace leak from the other,¡± Enoch refocused on Vulcan, ¡°If you ever get the chance, you should go, it''s quite the experience.¡±


    Vulcan was surprised that his uncle was so wistful about anything, ¡°You¡¯ll have to take me when you put down the leader of this death cult.¡±


    Ailinn eyed the retainer, ¡°You will keep this quiet?¡±


    The poor man nodded quickly, ¡°Yes your Highness.¡±


    Reverb dropped his arm popping back over to Enoch¡¯s side. The retainer was only tier three and had no idea what the force of passage could do to a human body. Ailinn thanked the man before dismissing him.


    ¡°So, I am just going to go and make the ultimate god killing weapon,¡± Vulcan said while he edged toward the door behind his throne.


    Ailinn sighed, ¡°Fine, go play with your toys.¡±


    ¡°Love you, honey,¡± Vulcan yelled as he ran from his responsibilities¡­ uhh attended to important matters. Yeah, that was better.


    He loved making stuff. It did not matter what, so long as it was interesting. He had once made a light based horseshoe to increase the speed of horses. To this day he was still blamed by the pottery merchant, it wasn¡¯t Vulcan¡¯s fault the merchant had not secured his stock of delicate dining ware.


    Once he stepped foot into his forge he looked around at the tools hanging from the walls. Should he make a sword, he liked big swords too. This was for Enoch a man who used his bare hands. Gauntlets, he would make a pair of gauntlets that would allow Enoch to punch math. Vulcan paused, that was probably the most ridiculous thing he had ever thought.


    He closed his eyes envisioning the construction and the rune patterns to direct the essence pathways.


    When he opened them he was looking up at a clear blue sky. He sat up and looked around, there were tents everywhere. It was all vaguely familiar, but Vulcan could not tell how he had gotten here. A lamp post sat on his lap, it was likely a soul tool from house Numitor, but he did not recognize it. He took a deep breath and sent out his metal and flame sense. Something was wrong, it only went out one hundred fifty feet and where was his fire?

 189. Delusions of Grandeur

    Vulcan tapped into his gravity force to build a bubble of repulsion around himself. Nothing. He tried to remember, but everything was hazy. His weak metal sense picked up something comforting in the air. One of his family members was around. He could feel the distinct wisps of a Numitor aura. It was strong, but also distant.


    The mere fact that it was present meant that he hadn¡¯t been kidnapped. Everything was foggy, he decided that he must have had too much to drink the night before. Ailinn was going to kill him if she found Vulcan sleeping in the dirt again. Jumping to his feet, Vulcan stumbled. He felt so weak, his balance was terrible, and the horizon was so hazy.


    ¡°I need to stop hanging out with Ajax and the boys, they are a bad influence,¡± He muttered. His mind cleared a bit when he thought of Ajax, but the image brought forth was a grotesque figure of flame and darkness. Pushing the disturbing thought down, he refocused.


    Forge time. He had a workshop, but he had a suspicion that nothing out here would match its quality. Good thing the quality of the craftsman mattered more than the quality of the tools. He looked forward to using some of the local primitive technology. Local? He should still be in the capital. Whatever. He was a legend, not many things could hurt a tier fifteen.


    He followed the sounds of hammers and smoke, waving at people as they passed by, ¡°Good day citizen.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± the confused baker said.


    ¡°Work hard, for the Empire!¡± Vulcan pumped his fist into the air.


    All he received were confused looks. No matter, the masses did not need to be educated to be given the benefits of the Numitor Empire. Enoch thought healthy people produced more resources thus they should be nurtured, which was true, but Vulcan liked being around happy people.


    It did not take long for him to find the blacksmiths. Most were working on buckles, buttons, and nails, and there was even one pressing a screw into clay for a mold. There were a few weapons and armor on display, but the only people looking at them were young boys dreaming of glory. Seeing no true difference in the blacksmith¡¯s equipment he chose one at random.


    This forge was manned by a woman with a bandanna which kept sweat out of her eyes and healed burns ran up her forearms. She was not pretty, but for what she lacked in looks, she made up for in diligence. To be fair, Vulcan did not believe it took much diligence to overcome the comparably fleeting value of beauty.


    ¡°Excuse me, ma¡¯am,¡± Vulcan started. She glanced up from her hammering but did not stop. He waited patiently for her to get to a stopping point.


    She used some tongs to pick up the bar of metal and dip it in a bucket of water. Vulcan almost told her that oil tended to work better, but it was likely she would not take kindly to unsolicited and income restricted advice. When she pulled out a crowbar he took back his critique, it was not a high quality tool in the first place.


    ¡°Do you have a commission?¡± The smith asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Vulcan nodded, ¡°Though I would like to make it myself.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t charge less just because you are the one making it,¡± The smith said dismissively before pulling out a few ingots and placing them in a smelter.


    ¡°Ok, how much,¡± Vulcan nodded. He was not up to date on how much a smith charged, but it should be well within an emperor¡¯s budget. Patting his pockets he realized that he had no money. Did Ajax run off with his coin? No, the man was uncivilized, but he was not a thief.


    The smith raised an eyebrow at Vulcan¡¯s patting, ¡°More than you have.¡±


    This was humiliating, he wondered if this was how poor people felt. He left the smith feeling embarrassed, but he still wanted to complete his project. Vulcan scanned the various stalls and stopped on one that had a familiar boy in it. He could not remember the boy¡¯s name but had an inexplicable feeling of pity for him. If the boy knew him then he should be glad to assist the emperor. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Vulcan strode over and nodded to the boy, ¡°Good afternoon citizen, how do you find yourself.¡±


    The boy cocked his head to the side, ¡°Uh, fine, just getting ready for the war.¡±


    He showed a rudimentary mold he was making. It was made of many isosceles triangles all in rows with the tips of one touching the base of the next in the row. To Vulcan, it looked like some of the nonsensical abstract art Ailinn liked.


    ¡°I was thinking, what if I made a mold for the nails and they could be stored in sheets? The metal connecting them is thin enough that with a little twisting, they could be removed by hand,¡± He demonstrated with what Vulcan assumed was a prototype piece.


    It was not a terrible idea, but anyone with metal essence could make a sheet just as impressive in a fraction of the time. The smith saw Vulcan¡¯s doubtful expression and sighed. Vulcan panicked slightly he needed a smithy and he did not want to forcefully commandeer one.


    ¡°No no, it''s a great idea, but wouldn¡¯t someone with a metal kern just outproduce you?¡± Vulcan asked.


    ¡°Tristan, you¡¯re the only metal kern here,¡± the boy frowned.


    The name sent jagged waves of pain through Vulcan¡¯s mind. It was his name, but it also wasn¡¯t. How could something like this cripple him? He staggered back holding his head, and the smith rushed to help him.


    ¡°Are you alright, do I need to take you to the doctor?¡± The boy said.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, sorry for concerning you,¡± Vulcan caught his breath, ¡°I don¡¯t think I caught your name.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The boy thought back, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think Doil ever introduced me. I am Drew, apprentice smith turned regular smith when Doil stayed in the Forrest Caldera.¡±


    Vulcan cringed at all the names. He was starting to feel dizzy. All were familiar, yet alien. Clenching his teeth, Vulcan took control of himself, he would not be defeated by a headache.


    ¡°Drew, I was wondering if I could forge something with your forge?¡± Vulcan asked.


    A calculating look entered Drew¡¯s eyes. Vulcan prepared to leave, but Drew did not ask for money, ¡°Sure, but I want several ingots of infused metal.¡±


    Vulcan frowned several ingots of high quality gravity alloy would be possible, though difficult with the metal he sensed in his surroundings. Standard alloys could not carry the weight of a force, it was why simple forces like absorption or buoyancy were used instead of gravity. Mostly they were high end materials for people below the heroic realms, higher tiers could rip right through them. A flash of lightning and a wave of carnage surfaced in his memories, was that him looking at himself from behind?


    He nodded slowly, ¡°I can try, though you should expect the effects to be muted.¡±


    ¡°Then you have yourself a deal,¡± Drew smiled stretching out his hand, ¡°I can find a good use for some of that disintegration metal.¡±


    Vulcan frowned, disintegration? He had no such force. Well, he could not expect a commoner to understand the difference between combustion and disintegration. Vulcan got to work right away. The absence of his fire kern caused problems. He could not reach in and grab the pliable metal with his bare hands.


    The headache grew as more idiosyncrasies built up. No fire, no gravity, no money.


    Vulcan attempted to use his metal domain to lift the metal out of the smelter. Finally, he turned his metal sense inward and scanned his mind. He blinked in surprise.


    The headache grew and cracks started forming in his perception. His anima and dominion were gone. His kern was two tiers stronger than it was supposed to be.


    It became harder and harder to push down the invasive thoughts. He couldn¡¯t work like this. Not only were the tools simple metal, but he had primitive senses as well. When he narrowed down his metal sense to only include the metal he was working with, the migraine induced broke something.


    ¡°Are you feeling well?¡± Drew asked. He was looking at Vulcan with wide eyes.


    Vulcan gave him a pained smile, the emperor never demonstrates weakness to the populous. They need to feel safe taking shelter behind him.


    ¡°Yes, why,¡± Vulcan managed to get out.


    ¡°Tristan, you¡¯re crying blood,¡± Drew answered the horrified look intensifying.


    Again with the name. It hit Vulcan like a hammer, the edges of his vision fading to black. Drew left the smithy when Vulcan returned to the forging. It took three attempts to grab a hammer. He already had the rune patterns planned out. Void gauntlets, he could make them, and then he would go on a trip with his uncle.


    Rolling the metal he pounded the edges together, then quenched it. Once it was cool he sketched out the path he wanted the the void to follow. He set it aside and started on the forearm plate. Adamance would flow through this one, Enoch could supply the force for that. Vulcan smiled as he fell into work and the world started to put itself back together, the blackness started receding.


    That was until a deep masculine voice yelled at him, ¡°Tristan, what do you think you are doing?¡±


    Vulcan turned to find a man in yellow and black battle robes, black hair with white at the temples, and a well trimmed beard. It was almost too much, Vulcan staggered, barely maintaining his balance.


    The man''s next words pushed him over the edge, ¡°Just because people died, does not mean you should kill yourself in turn.¡±


    Vulcan collapsed.

 190. Grasp of the Void

    It felt like blinking. One moment he was Vulcan the next he was Tristan. The memory overlap was not jarring, just like last time he had trouble telling where his memories ended and the invasive ones began. He felt what he assumed to be affection for Ailinn. It was a feeling that he wanted,  but also the feelings of loss from knowing a woman he had never known was long dead left him feeling a bit hollow.


    Mentally he was fine, but Vulcan was far stronger than Tristan. He had attempted to use his mind in ways that simply weren¡¯t possible. It did give Tristan insight into what a domain was, if he had one he would be able to control constructs outside of his body. It also let Tristan know that there was a force connected with each one of the three parts. Gravity was part of the mind, adamance the body, and combustion the heart.


    Whatever a dominion was, it physically wrecked Tristan. His body was sore and his face was caked with blood. He ignored both the people staring at him in shock and examined the memory. This time it was easier, he had intentionally lain down, he knew that would be the starting point and it was a good marker for the change. The broken vision and dissonance with reality made a good if fuzzy marker for the end of the memory.


    ¡°Tristan, do we need to take you to the hospital?¡± Siren seemed unsure. Most likely he had never seen someone spontaneously bleed from their eyeballs, nose, and ears.


    ¡°I should be fine now, I think,¡± Tristan struggled back to his feet. He nodded to the young smith. Tristan felt odd thinking the boy was a child when they were the same age, ¡°Thank you, Drew, you might have saved my life.¡±


    That was true. Vulcan had been trying to do things with his body that Tristan was unable to do. Just attempting light tasks caused damage, he did not want to know what a panicked Vulcan would have done. Most likely he would have fried Tristan''s brain attempting to flatten everything with the force of gravity.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± a faint voice said. It started weak but grew more faint towards the end.


    Tristan immediately sent back, ¡°Vulcan? Are you better?¡±


    No words came back. Only optimistic uncertainty. Tristan smiled slightly, it was progress. He did not intend to fight more memories, as a different memory could cause him to go out of control. Tristan was lucky that Vulcan was a pretty laid back person, a normal ruler would have smeared the obstinate smiths across the inside of their workspace. The man just wanted to forge.


    Tristan jumped to his feet in shock. He still had those memories, it was incomplete, but he had the instructions for an insanely high tier weapon. All of the rules for basic crafting were second nature to Vulcan and Tristan could not pick up what was habit through the small memory. Still the Void, he needed that.


    ¡°Siren go grab my bag,¡± Tristan ordered, not considering who he was talking to.


    The warrior did not have the best view of Tristan at the moment. It had only been a few hours since a few of his warriors died, but to Tristan that had been quite some time ago. That and he had his emotions pulled in so many directions, excitement from a visit by his uncle, shock that his uncle was the Steel Saint, gratitude to an empress, guilt over a mistake, and excitement at what could potentially be a tier fifteen weapon.


    ¡°No, you need to explain yourself,¡± Siren folded his arms and frowned at Tristan.


    Tristan pivoted on his heel. Siren took a step back when he made eye contact with Tristan¡¯s slightly manic expression. He supposed it would look horrifying with the silver tinted blood drying to his face and bloodshot eyes. Regardless, Tristan did not have time, the patterns in his head were complex and in a language he did not understand. He struggled to remember the names of all the miners, no way was he going to be able to remember a set of instructions complicated enough to shift probability itself.


    So Tristan tried to explain himself. Unfortunately, he pulled words out of Vulcan¡¯s head, ¡°I need to make something to punch math!¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Maybe his head was not as healed as he had assumed. It did not matter, he could suffer permanent head trauma if he managed this. When Siren did not move to go get his bag, Tristan sprinted out at top speed. He almost ran Drew over. For a moment Siren was shocked, but he quickly concluded that a manic tier four could not be left to freely roam the camp.


    Tristan did not make it difficult to follow. Laborers and Soldiers alike were forced to jump out of his way. Every so often someone would attempt to put Tristan in his place by sinking into a more stable stance. They were bounced aside with little effort, a good stance could help if the person in question was not twice the other¡¯s weight.


    Fortunately, the miners were not far from the smiths, as many of them were decent metal workers as well. It took less than a minute for him to arrive, and barge into the tent that he, Luke, and Fluffy shared. Luke was inside, he quickly hid the yarn toy that he had been using to entertain Fluffy.


    ¡°Tristan, knock next time,¡± Luke huffed.


    ¡°Books, where are my books!¡± Tristan yelled.


    Luke¡¯s eyes widened at Tristan¡¯s appearance. He pointed to the bag in the corner that held all of Tristan¡¯s possessions. Tristan scooped it up and ran back out before Luke could ask anything else.  Siren arrived at the tent just as Tristan exited and ran back the way he had come. It took a few moments for Siren to come to a stop and turn around. In the end, he had still come to the tent.


    Luke poked his head out, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, by the silent gods, I am getting too old for this,¡± Siren said as he started back after the much younger man.


    Siren was taller, but also significantly heavier. Tristan had the same disadvantages to speed with his kern, but he had healing alloy which stopped him from causing damage to his muscles. So long as he could handle the pain and shortage of breath, Tristan could sprint as long as he could run. One of the advantages of missing part of his lung for the last five years was how normal a shortage of air felt, now that he had two again he went even faster.


    Drew wisely jumped out of the way this time. He had only been waiting for around two minutes, but in that time several smiths had asked him what was going on. As the youngest one in the area, he bragged to all the other smiths about what he was going to make with the unique ore. Just like he had hoped all the master smiths looked at him with jealousy.


    When Tristan came back and whipped out his book a large crowd had gathered. He ignored them and searched for void in his book, ¡®Natural Forces.¡¯ He scanned for void and when he found it he froze.


    Void- Absence: Pro: none Con: death. Is often considered to be similar to emptiness. This is false, emptiness can be measured. Void is the absence of value. Void does not occur naturally and anyone who uses this force will be prone to apathy and depression. (All essence types most commonly in Dark)


    That was ominous. Tristan did not know what the absence of value was, it sounded dangerous though. Dangerous enough to do something if it was used to punch the Lord of the Underworld in the face. Tristan closed his eyes and pictured the gauntlets, they were a combination of gauntlets and bracers. A plate of adamant metal ran from the elbow down the arm and to the wrist. It had no essence reservoir, but it was made for the Steel Saint, he could power it with his own essence.


    That plate protected several reservoirs set into their own webs of essence channels. Several cylinders of metal had runes running up and down them, each carrying the essence to the desired location. The void reservoir was set into the palm, tendrils ran around the hand over the fingertips and circled the knuckles.


    Several absorption reservoirs were placed. One at the wrist, elbow, and inside of the forearm. The runes coating them had an effect that took Tristan a minute to figure out. Absorption was used in tower plate and made the armor great at absorbing damage. Here it appeared to nullify one of the basic laws of physics. Any action performed by the gauntlet could have its opposite reaction negated. Tristan could use that to ignore mass when defending.


    Finally, there was another force he had to look up. Execution. He first thought that execution was simply capital punishment. Except that forces did not have a criminal justice system. He flipped through the book and found it.


    Execution- Control: Pro- Preset instructions, Con- lacks utility due to time constraints. Is used for short tests in engineering. Pre-set simple instructions to be immediately completed. Instructions can be canceled, but cannot be stored. See Synchrony and Procession for more commonly applicable forces. (Light, Earth, Air, Metal, [Water {Ice prerequisite} unconfirmed])


    The void had an on and off switch as did the absorption. If Tristan understood what he remembered, this weapon would zero out everything. How many miles per hour can you run? Zero. How many pounds can you lift? Zero. Your effective mass? Zero. What volume of space do you occupy? Zero.  How many people remember you? Zero.


    This was a horrifying weapon. It was like decay, but for reality instead of organic material. Tristan was glad that he did not have a void reservoir, he would be dumb enough to experiment with it.

 191. Knock off Divine Weaponry

    While he did not have void he might have something nearly as bad. After robbing the army of mercenaries he had a bunch of odd reservoirs. After seeing Vulcan¡¯s craftsmanship and Hadrids, the alchemist had downright basic workmanship. The knives had the same lines, but with the alloy force, Hadrid could simply make them when he created the construct. It hampered their effects, as alloy channels weren¡¯t as capable of moving a force. To add to that, all the channels were straight lines leaving some areas of low coverage.


    He pulled out the essence reservoir he was considering. While he could not be sure, the same channels should work within each element. What he was holding was a reservoir containing erosion. Decay for inert matter, which is what composed the Lord of the Underworld. The best part was that erosion was part of earth, water, and air. Both Siren and Luke could fuel the essence needed to maintain the construct within the reservoir.


    There was another issue with the technical skill required to forge it. Making the channels was considered too rudimentary for Vulcan to have thought about it. To him it was akin to hammering in a nail, a novice would worry about the how, a master would consider where.


    So he drew the knives he had purchased from Hadrid and examined them. He could sense the strings of adamance within directing the essence from the reservoirs. So it was a solid piece of crystalized force. That was not weird for adamance but it went against the very concept of void. It was a bit of a brain bender but it appeared that the embodiment of absence could be touched and held, though not without consequence.


    With little more thought he started making it. He could simply make the whole thing with a construct, but Vulcan had avoided it for some reason. Tristan could have taken the shortcut, but taking shortcuts hadn¡¯t gone well recently. So he put together the gauntlets in a more old fashion way.


    He did have several things that gave him an advantage over normal smiths. The greatest being that he could feel the properties of the metal. He grabbed one of the heavy leather smithing gloves and used it as a base. Vulcan had not shown him what the plates were attached to, but heavy leather seemed appropriate.


    Tristan poured the metal out into a sheet and waited for it to cool. While waiting he looked around. Siren had left, though a man in armor stood off to the side watching him. Drew also frowned at Tristan, not appreciating the lost glove.


    Once the metal was cool enough to handle Tristan used the knives to slice them into the pieces that he wanted. He inherited his father¡¯s art skills, so they were only mostly the correct shape. As he worked it drifted farther and farther from the original design, Tristan had assumed the process of sculpting metal would be simple. He was wrong.


    He struggled to make the knuckle guard, out of which the erosion would be discharged. Finally, he gave up and simply riveted the plate directly onto the glove. Instead of the streamlined receptacle for the essence reservoir, he had a crude bulge in the center of the palm. The channels were also more difficult than he had thought.


    Tristan used every bit of his control to carve grooves into the metal. It was simple, straight lines. None of the runes that Vulcan used seemed possible. Tristan was not even sure how he had managed to use those to get channels. In short, what Tristan came up with looked like a child¡¯s attempt at copying their father. When he finally got around to placing the reservoir he had a piece of junk.


    To make it worse he felt a soft sense of amusement coming from Vulcan, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give advice instead of laughing.¡±


    Tristan immediately felt bad for harassing the injured soul tool. Still, he didn¡¯t need to laugh. He heard some footsteps approaching and turning he found Drew approaching.


    The young smith examined Tristan¡¯s shoddy craftsmanship and asked, ¡°What were you trying to make?¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Another blow to his pride, Drew couldn¡¯t even tell what he was making. Though to be fair, his only explanation had been about punching math. Tristan thought about explaining the weapon that he had in his mind, however the backstory would only distract Drew.


    ¡°I found the blueprints for a powerful weapon,¡± Tristan started, ¡°I don¡¯t have all the materials, but I would like to make something similar.¡±


    Drew glanced at the gauntlet, ¡°can I see the blueprint?¡±


    ¡°No, it''s in my head,¡± Tristan said. He sighed, that made him sound like a crazy person, ¡°I found it in the cave where the Lord of the Underworld was originally imprisoned. I couldn¡¯t take it so I memorized it.¡±


    Drew raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Tristan settled for using his architect alloy to build a replica of what was in his mind. It was a few sizes bigger than even Siren could wear. A large plate of metal covered the outer forearm, and the rest was made of concentric rings of metal. The joints had a fine chainmail mesh. Tristan¡¯s skill with the architect alloy was not enough to make the chain mail joints articulate, but the texture was still distinguishable.


    The smith¡¯s eyes widened at the construct being woven into existence. It took quite a bit of his essence reserves to do that, a limitation that most tier fours did not possess. He set the sculpture of a gauntlet on the table and inspected it. Fortunately, he was able to preserve the runes, though he still had no idea what they meant.


    ¡°I was trying to make this, maybe a few sizes smaller,¡± Tristan gestured to the glove.


    ¡°If you could just magic one up, why did you ruin my glove?¡± Drew said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t ¡®magic¡¯ one up,¡± Tristan made air quotes at the word magic, ¡°I don¡¯t know why yet, but I¡¯m pretty sure that my constructs are useless for artifacts.¡±


    Drew¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°An artifact?¡±


    It took Tristan a few moments to comprehend the smith''s amazement. Most people only had the artifacts that were handed down in the family. Even then, someone¡¯s death producing an elemental or artifact was rare, to add to that, most people had more than one child and many artifacts were purchased and absorbed by the leadership of the caldera. Drew might not have ever held an artifact, and now he was asked to take part in constructing one.


    ¡°Yes, though this one will be much weaker than what you are currently looking at,¡± Tristan said, ¡°As I said, we lack the materials needed. If I read it correctly it was designed by the Silver Demon lord to kill gods.¡±


    Not entirely inaccurate. It was designed by the Silver Demon Lord¡¯s nephew to kill a deity that could have cut through the Temple¡¯s pantheon like a scythe through grass. Tristan was sure that if they could get a prototype up and running, the far weaker Lord of the Underworld could be put down for good.


    Drew¡¯s eyes widened even further, ¡°This is a divine artifact?¡±


    Tristan was not going to get into a theological debate over a misdirection, so he shrugged, ¡°Only if you believe the description. But considering where I found it, the chances are not nonexistent.¡±


    ¡°Where do we start?¡± Drew was excited, bouncing from one foot to the other.


    ¡°Well we need to substitute some things, for starters, we will be using Erosion instead of void to deal damage,¡± Tristan held up the reservoir.


    The smith inspected it, ¡°I want to ask questions, but I am not sure I will understand the answer.¡±


    ¡°This is a reservoir, the heart of an elemental,¡± Tristan explained, ¡°I can use it as a power source for an artifact.¡±


    Drew nodded, before starting to recycle the metal that Tristan had wasted. He dumped it into the crucible and started to explain what was done wrong. Turns out that metal is not just bent into the correct position, not because all the smiths were tier zero, but because it would create weak points in the finished product if done incorrectly.


    It took substantially longer to do it Drews way. Long enough that the onlookers got bored and left. The guard Siren had left was swapped out two times and the sun was completely set by the time most of the parts were cool. Tristan¡¯s tier four strength did come into play when hammering the metal flat. He was five times stronger than Drew, making a difficult task relatively simple.


    The metal slid together quite easily. Tristan could see the obvious difference in craftsmanship between Vulcan¡¯s product and their own. Still, even the shadow of divinity was better than anything Tristan could bring forth. The receptacles had to be designed with a clip that would weaken the overall rigidity of the piece, however, the whole thing would be covered with an adamant plate making it quite sturdy.


    The last step was quite surprising. Drew demonstrated the value of experience when he pulled out a liquid solution that etched the surface of the metal. It was much more precise than Tristan attempting the same thing with his knives.


    Tristan clipped the erosion reservoir in, alongside the only two absorption reservoirs he had. He lacked execution, but erosion was not as volatile as void, so he hoped it was unnecessary. One of his daggers, the sword breaker had been sacrificed to give the plate covering the arm adamance.


    Tristan grinned at Drew, ¡°Want to go test it?¡±


    ¡°Not in my shop.¡±

 192. ETA

    Even with an skilled craftsman, Tristan found that the gauntlet had its draw backs. Namely due to the fact that he had zero experience laying essence channels. They worked and worked well, but they also worked all the time and both ways. That meant two things, first it would always need to be held by a person at tier two or higher with an air, water, or earth kern if the reservoir was to stay charged, and second the person should have a high pain tolerance.


    Tristan used a large amount of metal essence from Vulcan to build a metal brick. He had started noticing that the essence inside the lamp post was recovering more slowly than he had assumed it would. That was a good thing for Vulcan¡¯s overall recovery, but a bad thing for his usefulness in combat. At the current rate of recovery it would take Vulcan about a month to recover his essence reserves completely, a pitiful rate compared to Tristan¡¯s three hours with meditation. Still the three percent Vulcan recovered a day was more essence than a tier seven would possess, making the low recovery rate relative.


    Drew had wanted to use the glove until Tristan explained the dangers of using higher tier reservoirs. Not that Drew would be in danger of overdrawing his kern, his fire kern would not feed any of the reservoirs. Tristan¡¯s kern would feed the absorption reservoirs, which were all tier two and the tier five adamance reservoir. He put the gauntlet on and immediately it felt like sandpaper was being ground across his knuckles.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Drew asked after seeing Tristan wince.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the runes went both ways,¡± Tristan said gritting his teeth, he balled his hand into a fist and punched the metal block.


    The pain it caused his knuckles was nothing compared to what it did to ridged surfaces. Tristan¡¯s fist went almost six inches into the metal block before he felt resistance. Corroded powder trickled out of the gaps between his fist and the metal. As he held his hand there it ate deeper into the block, threatening to tip him over.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to get hit by that,¡± Drew whispered.


    ¡°It would not do this to you,¡± Tristan jerked his arm out of the block, then removed the glove, ¡°It would do this to you.¡±


    Both of them examined the hand. The top layer of skin had been removed and blood was slowly leaking out. This is what it did to a tier four, if Drew had worn it the damage would have been at least five times worse. Erosion was a good choice, Tristan was not sure what it would do to an elemental, but as they weren¡¯t organic, he hoped they would be more within the force¡¯s purview.


    ¡°So, I want some metal mixed with whatever that is and I want to keep the model,¡± Drew said.


    Tristan shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t do that, I can only do that with forces that I have. Your choices are architect, growth, decay, consumption, and infusion.¡±


    He only knew the effect of decay. Any metal would start breaking down any organic material it was lodged in. Unfortunately, that included any wooden grip or shaft. It would also be dangerous to sharpen as the shavings would damage anything they fell on.


    The others were unknown. He suspected that architect would do nothing. Infusion might increase the even distribution of a material when mixed. Consumption and growth were completely unknown, would it become vampiric or would more material grow out of the mixed metal?


    ¡°Am I right to assume you haven¡¯t had a chance to test them since last time we did it? Drew asked, and at Tristans nod he continued, ¡°HHmm, I would like one ingot of the decay, hunger, growth, and infusion.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Tristan raised an eyebrow, that was a lot of valuable material. Potentially valuable, for all he knew it was complete garbage. So he agreed, a few ingots of steel force alloy would be more time consuming than difficult to make. The crucible needed to be cleaned before the next ingot could be made. Tristan was not sure what cross contamination in alloys outside his body would cause and Drew was not keen on finding out.


    They started with decay, as it was a known quantity. It was mostly uneventful. It came out as a flakey metal, which made sense, any construct Tristan made with it produced a liquid, no metal produced that way should be sturdy. While Tristan suspected that it would better used to make toxic projectiles, he could also run channels of adamance through to make it more rigid. Tristan shelved that thought, blades of rot and death were not something he wanted to invent.


    Consumption came out porous, making it lighter than the original amount of steel put in. Tristan would have simply discarded consumption as an alloy for smithing, it ate metal after all. Drew simply nodded and set it aside.


    ¡°What are you going to use that for?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am thinking of making a tap to thread screw holes in metal. If I can get it to eat into the metal in a threaded pattern, it will make my job much easier,¡± Drew explained.


    Tristan did not believe that it functioned that way, but experimentation was the only way to find out. Infusion and growth had very lackluster results. Infusion looked identical to the basic ingots and not even Drew could tell the difference. He ended up marking it so he did not accidentally use it in a horse shoe or a set of nails.


    Growth had caused a swirling pattern. It almost looked like the metal had never stopped moving until it hardened. The surface was also not perfectly level, slight ripples ran width wise along the ingot.


    ¡°Be careful with them,¡± Tristan advised, ¡°They may look harmless, but each of them is dangerous in their own way.¡±


    Drew nodded, ¡°Oh, I know. Master Doil always said I was too quick to cut corners.¡±


    Doil probably had a conniption over every misstep. Tristan chuckled at the thought, ¡°Regardless, do you want to do this again? I had fun making this.¡±


    Fun. That was a weird concept, he had not done something because it was fun since the excavation of the tower. Not that pushing himself was not fun, just that he would do it regardless of the pleasure that it brought. Making the gauntlet was different, he would be willing to do that for no other reason than it was interesting.


    Drew nodded, ¡°Even if you were kind of weird in the beginning, I can agree with that.¡±


    Tristan waved farewell and left the smiths workshop. It was the middle of the night, but the sky was streaked with red, the light in the east was definitely getting closer. Was that one the signs that Vulcan said to worry about? It did not matter, even if it was a threat they would still have to deal with the Lord of the Underworld first.


    Even in the middle of the night the camp was alive. People scurried back and forth like ants in a kicked mound. Tristan stepped off to the side of the path between tents to avoid impeding traffic. He contemplated who to take the glove to. Without the ability to provide power for the erosion reservoir, he could be the one to use it.


    Luke had the most power, but could only supply the erosion with juice. Siren could do the same, but also provided power to adamance. The absorption reservoirs wouldn¡¯t be refilled though. Tristan was left with a surprising third choice, Merrick. He could not resupply the adamance reservoir, but he could do both erosion and absorption.


    A bell rang in the distance, pulling Tristan from his thoughts. He glanced over at the Lake Caldera, was there a gathering going on? Maybe Elder Lake had an announcement to make. Tristan started making his way to the city, he was not in a rush, but he also was not far from the gates. He paused when he noticed more people exiting said gates than entering.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Tristan looked for someone to pull aside to answer the question.


    ¡°There you are,¡± Tristan turned to find Luke jogging up, ¡°You are a difficult person to find.¡±


    ¡°Can you explain this,¡± Tristan gestured to the camp in general.


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°You did not hear the crier? Of course you didn¡¯t. The Lord of the Underworlds army was spotted entering the plains, moving towards the Lake Caldera.¡±


    That was something to take note of. In Tristan¡¯s experience armies took time to move. If it was large enough to destroy the Lake Caldera it should be a few days out. Tristan said as much.


    ¡°No,¡± Luke said, ¡°You are forgetting that it is mostly composed of tireless elementals. The enemy soldiers don¡¯t have to carry their supplies or walk, as wagons are hitched to teams of elementals. Estimations put them arriving by this morning.¡±


    Now that was a problem.

 193. Undead Caldera

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we using the wall?¡± Tristan asked.


    He had never been part of a city assault or a city defense. The Forrest Caldera did not count as he was already within the walls. Still, he was sure that the walls were a Caldera¡¯s greatest advantage, a warrior could just poke anything trying to climb over the side. They were made to stop mythical beasts, not people, but vertical walls stopped both just as reliably.


    Luke seemed uncertain, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Blacklake claimed that walls were only good if you could reliably expect aid. All the loyal warriors are here, so no one is coming to help. Also, I saw how much good the walls of the Stone Caldera were, I don¡¯t want to use something that frail for defense.¡±


    That seemed like sound reasoning. Tristan internally debated his current decision. He needed to give the gauntlet to someone better suited to using it than himself. Looking out over the plains he could vaguely see the dust cloud from all the enemy army marching towards them. While Merrick was an option, the man''s lack of a force would get him butchered in a straight up fight with any elemental lord. So Luke for raw damage output or Siren for sustainability.


    Looking around he saw hundreds of people in cloth armor lining up behind the trench separating the plains from the Lake Caldera¡¯s territory. The viscous substance at the bottom was originally meant to stop ghost crabs from escaping, it would work well as a barrier against humans. Tristan saw more people lined up than he had ever seen in any location, they had staying power, even if it was just in the form of bodies.


    ¡°Here,¡± Tristan handed Luke the gauntlet.


    ¡°This is what you and the skinny smith were working on?¡± Luke took it, inspecting the interlocking pieces of metal, ¡°I kind of expected more for the two days you spent on it.¡±


    Tristan blinked, two days. Then he remembered that he should be cranky about the insult to his craftsmanship, ¡°Yes, it uses the force of erosion to destroy rigid objects. It is pretty good for a first try. If you get the chance it should chew through the Lord of the Underworld''s dual anima.¡±


    It was actually his second try, but that nightmare of a glove was best forgotten. Luke nodded, then put it on. Tristan snickered as he yelped and jerked his hand back out.


    ¡°I thought you said it used the force of erosion to destroy rigid objects!¡± Luke glared at Tristan.


    ¡°That''s why you should only use it on the Lord of the Underworld,¡± Tristan explained slowly like he was talking to Fluffy.


    Luke harrumphed and tied the glove to his belt. The dust cloud was not growing larger at a visible rate, but if he looked away for fifteen minutes and then looked back, there was a noticeable difference.


    ¡°What do you think this will be like?¡± Tristan had fought people before. However, many of these people would be recognizable.


    He was not sure he could stomach killing a baker or farmer. It was possible that he would see some of Harp''s relatives in there, maybe his other uncle. Tristan wanted to retreat into the murkiness of his memories of that time to treat everyone as faceless enemies. He just was not sure if that was the kind of person he wanted to become.


    Luke was perhaps the worst person to ask that particular question. So it was a good thing when he was stopped from responding by a new voice, ¡°Sage, Luke, are there any others at tier four with you?¡±


    Tristan glanced over to see Bruce jogging up. He had the blue uniform on but was missing the gold plating common to guards. In his hand, he was gripping a large bag that looked to be holding equipment. Between his well cut blond hair, sky blue eyes, and uniform, he looked like an odd combination of high class noble and delivery boy.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Glow Stone!¡± Luke cheered getting a frown from Bruce.


    ¡°No, just us, do you need us somewhere else?¡± Tristan asked.


    Bruce shook his head, ¡°No, as pissed as Siren is, it turned out to be a good decision to force his team up to tier four. It is the moral boost our people needed.¡±


    Tristan felt better about that. Then he immediately chastised himself for the feeling, a good effect from a poor decision did not suddenly make his lack of foresight a beneficial quality. Still, they would need everything they could get from the normal people. If every tier four had the strength of five men, then they only accounted for a fraction of the army¡¯s power. Still, to most of these people tier fours were the pinnacle of power and that was worth quite a bit.


    ¡°So why are you here,¡± Tristan asked, ¡°I assume that Eve still needs protection?¡±


    ¡°Herod came out publicly as the River Caldera¡¯s civil protector,¡± Bruce explained, ¡°That freed up her light kern attendants to support the tier four warriors.¡±


    ¡°Personal healers,¡± Luke nodded in approval.


    ¡°Yes, and we need to change your equipment,¡± Bruce said. He set the bag down and started removing pieces of leather armor.


    Tristan recognized the same navy blue and black pattern that was standard in the River Caldera, ¡°Is Eve trying to put her mark on all the tier four warriors?¡±


    Bruce looked at the leather, then back to Tristan, ¡°Maybe. I was told that we did not want our strongest people vulnerable to the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s metal control.¡±


    It did not take long for them to change. Tristan ran his metal sense over Bruce, finding three healing artifacts aside from the spear. So the Caldera was genuinely sending out healers to support their people. Tristan and Luke were not likely to take injuries that also wouldn¡¯t be lethal. Luke would just be too hard to strike, while Tristan had excellent defenses and healing.


    It would open up a good amount of hit-and-run tactics. They could stay out longer and take a few more risks. He realized something else, his uniqueness might have diminished.


    ¡°Bruce, have any of Siren¡¯s elite gained forces?¡± Tristan hoped they all had.


    It was not Bruce who answered, but Luke. This was good because Bruce appeared to have no idea what a force was, ¡°Yes, Grant got adamance, making him a better punching bag and Jenna got something weird.¡± At Tristan¡¯s raised eyebrow Luke explained, ¡°It allows her to convert her essence directly into stamina, and any constructs made with it last longer.¡±


    Jenna had a dual light and earth kern. She would have also made a good fit for the gauntlet now that Tristan thought about it. She had something that improved the basic aspects of both of her essence types without adding anything new.


    ¡°I would guess persistence, it should also make most injuries treatable. Even to arteries and most organs,¡± It was one of the ones Tristan wanted, it would help him overcome his deficit of essence compared to others with forces.


    ¡°What are forces,¡± Bruce asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell, it would just make you jealous, Glow Stone,¡± Luke mocked.


    ¡°My name is Bruce,¡± Bruce grumbled.


    ¡°Oh look they are getting closer,¡± Luke changed the subject.


    All three of them and the people eavesdropping looked back at the approaching enemy. The approaching army was much larger than it was supposed to be. Tristan had just been to the Forrest Caldera and there was no way there were this many citizens left, let alone soldiers. There were also large wooden contraptions that Tristan did not recognize.


    ¡°Where did all these people come from,¡± Tristan muttered.


    ¡°That was the other reason we were sent out,¡± Bruce¡¯s voice had dropped to a whisper to keep the surrounding people from hearing, ¡°We had been keeping this secret, but the Lord of the Underworld tortured and killed everyone in the Stone Caldera, there are quite a few more elementals than we had previously been anticipating.¡±


    Tristan wished that he was surprised. Blacklake had been saying that this was exactly how the Lord of the Underworld should use his defeated enemies. Tristan had no true acquaintances from the Stone Caldera, but still, the approaching dust cloud represented the complete annihilation of another Caldera.


    A full half of the Caldera was dead now, not including any casualties in the Forrest Caldera and taken in the squabbling between the other. Tristan clenched his fists, today would decide whether or not another two Calderas were destroyed.


    ¡°You find the Lord of the Underworld,¡± Tristan glanced at Luke, ¡°I¡¯ll slow him down.¡±


    Luke grinned at the spinning flame topping the lamp post, and patted the glove hanging from his belt, ¡°I¡¯ll rip his stupid undead face off.¡±


    ¡°Guy¡¯s what am I supposed to do?¡± Bruce asked.


    Tristan was not sure, however, he was sure they would need to be put back together, ¡°Stay close enough to patch us up, we¡¯re pretty tough, but not tough enough to fight an elemental lord without injury.¡±


    Bruce nodded and firmed his stance. They faced the approaching army and searched for the target.

 194. Cut Down the Forest

    The sun was just cracking the horizon by the time the Forest Caldera arrived. It did little to illuminate the field, as it never got darker than twilight anymore. Thousands of elementals and armored soldiers lined up just outside a standard warrior¡¯s bow range.


    Archery did not scale with draw weight, too much force in the string would break a standard arrow. The solution was a thicker arrow shaft, which increased the mass behind the arrow while also reducing the range. All that was to say, the Forest Caldera was only five hundred feet away.


    Tristan¡¯s stomach sank when he saw the enemy arrayed against them. Every single soldier had metal armor and a well made weapon. Each appeared to be paired with a skeleton elemental which was also wearing armor.


    Glancing up and down the Lake Caldera¡¯s line, he wondered how many people could fight an elemental of equivalent tier while its only weakness was guarded. That glance led to the inevitable comparison between the metal and cloth defenses of the armies. They would need to leverage this trench for all that it was worth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the Lord of the Underworld,¡± Tristan muttered as he scanned the army.


    There were two elemental lords, but neither of them were the one they were after. Tristan did not have much experience with it, but the Lord of the Underworld seemed to like his public displays of aggression. At least if his experiences in the mine and watching from across the lake were any indicator.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Luke whispered, ¡°Maybe Siren did more damage than we thought with the gallium capsule.¡±


    As if to answer their queries one of the two elemental lords stepped forward. It was impossible to tell an elemental lord''s tier from their movements. Some were brutes, some were quick, and some were refined, like the one before them. It had a wind, water, and earth combination which could either be very dangerous or very weak depending on how it was applied.


    ¡°Hello, traitors within the lord¡¯s land,¡± It began, ¡°My name is Custodian. I am here to give you the terms of surrender. Give up now and submit to the lord and all of you will be granted eternity. If we battle there is no way for us to guarantee this for all of you.¡±


    Everyone was focused on the Custodian¡¯s voice. It would have been easy to miss that many of the people climbing out of the wagons were assembling something. Bodies blocked the view, but one glimpse of a long tube told Tristan what was being constructed. Tristan grabbed a man beside him and was about to tell him to go get Siren, but Bruce stopped him.


    He pointed to a boy with a copper medallion inscribed with waves and a fishing boat. It was a sigil of the Lake Caldera. Tristan released the confused and scared man to wait for the messenger boy.


    The boy whispered something into Bruce¡¯s ear. Bruce in turn asked Luke a question, ¡°Can you two handle the contraptions?¡±


    ¡°The cannons?¡± Luke asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Bruce answered, ¡°There¡¯s another wooden one that can throw explosives. It has a basket attached to a wooden pole, like a fishing net.¡±


    Tristan scanned the line a second time. It did not take him long to find the weapons just as described. They were the wagons the people rode in on. What he had assumed was a backrest lining the spine of the wagon bed was in reality, the pole with a type of sling attached to the end. Several gears and pulleys were anchored near the front. Tristan could not be sure how exactly it worked, but any metal construct he built to jam the pulleys and gears was bound to mess it up.


    ¡°Yes, any warrior with an earth kern should be able to mess up the machinery at the front,  while fire kerns should be able to burn them,¡± Tristan answered.


    The message boy spoke up for the first time, ¡°If you are able to target those machines once the conflict starts, try to destroy them.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°When is that?¡± Luke asked.


    This was the downside of a civilian army. Many signals and drills could not be imparted in such a short time. It was the main reason they had chosen the trench, poke the enemy as they crossed and stick with the buddy to either side was easy enough to impart.


    ¡°I will let you know,¡± the boy said. He took a step back and clasped his hands behind his back. It was rare to see such an expression of focus on a person¡¯s face.


    Tristan turned back to where Custodian was standing with its hands clasped behind its back. It appeared to be waiting for something. That something strode out to meet it.


    Three people, Elder Lake, Eve, and Siren stepped out. Upon seeing Eve, Tristan tensed. She was vulnerable right now, if Custodian had ill intent then she would die. Tristan stuffed down his worry, he had told Eve to pick up her responsibilities, but he could not tell her to abandon them.


    All three of them were wearing the colors of the factions behind them. Eve had the blue and black of the River Caldera, Elder Lake had the brown and copper of the Lake Caldera, and Siren wore black armor trimmed in the colors of the temple.


    ¡°So you are surrendering?¡± Custodian asked. A smile could be heard in the telepathic resonance of his voice.


    Humans did not have the ability to project like elementals, making their voices unintelligible. Tristan tried to glean information from their body language. Which gave the opposite problem, Custodian stood at attention while Elder Lake gesticulated.


    ¡°You think I am being ridiculous,¡± Custodian deadpanned.


    Elder Lake shook his head and waved his hand in a noncommittal way. Eve folded her arms and judging by the slight bob of her head, she just rolled her eyes. Siren simply slid his foot back to rest his weight on the ball of his foot.


    ¡°I will give you an example then,¡± Custodian made a gesture behind him. Two humans stepped forward dragging a skinny body with one hand and holding a chest plate in the other. Tristan did not recognize the dirty man, even after Custodian continued, ¡°This is how we deal with traitors. This is how we convert the wicked.¡±


    Eve took a step forward as if to stop Custodian. Siren placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. The dirty man looked up and Tristan recognized him, just before Custodian cut off Elder Forest¡¯s head with an emerald axe.


    Tristan flinched slightly, but before he could go on an introspective tangent something familiar happened. The body started shriveling and smoking. The whole line of Lake Calderan¡¯s took an involuntary step back.


    ¡°This is what will happen to you and your children, and all your decedents until the end of time if we don¡¯t win!¡± Tristan took advantage of the situation, ¡°Kill the elementals or they will harvest us like cattle.¡±


    Custodian was doing this to unsettle the people. Tristan did not know if it was working, but Tristan¡¯s goal was to do two things. First trade in fear for anger, second show that there was no escape. A cornered man fights with more ferocity.


    The headless body grew a radiant flaming skull. After a few moments, the body caught on fire and the elemental tore itself free. In life, Elder Forest was tier three, but he was no warrior. In death, he would fight with his Caldera.


    One of the people holding armor passed it to the fire elemental. It pulled it on over its head. The metal must have been some force alloy, most likely tower plate, as it did not start glowing with heat. The other man handed the elemental an oversized mace. It was pushing the limit of what a tier three could swing, but the tireless nature of elementals meant that if it could swing once it could swing forever.


    ¡°This is how we use our enemies,¡± Custodian patted the elemental on the shoulder, ¡°Kill your fellow elders.¡±


    Custodian took a step back, anticipating the next action. Eve and Elder Lake staggered back surprised that an undead immortal would refuse to honor a negotiation. Siren, on the other hand, pushed off his back foot launching himself at the elemental.


    In the past Siren had fought elementals under tiered and without a force. Elemental Elder Lake swung his mace, but it was too slow. A gauntlet of solid shadow with diamond fingertips punched through the eye sockets. Siren used the fist within its skull as leverage to throw the elemental aside.


    Custodian had thought that Siren would be occupied longer. Emerald armor was constructed over his body and he prepared to receive the Caldera¡¯s strongest soldier.


    ¡°Kill their leaders. The Caldera belongs to the chosen of the Champion!¡± Custodian blasted out just as Siren rammed into him with a tower shield construct.


    ¡°With me!¡± Siren yelled. His roar was loud enough to be heard over the murmuring of almost ten thousand combatants. He slid to a stop as Custodian managed to negate Siren¡¯s forward momentum


    Eve slid to a stop before spinning back. Elder Lake kept running, but she picked up the mace the Elder Forest elemental dropped. It was too heavy for her to swing around, but she only needed to get it above her head. She walked over to the prone elemental that was still regenerating its head. The mace came down and crushed the elemental¡¯s pelvis.


    Tristan prepared to engage as well. Just before he vaulted over the ditch to cripple the cart war machine the messenger boy said, ¡°That¡¯s your signal.¡±

 195. Dog Pile

    It took no effort to cross the trench. That made Tristan wonder if it would have been an effective barrier to the guard crabs. Luke passed him in a flash of green lightning. Up and down the line nearly a dozen other people were making their way across no man¡¯s land. Tristan wondered what these machines could do that had Commander Blacklake so worried.


    It did not matter, Tristan crossed the trench and intervening five hundred feet in less than fifteen seconds. To little time for the startled humans to bring their pole arms to bear, but more than enough time for the elementals to brandish their clubs. Tristan decided to do his pole vaulting trick, though this time he did not have to worry about a low gate, or landing on anyone.


    The elementals took a step forward just as the pole dropped into Tristan¡¯s palm. This time he was not wearing his gravity imbued armor, but he still launched himself into the air. The motion did give some insight into what the war machines would do. Unfortunately, the elementals did not stop and gawk like the humans, they immediately pivoted, their lacking mass making it easy to turn.


    Tristan landed right next to one of the crews setting up the cannons. He was still unsure why the war machines were a higher priority than the cannons. Tristan had seen their capabilities when used in combination with essence reservoirs over the destroyed city of Alchehall. Not wanting to risk it Tristan grabbed the weapon and picked it up.


    He was shocked at just how heavy a five foot tube of steel could be. The idea of using it as a club was tossed aside, instead he spun around and lobbed the weapon at the approaching elementals. All the people within reach dove to the ground to avoid the implement, giving Tristan time to summon Vulcan and shove his flaming tip into the guts of the war machine. He shoved a small amount of fire essence and combustion force out. The result was a lot of smoke and melting gears.


    Tristan was unable to remove Vulcan before the elementals arrived. They never dealt with pain or hesitation, it made them persistent. Several had dented armor where the cannon had hit them, but none were injured in the slightest.


    The nearest man stabbed his polearm into Tristan¡¯s chest. It still hurt when the leather armor deformed around the point, but the material successfully kept the point out. He resummoned Vulcan, the split second it took to move through realms allowed the elementals to arrive. Standards metal essence wrapped around Tristan, adamance needed to be saved for the Lord of the Underworld. The lack of grand speeches was worrying.


    He stabbed forward with the butt of the lamp post, further denting the armor. The air elemental lacked the mass to let Tristan punch through. It caused one problem but opened up another opportunity. Tristan swung Vulcan like a club, he planned to knock them over like bowling pins and then run.


    Unfortunately, the elementals were not adverse to getting knocked around. The first one he hit latched onto the pole like a drowning person, and this one was an earth elemental. Tristan staggered at its much greater weight, then the remaining ten tackled him. Scratching and biting at the plate armor. Tristan would have died if any of them had been sapient and armed with anything sharp. He slowly pushed himself up, then the Forest Calderans joined in. They did not have to worry about killing the elementals, at worst they would spend an extra minute or two regenerating.


    ¡°For the Champion¡¯s Utopia!¡± The man shoved the point of his halberd into Tristan¡¯s helmet. He must have been at least tier two because he felt the point of the weapon penetrate his scalp deep enough to draw blood.


    Tristan wanted to yell at the man about how stupid his utopia was, but the blow knocked him back down. Some of the elementals started locating joints with the soldier''s help and soon enough undead fingers started worming their way into his armor. Screw resource management, Tristan wouldn¡¯t get to fight the Lord of the Underworld if he was slain by a bunch of civilians and skeletons.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Golden fire started collecting around the tip of the lamppost. This attack had never failed to stop anyone, even Luke a tier five was driven to his knees by it. That was when Tristan discovered a counter to the attack. Four soldiers grabbed Vulcan and yanked the soul tool right out of his hands. It was so simplistic, yet effective that he was surprised he hadn¡¯t thought of it.


    He dismissed Vulcan, then tried to bring him back. A second limitation reared its head. He needed unoccupied space to summon Vulcan. Without access to anything other than the ocean of metal and fire essence, Tristan pulled a page from Regis¡¯s book. A sphere of golden fire blasted out of him and did nothing.


    Yes, it would have blown the elementals off, but they were latched onto him like leeches. The fire never reached their hearts and they shielded the common soldiers with their bodies. It did lift Tristan a few inches off the ground, and though it was not enough space for him to leverage his strength, it still let him reach his belt.


    A blade stabbed into his hip, only being stopped by the mythical beast leather. Tristan had ridiculed the armor for its lack of mass, which was fair, people at high tiers weren¡¯t immune to physics. Now that it was saving his life, he needed to retract his thoughts, it was wonderful under armor.


    The mythical beast leather gave Tristan the freedom to focus on what he had removed from his belt. His first weapon, and the only remaining of a set. He shoved the adamance imbued, translucent blade through the steel plate covering an earth elemental¡¯s heart. It froze before crumpling.


    He lashed out another two times, slaying another two elementals. He stabbed his way to his knees, then looked up only to see a soldier swinging his polearm like a club. Tristan couldn¡¯t dodge, so he reinforced his face, cut the handle of the halberd, and thanked whatever deities were out there that he had chosen to use a closed helm.


    The blade of the weapon disconnected with the shaft still slammed into his face. He staggered backward, barely avoiding a vertical chop from another soldier. Several more elementals arrived, ready to tackle him all over again. Tristan was ready, he summoned Vulcan and coated his mangled armor in a shell of adamance plate.


    He knew he could not fight his way out, he had no way to reliably keep the elementals down. His knife worked, but it was too close range to work on the dozen or so closing in. So he curled around Vulcan and let them attack him. Stabs that had gotten through now skittered off the reflective armor.


    ¡°Take my friend now,¡± Tristan laughed.


    He restarted the gravity blast and this time no one could get enough of a grip to drag it out of his hands. Combustion made the gold a few shades brighter before darkness filled the orb. Tristan pushed as much of the force of gravity in as his mind could handle. As soon as strain reached its peak, started to release it.


    Tristan wondered what would happen what would happen if he released all this power while it was trapped below him. He cursed and tried to retighten his loosening grip. It was naive for him to think that he could catch anything so near his limit when he released the tension. He reinforced his whole body just before the world turned black.


    Tristan sighed, he was knocked unconscious way too often. It took him a moment to realize that was a very coherent thought for an unconscious man. He blinked, feeling dirt filling his helmet. Slowly he pried himself off the ground and shook off the six or so inches of dirt that covered him.


    He had to pull his helmet off to get the dirt out and see his surroundings. Blinking a few times he could only stare in shock at the crater around him. It was a bowl about twenty feet wide and ten feet deep. It was like a meteor had hit right where he was standing. The ground around his feet was hot, but not to the point of glowing.


    It took him a few moments to realize he had been the meteor. The stunt would have likely flattened him if he hadn¡¯t been wearing adamance armor. He was not sure how he had gathered that kind of kinetic power while in contact with the ground, but he was not going to stick around and repeat the experiment.


    Tristan sprinted out of the crater at top speed relying on his armor to keep him safe. It was not necessary. Most of the soldiers that had been hitting him were injured, but alive. Joints had been bent backward and they would not be fighting today. Their comrades were dragging them away and hadn¡¯t expected the epicenter of the explosion to be alive.


    Seven seconds later he was halfway to the trench when he looked to see how Siren was doing. Siren was fine, Tristan watched him punt Custodian into the front line of the human soldiers. Eve was not, her golden guards were fighting a retreating battle against three times their number of elementals.

 196. There are Cannons?

    The tier one elementals were only half the strength of the weakest of Eve¡¯s guards, they were lighter, unskilled, and nearly impossible to put down. It was unsettling to slice a foe in half only for them to get back to their feet after a minute or two. Tristan had struggled with this as well, but Siren had found a way around it.


    Custodian was not a pushover, but his skills were more dedicated to management than violence. Thus he had called several elementals to help him. Siren had created a scythe out of his cohesion force, a weapon that he hammered through the neck of each elemental and down into their hearts. It was not a tactic that everyone could use but, Tristan could.


    A metal blade construct weaved itself into existence on Vulcan, just below the lamp head. It was a little ungainly, but was better than nothing. Tristan would attempt to use it like the war picks that were common to tier three warriors. He had done some training with them, but the two-foot blade of a scythe was much different than the five-inch pick of what he had trained with.


    The two armies were positioned pin lines that stretched a mile, and two or three men deep with a five hundred foot gap between them. Eve was at the dead center. It did not take long for Tristan to arrive. All the elementals seemed to work on a type of hive mind, so the surprise strike through the opening at the top of the armor never happened.


    Tristan targeted an air elemental that was attacking Lesley. She was not the best fighter, but it was always important to keep the healer alive. The air elemental spun to face Tristan, leaving its two companions to face Lesley without it. It dove at Tristan, swiftly getting within the effective range of the scythe. Not that it mattered, its fingertips were incapable of penetrating his armor, and he still had his dagger.


    Punching forward he drove his blade through the chest plate. Tristan did not wait for it to dissolve, he shoved it to the side and pushed past it. The scythe cut straight down through the next elemental¡¯s collarbone. Tristan''s lack of skill caused him to miss the heart, but it was still great leverage. He jerked back and forth, cutting rents through the elemental¡¯s circulatory system until it finally collapsed into essence.


    While he was using the scythe on one elemental, he stamped down on the final one¡¯s knee. Lesley was not a great combatant, but she was still more than enough to manhandle the tier one undead. Her war pick crushed its head and then she drove her fist into the armor and tore out the elemental¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Pocket that,¡± Tristan yelled as he moved on to help Janis.


    Lesley glanced at the organ in her grip before shrugging and stuffing it into her pocket. She went to assist Eve with the elementals she was facing. Elementals she was handling better than any of her people. Eve had drawn the long double edged water artifact that he had stolen for her. It was not able to ignore the plate armor, but its higher tier allowed it to punch through with well angled thrusts.


    Now that she had a healer at her back, Tristan could start clearing up some of the elementals. Janis had used his hand cannons at first, but those were especially ineffective against elementals. He had a bloody scratch along the side of his face and had one arm pinned down by an earth elemental that had decided to clamp onto it.


    A legless fire elemental was trying to bite through the mythical beast leather on his shin. It was not making much progress, but it must have been painful. A final two elementals, both were light were methodically slashing their fingertips at Janis, who was unable to defend with an arm pinned.


    Tristan was accosted by two more elementals before he could reach the guard. They had peeled away from other fights, to engage Tristan. He kicked one in the pelvis to knock it back and caught the second by the collar before tossing the water elemental aside. The first had landed on its feet and immediately sprinted back towards Tristan on all fours. It was the perfect height to use a standard scythe strike, and Tristan marveled at how much easier it was to use the tool for its intended purpose. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The quadrupedal elemental died permanently. Despite the ease of the kill, it still did not happen fast enough to allow Tristan to retrieve his scythe before the water elemental was back. He released the lamp post and grabbed the elemental¡¯s grasping hand in one fist then pulled it into a punch that tore its head off. With no muscle or sinew the elementals were much less resistant to being torn to pieces. Tristan copied Lesley and tore the water kern out of its chest.


    It was tier one and when mixed with his essence it would create a tier two reservoir. He would use Vulcan''s essence though. A tier eight reservoir was always more preferable. Refocusing on Janis, Tristan was delayed for too long. The fire elemental had finished regrowing its legs and had grabbed Janis by his unarmored face. Janis was alive, but in pain, and he might never see again.


    Tristan was not hindered a second time. He swept the scythe through both light elemental¡¯s legs, removing them at mid-shin. They would not stay down for long, but it would be enough to let Tristan pry the burning fingers of the fire elemental from Janis¡¯s face. He winced at the sight, charred skin stuck to the hands as he pried them off. Janis had fallen into his survival reflexes, he did not register his ruined face and eye, he simply started punching the earth elemental with his free hand.


    Tristan winced as he heard the guard¡¯s finger break on the elemental¡¯s stone skull. Still, Tristan was left in a one-on-one with a fire elemental. He blinked, it was Elder Forest. No wonder Janis was doing the worst of every guard, he was the only one facing a tier three elemental.


    ¡°Hello Uncle,¡± The elemental could not hear the words Tristan said. He did wonder what regret fueled the Elder¡¯s transformation. He had once told Eve that the best solution was to simply kill Elder Forest. Today, everyone probably wished that he had used that solution.


    The creature that was once family charged Tristan. He was not a thirteen-year-old child this time. Tristan had grown massively in the last few years. He stabbed forward with the butt of the lamp post, denting the plate of armor, but doing little else. It succeeded in bringing the elemental to a halt, the perfect range. He spun Vulcan, bringing the butt down and the blade over like a pick axe.


    Even in life Forest had not been a fighter, in death he was harder to kill, but somehow even less coordinated. The tier three bone put up some resistance, stopping Tristan from simply slicing straight through its skull and into the heart. He stepped in and rammed his knife into the armor. It would have been a kill shot, but the two light elementals had already recovered.


    They tried tackling him but weighed little more than fifty pounds. It was enough to stagger Tristan, but not to knock him over. He pulled the dagger out and swiped it across both their skulls to little effect. It would have blinded a human, but such a clean cut healed before its effect could even be noticed. Growling Tristan brought his arm around in an arm bar that threw both of them to the ground.


    Using the scythe, Tristan dragged Elder Forest over the two elementals. Its lack of footwork sent it sprawling atop the two light elementals. Tristan was fed up with these armored elementals, like cockroaches, they refused to die. Spinning Vulcan he planted the flaming end of the artifact into the ex-elder¡¯s back. Pushing fire essence and combustion downward he melted a hole through all three of the elementals. It was not elegant, just a simple expression of frustration at the man who had saved his life to spite an enemy.


    All that was left was a mess of arms, legs, and skulls. A glowing armor was cooling between the dissipating bones. He turned back to Janis to find the man being supported by another guard. Tristan recognized him as the fire kern tier three. The earth elemental Janis had been punching lay with a hole burned from the pelvis to the skull beside them.


    ¡°Thank you, Sage,¡± The man said.


    The skirmish was winding down, giving Tristan a chance to glance back at Siren. Two dead men and several pieces of empty armor trailed the fight. Custodian was missing an arm and had been pushed back towards the enemy lines. Everyone seemed keen to leave the conflict full of emerald stone and razor sharp darkness alone.


    ¡°Sage,¡± Tristan turned to find Eve and Merrick jogging up to him, ¡°Now that the catapults are taken care of we need to back across the trench where we have the terrain advantage.¡±


    Tristan frowned, ¡°Really, what about the cannons?¡±


    Eve froze, ¡°What cannons?¡±


    Custodian cried out as the blade of Siren''s axe sliced halfway through his neck, ¡°You are persistent. Use the anti-emplacement munitions.¡°


    Tristan had no idea what an emplacement was, but he knew what munitions were. He grabbed Eve and dragged her along no man¡¯s land to the area he had cleared. Her bodyguards were too slow to stop him but were fast enough to make it to safety.

 197. Sticky Situation

    The sound of thunder erupted across the lines. For a moment Tristan thought it was Luke doing something insane. He probably was, but the thunder was from forty-nine cannons going off at the same time. An object being forced out of a tube was quite loud.


    The cannons themselves did not shoot any force charged bolts. Which was good because an apocalyptic mushroom cloud spawning in the middle of the Lake Caldera¡¯s army would be a problem. Instead, they shot a pair of head sized steel balls connected by a wire.


    They hit the line at a slight delay. Any soldier hit by the metal ball had the impacted body part crushed, any man hit by the wire was sliced apart. It was a disgusting weapon, both less effective than force empowered munitions and more gory.


    Eve tried not to vomit at the sight, she could not get used to death no matter how often she saw it. Tristan did not give her time to focus, his sprint down no man¡¯s land veered towards the trench. This section of the line had been spared, mostly due to him using their cannon as a blunt force instrument.


    ¡°Kill the rebels!¡± Custodian¡¯s voice vibrated in Tristan¡¯s skull, ¡°Remember your orders. For the Champion¡¯s Utopia.¡±


    Tristan redoubled his speed as the Forest Caldera chanted their battle, ¡°For the Champion¡¯s Utopia!¡±


    Eve was not able to keep her feet as Tristan outpaced her. Between dignity and survival, Tristan chose to keep Eve alive. She was dragged the last twenty feet to the trench where Tristan picked her up and jumped across.


    Thankfully a line of a thousand tier ones could not cross five hundred feet in a dozen seconds. It gave Tristan enough time to inspect the Lake Calderans and let Eve get back to her feet. The damage to the Lake Caldera was quite minimal compared to the gore factor. Each projectile killed three or four people, and while two hundred people was a decent number, it was by no means a debilitating blow.


    It appeared to be more psychological than anything else. All these people were crafters and boatmen just a few months ago. They were hesitant to step into their friend''s viscera. It was a hesitation that the Forest Caldera took advantage of.


    Eve staggered to her feet, taking uncertain deep breaths, ¡°I need to go find Blacklake.¡±


    Tristan nodded, ¡°Go,¡± then to the soldiers around him, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone or anything cross this trench, Bruce and I will go fill in some of the more damaged sections.¡±


    The soldiers here looked more angry than fearful, ¡°We¡¯ll keep the traitors back.¡±


    Tristan paused for a moment. He had not considered what propaganda they had been fed, but this would work. Patting the man on the back Tristan turned and ran outward.


    He chose to move away from the center because there was a lower concentration of warriors in that area. The elite were collected around the commanders and Elders, Eve herself had eight of them. Bruce managed to keep up with Tristan¡¯s pace.


    Stopping at the first set of bodies Tristan saw that he was out of time. Several elementals carrying tower shields outpaced the army. They jumped into the trench and held the shields above their heads. The soldiers surrounding the elemental took a step back, it would have let the man who used the shield as a springboard across if Tristan hadn¡¯t been there.


    ¡°Stay on your side,¡± Tristan caught the armored man by his upper arm and shoved him back down on top of the elemental.


    Unfortunately the elemental was not knocked over by the man falling atop it. The next person was already stepping across, only to get shoulder checked into the trench by Tristan. He jumped from his side of the trench to the top of the shield, making his landing as hard as possible.


    The elemental staggered to the side, causing the following soldier to miss his step and fall to the dirt. There was no way he could kill the elemental at this rate. He would have to join it in the trench. Stepping off the elemental, he fell to the ground. An unintended side effect was the crossing people were no longer jumping to bloody dirt, they were faced by a spear wall made of frantic citizens.


    Not that they were able to cross for long. Tristan cut both arms off the elemental before hefting the dark elemental up by its armor. The element of darkness had little weight and had the weakest natural defenses. It was tier three, just like the first elemental he had killed, but this time Tristan was ready. He shoved a gauntlet up into its ribcage and crushed the heart. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Tristan pointed to the people on his side, ¡°Stab them if they try to cross!¡±


    The soldiers flinched as Tristan smashed Vulcan down on both of the people he had dropped into the trench. He did not like it much either, but these people had sided with a corpse against other humans. His capacity for mercy had been exceeded by these fools. Thankfully, there was a warrior in the group who led by example. She used her her halberd, which was an artifact to pin an elemental that was attempting to cross.


    Tristan did not jump out of the trench. It was dangerous, but so long as he ran close to his side, he should be out of the Forest Caldera¡¯s spear reach. The trench was not narrow, at about seven feet deep and ten feet wide, it was more of a moat with an adhesive floor. That adhesive still stuck to the bottom of Tristan''s boots and would make getting up difficult, but it was mostly ruined by the dirt and leaves it had collected over the last year.


    There was a slight curve in the trench, but he could still see another elemental standing with its shield raised. The Forest Caldera had managed to get themselves a foothold by sending over a dozen earth elementals to absorb the Lake Caldera¡¯s attention. Humans followed with their polearms. A warrior was trying to push them back, unfortunately, he was struggling with the armor that made even low tier elementals a threat.


    Tristan rushed down the trench. As he neared the elemental holding up the shield, several people jumped into the trench to protect it. Two were human and one was a water elemental. He aimed for the elemental, assuming that it would be lighter with only a chest plate. That was a correct assumption, but the soldiers on either side chose to trip him with their polearms. Did they know hitting him wouldn¡¯t be effective against his armor?


    Regardless, he was slow to rise as he peeled himself off the floor. A process made slower when one of them sat on his back. Tristan had never realized how difficult it was to get up in armor while someone was sitting on him. He was much stronger than the average person, but his equipment was equally more hefty. The adhesive also stopped him from sliding his hands to a better position.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing you''re one of those warriors that the Chosen hates so much?¡± The man rapped a knuckle on Tristan¡¯s helmet, ¡°I was told to keep any tier three we met alive if we could. Your elemental will serve my family for three generations, my kids and grandkids will be set for life because of you.¡±


    Was that what the Lord of the Underworld meant by a Utopia? Elementals of dead family members serving the living for a few generations. The immortality of elementals would make it feasible, and even Tristan had contemplated using elementals in such a way. Still, torturing Grandma to death to make a skeletal caretaker did not sound like a reasonable stance to take.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Someone kicked Tristan in the side. He barely felt it through his armor, ¡°Good thing we¡¯re brothers or this could get awkward.¡±


    Tristan felt rage bubble up in him. He had spent most of his teenage years in a simmering anger, but true rage was absent. The most infuriating man he had to deal with was Olfred and he was tame. Three times, he had felt rage. When the assassin went after Eve. When Kerri tried to extort him, and now two of these soldiers were debating what to do with his corpse. He did not know what the Lord of the Underworld had done to the Forest Caldera¡¯s humanity, but it was gone now.


    He mixed his infusion alloy and decay alloy. Tier fours could naturally infuse anything they touched with essence the infusion alloy allowed him to do it at a short distance and limit the diffusion and dissipation of essence. It was perfect for crafting within an object without chopping it open. Today he shoved the infused decay alloy into the glue.


    It burned where the emulsified glue leaked through his armor, but it was worth it to be able to move without obstruction. The reaction from the man sitting on him was much more dramatic.


    ¡°Get back, there¡¯s something in the ground,¡± The man sitting on Tristan cried out as the decay ate through the bottom of his leather boots. He started screaming when it got to the souls of his feet.


    ¡°Ren!¡± The still-standing brother yelled.


    It shouldn¡¯t have made him more angry, but the bastard shared a name with Siren. Tristan took a quick step towards Ren, but the water elemental tried to stop him. It swung its club, more like a tree branch than a real weapon. He blocked it on his forearm and made a construct needle spear tip around the butt of Vulcan.


    He may not have trained with scythes, but he had with spears. Luke had made a point of it, a spear could be made by snapping the head off a broom. With a little creativity, there was always one nearby. That point was punched through the downed man¡¯s throat and out the back. He started thrashing as sludge, carrying decay leaked in through his neck. Tristan had thought it would be instant, he tried to put the man out of his misery.


    Ren¡¯s brother didn¡¯t let him, ¡°Get away from him.¡±


    He swung his pole axe at Tristan, who caught the shaft. There weren¡¯t too many ways to chop with a pole axe while in a trench. The man futilely tried to get his weapon back. This time Tristan went for the face, the open helm did not protect it, and thankfully this one was instant.


    The elemental tried to swing again, but its club was now covered in decay from the first strike. It shattered on his pauldron while Tristan got both hands on the tier one skeleton and broke it apart.


    Standing in rotting blood, Tristan looked at the ongoing carnage. Silver devils were supposed to be born for this, but he hated it.

 198. Lord Dirt Clod

    The elemental¡¯s upper torso slid off to one side and its lower body slid to the other. Luke inspected the glowing edges of the armor. Hestia¡¯s sickle made short work of the armor. It could cut tower steel, and none of the low-quality metal the elementals wore could even slow it. Several more elementals approached along with some of the delusional soldiers that worshiped them.


    Fluffy hissed from where she was sitting on Luke''s shoulder. Most people would question the logic of bringing a pet to a fight. Simply put, calling something a soldier did not make it dangerous. Ants had soldiers, bees had soldiers, and the Lord of the Underworld had soldiers. The tier zero to two enemies approached so slowly.


    ¡°You tell them Fluffy,¡± Luke said. Then he hefted the broken war machine¡¯s axle and pitched it like a spear.


    The wrist sized rod of wood did not get through the human¡¯s armor, but it did lay him out. No one even slowed down their eyes were filled with... Luke blinked, their eyes were filled with greed. It was deeply unsettling to be looked at as an object of desire. So Luke fell back on his default reaction.


    He dashed in. Fluffy¡¯s claws dug into his skin, but a baby golize had little chance of drawing blood. To the soldiers he looked like a blur, going from stationary to nearly one hundred fifty miles per hour in just a few steps. It was such a dramatic change in momentum that he had to use his force to keep traction with the ground.


    Two people and an elemental started falling apart before they realized they had been injured. One elemental tried to hit him with its club, but it was a child swinging at an adult. He tore the weapon away and beat its armor flat with it. The final man looked around frantically. Help was on the way but, it was also too far away. Not that the squad of forty men and elementals could do anything.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt me,¡± The fool pleaded.


    Enough trash could kill him, yes. But it would be due to grinding through his massive essence reserves. Having a force made everyone¡¯s essence more efficient when used in accordance with the force. Except for Tristan, Luke did not know why Tristan always ended up with the weird powers. He got metal, he got alloy, and he made garbage gauntlets that were admittedly aesthetically pleasing. Raising one''s tier also made their essence pool more efficient in addition to growing the raw amount. Lukes force was the transference of energy through a medium, meaning he could not, not use it. A lot of trash would be needed, a lot more than forty pieces.


    Luke grabbed the terrified man by the face, ¡°You joined a cult that worships a zombie. Did you think that living was an option?¡±


    Defiance clouded the man''s face before Luke shoved the tip of Hestia¡¯s sickle into his brain. Fluffy chuffed in triumph like she had done all of the work. Luke patted her as he advanced on the squad. The army had started advancing not long ago, though there appeared to be limited safe points to cross the trench.


    The first cannon volley had reaped a number of Lake Calderans, but they had inflicted a similar number on the enemy in a few short minutes. Some of the few tier threes left in the Forest Caldera or similarly tiered elementals had gotten a foothold that they were struggling to hold. As he watched, one of those footholds was surrounded by five warriors in grey and silver Stone Caldera livery and destroyed.


    The advancing army had avoided the ring of dead bodies around him. Most soldiers choosing to avoid him. That left him behind the army, with the people waiting to cross the trench breaking off to attack him. At first, it had been a handful at a time, but killing a handful made them wary. Now that forty were approaching he wondered if this would break their morale.


    They had shields up and polearms pointed forward. It took Luke a moment to realize that they were using anti-beast tactics on him. That was actually quite gratifying. Not too far from the truth. Exhaling, Luke released a good portion of his essence. The invisible gas did not drift quickly in the still air, but the people weren¡¯t going to arrive for a bit.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Any tier three with an air kern would have sensed what he was doing, but this was a load of trash. Not a single person had trained their essence senses to detect changes like the one Luke was creating. He backed up slowly, stepping out of his cloud, his favorite nitrogen based explosive was very volatile.


    The Forest Caldera took this as fear, speeding up. Luke kept retreating until the formation had entered the cloud. It was not nearly large enough to cover the whole group, but it would shatter their formation. Greed lit up the soldier¡¯s expression, and then with a flaming swing of Hestia¡¯s sickle, Luke lit up their expressions. They were right to treat him like a mythical beast, he breathed fire like the greatest dragons.


    Only two died outright and a handful were too injured to fight. It was a decent light show, but in an open area, it was little more. Still, it created an opening and shocked them into stillness. Then he was in the formation punching with lightning covered fists and cleaving apart bodies with his sickle.


    This was why tiers mattered, one or two were not insurmountable, but the differences remained proportional. A tier four was half again stronger than a tier three. A tier five was two and a quarter times a tier three, yet only half again greater than tier four.


    Finally Luke heard the voice he was waiting for, ¡°Are you ready to pick on someone your own size?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Luke turned, only to find it was the wrong elemental lord. This one was made of a water mind, earth anima, and an earth kern, ¡°No, go get your boss.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not worthy of my lord¡¯s attention,¡± The elemental lord rumbled.


    ¡°And you¡¯re not worthy of mine,¡± Luke retorted.


    The elemental lord paused, not expecting that response, ¡°It does not matter, I, well, I am going to end your threat to the champion.¡±


    ¡°Not much of a trash talker?¡± Luke attempted to console the sentient dirt clod, ¡°It¡¯s a learned skill, from repeatedly being a menace to society. I think you¡¯re well on your way.¡±


    Luke was buying time for Fluffy to gain some distance. He was confident in killing off the elemental lord, but not in keeping the baby golize alive as well. It was not even that he was worried about the elemental lord doing the killing, Luke liked lightning, and golize did not.


    ¡°I can see why the temple made you an honorary devil,¡± Armor coalesced around the elemental lord. It had an odd design, being covered in hand length spikes. ¡°Die and join the Lord''s court.¡±


    Luke wondered what the spikes were for, ¡°I bet you suck at giving hugs.¡±


    The elemental lord roared and charged like an angry bull. It tried to tackle Luke, proving that the spikes were indeed for hugs. Unfortunately for the elemental, it had a terrifying amount of momentum but most of it was tied up in the mass half of that equation. Luke darted to the side, the attack would not kill him, but it would hurt to get hit.


    ¡°Yeah, so again where is your boss, I could outrun you in my sleep,¡± Luke yawned and mimed a snore.


    ¡°When he arrives you will be crushed under the weight of a hundred elemental lords!¡± Dirt Clod took the brain power to speak while turning.


    ¡°Where, not when,¡± Luke said.


    ¡°This is only half our army,¡± Dirt Clod grinned, ¡°Do you think you could defeat twice as many elementals?¡±


    Luke yelled, now beyond exasperated, ¡°YES! Now where is he!¡±


    Dirt Clod attacked again. Luke struck back. Lightning was grounded on the armor. Hestia¡¯s sickle was able to cut through, but despite Dirt Clod¡¯s lumbering nature, it was good at avoiding its blade. Fists did almost nothing, the spikes were too sharp to punch carelessly. Ten minutes later Luke had bloodied knuckles and the elemental lord had a couple of glowing lines cut into his stone armor.


    ¡°Am I still beneath your notice?¡± Dirt Clod mocked.


    ¡°See that is how you do it,¡± Luke said, dropping his hand to his belt, ¡°Now this is how you end it.¡±


    He slid his hand into the gauntlet. The erosion reservoir immediately started eating into his skin. At the later stages of tier five, it was bearable, but could not be used consistently. Tristan had claimed that it was good against rigid, nonorganic surfaces. This time he was the one that charged at Dirt Clod.


    The elemental lord smirked and held up a spiked forearm to stop Luke. Both of their eyes widened when the gauntlet punched right through the granite plate, through the bone and muscle, and out the other side. Fine granite powder along with the wrist and hand fell to the ground.


    Dirt Clod was shocked, ¡°what was,¡± A flicker of motion refocused him.


    Luke punched again then followed up with Hestia¡¯s sickle. The elemental lord could not dodge both. He chose to take Hestia¡¯s sickle and lost the injured arm at the shoulder. Dirt Clod was built to be on the attack, evasion was something he was only passible at. Luke¡¯s greater speed allowed him to land light blows that were made devastating with the help of his equipment.


    Finally Luke struck and Dirt Clod was too slow. His hand plunged fingers first into the Dirt Clod¡¯s chest. He raked them down through a stone heart and organ sack. The elemental lord did not even get a chance to speak before its constituent elementals separated.


    Luke stomped the resulting water slime to death before it could orient itself, ¡°Now where can I find your boss?¡±

 199. Heart Felt Blood Lust

    The Lake Calderans took a few steps back, disgust filling their faces. Tristan had found one of the few tier three warriors on the Forest Caldera¡¯s side. The man was over equipped with tier two artifacts. He could only guess that when the Lord of the Underworld had slaughtered the Stone Caldera not everyone had produced elementals, some would have created artifacts.


    A tier two earth spear, boots, hard hat, and work jacket gave the man enough power to overwhelm the two warriors who had tried to stop him. Only the hard hat was made of metal, but it gave a substantial boost to endurance and made it impossible to blind the man with dust. All the artifacts were worn over mythical beast leather making the man nearly unkillable.


    Nearly was not enough. Tristan had jumped up behind the warrior from the trench side. The Forest Calderan put up a fierce but brief fight. Tristan let the artifact dig into his armor and placed a palm on the man''s chest. He attempted to infuse decay straight into his heart, but he felt resistance. Not wanting to waste time he backed off and found the mythical beast leather. It was susceptible.


    Tristan did not let him suffer, killing him as soon as a gap in the armor was formed. Unfortunately, that did not stop the soldiers from seeing a corpse fall to pieces. Dead things rotted better than living things after all. He escaped the fearful stares of the soldiers, leaving the artifacts behind for whomever was willing to wear them.


    He found another group of Forest Caldera men. They had used the elementals like shields, stabbing past them to keep from being shoved into the trench. The dozen or so people looked terrified, just like those from the Lake Caldera. None were high tier, so Tristan created a blade for the lamp post. He had realized that while he had no experience with a scythe, he was well versed in the axe.


    The thirty-pound weapon was overkill for most humans, but it still took a few strikes to get through an elemental¡¯s armor. He started to run at the group. One of the men in the gathering started waving frantically for him to stop. Tristan was not bloodthirsty, but he was also not going to listen to a group of people who viewed his corpse as free labor.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Bruce yelled.


    Tristan skidded to a stop, violently jerking the trajectory of his blade into the ground. The heavy weapon came to a sudden stop digging a furrow in the dirt. A shuddering sigh came from a few of the Forest Caldera soldiers. Tristan looked back at Bruce waiting for an explanation.


    ¡°A temporary truce has been called,¡± Bruce answered, ¡°Let them get back across the trench.¡±


    Tristan wanted to argue, but now that he had time to check, the soldiers in the middle of the formation were hopping back across. Turning to Bruce he asked the obvious question, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Luke tore apart the other elemental lord, evidently that caused an issue with their chain of command,¡± Bruce shrugged.


    ¡°Siren didn¡¯t kill Custodian?¡± Tristan asked. That should have caused a much larger issue with any command structure.


    ¡°No, but I was not told what happened,¡± Bruce was a warrior and healer, not a messenger, it was logical that time would not be wasted explaining plans to him.


    Tristan growled. They had struck first and now that they weren¡¯t guaranteed victory they ran and just expected to be let go? Tristan tightened his grip on Vulcan. Sighing he took a step back.


    Looking over the retreating men he watched them go. Somewhere in the skirmish, he had fallen into a kind of haze. It numbed his feelings and shoved his hesitation aside. He had not enjoyed the killing, but it became a choir to complete not a task to dread. Thinking back he could not even remember the faces of all the people, which was strange, he did not do his job cleanly. Twenty, maybe more, definitely more if elementals were included.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°I need to go find Siren or someone in charge,¡± Tristan needed to do something. If he stopped then he would have to think about today.


    Bruce nodded, retrieving his spear, ¡°Go ahead, I can make sure this lot leaves.¡±


    Most soldiers had simple jobs. They moved forward, they poked the enemy, and they grouped up. A lone spearman was a dead one, but any tier three was usually better trained, better armed, better armored, and had a better body. They would reinforce weaknesses and as there was a little under four hundred of them, they were the Lake Caldera¡¯s greatest advantage. Likely they were the only reasons that the plated elementals had not overrun the breaches.


    Tristan and the other tier fours were in an odd spot. This was the first time since the Grand Ancestor ruled that there had been enough of them to be relevant in a battle. The Caldera averaged one for every ten thousand people before Tristan was sent to the mine. From five, the number had jumped to over a dozen. Commander Blacklake had decided to use them to remove war machines and somehow overlooked the cannons being set up.


    He let the blade of his axe drag in the dirt behind him. It was a construct and if it broke he could just make a new one. People got out of his way, most were dirty, but Tristan looked like he had taken a bath in someone¡¯s blood. Not entirely untrue. He was about halfway to the commanders¡¯ location when someone did not get out of his way.


    Tristan glared up at the interloper, only to see that it was Kale of all people, ¡°What do you want.¡±


    Kale looked good for an old man. Most of his scars were still present, but he stood with an equal amount of weight on each leg. The healing reservoir must have healed his limp. It still did not explain why the man was standing in his way.


    ¡°Boy, you need to calm down,¡± Kale said. His tone was not condescending, but Tristan struggled not to take the words any other way.


    ¡°Why,¡± Tristan made to walk around Kale, but the man stepped into his path.


    ¡°Just because you¡¯re tier four now does not mean you can stop me,¡± Tristan threatened. Kale was not among the people who had gotten a force, that did not mean that Tristan was impervious to him, but he had a significant advantage.


    ¡°Are you that eager to keep killing?¡± Kale asked.


    That stopped Tristan, but he was not calm at the moment. It took him a few moments to take control of his anger, and let his more logical mind take hold ¡°Explain.¡±


    ¡°You are just letting your emotions out, you are covered in blood, and you are not in control,¡± Kale obliged Tristan, ¡°Everyone here can feel your killing intent.¡±


    Tristan blinked, killing intent. He had only felt it once when facing down a pissed off Hadrid. It had never crossed his mind that he might have it as well. Though he was pretty sure he would know if he was causing people to instinctively fear him.


    ¡°Siren never gave you the intent talk?¡± Kale asked.


    Tristan slowly shook his head, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t spent much time with him, especially after I beat him with a stick inside a fire pit.¡±


    Kale raised an eyebrow, ¡°This is the bare overview. At tier three we infuse our intent into the construct we desire. At tier four we don¡¯t just make constructs, we infuse with a touch, and it carries our intent. Think of it this way the feelings in your heart bleed into your kern, which can take the internal emotions and push them outward.¡±


    That made a limited amount of sense. However if it worked like Kale said, it would scale with tier. His mind went back to the servant in the memory he had from Vulcan. The man had been sweating just from being in Vulcan¡¯s presence, which would be odd as Vulcan was a very laid back person. However, the Steel Saint had not outright crushed the man with his mere presence and he had not sensed Reverb¡¯s killing intent even when the silver-haired mercenary was about to cut off the servant¡¯s head. There was a way to control it, and Vulcan was either unable or unwilling to do so.


    Tristan shouldered his axe, maybe not dragging it would help. It would at the very least avoid creating a tripping hazard with the tiny trench.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the solution?¡± He asked.


    Kale smiled, ¡°There is a saying ¡®With the harvest of the heart, a man¡¯s hands build his life.¡¯¡±


    ¡°That sounds like temple garbage,¡± Tristan deadpanned. He was not going to take any advice from a group that thought he was a demon.


    ¡°No,¡± Kale laughed, ¡°It¡¯s from my father, it means whatever you fill your mind with will grow into actions. It is why Siren is so set on doing what is right, if he fills his mind with it, then his actions will follow.¡±


    Tristan was calmer now, but it was due to having to stop and talk. It had nothing to do with heart harvesting, which was something that he did want to get around to. He had three elemental hearts that needed to be processed.


    ¡°Can I go now?¡± Tristan asked. He tried not to sound whiny, but the way Kale¡¯s face fell he assumed that he had failed.


    ¡°As you said, I can¡¯t stop you,¡± Kale stepped aside and let him continue.

 200. Second Mine

    Tristan had never been to the command hub of the army. He was brought straight to the battle line by Luke. Having never been to a human-on-human war, he was not entirely sure what to expect, but a tent was not it. The large fabric structure would struggle to keep any attack out, while also doing nothing for privacy.


    The square structure looked like a repurposed crafter¡¯s partition, similar to the ones the smiths used to box off their forge. Several guards patrolled the area around it, keeping people away. Tristan could feel at least one artifact on each of them, but nothing particularly daunting. Tristan attempted to walk into the tent only to be stopped before he had stepped onto the cordoned off area.


    The patrolling warrior interposed himself between Tristan and the tent, ¡°Halt, name, and purpose.¡±


    Guards were a nuisance. He met them everywhere that he went and they always wanted to get in his way. That being their job description did not help settle his irritation.


    ¡°Sage and I want some answers,¡± Tristan said he tried to push past, but the warrior stopped him with a palm on his shoulder.


    ¡°No, you especially are not allowed back unless called for,¡± The warrior did not reach for a weapon, which was prudent, but he was clearly willing to fight if it came to it.


    ¡°Fine, maybe you can give me some answers then,¡± Tristan began, but the warrior shook his head, ¡°An official explanation will be released when the Elders and Commanders are done convening.¡±


    A tailored explanation was what he meant. Something would be released that would paint the leaders in a good light. While Tristan wanted answers, he was not about to force his way in, if he was even able to. There were at least four tier fours inside and Siren was one. Turning away Tristan stomped off. He stopped after a few steps he had no idea where he was going.


    As a tier four that was barely connected with the military Tristan had no superior. His only peer was Luke and he did not want to talk to him at the moment. So he fell back on the only person he could think of. Tristan went to go find Conni.


    It took almost half an hour to find the mine foreman mostly due to him helping Grace distribute food to the Soldiers. Conni was cooking fish in a broth or oil of some kind. Tristan was not aware the man could cook. Maybe he couldn¡¯t as he was using his hands to remove the cooked fish, something that Tristan wasn¡¯t aware a fire kern allowed. Water kerns were resistant to boiling water, however a fire kern was not. Despite this, flames would not burn a person with a fire kern despite being much hotter than the boiling water. Tristan could only mentally shrug, forces must interact differently with an anima than a kern.


    Grace was making a soup mostly out of vegetables. The pot was enormous, probably weighing three or four hundred pounds by itself. She was tier zero and the strain of stirring such a large pot seemed to be wearing on her. He also noticed that she had all her skin covered, it had never crossed his mind that she would be self-conscious about her appearance.


    ¡°Here, let me take a turn,¡± Tristan stepped up and took the ladle from Grace.


    She took a step back and huffed, ¡°Thank you, make sure to drag the paddle along the bottom to stop what¡¯s on the bottom from burning.¡±


    A paddle? Tristan supposed it would be difficult to find a ladle sized for this cauldron. He took a position beside Conni and stirred the pot. When he looked over he found Conni giving him a disapproving expression.


    ¡°What?¡± Tristan hadn¡¯t done anything wrong as far as he was aware.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Conni pointed to a bucket of water, ¡°You¡¯re disgusting, go wash your hands,¡±


    Tristan looked at his hands crusted in red up to his elbows. Carefully he released the paddle so as not to let any flakes fall into the stew. He went and plunged his hands into the water. It was not clean, but it was also not filled with blood. It took more time than he expected to get it all off of him, but soon enough he was back at the cauldron.


    Conni smiled at him this time, ¡°How are you doing?¡±


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. How about you?¡±


    Conni scooped some soup up with a wooden bowl and placed a fish fillet on top before passing it off to the next man in line, ¡°I am fine, remember where I was raised. An elemental lord was not a common occurrence, but it was not so rare that I haven¡¯t known people who lived through it.¡±


    ¡°Did any of them win?¡± Tristan asked, he had asked how Conni was doing more out of politeness.


    ¡°Yes, the sects can become quite powerful, especially the martial ones,¡± Conni said, ¡°Elemental lords never win in the end.¡±


    ¡°How so,¡± In Tristan¡¯s opinion, the Lord of the Underworld was making a fine mockery of the Caldera.


    Conni passed out the next plate, ¡°Simple, they expand too far. Eventually, they pick a fight with someone or something that kills them off. So long as you survive long enough to be integrated by whoever kills it, you should be fine.¡±


    That sounded less than desirable. Tristan did not want to be drafted into the invasion force for a leader who would one day bite off more than it could chew. Though there was only one relevant target, the group of people a few hundred miles to the north. They had odd kerns, so maybe they could pull off a victory.


    ¡°How do you keep control?¡° Tristan asked, at Conni¡¯s quirked eyebrow he explained, ¡°I just killed a lot of people, I did not enjoy it, but it was not the horrifying experience that I thought it would be. I had to be talked out of killing another dozen and I was mad about it.¡±


    Conni frowned, ¡°This is not something that I grew up thinking about. Despite the rampart being full of conflict, the average person here is not used to killing. I keep control because this is something that I have built up a tolerance for. You already have a partial tolerance, all the tier twos who did anything against the ghost crabs do.¡±


    Tristan took a moment to look at the people who were receiving Conni and Grace¡¯s food. There were no tables, so they sat on the ground. Most stared blankly at their food and the ones who did eat did so with shaking hands. No not all of them. A few simply looked vacant but were operating normally otherwise and one tier three warrior acted like it was simply another day on the job.


    Was he simply not acclimatized to war? Did he want to be? Tristan did not think it was a positive to be used to taking another¡¯s life. It would be a fast way for him to become a monster like Hadrid.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t want the veggies, can I have two fish?¡± A hiss followed, ¡°Make that three fish.¡±


    Tristan turned to find Luke. He had had bloodied knuckles but was fine aside from that. Fluffy was standing with her hind legs on his shoulder and forelegs on his head. Currently, it looked like the golize was contemplating jumping into the pan after the fish.


    ¡°Sure, you were the one to stop the second in command, correct,¡± Conni stacked a few fish inside a bowl.


    ¡°Eh,¡± Luke made a so-so gesture, ¡°He sucked, whenever I asked about his boss he gave me some stupid excuse about how he was collecting a second army.¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t enough people left in the Caldera for a second army,¡± Tristan frowned. Tier zeroes did not create elementals or artifacts. While they had the essence to power artifacts, it was not enough to produce external effects or manifest anything upon death.


    ¡°I know right,¡± Luke said around a mouthful of fish. He did not bother removing any of the little bones, opting to simply swallow them whole, ¡°Anyway he yelled about how this was only half the army of elementals, then I punched his face in. The ugly gauntlet works great, by the way.¡±


    Tristan had a bad feeling about what Luke said, but he could not place why. Having an unaccounted for conglomeration of three tier six elementals running around would unsettle anyone. However, the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s normal activity was to crush with overwhelming force. The next back and forth between Conni and Luke jogged one of his memories.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like there is another mine full of elementals to free,¡± Luke scoffed at the elemental lord he killed.


    ¡°Not only that, some would have to be from different planes to create elemental lords from their elementals,¡± Conni said, ¡°I don¡¯t see where he could acquire such a large number of extra-plainar beings, at least I don¡¯t see how he could locally.¡±


    It was not from his memory, but Hailey¡¯s. The Flying Fortress split in half. One side hitting near the edge of the flat top of the mountain. The other punching into the water table and creating a spring.


    Tristan turned to the Lake Caldera, ¡°I know exactly where to find another mine.¡±

 201. Scuba Elementals

    ¡°What, you think it is the Stone Caldera¡¯s quarry?¡± Conni asked.


    Luke followed Tristan¡¯s gaze, ¡°Forsaken gods, Tristan, I hope you¡¯re just paranoid.¡±


    He set Fluffy down before he coated himself in lightning. The next moment he flashed away. Tristan was not sure that the lightning made him faster, but it did make him easy to follow. It was technically still early morning, but the light in the east had gotten so bright that he could not tell the difference between morning and evening by the daylight. It was also midwinter on the top of a mountain making the seventy-degree weather unseasonably warm.


    Conni was still handing out plates, but the soldiers were no longer wandering off to sit and eat. Instead, they were listening in on their conversation, and feeding Fluffy. Part of Tristan wanted privacy, this felt like sensitive information. However, it was pure speculation until Luke returned in ten or so minutes.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Conni asked once he realized that Luke was heading for the lake a dozen miles away instead of the City walls.


    ¡°Do you remember when I did some experiments on the elemental, the weak earth one that Siren caught,¡± Tristan asked.


    Conni nodded, ¡°You went crazy and tried to kill me.¡±


    Tristan had explained the vision to Conni in the past. However, as the foreman was not the one having the experience, it was reasonable that he would forget a small detail like the fortress being cut in half. Tristan was sure that he would have focused on the clash of gods and saints over the destruction of a shelter.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Conni said.


    All the people who had heard Tristan were eyeing the Lake uncertainly. They were probably picturing the conflict restarting, but this time needing to face two different armies. If they could not kill the Lord of the Underworld, then there was no way for a bunch of craftsmen and farmers to win a fight like that.


    Tristan turned to the only person he knew who might have an answer. Vulcan had been able to speak for short bursts, he was hoping that the heavy usage of the soul tool would have diluted his corrupted essence enough for a response. He did not send a thought in the form of words. He used an image imbued with feelings that completely encapsulated his current situation.


    There was a sharp pain, almost like a sheet of metal being torn like paper. However, he got a response. It was a picture as well, one filled with fear. Simply put, the message was run, there is no hope. Flee before the sovereign arrives.


    Tristan tried to interpret the message. Was Vulcan trying to get him to avoid the Lord of the Underworld? Previously he had been dismissive of the elemental. It was not weak, but it was incapable of growth. Tristan would eventually be able to handle it, even if it took a decade or two of breaking his kern to reach tier seven and get a second force.


    He was pulled out of his musings by Luke blurring back. Tristan knew that air and light kerns were quite fast, but seeing just how fast was awe-inspiring. Luke covered the twelve miles in five minutes, and when he skidded to a stop, his heels dug furrows into the dirt.


    ¡°What did you find?¡± Tristan asked while Luke worked to catch his breath.


    ¡°There¡¯s a whole damned legion down there,¡± Luke huffed.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you take that to the commander?¡± Conni gestured toward the center of the camp.


    Luke proffered his now empty dish back to Conni, ¡°No, well maybe. The elemental lord is doing something with air to make the metal buoyant. I think he is trying to make the metal structure float.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Metal doesn¡¯t float,¡± Tristan said. It was an issue that those with metal and stone kerns possessed. They were too dense to float, making them disproportionately more difficult to swim than other kerns.


    Luke shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is the time to argue about how ignorant you are about buoyancy. Conni is right, I need to go let Siren know.¡±


    For a moment he considered following, but he was unsure what he would add to the conversation. He was also tempted to head over to the Lake and take a look for himself. However, if Luke had not considered it a fight worth taking, Tristan knew he would be able to do very little. Sighing he turned back to the cauldron and continued stirring.


    Conni continued serving the soldiers food, though at a more rushed pace. He was trying to get everyone fed before they needed to fight again. Every time he passed out a bowl he recommended that the recipient should take a nap. Tristan had been pushing off sleep, higher tiers did not need to sleep less, but the side effects from avoiding it built up more slowly.


    Grace returned two hours later. She grabbed more ingredients and started dumping them into the cauldron followed by some water created by a tier three warrior. After building up the fire below the food, she took over from Tristan.


    ¡°Thank you for letting me rest, you should try to get some as well,¡± Grace smiled.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°That is probably wise, but I don¡¯t think I could sleep. Not with more than one army sitting just a few miles away. I will take some food if you¡¯re offering.¡±


    He made a metal bowl using a little architect alloy, not wanting to feel obligated to return any silverware. Grace inspected the bowl with a little jealousy, ¡°You know this is unfair, I would never have to clean dishes again.¡±


    Conni laughed, ¡°I¡¯m the one who does the dishes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who thinks he does the dishes, you mean,¡± Grace rebutted.


    Tristan smiled at the couple. He took the bowl and started walking away. Not having anything better to do he went to where he left he left his bag, intending to read the three alchemy books again. He paused when he opened the bag, books were not the only thing he had in there. Slowly he removed the silver skull.


    It looked human, except for the sharpened canines. The lower jaw was absent, so he could not tell if it was duplicated on the bottom ones. He had picked up the skull for one reason and that reason had not changed. There was a way to turn flesh, or at least living material, into metal, and he wanted that. Hadrid had claimed that the soul in any creature would stop it from being tampered with, but this was proof to the contrary.


    For the first time in a while, he had time to kill and needed a distraction. With a liberal application of his willpower, he drew in his metal sense until it was completely focused on the bone. The structure was different than anything he had ever seen, but also similar to what Vulcan had described when he was getting his heart primed for healing by Hadrid.


    With his metal sense, he could feel repeating sections that were vaguely the same shape. They were interlocking and individually had little grip, but together they formed a dense metal. Were these the cells that Vulcan had mentioned? If so, he was looking at metal cell walls. Vulcan had only mentioned to stay away from the mitochondria. Looking at his hand he wondered why he couldn¡¯t give himself metal skin.


    He opened up ¡®Biological Tampering¡¯ and ¡®Collecting and Transferring Essence.¡¯ According to Biological Tampering, the skull was a result of an infusion of a force. However, even this book claimed that any enhancements to animals had to be done at or before birth. Tristan knew there was another way, but he was not aware that it could be done with a skull.


    Vulcan had mentioned that alchemists would cut off body parts, and then reattach them after augmentation. Normally that would not be a valid process, as one could not just put an arm back on. Tristan had access to the healing force, so it was not impossible to do. He would need to practice reattaching limbs on others first. More than likely he would need to place nerves and important arteries next to the severed ends and he would need to identify those before he was willing to mutilate himself.


    Maybe he could visit the hospital. The doctors would be unlikely to allow Tristan to touch their patients, especially after sending eleven of the Caldera¡¯s best there. Also, doctors would be unlikely to let him test reattaching dead flesh back onto their patients. It was not as if he would lack opportunities to heal his own injuries in the upcoming fight.


    He was trying to understand how alchemists retrieved forces from essence reservoirs and added them to living creatures. Hadrid had made it seem easy, but he also had advanced equipment. Reaching to his belt, he rested his palm on the adamance reservoir attached to his knife. An adamant body would be perfect, nearly unbreakable skin and bones with a layer of healing to add protection. Tristan would never have to worry about anyone again.


    Due to his fantasies about becoming all-powerful, Tristan missed the person walking up. At least until she bonked him on the head with a wooden pole.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Tristan looked up and met the prismatic eyes of Jenna, one of Siren¡¯s elite.


    ¡°C¡¯mon the boss wants to see you,¡± She did not bother to check if he was following.

 202. Get a Boat!

    Tristan felt quite awkward as he trailed behind Jenna. However, he still wanted to know about her force, ¡°So, how are you feeling, after, uh¡­.¡±


    ¡°After you nearly killed me?¡± Jenna raised an eyebrow as she looked back over her shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Jenna did not elaborate beyond that, which Tristan supposed was fair.


    Growing through his teenage years at the mine had not been rough. While he knew almost everybody by name, he did not truly know any of the security team aside from Siren and Kale. The rest had all been less interactive, viewing their assignment at the mine like a punishment. By the time they had moved past that mindset, the miners had learned to avoid them.


    They were almost to the command tent when Jenna stopped, ¡°Did you do that to get to tier four?¡±


    Tristan paused for a moment. His mind had wandered to more important topics, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s how I got through every tier. It''s not like there are any appropriate metal artifacts for me to use.¡±


    ¡°It works for every tier?¡± Jenna asked. Her eyes wandered to the rest of the army, probably thinking the same thing Tristan had when he had devised his ¡®safe¡¯ method of breaking a kern.


    ¡°Yes, though everyone will feel the weight of a force before they heal. If they can¡¯t stand it they will die,¡± Tristan said. It was more complex than that. Resisting a part of the fabric of reality had more to do with luck than mental fortitude. He was not convinced that it was random, just that he was ignorant of the variables that made it deadly.


    ¡°I was just strong enough to handle it then,¡± Jenna said.


    Her tone made it sound like a statement, but Tristan still answered the question, ¡°That is unlikely. That artifact stopped you from dying by freezing your metabolic processes, it gave you the time you needed to heal.¡±


    That was not the correct thing to say. Jenna glared at Tristan and when he did not react, she turned to stomp off. Tristan had not managed to get the artifact back, but as the hospital had ultimately ended up with it he could not complain. There were enough people with light kerns there to make good use of it.


    He expected Jenna to lead him to the commander¡¯s tent, instead, she brought him to a blank dirt area behind it. There were around a dozen people there, and all of them were tier four. Siren and his people, Kerri, Cole, Merick, and Luke were waiting on them.


    ¡°Thank you, Jenna,¡± Siren began, ¡°We have located the Lord of the Underworld.¡±


    Tristan was already aware of that, but some of the elites had not. They seemed eager to take out their anger on the elemental that had killed so many people. Kerri looked terrified to be part of this group, looking out of place with his slight tremble.


    Kerri cemented his difference by interrupting, ¡°We can¡¯t go fight him, not with a team this size. He killed a whole Caldera by himself.¡±


    Siren did not rebuke Kerri, simply replying to the assertion, ¡°While the Lord of the Underworld did indeed kill the Stone Caldera, it was through the use of a water and air-borne contaminant. Blacklake¡¯s inspector believes it was mercury. While I do believe he could have destroyed a Caldera with force, so could this group, especially one with absent warriors.


    Cole clenched his fists, ¡°My family was there, we will kill this thing today.¡±


    Kerri took a step back from the large man. Despite Cole¡®s anger, Tristan was skeptical. Siren had yet to give an answer to the elementals that were already within the other fortress. The question was not could they kill the Lord of the Underworld. It was whether or not they could handle both him and his subordinate elemental lords.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°That is the plan, keep your emotions under control. We have all lost someone,¡± Siren attempted to calm the bigger man down, ¡°The reason why it is just us is that there are no elemental lords yet. It appears that only the brain and bodies were located there, if any standard elementals join with them, an elemental lord will be immediately be born.¡±


    ¡°What tier are they?¡± A Merrick asked.


    ¡°We can¡¯t be sure, but they all appear to be relatively low. Our current guess is that the mine was the warrior half of the fortress and the lake was the civilian and crafting part of the fortress. Regardless, the lowest tier elemental is one, meaning the lowest tier elemental lord possible will be high tier three,¡± Siren looked over at Tristan, ¡°Can you confirm that they are mostly low tier?¡±


    ¡°No, the Grand Ancestor was part of the repair crew, so they could be anywhere between tier one and five. Though it would be reasonable for the higher tiers to make it to safety, the face of the fortress took the brunt of the attack that destroyed it,¡± At the warriors'' incredulous expressions, Tristan cut the flow of information.


    ¡°The Grand Ancestor was a general!¡± Kerri glared at Tristan. A good portion of the people present nodded their heads in agreement.


    Tristan shrugged, ¡°Well when you see what happened, you can tell me what happened. Until then, shut up.¡±


    Siren shut down their bickering, ¡°We have to hope there aren¡¯t many of those high tier workers in the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s army or just deal with it if they happen to be there. As to how we will deal with them.¡± Siren held up a wine bottle.


    Merrick chuckled, ¡°I know you¡¯re a polite guy, but don¡¯t you think that giving them a drink is going too far?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a drink. It''s a concentrated blood thinner mixed with a neurotoxin agent. We tested both of the poisons and found that they work well on elementals that have blood or nerves. It is an oil based compound, so it should sit on top of the water,¡± Siren jiggled the bottle for effect.


    ¡°Why not make it a powder that Luke could just blow at them?¡± Tristan asked. There were many reasons the oil film would be an uncertain proposition. It was a spring, that was perpetually flowing into a river, there was no reason for the Lord of the Underworld to rise straight through the film, and lastly, a large object rising would push the water ahead of itself keeping the elementals safe.


    ¡°Time,¡± Siren answered, ¡°The flower that the nerve toxin was extracted from comes in an oil form. Commander Blacklake simply did not have the time to refine the material he had into a powder. That said, we will need to both spread and keep this over the elemental¡¯s exit point.¡±


    Tristan had half expected Siren to already have a plan. His lacking one said more about the uniqueness of the terrain than anything else. Luke was the only one who had fought an elemental lord in the water, and he had lost. At that time he had been at peak tier four, so the situation would be reversed now.


    Only warriors with air or water kerns would be able to fight underwater. Tristan could hold his breath as long as anyone with a light kern because of his heart, but that still capped him at around fifteen minutes underwater. Luke could stay down there for hours and Merrick could do it indefinitely, as a water kern could somehow extract air from water. Tristan made a mental note to test that more, mostly so he could waterboard Kerri.


    Once they decided that Dane, Kerri, Merrick, and Luke would be the only ones to go underwater, that solution was scrapped. Luke still wanted to go underwater, but neither Kerri nor Merrick had forces, making any fight with an elemental lord a risky endeavor. Tristan offered to use his gravity flame, but after testing it on a smaller scale, it was found to only compress the water in a small area in a sphere. It would push a divot into the top of the lake, but be relatively harmless to the elementals at the bottom of the lake.


    Eventually, Blacklake came out of the command tent. He was on crutches and his foot was splinted, but he looked angry. Tristan almost offered to give the man an infusion of healing essence, but the commander had access to healers, this state was intentional.


    Commander Blacklake stopped before the group before yelling, ¡°This is why meatheads need commanders. You¡¯re all stupid.¡±


    Thirteen warriors looked at him in confusion. None of them were stupid, some were crazy, but not stupid.


    Taking on a patronizing tone, Blacklake asked, ¡°If you want to fight on a lake what do you need?¡±


    Luke took the fall, ¡°Water artifacts!¡±


    Blacklake threw one of his crutches at Luke, ¡°A BOAT! Forsaken gods, get a damn boat and a net. Now give me my crutch back.¡±


    Luke hesitantly handed the crutch back as everyone else winced at how obvious that was. Tristan even knew whose boat he¡¯d take. Frank could suffer for the greater good.

 203. Bobbing for Undead

    Tristan smiled as he remembered the apoplectic rage that Frank had displayed when Luke had absconded with his boat. Did that make Tristan a bully? Probably, but he had just paid the man something worth multiple year''s wages. He could buy a few new boats with that.


    He dunked his head underwater to examine the lake floor. It was surprisingly deep, in his mind the lake bottom was only twenty or so feet down. That was naive, the trough carved by the crashing fortress and then filled with water was enormous. Tristan possessed better than average eyes compared to the caldera¡¯s average, but only average among tier fours. The bottom was only visible because of the handful of light elementals illuminating the lake floor.


    Even that was a hazy glow. A low cloud of mud and silt clung to the bottom of the lake obscuring the final few feet. The sound of metal clanking as it was forced together was easy to hear through the water. Judging by how far apart the glowing areas were, the fortress was quite large.


    Seeing nothing that he could use, Tristan pulled his face out of the water and took his seat in the center of the boat. He ended up in the middle due to his weight forcing the bow upwards if he sat at either end. Luke and Merrick shared a boat with Tristan and neither were all that heavy. Luke because no one else liked him, Merrick, because he had not been around long enough to dislike Luke.


    ¡°See anything new?¡± Merrick asked.


    Tristan shook his head, ¡°If I did not know better, I would think that they were standing around doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°The brain ones don¡¯t have legs,¡± Luke helpfully interjected.


    Merrick frowned, ¡°That is something I don¡¯t quite understand, why are there other types of elementals, and why are we only seeing them now.¡±


    ¡°Simple, people with kerns create the skeletal elementals, people with animas create the stringy muscular ones, and,¡± Tristan was not entirely sure why it was called this, ¡°people with dominions create the brains in jelly. Everyone native to the Caldera has a kern for whatever reason.¡±


    Merrick raised an eyebrow, ¡°How would you know? Have you met anyone with special brains or muscles?¡±


    They heaved on the wire construct that Tristan had built. It was not the most essence intensive thing he had made, but it was the most focus intensive one. The architect alloy was unhelpful as there was not a large enough net made of razor wire in the caldera to copy. The warriors had draped the square net over some empty barrels and kept it in place by holding onto the edge. At almost five hundred feet to a side, the net covered over an acre and had taken multiple times Tristan¡¯s essence reserves. He drew on Vulcan¡¯s reserve and was pleased to see the dissonance was slowly being diluted by consistent use.


    Siren had taken advantage of the hydrophobic nature of oil and coated the razor net with the poison. After a few hours of frantic work, they now had to sit above the Lord of the Underworld, keeping a large metal in place. It was hurry up and wait in the truest sense.


    Tristan summoned Vulcan, ¡°This guy is from a different plane and I¡¯m pretty sure he has all three.¡±


    Merrick looked at the lamp post blankly, ¡°Is this one of those times where a warrior talks to their weapon.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± Luke waved his hand, ¡°The artifact is like a pet, like the Abyssal Chalice, but way stronger.¡±


    Tristan felt a wave of dissatisfaction and concern from Vulcan. Two times in a single day, that was a good sign. Vulcan was present enough to interpret the world through Tristan¡¯s senses and respond to some extent. It would not be long before true communication was reestablished.


    ¡°That¡¯s a heroic level artifact?¡± Merrick jumped a little, ¡°But he¡¯s only tier four.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°He was tier zero when he used the Abyssal Chalice,¡± Luke bragged, ¡°And no it¡¯s whatever comes after the heroic tiers. Tristan what comes after the heroic tiers.¡±


    Tristan half refocused on the conversation, ¡°Tiers eleven through fifteen are legend tiers.¡±


    That he had gotten from Vulcan¡¯s memory. Hailey had also called Vulcan a legend. Not that it mattered, when a person could flatten or save a civilization in an afternoon, legend seemed to be an apt description. His knowledge of the realms was basic. Mortal, heroic, legend, then a gap of a few with the gods occupying something between legend and saint. There seemed to be varying levels of gods as well, with a shock he realized that meant that the Steel Saint was a minimum of eleven tiers higher than Vulcan. No wonder he was worried about a death cult attaining that sort of power.


    ¡°So how does an anima and domain work,¡± Merrick asked. He appeared unconvinced but enjoyed the banter more than the silence of doing nothing.


    ¡°Conni can make himself move like fire, it lets him fight a tier up with respectable ease,¡± Luke answered.


    ¡°Luke!¡± Tristan hissed. Then he turned to Merrick, ¡°Do not spread that around, he only told us that in confidence.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I thought your girlfriend''s dad was safe to tell?¡± Luke frowned.


    ¡°Eve is not his girlfriend,¡± Merrick huffed.


    ¡°Agreed, we are just friends,¡± Tristan said.


    ¡°Chase and Sun-Set sounded just like that, all the way up until they had to elope to escape her dad,¡± Luke gave the two of them a sly smile, ¡°I hear they have a kid now.¡±


    Merrick gave Tristan a betrayed expression, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do that to me. Would you?¡±


    Tristan raised an eyebrow and decided to join Luke in teasing the man, ¡°Can you think of anyone who has done more to keep her safe? Anyone who would satisfy your specific conditions?¡±


    ¡°Gravis,¡± Merrick immediately said.


    ¡°But Siren is old,¡± Luke said.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re both in our forties,¡± Merrick challenged.


    ¡°That¡¯s old,¡± Luke pushed back.


    A large bubble hit the surface of the water causing all of them to focus on the center of their formation. It was large enough that Tristan had assumed that it was an attack of some kind. No, it was just a freakishly huge bubble, bigger than any of the boats. The other three boats were placed in a circle around the net, but they were too far away to hear without shouting.


    Dane had received the resistance force, a surprise. While it was listed in the alchemy book, metal, earth, and air were the only ones listed as able to get it. There was not even a water unconfirmed addendum. Regardless of the oddity, the force was the mirror of persistence. The world around Dane would support his motions if he applied his force.


    It was yet another one that Tristan wanted. The growing issue of his density would be solved if the world would simply support his weight. It allowed for other things, such as walking on liquid water, but Tristan did not care about that.


    Dane wobbled as he leaned out of the boat and used his force to brace his forearms directly on the surface to peer at the bottom of the lake. Tristan was able to see bubbles rising from the center of the lake, they were all smaller now, but it still gave the appearance that the body of water was boiling. He did the only thing he could, he threw his metal sense as far down as it could go.


    There was a vague sense that a large amount of metal sat at the bottom of the lake. Unfortunately, he could only feel that due to the sheer quantity, it was not within his normal sensory range. It was similar to how a stove could contain the brightness of the fire, but not the heat. In the dark, it was possible to tell where the flames were despite not seeing them.


    ¡°Are either of your senses picking up anything?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°No, my air sense is getting the bubbles. Don¡¯t breathe it, the gas is very toxic. One part carbon two parts oxygen, it will probably be filling the fortress,¡± Luke said, ¡°It also starves out fire, essence powered flame should still work to a limited degree.¡±


    So gravity fire was still on the table, ¡°Let me know when the bubbles stop. I will start charging up then.¡±


    ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Merrick asked. He had a white knuckled grip on the net, obviously, his courage was real. The man feared the fight but still faced it despite his fear.


    Tristan decided to keep Merrick¡¯s mind occupied, ¡°You know, the essence sense that everyone has. At tier zero, you can feel your element anywhere within thirty feet. It¡¯s super useful.¡±


    ¡°You actually train it outside your body?¡± Merrick seemed surprised which got an eye roll from Luke, ¡°What, it just never seemed useful. I mean I can see how metal would be useful with what weapons are¡­¡±


    Merrick was interrupted by Dane yelling, ¡°Incoming!¡±


    Tristan started collecting golden flames. Red flickered within the gold. He smiled one or two more gravity blasts and he might get the flames clean enough for Vulcan to return. Then he felt it. There was an island of corroded tower steel shooting up at an alarming speed.


    ¡°Mortals, this is your last chance to kneel before your king!¡±


    That was the voice he knew and hated. Tristan was ready for the final battle to decide the fate of the Caldera.

 204. Hamster Wheel

    Tristan miscalculated how fast large objects could rise through water. The gravity powered flame was not even half charged when the surface of the lake bulged. He had never seen water mound around anything, but seeing it on such a massive scale was awe-inspiring.


    Their net was off-center, but the fortress was large enough that three of the four boats were still lifted into the air. Dane almost fell out as his boat tipped to the side with the net as it was lifted into the air. Something was off, Tristan narrowed his eyes, they were rising, but despite the pressure from below, the net had not dipped below the water.


    A hard object crunched into the bottom of Frank¡¯s boat, buckling everyone to the floor. Everyone but Dane¡¯s boat had something similar happen. As Tristan climbed back to his feet to the sound of cascading water, he surveyed the damage their plan had created.


    Nothing. Not a single elemental had been hit by the net. They had considered that the Lord of the Underworld should have the ability to control the metal net, but that he would still be suffering from injuries. Handling both the fortress and the net should be beyond him. Instead of the Lord of the Underworld keeping his minions safe with his power, he had kept them safe with common sense. The elementals were inside the fortress.


    Tristan hesitantly hopped off the damaged boat and onto the pitted surface of the back half of the fortress. The floating island of steel looked nothing like a fortress. Mud and lake floor plants covered the structure. Tristan tried to remember what it looked like in its undamaged state, but he had never seen the exterior. He did suppose an air born fortress would look different than a standard fortress by the necessity of a three dimensional environment.


    Still, he had expected something more than a large dirty cylinder with short metal bars jutting off to the side. The whole thing was also smaller than he first thought. It was approximately six hundred feet long, but only one hundred fifty wide. It was narrow enough that Tristan could see a quarter of it clearly within his metal sense.


    The interior was hollow, a spiked shaft ran down the center with a ring at the end he could sense. All of it was contained within its own pipe. Walls extended off the exterior of that pipe, and metal furniture was bolted to the exterior of the fort. Tristan was actually standing right over a desk, if the shell of the fort was clear he would be looking at its underside.


    He frowned the spiked rod looked like a screw with a reversed plane overlayed on top of it. As no enemies were clawing their way out of the hull, Tristan made a small replica of it and the ring surrounding it. He dragged the ring up and the rod spun. It was a screw, but with how it was anchored that meant that it would force the whole structure to spin.


    Tristan was no expert on fortresses, but spinning seemed to be a terrible method of defense. Though when fighting gods material strength might not be a consideration. Experiment over, he tossed the construct aside and moved over to where Siren was dragging Dane¡¯s boat up onto land. Siren had the advantage of stone gauntlets to resist the wire.


    Once everyone was collected, Tristan started making a construct between his palms as he talked. He ignored the half step back many of the tier fours took, ¡°The portion I was able to inspect is not the part that the Lord of the Underworld is in. This is set up similarly to the tower, back at the mine only on its side,¡± The central pillar was formed and the individual rooms were created, ¡°These are rooms or barracks of some sort. The entrances between them are located to give a person standing on the interior of the outer shell easy passage.¡±


    All the warriors realized the danger. The individual rooms were formed like a slice of a pie. On the bottom that gave them plenty of room to move, on the top they would be standing at the point of the said pie. A well placed attack could kill everyone in a room like that.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°There is a bolt in the center that can rotate the whole structure,¡± Tristan gestured to the central pillar, ¡°This may work to spin it, but I feel that the heaviest side will always face down.¡±


    His original concern was the Lord of the Underworld simply spinning them off the fort. However, the elemental was not strong enough to lift the whole fort, so he believed spinning was most likely off the table. Fortunately, most of the people here were also at the mine, so they did not question him. Luke chipped in with his observation of the interior''s toxicity.


    Siren summarized the information, ¡°So you are saying that we need to fight our way through an environment with a poisonous atmosphere while walking across a material that our enemy has control over?¡±


    ¡°As awesome as that sounds, I would suggest simply ripping patches used to make this thing airtight,¡± Luke said, ¡°This tube is not nearly large enough to have created the lake, so if this end is not a patch, the other should be.¡±


    Siren met Tristan¡¯s eyes, ¡°Keep a construct map of the interior growing, and let me know when you find our target.¡±


    Tristan nodded. He stayed right beside Siren so the warrior could see the structure right below them. All of it was tower steel, which was insane. If there was still a functioning economy they would be the richest people in the caldera. A piece caught his attention, there was a piece that lacked the essence signature of tower steel.


    He pointed to the area, ¡°That spot is made of normal copper.¡±


    A copper plate was welded to the exterior of the fort in one of the few mud-free areas.  It was not a large area, but that was comparative, the group could fit through one at a time. That was good news, a copper patch meant the Lord of the Underworld was unable to control the metal of the fortress. Otherwise he would have used the plentiful and superior tower steel for the patch. Tristan was happy that he did not have to look forward to the floor deforming into spikes.


    ¡°If we need to go in this looks like as good of a spot as any,¡± Merrick commented.


    ¡°It would be better to pop the cork off this bottle than to fight our way through it,¡± Luke shrugged, ¡°But you know I would prefer your way.¡±


    Tristan knelt and touched the plate. Something was off. Yes it was a metal plate, and thus it had metal essence, that was normal. What was abnormal was the sheer volume of essence. If he didn¡¯t know better he would believe this was a tier one artifact. There was one way he could test it.


    Tentatively he gathered some infusion alloy and some consumption alloy. After kneading them together he pushed them out of his body and into the plate. Consumption tore into the unexplained essence, it was quick to deposit the processed metal essence into Tristan''s palm. The foreign essence recoiled from the consumption alloy. Tristan had never seen a domain in action, but if he had to use his essence to control it this is how he believed it would work.


    ¡°Everyone, prepare to run!¡± Tristan yelled though he was not sure where they would go.


    He should have known that a tier six elemental would have a larger metal sense than he did. At tier six Tristans would be able to sense around three hundred fifty feet in every direction. More than enough to monitor the whole structure.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Merrick asked.


    ¡°Where?¡± All the elites asked.


    The metal essence threw itself forward and forced the whole fortress started to spin. It was not rapid at first. At tier four it would take a good amount of time to build up to that speed. The problem was the net. The Lord of the Underworld pulled it into the water and forced the giant poison coated razor net into a position to catch anyone who fell.


    Tristan pointed up, ¡°That way.¡±


    Kale gave a half smile, ¡°Good thing I got my leg healed.¡±


    ¡°Did you know the nobles of the Numitor Empire kept little rodents as pets? You claim to be here to end my life, yet you still run like hamsters.¡± The smug tone was infuriating, but the elemental lord was not wrong. They were running, and they could not stop.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in and putting my fist through that jerk smug face,¡± Luke said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about you people, but I am going inside.¡±


    Tristan knew that Luke could purify the air so it was not entirely suicidal, ¡°Good, I¡¯ll get the plate off.¡±


    Kerri squeaked his protest, while Tristan busied himself creating a large spiked hammer. It was heavy, well over a hundred pounds. His goal was simple, break the weld. Two rotations later, Tristan brought the tool down as hard as he could. Copper was not known for its strength, and that was shown as it crumpled around the hammer¡¯s head.


    Luke jumped in immediately. Tristan followed him in on the next rotation to find Luke shoving Hestia¡¯s Sickle through an elemental¡¯s head.

 205. Spinning Arena

    Headshots on elementals were ineffective. Unlike humans, they simply did not house anything valuable up top. Luke cursed and tore the sickle down through the sternum and into its watery organ sack. Tristan landed with his feet on the wall. He intended to heroically save Luke from an elemental running on the roof.


    Unfortunately, he had not taken the spinning nature of the environment. His feet hit the wall, stopping him. Then centrifugal force nearly launched him right back out the bolt hole into the lake. The copper patch had not taken up much of this room¡¯s total square footage, so he was able to find footing on the ceiling of all places.


    Luke gutted the anima elemental Tristan had been aiming for, ¡°Trippy isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Never tried drugs,¡± Tristan yelled back. He positioned himself by the hole and caught Kale as he dropped in. Swinging the man around, he planted the man¡¯s feet on the shell. If it wasn¡¯t for the fluctuation in pressure due to them resisting gravity at the apex of the arc and not at the base, the room would have felt normal.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Kale said, but Tristan did not have time, Grant was the next one through followed quickly by Cole. They were the two largest of the group. Cole almost ripped Tristan¡¯s shoulder out of the socket with his weight.


    Cole wobbled to his feet, ¡°This is so weird. It rocks like a boat and spins like a log.¡±


    Grant looked to Luke, ¡°Is the air purified?¡±


    Luke nodded, ¡°As pure as anything can be when filled with mummified bodies.¡±


    That was when Tristan started looking around between catching warriors. There were several metal desks bolted to the floor and collected around the legs of the desks were mummified bodies. Tristan shuddered and hoped the spinning wouldn¡¯t stop.


    Now that he was aware that the fort made omnidirectional gravity by spinning, it made a little sense. He was not sure why it would do that, everywhere had gravity already.


    Jenna and Dane came in next. Dane had no issue regaining his balance, taking to the spinning environment like a savior to his ship. Siren, Merric, and Kerri followed on the next rotation. Someone must have fallen, Tristan was not sure who, but there was a shout and the next round had the water colored red.


    Herod made it in and he immediately started glowing. It was taxing, his dual kern made the standard light kern ability essence expensive. Still, it beat out using fire to light the inside of the fortress. All it would take was a bad blow to Luke and then they would be burning their limited breathable air.


    Siren looked around, ¡°Did Bright Wave die?¡±


    Herod shook his head in sorrow, ¡°Yes, the net wrapped around him like a constrictor.¡±


    They hadn¡¯t even arrived before the Lord of the Underworld and someone had already died. Their main healer as well. Tristan peered into the dark, waiting to progress. It would take a few minutes as Luke converted the toxic air into breathable air.


    Pushing his metal sense out Tristan felt for anything that would give them an edge. The fort was spinning and even if his body had adjusted, it still was disorienting to have his perception spun around. He shrunk it until it only contained things that were moving relative to himself. This rotation had to have a purpose beyond throwing them off, it was consuming essence for very little gain. After all the Lord of the Underworld could have taken control of the net and used it as a weapon.


    Something was off.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Luke took his mind off the problem, ¡°The next room is clear.¡±


    Grant and Cole were the first two through the doorway. Something lit up the room, silhouetting them. Tristan went through with Jenna and Siren to find the light came from a brain slime stuck to the roof.


    Tristan was distracted by the luminous brain and almost missed Cole being shoved back into him.


    Bracing a forearm against Cole¡¯s stony back, Tristan shoved him back into position. Cole was tier four and a civil protector, that shove normally wouldn¡¯t have unbalanced him. Unfortunately, they were in a spinning container. He staggered to the side like a drunk miner, giving Tristan a clear line of sight to the enemy.


    Three light elementals were shining white, looking almost holy with their radiance. Tristan had seen every form of light elemental and none of them were this radiant. He glanced back at the one stuck to the ceiling. Luke and Conni theorized that the brains created a domain that boosted the abilities of other elementals. Tristan agreed this was just like what happened with the dark elementals back when he was still tier zero.


    Light warped around the anima elementals¡¯ fists. It looked like a bubble, rainbow light shifting across its surface. Tristan might have thought it a simple trick if he couldn¡¯t feel the heat radiating off. It was similar to the compressed flame that Regis and Kale loved using.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let that hit you!¡± Cole yelled. His stone armor had a black starburst of ash coating the sheet plate.


    Grant dodged the punch. The elemental was slow, it couldn¡¯t be above tier three. There was a good chance it was lower as light elementals tended to be fast. The elemental swung again, but Tristan was there, he caught the fist in an adamant armored gauntlet. Tristan had been sure the punch would be incapable of getting through the armor, unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t considered how well the metal conducted heat.


    ¡°Blind gods,¡± Tristan cursed, jumping back and waving his hand around.


    ¡°I told you!¡± Cole yelled.


    Tristan ignored the civil protector and clubbed the elemental as retribution. The elemental staggered to the side and Grant brought a massive hammer down on it. Shoving the spiked butt of his lamp post through the organ sack, Tristan appreciated the value of competent allies for the first time. Grant had made this elemental trivial to deal with.


    Tristan glanced off to either side. Jenna, Kale, Merrick, and Siren were all dealing with one. Jenna in her prism armor caused rainbows to dance across the cave every time she struck the elemental. Siren had his dark abilities nearly shut down by the environment, but that just turned him into a more skilled version of Cole. It did not take the four of them long to put the elemental down for good.


    The other elemental was putting up more of a fight, but that had more to do with its opponents. Dane led two of Siren¡¯s elites and Kerri. Most of their time was spent avoiding Kerri. Tristan wanted to call Kerri pathetic as a fighter, but the man-child was skilled. He evaded strikes, sliced chunks off the elemental, and almost sliced chunks off his allies. Kerri had never practiced group combat.


    Dane finally grabbed Kerri by the back of his neck and threw him out of the way. One of the elites drove a pole axe through the anima elemental, in the same way, a woodsman chops rounds of wood. The elemental¡¯s light was smothered by the end of its life.


    Kerri glowered at Dane, ¡°Why did you do that, I had it.¡±


    Dane shrugged, ¡°You almost ¡®had¡¯ everyone around you too.¡±


    There was a bang that caused everyone to flinch and cover their ears. The light dimmed dramatically and Siren¡¯s armor took on its sleek black appearance. Tristan looked up, the light elemental that had been stuck to the ceiling was dissipating into a cloud of light essence. He quickly found the cause, Herod had a hand cannon. The man was using the crank pump at his belt to pressurize it for their next confrontation.


    ¡°The next room is good,¡± Luke yelled. Then he jumped aside as an anima earth elemental barreled through.


    Tristan couldn¡¯t gauge its tier, but there were four people present with earth kerns. Grant yelled out, ¡°Tier five!¡±


    Tier five or not, the elemental did not last long. Its momentum was immense, anima elementals were already the most physically endowed of all the varieties. Great strength was not helpful when someone shoved a lamppost between its feet. Tristan watched as the elemental toppled over. It tried to get back up, but it was beaten prone by the present warriors. Within a few seconds, it was little more than smoking rubble.


    ¡°Now that was the fastest I have ever seen a tier five die,¡± Luke commented.


    ¡°How many have you watched die?¡± Tristan asked.


    Luke started counting off on his fingers, ¡°Well there was the one I shot in the mine, there was-,¡±


    ¡°Shut up, or I¡¯ll throw you two into the lake,¡± Merrick said, ¡°We need to be alert.¡±


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°I¡¯m the only reason you can breathe in here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you could go get the capsule you lost,¡± Siren said, then he looked over at Merrick who was breathing more deeply than the situation warranted, ¡°Everything alright.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll manage, this is just way creepier than I expected,¡± Merrick nudged a thigh bone with his toe.


    Siren glanced at the bone, then made eye contact with Merrick, ¡°I would rather you leave now than have your nerve fail later.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good, I don¡¯t intend to fail my home,¡± Merrick took a deep breath, ¡°You know me, Gravis. I¡¯m a fighter.¡±


    Tristan glanced at Kerri, expecting him to jump at the offer out. When he didn¡¯t, Tristan realized that he might have to reassess his image of the immature young man. Kerri simply looked grumpily at Dane.


    Conversation done, they stepped into the next room.

 206. I Love Rock & Roll

    A domain boosted a standard light elemental to a potent combat element. Tristan had somehow failed to realize what that would do to earth. Every movement was weighed down. The earth elementals healed at ludicrous speeds, if a blow was not lethal, the creature would take bisection like a simple trip. The difference might also be due to the five domain elementals and fifteen earth elementals.


    ¡°The highest one is tier three,¡± Siren yelled. He had to dispel his cohesion based armor. Stone seemed impervious to the weight increase, leaving Grant and Cole unaffected and Siren and Jenna partially affected.


    One of the brain elementals exploded in a shower of stone as Herod blasted it with his hand cannon. The weight lessened by a fifth. Tristan grabbed the anima elemental by the arm and threw it into a wall. It smashed a mummy to powder. He flinched back, not wanting to breathe in dead human, giving the elemental time to return to its feet.


    Tristan grinned at the elemental. It was probably Tristan''s most comfortable match up. Earth was a blunt element, it lacked many of the tricks that propped up the others. Metal was simply a better blunt element, also he had spent most of his teenage years in a mine. A pick construct formed around the lamppost¡¯s shaft. Then Tristan went mining.


    He kicked the elemental down and smashed it with the pick axe, taking advantage of the enhanced domain weight to add power to his blow. Its abdominal wall cracked like dry soil, revealing the dull brown glow of the organ sack. He wound up to deliver the final blow, but the skin knit itself back together between strikes. Glancing back he saw Herod still cranking up his hand cannon, did no one else have ranged weapons?


    ¡°Someone kill the brains on the roof!¡± Tristan yelled. He had ranged options, unfortunately they were indiscriminate and might sink the can they were rolling along in.


    Dane had the answer. He was too short to reach the ceiling, even with his pole axe. The weight made it difficult to jump, but the man had the answer. He used his force to stop his weight from impacting the world around him and ran up an earth elemental¡¯s arm and onto its head. That gave him enough reach.


    Tristan smashed the elemental once more before it could rise. It healed noticeably slower, but still way too fast. Tristan was not patient enough to wait. He shoved his empty hand into the gap. The sharp claws on the end of his gauntlet tore through the organ sack. It felt like tearing apart coarse sand, and it gave him an idea. Could he harvest brains and guts as well? Would they also turn into essence reservoirs?


    Now was not the time to try. Before the body could dissolve, Tristan grabbed a chunk of stone and threw it at the brain elementals. Jell was a great impact absorber. The rock hit accurately but only succeeded in jiggling the elemental. Maybe that was the stimuli it needed or maybe it was allowed to absorb enough essence, but the elemental started pulsing earth essence through its body.


    Tristan had seen this happen before, but no one had ever let it finish. One other elemental had fallen to Kale shoving a small star into its guts, but all others were in various stages of disrepair. Tristan ran up behind one that was targeting Jenna and grabbed it under its arms. It was heavy but Tristan was still able to lift it.


    ¡°What?¡± Jenna asked.


    Tristan only nodded at the ceiling. He did not wait to see if she received the message, Jenna was not a bad person, but he had higher priorities. Reaching Luke he hefted the squirming tier one elemental above their heads. A bag of rocks is heavy, a bag of rocks that squirms is almost impossible. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have to wait long.


    The weight in his hands rapidly decreased, it was not enough to lift it into the air, but it was concerning. Tristan had only seen this effect one other time and that was his gravity fire blast. This only seemed to affect stone, as Tristan himself was not any lighter.


    Rubble floated into the air like it was buoyant. Luke was oblivious, a look of concentration plastered across his face. The rubble reached the roof, several others had taken cover in various ways, Merrick had created an ice shield. Those with earth kerns used the lightened armor to kill a few anima elementals, before thickening the earthen plates.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Tristan braced himself under the thrashing elemental. Then it got heavy. Tristan was capable of lifting around fifteen hundred pounds over his head. The increase in weight nearly drove him to his knees. A follow up of pebble sized bullets slammed down into the room.


    Tristan gritted his teeth and flooded the joints in his armor with metal. The constructs bent, but the extra brace stopped him from dropping an elemental on Luke. He quickly looked around for any more surprises.


    The elementals were just as injured by the projectiles as the warriors were. Kerri had a rock stuck in his thigh, Kale had blood running down the side of his head, and the elite with the pole axe had died sheltering Herod with his body. Tristan regretted not taking the time to learn his name.


    Pole axe man¡¯s body started smoking, the blood baked to the skin. Before the newborn elemental could emerge Siren skewered the heart. The action looked like it hurt him, but it was something that needed to be done.


    The injured elementals quickly healed. Stony sinew and muscle fiber grew like vines to rebuild a whole being. Tristan felt the one he was holding regain its vigor.


    ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Tristan growled.


    He was about to throw it over and beat it with his pick axe when Luke stopped him, ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Tristan stopped, he trusted Luke, but he couldn¡¯t hold the elemental up forever, ¡°What do you need?¡±


    ¡°The next room is full of air elementals, they are putting out carbon dioxide faster than I can clean it up,¡± Luke donned the erosion gauntlet and scooped out most of the elemental''s chest cavity.


    He was careful to avoid the organs, keeping it alive. The claws of the gauntlet did take most of the elemental¡¯s focus off of fighting and placed it on healing. Luke did not allow it, a ball of smokey ice coalesced in his palm. It was so cold that Tristan felt the temperature around him drop a few degrees.


    ¡°A tier five you can control the state of your element,¡± Luke explained in response to Tristan¡¯s quizzical expression, ¡°It''s harder to heat things up than cool them down, but I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    He shoved the sphere inside and then let the stone heal around it. After a brief inspection, Luke pointed into the next room, ¡°Toss it in.¡±


    Tristan obliged, heaving the elemental. Parts chipped off it as it bounced out of the light and into the darkness. Flexing his joints to finish breaking the metal, Tristan turned to the earthen battle. It was almost over. The anima elementals were gone, only three brain elementals were left. The threat had grown, as all of them were starting to pulse again.


    Siren hooked both hands together and crouched. Kale used his interlaced fingers as a step. He jumped and Siren hurled him upwards. The compounded strength of tier fours made for an impressive amount of air time.


    Kale sailed upwards, a compressed flame construct trailing light in his fist like a comet. He reached the apex of his flight and shoved the burning essence into the gathering of elementals. There was a pause as he fell, then the explosion splattered slime across the room and Kale was hurled at the floor.


    Siren caught him before he could hit a desk. The Mythical beast leather was damaged at the seams but had held up admirably. Evidently mythical beast string was not used.


    Kale wiped jelly off of himself as he regained his feet, ¡°That was disgusting.¡±


    ¡°We need to rest,¡± Merrick said glancing uncertainly at the next room.


    ¡°We are at the mercy of the Lord of the Underworld right now, we can¡¯t rest,¡± Kerri said.


    ¡°We are exhausting ourselves,¡± Merrick countered, ¡°We can fight through a few more rooms, but we won¡¯t be able to stand our ground when the real fight starts.¡±


    Tristan frowned, Merrick was tired? Many of Siren''s elites shared similar glances. This was hard, yes, but none of them were getting exhausted. It was dangerous work, but they were punching down tiers for the most part.


    However, Herod, Kerri, Cole, and Merrick were showing signs of tiring. Tristan could only shake his head. Was the only difference between an elite and a common man the challenges they had acclimatized to? The evidence suggested as much.


    ¡°Tough,¡± Luke said, ¡°I just threw a bomb into the next room.¡±


    Everyone turned to Luke as he gave his most charming smile and threw a lightning bolt into the next room. There was a pause before an explosion rocked the structure. It counteracted the force that was spinning the fortress for a moment. The pause threw them into a wall, Tristan hit a desk and caught Luke before he could go flying.


    There was a flash of light and stone shrapnel rattled off everyone¡¯s armor. The fortress resumed its spinning and things went back to normal. Tristan was not sure how much damage had been done, as there was no light, but it was good enough.


    ¡°You have my attention. Come to me, I will pass judgment upon you,¡± The Lord of the Underworld said with a distinct tone of displeasure in his voice.


    Kerri shrugged, ¡°At least we won¡¯t be exhausted.¡±

 207. Three for the Price of One

    ¡°Do we just walk in?¡± Tristan asked.


    He was uncertain of the wisdom of marching deeper into the fortress while leaving elementals at their back. Assuming that they had killed half of them, there should still be nearly forty left. Tristan was not confident in fighting the Lord of the Underworld and an army of minions at the same time.


    If the numbers remained consistent, there were enough brain elementals and anima elementals to make another thirteen to fifteen elemental lords. It might be more important for them to kill the materials for more lords than kill the Lord of the Underworld. Thirteen elemental lords might be more dangerous than a single Lord of the Underworld, depending on the tiers in question.


    Siren shook his head, ¡°Of course not, we¡¯re only cutting our way through this vessel because he tried to knock us off it. We kill everything between us and him, then we kill him.¡±


    Luke smiled, ¡°It''s sentences like that that make me like you. Finished purifying the next room, the elementals are all dead.¡±


    Just like the first room Cole and Grant stepped through with their heavy armor. Nothing attacked them. Siren and Tristan entered next, but it was just as silent. Herod entered and shed some light on the room. Perforated scraps of dissipating essence were thrown against the walls. The stone from the earth elemental¡¯s body had already dissolved, making it look like the air elementals had just decided to spontaneously die.


    Nearly twenty elementals died in a single strike. Tristan almost wished they had saved some of the earth elementals to throw into the following rooms. The massacre gave them a break while Luke cleared out the next room. While they waited, Tristan went around with Regis¡¯s amulet.


    He had repurposed it to heal instead of flood fire essence into the target. Tristan could have utilized a tier seven add on to his kern, but Vulcan already did that better than all of the essence reservoirs put together. Healing alloy was simply too valuable to pass up. His heart constantly infusing his blood with the growth force gave him a steady supply to feed to the amulet, and neatly sidestepped the issue of his heart causing cancerous growths in random locations.


    Kale was the first he approached, his head wound was not fatal, but it was unwise to leave head wounds unattended. Reversing the input and output, Tristan placed the amulet against Kale¡¯s skull.


    He jumped at the surprise contact, ¡°Oh, I had forgotten, you could heal. Not a very metal ability.¡±


    ¡°Actually both forces can be found in metal, though it is very uncommon,¡± Tristan said. Kale most likely did not care, but Tristan was trying to keep both himself and everyone else from thinking too deeply about where they were in this break. Surrounded by bodies, in an enemy fortress, floating across a lake, with an undead king waiting to kill them at the end of the road.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Kale asked.


    ¡°The healing force is a compound of growth and architect. Architect can also be called image and dark is the only element that completely lacks it. I was also surprised to find bismuth has growth, don¡¯t ask me why, but the metal is good for growing something,¡± Tristan watched carefully as the head wound stopped bleeding, before scarring over.


    He moved on to Kerri, the rock embedded in his leg had already dissipated into essence. It left behind a jagged hole a half-inch deep. As far as wounds went, it was minor. No major arteries had been hit and the muscle had not been disabled, all it did was cause pain. Tristan and Kerri stared each other down for a brief moment and he was worried that the man would refuse to be healed.


    That might have been the case if not for Jenna, ¡°You¡¯re both big strong men, now stop sniffing each other''s butts. I want my shoulder fixed.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Kerri blushed at her words and hesitantly pushed aside the taste that was protecting that thigh. The rock had hit the ground and somehow ricocheted back up between the layers of protection. It was not something that could be exploited in a fight, but it was also something that Tristan needed to be mindful of. Mythical beast leather was good but it was not impervious.


    Tristan moved around the room putting the whole team back together. Despite it being a tier seven reservoir it was nearly exhausted by the injuries present. None were life threatening, but healing was not efficient in much the same way that building something took more effort than tearing it down.


    ¡°Next room is good,¡± Luke said, he frowned, ¡°I think it''s empty.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Siren asked.


    Luke shrugged, ¡°I am the wrong person to ask about that.¡±


    Tristan extended and focused his metal sense on the next room. He did not expect to feel anything, not unless the elementals were equipped with metal tools. Herod entered and the room was indeed empty, however, when Luke to the next doorway, his sense extended to their destination. He picked up three things, but only one was expected.


    ¡°Uh, I found the Lord of the Underworld,¡± Tristan said,¡± He¡¯s where we expected him to be, but he has two other metal elementals with him.¡±


    Siren¡¯s head snapped around, ¡°Tier?¡±


    ¡°About a third as much essence as the Lord of the Underworld has,¡± Tristan did some quick math, ¡°That would be about tier three.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t get an exact shape, but they were upright. Meaning they were looking at skeletal or anima based elementals. Tristan hoped they were anima elementals, they might be tougher, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to fuse into an elemental lord. Regardless they would be made out of metal essence, making them effectively mobile suits of armor.


    Kerri shrugged, ¡°I beat you pretty easily, how hard could elemental you be?¡°


    Tristan considered ignoring him, but the information would genuinely help the group, ¡°No, I have a kern, they will most likely be anima based. That means they should be just as strong as earth elementals, though with better armor, and slower healing. Metal essence is not plentiful in most environments as it does not leak energy as quickly as other materials. No brain elementals, aside from the Lord of the Underworld will also reduce their relative impact. On the off chance a metal skeletal elemental is found, it should be fused into an elemental lord, in that case, expect armor and weapons.¡±


    ¡°So an elemental lord with a metal kern is just you,¡± Luke teased.


    Tristan shook his head, ¡°No, it''s nothing like me.¡±


    They made their way to the end of the fortress. It took quite some time as Luke needed to purify the air in every compartment. The spinning of the fortress started to slow, their enemy needed his focus. Tristan took that as a good sign, if the Lord of the Underworld needed all its focus, then they had a chance.


    The slowing rapidly made it harder to work. Their section of the fort had everyone, elementals, and humans on it, making it heavier. The floor stayed the floor after everything halted, but the last few ponderous rotations forced them to hold onto the desks. Just because the spinning stopped did not mean that the fortress had halted. It still bobbed through the water like a cork.


    They stopped before the last door. This one had a piece of copper keeping the compartment separate.  Luke, Merrick, and Cole started preparing their weapon. A sphere of stone and ice was filled with air. It was not dissimilar to the hollowed out earth elemental, simply more intentional.


    Tristan had a theory. The Lord of the Underworld had kept the elementals separated by essence to take advantage of the power the brains gave to their fellow elementals. A water elemental domain would negate most of a flame elemental¡¯s advantages. On further thought, were there any fire elementals? Living for centuries at the bottom of a lake would probably kill them. Dark elementals weren¡¯t common, so did the Lord of the Underworld already lose most of his minions?


    Most was not good enough. The Lord of the Underworld only needed a handful to cement his hold on the caldera. They would effectively become the new elders and no one would ever be free again. The downside of an undead king, waiting them out was not an option.


    ¡°Everyone ready?¡± Siren asked.


    After getting a round of nods, Tristan stepped forward with his oversized pick. It took two swings to punch through the plate, Siren and Grant grabbed Vulcan and heaved. With the sound of twisting metal, the copper plate was torn off the wall. Immediately Luke heaved the ball of stone and ice into the the room before quickly throwing a lightning bolt after it.


    Tristan slammed the copper plate back into place. Half a second later an explosion went off, the pressure wave nearly threw Tristan off his feet. Siren braced him and Grant held the plate steady. Once the pinging of ice and stone stopped, they removed the plate once again.


    It was still dark inside, but Tristan started charging a gravity blast. There was no way that explosive killed the Lord of the Underworld, Tristan would have survived so there was no way it would kill the high tier undead. A light lit up the far end of the room, showing a line where the explosion simply stopped and revealing three figures.


    ¡°An impolite way to make an entrance to someone¡¯s home. Still, I am glad the last true resistance of the Caldera came to me.¡±


    The Lord of the Underworld sat on a throne glaring down at them completely unharmed. On either side was an elemental lord, one had a metal anima, the other a metal kern. Both would be a problem.


    ¡°Welcome to my victory.¡±


    As if two elemental lords weren¡¯t enough, the fortress lurched as it hit something. With a pulse of metal essence, the cap that kept the water out was crushed into something like a ramp. They had just made it to shore.

 208. Mud Bath

    Tristan inspected the two new elemental lords. Both had metal anima, giving them a sleek sheen, but it did not hide the bones and eyes. The one on the left had glowing bones and black eyes. A dark domain and a light kern, Tristan was not sure what the combination would result in. On the other side, a more imposing combination stood, it had nearly translucent eyes and brown bones. So an air domain and earth kern, it would have a huge amount of mass.


    ¡°Victory? I think you''re speaking a little early,¡± Siren stepped in front of Luke as if he wanted to stop him from doing something crazy.


    ¡°Am I? That device we used in our last meeting was very dangerous, but unless you somehow managed to make another I think I am in a comfortable position,¡± The Lord of the Underworld made a show of inspecting everyone, ¡°Ah, I killed your alchemist, you have no way to create another. Though you did bring me the metal child you managed to resurrect and my weapon too.¡±


    ¡°Nah, we don¡¯t need that,¡± Luke said with a smile, from behind Siren.


    They had noticed that the Lord of the Underworld struggled to take control of any metal filled with a force. It was a flaw that all elemental domains seemed to share. Blacklake had presumed that this was because they were incapable of possessing one in the first place. It was a flaw that was proven true as Tristan only felt the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s influence on the copper patches, not in the tower steel surrounding them.


    Siren stepped aside as Luke finished setting up his Rail Cannon. The Lord of the Underworld had a split second to move. Unfortunately, he seemed to already know what this attack was. The adamant bladed disc shot across the room in a streak of green lightning, ripping straight through its arm and tearing the appendage off. Three overlayed heroic level elementals could not stop that attack.


    ¡°That was unexpected. Kill them!¡±  The Lord of the Underworld staggered back to his feet. With a glance at its arm, it decided it was not a problem and flew up and backward. Then it grabbed its two minions and dragged them out of the hole as well.


    Tristan wondered how they were supposed to obey his kill order at a range. The one with the translucent eyes answered him. It pointed its index finger at the group and mouthed the word ¡®die.¡¯ Tristan had a moment to notice a beam of distorted air before Herod was cut in half. There was no heat, no blade, but that distortion cut like one all the same.


    Freezing for a moment almost got Tristan killed as well. A second beam swept for him, connecting first with his gauntlet. The adamant was more than capable of resisting whatever this was, but it vibrated the metal at such a frequency that his hand almost went numb. Knowing that the Mythical beast leather would not be up to the task of stopping it, he kept his gauntlet in the beam¡¯s path.


    ¡°Let me take the one on the left,¡± Tristan yelled.


    Everyone was still reacting to Herod. Logical, he hadn¡¯t stopped screaming and spraying blood everywhere. That did not mean a third death ray was not already inbound. Tristan made a paper thin tower shield of adamance and stepped in front of Siren. The beam was aimed at his neck and would have decapitated him.


    That refocused the man, ¡°Out of the ship, were fish in a barrel right now.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re flying,¡± Kerri yelled, ¡°How will being outside help.¡±


    ¡°Let me handle that,¡± Tristan said, he had been collecting golden flames for long enough.


    He caught another beam on his shield before sprinting to the hole at the head of the ship and leaping out. He did not want to set foot on the copper, for all he knew the Lord of the Underworld would make his landing spiky. Landing in the shallow water of the shore, he looked up at the three floating elementals, cloaked himself in armor, locked his joints, and let the gravity blast go.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    This was the longest he had ever gathered essence for the attack, and it was his most potent yet. The world flashed white coming back in grey scale over the timeframe of a few seconds before the color returned. Everyone was dragged to the ground, the locks on Tristan''s joints tore and he would have dislocated something if he hadn¡¯t been standing in a muddy lake bed.


    As it was, the excessive force slammed him face first into the mud and forced him down almost a foot. The wave of debris and mud that followed told him that the fortress had displaced a good portion of the shoreline lake bed. Tristan tore himself out of the mud as fast as he could. It was tough, the full body suction was intense, but he was tier four and that was enough.


    Tristan clambered to his feet, dripping mud. If mud elementals were a thing, he was what they would have looked like. While his tier was good for muscling his way out of mud, it did nothing for the material inside his helmet. He started frantically trying to wipe it away, realized that the helmet was obstructing the effort, and then he got hit by something really hard.


    His metal sense picked up a tier six essence concentration hovering about six feet off the ground. The only thing Tristan could think was that the Lord of the Underworld had punted him. He bounced off the exterior of the fortress, it did not hurt, while disgusting, the mud in his armor did do a marvelous job of cushioning the impact.


    He weighed the danger of removing his helmet against his lack of vision. Something hit the Lord of the Underworld, jerking him backward. The other two weren¡¯t in his sensory range, but they should also be occupied. Swiftly he removed his helmet and splashed water on his face while scraping the mud off.


    Blinking at his surroundings, he saw what had hit the Lord of the Underworld. Luke had slammed into it, gauntlet first. The claws on the artifact gauntlet carved four deep gouges into the elemental¡¯s chest. Grant was down an arm, but he and Jenna had grabbed Tristan¡¯s tower shield and jumped the elemental lord with the death ray. The third elemental was currently beating the daylights out of Cole. Siren was approaching the battle between Luke and the injured enemy leader.


    Tristan frowned. Why was everyone with an earth kern so quick to recover from a gravity attack? The others were swiftly exiting the ship, which had sunk nearly a foot into the mud. Lake water poured in, filling it ankle deep with muddy water. The last two, Merrick and Kerri, turned and faced the interior as water elementals exited the structure.


    Tristan ignored it. They would probably die to that number of elementals, but everyone here knew that there was a large chance that none of them were making it out alive. Eve¡¯s face, happy at her father¡¯s return flashed through his mind. Losing him would crush her. Glancing at where Merrick brandished an axe at the oncoming wave, the man would want a living Eve over a happy one. The Lord of the Underworld needed to die.


    Rushing as fast as he could through mud, Tristan charged the Lord of the Underworld. It grabbed Luke by the wrist and tried to crush the gauntlet around his arm. The absorption force running through the armor worked overtime as it stopped Luke¡¯s wrist from being crushed. Luke laughed at the surprise on the elemental lord¡¯s face, then stabbed it with Hestia¡¯s sickle. There was a whoosh of air followed by flames that blew the water away in a ring around the two of them.


    It disengaged the two of them, allowing Siren to plant a spear blade right into the wound created by the gauntlet''s claws. The Lord of the Underworld grabbed the shaft, trying to jerk Siren in, but the weapon turned incorporeal. He jerked it back, reapplied cohesion, and thrust again. The elemental decided that taking the spear a second time was better than receiving a second strike from Luke¡¯s gauntlet.


    Tristan was almost there when Cole came flying in and knocked Tristan over again. The man was constantly stumbling into him. Tristan shoved the civil protector away to find the metal, light, and dark elemental lord approaching. Black smoke surrounded it, reminding Tristan heavily of the first time he had ever killed an elemental.


    That smoke would help Siren. Glancing at the ongoing struggle, he realized it would also help the Lord of the Underworld. Pulling himself out of the mud for the second time, Tristan summoned Vulcan and prepared for a fight. Two beams lanced out of the smoke with absolutely no warning.


    Tristan could tell the point of origin was the elemental lord, but they were simply not visible until they left the cloud. Both hit him in the chest, he might have been seriously injured. However, while adamant armor conducted heat, the mud did not. Tristan made a mental note to look into the viability of water based armor later. It solved his weakness to temperature.


    Hoping this lord only had the one trick, Tristan charged into the cloud of shadow. The elemental seemed to feel the same, it rushed to meet him. Both had light and dark themed skills and both trusted in their exceptional defenses to allow them to emerge the victor.

 209. Every Hammer has a Nail

    Tristan mentally understood that a combo of three tier three elementals equaled a tier six physique. He had forgotten that in the heat of the moment. Both of them punched, both of them connected and neither were harmed. The elemental lord rocked back on its heels, while Tristan was sent staggering back.


    Something hot hit his shoulder. He had expected the unseen lasers to hit with some force, but instead, they were simply hot. Most of the time they would not hit something they were unable to burn through. The mud was baked dry and the heat started to burn. Tristan righted himself and kicked water up into the beam¡¯s way.


    He could not see the beam, but he could see the hole where it turned water to steam. Tristan stabbed forward with Vulcan, the butt of the lamppost was pushed aside by the elemental lord¡¯s free arm. The artifact vanished from Tristan''s right hand and reappeared in his left, he was already mid-swing and the elemental had no time to react.


    It staggered under the strike, though not nearly enough for Tristan to capitalize on. Another wave of heat washed over Tristan''s torso, heating the armor and branding the skin. His healing alloy got to work fixing that, no matter how hot it got, the injury would be survivable. The elemental lord set its stance and let the lamp post hit it this time.


    It barely swayed to the side. Though the anima was only tier three, it was solid metal essence. Tristan had never considered how durable metal essence was, it made him glad that the Lord of the Underworld had a fire and stone anima. Metal dented, stone crumbled.


    After taking the strike, the elemental stepped in with a sweeping punch. Tristan would just have to be glad that it was only a few hours old and had not figured out the finer aspects of combat. He ducked under the haymaker, charged up a quick gravity blast, and used the pull from the flame to drag the elemental''s face into the pointed end of the lamp post.


    It worked, the point sank two inches into its cheek. Not deadly, but from the elemental lord''s expression, the blow rocked its sense of invulnerability. Tristan shoved, not giving the elemental the chance to remove the artifact. With the extra leverage it granted, Tristan was finally in control.


    Arrogance. The fog dispersed and the elemental lord¡¯s silver flesh erupted with the light of the sun. No heat, but it did damage to Tristan''s eyes. He tried to blink away the blindness, but his vision did not truly return until his healing alloy started its work. Metal sense picked up a metallic foot rushing towards his knee. Heavy armor would not stop his knee from being dislocated.


    Jumping to the side Tristan avoided the foot. Desperately he kept his grip on the lamppost. He heard a cry of pain, but he was not sure whose it was. The smell of burning meat filled Tristan''s nose, it was not hard to guess what happened.


    When his eyes finally cleared, he found Dane, down an arm standing on the surface of the water. Still, Siren¡¯s elite did not stop, he drove the tower steel blade down into the elemental lord¡¯s arm. The sharp edge did a much better job at cutting into the elemental. It sank three finger widths in.


    Reaching up, the elemental grabbed Vulcan and jerked the point out of its cheek. Tristan dismissed it, Dane did not have the same leverage with only one arm, but it should be enough.


    ¡°Keep him off balance,¡± It was not something a highly organized team should have needed to communicate. Tristan was used to relying mostly on himself, so he felt communicating was important, even if it alerted the enemy of his intentions. He charged in aiming to get in close.


    Dane did not answer, he sawed the axe out of the wound. The blade dropped once it had been pushed past the shoulder, and when Dane jerked the weapon back the hook of the blade caught the elemental¡¯s shoulder. Neither Tristan nor the elemental had expected the pole axe to be used like that.


    The stumble forward caused the elemental to be closer than Tristan had anticipated. It turned a punch into a shoulder check. Tristan¡¯s entire body weight plus armor, smashed into the elemental. The hook of the axe blade dug in and nearly took the arm completely off. Dane had good footing on the water¡¯s surface and that was the only reason he was not yanked off his feet.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Tristan was starting to truly appreciate the power of teamwork. The elemental was not knocked prone, but the body slam had put it in an awkward position. Grabbed the limp arm and placed a boot on the elemental lord¡¯s chest, just below the ribcage. Then he pushed. The metal was quite strong, but it was a tier lower than Tristan himself. It was the only part of the elemental that centered on durability.


    Dane realized what Tristan was doing and chopped at the straining ligaments and muscles. With a twang similar to a stringed instrument snapping its chords, the arm was torn free. The elemental tried to reach around to stop Tristan, but it was unable to reach him.


    An arm was not a debilitating injury to an elemental, it would grow back within a few hours. Fortunately, the future of the Caldera would be decided by then, so it might as well have been a permanent injury. The elemental glared at Tristan but held its silence.


    Tristan did wonder why the Lord of the Underworld had chosen this elemental lord¡¯s constituent parts. Light would be good for healing, and it clearly could be used for combat. However, beams of light were quite limiting, the fact it was not consistently using them led Tristan to believe it was nearly out of light essence. The dark mind would dramatically boost its ability to assist its boss, but aside from creating a cloud of invisibility for those with dark kerns, it had little use.


    It was almost as if this one was designed to serve as a back-line combatant. Whatever the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s intentions were, it was not meant to be placed in melee combat. Tristan took the quick breather that the torn arm offered and glanced around the battle.


    Cole was just now getting to his feet. Jenna, Grant, and Kale were holding their own against the other elemental lord, it hadn¡¯t thrown out any more death rays. Siren and Luke were on the losing end of the conflict against the Lord of the Underworld. Both were bloodied and the only reason they were alive appeared to be their opponent''s lack of a right arm.


    Merrick and Kerri were the only ones not losing their contest. It took Tristan by surprise to see the two weakest members of the team doing their jobs the best. Merrick had made a wall of ice to block the exit of the fortress. To stop them from battering it down, he created a hole large enough to let them through one at a time in a crouch. It made them easy for Kerri to get rid of at that point.


    Kill this elemental lord, then help Luke. The elemental lord was fed up at this point, but it had a light kern, making it unable to make equipment for itself. It had a nearby weapon to use though. It charged, and Tristan prepared to receive the attack. He would sidestep, trip it with Vulcan, and then he and Dane would beat it, just like the earth elemental.


    It lunged to the side before it got close enough to trip. Dane backpedaled, trying to avoid getting grabbed. He succeeded, barely, but the elemental lord¡¯s fingers closed around the pole axe. The elemental lord spun, axe whistling through the air in a full circle, bringing the blade back to Dane. He was hit in the ribs with a crunch, the mythical beast leather held up well, but still deformed to the shape of the blade.


    Dane¡¯s waterwalking failed, dropping him into the water. The elemental lord kicked him into the side of the fortress before Dane could completely pass. Tristan winced at that hit, he remembered thinking that this was a major flaw in trusting leather too much. He did not know if Dane survived or not, but he would not waste the opening.


    Tristan stabbed forward at the elemental lord¡¯s ear. It connected and drove through a finger width. Nowhere near enough to kill. Tristan roared and shoved as hard as he could. The elemental countered this by simply stepping to the side pulling the still imbedded lamp post off to the side. It raised its newly acquired weapon, the shaft was longer than Vulcan was.


    Certain his armor would be able to take it, Tristan kept pushing. The axe came down, not on the head, chest, or shoulders, but the knee. The crunch took Tristan¡¯s breath away, and only his adrenaline kept him standing. The axe came up again, a smirk now on the elemental¡¯s face.


    There was an explosion of water as Cole barreled in with all the grace of a giant toddler. The elemental tried to respond, but Tristan was able to shove off with his good leg. Cole had just the weapon for the job, his earthen hammer smashed into the opposite side of the elemental¡¯s head. The blow did not do much damage in and of itself, but with Tristan braced on the other side, Vulcan was driven straight through the elemental¡¯s brain.


    Immediately the brain elemental started shimmering into black smoke and the other two started separating. Tristan and Cole wasted no time in killing them before they could get their bearings.


    ¡°These bastards pack quite a punch,¡± Cole wheezed. He probably had a broken rib.


    Tristan could only nod his agreement.

 210. World’s Greatest Punching Bag

    Tristan wanted to turn in immediately and head towards the Lord of the underworld. Unfortunately, as soon as he pushed off to sprint that way, his leg gave out. He wasn¡¯t sure why it did not hurt, but the leg felt more uncomfortable than painful.


    ¡°Hey, you doing all right, kid, ¡° Cole limped over to where Tristan had fallen.


    Tristan tried not a snap at the big man. He had done substantially better against the elemental Lord than the civil protector had. Still, pride was no reason to reject the goodwill that Cole was showing.


    ¡°I will be fine,¡± Tristan removed the amulet filled with healing alloy.


    Filled was the wrong word. He removed the amulet guttering with healing alloy. It was tier seven, and a sliver of healing was just as potent as the tier two reservoirs he normally used. However, it was still the last time it would be useable in this conflict. He glanced past Cole to where Dane had hit the side of the fort.


    The water was shallow enough that he could see the man¡¯s shoulders and head slumped against the side. Dane¡¯s water kern would stop him from drowning even if his head was below water, but the other injuries were bad. Nothing had been cauterized, and losing an arm was most definitely a deadly injury due to blood loss. Tristan could completely heal himself, or stabilize Dane. He had almost killed the man once through incompetence, he did not intend to let it happen again. Tristan started back towards the dying elite.


    Cole glanced back and instantly understood the situation, placing a hand on Tristan¡¯s shoulder he shook his head, ¡°Heal yourself. One fighter is better than three wounded. I¡¯ll take care of him. There is a lot more riding on winning than just Dane¡¯s life.¡±


    Tristan wanted to argue, but Cole was right. There was not enough essence in the amulet to get Dane back up and fighting. He was not arrogant enough to believe that his contribution would be enough to win. Tristan was not the strongest fighter here, he was a distant third. What made the decision was not what he could add to the conflict, but what he could take from it.


    While Tristan was not the best fighter, the constant stream of adamance from Vulcan made him the most durable. He could take the beating no one else could. While the Lord of the Underworld was beating him, Luke and Siren would be able to put the undead down for good.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Tristan nodded to Cole before placing the amulet against his knee.


    Cole nodded, ¡°No problem kid. I won¡¯t be much help against the big guy, but I should be able to stabilize Dane and help Merrick out.¡±


    Cole ran off, while Tristan reset his knee and started the healing. Once it was finished, he shoved the amulet down into his armor and started towards the conflict with Luke, Siren, and the Lord of the Underworld. It was not going well.


    The elemental lord gripped Luke¡¯s gauntlet and squeezed. Absorption reservoirs dimmed as they were pushed beyond their limit, and eventually, the metal started glowing and deforming under the elemental lord''s molten anima. Luke yelled in paint, slashing at his opponent with Hestia¡¯s Sickle.


    The Lord of the Underworld was not a proponent of the Law Predation because he was weak. This trick had been used once and it would not work a second time. The air around them was made flammable by the power of the sickle, but before it got to a potent enough volume, the lord of the Underworld¡¯s anima flared. Lava as it turned out, was hot enough to light fires.


    Siren hooked the point of a war pick behind the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s ankle. He jerked back, pulling the foot up, and in the same motion brought his trusty axe down. It was a setup that would have worked on anyone Tristan had ever met. A distraction of fire and erosion from Luke followed by a brutal physical follow-up from Siren could kill just about anything.


    Unfortunately, the Lord of the Underworld ignored gravity. It held itself in the air by controlling the metal it was wearing. The hooked foot lashed out and struck the side of the descending axe, knocking it to the side. Without touching the ground, the Lord of the Underworld did a horizontal spin that brought Luke whipping around like a mace.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Siren was sturdy and Luke, while well muscled, had an air kern. The comparatively light Luke barely caused Siren to take a step backward. He did stop the warrior from responding appropriately when the Lord of the Underworld brought the edge of its open palm down on Siren''s shoulder.


    Black cohesion force carapace shattered as the strike destroyed the pauldron. Siren did not yell in pain, all Tristan could make out was a grunt of discomfort. His right arm sagged, his trusty axe falling into the lake. The Lord of the Underworld tried to strike again, but Luke stabbed out with Hestia¡¯s Sickle, saving Siren from the killing blow.


    Tristan arrived like a runaway cart. He remade the construct hammer and brought it down on the Lord of the Underworld. Contrary to Tristan¡¯s expectations, the blow did not come as a surprise. The response was so fluid that it almost looked casual, the elemental lord¡¯s hand reached up to catch the hammer.


    It felt like he had just struck a mountain. The reverberations rattled back down the handle.


    ¡°Cute.¡¯ The Lord of the Underworld scoffed before kicking Tristan in the chest.


    Tristan stumbled back, but that was it. He weighed nearly a quarter ton in his armor, attacks on his center mass would do little to him. Surprise crossed the elemental lord¡¯s face, but Tristan did not give it the chance to move. He brought the hammer back down and this time it did not dodge or catch.


    Tristan wished that he could say it was due to his skill or power, but truthfully the Lord of the Underworld was forced to pay attention to Luke. At the last moment, Tristan infused gravity into the hammerhead. He was not completely familiar with gravity, but he knew it pulled things down and he just wanted to do that better.


    Luke¡¯s flaming slash was deflected, just before the gravity hammer slammed into the elemental¡¯s face. Superheated stone anima cracked and shattered, exposing black bone teeth that reflected no light. Those were cracked as well, revealing the inside of the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s jaw.


    ¡°You dare?¡± The Lord of the Underworld appeared to be more angry about the headshot than the arm it had lost previously.


    ¡°Traitor all the way,¡± Tristan grinned at the undead, though it would be unable to see it through his helmet.


    The Lord of the Underworld let out a bestial roar. Cracks tore through its chest plate giving Tristan only a moment to interpose himself between his allies and enemy. The armor exploded, sending out a wave of shrapnel. None of it got through his armor, and Tristan thought that was all there was to the attack.


    Unfortunately, he was not dealing with a common warrior. Tristan was facing the remnants of three of Vulcan¡¯s generals. The metal stuck to whatever it hit, molding to any crack and crevice it could. Tristan¡¯s armor was well made, but it still had edges that the small globs of metal could grip.


    He staggered forward as the metal was all dragged back towards the Lord of the Underworld. Just because it could not control force imbued materials, did not mean that it couldn¡¯t plant any controllable material. Tristan tried to resist, but the mud of the lake bed offered little traction. There was little he could do as he was dragged into the elemental lord¡¯s punch.


    He saw stars for a moment as he was rocked backward. Tristan grunted as his backward fall was reversed and he was dragged into a second punch. It took a third strike for the Lord of the Underworld to realize that he was wasting his effort. Despite the concussion that Tristan was sure he had, it was better than the metal fragments piercing Luke¡¯s flesh and then tearing him apart. The metal control would most likely become ineffective once within his body, but metal objects cutting into flesh were a danger regardless of how they got there.


    Siren and Luke were on top of the Lord of the Underworld, throwing out strikes as fast as their considerable abilities would allow. Their injuries slowed them enough for the elemental lord to not only keep up but also counter. Luke had a claw rake across his face, barely missing his eye. Siren took a kick to his elbow, breaking his already injured arm. Neither of them was able to touch the Lord of the Underworld.


    Tristan gritted his teeth and tried to clear the stars. He needed to help. Tristan lunged at the elemental, a hammer blow struck him upside the helm, but it gave him the opportunity that he wanted. Tristan latched onto the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s arm like a parasite. He pulled himself onto the arm, clamping on as tightly as he could.


    It tried to throw him off. When Tristan did not let go, the elemental started thrashing its remaining arm back and forth. Siren thrust with a midnight spear, scoring a strike. Hestia¡¯s Sickle bounced off Tristan¡¯s back plate, but it did not penetrate. A few more similar exchanges occurred before the undead realized that Tristan had no intention of letting go.


    ¡°Release me, mortal!¡± The Lord of the Underworld¡¯s steady demeanor seemed very concerned.


    Tristan smelled victory, he did not need to do anything more than hold on. Then he couldn¡¯t breathe. It took a moment to realize that the elemental lord had jumped into the lake and was heading for the deepest part. It intended to drown Tristan at the bottom of the lake.

 211. Just Drown Your Problems

    The light faded to a murky twilight in short order. Bubbles trailed in their wake as they shot toward the Lake bottom. Neither of them was buoyant, but only one had to breathe. Tristan tried to let go once he realized what the Lord of the Underworld intended. He would not allow himself to die meaninglessly.


    The Lord of the Underworld smirked, ¡°Do you think I would let you go that easily?¡±


    Its hand now held tightly to his chest plate, and was dragging him down into the depths. Tristan tried to strike with Vulcan, but the water blunted his strikes to near impotence. He paused, Tristan needed to reset his mindset. Fighting underwater was possible, he guessed he could do it for fifteen or so minutes. The Lord of the Underworld could do it forever, which was a problem, but it was a fifteen minutes from now problem.


    Tristan went over his options for doing damage. He had decay. The elemental lord was non-organic. He had Vulcan. The Lord of the Underworld was familiar with his prior commander, there was no way Tristan would be granted the time to charge any of those abilities. He stretched out his metal sense hoping to pick something, anything up.


    He succeeded. To his senses, the floor or the lake was packed with metal. Not just tower steel, but a copper vein also ran through this area. It looked green to his eyes, but it was copper. There were other, smaller traces of metal. Some even had forces. Most were shards loaded with absorption, but once he hit the lake floor he also picked up a spot of corrosion not far away. He also picked up a small spot of adamance, it was almost hidden by the much larger presence given off by his armor.


    Tristan had a weapon. With the Lord of the Underworld holding him down as if Tristan would simply wait and suffocate, he drew his knife and shoved it into the elementals chest. The weapon was tier five, but that was only in terms of hardness, it relied on geometry to cut. Unfortunately, essence was a method of bending physics.


    Half the blade sank into its chest. The Lord of the Underworld recoiled, the knife had sunk in around five inches, enough to have damaged the organ sack. It would heal, eventually, but it was the first serious blow the elemental had taken. Tristan lunged to take advantage of the presented opportunity.


    Water resistance slowed him down dramatically. The Lord of the Underworld was under a similar restriction, but it had enough raw strength to power through the resistance. To Tristan, it felt like he was back in the Forest Caldera fighting Henry. The ex-civil protector was so much faster and stronger, with better armor, and Tristan¡¯s only real advantage was his weapons. Only this time his weapons would not wantonly slice off body parts.


    Tristan went in for a stab at the arm holding him. If he could saw the appendage off, then he would be able to let Luke finish the wounded undead off. The Lord of the Underworld jerked its arm back, then kicked Tristan in the chest. On the surface that resulted in a stumble, down here it picked him up off the lake floor. It was a small issue that entirely negated his mobility. At least he managed to run his knife along the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s leg.


    ¡°I do not know what motivates you, but you live for little and you shall die for little.¡± The Lord of the Underworld raised its palm and copper peeled out of the lake floor, ¡°Give over the artifact and I will let you live.¡±


    Tristan couldn¡¯t respond, being underwater. He did not consider it, not truly. Tristan was not familiar with what treason meant in this undead¡¯s mind, but the head family had something similar. Shadow Fist had a tattoo claiming him as part of the head family, if he ever betrayed the head family he would be put to death. There were no exemptions and the blood related family members would suffer similar consequences, though circumstances could lessen the punishment to exile for them.


    That all meant that handing over his tier fifteen soul tool would be the same as committing suicide. He had no evidence, but he would bet that if an owner of a soul weapon died while it was in the primordial realm, it would be lost forever. That would mean, that until he summoned Vulcan, this undead could not kill him.


    Tristan folded his arms and smirked at the Lord of the Underworld. It gritted its teeth, ¡°Fine then.¡±


    With a wave of its hand, it summoned the cloud of copper it had torn out of the ground. It pointed at Tristan, commanding the shards of metal to swarm over Tristan. The half light at their depth was completely blotted out by a storm of copper. Tristan was slammed down into the lakebed once more. Despite the small size of the copper shrapnel, it felt like he had been hit by a massive hammer.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    It was surprisingly comfortable.  The adamant armor held up admirably. Until a crack ran through it. The feeling of a schism running down his breastplate was jarring. Tristan frantically searched for the cause, and when he discovered it he was shocked. He remembered being surprised that Vulcan¡¯s essence recovery rate was so slow.


    That ocean of essence was emptying at a startling rate. He had collapsed the Forest Caldera at the beginning of the week and a few days later he had not stopped using Vulcan¡¯s reserves. Even an ocean could be emptied if the leak was large enough. The crack expanded, and Tristan felt the first inkling of fear that he might not be able to shelter behind the plate of invincible metal.


    ¡°Surrender, you are coming to the end of your strength,¡± The Lord of the Underworld taunted.


    Tristan did his best to ignore the provocations as the copper storm pushed him through the mud like a plow through a field. He was helpless. There was too little friction to resist, he could not strike back, not against the small shards. He attempted to find something,  anything to latch onto. There were hundreds of tons of tower steel, but while it had the requisite sturdiness, it lacked a form to be useable. Then he felt that spot of corruption.


    It was too far away. Tristan wanted to scream at the unfortunate situation, but that would just waste valuable air. A shockwave traveled through the copper swarm. They lost tension and started drifting to the floor. Several hard cracks sounded through the depths, and Tristan struggled to rise. He blinked away shock at the two people who arrived.


    Luke was expected, but Kerri was a shock. On land, Kerri was little more than fodder to the Lord of the Underworld. In the depths, they were much more closely matched. Not even, but it was enough for Luke to make up the difference.


    Tristan felt cold, and shards of metal dug into his joints and his chest. He limped towards the one thing in the area that might save them. Ten seconds later he was standing over a wooden capsule the size of his hand. Hadrid may be dead, but he would have the last laugh. Reaching down Tristan grasped the capsule. The waterlogged wood cracked under his grip, but nothing leaked out.


    Who would have thought? A silver devil saved the caldera. Tristan started running at the fight. Blood tainted the water from the many wounds Luke had taken. Kerri was starting to accrue some as well, and despite him handling the small fry, he was showing more signs of fatigue than Luke.


    Tristan felt slow as he rushed through the water towards them. Any second the Lord of the Underworld could turn and see him approaching. He arrived and threw a punch holding the capsule. The Lord of the Underworld smirked as he casually blocked it. Tristan crushed the capsule, releasing a silver blob into the water right in front of the elemental lord''s face.


    The Lord of the Underworld¡¯s eyes widened. With surprising speed, it bent backward to let the gallium¡¯s momentum carry it over its head. Luke realized what was at stake. Tristan was not clear on what his friend did, but the metal sparked before exploding in a cloud of droplets.


    Tristan was sure that would be the finishing blow, but copper shards fit together as a shield. All the gallium that had been redirected was used up corroding the shield to a brittle powder. Kerri charged in stabbing his tier three artifact sword through the cloud that had dispersed away from the elemental lord. It punched through the brittle shield and into the undead¡¯s eye socket.


    The Lord of the Underworld screamed at the gallium coated blade in its eye and punched the side of Kerri¡¯s sword. He could not keep his grip, and the sword snapped, leaving a six-inch length in the elemental lord¡¯s eye socket. Tristan had hoped that the creature would just die. That did not seem to be the case. It staggered back and forth flailing its arms wildly.


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, I¡¯m eternal,¡± The elemental sounded desperate to Tristan.


    The Lord of the Underworld staggered toward Tristan, its one silver eye glaring at him. That eye was turning milky and tarnished, but a wounded and almost dead Lord of the Underworld was more than Tristan¡¯s match. However, if he could do enough damage, the others could survive.


    He met the Lord of the Underworld with his knife in hand. Tristan thrust his blade and was shocked when it connected. A hand closed around his neck and picked him up.


    ¡°Give me the artifact or you die!¡± The Lord of the Underworld screeched.


    Could a flood of essence wash away the damage the corrupted gallium did? It was logical, Vulcan himself was diluting a poison to obsolescence at this very moment. Tristan also knew the Lord of the Underworld would kill him out of spite. Now that there was a time limit for both of them, Tristan reinforced his neck as much as possible and glared back at the undead. The hand squeezed.


    Tristan tried to last, tried to have the last laugh. In the end, he could only opt for mutual destruction. At the last moment as his kern started collapsing, a hand in a black and navy blue glove pulled the knife out of the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s chest. Its eye flickered down, but with only one arm it was not fast enough to respond to Kerri while underwater. Kerri stabbed it in the heart.


    The last thing Tristan saw before losing consciousness was the light fading from the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s eyes and black smoke as his kern dissipated into dark essence.


    The last thing he heard was, ¡°I Kerri, am the savior of the Caldera!¡±

 212. Who Actually Saved the Day?

    Tristan came back to the land of the living to a shouting match. He was not sure how long he had been out, but he was on the surface, though still lying in the mud. It had been at least a few minutes since his armor had completely dissipated. The headache was unappreciated but it took the edge off his other injuries.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Luke yelled, ¡°You only lived long enough because we took the brunt of the attack.¡±


    ¡°I still finished him off,¡± Kerri said, a smirk in his voice.


    ¡°With Tristan¡¯s dagger,¡± Luke countered.


    ¡°Well, I can admit that he helped, you did nothing,¡± Kerri taunted. Tristan wondered if Kerri understood just how unstable Luke could be.


    ¡°I dropped the capsule in the lake months ago, we only won because of me,¡± Luke responded.


    Tristan cracked his eyes open and almost shut them again. His head was not keen on the intense noonday sunlight. Still, he found the arguing duo. Luke looked terrible but was currently being seen to by a tier three healer. One of the few left in the Caldera. The four parallel cuts across his face had stopped bleeding. Two went above his eye and two below it, the top ones were straightforward. The healer used some type of glue to hold it together.


    Below his eye, the cuts had intersected and broken his nose. Those two would scar worse, as the healer prioritized setting Luke¡¯s nose over the aesthetic value of his face. There were bruises all over his arms and legs along with burns all down his right arm where the gauntlet had melted. Tristan was surprised that Luke had been injured so little, at least until he pulled out a bottle and started chugging his protein shake.


    ¡°Promise me that it was on purpose,¡± Kerri paused, and right as Luke opened his mouth, he continued, ¡°And I will call you a liar. Liar Luke has a good rhythm to it.¡±


    Luke frowned, Tristan wondered if Kerri was about to get drop kicked back into the lake, but, ¡°It kind of does. Coward Kerri, could be what we call you.¡±


    Kerri¡¯s smirk froze, ¡°You do not have the right to insult me.¡±


    Luke raised an eyebrow, ¡°Did I ¡®the liar¡¯ speak too much truth?¡±


    Kerri trembled, clenching his fists. He did not escalate to blows, which was a good thing for Kerri¡¯s health. The young aristocrat had gotten a few cuts and bruises, but aside from that he was relatively unharmed. He stomped off after muttering an insult.


    Tristan managed to push himself to a sitting position, getting both the healer''s and Luke¡¯s attention. The simple action was much harder than he had anticipated. His core muscles were not dysfunctional, however they had been right under where his armor had cracked. Looking down he could see that his shirt had been cut off several lines of stitches ran down his torso. He had not realized how much damage had been done. Bandages covered his joints where the copper shrapnel had managed to get through, though the damage seemed to be less severe.


    ¡°You look horrible,¡± Luke said, ¡°Want a protein shake.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel that terrible yet,¡± Tristan shook his head.


    It was true, he did not, even now the injuries were healing and would be gone within the week. The production of growth force from his heart was not connected to his kern. Meaning it always pumped out a consistent amount of the force, even while his kern was repairing itself. That was good for the current tier, but it meant that it was not growing with him. Fortunately, he wouldn¡¯t magically get more cells that it would need to affect, regardless of how strong he got.


    Several other medical people fussed around other warriors. Five blankets covered bodies. So six had died unless they had somehow recovered the body of the warrior who had died outside the fortress. Tristan grimaced, Dane was probably one of them.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He still wanted to know for sure, ¡°Who survived.¡±


    Luke glanced over at the bodies to the displeasure of the healer, ¡°Siren, Jenna, Merrick, and us.¡±


    So out of the elite that Siren brought, only Jenna survived. Kale was gone, Tristan had been rude to the man on their last real interaction. He was kind of like a grandparent that Tristan never had. Grant and Dane had never been close. They were barely on a first name basis before this week. Herod was unknown to Tristan, aside from his loyalty to Eve and the River Caldera elders. Cole should have lived, Tristan frowned, there was nothing up here that could have stopped Siren, Grant, Jenna, Kale, and Cole even if they were injured.


    ¡°What happened to Cole?¡± Tristan asked.


    ¡°Who?¡± Luke asked, then he realized who he was asking about, ¡°Oh, the giant. I don¡¯t know, but he¡¯s definitely dead.¡±


    Tristan laboriously managed to regain his feet. They had won, he should be happy about that, right? This wasn¡¯t even the closest he had ever come to death, not the worst he had ever been hurt. Still, he couldn¡¯t stop the tremors from going through his hands.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do anything too strenuous,¡± The healer said as he finished up with Luke, ¡°Don¡¯t lift anything over fifty pounds,¡± He held up a hand to forestall what he thought Tristan was going to say, ¡°I know you think you¡¯re strong and that we say the same thing to the tier zeroes. It does not matter how strong a cut muscle is, so no more than fifty pounds if you want to heal.¡±


    Tristan had not been intending to argue the point. He would not be disabled for as long as the healer probably assumed, but Tristan would rather heal correctly. Nodding and thanking the healer, Tristan made his way over to Siren.


    Merrick was helping Siren stand. His arm was in a sling and had a crutch under the other. One leg was in a cast and bandages covered most of his body. Merrick was in a similar start to Kerri, with some bruises, and some cuts, but the entire ordeal had been easier on him than the others. Tristan felt one concern lift, he would not have to tell Eve about her father¡¯s death.


    Merrick nodded at Tristan and Luke, ¡°Glad to see that you two are well.¡±


    Tristan nodded his thanks, but directed his question to Siren, ¡°What happened? Was that last elemental lord truly so deadly?¡±


    Siren let out a pained sigh, ¡°Yes and no. It was not able to shoot off too many of those cutting beams, I believe that it is quite essence intensive. Kale had already been killed by the time you went underwater but something you did caused chaos with the battle at the trenches. Custodian took the long way around and attacked us from behind. Cole died that way.¡± Tristan winced, having an additional elemental lord join in was the worst case scenario, ¡°A few minutes later, we were losing, and both of them froze. If I had a guess there is some kind of backlash from killing any of an elemental lord''s superiors. We took the chance to kill Custodian, but could not get through the other¡¯s anima before he woke up again, killed Grant, and fled.¡±


    Tristan remembered the Lord of the Underworld¡¯s ability to command other elementals from the time Hailey¡¯s memories had invaded his own. It was jarring, Hailey had just wanted to stay with her husband and start a farm. Her elemental remnant would have most likely planted any seeds that it could get ahold of. It had been ordered to dig, then kill. That control suddenly getting severed, may not cause catastrophic failure, but it would create a serious conflict of perceived goals.


    Glancing over towards the trench, Tristan could see smoke rising. The battle looked small from this distance. For a moment Tristan hoped the Lake Caldera won despite missing all their tier fours. Then he realized that the elementals in the Forest Caldera army had all lost their coordination. The four hundred tier threes would suddenly have nothing keeping them from cutting their way through the enemy army.


    They had won. The only enemy left was a fleeing elemental lord. It was dangerous, yes, but it was nothing compared to the Lord of the Underworld. Tristan felt strange. This was the first time he had not needed to look for danger and it felt less comforting than he had thought it would. Everything started with the sifting, then the ghost crabs, followed by a civil war and capped off with the elementals.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Tristan asked, looking up at Siren.


    ¡°We party!¡± Luke cheered.


    Siren gave a pained half smile, ¡°Yes, we celebrate, then we rebuild. We rebuild a lot.¡±


    Maybe. Tristan was not sure how much there truly was to rebuild. The Caldera went from somewhere between fifty and sixty thousand people, down to a bit over fifteen thousand. Nothing had happened to the River Caldera and the Lake Caldera was mostly untouched. There was more infrastructure than they needed.


    Siren seemed to read the question in Tristan¡¯s eyes, ¡°People, we will need to rebuild people. Our pride has been shattered, our culture destroyed. Most people have lost someone precious. I don¡¯t think it is possible to recover within our lifetime, but we have to try.¡±

 213. Elementary Issues

    Eve took a deep breath and looked down at the jagged rent torn through her gut. She felt great all things considered, at least she knew how Tristan felt when the Lord of the Underworld had manhandled him at the mine.


    They had expected a respite, to be attacked in a pincer between two groups after the second had already surfaced. Eve couldn¡¯t be sure, but something had changed. The Forest Caldera had attacked and they had no tier fours to respond to Custodian¡¯s rampage. Eve watched several of her guards die before she took things into her own hands.


    A snow flake shaped piece of ice formed over her bracer. It was the last thing that Ruth had given her. Her sister kept Eve safe even after her death. The shield saved her life against Regis, it would save her life against Custodian.


    She drew her artifact longsword. At tier three she had no issue using it one handed. It could cut through any water, a useless seeming ability until an elemental with water kern confronted her. The last artifact she had was a ring, that made her blood twice as dense when impacted. It was not that helpful in her opinion.


    When she saw Janis lose a leg to Custodian¡¯s axe, she gritted her teeth and attacked. The fact that the elemental lord had gotten this far was not a good sign.


    Custodian''s first blow cracked the shield, but as it was not truly connected to her arm, none of the force transferred. She took the opportunity and thrust forward with the needle sharp tip of her sword.


    ¡°Take this!¡± Eve shouted.


    Custodian grabbed the blade with an emerald gauntlet. The sword cut through it easily, but the blade was not wide enough to cut all the way through the stone armor. With a flex of its wrist Custodian used friction to lock her sword in place.


    ¡°Gladly,¡± The elemental responded in his refined voice.


    The axe came down again, shearing through the shield. That exhausted the weapon''s momentum, so Custodian wound up for a second blow. Its eyes widened when a second snowflake construct popped up in its place. The elemental had been so confident in its victory that it had loosened its grip enough for Eve to pull her sword free and jump back.


    ¡°What is that tool?¡± Custodian asked.


    ¡°A gift from my sister,¡± Eve answered as she readied her stance.


    She rested the blade of her sword on the top of the shield as her instructors told her to. Every member of the River Caldera family was trained to fight. Unfortunately, being taught motions was not the same as learning the art of violence. Also, it had been with a war pick, not a sword.


    ¡°She will make a fine addition to the lord¡¯s court then,¡± Custodian made it sound like a compliment.


    Eve charged the elemental, ¡°You already killed her.¡±


    ¡°Pity,¡± was all Custodian said before slapping her slash aside, breaking her shield with a rapid set of punches, and bringing his axe into her gut.


    She was picked up off her feet and thrown backward. Blood ran down her side from where the supposedly invincible mythical leather had been cut through. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop against something warm and soft and damp. It took her a moment to realize it was a body. Eve was surprised she could feel her legs, that should have cut her in half. Miraculously, she had survived, it was a deep, but survivable injury. Maybe dense blood was a bigger deal than she had initially assumed.


    A shadow fell over her, at least it was survivable if she was left alone. Custodian stood over her, it raised its emerald axe over its head. Eve braced herself under her shield¡¯s last charge. The axe fell, cracking the shield. Eve braced for a second blow, but it never came. Custodian¡¯s outline, which she could see through the cracked ice of her shield, froze. It was looking off toward the lake.


    Then the elemental lord shot off towards the lake. Several soldiers tried to impede the enemy general, only to be batted aside like they were toys. If Eve at the peak of tier three, and equipped with two tier three artifacts and one tier four could not stop Custodian, the tier zero conscripts had no hope,


    One of her healer guards quickly dragged her out of the fighting. Eve was done, but she also wasn¡¯t. She couldn¡¯t keep going, but she could still contribute. Yanking her scabbard off her waist, she thrust the weapon into a nearby soldier''s hands. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Find a water kern warrior, tell him Eve wants him to use it,¡± The soldier barely had time to nod before she was gone.


    ¡°Relax,¡± the healer said, ¡°You have a bad gut wound, we need to get you to the hospital.¡±


    For the first time, Eve recognized Lesley hauling her away. How had she missed that? It did not take long for Lesley to arrive at the hospital. Eve was given preferential treatment, cutting to the front of the queue. At first, she felt bad about it, but she did not get angry or offended looks from the other patients. They were oddly respectful.


    She was set on a mat near the tent flap. It gave her a steady supply of fresh air and an intermittent view of the battle¡¯s progress. It was even, at least to her novice eye. The trench was still a barrier, but some areas had bled over the trench and those locations were bloody melees. Lesley stayed by her side the whole time, even helping carry Eve outside to make room for more wounded.


    ¡°How many people will die?¡± Eve asked. She was thinking back to the time Tristan had mentioned that she was asking thousands of families to sacrifice a brother, sister, father, or mother. In her head, she knew it, but being able to watch the conflict let her see individual people die drove the point home. She did not know many of them, but it still hurt.


    ¡°A lot,¡± Lesley said, ¡°There¡¯s no way around that.¡±


    Eve had nothing to say to that. The blood bath continued for another few minutes before something odd happened. All the elementals propping up the Forest Caldera froze. It did not last long, but when they started moving again, it lacked any violent intent. A good portion simply wandered off, another portion started attacking other elementals, and one even got down on one knee as if it were proposing.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Lesley frowned, looking down on the chaos below.


    Eve was in a good position to explain for once. Tristan could be considered the caldera¡¯s expert on elementals after the death of Hadrid, and they had spent a considerable amount of time together.


    ¡°They are reverting to their natural state. Elementals normally act in accordance with their greatest regret,¡± Eve pointed to the one that was down on one knee, ¡°That one probably regrets not getting married, the ones attacking the elementals are most likely the remnants of the Stone Caldera.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re saying that the Forest Caldera now has to fight their own elementals?¡± Lesley asked.


    Eve shrugged, she doubted that it would be that simple, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but they clearly aren¡¯t being assisted anymore.¡±


    As soon as the Forest Caldera lost the assistance of the elementals, all active warriors were freed up to run roughshod over them. The Lord of the Underworld had equipped the people of the Forest Caldera well. Most had metal plate armor, it was not as full coverage as Tristan¡¯s armor or Siren¡¯s black carapace, but it was better than what the Lake Caldera possessed. It was not enough to allow a craftsman to match a career warrior with a multiple tier advantage.


    Lesley and Eve looked at each other, ¡°We won? We won!¡±


    This was the end of the conflict. Looking in the opposite direction she saw several tiny figures moving about in a lake. She was only able to find them due to the large metal cylinder on the lake shore. It was too far for Eve to tell what they were doing, just that they were moving.


    ¡°Lesley, could you take a few healers and make sure our tier fours survive?¡± Eve requested.


    Lesley¡¯s eyes widened. Most people had probably forgotten that this battle had been decided in the background, out of sight and out of mind. Eve¡¯s friend nodded nod gathered a few healers and sprinted off towards the lake.


    As for Eve, she had a choice, she could relax, even now she felt the adrenaline where off and sleep started calling. Instead, she called over an aid to get some people to take her to the Commander. She wanted to walk, but the doctors required her to stay on a stretcher.


    Blacklake still had his crutch and his arm in a sling, but he was still being his normal harsh self. Eve arrived as he was yelling at one of his subordinates, ¡°No we don¡¯t follow them. Blind gods, what¡¯s wrong with you? We only need to heal up and send a tier four at them.¡± Then to another man, ¡°Put down every elemental, don¡¯t worry about the lost essence spheres, we can¡¯t have another army on our doorstep.¡±


    ¡°Hello Commander,¡± Eve said as she entered.


    ¡°You were supposed to stay out of the conflict, you¡¯re not Siren,¡± Blacklake criticized.


    Eve felt a little insulted by that. Custodian had come to her. She wrestled the feeling down and looked at the Commander, ¡°What do we need to do now.¡±


    Blacklake gave Eve an assessing look, then said, ¡°Elder Lake was killed.¡±


    Eve blinked. Elder Lake was not a fighter, but he was just as protected as Eve was. That would be a problem for the Caldera, Elder River was so old he could die any day, and such a rapid change in leadership just after a conflict would cause enormous problems.


    ¡°I want you to give the victory speech to the army. Unless we want anarchy, the people need someone to follow,¡± Blacklake went to steeple his fingers in thought, but his broken shoulder made that hard, he winced and then continued, ¡°You have the support of the Caldera¡¯s hero, Siren, the lightning devil, the caldera¡¯s next alchemist, your father and fianc¨¦ are tier four. In addition to that, Guider Matthis has a positive view of you, putting the temple behind you. I can also spread a rumor that you fought and bled like everyone else, building a link between you and the common man.¡±


    Eve frowned. She remembered the time she spent crying about the civil war between Elder River and Elder Forest for kingship. Siren had claimed that there was a solution that would allow her grandfather to survive. It seemed the solution was for her to become king of what was left of the Caldera.