Proofread by Thomas F
I walked out onto the deck and looked at the dawn.
It's a beautiful and so different than the dawn we see in the wasteland. There, everything is barren, causing the light to reflect; in contrast, here, everything is absorbed by the greenery.
Soon, the whole sky lit up, and I looked ahead. It is still green and will remain so for a while.
Yaris City is still about an hour away. I've heard a lot about the city, and I'm excited to see it.
"Duke of Tharvale had pushed Edruin's forces back," informed Zela. "In victory or stalemate?" I asked back.
"Stalemate," she replied.
The temporary calm had started to disappear as the enemies began attacking again. Most of them are small battles, but they are building toward larger ones.
This one was one of the bigger ones.
The Duke of Tharvale had fought in the battle himself. That was another surprise in this war.
He wasn't much of a fighter or showed it openly, but now he is. That is the thing about powerful nobles; they are damn dangerous, especially when they level up.
They possess those powerful ancestral skills, which make them very hard to deal with.
Many noble families have them. Darrow would have gotten it. If he had crossed Lv. 30; it might have even saved his life.
"Tabes hadn't made a move yet," I said to myself. They are also very close to him. If it hadn't ended with a stalemate, I have no doubt they would have swooped in.
Well, I am glad they are busy in the empire, and I want them there for a few more years, until I'm strong enough to resist them.
Currently, the empire is juicier, but they might change focus once I reveal the actual size of the legacy and other expansions.
I am not just talking only about Tabes here, but also the Imperials.
It is the reason why I had been conflicted about the expansion. I considered hiding the actual size of it, but after pondering, decided to go all out.
Hiding will not help me; I must utilize every advantage to strengthen myself, my dominion, and my army.
Because they will come for me eventually, and I will have to fight them to survive. If I do not, they will destroy everything I have built.
I pushed those depressing thoughts away and looked ahead.
Soon, the hour passed, and I could see Yaris and its riverport. It's large —not as extensive as Owlsprings, but larger than Greltheaven.
There are fewer ships docked here than in Owlspring, but when looking at those ships, one would notice that all the ships are of good quality.
I am not just talking about yachts, but also the cargo ships.
Nova Alyra is the least populated region of the merchant state. It only has three cities, four if you count Kairos, the hidden city. Despite that, it's a magical center of the merchant states.
It has the top mage academies and produces complex magical goods and tools.
It is the most powerful region in the merchant state. Some even say it is the richest.
It is why the ships are also of good quality. They needed to be, to transport the goods produced here.
Soon, the ship reached near the port, and I could see it. There are enchanted cranes and golems. Their number is not as significant as Archmage City's, but given the port's size, they seem proportional to it.
Gaining them is one of my grand ambitions. To have those magical cranes and golems, and all the enchantments.
It's not easy; hell, it's very challenging and expensive as hell.
It requires high magical expertise, not to mention a substantial amount of money. The golems are far from cheap to create, and so is their maintenance.
If that hadn't been the case, then wealthy cities like Owlspring would have been littered with them.
I looked up from the port to the skyline of Yaris, which is crowned with Mage Towers. Greltheaven is building one, but here there are tens of them.
Some of them are old, over two thousand years old.
Soon, the ship docked, and the ramp lowered a moment later. I descended to the dock on it.
There is no one to welcome me; they usually don't welcome anyone unless it's official business. My business is not; it's a commercial one.
The carriage is already waiting for us, and we stepped inside. Soon, the carriage moved to the lightway. It begins to move fast through it.
Yaris has an extensive network of light ways. Bigger than even Oksall, the capital of the region.
I watched the city, and it is massive and well-designed. Everywhere I look, I see fountains, statues, and beautiful buildings.
It is bigger than Owlspring in dimensions but has a smaller population, just around three million. This might seem like a lot when compared to Greltheaven, but it's relatively small compared to other cities.
Greltheaven, including the outer city, is a quarter of its size. So, one could imagine how massive it is.
"Can you feel it?" asked Ulaxasys, and Zela nodded. "High density of mana," she said. It is so dense that even I could feel it.
All four cities are based on prominent mana veins, but even with that, they wouldn't have gotten that famed mana density that Nova Alyra is famed for.
"Is it true that it runs on a lossless mana cycle?" Zela asked.
Mana density is not a significant issue; it can be managed, but only over time. The mana vein gets drained, especially when it is used beyond its recovery rate.
"Yes, Nova Alyra is one of three places in the whole continent that could do this at this scale without the aid of the artifacts," she replied
"So, they don't use artifacts?" asked Zela, and Miss Ulaxasys laughed.
"They do, a lot of them," she replied, and Zela laughed with her. Yes, they could do it without an artifact, but the artifact makes the process even more efficient.
"I don't know if it is true, but here, it is said there are artifacts in the veins; that only maintains them, but also strengthens them." Miss Ulaxasys said.
I don't know if it is true, but if they could pull off something like this, it would be a huge deal.
Mana veins are very important; even Greltheaven is on top of one. It is necessary for the Mage Towers because the bigger they are, the more power the tower can use.
It is also very important in research, learning, and most importantly, war.
Take Namdar; the whole city sits on one of the biggest mana veins in the entire empire. It could even be said to be one of the best on the continent.
The storm tower is the greatest in the empire and is capable of pulling a large amount of mana.
It is due to this that barely anyone dares to attack Namdar, because their powerful tower is capable of pulling large amounts of mana out of the vein and a powerful Grand Mage to morph it into destructive spells.
Soon, we reached the hotel and walked to our suites. Half an hour later, we had lunch in the hotel's restaurant, before I retreated into my suite with Rip and the legal team.
Miss Ulaxasys is here; she will only provide expertise. My team will handle the negotiations after I finalize the main points with the other party.
"I think we are ready for the negotiations," said Rip, after we finished with the preparation.
"Don't underestimate these people. Especially, those who do not use skills," I advised them. Their eyes turned serious, and they understood what I was talking about.
An hour later, I am in the carriage, moving toward the Galegem tower.
"Any advice?" I asked Miss Ulaxasys. "If anyone else asked me, I would have told them to be careful. I do not have to tell you that," she replied, and I smiled.
I am not dealing with regular people, and I am not just talking about humans, elves, or any usual races.
I am talking about the elder race.
These people are extremely powerful and long-lived, belonging to an elder race called Althari. People often refer to them as crystal, glass, or elementals, but these terms are incorrect and disrespectful.
They are masters of magic; every member of their race has at least become a mage.
For those of High-Houses, a High-Mage is a minimum.
The one I will be meeting is very powerful and one of these; she is Irgal's master. A member of the high house. Technically, she is the leader of her house.
I've heard a few things about that house, but I'm not sure if they're true or just rumors.
Almost all news about them is suppressed. It is quite easy for them; they control the merchant states. Every major decision must pass through the hidden city before being made.
Finally, the carriage stopped in front of a massive grey tower.
Its name is the Galegem Tower; it is around a hundred stories tall, and one could feel the deep power from it.
The tower isn't the tallest in the city, but it is the oldest and most important one.
Soon, we reached its large gate, where a man and a woman were waiting for us. I say, they are waiting for us, because they stepped forward and appeared in front of the gate.
The man is an elf, while the woman is a half-dwarf, with golden blond hair.
"Lord Silver," they greeted and led us inside into the massive lobby of the tower. I could see the people everywhere, and most of them are mages, with two leading us being High-Mages.
The half-dwarf woman is of elder blood. Those brown alexandrite eyes are a clear sign of that. She isn't the only one; I had noticed two more walking around.
The only place I have seen so many mages in such a small area was Archmage City.
I might have seen them in the City of Storms as well, but I was too weak to sense the class confluence when I went there.
"Lord Silver, please follow me," said the half-dwarf woman. As she turned left, the man turned toward the right. "Only, Lord Silver," she added, looking at my guards and Miss Ulaxasys.
They didn't stop; there was not even a change in their faces. Only Miss Ulaxasys became a little hesitant,
"Don't worry, nothing will happen," I said to them and turned to Miss Ulaxasys. "I will see you soon," she nodded after some hesitation.
A few seconds later, I was in an elevator with a half-dwarf woman.
"Where are we going?" I asked. I am not scared; even they wouldn't dare to do anything to a Master. Also, it is not their style.
If they wanted to finish me, they would have done that in my own city.
The woman remained mum to my question, and I didn't ask further. Though it made me curious, and now I really want to know where she is taking me in this massive tower.
The elevator moved up fast. If it were not for the number flashing in front of me, I wouldn't have been able to tell the floors.
Finally, it stopped near the top. At the 93rd floor, the woman walked out.
This floor is sparse; there are barely any people, and those I saw felt like High-Mages.
It made me want to sigh; in front of such power, I am nothing. Though it also motivated me to be something more. So that even powers like these could be disregarded.
We reached the end of the hall, and there was a big door. The woman took a large iron key, twisted it, and then opened the door.
As she opened the door, I saw there was a film covering it. I cannot see what is inside.
I didn't have to wait for long as she took a step inside, and I followed her and saw what was inside. The moment I did, my eyes couldn't help but light up.
There is a teleportation gate in front of me.