Soul of Searing Steel

Chapter 630: Those Ten Thousand Worlds

Given that the distance between Kronos and Mycroft was simply too distant, portals could not be constructed with ordinary spells if not there was no teleportation hub on the scale of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds.

“According to the results from four ‘Star Observatories’, the world of Mycroft is actually very close to the bottom layer of the Abyss.”

In a hidden valley in the Kronos Mountains, Barnil was explaining things to Joshua while he controlled the extremely complex runic formations right before him. Around them were hundreds of runic puppets he had summoned, assisting him with repairs on the Observer .

“In fact, circumstances were not exactly identical. But to make an analogy that is easy to understand, the Multiverse is a boundless sphere, while we are located at the bottommost arc, effectively a line’s breadth from the Abyss.”

“Even so, this world—Kronos, the five-hundred-something level of the Abyss, is simply too far away from Mycroft, and portals can’t be fully established… We have to rely on our own power to travel through to Void if we want to go back.”

That was also why Barnil was now repairing the Observer, the airship that belonged to him and William. Be that as it may, it was not impossible to travel through the Void by solely relying on their own bodies—the cost of energy for that was too simply too great, however, and there was no need for such wastefulness.

“No, I’m not concerned over why portals can’t be built. I just want to know when we could go back.”

Joshua had been sitting on a boulder by the edge of the valley, staring boringly at clouds. Still, having heard Barnil, he glanced sideways at the Legendary mage and sneered. “Don’t find excuses—you two just wanted to stay a little longer with the Ancient Dragon, otherwise you would not have been incapable of repairing the Observer within a week. When the fight started, I even absorbed the first wave of firepower! The airship is undamaged apart from being splashed with the Void Behemoth’s bodily fluids on its surface.”

“Heh.”

Barnil lifted a brow but did not deny the claim, his entire face essentially beaming in happiness. “It’s not like you are short on time either, right?” He said leisurely. “I could see that you’re also putting quite the effort in instructing that Drakonid girl. Just stay in this world for a little while more since the Drakonids definitely need our help as well.”

And true to the fact, Joshua was not short on time, or to put it in another way—he was had set aside three months inwardly for the search of the Ancient Dragon. Instead, it had been less than a month up until now and everything was concluded. Logically speaking that means it was time for recreation, but somehow, Joshua could not withstand the ambiance of having nothing to do.

Perhaps the two Legendary mages were right. He was born to toil, unable to stay still.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha…”

Nearby, footsteps rich in rhythm and heavy panting could be heard. Joshua looked up to find the figure of the girl who had been running through the valley to train.

Lisa was wearing the all-white uniform of the Skypiercing White Tower tailored to her size, her hair tied into a single ponytail as she ran along a cliff while sweating profusely. The vertical mountain wall that she was running on was almost ninety degrees, parallel to the ground surface—she had hence been triggering the electric current in her body, holding her onto the mountain wall so that she would not drop.

To those who trained in Actuate Bolt, normal jogging training had no meaning. They were tougher than horses and as explosive as cheetahs, and could keep going over forty kilometers without panting at a slower pace. That was why Joshua had Lisa train on various unique spots—such as running on a cliff, walking over water, swimming in sand and so forth.

Such training was a norm for extraordinary individuals. It was the same method Joshua had used to train his apprentices—Amelia and the others from the Winter Fort Academy.

Furthermore, the systematic refinement was better than miscellaneous grinding and would provide better results. Lisa’s heart, spirit and will were all sturdy enough, and she possessed inconceivable fundamentals thanks to the Ancient Dragon Blood. What she needed now was to be instructed with the systemized Extraordinary knowledge in Mycroft, and be empowered smoothly.

Though Joshua could instruct her in fundamentals as one who had ascended, it was better for her to learn with peers in the Winter Fort Academy. Everyone had their own choices, and if he interfered too early she might unwittingly assume his path… although it was not as if the way of Legend was not good, it may not be suitable for the young girl.

Now, the warrior would only instruct Lisa in the most basic of training, correcting her mistakes in applying Actuate Bolt, which made Lisa very pleased. Unlike other girls of the same age, she had a great desire for power and was able to take any form of training, regardless of difficulty. Joshua genuinely admired such desired since those who had been undemanding tend to have a hard time in rising up, as well as being unable to pour all focus on a singular matter, and therefore naturally unable to empower themselves rapidly.

“Lift your tail a bit, don’t let it reduce your stamina… How is Syndicate now?”

Joshua gave a few pointers about her erred posture when he saw Lisa running through the nearby cliff, before asking about his apostle. “William healed it for some time a few days ago, shouldn’t it have recovered by now?”

“Yes, sir!” The Drakonid girl quickly replied energetically, unable to suppress a grin over Joshua’s question. “Mister Syndicate had healed much—a few nights ago, it had even chatted with me for a while after awakening!”

In the underground ruin, the balrog had effectively given its life essence at zero cost by breaking its demonic pact with the Draknoid girl, allowing Lisa to become a being of three bloodlines: ‘balrog’, ‘Ancient Dragon’, and ‘Drakonid, while its soul was also fused into her body, mutually living with the girl. Lisa certainly benefited from that, and there was probably no being with such excellent natural conditions even on the Mycroft Continent—when the pure Ancient Dragon Bloodline and the demon’s vigor were used at the same time, the girl’s body would be improved up to Silver-tier. Most dragons of the same age would not be as her, though the only downside may be that Lisa would not grow taller due to overgrowth.

For Lisa to be benefited meant that the balrog would have to take up the pitfalls. Due to its Origins being transferred, the demon’s soul was promptly critically injured, and it would have been left in pieces if not for Lisa’s careful protection. Fortunately, there was a Mind Lord who had traveled along with Joshua—William, the accomplished Legend in the spiritual aspect. Though he had not broken through to Soul Mastery, it was not an issue to heal one mere demon soul.

When William played his part seriously, even Demon Generals had to be cautious or they would be sealed and end up a vegetable. To completely repair Syndicate’s soul was no issue, but given that its soul was its Origin, there was no healing that aspect other than through slow self-regeneration over time, which was why it was now in a state of being half-awake and half-asleep.

“Soul and body complement each other, just like the cycle of Flame and Steel… and what Syndicate lacks is a body.”

Joshua muttered irresolutely as he watched Lisa ran excitedly into the distance, and kept his head up toward the flowing clouds in the sky, his thinking rather distracted. “William and Barnil attained much Ancient Dragon Blood from the source itself—I’ll ask them for some when the time comes, and use it as a base to built a new body for Syndicate.

At the moment, the silver Ancient Dragon was at the heart of the Desert of God, adjusting the Order cycle in Kronos. Though it did not think highly of Joshua and the others at first, it became filled with gratitude after the warrior had reignited the Flame of Kronos. Therefore, when Barnil and William requested some of its blood, it did not even think before giving them one drop.

That was, a drop that was about two tons heavy.

It was perfectly ordinary. All things of the world were born from the Ancient Dragons, and were children of their bloodlines. It would take no mind about just a little blood, even if its relationship with Joshua remained a curious one: though the human did chase off all others spying upon its power and reignited the Flame of Kronos, it still remembered that punch which awakened it.

Joshua understood too, which was why he did his best to not meet the Ancient Dragon, with the well-spoken William acting as a go-between for the both of them. As the Wandering Poet, a focused William was very much a being of explosive Charm, a polar opposite with the warrior—additionally, he was radically passionate about Ancient Dragons, which was he simply stayed in the Desert of God over the last few days and did not return.

“…Those two old codgers… couldn’t have fallen in love with the Ancient Dragon, right?”

Joshua could not help but blow a raspberry at the thought. While it was not a dark inference on his part, anyone who had seen the two Legendary mages fervent behavior toward the Ancient Dragon over the last few days would definitely though that way.

***

In the Kronos Mountains, the Drakonids that were rebuilding their homes found that the skies were unexpectedly caring.

In the days they had to shift debris and excavate any usable items, the entire mountains would have ten thousand miles of clear skies, with no hint of rain. When their clean freshwater reserves were lacking and they needed to water urgently cultivated land, there would be a mild shower. Under the Legendary champions’ watch, the Drakonids would not face any excess troubles—they just had to do their best to rebuild their settlements and redevelop their civilizations.

William and Barnil had discussed with Joshua about their intentions to observe the development of primitive Drakonid civilization. The two provided their assurances that they would keep a safe distance and carry out their research without the natives knowing which in turn would not distort their civilizations and cultural liberation. The two also suggested that they would do all they can to improve the Drakonids’ technological standards in compliance to those rules.

“Kronos is simply too far for us,” Barnil had said then, “and impossible to conquer at the very first place. That’s why it’s better to establish an observation point to watch the development of primitive Extraordinary civilizations—it is necessary to build a better foundation for our world of Mycroft.”

“The Ancient Dragon Blood in Drakonid bodies are too pure,” he further explained. “It has no impurities and directly inherited from the first generation that is the Ancient Dragon itself, possessing far more depth than the Old-World Dragons of the Mycroft Continent. When the Drakonids established a basic civilization, we would then be able to interact with them normally, turning that force into ours.

There was no arguing the point—Joshua was aware that conquering a primitive civilization would not benefit the Mycroft civilization, with the possibility of them having to spoon-feed so that they would develop. It was hence better to use an assortment of ways to accelerate their progress, and draw them to their own faction through trade or alliances… Nevertheless, the warrior also found it vital that Kronos did not have any resources and was simply a mountain-range sized ecosphere. Perhaps no faction would find it profitable.

Moreover, it was too risky given that portals could not be established, and the only way of transport was Void navigation.

It was therefore a very reasonable solution which Joshua would not refuse. In truth, he found Drakonids to be exceedingly gifted innately, an attribute which Mycroft peoples could never compare, rationally speaking of course. That, however, was not important. People of Mycroft never reject such notions—in fact, they were adept at assimilating such races.

In the past, humans had been surpassed in innate talents by both elves and dwarves, but who apart from radical racist would be concerned over the difference between the three now? Intermarriage were at an extreme threshold in Mycroft—one might even say that hybrids of all races lived in that continent as long as there was no selective procreation.

Others notwithstanding, Hill and Funa were the best example—a elf-sea dragon couple, and yet divided not by race but by ability.

“What was more, it’s not like portals can’t be built.”

Closing his eyes, Joshua continued his deep thought. Through his battle against multiple Legendary champions and the Black Mists, his assimilation progress with Steel Strength rose considerably once more. More importantly, he did not lose control of himself to divinity in such a fierce fight, sufficiently proving he was on the right path to ‘Soul Mastery’.

Both Barnil and William were right, too. With the current technology of the Mycroft Continent, there was definitely no way they could build portal here at Kronos. But current technology missing the mark did not mean that the technology of predecessors would as well. Through the power of the reactivated Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, it was almost too easy to link portals, for it was a dimensional hub that transcends dimensional regions, connecting any worlds the entire Multiverse.

There was nothing to be ashamed of to borrow the power of their predecessors either. Standing on the shoulders of giants was one way for civilization to develop at the very start—as long as they did not become over-reliant on the predecessors’ relics, obsessing over how they could surpass them or advance on their path. Joshua was convinced that the Mycroft people had not sunk to such state, for their hearts were still thriving with fire.

Joshua opened his eyes and swept a gaze over the Kronos mountains. The Drakonids’ villages had been mostly rebuilt—the natives having greater productivity than most races. Be it logging, building houses or farming, all were easy tasks for them even as they labored under the instructions of their leaders.

To connect such a world should be the proper usage for the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds: searching for worlds worth linking, finding races they could ally with, and expand the horizon of the world of Mycroft, allowing the flame of civilization to illuminate an area that kept growing until it covers the entire Multiverse.

Joshua could not help thinking about the future. If things kept developing as it did now, the world of Mycroft would develop at an unimaginable speed through the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds. Perhaps, in centuries, there would be doors to ten thousand worlds connected to Mycroft, with countless races assembling beneath Mycroft’s banner and advancing toward the distant Multiverse.

That was the spirit the Sage held when he built the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds.

“However, the process might not be all smooth sailing.”

Joshua drew out a crystal plated test tube from this chest, inside of which were concentrated Steel Strength and magnetic field that sealed a little cluster of ‘Black Mist’, rendering each of its fundamental particles immobile.

Given that there was light amongst the stars, there assuredly would be darkness. Whether it was Evil Gods, Abyss or other civilizations, none of them would sit idly by and watch as the world of Mycroft progressed so. There would be one day when war between them would be waged once again.

“When the time comes… it wouldn’t be little squabbles such as this.” Joshua muttered to himself, his expression calm as he put the test tube back into his pocket. His gaze was distant, as if piercing the Void to see the Path of Light that stretches across the Multiverse.

It would certainly be a war that involved races of ten thousand worlds, a battle that would tremble even the entire Multiverse.

Epilogue: Door to Ten Thousand Worlds. End