828 Pseudo Artifacts

Arthur came out of the fissure, leaving the city to form. Not even he could get close, or else he would be seen by the crown and recognized as a threat. Instead, he was lucky enough to know about this first.

Mountain Range Rovero has always been the odd place about Kera. It separates the Yalveran from the Lesser Blood Ocean, where all kinds of phenomena occur. Thus, no one bats an eye over the strange occurrences here, like the rising of the dead.

As he reached the mountain’s base, the light restored its trajectory, so the visual disturbances disappeared. Arthur was left to look at the crack in s.p.a.ce, wondering how to hide it for long enough.

If the seven families heard about the Second Holy Crown Trial, they would start their preparations. From what Arthur gathered, this won’t be like the first trial, with many trial grounds. Instead, it would be one big city for all the survivors.

Therefore, whoever knows its location and controls the area would hold power over the rest of the families. Arthur knew about this, so he decided to hide it and use it as a bargaining chip during his upcoming ‘negotiations.’

Thus, Arthur got down to business. He raised his hand and started writing an array, linking four runes together. They were meant to hide the distortions of s.p.a.ce and deter pa.s.sersby around the mountain.

After he was done, Arthur realized that an array of this magnitude needed a power source. So, he connected the runic lines to the forest around the mountain, making several trees as the incubators for the future mana stones. Then, he placed several of them inside a tree groove before recording the coordinates.

Joe was grooming Molly when Arthur returned, and the arrays around the three-stories building were fully activated. However, Arthur walked into the premises without triggering them, making Joe look at him in shock.

“Are these broken?” asked the bartender, feeling confused.

“Nope, just a bad match against me,” said Arthur as he rubbed the wolf’s muzzle, and its eyes turned into crescents. “I miss Kira more than I thought.”

“Have you heard the howls inside the fissure?” asked Joe with expectations, but Arthur shook his head. “I figured as much. That place is quite distorted. Maybe if you linger around, you’d hear it again.”

“I figured out where I would find it, but I’ll have to wait until the right time. To keep Kira safe, I hid the mountain and the fissure and built an array for that purpose. However, it needs continuous mana stones to operate.”

“I can take care of that.”

“I would hate to ask it of you, but I trust no one else to go by without raising suspicions. My shadows will help and protect you, but they cannot handle such delicate stones.”

“There is no need to mention it, Arthur. I have a few for the arrays, and I can share what I don’t use.”

“A generous offer, but the arrays need twenty crystals every week,” said Arthur, making the man’s jaws drop. A regular array would need one per month, and those were the demanding ones. “I would make some arrangements, for that matter. All you need to do is to go to these coordinates and place the stones in a tree groove.”

“What if someone finds them?”

“The arrays would deter anyone from entering,” said Arthur before patting the man’s shoulder. “Anyone except you. Be careful, and never tread too close to the fissure. As for your arrays, I will make a few modifications which should make them stronger by at least two tiers.”

Joe was grateful, and Arthur got to work. He replaced the protection runes with his own, making the array more than just a cheap replica.

Then, he bid Joe farewell and left the mountain range. As soon as he found a stable s.p.a.ce to compress, Arthur started teleporting back toward his fortress, situated in the deep Living Forests of Ilios.

Although the roots and branches grew too close to the fortress, it worked to hide them from the emperor’s scouts. After all, they were the primary threat living inside his empire. Arthur teleported back toward the main hall, where Julia instructed Yuran and Alan.

“What is going on?” asked Arthur as he saw the three deep in thought about something, only to be surprised by his sudden appearance.

“I keep forgetting you can teleport into this fortress,” said Julia with a sigh before she presented a list for him. “These are the names we chose so far.”

“Rotten Legion, Fallenbane, Highcry, Gentledawn, Windlanders, Thunderlight, Steelshade, Armsmiths, Brightscars, Venomglades,” read Arthur of them in one go. “These would do. However, why are all of them one-worded except for one?”

“We decided to make Rotten Legion the vagabond of Ascent, sending them as reinforcements to the others. This way, we can make for a better hierarchy.”

“Establish a ranking system according to their dungeons clearings, and distribute resources according to their ranks. We need them to compete.”

“Infighting might occur,” advised Alan.

“Then, prohibit it. If anyone attacks a guildsman of our own, we will treat him as an enemy. If two guilds fight, then both of them are dissolved.”

“Extreme measures serve as a good threat,” agreed Yuran. “If these names are good enough, we can register them in Glory List as sub-guilds of our own. This way, their clearing would also count as our own.”

“Then, these men will be counted as a part of Ascent?” asked Arthur with a raised brow, and Yuran nodded. “If so, forge badges for them containing our emblem. Our weapons and armor will also have the same mark, making it the most feared around Earth.”

“This might be the most well-invested guild creation of all time,” said Julia while hugging the clipboard. “However, we still lack the money to arm all these men.”

“And we need even more money for a few outside expenses, ” Arthur said. “We’ll need to procure a hundred high-grade mana stones.”

“…now?”

“Every month,” said Arthur, making Julia stare at him as if he was crazy. “They should total to ten million dollars, right?”

“I thought you didn’t know their price for a second,” said Julia, snapping out of her daze. “A few millions are enough to build an army, so what use do you have for so many stones?”

“We are paying for an advantage,” grinned Arthur. “I found the Second Holy Crown Trial,” revealed Arthur, shocking the three.

“Has it begun?” asked Yuran with fear, knowing this would be a world-shaking event. “We still need more time.”

“We have a few months, at best,” said Arthur. “However, I managed to hide it for now, and the mana crystals are for that purpose. There is, however, no need to worry. I’ve been working for the past day to build a new system.”

“I did hear you working inside one of the storage rooms,” said Alan while folding his arms. “If something takes a day from this world’s creator, it must be mind-blowing.”

“You can judge for yourself,” Arthur said before leading the way deeper into the fortress. “This room is close to the core, so it will operate using our energy reserves. Make sure to keep it running at all times.”

“Keep the room running for what purpose, Arthur? Just tell us,” said Julia as she skipped steps ahead of him. Arthur smiled and didn’t answer, making her annoyed. “You theatrical b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

“Just be patient,” said Arthur as they reached the room. “Remember that the existence of this room will be one of our biggest secrets. I want no one here other than the founding members.”

As all three nodded in understanding, Arthur opened the door with locking runes to ensure no one could enter. The room was dark, so he flipped a switch for bright lights to shine down upon the oval conveyor belt.

“What is this place?” asked Julia, the only one knowledgeable about runes. “Is this an a.s.sembly line like the ones in factories?”

“Indeed,” nodded Arthur as he walked toward the first giant machine hovering over the belt. “This will move weapons around through these machines. Then, once they enter four stages of inspection, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, inscription, and testing, the weapons would be ready.”

“What would they do?” asked Yuran as he touched the smooth surface of the giant pillar, which connected to the other side of the belt. “Are they for forging weapons?”

“This a.s.sembly line will take weapons and turn them into artifacts. Not artificial ones, but not genuine ones, either. I will call them pseudo-artifacts, but the public does not need to know that.”

All three were silent as they froze in place. The members stared at Arthur as if he was a madman for uttering those words, but they knew better than to doubt him. It made it even harder to take in.

“You created an… artifact that creates artifacts?” asked Julia while gulping down. The notion was absurd, even after vocalizing it.

“I did.”