Chapter 85: A Month In Storven

The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

“I was expectin’ a little more from this…”

“What? Like trumpets and a see-off party? The soldiers are exhausted to the bone after that battle and mostly asleep, at least the night watch are waving you farewell,” Clyburn replied. “Is it not enough attention for our young hero’s liking?”

“Quit teasin’ me Mister Clyburn!” Fenton protested, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean it like that…”

“The reason for moving out at night is to avoid anyone knowing your departure time. With things the way they are, the Collective can’t risk losing a talent like you,” the spatiomancer in charge of their teleportation said. The man was Enias Weller, who Orodan had aided during the fighting. “And you Mister Wainwright, you shall keep our young prodigy safe, yes?”

“Me? I’m just an employee of the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild, I can’t fight,” Orodan replied.

“You’re a horrible liar,” Zaessythra remarked.

The spatiomancer narrowed his eyes at him.

“Of course, of course… a non-combatant,” the man said, looking at Orodan’s size and demeanor and looking as though he didn’t believe it in the slightest. “Metallurgy, Engineering and Alchemy too… some interesting techniques you used during the battle. I knew not who you were then, but my cousin who works out of the Ironhaven Isles spoke of an Orodan Wainwright helping him in the lab. Scant on any details, but he had nothing but high praise for you. Rather multi-talented man, aren’t you?”

“I dabble in a thing or two,” Orodan replied.

“Unlike us civilized folk who can afford to specialize in a singular field, Mister Wainwright’s upbringing in the bog islands is of a more unforgiving bent. There, a man must not only know how to mold metal, but also how to counteract the various poisons and naturally toxic flora,” Clyburn explained. “His alchemic abilities were honed during that time.”

“A bog islander eh? Interesting. Well, who am I to pry into the affairs of another? Especially one who’s done us such good and personally saved me from a fate worse than death during battle,” Enias Weller said, dropping the matter easily enough. “Come gentlemen, your carriage awaits.”

The remainder of the day after the awarding had been spent erecting the unused pillars of purification across the hot zone. Orodan doubted the Eldritch would try a frontal assault any time soon with these things in place, at least, not without the backing of the Prophet.

Orodan and Fenton had also been hard at work reforging and enchanting the arms and war machines of the standing army stationed here. Even without any aid, these troops could now fend off hordes dozens of times their number. And more importantly, the lad had helped improve the anti-spatiomancy wards and defences of Lonvoron. Even plague worlds would now face an uphill battle creating spatial rifts through which invading forces could come through.

All in all, it had been a successful trip to the front lines, and everything Orodan had planned for had come to fruition thus far. Including a potential avenue for finding the previous looper in a months’ time.

“Ugh…” Fenton groaned.

“We’re headed to Storven young Fenton, what could you possibly be unhappy for?” Clyburn asked.

“Aye ser, always wanted to see the capital I did. But on the other side o’ this rift… is my new life at the university…”

Orodan rolled his eyes at Fenton looking like someone had robbed him. With a friendly nudge, he bullied the lad into the carriage.

“The pittance I instructed you in is nothing compared to the wealth of different views, theories and disciplines you’ll have access to at this university,” Orodan said, entering the carriage himself alongside Clyburn, causing it to unhappily creak at his heft. “Focus on learning as much as you can. Read ahead, seek things out on your own, use the opportunity to its fullest extent.”

A proper education had done absolute wonders for Orodan himself during his early loops. For Fenton, it could only be a boon of the greatest sort.

“And what about all the blue-bloods that’ll try to give me a rough time?” Fenton asked.

“Just give them a be-”

Clyburn loudly cleared his throat, interrupting Orodan’s sagely advice.

“What Mister Wainwright means to say, is that you should play your cards close to your chest and react appropriately to any incidents. Especially when the capital is a pit filled with the most venomous vipers in the Collective. Many of them would want nothing more than to see your and my reputations dragged through the dirt,” Clyburn advised. “Which isn’t to say you can’t defend yourself or your honor. Just… be smart about it.”

Well… perhaps someone should have told Orodan that when he had attended Bluefire for the first time. There would have been far fewer traumatized nobles and bruised egos.

The driver of the carriage however spoke up, adding her opinion to the matter.

“The young master needn’t worry too much. Plenty of the attending students are base-born as well, and quite a few of the noble houses are all too happy to act well towards talented common folk if it means they’ll get to ask favors in the future,” the woman explained. “My son’s a first year; Adept metallurgist, almost Elite. He tells me the school gives him preferential treatment and the nobility shower him with gifts hoping he’ll work for their house or affiliated guilds when he graduates.”

“That don’t sound too bad…” Fenton muttered.

The sound of a hand slapping the metal frame of the carriage could be heard from outside.

“Alright, rift’s ready, off you go,” Enias Weller said.

“Aye my lord, I’ll get them to Storven safe and sound,” the driver said.

The carriage hissed, belching steam, and then… it sped right on and into the expanded spatial rift.

Spatial travel whether through his own hand, or while inside vehicle passing through the rift made by another, was much the same for Orodan. Fenton though, looked on with a star-struck look in his eyes. Well… he couldn’t fault the boy; especially if it was his first time experiencing spatiomancy directly.

The time spent within the rift was less than a second, especially with how relatively near Storven was compared to the spatial rifts connecting Lonvoron to far-away plague worlds. And once they were through…

[Vision of Purity 81 → Vision of Purity 83]

…Orodan’s head felt as though it would explode. All of him really, thanks to the sheer strain in having his skill account for an entire city. Excellent gains though, and he had no interest in stopping, even as he bled from numerous parts of his form from the mental strain.

The sights though, were beautiful. After all… it was a city of steam, metal and magic.

Orodan had been to Storven before, but with all the chaos of that long loop, hadn’t really had the time to get a good look at the city itself. Now though, being on the street level, he had to admit it was beautiful. Pretty paved stone roads upon which metal steam-powered vehicles traversed, railroads tracks winding about, not just on the ground level but even on the higher levels of the city, connecting to some of the taller buildings’ upper floors. A number of smaller flying vehicles too, though these looked reserved for city watch patrols and the wealthy, and there was plenty of foot traffic on the roads as people went to their destinations or customers perused streetside stores.

Long trench coats were common wear, with most people holding an umbrella above their heads. That of course, was due to the ever-present rain and fog, which barely allowed the untrained and naked eye to see farther than a hundred feet ahead. Still, not everyone slogged through the inclement weather and ankle-high water in a mundane manner. A few wealthy individuals, typically well-dressed in ostentatious attire, had enchanted devices which warded off the rain and caused the water on the ground to part for them. And while Orodan didn’t particularly care for frilly folk, it was a good sign for the economy when people were wealthy enough to go about showing off their money. Business looked to be booming as folk were going in and out of storefronts at a steady clip while the transport of goods and materials was ever-present.

Storven seemed a happy city. He wasn’t sure if the word had spread about the plague’s recent defeat, but the spirits of the average citizen seemed quite high.

Of course, despite the prosperity, even the wealthiest of cities had their share of chaos added to the mix.

“They’ve got that fellow surrounded…” Fenton muttered, looking out the carriage window.

Indeed, on the street corner, five members of the constabulary had an unassuming man clapped in irons. The arresting group didn’t seem malicious in their actions, rather it appeared to be entirely expected that they do what they were doing. Even the man being put in cuffs appeared fine with it.

Orodan’s hearing picked up on what was being said.

“Thank you for not causing a fuss, this is just a formality and we’ll get the matter squared away soon as we can with some compensation provided for your time,” the senior constable said. “We’ll try to get you out quick as we can.”

“I shan’t cause you any trouble sirs. I’m an honest businessman and the Blessing came in out of nowhere,” the man replied. “I want it off just as much as you do. Even with the plague being driven back, we’ve all got a part to play in safeguarding our world.”

“We appreciate your understanding. Here, let me just double lock the irons and I’ll get you a

The officers of the law and the arrested individual seemed entirely civil. But a nearby haggardly dressed man who was watching, wasn’t.

“A travesty! A shame! The King suppresses the righteous Blessings granted by the Gods themselves! Divine wrath shall befall the Collective!” the haggardly man angrily declared in protest. “The plague shall destroy us all!”

Other citizens however, weren’t as understanding of the protester.

“Silence your tongue you treacherous vermin! The plague’s been struck a great blow recently and you still want to give our diligent officers a hard time? You’re a bloody traitor! Why I ought to cuff you with the back of my hand!”

“Oof! I won’t be silenced!”

Soon, the protesting man and the nearby unhappy citizen were locked in a scuffle, and the constables were forced to rush in and break them up. But as they did, the Blessed man who was in cuffs met the gaze of a particular person…

…Fenton Penny, who happened to be looking out the carriage window.

A device around the constables’ necks went off, indicating that something was wrong. But Orodan had felt the insidious tendrils of divine energy crossing the dimensional boundary well before that.

Before Fenton could react, before anyone knew what was going on even, Orodan’s Domain of Perfect Cleaning shot out and utterly eradicated the offending God’s attempt at granting Fenton a Blessing. He had seen what unwanted Blessings could do to someone.

The best strength was the sort earned through one’s own sweat and toil. Power borrowed from the divine oft came with a hidden leash, and before one knew it, they would become beholden to a new master.

It hadn’t even been the poor Blessed who’d tried Blessing Fenton, but the God empowering them. And suddenly, divine power descended upon the Blessed businessman who was in cuffs. The poor man didn’t have long left, his body clearly unused to such power.

The cuffs, meant for stifling the flow of divine energy, were strained heavily. But this gave the constabulary time to react.

“Avatar!” a younger constable called out in panic.

The senior officer though, was a quick hand, and immediately stabbed a device onto the Avatar’s shoulder before it could gain further power. Immediately, it began draining the excess energy. A secondary device, an orb, was then deployed and the connection between host and God was swiftly cut.

“Bloody hell… an actual Avatar? Why on-”

Unfortunately, the fight still wasn’t over. In its last moments of consciousness, the Avatar’s eyes turned to the haggard man who had protested the situation in the first place. And another intrusive Blessing was laid.

The constables were occupied with safely subduing the first Blessed when the divine power of a God blazed through this second man. The Avatar’s eyes locked onto Fenton, and Orodan was on the cusp of damning the consequences and ending the threat when a high-power bullet impacted the Avatar’s leg. The divine power flowing through the man immediately began lowering as a result.

Divine energy unwillingly fizzled out, blocked by the disruptive nature of the bullet, and a man clad in a gilded dark trench coat with the accoutrements of an inquisitor leapt down from the roof of a nearby building.

He certainly felt more powerful than the last inquisitor Orodan had seen. Transcendent-level.

“H-high Inquisitor… my lord, to see you here?”

“At ease constable. This was never a job meant for officers of the law… although with the inquisition in tatters it’s unfortunately been pushed onto your already overworked constabulary,” the man said. “You’ve done well finding the bearer of this illegal Blessing, we can take over from here.”

“Yes my lord, thank you for your aid.”

Their carriage sped on, leaving Fenton entirely unaware of the fact that both Avatars were quite intent on targeting him. Furthermore, something about the High Inquisitor made Orodan feel as though he was looking at a slimy leech. Outwardly, and even with Vision of Purity, he noticed nothing wrong with the man. But he just couldn’t shake the feeling that the man couldn’t be trusted.

Especially since nobody but Orodan had noticed the glance the High Inquisitor had given Fenton Penny as their carriage sped away.

Fenton though, looked to have questions aplenty.

“What was that? The man glowed like he was possessed!”

“Best not to ask too many questions about that sort of thing young master,” their carriage driver remarked. “Some odd business going on between the inquisition and those who receive unlawful Blessings. Although… can’t recall the last time I saw anyone who had one of those lawfully.”

Orodan had told Fenton in length of many of his adventures. The lad knew what an Avatar was, and looked to be holding his tongue while in earshot of the driver.

Soon enough, the winding streets and bustling roads of Storven led them to a rather opulent campus, a walled-off section of the city where ordinary foot traffic wasn’t allowed. Green front garden, soldiers guarding the front gate, it was all quite wealthy-looking. There were manors dotting the grounds too, alongside a central building which was quite decently-sized, akin to a castle.

“Right, we’ve arrived at last sirs, if you would exit the carriage,” the driver said while disembarking herself.

“Quite the expansive grounds,” Clyburn remarked while looking around. “Is this to be where we shall work? Which other Guilds are based out of here?”

“Er… none sir Clyburn. Just the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild,” the woman said.

“That is… a bit much,” Clyburn muttered. “Well, I suppose my surprise is unwarranted. Of course the crown’s reward would be generous. It’s just a little rare for a property to remain entirely unused until our arrival, especially in the capital where land sells at a ridiculous premium.”

“The crown’s had this property reserved for a while now sir. I believe it was meant to be bestowed upon whoever won the competition,” the driver explained and handed Clyburn an enchanted pass. “Never used one of these things myself, but supposedly it controls entry to the grounds and can duplicate to let you give copies to trusted folk.”

Without needing to think about it, the chief engineer of the Guild made two copies and handed them to Orodan and Fenton.

“I could make a few modifications to this too…” Fenton muttered.

“I’m sure you’ll have the grounds turned inside out with wards and defenses before the day’s up young Fenton,” Clyburn said and then looked to the largest building on the grounds. “I know my guild members should have arrived ahead of us. Did they set up in there?”

“Aye sir, about two dozen of them. I’m told they have a number of the workshops and rooms prepared already. Plenty of crown laborers and builders in there too, finishing up the final bits of work,” the woman explained. “But the manors have been left mostly untouched. Admiral said you might want to decorate them yourselves.”

“Decorate? I wouldn’t mind havin’ me own wing for experiments,” Fenton said excitedly. “But er… miss, do you know if my mum’s here yet? I was told they’d be sendin’ her over as well?”

“I think a look at the balcony above will answer that question lad,” Orodan said, gesturing for Fenton to look behind him and up to see his mother waving at him from a distance.

Fenton’s expression lightened, and he immediately waved back with enthusiasm.

“Mister Orodan can I-”

“Go be with your mother. You hardly need to ask me for permission…” he replied and then looked to Clyburn. “To the guild hall?”

“To the guild hall indeed! Let us see how the relocation has been going,” Clyburn replied cheerily. “Meet us there whenever you’re ready young Fenton. The matter of your education yet awaits.”

“But ser… do I really have to?”

“Would you prefer I ask your mother what her opinion on the matter is?” Clyburn queried with a smile which had Fenton shivering.

“N-no! No! That won’t be necessary ser, I’ll be good!”

The lad skipped off to the manor he and his mother would be residing in, and the driver bade them farewell as Orodan and Clyburn walked towards the giant guild hall.

“Of course, the grounds has a residence for you too Mister Wainwright. I can see at least three unused manors and you’re more than welcome to have your pick of any,” Clyburn offered. “The crown has been generous given our accomplishments, and I’d feel bad if you didn’t have the chance to savor at least a bit of the wealthy life in Storven.”

“The offer is appreciated, but I shall have to decline. I need no food or sleep anyhow and there’s far too much to do for me to be lounging in a lavish manor,” Orodan replied. “Especially when our enemies may not be limited to just the Eldritch.”

“That incident upon our arrival? You mean to say they were making an attempt on us?” Clyburn asked, putting two and two together.

“Both times the Avatars looked towards Fenton,” Orodan revealed. “I also intervened without anyone’s knowledge and thwarted a Blessing about to be put upon him.”

Which meant that Orodan didn’t plan on letting Fenton get too far from him anytime soon. Dimensional Step and Teleportation were more than sufficient in allowing him to reach the lad quickly, but he’d be taking it a step further by remaining within a range where he could watch the boy with Vision of Purity.

Yes, he could simply fortify the lad against Blessings via his Celestial skill. But Orodan was truly hoping to avoid using that much as he could until he had his target in sight. He had been suspecting for a while now that Fenton had something special, and Orodan wasn’t sure if using Domain of Perfect Cleaning to fortify Fenton against any possible corruption would trigger some sort of detection.

Not to mention, if he gained another level in his Celestial skill, he’d be one more step closer to Embodiment and blow his cover with all the attention that would draw. There was no hiding it, the cosmos itself shook and many parties had become aware upon the last level gain Orodan had experienced in that skill. Even approaching Embodiment was like lighting a blazing beacon across System space.

“Concerning news… I take it you wish to keep the boy nearer to yourself? I can look into giving you an assistant professor or faculty member position at-”

“Going that far won’t be necessary. Long as he remains within a hundred miles I’m confident in being able to reach him instantly,” Orodan clarified. “After all, I’ll have my hands full working as your assistant Guild leader.”

“That you will. It’s also a position that will see you frequently visiting Acadia University where I plan on enrolling him,” Clyburn explained. “Come, let us head inside and speak as we do. I know you’ve spoken of facing Avatars before… but what could possess one to do such a thing?”

The duo neared the double doors of the guild hall.

“An Avatar isn’t exactly a creature of its own, it’s merely the consciousness of a God descending unto a Blessed host. The real question then, is why would a God attempt to reach Fenton?” Orodan rhetorically asked. “That, I cannot answer. I’m unaware of what relationship Lonvoron and the Blackworth Collective have with their Gods. I only know that never have I seen a God of your peoples.”

Neither the first time he’d been here, nor in any of his subsequent visits to Lonvoron had Orodan seen any Gods of the Blackworth Collective. He’d heard in the past that Gods were a severe vulnerability while fighting the Eldritch, especially because an infected God could in turn corrupt all of their followers and Blessed. The Collective’s attempts to monitor undocumented Blessings and divine activity made a great deal of sense with that in mind.

“It’s a… complicated matter. I’m no politician Mister Wainwright, I do my work and stick to my field of study. That being said… it was a topic of heated discussion when many of our Gods returned recently,” Clyburn replied.

“Recently? Would this happen to be just over three months ago?” Orodan asked.

“Why yes, around that time before your arrival,” Clyburn remarked and then quirked his eyebrow at him. “Do you know anything about that?”

He certainly did, considering it was Orodan who was responsible for it. His purging of all the Eldritch from the divine dimension had liberated every single corrupted God under the plague’s sway. Under such circumstances, of course many of these Gods would return to Lonvoron.

But the question then… was why did a God, entirely uncorrupted by the Eldritch decide to show an unfriendly interest in Fenton Penny?

“Never mind that… the answer would only give you a headache and bring further stress upon your shoulders,” Orodan waved off. He’d told Fenton about all he’d done, but he’d held off on the full extent of it with Clyburn. The double doors of the guild hall were pushed open. “Now let’s focus on bringing your guild up to speed shall we?”

The foyer of the guild hall was spacious, and laborers were going to and fro, hauling materials, trinkets and components between what Orodan presumed was the storerooms and workshops. Otherwise there was no fancy pomp or banner, not yet. Perhaps the engineers had wanted to leave such decor for Clyburn to decide upon. The front desk, which Orodan would have thought empty if not for Vision of Purity telling him that a diminutive girl sat behind it, was the only other thing at the entrance.

She was an anxious-looking girl, and Orodan was of the opinion that the lass needed to eat a bit more lest a stray gust of wind knock her over. As Clyburn and he approached, the sight of stacks upon stacks of paper could be seen; the reason for the girl’s stress and state of anxiety no doubt.

“Good evening,” Clyburn greeted. “Sir Clyburn Anderthorn, and you are?”

“S-sir Clyburn Anderthorn?! I mean- welcome to your guild hall sir! I’m Florence Avaliro, the receptionist and acting assistant, it’s an absolute honor to have you here… sir!”

“Mental taxation is good training, but it should also be balanced by a physical regimen of equal intensity to truly advance,” Orodan said. “When was the last time you ate anything? Can’t fuel your body off of paper… without any specific skills anyhow.”

“Do go easy on the young woman Mister Wainwright, she looks quite overworked,” Clyburn said with a chuckle. “What my friend means to say is that your work is appreciated but you should also look after yourself. Managing the relocation of most of our guild must have been strenuous, you have my thanks for your work. Quite nice of them to send a young Avaliro too.”

“We’re really not all that special sir…” the girl shyly muttered while looking downwards.

“Nonsense! Your Bloodline makes you invaluable for handling administrative matters, Logistics and paperwork are naught but a breeze when an Avaliro’s around,” Clyburn declared. “Why Truxbury’s a dear friend of mine. Is he still the director of admitting for Acadia?”

“Yes sir, he speaks of you at every family dinner. About your time together at university where-”

“Oh that rascal… spreading tales of what we got up to during our younger years, I’ll have to give him a call and let him have a piece of my mind,” Clyburn said, interrupting her. “Mister Wainwright, Florence here will be your point of contact for all administrative affairs. She’s more than capable of handling the day-to-day and even the entire job. In truth, you need not even care about the logistical side of things as long as she’s here.”

The poor girl had a strained smile on her face at the sound of this, but swallowed it.

“Well, I don’t plan on entirely throwing everything on her plate. Besides, I’ve been looking forward to manually training my Logistics skill,” Orodan assuaged, much to her relief.

“Ah, where are my manners. Florence, this is Orodan Wainwright. He’ll be our assistant Guild Master. Consider him the sole authority on all matters related to the guild when I’m not around,” Clyburn said and then added. “And even when I am around, if it comes to matters regarding the safety of the guild or an emergency situation, consider him the highest authority.”

Hopefully such a thing wouldn’t need to be used.

Florence looked at him inquisitively upon hearing that.

“You possess the Logistics skill ser?”

“Aye, picked it up working at a warehouse a while back. Good skill to have,” Orodan said. “While I won’t throw everything onto your shoulders, I might be away for long periods of time, so simply throw whatever you can onto a pile meant for me and I’ll handle it whenever I return.”

“Understood sir, I shall leave the paperwork on your desk. I’m here to assist as you need however,” Florence said.

“Very good, I’m sure you two shall be working together often in the coming days. Now let’s go see how my colleagues have settled in,” Clyburn said, moving towards the workshop with Orodan. They both passed the doorway and a massive workshop became visible. “Well I’ll be… there was certainly no expense spared here.”

A nearby engineer walking by spotted the two of them and approached.

“Sir Clyburn! Mister Wainwright! You’re finally here!” the woman exclaimed, causing many of the engineers’ heads to turn. “Hey! The heroes have returned! Give it up for Orodan Wainwright and Sir Clyburn Anderthorn!”

“Hold on a moment!” Clyburn interrupted. “I’d rather give applause for all of you! The pillars of purification were a group effort!”

The engineers of course weren’t having it and instead grabbed Clyburn by the coat and hoisted him into the air in a raucous manner while cheering. Truly… these introverted folk could be quite rowdy when excited.

After a while the group settled down and Clyburn was returned to his feet.

“If we’re quite done with the celebrations… I have a few announcements to make. First, while young Fenton will continue working with us, it shall be in a part-time capacity,” Clyburn declared, causing many of the engineers to gasp and express dissatisfied looks on their faces. “Don’t look so sour, he’ll be studying at Acadia University which is practically next-door. He’ll have plenty of time to enable the inventions of you mad fools…”

Fenton had become popular with Clyburn’s engineers. The lad had a certain affable charm and humility to him, and many of them had practically adopted the boy as their younger brother. It also helped that Fenton turned their ideas and contraptions into concrete designs which could work with some clever enchanting.

“And second, effective immediately, Mister Wainwright here will be acting as the assistant Guild Master,” Clyburn declared. “His authority will be second only to mine, and we’ll be using the authority and funding granted us by the crown to begin a recruiting drive.”

Any nonsensical thoughts of them giving him the stink eye over his position were purely fictional. Orodan had worked alongside these engineers for the past three months during the construction of the pillars of purification. They knew him, his skillset and his work ethic very well. He could already see the looks of relief and approval in their eyes.

“We’re at your service sir Clyburn and we’ll gladly work under Mister Wainwright’s leadership too, but what’s the recruiting drive for? Does the crown want us to make more of the pillars?” one of the engineers asked.

“That’s part of it. On the other end, we’ve been tasked with making more devices, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter for now,” Clyburn added. “What we’ll need more bodies for though, is to compete with the larger guilds around Storven. It’s a beautiful workshop and guild hall you’ve set up here, but even one of the middling guilds on the capital’s outskirts runs a grander operation than this. We’ve barely filled this building up, and there’s plenty of unused space on these grounds. We need to expand, to fill orders and attract customers. Any success we acquire here will also benefit our operations on the Ironhaven Isles. If we’re to be a Guild, we must begin taking it seriously and expand our ventures and operations. Only with the backbone of industry behind us can we succeed in meeting the crown’s demands.”

“But sir Clyburn… won’t that attract the ire of the mighty guilds around the Capital?” an engineer asked. “They’re pretty good at causing problems for people and aren’t afraid to stoop to dirty tricks.”

“Correct. Which is why, effective immediately, you all are welcome to move your families onto the grounds. Furthermore, we now have the King’s favor. I don’t think they’ll act too brazenly given our recent accomplishments,” Clyburn replied and then looked to Orodan. “And if they do… then we have something to deal with them.”

That something being him.

“Well, what’re we waiting for?” Orodan asked. “Let’s finish up the relocation, and then… there’s plenty of work to do.”

And a university for Fenton to attend.

#

“I really don’t like this get-up Mister Orodan… makes me feel like I’m ‘bout to get taken for all me coin. This is the sort o’ thing that robbers and vagrants will be eyin’ me up for.”

“Are you really concerned about any ‘robbers and vagrants’ after the training I put you through and the battles you’ve experienced? If the sufficiency of your training is in question, I can always-”

“No! No ser, it was just a joke!” Fenton quickly amended and Orodan had an amused smile on his face. “Damn it… you nearly had me there.”

“Did I? It’s always good to continually increase the intensity of your training. Particularly when you have access to recovery elixirs and good food,” Orodan said. “Though I’ll agree that the gaudy get-up is a bit much.”

“So you agree too?! Can’t I just wear a simple cloak and trench coat like you? Why does my mum insist I look all frilly and nice for my first day at the university?” Fenton asked.

“You’re asking the wrong person. I was also dressed up like some prize stallion for my first day entering an Academy back home,” Orodan replied, recalling how Burgher Ignatius had paraded him around. “But, she might just be proud of her son and wants to see him succeed. Anyhow, this is where we part ways. Off you go. Time for you to act the genius and astound everyone you meet.”

Just like Orodan himself had done back in his younger days.

“But I already read through the curriculum for the first year, it’s so… basic.”

“Then show them how you can expand upon the basics and do them better,” Orodan reminded. “Never neglect the basics Fenton. Complex techniques and grand miracles are nice, but at root, everything starts from the foundational concepts. Remember that, and you’ll always find a way to do the impossible.”

“Yes ser, I’ll keep it in mind. You’ll be watchin’ me I suppose?” Fenton asked.

“Generally. I won’t be paying attention to your every move, but if something comes for you, I’ll know,” Orodan replied.

“Like a God tryin’ to grant me a Blessing?” Fenton asked and he confirmed with a nod. “Still can’t believe I have Gods after me…”

“You had actual Transcendents trying to kill you in the last battle, what do you care about Gods?”

“Yes ser, but they’re Gods… Gods! The actual divine’s after me!”

“You… Gods aren’t even…” Orodan trailed off and then sighed, giving up. “Never mind.”

Orodan could only shake his head at his student’s perception that Gods were somehow more impressive than Transcendents. Perhaps it was the mysticism and shroud of worship surrounding them? Orodan didn’t understand it, but he supposed if one had grown up worshipping Gods all their life then the divine would sound more impressive than a Transcendent.

Even if the truth was that Gods were merely the product of a failure to reach Transcendence.

“I’ll be careful Mister Orodan. See you after class?”

“Aye, we’ll reconvene for more training afterwards. You don’t need as much sleep nowadays thanks to your improved physical abilities,” Orodan said as they parted ways, with Fenton heading for Acadia University and Orodan heading for a venue Florence had rented and prepared ahead of time.

Orodan’s destination was right next to the Storven Engineer’s Association, a building where the various engineering guilds of the city would come to congregate and discuss guild and trade relevant matters. The Engineer’s Association was the central landmark for a plaza which was teeming with engineers or those here to peruse engineering related things.

Among the vehicles on the ground or in the air, could occasionally be seen some experimental model not available for the public; likely the brainchild of some mad engineer as not all of these experimental vehicles looked stable to Orodan’s eyes. Foot traffic was positively bustling, and the profile of the average person walking the streets around here was markedly different from the other, more commercial, parts of Storven. Aside from the heavy presence of the military and constabulary, the only other non-engineers frequenting this place were wealthy patrons and nobility with an eye out for talent or unique contraptions. The rest though, were all people who were engineers or in some way related to engineering.

Men and women who looked either surly or reclusive were making their way around the place. With odd gadgets, trinkets and devices on their person, it was obvious that these were engineers. Top hats, monocles, spyglasses and more adorned these professionals. Some of the older engineers he saw even had mechanical limbs; an interesting choice since the building and maintenance for those must’ve cost more than what it would take to simply heal a lost arm or leg.

All in all, they were an unsociable sort of people who were hurriedly marching from place to place, or had their heads buried in some text or contraption.

Being next to the Association meant that young engineers fresh out of university or seeking employment would potentially try their luck here instead of at the other guilds. The price for renting the building was appropriately outrageous, but when Clyburn had crown funding, it wasn’t a concern. The entrance to the building he’d had Florence rent out had a giant sign.

‘Hiring Engineers and Engineers-in-training. No university education required, no skill levels needed, just a good work ethic.’

Naturally, without the name of the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild associated with the sketchy sign, most of the engineers were giving it a wide berth.

“No university education required? What sort of dodgy establishment is this? An utter disgrace that the Association is allowing this to occur right next to it!”

“Never seen anything of the sort… bet they don’t even have any Elite engineers in whatever guild’s begging for hires.”

“Hold on gentlemen… can they really be begging if they can afford the rent right near the plaza’s center? I reckon there’s more to this matter…”

“Who’s that going inside? Real rough-looking fellow that one… are we sure this isn’t a criminal operation? Does the constabulary know?”

Orodan ignored all these comments as he entered the building and spotted Florence.

“Mister Wainwright! I’ve set up the signage and testing stations as you’ve asked ser,” she said.

“I see you’ve gotten some rest since we last spoke. Good,” Orodan replied. “Anyone come in yet?”

“Er… given the unorthodox nature of the recruitment, most people have been avoiding entry thus far,” she reluctantly said.

“That’s fine. I’m not looking for the best of the best candidates, just the hardest working ones. Clyburn’s running the conventional recruiting campaign in another part of the city,” Orodan said. “Give it some time. I get the feeling we’ll have our first applicants soon enough.”

Florence nodded to that, and the two sat and waited as Orodan practiced his Weaving.

“Weaving…? Your hand’s quite the steady one Mister Wainwright.”

“It’s good training.”

She slowly nodded, entranced by the slow but deeply intricate weaves he was performing.

A spectacle that was interrupted by a loud thud as the door slammed open, revealing a group of three well-dressed engineers. Two men, one woman.

“The inside’s got a number of workstations too, you sure this is a scam?”

“Look, there’s only two people inside. What reputable guild would run a recruitment operation right next to the association with just two people? Neither of them look like engineers either,” an arrogant young man said. “Told you Portia, this is just a big waste of time. Let’s report this shoddy campaign and-”

Orodan’s hand was placed upon the youth’s shoulder.

“Are you here to participate in the recruiting event?” he slowly asked, voice steady as he looked down upon the boy. “Come, if you’re so loud surely the test will not be difficult for you.”

“W-weren’t you over there…?” the youth asked, voice suddenly timid at seeing someone far larger gaze down at him. “Ah… o-of course, I can participate.”

Orodan smiled.

“Excellent! Come, all these workstations are equipped with whatever engineering tools you’ll need,” Orodan declared, leading the trio to the tables. “The task is a simple one. In front of you is a steam-powered conveyor belt with components, simply put the components together as the conveyor belt moves. If the conveyor belt moves on without you being able to put the components together, the test ends. If you do not know how to put the components together, that’s alright, the instructions are right in front of you and you can study them for as long as you want.”

“What… what sort of elementary test is this? My little cousin could perform this trivial task!” the other man barked.

The woman though, was the only one who looked serious.

“By all means,” Orodan began with a smile on his face. “Go ahead then. The belts will start moving as soon as you put your hands on a component.”

The youth thought himself above the task, and he wasn’t wrong. The test was meant to be very easy of course. Any engineer with even a singular level could fasten a screw into a pre-drilled hole and fasten it with a wrench. Having to do it while the things were moving like an assembly line? It simply imposed a time limit.

Of course…

…since when were any tests administered by Orodan simple?

“I’m looking for two things in the people we hire,” Orodan said as the conveyor belts began speeding up for the man. “Talent… and a good work ethic. If you’ll notice, the speed of the belt is relative to your skill level. Don’t try to think about slowing down to artificially grant yourself more time… I’ll know.”

The young man, likely a fresh graduate from one of the universities, was now sweating as his hands were frantically putting components and trinkets together one after another. He had a decent enough skill level, and his hands were passably fast for one untrained in the physical disciplines. The work ethic though, left something to be desired.

“I… I can’t…! I can’t!” the arrogant youth shouted, fumbling a piece as sweat began dripping from his brow. “I didn’t come prepared for this test! If I had known ahead of time I could-”

“Could what? Mentally prepare yourself? Practice? The belt moves relative to your skill, improving would only make it go even faster,” Orodan explained. “As you can see, what our guild requires isn’t just talent or skill levels, but the ability to persevere under pressure. Are you capable of that?”

The answer was that the arrogant lad wasn’t. His hands fumbled, which was fine, but it was the crumbling of his resolve, the surrender in his eyes that stood out. The next few pieces, he didn’t even try on. With his head lowered in shame, he simply walked out without saying a word.

The other young man, and in particular, the woman… were doing far better.

The conveyor belts were moving at a swift pace as components were being put together with rapidity. Both the remaining participants were sweating, but neither had any intention of quitting from the looks of it. Screws were fastened, lugs were tightened and gears were slotted in.

“Whatever universities you lot are from taught you well, you’re both clearly quite good at Engineering. But… I’m sure you’ve begun to notice by now, the limitation isn’t your skill, but your physical ability,” Orodan said. “If hired by our guild, you’ll be put through the paces and taught to embrace physical training as well. After all, an engineer’s only as good as their ability to unscrew a particularly tight bolt.”

“This is manual labor sir! How can this be related to being an engineer?” the remaining man quickly asked while continuing to frantically assemble parts.

“Everything starts from the basics. A swordsman cannot properly execute fanciful techniques without first learning the rudimentary thrust and cut, a mage cannot cast grand storms of fire without knowing how to light candles… and similarly, you cannot truly learn Engineering until you can perform the basic acts of assembling parts over and over,” Orodan explained. “Who knows? In being forced to repeat the basics you might even learn something…”

[Teaching 77 → Teaching 78]

And the woman had, for Orodan could see the subtle tells of System energy activity within her soul which denoted a skill level gain.

“Do we have a score sir?” she asked.

“You’re both nearing the top, but the test is graded on multiple aspects and the speed of your conveyor belt is but one of them,” Orodan explained. “In fact, you might be surprised at what the final test expects of you.”

There was an industrial machine casting and cooling the components as they were placed onto the belt. The final test though… was Orodan’s tampering with the machine so that the cooling part was stopped for a brief moment. As both the man and woman approached their limits, Orodan shut off the cooling mechanism for their respective machines.

The two of them were near the limit of what they could do anyways; they’d already displayed the maximal speed they could make the belts go. This though, was a different matter entirely.

“Hey…! The parts are hot! That’s unsafe!” the man protested.

In response, Orodan simply smiled and said nothing.

It wasn’t a surprise that he’d sprung upon them, thirty seconds remained before the first of the hot parts would reach them. Enough time to make an informed choice about what they wanted to do.

The man, once the hot parts came by simply stepped back and raised his hands.

“I’m done sir! This mad test has taken its toll on my sanity.”

“Good, you’ve passed,” Orodan said. “Speak to Florence here about admittance to our Guild.”

His focus however, was on the woman, who had decided not to step away.

She was already pouring sweat, so intense was the exertion. Even then, her red face got even redder as adrenaline and the anticipation of pain coursed through her. There were no gloves at the station and no time to get them lest the belt move on. Yet, that didn’t deter her in the slightest as her hand lashed out and grabbed the hot piece.

A scream of pain tore free from her lips as the hot metal scalded the palm of her hand. And yet…

…she still assembled the piece.

The belt suddenly stopped. And Orodan had an exceptionally pleased smile upon his face.

“Excellent, excellent! You’ve passed with flying colors.”

“I… I have?”

“Aye. What our Guild needs most is not just talent… but people with a good work ethic,” Orodan said as he walked over and poured a healing tincture over her palms, repairing them instantly. “How far are you willing and able to go? That’s the additional component to the test.”

He certainly intended to hire those who could make the conveyor belt go very fast, and those who worked very hard and put in their maximal effort despite not making it go quickly. But the real definition of good work ethic was the willingness to embrace pain to achieve success.

“But sir… what guild are you even representing?”

“Ah right, I suppose we did intentionally leave that part out to avoid attracting candidates we aren’t looking for,” Orodan said. Then again, Clyburn was in charge of the conventional recruitment and would be getting candidates aplenty of that type. Nothing wrong with them, but Orodan felt the ability to persevere mattered more. “If you’re interested in signing, the papers there will say the guild name.”

The two of them walked over…

…and their eyes could only widen at the name of their future employer. The Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild. The organization responsible for making the devices which had purged the plague.

“Y-you’re…!”

“Yes, we are. But keep quiet about it or else the test will be negatively impacted for anyone who hears it. Here, step to the side and into this room where Florence will assist in the administrative matters related to your hiring,” Orodan said, looking at more new entrants to the building. “After all, we have plenty more recruiting to get through today.”

#

Overall, it had been a very successful recruiting operation. Orodan had managed to recruit twenty-six individuals in total.

It was a bit pitiful when compared to the three-hundred and fifty-seven total applicants that had come by, but Orodan could only assume that the universities here had spoiled these graduates’ work ethic. After all, the overwhelming majority of those who’d failed the test were those who came from wealthy backgrounds and had a high level of education. In contrast, his successful candidates were half educated and half from backgrounds unrelated to Engineering and were down on their luck.

It wasn’t a total loss, for he simply gave them directions to Clyburn’s recruiting event in another part of the city, but they’d failed all the same. Which wasn’t such a bad thing as he’d rather have twenty-six quality recruits ready to work hard than three-hundred spoiled fools. Most important of all, the twenty-six he hired were teachable. A far more important quality than simply having some education. When the going got rough, these would be the sorts to stick with it and see a job through to the end.

Indeed, two destitute twin siblings were among the candidates he’d hired, and their tenacity and knack for quickly gaining levels through hard work had impressed him.

He’d left the matter of their settling in and relocation to Florence and the guild’s laborers. For now, Orodan had threads in-between his fingers, deftly moving them about, each finger acting independently yet contributing to the overall success of the outcome.

[Weaving 58 → Weaving 59]

“You’re getting a lot better at this Mister Wainwright. You’re a bit unfairly talented, aren’t you?”

“It helps that I have a good teacher,” Orodan replied. “I don’t think I’m near being an Elite weaver as you are. Not for a while.”

“You flatter me, but such is what comes with time and dedication to a craft. I’ve been weaving since I was a young girl, and then the Elsworth Tailors’ Guild here in Storven took notice of me,” Fanny Penny said and then sighed. “I always see you and Fenton working exceptionally hard… bit of a shame that I’m here just sequestered away. I suppose I should be going back to keeping myself occupied shouldn’t I?”

“You want to work for one of the tailors’ guilds again?” Orodan asked.

“Not the same one, the bad blood from them having to let me go would make any employment exceptionally awkward,” she said. “But I suppose there are plenty of competitors in this city.”

“I doubt money’s an issue with how much Fenton’s making nowadays… but if you’re so insistent on finding work, why not work with us?” Orodan suggested.

“A tailor in an engineers’ guild? Shall I spin the blankets and craft the banners? Perhaps tuck everyone into bed as the guild’s mother?” she asked with amusement in her tone. “No, much as I appreciate the offer, I’ve got to go this alone. Before I was Fenton’s mother I was a professional in my own right, with my own aspirations and dreams. Now that my boy’s doing so well… I suppose it isn’t the worst idea for me to return to pursuing something of my own. I don’t fancy the thought of being reliant upon my own boy for any longer than I have to, especially now that I’ve got my health back.”

“Hmm, I can respect that mentality. Though I doubt your overprotective son will be too happy to hear it,” Orodan replied, continuing his weaving.

Indeed, with how protective Fenton was about Fanny, one could forget that Fenton was the son and she the mother.

“The boy will simply have to bear with it. Besides… with the mighty otherworlder nearby, I doubt I’ll be in any danger,” Fanny said. “Though I would really prefer my son stop following you into the depths of danger.”

“So would I. I’ve lost enough friends who’ve fought alongside me that the thought of him fighting next to me doesn’t please me either,” Orodan remarked. “But, he’s a grown man and has the right to make his own decisions. Whether you or I like them or not.”

“It’s not exactly easy for me to accept that Mister Wainwright… am I meant to just watch as my son marches off to his death? You could just live a peaceful life,” Fanny proposed. “This isn’t such a bad world for you to settle down in, is it?”

“Not only would I detest every second of it, but my enemies aren’t the sort to remain idle either,” Orodan explained. “I will do what I must.”

He also didn’t want to burden Fanny with the knowledge that an Administrator, a being capable of laying waste to a galaxy, had its eyes set upon Lonvoron and the Administrator’s Mantle therein. Even without Orodan’s interference, this world was the stage for a deadly war in the shadows between the Prophet and the previous looper.

Not to mention the gradual corruption of everything due to the very nature of the Boundless One empowering the System.

Settling down? Living a ‘normal’ life with a family in some idyllic place? A cute sentiment, but not for him. Orodan was a warrior through and through. Even in his first life he’d died fighting, sword in hand and defiance in his heart.

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He had long ago accepted that he wasn’t a normal person. Even on the day he finally succeeded in achieving his grand ambition and repaying all his debts, battle would forevermore remain a part of him. Orodan Wainwright would be fighting forever.

“But perhaps you can still live life despite that.”

Zaessythra wasn’t wrong. And if such a life of fighting would be beside anyone, it would be her. Yet, such thoughts were for the future.

Especially since his famous student was now returning home.

The doors to the dining room opened up as Fenton Penny barged in, looking quite irritated.

“Welcome home Fen!” his mother greeted. “How was your first day at Acadia?”

“Annoyin’…”

“Let me guess… too much politics and far too many people trying to get in your good graces?” Orodan asked and Fenton nodded. “Heh! Just like the first time I went to an academy. You didn’t punch anyone? That tends to solve a lot of the problems.”

“M-mister Wainwright?! Don’t encourage him to punch people!” Fanny protested. “Not unless they start a fight with him…”

“See? Even your mother agrees. A good jab to the nose will shut people right up,” Orodan said. “I didn’t notice you getting beat up, and I’d be embarrassed and triple your training if you did.”

“Nobody roughed me up ser, it wasn’t like that, it’s just…” Fenton trailed off. “Everyone’s too nice, and it’s a waste of my time havin’ to deal with it.”

As Orodan had learned long ago, fame was a double-edged sword.

“Do they fall over their feet trying to talk to you?” he asked.

“Aye ser. Almost nobody’s tried causin’ any problems with me, and the two that did some older students took aside and roughed up for me. Doesn’t stop people coming by, asking for advice, asking if the guild’s hiring or wanting me to do them a favor and put in a good word with Mister Clyburn,” Fenton said. “At least the ones who want me to enchant their stuff are easy enough to deal with.”

“Tell the ones seeking employment to come by the guild hall. And as for people wanting you to enchant their gear? Why not, sounds like good training to me,” Orodan said. “As for the rest, just tell them to get lost and if they don’t listen, as I said…”

“A jab to the nose will do the trick? Good idea ser!”

“Fenton! Ugh… I can’t with you two,” Fanny surrendered. “But I did have something to tell you dear boy.”

“What’s that mum?”

“Your mother’s been cloistered inside for an awfully long time…”

Fenton didn’t look happy at where the conversation was going, that was for sure.

#

[Blacksmithing 73 → Blacksmithing 74]

A hammer pounded down on the piece of steel before it was thrown towards his target.

Fenton, who was sprinting laps around the workshop, enchanted it mid-air and in the midst of the run before catching it in his outstretched hand. The pleased look on the boy’s face was wiped off as a pebble flew for it, forcing him to hastily dodge. A follow up pebble targeted his student’s imbalanced posture from the dodge, but Fenton managed to barely dodge that too while continuing his sprint.

[Teaching 78 → Teaching 79]

Orodan was sat at the center of the workshop, hammering out pieces of metal as fast as he could while his student sprinted laps around him. Whenever he was done a piece, he would swiftly throw it towards Fenton, and the boy’s goal was to enchant the flying piece mid-air before it reached his hand.

Not only did it train the boy’s ability to enchant swiftly under pressure, but it also kept up with his physical conditioning.

“Good, you’re learning. Recite to me a random enchanting theorem you learned today,” Orodan demanded.

“Sharp’s Theorem about two-dimensional enchanting states that the line between two-dimensional and three-dimensional enchanting isn’t as clear as one would think,” Fenton recited in a practiced manner, by now used to Orodan’s harsh demands during training. He also dodged two more pebbles in the meanwhile. “Nothing perfectly two-dimensional exists in our reality. Even the creation of the thinnest possible two-dimensional mana inscription is in fact… three-dimensional.”

Hmm, interesting. Then wasn’t two-dimensional enchanting really just a weird way of performing three-dimensional enchanting? Truly, Sharp’s Theorem questioned the very foundation of the Imperial-enchanting tradition on Alastaia.

While considering that tidbit, Orodan withdrew the next projectile from his dimensional ring. It certainly wasn’t an inanimate pebble.

The wriggling cockroach was chucked towards his target, and Fenton had barely a moment to gently catch it in the palm of his hand, spinning himself mid-step so that he could bring it to less of an abrupt stop.

“First time you didn’t let it splatter on your palm, not bad. Keep it up,” Orodan earnestly praised. “Stamina and strength are important, but so is fine control over your body. All else being equal, finesse will separate an average fighter from one who’s truly great.”

Not only had Orodan been throwing pebbles and freshly forged metal plates at Fenton, but he’d also been chucking bugs at the boy. The pebbles, Fenton was required to dodge. The metal plates he was required to enchant mid-flight before they even reached his hand. And the bugs he was expected to catch without killing them.

Not only was it training which pushed the boy’s physical conditioning, but it also improved hand-eye coordination. But, Fenton wasn’t the only one training. All around the workshop, engineers done with the day’s work were strewn about, pitifully grunting and struggling to stand. They’d tried following Fenton as he ran, yet that had been a hopeless endeavor for them. Instead, Orodan had them jogging laps at a comfortable pace until they’d finally stopped and been unable to continue.

The stronger the body, the better the mind. He’d put them through a very gentle training session too, nothing too strenuous or even halfway approaching their physical limits, but just enough to gain them a level or two in Physical Fitness. Too much and they’d refuse, too little and there would be no gains, but this much was fine for those who weren’t Fenton.

And as they trained, so did he.

Fenton grabbed a piece of ore off the shelf and hurled it at him. Orodan caught it and immediately lit his hands up with a Draconic Fireball, smelting the metal.

[Smelting 22 → Smelting 23]

[Draconic Fireball 74 → Draconic Fireball 75]

[Fire Magic Mastery 52 → Fire Magic Mastery 53]

Under rushed time constraints, the gains were excellent. As he trained Fenton, so too did the lad help Orodan train. The lap they’d set up had shelves filled with scrap metal in a perimeter around it, and at every interval the boy was to throw a chunk of ore at him and he needed to have it done and thrown back before Fenton got to the next shelf.

Needless to say, it was a serious struggle to meet the time demands. He’d trained Fenton well, and the lad could now run decently fast, giving Orodan seconds to get each piece done. Furthermore, the boy was quite invested in making Orodan slip up, the desire for some revenge after all he’d been put through at his hands. Hence, Fenton ran as fast as he could.

The student was determined to make the teacher lose, and the teacher in turn was determined to meet the stringent expectations. A mutually beneficial feedback loop of training and motivation.

Finally, ten minutes later, Fenton began to sag. And this was when a pebble caught him on the forehead, a grasshopper splattered across his cheek and a metal piece went sailing by his head.

“Good work. I expect you to hold out for two minutes longer tomorrow,” Orodan praised while setting his expectations. “Catch your breath and get some food. That goes for the rest of you too, the pot’s in the kitchen, go eat and recover your strength.”

The rest of the engineers left, leaving just Orodan and an exhausted Fenton.

“You know Mister Orodan… I used to hate this gruellin’ toil, I really did, and then some blue-blood tried bumping into me at the university today and they landed on their bum like a sack of ore,” Fenton said while slowly rising to his feet. “Whatever toil you’ve been puttin’ me through really helped. So I just wanted to say… thank you ser.”

“You’re the one doing the work, don’t thank me, you achieved this with your own honest labors,” Orodan said. “I will say I haven’t seen you try this hard in a while. Something on your mind?”

Fenton frowned.

“Bugger… am I that easy to read?

“With a sour look like that, you might as well be telling everyone who sees,” Orodan pointed out. “You can’t control what others do. Can you expect your mother to be okay with you marching into danger alongside me and then deny her the chance to pursue her own passions?”

“It’s not like that ser… for the longest time it was just her takin’ care of me. I wasn’t worth nothin’, incapable of helping. Just an extra mouth to feed for an already overworked woman without a husband,” Fenton recounted. “And then, it was my turn to take care of her. I’m not sayin’ I ever want to go back to those times Mister Orodan, but I could finally repay her for looking after me for so long. And now she wants to go toil away again? It doesn’t make a lick o’ sense to me!”

“You enjoy Enchanting, right Fenton?”

“I don’t mind it… why?”

“Then have you considered that your mother might be the same?” Orodan posed. “First thing I saw her doing when I met her was weaving a quilt, even in her bedridden state. Besides, you act as though she’s going to be a menial laborer at some predatory operation. The woman is an Elite-level weaver, do you really think she’ll have to stoop to doing work she doesn’t enjoy?”

“I… suppose I hadn’t considered that,” Fenton muttered. “But it still feels wrong! She should be livin’ the life o’ luxury and not have to worry about nothing at all.”

“You’re a good son. But from the little I knew of my own mother… I don’t think their worries ever stop, especially when their children are the targets Gods and the Eldritch,” Orodan said, recalling how Valburga had wanted to stand and fight alongside him against the imminent descent of the System and its Administrators. “Let the woman do what she wants. It might help take her mind off of what you’re up to.”

Fenton yet again frowned, but his face slowly eased as he seemed to understand Orodan’s line of reasoning.

“You’re a little wiser than Mister Talricto would have me believe ser,” Fenton remarked.

“Oh? Joining in on the trend of calling me stupid are you?” Orodan asked with a smile and the lad vehemently denied it with a head shake. “Well, some things are learned through time and experience, and I suppose I’ve experienced a lot of time.”

“Time which ends up with you dying and wakin’ up again in your world, doesn’t it?”

“Fenton… we’ve been over this…”

“No, we haven’t been! The way you talk about the mastermind behind the plague, you’ll die against it won’t you?”

“High likelihood of that, yes,” Orodan honestly admitted. “But as a warrior, that’s my choice to make. And I’m in a time loop, I’ll return.”

“But I’m bloody not! And I don’t want to see you die,” Fenton exclaimed. “I’m not goin’ to stand by while you face your death at the hands of some cosmic madman from the stars. And if that wretched thing wants to try… I’ll make it pay!”

Fenton stormed away, having let Orodan hear a piece of his mind.

“I would say that’s exceptionally adorable if not for the fact that he’s inviting a death wish upon himself. I can’t see him faring well against an Administrator.”

“Him? I don’t see myself faring well against the Prophet yet. One idiot following another into the jaws of guaranteed death…” Orodan remarked. “Must extreme talent always come accompanied by extreme recklessness? I can return from death, he cannot.”

“Ironic of you to say that, Orodan. But I suppose experiencing the consequences of your own bull-headed behavior enough times has finally made you self-aware of it.”

She wasn’t wrong. In many ways, Fenton was shockingly similar to him. Which was why Orodan didn’t want to see his student die. But mainly… he had grown fond of the lad.

If Fenton was that concerned about Orodan’s death… then he would just have to find some method of winning wouldn’t he?

Easier said than done.

From here he could hear the sounds of everyone eating in the kitchen. He’d made a nice meat platter of a number of monster corpses that were sitting in his dimensional ring. Of course, Orodan needed no food, and the previous conversation had only cemented in him the fact that he needed to get stronger.

To that end, he made for the foyer of the guild hall. Florence, sitting behind the front desk, waved.

“Bunch of paperwork came in for you sir, I’ve put it on your desk as you’ve requested,” she said, seeming almost nervous that he’d recant the order.

“Thank you, I’ll handle it,” Orodan said, heading behind the front desk and into the room that had been specially designed as his office.

Clyburn had an inkling of the type of training Orodan got up to. To that end, the bulk of the laborers’ work before Orodan’s arrival had been designing this room. Sturdy stone walls, warded and enchanted by Fenton to withstand the attacks of even a Transcendent and enhance privacy. Quite spacious too.

And at the far end was a large desk…

…behind which sat an imperious-looking spider with a top hat and monocle.

“You’ve allowed quite a lot of paperwork to pile up. Being derelict in your duties are you?”

“I was wondering when my favorite sparring partner would make another appearance,” Orodan remarked. “Stolen anything of note while I was gone?”

“Stolen? I merely put these items to better use,” Talricto said, sporting a fresh cane with a button at the top. “Behold, my new weapon.”

The dimensional spider pointed the cane at Orodan, squeezing the switch. And the bullet flew true…

…only to harmlessly bounce off Orodan’s forehead and fall into his outstretched hand.

“…it’s not even capable of killing an Apprentice. Is this some sort of cheap gimmick?” Orodan asked, flicking the used bullet back at Talricto, landing with a satisfying thwack right between the spider’s eyes. “Gotten rusty and begun relying on tools to bridge the gap have you?”

“You imbecile…! I’ll show you which side of the gap you’re on!”

Orodan had a happy smile on his face as he received Talricto’s attack. The dimensional boundary shuddered as flaying waves of dimensional force rushed for him. Yet Orodan kept calm and simply targeted the weakest point of the wave while puppeteering his body with dimensional power.

And with Talricto’s attack dealt with, it was now Orodan’s turn.

But instead of sending a puppeteered punch using his own body… why not try something different? After all, if the dimensional forces could be wrapped around his physical form, why couldn’t they be wrapped around a spell?

[Dimensionalism 83 → Dimensionalism 84]

[Fire Magic Mastery 53 → Fire Magic Mastery 54]

He began the task of manipulating the mana within him, not with Mana Manipulation, but with Dimensionalism. It was a seriously difficult task and he felt incredibly clumsy with it. Orodan outright refused to use Mana Manipulation, which made the process far harder. But it had its benefits.

And slowly, incredibly slowly… he began to puppeteer the mana within himself to form a Draconic Fireball.

It took an entire three seconds, throughout which Talricto looked on in interest and graciously allowed Orodan the opportunity. Until finally…

[Draconic Fireball 75 → Draconic Fireball 76]

[Fire Magic Mastery 54 → Fire Magic Mastery 55]

…a flickering Draconic Fireball was formed in his outstretched right hand.

It was an unstable spell, but the proof of concept remained. Even now, just maintaining it required his utmost focus as it was a delicate thing. It was akin to using one’s hand to control their leg into delivering a dexterous kick. A step beyond even that as Orodan refused to use the ability to manipulate mana and instead used raw Dimensionalism to puppeteer the mana pool within himself.

But in just a singular attempt, his understanding of fire had grown in a most strange way. Puppeteering his mana pool into forming a spell like this provided him with a unique perspective on how the spell was shaped and how his fire magic worked.

With a grunt, the Draconic Fireball shot forward…

…and harmlessly fizzled out on a dimensional barrier just in front of Talricto.

“Ah, what was it you said? That’s right. It’s not even capable of killing an Apprentice. Is this some sort of cheap gimmick?” Talricto mocked. “A strange technique, mixing Dimensionalism and your Mana Manipulation. I would actually notice a regular Draconic Fireball.”

“I didn’t use Mana Manipulation at all,” Orodan clarified.

“…what? You mean-”

“Yes, that was entirely done through Dimensionalism. I controlled my mana via Dimensionalism into forming that spell,” Orodan said. “In fact… I already feel as though I understand how to harness the elements within my body just a bit better.”

As Talricto had said, his body was partially dimensional in nature. Over the three months of training with the spider, Orodan had understood the connection between his body and the dimensional forces. Now, what remained was the connection between his body and the magical elements he wielded.

If he trained this… then the various elements he used could finally be brought up to the level of his most powerful abilities.

Orodan focused, channeling the basic Candleflame to his fingers, but he went beyond just that. Instead of the mana just emitting from the tip of his finger…

…it now began enveloping his arm.

Talricto looked on in fascination, enraptured by the light show as the gentle fires of Candleflame began enveloping Orodan’s arm, and then began slowly moving up his shoulder. It wasn’t just mana coursing through his cells, but the very element of fire itself. His body wasn’t normal, his efforts in obtaining Dimensional Resistance had changed his cells into partially being small dimensions in and of themselves; this made the channelling of any energy in a harmonic manner quite difficult. Soul energy, which he was intimately familiar with, wasn’t the issue. Mana and elements though, were.

Or, they would have been… if Orodan hadn’t spent three months training to dimensionally puppeteer his body like a marionette on a string. The thorough understanding he had of his physical body, its dimensional nature, and the forces of dimensionalism was now significant.

It was like a sense of oneness with the element he was wielding. No, that wasn’t quite accurate… it was as though he could truly channel the elements through himself in harmony. In fact, the sealed glyph of infinity, within which a copy of all the System’s knowledge lay, thrummed briefly, signifying to him that he could choose to learn a new skill right now.

But… Orodan held off. He wanted to experiment with this purely on his own for now, without any System assistance.

During his past experiments in Anthus and the training under Destartes, he’d certainly tried to bring the elements into his combat style. Previously, if he brought fire to his fist, it would simply explode outwards, acting independently and perhaps even pushing the foe away before his strikes could fully land. Lightning? It formed a coating, perhaps shocking the enemy but not adding much.

Compared to his full power Smite of Abrupt Deliverance, adding an element was akin to throwing a bucket of water into the ocean. Merely additive, not multiplicative.

But now? Now, things were different. Like an old friend of his who he’d taught, he too might well be capable of harnessing the elements and adding them to his fighting.

For any other, this alone would have been cause for great celebration. The harnessing of the elements within one’s physical form? A powerful ability which could seriously amplify one’s existing battle prowess if they were a martially inclined sort. Energy-intensive, but powerful.

But… what if this ability landed in the hands of one who could generate endless energy?

Orodan decided to put it to the test. The basic Candleflame was fed even more mana as more and more fire began generating within his arm. At first, it was like a steady wave, enough fire to set a forest ablaze. Within seconds though, it became more than that; his body containing flames enough to scorch an entire world.

Right now, if Orodan were to let go, Lonvoron might face severe damage.

The fire coursing through his cells wanted to go out of control and fizzle out. And it certainly was on the verge of doing so, but this feeling… it was utterly profound! It was similar to his final attack against the Living Crystal, except with fire, and not a one-in-a-thousand feat he didn’t know how to replicate.

This, was his own doing, though it was a tenuous connection, about to be lost. Hence Orodan brought the flames to his fingers, feeling the element of fire course through the tendons and bones of his digits. A punch would have been too large of a motion, and he risked losing control of this sensitive state.

Instead of throwing a punch forward, his fingers made to perform a singular gesture…

…a snap.

Talricto seemed to know what was coming, and a dimensional rift was hastily created.

“Put your arm in here! In here!”

Orodan did as asked throwing his arm into the dimensional rift; thoughts of sparring the spider forgotten due to the priority of this insight he was experiencing.

Talricto wrapped the boundaries of the open rift tightly around Orodan’s arm, and only then did he finally feel safe unleashing the pent-up power.

Orodan was strong, physically that was. Enough people remarked on his size and he had enough skills affecting his body that it wasn’t arrogance to say this. Thus, compared to the less physically gifted, the prospect of him snapping his fingers at full strength was far more dangerous. With just a finger snap alone he might be capable of destroying a city if he truly focused.

And when he had fires enough to turn planets to ash coursing through his arm? The results could only be summarized one way.

Cataclysmic.

[Physical Fitness 95 → Physical Fitness 96]

[Dimensionalism 84 → Dimensionalism 85]

[Mana Manipulation 63 → Mana Manipulation 65]

[Candleflame 32 → Candleflame 35]

[Fire Magic Mastery 55 → Fire Magic Mastery 57]

[Fire Resistance 61 → Fire Resistance 63]

[Mana Resistance 65 → Mana Resistance 67]

Orodan’s finger strained against his thumb, the stored muscular energy within the tendons erupting downwards upon release to strike the palm of his hand. It was the hardest finger snap he had ever performed in his life. If just done with muscle alone, it might have rocked a continent the size of Inuan while destroying the majority of it.

However, what made this snap different was the apocalyptic amounts of fire in his body, all converging towards the tips of his fingers.

Immediately, Orodan was forced to reinforce the already warded room they were in with Domain of Perfect Cleaning. His soul wrapped around every bit of it, making the room as strong as his sword and shield when he was in the midst of battle. Yet even then, it was a mad struggle.

Talricto’s control over the dimensional rift immediately failed, and Orodan was forced to take over as the spider fell over in a daze from the mental backlash. Even then, the flames erupting triggered an alarm across the entire guild hall. Orodan’s control over the rift wasn’t as good as Talricto’s either, and a few licks of flame erupted out his way, causing the wards and integrity of the room to nearly fail.

At the last moment, he managed to regain some semblance of control, not over the rift, but over the flames which had erupted from his snap. And he managed to divert the majority of the fire away from the rift opening and out to wherever Talricto had made it lead to.

Even Orodan himself stumbled backwards a step and finally allowed the rift to close.

“You careless buffoon! Experimentation with the forces of dimensionalism is a dangerous matter and you nearly got us all killed!”

“You’re right… I wasn’t expecting that at all myself,” Orodan admitted. “Who knew the elements could be so dangerous when combined with my physical might?”

He noted that his arm was naught but a blackened husk of ash and carbonized bone. It healed instantaneously enough, but that it had suffered such damage from his own attack? Just how strong had the effects of that been? The rift was gone too, and he knew not where it led.

“I know I enjoy getting a rise out of you with my remarks, but what manner of anomalous creature are you?” Talricto seriously asked. “That was just a snap of your fingers too…”

Orodan frowned in confusion.

“What do you mean? I simply released the power I had built up within me, it’s just fire magic and physical might,” Orodan said. “I’m sure there are plenty of beings across the universe capable of synergizing the elements with their body. At most it should just be a Legendary-rarity skill.”

“What rarity is the skill you received?” the spider asked.

“I didn’t acquire one. Practicing without the aid of the System is a better path forward,” Orodan answered. “I could likely get something similar to the Elemental Fist skill right now if I wanted… but that’s not the height of my ambition.”

“That was… freeform? The entirety of it?”

“Yes? I haven’t been suffering defeat after defeat against you for three months for nothing,” Orodan said. “I have a good grasp on the connection between Dimensionalism and my physical form, and I’ve now proven that the dimensional forces can work with elemental magic too. But… I still need more practice. A mere snap of my fingers and I lost control.”

Orodan was somewhat disappointed in his own performance, but he supposed the reliability of this technique could be improved through training.

Talricto though, wasn’t having it.

“Are you mad? That rift led out to an uninhabited star system in your home galaxy… do you even know how much damage you caused?” Talricto asked, a slight quiver to his voice. “Orodan you… you destroyed that entire star system!”

That was…

“Hmmph… unimpressive,” Orodan remarked, refusing to remain satisfied. “Though I suppose it has some potential.”

“Unimpressive? Unimpressive? That attack could have killed an Embodier and you consider it unimpressive?!” Talricto demanded.

“Aye, I cannot do that reliably, and I doubt my enemies will peacefully wait for me to gather fire into my body and snap my fingers in the midst of battle.”

“You’re the most-”

The door to the office flew open, and both Clyburn and Fenton rushed in.

“The alarm went off! Mister Wainwright is anything amiss?” Clyburn immediately asked.

“No, no… if anything we’ve come upon good news,” Orodan said and then flashed Fenton a guilty look. “Although… this room may need to be re-fixed.”

Fenton gave the wards an assessing look and frowned.

“I just enchanted this room and you’re already breakin’ it ser…” Fenton grumbled. “Though, I suppose I could make an improvement or two here and there…”

As the lad considered ways of improving upon his sorely tested work, Orodan too considered how he could further improve himself.

Frankly, he considered unreliable attacks not worth the energy used to think about them. What Orodan had just done, infusing his physical form with fire and channeling it through himself for a synchronized attack with his physical might, was strong. But it would require more practice to perform reliably.

But if he did… how much more power could he access?

Of the elements, light magic wasn’t even his strongest; that honor belonged to fire. But today, using his mightiest element, with just a finger snap he’d evaporated an entire star system. Endless mana backed by his existing cataclysmic physical might, was it truly so powerful?

What if he were to train to the point where he could unleash a Smite of Abrupt Deliverance while infused with an element? Could he destroy multiple star systems? It was clear to Orodan then, that alongside the rest of the skills he was training, this needed to be his prime focus during this loop.

His elemental skills, when backed by his ability to generate endless power were already frightening. But when combined with his physical might in perfect sync… could he dare to even challenge the Prophet?

Orodan’s blood boiled at the potential chance to strike a blow against one of his most hated of foes.

And who knew what other tricks could be added to the mix to narrow the impossible gap between him and one of the System’s mightiest beings?

#

Orodan’s hands blazed with mana, his mental capacities pushed to the brink as he focused on the rifle in front of him.

A simple enchantment, durability; within six seconds it was laid upon the gun.

“Faster ser! Quality’s passable but you’ve got to pick up the pace.”

Passable? That was some of Orodan’s best work under time constraints! With a sigh he brushed the feeling of irritation away and dedicated his attention to the next one. Comparing himself to a genius of enchanting was pointless, but it was a good learning opportunity all the same.

“I admit it, this is more helpful than I thought it would be. Enchanting under a time limit is difficult on the best of days, but with such a simple language, perhaps I can hone my technique using the basics and then build up my speed from there,” Orodan remarked.

What was he doing? Or rather, what was Fenton training him for?

Enchanting of course.

Over the past two days, he’d been engaging in regular training with the lad, but he’d also been getting tutored by Fenton in the ways of Enchanting. A little ridiculous considering that Orodan was a Master-level enchanter and Fenton was still an Elite. But it wasn’t so ludicrous a concept when remembering that Orodan himself taught beings with superior skill levels insights about Cleaning. An art he had no peers in.

In any case, Fenton’s earlier outburst had been seemingly shelved for now. Orodan didn’t make a habit of reading minds and violating peoples’ privacy, so he had no clue what the boy was thinking. But if Fenton had put it to the side, then so would he. Though, he had to say… the lad seemed far more serious about ensuring Orodan progressed in Enchanting since then.

Two-dimensional enchanting, which Orodan now considered to be a lie as nothing was truly two-dimensional in the material plane, was normally seen as the inferior form of enchanting.

And in Orodan’s eyes, he too saw it the same way. After all, why engage in two-dimensional enchanting when three and four-dimensional languages were available? Fenton had disabused him of this notion.

Orodan himself often preached that the basics were important, and Fenton had reminded him of this and drawn attention to the fact that truly perfecting two-dimensional enchanting could only benefit his other works. Mainly though, he was focusing on speed enchanting with the Imperial two-dimensional enchanting language from back home because he was too slow with three and four-dimensional enchanting.

Orodan had explained in-depth to Fenton that he didn’t want to learn just standard body enchanting, but a skill which would allow him to form living enchantments within himself. The boy thought that was a great idea, hence Fenton had set Orodan on a training course to develop his enchanting speed. It would be the first step towards the skill he had in mind.

The next one, backed by his full effort… was done in five seconds. A noticeable improvement.

“Not bad Mister Orodan, next!”

“Already I can feel my understanding of how to swiftly enchant something growing… perhaps making soul-based enchantments quickly isn’t as far away as I thought…”

“I can’t say I understand the soul weave all too well Mister Orodan. Even with the soul trainin’ you have me doing, it’s hard to see past the blindin’ glow and make much sense of it. Not saying an enchantment can’t be woven of the stuff… but it won’t be me who does it. But I suppose that’s why I’m trainin’ you in this.”

The lad wasn’t wrong. Fenton wasn’t exactly talented when it came to the soul, a reminder that even the greatest of geniuses could be stumped at skills outside their purview. Furthermore, the soul weave was made of Orodan’s own soul, who better to work with it than himself?

But, all the better this way. After all, right from the get-go Orodan had never intended to allow anyone else, Fenton included, to make an enchantment for him. Better to rely on power acquired with ones own hands.

Though… perhaps some guidance from the best enchanter he’d ever seen might come in handy.

They continued this process for four more hours. And although Orodan gained no skill levels in Enchanting, he did walk away with a more thorough understanding of the very basics of the art. After all, two-dimensional enchanting was as foundational as it got.

The sun’s rays began shining through the window of the workshop; dawn had come.

“Can’t believe we’ve been workin’ all night and I still feel fine,” Fenton muttered. “Don’t think I’ve slept since our battles in the hot zone.”

“Now you see the benefits of Physical Fitness? Why waste time sleeping when you could instead be training?” Orodan posed. “That Recovery skill you acquired yesterday must’ve helped too.”

It was a Rare skill, meant to bolster stamina recovery, but in tandem with decent Physical Fitness and good nutrition, could allow one to remain awake for long periods of time. Orodan had better skills which filled that gap, but for someone like Fenton having more hours to train and work in the day were invaluable.

That was also why he’d been pushing the engineers of the guild towards physical conditioning. The better the body, the better the mind, yes… but it also gave stamina benefits. Already, some of the engineers who had a few levels in Physical Fitness were capable of focusing for longer and working more hours without needing a break than the others.

“It is nice to have all the time to do what I want,” Fenton replied. “Feels like I’m losin’ track of time though, staying awake for so long. My class mates must have slept twice now in the time that I’ve been up consecutively for. Speakin’ of, I’m off to the university ser, I’ll see you once I’m back.”

“Aye, study hard Fenton.”

They both left the guild’s workshop and Orodan made way for the office of the assistant Guild Master, which was him.

Florence at the front desk nodded in acknowledgement upon spotting him.

“Mister Wainwright, Sir Clyburn will be in your office waiting for you.”

“So early? Must be about the meetings he has today,” Orodan replied. “I shall speak to him. See you at the pavilion.”

He went behind the front desk and into his office where Clyburn Anderthorn was fretfully pacing about.

“Mister Wainwright!” the Guild Master and chief engineer greeted.

“Clyburn. You seem nervous,” Orodan stated; a factual observation.

“How can I not be? The man who has hounded my every step and seen fit to torment me for so long will be paying our Guild a visit!” Clyburn exclaimed. “For too long has that wretched snake Morvale smugly sought to keep me pushed down.”

“You fear their political machinations?” Orodan asked. “I’ve noticed the Transcendents keeping watch over our Guild grounds, I doubt the crown will take any assault upon the place lightly.”

“Right you are, the Crown has assigned some powerful military elders to watch over us. Lord Morvale and his backers will not dare make any direct or indirect moves now, not after our successes which exceeded any and all expectations anyone could have had of our project,” Clyburn explained. “To threaten us would be to threaten the Crown and Blackworth Collective itself. I have little doubt that the snake and his entire house would be imprisoned if not executed for trying.”

“Then why worry?” Orodan asked, not understanding why Clyburn appeared so nervous. “I was under the impression that they would try some backstabbing or subtle political maneuvers to see you fail, but this meeting should be of no concern, yes?”

“Politics, Mister Wainwright! Politics!” the man declared. “Lord Morvale will show up, he’ll walk the paces of showing me respect, giving me credit and congratulating me for my successes… and then I shall have to similarly maintain decorum. An act which will sicken me to my core given the bad blood between us. Ever since you informed me of his attempts to sabotage our project I’ve wished for nothing but death upon that verminous man.”

“I feel as though you’re overthinking something very petty… let’s speak regarding Guild matters, perhaps that will take your mind off of such things,” Orodan suggested. “Our ventures into the markets of Storven are going well. Our engineers, particularly the new ones, are quite productive.”

“In truth, I didn’t think the unorthodox crew you recruited would amount to much… but I’m glad to have been proven wrong,” Clyburn said. “With these junior engineers taking many of the lower-level jobs in great numbers, it frees up our more skilled members to take the jobs which will bring us much prestige. Of course… the smaller and middling guilds of the city aren’t too happy that we’re intruding upon their clientele.”

Indeed, Orodan had done a slight reorganization in how the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild conducted business. The Ironhaven Isles weren’t all that big, and the job market was concentrated to the numerous islands. The method of operation there favored skilled workers taking jobs from the wealthiest of clients first and foremost, with certain guilds essentially dominating the trade on certain islands.

On Storven, which was situated upon the mainland of Lonvoron, sea travel wasn’t an expense that needed to be incurred. In fact, Free travel within the capital and its surrounding areas was easy. Consequently, the job market was expansive and there were far more people in need of their services than engineers capable of doing the work. As a result, Zaessythra suggested that it would’ve been utterly foolish of their Guild to send Elite and Master-level engineers out to do menial labor, but at the same time, leaving the labor market of low-skilled engineers entirely untapped would’ve been foolish.

Training new engineers by sending them out to easier jobs while the veterans took the high-difficulty and prestigious ones. It wasn’t anything revolutionary.

The big guilds did much the same thing, but they focused on talent and good educational pedigree when hiring people. Indeed, if the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild was an unknown new entrant into the market, hiring people without university educations might have even harmed their reputation. But… as it stood, rumors were a powerful thing. The average person on the street now knew that the plague had been dealt an irreparable blow, and soldiers loved to talk to their family and friends back home.

Clyburn Anderthorn, Fenton Penny and the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild were famous. For them, hiring dependable new talent who might not have had the best education was a reputation blow they could afford. Hells, given their existing track record of beating back the plague, it might even be seen as innovative.

Needless to say, when Orodan wasn’t training, he was managing the logistics of deploying the Guild’s engineers to areas where the demand for engineers was high. The large numbers of new hires alongside the Guild’s reputation quickly led to them pushing some of the smaller and mid-sized guilds out of the market entirely. But that was just the price of a competitive business.

All this had given him two levels in Logistics, and while the skill had no associated title, Orodan had held off on creating one for himself for now. The Wainwrighting Apprentice title was eye catching enough as it was.

And of course, Orodan’s talents laid in fighting and cleaning, not managing a Guild. It was in fact Zaessythra who took to the business management side of things with gusto. With her advising him, Orodan was able to recommend some downright savvy decisions which allowed them to capitalize on the market within just two days of their arrival to Storven.

Naturally, this had caused many of the small and mid-sized guilds to feel threatened by the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild. Which of course meant that today’s meeting would be with more than just Lord Morvale.

“The smaller guilds can only lament their inability to match our resources. Putting them in such a disadvantageous positions gives us more leverage to come to a favorable agreement,” Zaessythra remarked. “Just as planned.”

Ruthless and aggressive, she truly had a keen mind for warfare and strategy, which also seemed to extend to business. Aside from the years spent delving into Infinity, Orodan wasn’t sure if he was even a century old in terms of lived experiences and time in the loops. In contrast, she was much older and had spent the majority of her life leading her planet.

Her advice and counsel on many matters was much appreciated.

“Well, let’s see how this meeting goes,” Orodan said to Clyburn. “I’ll be with you in any case, as will Florence.”

It was a bit much to expect of a young girl who looked as though she’d just graduated from the university, but in the short time Orodan had known her, he thought the lass was a fair hand at Logistics and Administration. Frankly, even if Orodan and Clyburn stepped away, he felt the day-to-day running of the Guild’s operations would be fine as long as she was around.

“I suppose that does comfort me a little. Shall we await our visitors?” Clyburn asked.

“A little early, but if it makes you feel better, why not?”

The two of them made for the guild hall’s guest pavilion, which was near the entrance to the grounds. It was a pretty location with a sense of tranquility to it; the open air pavilion was surrounded by a pretty moat and an assortment of colorful flowers. At the center was a large table obviously meant to host meetings. Laborers and non-engineering staff were in charge of maintaining the grounds and serving tea and refreshments.

Florence was already standing near one of the chairs and gave the both of them a light curtsey.

“I still question why the Crown saw fit to reward us with such an extravagant property. Even with another month of dedicated recruitment I can’t see us having enough people to utilize all of this space,” Clyburn said. “Does make for a grand backdrop to a meeting I shall admit.”

“Too pretentious for my liking, give me a meeting in the training yard with sword and shield any day. Easier to read someone’s during the dance of battle and violence,” Orodan said. “Has a way of making them honest.”

“Well, aside from the rare few who practice fencing at the universities or the military, swordsmanship has few enthusiasts here Mister Wainwright. Though I suppose it’s good we have you on-hand lest we need someone dueled,” Clyburn replied and then looked to the main gate of the grounds which were opening and from where a trumpet sounded. “And here I thought we were coming to wait early. Seems our guests have arrived already.”

“An early arrival might indicate that the other party is presenting themselves in a more deferential manner. This should be eventful,” Zaessythra said.

Or boring, in Orodan’s opinion. Unless there was a fight to be had, what was the point? He’d only come to give Clyburn some moral support. It wasn’t as though he relished these pointless meetings where saber-rattling and veiled threats were likely to be made.

Three men and a woman passed through the gates of the Guild’s grounds. Two of them Orodan had seen before. Lord Morvale and his lackey, Eliezer who’d given both Clyburn and Fenton a difficult time while in Port Bellgrave. The other two he didn’t know, though one of the strangers was unmistakably a noble given how much pomp he walked with.

The visiting party had a crier with them too… how ostentatious.

“Presenting the House of Trevelain! His lordship, Ardathen Trevelain, Duke of the southern counties and Guild Master of the Storven High Enchanters’ Guild comes to pay respects to the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild and the honorable Guild Master Sir Clyburn Anderthorn!”

No greeting and introduction for Lord Morvale? Even the politically ignorant Orodan could recognize the slight when he saw it. Furthermore, both Eliezer and the noble he served looked utterly exhausted and forlorn; dark circles under the eyes, and outfits that looked as though they’d seen better days and could use a wash.

The crier’s voice boomed, but the Duke flashed the man an irritated look and gestured for him to step back and make himself scarce.

“I apologize for my man’s… eager nature,” the Duke said, looking at Orodan’s Guild Master. “You must be Sir Clyburn Anderthorn, an honor to finally meet the man whose name is on everyone’s lips.”

“This is the one we must pay particular attention to,” Zaessythra immediately identified.

Was he? Orodan thought he sounded like just another scheming noble with a nice face, albeit, one who had a hidden motive.

“Pay attention Orodan. Having the crier fail to mention the other noble accompanying him can be nothing but planned. And to then apologize and present himself deferentially? I smell an opportunist who seeks to move where the winds of fortune blow.”

He would take Zaessythra’s word for it.

“You honor me your lordship. Yours is a name more famous than mine,” Clyburn spoke, his words measured. “I was not expecting your presence here today.”

“I simply wished to come along and lay certain matters to rest today. From the ground of such misunderstandings might arise new partnerships,” the Duke remarked. “Come, Lord Morvale… you have a few things to ask of Sir Clyburn here, do you not?”

Clyburn frowned as the man who’d caused him much grief stepped forward. Frankly, Orodan thought this Lord Morvale might drop dead from stress here and now, for so red was the man’s face.

“T-that is… the reason I’ve come here today is… to speak to you about…”

Even Orodan had to raise an eyebrow at the man’s stuttering and sudden case of fright. It was as though the words simply couldn’t come out of his mouth no matter how hard he tried.

“For a noble Lord of the islanders to stumble over his words so is an embarrassment, speak or I shall speak for you,” Duke Trevelain coldly demanded. “Or need I change the already forgiving terms of the contract we negotiated?”

Finally, the nervous man took a deep breath and began.

“My Guild and all its properties have… been sold off. I, Carrow Morvale, am begging you, Sir Clyburn… to please aid my Guild, please help m-”

“Enough. I did not bring you here so that you might plead for alms like some street side beggar,” the Duke icily scolded. “You were brought here to apologize for the troubles you’ve put Sir Clyburn through. The debts you held over his head, the unreasonable demands you made of him, it must all be atoned for. We’re here to start anew Carrow, swallow your pride and show your sincerity.”

Clyburn looked more than a little taken aback.

“Such a thing is… entirely unnecessary,” Clyburn muttered, though the anger and desire to inflict revenge within him couldn’t be entirely hidden. It was clear that while he wasn’t comfortable with the situation, the man would shed no tears for the noble who’d fallen upon hard times.

“No, this is very much necessary,” the Duke clarified. “When I’d heard of what Carrow here was doing, I immediately set about cancelling many of my contractual obligations to aid him. His Guild was already in a bad spot due to some competitor’s sabotage, and with me withdrawing my support due to his dishonorable conduct… he was forced to sell everything. Which included your debt to him, but worry not, that’s been forgiven.”

“Sly and conniving, this one,” Zaessythra remarked. “He presents his minion for sacrifice while hoping that his own involvement will be forgotten. Unfortunately… I don’t think he’s aware that you’re onto his part in all this.”

Without a doubt, it hadn’t gone unnoticed to anyone that none of the listed crimes mentioned Lord Morvale’s attempts at having hired assassins and mercenaries outright attack Clyburn Anderthorn. And while Duke Trevelain hadn’t directly ordered those attacks… the man certainly wouldn’t have complained if he benefitted from their success.

“Sir Clyburn… please, I’m sorry for all I’ve done. I am responsible for all of the misfortune that’s befallen you, but I humbly request that you show clemency now that we’re at your mercy,” Lord Morvale pitifully implored.

“You’re sorry? For years, you and your insecure pride have hounded every accomplishment I’ve earned. My guild upstaging yours through the development of a new model of rifle? You tried discrediting us! I came up with a promising design for the Crown’s competition? You tried sabotaging me and holding the debt I owed you over my head!” Clyburn angrily listed. “And now you ask for clemency? I would sooner see you working as a menial enchanter in an island scrap town than show you mercy. And why are you asking me for mercy? What power do I hold over you?”

“That… would be because he in fact attempted to have you killed and your project destroyed. A crime of treason,” the Duke coldly revealed. “As Duke of the southern counties, enforcing the King’s laws within my domain is a responsibility I take very seriously. Normally… the punishment for such treason would be execution… but I imagine you may want to handle it yourself, as a result I’ve asked the judicial officers of the county and the Crown to stay their hand. His properties now belong to you, including a particular assistant of his, guilty of aiding in these crimes, who I’m told caused you much grief as well.”

Clyburn gave Orodan a brief side glance, their eyes meeting with the understanding that Duke Trevelain was certainly not to be trusted. Orodan had told Clyburn about the assassination attempts and who was responsible for them already. For this Duke to come in and try to reveal it as though he was doing Clyburn a favor?

Zaessythra was right, this man was untrustworthy.

“Sickening… throw them into the darkest hole you can find and throw away the key,” Clyburn ordered, causing two nearby guards of the Guild grounds - who were constables of the capital acting in dual-capacity - to apprehend them. “I will not sully my hands with their blood.”

“Quite noble of you Sir Clyburn, now then, with the foul business dispensed with we can turn to matters of mutual benefit,” the Duke said. “Here with me, I have a representative of the Storven Engineers’ Association. Specifically, her seat on the Association represents a majority of the small and middle-sized engineering guilds in the capital.”

“I am humbled to make your acquaintance Sir Clyburn, your genius and accomplishments are often spoken of even in the capital,” the woman said. “Although I notice your protege isn’t here? I was hoping to see the young purifier himself.”

“Ah, young Fenton is away for the morning at Acadia, attending classes as an up-and-coming lad of his age should,” Clyburn replied. “He works for our guild in a part-time capacity at this time, given how- Mister Wainwright?”

Orodan, whose Vision of Purity had been on at maximal power since the end of the battle against the Eldritch, felt and saw the subtle shift in the air the moment Clyburn had uttered those words. Immediately he stepped away and made to get behind a corner, and as he did, he felt a dirty pulse of mana go off from a communications pendant worn around one of the visitors.

It hadn’t been the Duke who sent out a message, but the woman who accompanied him.

Of course, he felt something coming for Fenton and could afford no further delays, even if his cover would be compromised. Besides, they could always come up with excuses later.

[Dimensional Step 32 → Dimensional Step 33]

He winked through the boundary separating the material plane from the other places of the cosmos, and immediately felt some sort of divine force attempting to stifle his travel. Somebody must have known he was coming.

Yet, it mattered not to Orodan who had overpowered far worse.

A simple flex of his power, and the power attempting to block him was smashed through as though it had never been there in the first place. The force on the other side felt alarmed, but Orodan cared not.

He stepped out to a grand lecture hall with hundreds of enchanting workstations set up, with an equal number of students working them.

“Now then, Mister Penny aside, would anyone else like to answer some questions or demonstrate a concept? Didn’t take the job as a professor to teach a class of one,” a man said with a chuckle. “Yes Mister Rosegard? Can you answer-”

The lecture was interrupted as pandemonium occurred.

There were two Blessed, both in the process of trying to attack his student. Fenton, smart lad that he was, already had a mana barrier up via one of the enchanted artifacts he carried. Must have seen it coming thanks to Orodan’s rigorous training.

One, a student sitting two rows up from the boy, the other a member of the cleaning staff who was supposedly passing by the open door of the lecture hall. Faster than anyone in the room could see, Orodan halted the janitor’s divine-empowered fist in the palm of his hand and lashed out in turn with a singular sweep which purged the Avatar of all Blessings in their entirety.

The Blessed student however, an Avatar too, must have been possessed by a relatively fast God, for their eyes managed to briefly meet his and get a look at Orodan’s face.

Of course, meeting the eyes of Orodan Wainwright was a move ill-advised.

Incipience of Infinity flared, and he deftly made sure to target the consciousness of the God inhabiting the student rather than the student themselves.

A shriek of divine duress followed, the entire lecture hall rumbling with force, and Orodan’s broom lashed out to purge that one too.

The entire altercation had occurred in less than a hundredth of a second. Even Fenton’s eyes, swifter than his counterparts’, were unable to keep up. And Orodan hastily winked back out of the material plane, taking a trip through the dimensional boundary to step back onto the Guild grounds of the Ironhaven Engineers’ Association.

Immediately, he furiously turned towards the visiting party of guests, only to realize that one of their number was gone.

Time Mastery came to the fore as Orodan swiftly gave a cursory glance towards what had occurred, and before the eyes of the startled Duke, he once again winked out of existence.

[Dimensional Step 33 → Dimensional Step 34]

This time dimensional travel took him farther, much farther. As he stepped out to the peak of a desolate mountain, he realized he wasn’t on Lonvoron anymore.

The woman who’d escaped, the supposed representative of the small engineering Guilds of Storven, was trembling, her eyes wide with terror. In front of her, four Avatars.

And from the looks of things, they were ready for him.

“This must be the one who can purge Blessings! Be care-”

Words were for the weak. Orodan’s broom lashed out and rid the Avatar hosts of the foul parasites infesting them. The matter seemed easily resolved until a dimensional rift tore open… leading directly to the divine dimension.

There was no Eldritch that came through, just Gods. More than one of them. Entering the material plane at great expense of energy.

The first, a giant glowing bird made of water, dove for his chest with fury only for Orodan’s hand to wrap around its beak. Its head was torn off entirely right after, and the divine energy fizzled out as a domain within the dimension of the Gods unraveled.

The most powerful of the enemy Gods at the rear ranks on the other side of the rift was a human glowing with energy and wielding an oversized rifle. Her eyes widened at Orodan’s display of instant brutality and violence.

“He’s stronger than even a peak-Transcendent, fall back now!” the Goddess roared.

Smart of them; they’d realized within one exchange that the odds weren’t in their favor.

A powerful bear, very similar to the ones he’d fought in the hot zone while fighting the Eldritch, charged him with fury, trying to cover the retreat of the rest. Only to be sent flying back through the rift as a bloody pulp from Orodan’s kick to the head. Oddly enough, it and all of these divines bore the tell-tale signs of something in particular…

…his Celestial skill. In particular, the fortification against corruption.

But, for something to bear that trace of his skill would mean…

“That you purged them of something unclean,” Zaessythra finished. “Why do these Gods fight against you despite being liberated of the Eldritch?”

He didn’t know why either. But what he did know was that the longer he spent here, the higher the odds of the Prophet’s arrival, or perhaps even the previous looper discovering him.

Orodan truly wasn’t interested in a drawn out fight. Hence, he threw his all into a singular, powerful attack.

Gods, having failed the System’s trial of ascension, were weaker than Transcendents by nature. And Orodan could kill the latter with fair ease nowadays.

The power of his attack, capable of destroying planets, shot forth.

And as the strongest of the Gods arrayed before him knew that death was inevitable, her last words simply confused him even further.

“Death to the Collective. Death to the System… I die fighting our oppressors!”

Orodan grabbed the now unconscious woman he was originally tailing and swiftly departed.

Somehow, tailing this interloper had only given him more questions than answers.

#

“A fine mess you’ve caused, my thuggish student… but I suppose even I would have a difficult time telling exactly who caused such a mess.”

“But you’re not exactly an investigator, are you?” Orodan asked. “What’re the odds of someone more skilled than you dissecting the scene?”

“Quite low, but I can deign to monitor the site of that battle if it worries you so much,” Talricto said, and Orodan nodded in gratitude.

“Still, this leaves us with the main problem,” Orodan continued. “We’re at an impasse… this one knows very little, although her blind subservience to the Gods I slew is entirely genuine and not the result of any mind control.”

“I have a difficult time understanding why these Gods would act against Fenton… you mentioned a giant bird made of water? That sounds much like Cytarr, the islander God of the sea winds. A woman with an oversized rifle? That’s Sharp herself; all marksmen pay homage to her,” Clyburn explained. “Putting aside the disturbing thought that you outright killed many of my people’s major Gods… why would they do this?”

“Why indeed? The Gods I’ve known have ever been fickle beings,” Talricto said. “Though you said the divine you killed declared the Collective and the System as her enemy? A bit odd to say the least.”

Odd; that was certainly one way of putting it. Orodan didn’t think he’d heard anyone declare the System their enemy aside from the Reject, perhaps the Mage and maybe himself.

“But enough of that, is Fenton alright, Mister Wainwright?” Clyburn asked.

“Aye. He had a barrier up before I even got there, quick thinking and good instincts,” Orodan said. “But if you’re so concerned, you can ask him yourself.”

The door flung open and in walked his student with a smile on his face.

“Was that you ser? I could’ve swore I caught a bare glimpse of somethin’ the color of your cloak,” Fenton cheerily said. “Best day of university I’ve had yet!”

“I’m surprised they didn’t simply cancel classes after that whole debacle,” Clyburn said. “My contacts tell me that the Crown’s agents are all over the Capital combing through the place as we speak.”

“Aye ser, that’s why I said it’s the best day, they let us go early after all!”

Ah, to be a delinquent youth again.

Orodan threw a pebble at Fenton’s forehead which the boy barely dodged.

“If you have enough energy to be complaining about how much you hate classes, then you have enough vigor to train,” Orodan declared. “And if the subject material of these classes is too easy, then I can introduce my own exercises to your curriculum.”

“What exercises ser? No disrespect meant, but by now I’m probably a fairer hand at enchantin’ than even you!”

Orodan had a devious grin on his face at that remark.

“I’m not disagreeing with that assessment lad… but there’s a certain exercise I believe I’ve yet to introduce you to.”

“An exercise? What’s it? More running? More spars?”

“None of that. Tell me Fenton… have you heard of chicken scratch?”

“Chicken… scratch?” the boy asked. “That some sort of food sir?”

“Right, I forget you grew up in either the city or an island and haven’t seen a live chicken before…” Orodan muttered. “But that’s besides the point. Allow me to explain to you the wonders of this new and mysterious enchanting language…”

Fenton didn’t know what he was about to get into.

With less than a month left till the award ceremony, he was intent on training not just himself, but Fenton too. Furthermore, Luetta had sent him a letter informing that she felt ready to take her trial of ascension, but Orodan had let her know that it would likely occur after the ceremony.

At that time, Orodan felt, things would come to a head.

But at least his cover was still intact, and perhaps he might even get the drop on the previous looper when the time came.

#

Like that, a month passed. It went relatively quickly too, and without any further incidents or trouble.

The Eldritch hadn’t acted, the previous looper didn’t come by trying to sniff him out and Orodan had neither tried pursuing this mysterious cabal of enemy Gods, nor did they attempt to cause trouble for him. As a result, the time passed peacefully, with much training and progress being made. Both personally for Orodan and Fenton, and for the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild as a whole.

For starters, Fenton had progressed quite well. Not only did he keep up with his regular physical conditioning, magical and combat training, but his student had naturally gotten the idea of chicken scratch down quicker than Orodan himself had.

But what separated the two of them was that the lad didn’t have Reality Alteration nor the sheer willpower he possessed. This meant that what Orodan could brute force and make reality through pure will, Fenton had to work around with great skill. It cemented the realization that talent wasn’t everything. Someone with a higher work ethic or other advantages could still outperform someone extremely talented who didn’t have those things. And Orodan’s iron will was one of the mightiest advantages anyone could have. Fenton, genius as the lad was, had a long way to go before he could hone his willpower to the extent where he could mold reality. In this regard, he’d finally found an aspect of Enchanting where his student didn’t immediately trounce him.

On the administrative side of things, the Ironhaven Engineers’ Guild was doing well, very well. Their rivals and those pushed out the market as a result might’ve said too well. But according to Zaessythra their opinions didn’t matter if they were too inept to capitalize on the market’s openings. Not only had their large scale recruitment campaigns alongside their healthy merit-based compensations stolen a number of the talents from other guilds, but their Guild also dominated large swathes of the job market for low-skill engineering jobs.

In tandem with Orodan’s insistence that every member of the Guild engage in physical training, their engineers could work for longer, complete tasks faster and were plainly more efficient than those of the other guilds. And while this might not have mattered too much on the small scale, when things were scaled up over hundreds of engineers, the difference added up significantly at scale.

Clyburn’s connections to the Ironhaven Isles and his existing base of operations there also helped acquire further resources and gave them a leg up on the Guilds which had no existing base of power on the islands, and surprisingly enough, Fenton’s mother Fanny had joined one of the large tailors’ guilds in the capital and an unexpected partnership between her tailors’ Guild and theirs had bloomed. And finally, the Guild had begun building the prototype for a device which could not only detect Eldritch, but track it over great distances.

Once these devices were mass-produced in great quantities, there was no doubt that the plague’s foothold upon this world and the Blackworth Collective as a whole would be severely diminished. Clyburn and Fenton were to thank for that.

Needless to say, these exceptional results weren’t thanks to Orodan; rather, the tactical mind behind all this was Zaessythra. She claimed it helped her stave off the boredom of having to remain within his soul. Frankly, with the way she made sharp decisions about business and dealing with competition sometimes it didn’t feel much like Orodan was the assistant Guild Master. Still, at least he’d made gains in Logistics as a result of helping manage the Guild alongside Florence.

But that was just on the business side of things. When it came to his personal training and advancement, Orodan had grown in several key ways. For starters, his Fire and Ice Resistances gained levels as he sparred with Talricto and was often subject to getting battered whenever the dimensional spider used rifts leading to the elemental planes offensively. He’d gained levels in Dimensionalism yes, but surprisingly enough one in Sword Mastery too; the result of puppeteering himself and gaining insights about the blade that way.

Talricto could’ve used more elements, but for now Orodan was happy to focus on fire and ice, particularly fire as it was important he develop further resistance against it if elementally infusing his body with it was his goal.

Of course, resistances aside, the astounding discovery of elemental infusion had been his primary focus during training with Talricto. Over the past month, he’d trained extensively with the dimensional spider and focused on understanding the connection between Dimensionalism and his elements. And while Orodan wouldn’t say he was an expert, the singular month had seen him make decent progress in syncing his partially dimensional body with the elements he commanded.

If he could truly bring his body, dimensionalism and the elements in sync… what then? He felt closer to that goal than ever before.

And of course, Enchanting practice alongside Fenton had made decent progress, with Orodan’s speed of enchanting guns with two-dimensional enchantments having drastically increased. Now, in a singular second he could enchant a rifle with a basic inscription for durability. Naturally he’d gained a skill level in the art, but the most valuable take-away was the increased comprehension into how to quickly weave an enchantment. Alongside Weaving, which he’d regularly practiced with Fanny Penny, Orodan felt the foundations for his planned skill grow stronger than ever.

Body Enchanting, or the planned living enchantments Orodan was aiming for, seemed close.

Of course, various crafting skills had gained levels as well, courtesy of the work he often stepped in to help the Guild with. And all in all, it had been a good month of training and advancement.

But the event he’d been anticipating now approached. Something that needed to pass before Orodan could think of approaching the Conclave or aiding Luetta with her trial of ascension. After all… a meeting with the King of the Blackworth Collective naturally meant that somebody else he’d been after for a while would be near.

Thankfully, his cover had remained intact and nobody came by to bother him, a result of his skills and careful planning no doubt.

For some reason he always got the feeling Zaessythra was rolling her eyes at him whenever he considered that, of course he had no way of proving it.

“Ready to be dressed up for your execution?”

“Don’t joke about that Mister Clyburn! I’m not headed for that… it’s just an award ceremony… in front of thousands of people…” Fenton muttered, fear evident on his face.

“You’re certainly acting as though your death approaches,” Orodan remarked. “Haven’t you fought thousands of Eldritch before?”

“That’s that and this is this ser,” Fenton replied and then sighed dramatically. “Well, I suppose it can’t be too bad. What’s the worst that happens? I embarrass myself before the King and cause a political incident that’s spoken of for years?”

“Aren’t you a little world-wise to be experiencing something as petty as social anxiety?” Orodan asked. “I doubt it’ll be worse than the years of indentured servitude and labor in scrap town.”

“…when you put it like that Mister Orodan, it doesn’t sound too bad.”

“That’s what I thought, now off to the carriage with you.”

The three of them, Orodan, Clyburn and Fenton, made for the gates of the guild grounds where an extravagant flying carriage awaited. The driver of said flying metal vehicle was the same one who’d chauffeured them to Storven in the first place.

“Good to see you lot again sers, you’ve made quite some waves since I last saw you,” the woman said, opening the door for them. “As you can see, we’ve been given an upgraded ride. We’ll be taking to the air today. Only the best of transportation for the Collective’s heroes.”

“I wouldn’t go that far…” Fenton muttered.

“Nonsense! My son at Acadia says everyone talks about the young master Fenton Penny,” the driver said. “Why, scarcely a day goes by without some rumor that you’ve impressed a senior professor or turned the Enchanters’ Association’s conceptions about their trade upside down. Say… do you fancy anyone yet? I’ve got a few nieces that-”

“That will not be necessary. And you’d better hope his mother doesn’t hear you say that,” Clyburn intervened. “If only because I also don’t want to have my bedsheets replaced with cursed silks which strangle me in my sleep.”

Or have some of the first year girls at the university kill him. From what Orodan had heard far too many times for his liking, his student was something of popular individual. Good thing Fenton himself was too dense to realize most of the attention.

“I wonder who he takes after in that regard?”

Orodan wasn’t even dense! In his opinion anyhow…

“R-right… I’d heard about Madam Fanny Penny, Elite seamstress of the Soaring Canvas Guild. I don’t want no problems with her…” the woman muttered. “Anyhow, shall we depart for the King’s citadel? You ever been there young master?”

“Once or twice when someone needed somethin’ enchanted,” Fenton replied. “Too many paintings though, some of ‘em look eerie too.”

“Well you’re in luck. The citadel’s never been as lively as it’s going to be today. The King’s finally returning from his tour of the other worlds,” the woman said. “King Alstatyn’s come home to Lonvoron.”

And possibly, with someone else in tow. They had to be here, given how important the previous looper considered the King.

Soon enough, their flying carriage took off, belching steam as it did, and Fenton periodically grumbled about how inefficient some of the enchantments were and Clyburn had to restrain the lad from fixing up and improving the inscriptions while they were mid-flight as it would’ve been rude.

Storven was a pretty city, particularly when seen from the air. Aerial traffic around them was entirely non-existent however as two accompanying voidcraft of the Crown cleared the skies for their approach towards the King’s seat of power.

It was a truly gigantic citadel, something Orodan hadn’t truly been able to appreciate last time, having teleported from the battlefield to directly under the citadel where the vaults lay. Furthermore, though he’d seen it from a distance enough times over the past month, the gigantic clock embedded into the face of the citadel’s tallest tower was both intricately designed and beautifully enchanted. Even Fenton gave it an appraising look and wasn’t immediately thinking of ways to better it immediately.

“Sparrow four to citadel aerial monitor, come in,” the driver voiced over the carriage’s in-built communications feature. “Requesting landing.”

“You’re cleared sparrow four, landing zone one is expecting your passengers,” the return came. “Welcome to the citadel sirs.”

Their vehicle passed between two tall pillars with numerous defensive weapons and soldiers upon them. They were taking an air route and heading for a landing zone not accessible to regular inbound traffic. This was shown to be true soon enough as their vehicle touched down directly upon a large balcony which simply wasn’t accessible on foot. Instead, the door leading into the castle showed a grand hall and within…

…the throne room of the citadel itself.

This grand throne room was far from empty, with thousands upon thousands of people inside. All of whom were raucously cheering and eager to lay their eyes upon Fenton.

“It’s their ship! The young purifier is inside!”

“I love you! Marry me young master Penny!”

“Destroyer of the plague! Savior of Lonvoron!”

Orodan ignored some of the weird individuals making their inappropriate remarks about a young lad and focused upon the ground.

He doubted even Fenton could see it. But it was a grand array made of one very particular thing.

System energy.

But that was fine. In fact, Orodan had been preparing for this day for over a month now. Ever since he’d realized that he couldn’t detect the previous looper’s entrance at all, he’d been slavishly devoted to increasing the levels on one particular skill.

Vision of Purity.

And the way he’d been doing it was based off of a simple premise. If seeing all mana as dirty during his attempt to infiltrate Novar’s Peak had caused such strain and caused him to gain so many levels?

Then what would occur…

…if he saw everything as dirty?

[Vision of Purity 89 → Vision of Purity 90]

The skill crossed a threshold, and finally… he began to notice the most subtle patterns of energy which indicated the presence of his main target for this long loop.

They weren’t physically here it seemed, but the threads of energy leading from this throne room to wherever the physical caster were could, if barely, be seen. The energy was so utterly pure that it was incredibly difficult to notice, it was in a sense a good counter for Vision of Purity and why he’d been so desperately training the skill.

Still, with this there was a chance. All Orodan needed was to spend some time following the threads, subtly of course. A task that would doubtlessly be easy since he’d been quite focused upon laying low this loop.

Thanks to his planning, it would be he who got the drop on someone for a change! The crowning achievement of his stealthy ways!

Even the System array beneath his feet, he sensed was meant to freeze the entire room in time. No doubt so that the caster could have a private word with Fenton Penny, the hero of Lonvoron. Orodan himself had enough finesse in chronomancy and dimensionalism by now that he planned on appearing to be affected for as long as possible so that he could trace the threads back to their caster.

And from there, the confrontation and answers he sought awaited!

Clyburn touched the ground, the array didn’t trigger, as expected since the array appeared ready to trigger at the touch of someone specific, likely Fenton.

And as Orodan’s feet touched the ground, he was unprepared for the sudden surge of System energy which enveloped everything around him.

The crowds stilled, air froze, the steam in the air became completely inert. And most importantly of all…

…Fenton who was behind him, was frozen in time.

What? Orodan was confused! Zaessythra’s snorting only added to the lack of answers.

He didn’t understand, should the array not have been meant for his student? He was certain that Fenton would be the previous looper’s target. Yet by the looks of things, the array was meant to isolate someone else entirely.

And as Orodan pondered on just who this elaborate time-freezing array was for and where his stealthy approach to this long loop had gone wrong… a voice from behind him spoke up.

“The engineer, I knew about. The boy, regretfully slipped under my notice. But you… you I do notrecognize. So tell me otherworlder…

“…who are you?”

It seemed Orodan’s machinations had been sprung right back upon him.

And Zaessythra finally erupted into a full blown laugh within his head.

“Tch! I’ve been had! And here I thought I was doing everything right and being clandestine…”

“Orodan… since when would anyone consider half the things you do clandestine?”

An irritating setback.

Perhaps Orodan really wasn’t meant for this cloak-and-dagger lifestyle after all. But… in the absence of tricks and schemes, he could always fall back upon the one facet of himself that was always reliable.

“Who am I? I am Orodan Wainwright, and I…”

“…am the time looper.”

As the pandemonium began, Zaessythra’s laughter was the only thing he could hear echoing within his mind.