Chapter 79: Slight issue

The final days before departure passed quickly as Alaric settled every obligation which couldn’t follow him across the Divine Sea.

Grok’s agreement was the first matter he ended, since leaving without fulfilling the contract would bring trouble to him.

Everyone relied on Divine Contract Scrolls exactly because they were that reliable. If people could break them without paying a high cost, they wouldn’t have been so widespread.

Alaric had no intention of trying to bear the brunt of breaking a contract.

The original agreement required Grok to serve for four months while receiving progress equivalent to four years of ordinary practice.

Instead of demanding that he remain until the final day, Alaric offered to release him immediately after providing everything still owed to him.

Grok accepted, while Kyle approved the termination through a revised Divine Contract.

Alaric brought Grok into the concealed mechanism one final time.

However, he didn’t skim most of the compressed mana for himself as he had during their previous sessions.

He allowed the Mana Compression Pearl to return far more of Grok’s refined mana, stopping periodically so the Mage could stabilize his core before continuing.

By evening, Grok had received all the progress promised across the unfulfilled portion of his contract.

He emerged from the mechanism in a daze, repeatedly examining his core as if the advancement might disappear when he stopped looking at it. “You could have done this from the beginning?”

“The contract promised a specific amount of progress, not the speed at which I had to provide it,” Alaric replied. “You have received everything you were owed, and I have received the work and magic items already provided. Neither side has any remaining obligation.” Grok couldn’t dispute that.

Once both of them signed the termination, the clauses concerning the mechanism and the nature of the treasure remained active.

One narrow exception allowed Grok to confirm to Kyle that the promised compensation had been delivered, since Kyle had been the other party responsible for the original arrangement.

When Grok returned to Arcanum Magic Tower and explained that several months of promised progress had been completed in one day, Kyle stared at him for a long time. “One day?” the Champion Mage repeated. “You are certain this wasn’t temporary stimulation?”

Grok released his mana and allowed Kyle to examine the change personally.

His core was stable, the additional refinement was genuine and there were no signs that his future had been damaged.

The contract prevented him from explaining the concealed mechanism, but Kyle no longer cared about its appearance because its speed told him what actually mattered.

He regretted treating Alaric’s offer as merely an unusually profitable trade.

An artifact capable of producing years of magical progress this quickly could form the foundation of an entire power.

Kyle could cultivate loyal Mages or even Champion Mages, exchange progress for rare resources and make deals that no ordinary Magic Tower could compete against.

Had he understood its true ability while Rowena was still absent, he might have risked killing Alaric and taking the artifact despite the possibility of facing her retaliation later.

The reward was attractive enough to gamble against even a Paragon, especially when preparations could be made before she returned.

That opportunity was gone now. Rowena was back, her army occupied House Orlen and Kyle had no intention of attacking that mansion even if Marchioness Orlen was a newly advanced Paragon.

Yes, Champion Mage Kyle didn’t have information channels at the high level like the rest of the Flenn Kingdom. Therefore, he didn’t know much about the true strength of Rowena.

However, the artifact would not stop existing merely because Alaric left his reach. Kyle intended to remember it and search for another opportunity in the future.

While Grok departed, Orwin at last finalized everything he intended to take. There was truly nothing left for him now.

His dissolution of his Magic Tower had caused waves across the Rathen Empire, with people asking him for his reasons everyday.

However, knowing the full backstory, he never once disclosed even the slightest connection with House Orlen.

His spatial rings contained his private research, accumulated wealth and materials purchased with his own money, while the Tower’s shared equipment and institutional property remained behind.

Evan brought his weapons and little else.

Alice packed a single case of books, clothing and writing supplies, while Mira’s family reduced what remained of their old life to a few bags.

Zephyr, the notorious baby dragon, wanted to bring loads and loads of meat, but not many people had spatial storage artifacts in the first place.

And even those spatial artifacts contained limited space, so people couldn’t bring everything, especially useless things such as just meat.

One absence continued bothering Alaric.

A princess of the Flenn Kingdom had awakened a Divine Ability in the original events of Tales of Golden Era, making her one of the rarest talents on the continent.

He had sent people to find her current location without revealing why, but royal movements were deliberately obscured and the investigation produced nothing useful before the departure date.

Even if he found her, Alaric possessed no relationship with the princess and no believable reason why she should abandon her family to follow him across the Divine Sea.

Approaching her recklessly could also expose his preparations to the royal family or anyone monitoring it.

Losing a potential Genius still hurt, but Rowena’s description of the Central Continent made the decision easier to accept.

The strongest continent possessed far more people, inheritances and exceptional talents than the Southern Continent.

If he couldn’t gather every Genius here, he would simply find more after arriving there.

The Meridian Court’s recognition token finally reacted two nights later and revealed a secluded stretch of coast far from any settlement.

Rowena moved the group in small numbers before gathering everyone inside a ravine whose entrance faced the Divine Sea.

The vessel arrived without sound.

It resembled a narrow silver craft with no sails, mast or exposed deck, and its smooth hull remained almost impossible to notice even after Rowena pointed directly toward it.

A section of the vessel opened only when she raised the Meridian Court’s token.

One man stepped out to receive them.

He introduced himself as Caelen Marr, an envoy authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Meridian Court, although Rowena and Orwin paid more attention to the power concealed beneath his ordinary appearance.

The Court had sent a Dominion!

Even Rowena was shocked by the importance attached to this, not to mention Alaric who was seeing the first ever Dominion.

There was nothing different about him than the rest of them here, but if the slight mentions of power of these people in Tales of Golden Era were true, then this person in front of them could demolish a small hill all by himself.

Caelen had also come alone. The vessel’s formations handled navigation, concealment, defense and ordinary maintenance without sailors, while he only needed to direct its destination and provide power during dangerous sections of the voyage.

The envoy had expected Rowena and a small collection of dependents, so Orwin’s presence pleased him immediately. Sophia, Evan and Alaric gave him further reasons to revise his opinion of the group’s value.

Before Zephyr revealed himself, Caelen entered a confidentiality agreement restricting him from sharing the dragon’s identity without permission. The baby dragon then cancelled his invisibility beside Mira, causing the Dominion’s controlled expression to finally change.

“A dragon,” Caelen murmured. “The Meridian Court will be very interested in you.” Zephyr immediately corrected him. “I’m cooperating with them. I don’t belong to any human organization.” Caelen accepted the distinction without laughing, which improved Zephyr’s opinion of him considerably.

The Dominion wasn’t able to sense the specialty of Mira right away, which made Alaric inwardly sigh in relief.

Eleven individuals entered the vessel in total. There were Caelen, Alaric, Alice, Rowena, Mira, Valen, their mother, Evan, Zephyr, Orwin and Sophia.

Once the entrance sealed, the interior formations confirmed every passenger before expanding the available rooms through spatial magic.

Alice had known that they were travelling to another continent, but Alaric had never explained why the journey required Rowena, Orwin and an unfamiliar Dominion.

She watched Caelen take control of the vessel before glancing toward Alaric.

“You neglected to mention that our guide was a Dominion,” she said. “I didn’t know they would send one,” Alaric replied honestly. That answer didn’t satisfy her, but the vessel began moving before she could question him further.

The silver craft rose from the ravine and withdrew toward the Divine Sea while its land concealment remained active. Once it travelled far enough beyond the coast, another system designed for the spatial disturbances and unstable mana currents above the sea would replace it.

The transition between those two concealments created the only brief period when the vessel would be comparatively exposed.

Caelen’s expression abruptly changed. “Remain where you are.” The vessel continued accelerating away from the coast while Rowena and Orwin immediately moved between the passengers and the outer hull, releasing enough mana to protect everyone without allowing their presence to escape the artifact.

“What happened?” Rowena asked. “Something touched the edge of the concealment,” Caelen answered as his awareness spread through every formation.

“It might have been an unfocused sweep across this region, or someone may be sensing the vessel despite its protections. I cannot identify them, and I cannot yet confirm whether they have found our exact location.”

He resumed the departure sequence while redirecting power into the sea concealment.

The vessel needed only a little more time to disengage from the continent, but whoever was searching received the same time to focus upon them.

Alaric understood that turning back or fighting would ruin everything.

Even if Rowena, Orwin and Caelen survived the confrontation, the battle could destroy their only means of crossing the Divine Sea and announce the Meridian Court’s involvement to every powerful existence watching the continent.

The pressure inside the vessel increased as its formations began shifting.

Alaric thought hard, processing every information he had before his eyes brightened.

Maybe I can try that!

Thank you for reading!