144 Fortress

At the same time, free didn't mean settling, at least not for me. We floated away before I turned back around. I observed the ground, Althea putting her elbow on the top of my head.

"What are you looking at?"

I squinted, "I'm looking for any leftover eldritch. I don't want them wrecking havoc a month from now."

Althea shook her hands, "Don't worry. Torix already handled what was left. Something about transferring ownership with magic."

I glanced up, "Really now?"

She nodded, "Yeah." She grinned at me, "Ready to go?"

I charged my mana for a second, my armor resonating with the energy. I raised a hand in front of me, "Of course."

We flew through the air towards Torix's base. Flew might be the wrong word, however. When I pulled myself forward with gravity, it didn't feel like flying. Nothing propelled us forward, it was more like we were falling in a direction.

No wind grazed my cheeks. No dust or insects flew onto us. It all collected into the gravity well just out of our reach. A tiny ball of dirt, bugs, and water condensed into the well ahead as we moved. Althea tapped my head with her hand,

"Hey. Can you get rid of that disgusting spitball?"

I rolled my eyes, "Is it that bad?"

She shrugged, "Not really. If you could though, I'd give you my eternal thanks."

I flicked the spitball aside with a burst of telekinesis. Althea hugged my head, "Thanks."

I placed a hand on her arm, "No problem."

We reached the base, and my jaw dropped at the progress. Before I left, there was no sign of development. On the outside, few changes showed. The inside was a different story altogether.

Beneath the pines and oaks covering the mountain, Eltari made huts. They enjoyed the smell of earth and open housing so they could fly. An untrained eye wouldn't see their homes. I wasn't trained per say, but I could see the broad wings of eltari here or there.

They dug out hollows leading into the mountain base. Steel and concrete beams reinforced the mountain, blending in well. A few strips of exposed concrete let me see the hidden buttresses. Fresh ground revealed tunnels as well.

The sentries Yawm sent out wouldn't pick up on subtle signs like this, however. As we fell towards the mountain, I slowed our descent. Althea pointed at a small stream near the base,

"That's the entrance I use."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

She looked at it, "You'll get it when you get there."

We reached the stream, and Althea pointed at a waterfall big enough for us to enter. I peered at it,

"So it's like an evil villain's entrance?"

Althea rolled her eyes, "How else do you think Torix would do it?"

I smiled as we reached the cascade. As we neared it, I generated an antigravity well at its origin. The water fell away from it, bending around the gravitational flux. This opened up a dry path for us. As we passed it, Althea looked at the water falling upward,

"Wow...that's so cool."

I raised an eyebrow, "Huh? I guess so."

We passed into the entrance. Torix fancied it up some. Someone carved doors of stone into the cavern walls. While not intricate, the simple pattern still impressed me. I set us down onto a floor of smooth stone. I walked up, and Althea jumped off my shoulders. She looked up at me, waving at me with waving, sprite-like fingers,

"Are you going to move it with more magic? Ooooh."

I lifted my chin, making myself sound like a pompous rich person, "So the plebian is Jealous then?"

I waved my hand like I couldn't be bothered to open the door. Antigravity pushed the doorway open in a steady crawl.

I flourished my hand, "How quaint!"

We laughed while walking in. The floors shined, the polished concrete making a simple yet effective flooring. Glass panels lined the roof, two rows of fluorescent lights lined a hallway. It looked like someone sliced through stone, made a hall, then installed lights.

I turned towards Althea,

"Did you cut this out?"

She nodded, "Yeah. It took a bit of practice, but I got a handle on it."

I turned forward, walking down the hallway, "Hell yeah."

We walked for a few minutes, chatting with enthusiasm. We reached an old vault doorway. Althea walked up to a passcode at the side of it. She input a code, and the doors hissed. The vault door turned three notches. I walked up, grabbing it.

I turned towards Althea, "Can I open it now?"

She spread out her arms, "Yeah, of course...why are asking?"

I frowned at the door, "Well, I don't want to break it."

She giggled at my dilemma as I pulled the door open. The giant slab of iron glided on the hinge, offering no resistance. I swung it back and forth, playing with the door for a second. After I bounced it back and forth with some telekinesis, Althea gave me a stern look,

I shrugged, "Sorry."

We walked into the base. It wasn't as barebones anymore, not by a long shot. It was vast, open cavern. Besides that, the first thing I noticed was how bright everything was. It didn't feel like inside a cave. The air was too fresh, and the ceiling was too bright.

I discovered why. Above us, glass panels lined the roof, looking like reflections of the sun.

Althea pointed up at them, "So people complained to Torix that it was too dark."

I smirked, "Woah. Torix made a base too dark and brooding? Who'd have guessed."

Althea waved her hands at the panels, "I know right? Anyways, he set up some mirrors outside. They reflect down these, er, aluminum tubes. They bounce the light back and forth until it comes inside."

I glanced around at the cave houses, "Oh shit. That's clever."

She pointed at the houses, "We worked with some architects and designed windows and everything in the houses too. It makes the place feel way less...cave-ey."

I remembered my time in Bloodhollow.

"Yeah, I get that. Being underground like that can mess with your head if you're in it long enough."

Althea pointed at the houses, "Torix made the whole mountain like a wedding cake. This is the residential area at the very bottom."

She pointed up, "Above here is the military base."

I surveyed the area. A wealth of information flooded in due to Hunter of Many. Lots of people lived in apartments, wooden boards lining the cave walls. Light poured out of the windows with people doing all sorts of random stuff.

Knitting, woodworking, writing, studying, training, reading, you name it, people were doing it. In between these living spaces, bars, repair places, stores, and even skill shops were open. Children also ran out in public areas, watched by their parents. That's right. Children.

I gave them a long, hard look out of the corner of my eye. They were alien almost. I couldn't remember the last time I saw a kid.

At the same time, everyone stared at us as we passed. I'll admit it. We made a scene. I towered over everyone, a full five feet taller. Althea sat on my shoulders. More than any of that, Amara and Ajax floated behind me, one of them in an emerald shell.

We drew the eye, that's for sure.

The children stared in horror at me. The ran to their parents who pointed at me. Most of the parents smiled, saying that I was some kind of savior and such. In a way, I guess I was.

The children didn't look as scared after talking with their parents. At least my helmet wasn't on. Otherwise, they'd be in abject terror. None of them walked up to me still. Maybe after a few visits, people would get used to me.

At least one reason they feared me was my level. I analyzed many of the people as I walked through the base. They averaged level 100 or so. It made sense that the residential area wouldn't be full of warriors after all. If I activated Event Horizon, every person here would die instantly.

It was a sobering thought.

We reached a cylindrical pillar of natural stone lined with steel girders. It was the core of the mountain base. Many oversized and a few smaller elevators were at the ground level of the giant column. Althea pointed at one,

"Those are the elevators for people. The other ones are for supplies, vehicles, and uh, eldritch. We'll have to use those because you're so tall. That and Amara and Ajax."

I raised my eyebrows, "How many eldritch are here?"

Althea shrugged, "At least a few thousand. We've got over a hundred species now."

We reached the industrial elevator. I didn't even need to bend under it. Althea pressed the 2nd-floor button.

"Don't worry. Torix has the eldritch on a leash with Torix's mythical skill. He's smart like that."

We walked into the elevator. Before the gears broke trying to lift us, I aided it with gravity again. I looked at Althea,

"Is he still handing out lectures for every question asked?"

Althea spread out her arms, "Of course. You know who you're talking about, right?"

I looked up, "It would be a nice change of pace. Yawm was the polar opposite. If anything, he always acted like he knew nothing about almost anything. Well, besides for some life advice. That may have been his way of hiding information."

Althea frowned, "Yeah, I'm assuming he was just lying to you the entire time about everything."

I sighed, "You're probably right about that."

We reached the second floor. Althea lifted a hand up and laid it on my shoulder, "Hey. He talked about how you never fell for him. I for one am deeply impressed."

I looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "Really?"

She nodded, "I couldn't tell him no after a few sentences. You were with him for months. I can't even imagine what that was like."

We walked into the militarized zone.

"It was...unusual. You'd think Yawm would put you on edge all the time. If anything, he had this soothing effect. It was like I didn't have to worry about anything anymore. He'd handle it, or something to that effect. It's hard to describe."

I shook my head, "It wasn't like I was stressed the entire time I was there. If anything, the struggle was in becoming comfortable. Once your comfortable, Yawm could pull you to his side with ease."

Althea looked down, "Yeah. It couldn't argue with him after three or so sentences."

I put a finger under her chin and lifted it up, "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. Hod required one sentence after all."

She gave out a reluctant laugh, "Yeah. Hod's not that hard to convince though."

We walked through another hallway like the waterfall entrance. At the end was another vault door. Althea typed in the code at the side of it while I shrugged,

"Hod has excellent intuition. I'd follow his gut reaction before my own, ten times out of ten. I mean, he trusted me when I first arrived on his planet. Look at how that ended up working out for him."

Althea rolled her eyes, "Now he's the killer of Yawm, the hero of his race, and obviously the most humble person I've ever met."

I pulled open the vault door, "It's so damn funny though."

We walked into the militarized zone. It was a smaller cavern than the residential district but still massive. The vertical planning implemented metal walkways above everything. This lets vehicles and eldritch populate the ground floor. Ordinary people walked or ran along these walkways above all the chaos.

And boy oh boy was their chaos. Eldritch shambled by, many of them large and horrific. Runic inscriptions lined their face, sealing their homicidal tendencies. Someone either rode them or walked beside the eldritch at all times. They controlled them with a wristband covered in inscriptions of the same type.

The vehicles were more conventional. Of course, a few runic markings lined some of the armored cars. Atop them were turrets, either made of guns or from actual gemstones. The gemstones amplified the spells of the user, letting them blast enemies with mana.

My favorite integration came with the mana rifles. We walked down a firing range. In it, troops held these modern rifles with crystalized mana in the chamber instead of bullets. They either whispered spells or used silent casting.

After saying their spell, they mana stones glowed, firing off elemental bullets. Giant clusters of ice, plumes of fire, and blobs of acid smothered firing targets. The multicolored bolts decimated the paper boards, crumbling them.

It was awe inspiring.

After walking past the firing range, we reached several cages full of various eldritch species. The monsters lived in all kinds of environments, some covered in lava others in ice. The fauna adapted with them, giving the beasts something to feast on.

For safety, each and every eldritch covered itself in runes of Torix's making. Some workers fed the eldritch meat, grain, whatever it was they ate. A group of civilians gawked at these demons through glass windows. It was like a zoo of sorts.

I raised an eyebrow at it, "Practical. Torix adds some entertainment while breeding them. It seems kind of risky though."

Althea shook her head, "They're at the very center of the combat training part of the base. Someone guards them 24/7. None of them are over level 300 either."

I analyzed a few of the monsters. Althea was right. The horrors were malnourished and lower leveled. None of them were rapidly spreading varieties either. No hives of swarming insects or intelligent eldritch here. They were all harmless, by comparison.

After walking past the exhibits, we neared the third and final area of the 2nd floor. Sparks and fires flew out of blowtorches. Electricity wrapped around Tesla coils. Pieces of gear spread out over tables. It was a tinkerer's wet dream, a verdant oasis of equipment and apparatuses.

We walked into it, looking around at various projects laid out on tables. Chalkboards scattered across the walls, blueprints pinned across them. Most of the inventors wore soundproof headphones, letting them focus. They built all kinds of different tech.

Power armor, rifles, runic inscriptions, incantations, alchemy, and batteries, there was no limits here. We walked further, revealing more. Summoning rituals, biological weapons, cloaking devices, elemental grenades, they toiled on all weapons of war.

It was out of love. Few fighters trained the day after the climactic battle. Most idled at the private section, getting over some killer hangovers. The inventors worked out of respect for their craft though. Why take a day off when you love what you do after all?

As we paced by the inventors, we found Diesel grinding away at a prototype rifle. He was an engineer who designed Althea's guns for me. I crafted the weapon using his blueprints. He looked up at us, wearing a pair of black goggles and a grease-smeared jumpsuit.

He smiled at us. It looked like he and Althea knew each other now.

Althea walked up to him, their heights mirroring each other. Diesel looked at us both, shock spreading over his face.

"Well, I'll be damned. You actually did it, sir."

I shook my head, gesturing to everyone around us, "Trust me when I say this. We killed Yawm."

He walked up, two or three heads shorter than me. Diesel looked up, putting a hand on my shoulder,

"We do our part when we can...Heh, here I thought I got taller because of your legacy. You're a giant, sir."

I patted his shoulder, making sure not to put too much force behind it, "If anything, I think you're catching up. What level are you now?"

He looked up at my level while lowering his hands, "Only 677. You're alreadyover 5,000." He turned towards Althea, "And it looks like the lovely lady is 5,000 dead even. I'm glad we have monsters like you two on our side."

Althea shrugged, "I hit the level cap. I have to get a class if I want to advance any further."

I turned towards her, raising my eyebrow, "Really?"

She glanced up at me, "What? You're over level 5,000? How the hell did that happen?"

I waved my hands back and forth, "It's a long story. I got two trees called Obliterator one and two. After Yawm died, I unlocked and finished Obliterator three for some reason. It was probably a gesture of goodwill by Schema or something like that. That's what I'm guessing at least."

Diesel shook his head in disbelief, "I wish I had the same problem as you, mam. Being too high a level, well...It's a hell of a problem to have."

She walked up, inspecting the new model Diesel was working on. She ran her hand down the polished steel, "How much longer till you finish it?"

Diesel tapped his chin, "Oh, this beauty...If I had to guess, about three months."

Althea bit her lip. She sighed, "That sucks, but I get it. I've tried redesigning my rifle too. It's impossible for me."

Diesel turned back to his rifle, "Speaking of redesigning, I gotta get back to work. It's good to talk to you both, but this cannon isn't going to finish itself."

He grinned, putting back on a pair of goggles,

"Besides, I don't want to interrupt your reunion. Go and enjoy each other's company. You're only young once."

I frowned. Diesel had a crush on Althea last time we talked. It looked like he learned that Althea and I were dating after I left. He moved on, though an inkling of bitterness lingered in his voice. Althea waved as we left him to get back to work.

After pacing past all the tech, Althea walked back up to the central area of the base,

"Don't worry, the tours almost over."

We entered the elevator and rode back up to level three. After pacing through another vault door, we reached a training camp. The last floor involved research and development. This area designed itself around learning.

The same reinforced cylinder sat at the center. Bookshelves lined the pillar at the center of the hall, making a study. A circular set of rooms laid outside it. People in all garments, from military uniforms to dresses, walked from place to place.

They paced into rooms of all kinds. Obstacle courses, lecture halls, and dueling areas spread out across the circular study. The dueling rooms were lined with glass, letting spectators watch from the library.

Inside the room, two magicians covered in power armor cast spells at each other. One of them specialized in earth magic, molding stone to his advantage. The other mage focused on teleportation combined with energy blades.

The earth mage stood still, firing condensed clumps of stone at his opponent. All the while, the teleporter phased across the room, striking from all angles. The earth mage kept molding stone right before the energy blades landed on him.

The stone melted into magma when the energy blades touched. The earth mage pooled the magma under the concrete arena. As the blade mage sliced through the earth mage's barrier, he sliced one last time. Instead of landing, the earth mage plummeted them into the magma pit beneath them.

They both fell in. I walked up behind the crowd, entranced by the battle. They both exploded from the pit of mana, each of them wrestling with each other. Covered in molten rock, the blade mage swung his blade at the throat of the earth mage.

The earth mage swung his arms out, the magma on the blade mage condensing. The blade mage froze in place, covered in stone. The earth mage rolled backward. As he stood up, he lifted his arms. A pillar of stone lifted up, striking the chin of the blade mage.

The pillar stopped right before contact. From out of my vision, Torix walked onto the arena. Torix clapped his hands, the rock and blade magic disintegrating. He turned towards the mages, giving them pointers while congratulating them.

He looked like a natural principal, that's for sure.

The spectators burst into a frenzy of chatter. I made out a conversation,

"Damn, that fight was amazing."

"I know right? Didn't it feel like everything was getting heavier halfway through it?"

The other student nodded, "Yeah, the weight of situation felt so real."

I laughed a little, everyone looking at me. The students gawked and gasped. One of the students turned towards the other one,

"Ahh, that's why it got heavier."

We walked past the students, pacing into the arena. As we did, Torix turned towards us. He spread out his hands,

"Ahhh. It's good to see you both. I see you brought company?"

I analyzed Torix. He was at level 5,000 as well now. Everyone was level capped. I pointed at Amara,

"This is Amara, the Lost One. She's a sentient eldritch that saved my ass versus Yawm."

Amara stayed sleeping, my gravity well suspending her. Torix nodded,

"She's a heavy sleeper I presume."

I shrugged, "Eh, she hacked into the world tree somehow. That's probably why she's tired."

Torix walked up, his long robe giving him a noble bearing. He leaned towards Amara,

"She's quite powerful. She's the highest level eldritch I've ever see at level 5,000."

I pointed at her, "That's because she can hack into Schema's system. She even gained experience from helping us kill Yawm apparently."

Torix's jaw dropped, "H-h-hacked Sc-c-hema?"

I grinned, "Eh, I told you she saved my ass."

The crowd of onlookers crowded around us, looking at Ajax and Amara. Torix turned towards the students. Some of the onlookers wore power armor. Others covered up in simple jeans and t-shirt. Torix looked around at them. He raised a hand as if an idea popped into his head.

He pointed the raised hand towards a student in the back of the pack,

"Alexander, come here."

An orange headed teenager walked up. He looked at me like I was Godzilla. Torix pointed at us both, "If you wouldn't mind Daniel, could you duel Alexander for us?"

I looked at the poor, tiny guy sitting in front of me. He didn't seem frightened, so that was a plus. I pointed at him,

"Uh, why?"

Torix pointed at those listening, "Because many of the students could use a demonstration of what a human can become."

Whispers spread throughout the crowd.

"He's human?"

"What? No way."

"He's about as human as Torix."

I shook my head at Torix, "I don't think they need a demonstration though. I think looking at me is enough."

A few of the students nodded. Torix shook his head, "No, that simply will not do. A few of the students have been slacking off on some of the more uncomfortable training. Alexander happens to be one of those students."

I looked down at him. I lunged onto one knee, still taller than him,

"This guy?"

Alexander looked up at me. He had defiant, blue eyes with orange hair. He wore a loose, black robe and was shorter than most of the other teens, making him minuscule. I frowned at him,

"Ah...ok."

I stood up, walking over towards the arena. Alexander paced off towards the edge of the stage. I looked at Torix. I spread out my arms, waving my hands back and forth. Torix grinned at me, raising a finger,

"You'll see,"

I rolled my eyes, looking over at Alexander on the other side of the arena. He pulled up his sleeves, revealing several tattoos on his forearms. He channeled mana, the runes glowing a violet color.

Torix grinned at me, "You both may begin."

I stood there, waiting for Alexander to prepare himself. After a few more seconds, he lifted his hand. An arcane bolt of lightning appeared over his head. He chunked it towards me. I raised my hand, the flash landing against my palm.

With true damage in tow, it bore a six-inch hole into my forearm. In other words, it did nothing. My flesh reconstituted in seconds. I walked up, gripping my hand. A well of gravity lifted Alexander off the ground. He squirmed in the air as I pulled him towards me.

I made my hand out like I was about to flick him. Instead of making contact, I let the wind off my finger brush his forehead. He flopped backward, tumbling across the ground. He skinned his elbow, and he broke one of his fingers.

He howled out, so I rolled my eyes yet again and walked up. With a pinch of telekinesis, I snapped his finger in place. He grimaced as I lifted him up off the ground towards Torix. I turned towards the lich,

"Does he not even have pain tolerance unlocked?"

Torix shook his head, "An apt observation as usual. In fact, no. He doesn't."

I spread out my arms, "It would've been nice letting me know that beforehand."

Torix turned towards the students, "But you see students, in an actual fight, a broken finger is the least of your worries."

Alexander whimpered while floating in the air. Torix raised a hand, turning towards the students,

"Do you see the gap between these two?"

Torix pointed at Alexander, "Even the most gifted duelist among you all stood no chance. Can any of you describe why exactly?"

No one replied. Torix pressed his fingers into a single point,

"It is less the difference in power and more so the grit of their minds."

Torix pointed at Alexander, "He is gifted with an affinity for arcane magic, and he refined his offensive prowess. At the same time, he never tempered his mind."

Torix pinched his fingers together, "Even after having his hand blown off, Daniel didn't even so much as flinch. After having a small finger broken, Alexander was brought to his knees."

Torix walked up to Alexander. He waved a green light over the talented teen, healing his injuries. Torix continued,

"I use Alexander as an example since he is the only one among you that could even injure Daniel. He also refused to train his Pain Tolerance. Even if Daniel were one percent of his strength now, that crucial difference would be decisive in real combat. When you fight against eldritch, that will be your kind of combat."

Torix looked around, getting as much eye contact as possible, "It's the might of your spirit that makes you different from your peers. Remember that, and you will go far. Not just in class, but in life."

Torix chuckled as he gestured to himself, "And in death."

The class laughed, and Torix clapped his hand twice, "You are dismissed."

The class buzzed with chatter, friends chatting away with each other. Some were amazed that I beat Alexander so easily. Others were amazed that Alexander even put up a fight at all. Two friends of Alexander walked up, to him, asking if he was alright. He replied in a high voice,

"He just grabbed me, and I was done...never felt anything like that before."

I walked up to Torix, "I still don't know if that was necessary."

Torix waved me concern away, "Bah. I will leave the leading and fighting in your capable hands. You lead the teaching in mine."

I shrugged, "Eh, alright." I held up a hand, looking at Alexander,

"Give me a second."

The poor student bit his lip, frustration etched all over his face. Being thrashed in front of a class and used as an example was probably humiliating. Taking away the sting, I walked up,

"You're Alexander, right?"

He looked up at me, his expression shocked, "What? Oh, uh, yeah. That's me."

I offered a handshake, "It was a good fight."

He reached up, grabbing my hand. He held two of my fingers, but he grinned up at me,

"Heh, I got destroyed. You really are the guild leader for a reason."

I grinned, "Who knows. Maybe one day you could lead a guild too. Arcane magic is powerful. Don't waste it."

I turned away, waving at him, "Cya around."

He gave me a salute, "Uh, yes sir!"

After an internal wince, I walked up to Torix. Sir made me feel old.

I pointed at Ajax and Amara who I kept floating the entire time,

"So any plans for these two?"

Torix rubbed his hands together,

"I may have a few."

An evil grin grew on his face,

"If you'd enjoy hearing them, that is."