Chapter 183: Kingsbury

Chapter 183: Kingsbury

As soon as he had exited the sphere of protection from Mount Everlasting Peace his core once again had started to absorb miasma. However, it wasnt a problem for Zac anymore, as the lotus seed provided him with the life energy he needed. Besides, now that his core was balanced the amount of life energy needed to maintain the balance was minuscule compared to before.

It went to show that while the bead was balanced it was still able to absorb more energy. However, Zac wasnt sure whether pushing more energy into the core was something he should be aiming for until he knew what he was dealing with.

After talking with the Abbot for almost a day he didnt feel as bad about the bead anymore, rather the opposite. He was excited to dig into the mysteries it contained when he had some time. He was especially curious about the fractals that had somehow appeared by themselves on the small core. Perhaps they were a clue how to harness the massive energy the core contained.

Zac was still stunned by the generosity of the Abbot. It was a bit of an uncomfortable feeling to be so far in debt to a stranger. No matter what Zac had tried while he absorbed energy from the bead the Abbot had refused to accept any gift in return, no matter if it was healing pills or crystals.

The only thing he could think of was to provide as much information as he could to the monks, from the various incursions to the threat of the Dominators and shapeshifters. He also set up an alliance with the monastery, which in a sense was a large gift, as it gave the monks a path of retreat in case the undead came again.

It was a new function he possessed now that he was a Lord, which essentially allowed him to put individuals and factions on what could be seen as a friend list in a game. It would allow them to teleport to his teleportation array, even when it was closed to strangers.

It meant Zac had three modes to his teleporter now; private, trusted, and public. His teleporter was already set on trusted at the moment, which allowed anyone from his faction, and now also the monks, to use the teleporter. Otherwise, his troops would be stuck on the island and unable to join Billy.

As he ran through the forests toward the east he kept trying various things. Between the stairs and the long talks with the Abbot he felt hed gained a deeper understanding of the Dao, and he was trying to incorporate it into his fighting style.

Not only that but, he also needed to test his improved Dao Seed. During his fight with the ghost he realized that the seed had gotten a lot more flexible since it got upgraded. He needed to know the effect of adding it to various skills.

His experimentation had an unexpected result, as his movement skill [Loamwalker] skill gained a level and reached Middle mastery. It was almost instantaneous after he incorporated his Dao of Trees into his steps, clearly showing what the criterion for the upgrade was.

Zac was elated as the movement skill was integral to his fighting style. After the upgrade he kept trying it out in various ways until he properly understood the changes.

Zac realized that his energy consumption decreased by quite a bit when he infused his legs with the Dao of Trees. It wasnt to the point that he would be able to use it non-stop for hours, but it helped with one of the largest downfalls of the skill; its high energy consumption.

As for the effect of the upgrade itself, it was a simple upgrade to the range of the skill. At low mastery each step could take him a few meters forward at the most, but after it improved to middle rank the range improved to around 15 meters.

This, in essence, improved his maximum speeds by a few folds as well as each step moved him forward around 4 times the distance compared to before. The downside was that the further he walked the higher the consumption was, and to use the skill to its maximum effect was quite costly, even with the empowerment of the Dao.

As Zac kept going he also found that good news sometimes came in pairs. The second day after he leveled up his movement skill another prompt suddenly appeared in front of him. This time it was the [Foresters Constitution] skill that gained a boost.

The only reason for the upgrade he could come up with was that it required time spent in forests to level up, since its boost was dependant on staying in forests. Other than that he had no idea, as the skill was passive, and not something he could train with.

The improvement wasnt great, though it was convenient. At low rank it gave a 10% boost to Endurance and Vitality as long as he was in a forest, and otherwise a 5% boost.

But at middle proficiency, it gave an 11% boost as long as hed been in a forest the last 24 hours. It was quite convenient as he wouldnt suddenly lose attributes the moment he entered a town anymore. The lower boost improved slightly as well, clocking in at 5.5%.

Hed hoped that his other new skills would have improved as well, but most of them were still at Early Proficiency, apart from [Thousand Faces] that couldnt be improved upon. Still, as he opened up his menu he felt his repertoire was starting to become quite diverse.

Skills

Inquisitive Eye - Proficiency: Early. See through their secrets. Upgradeable.

Book of Babel - Proficiency: -. Enlightenment through understanding.

Mental Fortress - Proficiency: Middle. Enduring Stability. Upgradeable.

Government taking a census now that theyre in control, could ask them? But its a bit chaotic with the trials coming up, the bartender answered.

Trials? Zac asked with a sinking feeling.

Yeah, some government hotshots are holding it.

What did the people do? Zac asked

Well, all kinds of things it seems, the bartender hesitantly answered.

Its bullshit! a drunken man from some distance away suddenly shouted. They are just rounding up people they dont like and slap bullshit charges on them.

Jeez calm down, youll get yourself into trouble, another man said as he dragged the drunkard out of the tavern.

No point in staying here if the government is going to get involved, there are tons of frontier towns welcoming able fighters, another man muttered.

From there the discussion devolved into a debate into whether it was better to live in a government or an unaffiliated town, not giving Zac much more pertinent information.

I know a few people who might live here, how do I know if they got arrested? Zac asked, tryting to steer the conversation into a better direction.

Well, theres a list at the town square. Theyre making a production of the whole thing, a man answered with a shrug.

Zac forced himself to stay a bit longer before he stood up and rushed to the town square. In front of a statue in the middle of the square a huge signpost was erected, and there was a group of people standing in front of it.

Zac pushed himself to the front and saw it was a printed list of names and the crimes they had committed. His heart started to pound faster and faster as he scoured the list name by name.

A chaotic jumble of emotions exploded in his mind when he suddenly he saw his sisters name on the list. Her name being present meant that she was still alive. The largest worry in Zacs heart since Greenworth was that shed already perished in the Dead Zone.

But she had survived after all. That she was apprehended as a criminal by the New World Government wasnt great, but it was far preferable to being dead. This situation was something he could deal with, either through diplomacy or violence.

The fact that she was on trial for attempted murder didnt matter to Zac. As he saw it she either was innocent or she wasnt. If she was innocent he'd save her. If not, he was sure Kenzie had a good reason. These times were brutal, especially to a young girl. Depending on what happened he might help her finish the job.

Since he knew what was going on he simply needed to find the prisoners and take it from there. However, an hour later he sat down on a park bench with a frown, unsure what to do next. The government had hidden away those who would stand trial, and no one knew where they were being kept.

Most believed they werent even in Kingsbury, but teleported in through the newly added teleporter in order to avoid a prison break. That meant that Zac couldnt simply bust her out even if he wanted to.

Furthermore, he didnt dare to walk up to the governments office to demand to see her. It might backfire, resulting in her disappearing out of reach forever.

According to the sign in the square there were two days until the time of Kenzies trial, and Zac decided to simply wait until that time. He found a place to stay during the wait, and simply sat down in his room, trying to figure out his next move.

As he sat there the relief of finding out his sister was alive was slowly being replaced by a feeling of helplessness and worry. Who knew what was happening to his sister while he sat and waited.

Until now hed blocked out any and all speculations about the fact that something might have happened to her, but it wasnt possible any longer as he was so close now.

Various thoughts or worst-case scenarios kept whirling in his head, and the worry started to change into something more primal.

It was slowly turning into anger, a wave of burning anger that threatened to set the whole town ablaze.