Chapter 244: Anrosh

Chapter 244: Anrosh

Sect Leader

She looked at Ryun, seeing how he shifted his weight back. He always did that when he wanted to avoid speaking.

You made me a promise, she said simply. The last time you went away you said that we will discuss our options when you came back. Youve been back for a week.

Ryun nodded. I did, and You know that I want her back as much as you do. Her sister owes me service and I do not think that Nayra would stay away if it was her choice. But, I am one man against an unknown number.

You promised, Anrosh said again.

He sighed. And I will fulfill that promise, I do not think that I am ready yet.

None of this was new, they had this conversation a hundred times over the years. She understood and agreed with him. The only thing that they knew for certain was that someone had taken Nayra, someone that had looked similar enough to have some familial relationship to her. Anrosh remembered the mans blood red hair, the same as Nayras, the use of fire spoke a lot too. Anrosh knew some things about Nayras family, she had told her things. Which was why she knew that they were a large family with a lot of powerful people. She did know that Ryun alone couldnt just go and rescue her, just as she knew that they couldnt take Twilight Melody Sects warriors against them. But with every passing day she lost more and more hope.

At first, Anrosh had hoped that Nayra would find some way to send a message back, or even escape. She had to believe that she was held against her will; anything else would be too hard to think about. They knew that she was alive because Ryun could sense both Nayra and her sister somewhere far in the South where her home was supposed to be. They didnt know anything else, that far away the only thing that Ryun could tell was that they were alive. He only got a general direction, but at least she knew that she still lived.

The deal for trade of weapons that they had with the faction that Nayra had belonged before coming to their side had not been honored. The shipments had stopped coming around the same time the events in the core took place. Nor had they seen any of their people snooping around, and they had looked hard for them.

She didnt even know a lot about what happened with Nayra, she hadnt known rather. It had taken her a while to remember the fight, to remember Nayras protests to the man that had killed their warriors and nearly killed Anrosh.

Ereclaw had died as well, though they didnt know if his immortality had triggered. Ryun said that it wasnt something that they could check, although he still had the bond perks that he had gained. They just didnt know if that meant something. They just didnt have the knowledge about contracts such as theirs, and they had no way of finding out. The only people that could know where in the core, and that place was filled with war and death. But if her immortality had triggered, perhaps his had too.

When Anrosh had woken up on the cold stone on top of a mountain with only Ryun next to her, she had remembered only pain and the stench of burning flesh. She had been in pain for months after that. She didnt remember much of the trip back to the sect. She had gone between blissful and painless unconsciousness and the agony that were the few moments of wakefulness. She remembered Ryun talking a few times, but not what about. The first time she had woken up and felt a tiny bit better was in a cave, with Ryuns item placed near her.

Over the next few weeks she had gotten better. But the first real moment of wakefulness was when she was back in the sect. She still remembered Kri crying next to her bed. That alone was a big reason as to why she hadnt pushed Ryun to go after Nayra. She had nearly left her daughter an orphan, despite being an immortal. They all needed to get much stronger.

She had lost most of her powers for a long time. The Framework was tied to the body and the soul, and both of hers had been gravely injured. Even now she still wasnt back to full form. Her leg was still aching and limping. And she did not feel like she had the full access to all of her stats just yet. But she could feel that she was recovering faster now.

We cant wait forever, Anrosh said after a few seconds of silence.

Ryun nodded gravely.Updated from n0velb(i)n.c(o)/m

Then, she heard a shuffle behind her and a tsking sound.

Ive told you before, Anrosh turned to see Tali get to her feet. Her face had a lot less scarring now. Her eyes had regrown, and her hair looked fuller. One eye was still milky white, while the other was the dark gray in color. You are still thinking about this all wrong.

Anrosh grimaced, she knew that Talis experience with the Third Iteration was substantial. She wouldve been more open to listening if the woman wasnt so difficult. She very rarely spoke plainly, and when she did, she kept things back. Her advice was sound, but ultimately there was a reason why they hadnt listened to it.

They do not have much love for the people living in the Settled Territories, Anrosh said.

Everyone hates everyone else in the Infinite Realm, we thrive on conflict. They might still hold grudges, but they have bigger issues to deal with now.

From what Ryun had learned, the Dome that was opened was at the edge of the Third Iterations territory. They, of course, didnt know what was happening there. But Tali seemed to think that they were certainly in trouble.

Everyone wants something, Tali said. Find something valuable that they will want, and trade it for you Sect Leader. No need to fight.

It meant that they were pretty safe. The only issues they had were with the few scouting parties from the sects in the core that didnt really care enough to investigate who they were trying to bully.

So, how are things? Anrosh asked.

Well enough, Ive managed to grow a new kind of fruit that grants a one-time permanent bonus to heat resistance to whoever eats it. It is a small bonus, barely 1%, but Ive gotten a title which means that it is a unique strain, Embesh said.

Anrosh immediately thought about what they could do with that. Everything that gave such bonuses usually worked once, or it lost effectiveness the more one consumed articles of the same type. Even if his new fruit gave the bonus once, it was valuable.

How much can you make?

I have one tree for now, it needs constant cultivating so I cant do more than that for now. The first batch had around a dozen fruits and I dont expect the next one for about a year at least. Though I can try and encourage the tree to grow more fruits and maybe increase the bonus slightly, Embesh added.

Anrosh thought about it. Embesh was a Farmer at heart, his Path dedicated to improving plants. Unlike a Classer, he couldnt just use perks that encouraged growth or that instantly made a plant bear fruit. Instead, he had to constantly feed a plant and nurture it with his Qi. Using techniques just didnt have the same versatility as what a Classer was capable of. Still, Embesh could be more precise on a smaller scale.

Even a dozen of them can be sold for quite a profit, Anrosh said, already trying to figure out how much something like that could be worth. She would need to check the auction for similar items and see how all of it would work.

Of course, Ill keep 20% of the yield though, I need to see how I can improve them and perhaps I can grow more trees if I can teach my students how to do it.

No problem, Anrosh said.

I got another title, Embesh added. A faction based one, Pioneer: Twilight Melody Sect.

Anrosh raised an eyebrow, then smiled and pulled out a piece of paper from a drawer.

What were the requirements and rewards? She asked.

To do something that no one else in my faction accomplished in my field, and I gained +30 to all stats and 150 000 Greater Essence.

Anrosh wrote it down next to all the other faction titles that they had unlocked. Their sect had advanced over the last three years two. They were finally a faction of sufficient size that they had faction-based titles. Anrosh herself had a few, but it had served most to help push their population forward. They could issue faction quests now through the interface, as long as they followed the Frameworks rules. The quests had to be sufficiently challenging to count, there was no way to game the system.

Good, for now focus on getting a larger yield of the fruit. Having specialty goods to trade will help us a lot, Anrosh told him. The Twilight Sect was growing, but most of what they earned they put back into it. Building forts and walls at the edges of their territories. Ryun wanted them ready to defend against any threat, though both of them knew what he really wanted to protect against. He did not have faith in the core factions to take care of the monster horde that was in the Tournament City. And if Anrosh was honest, neither did she. The core powers had allowed the enemy to grow and entrench just so they could fight their wars. Nothing that they had done in the past three years instilled any kind of confidence in her.

In the end, they would have to worry about themselves.

As the day turned into night, Anrosh forced herself away from the never-ending reports and documents to be signed. Running a sect had always been a tricky issue for her. But with her injuries, there was little else that she could do that would be useful. So, any time that she didnt spend in the soul healing room, she spent in her office working.

She stood from her chair and made her way through the mansion to her room. The guards bowed as she passed, but she barely noticed them, she was too tired. Somehow, she managed to remove her clothes and then fall on the bed, grabbing the sheets and pulling them over herself more out of habit than the fact that she was cold.

But despite her tiredness, her mind didnt want to let her go quite yet. Her thoughts turned to Nayra, the same as they did every night. She missed having her near her, feeling her touch, hearing her voice. She cursed herself for being too weak, for failing to stop her kidnapper. Intellectually, she knew that it wasnt her fault, there was little that she couldve done against someone who was that strong and probably a lot older than her. Yet she spent time with Ryun, she knew that age did not always correlate power.

When she was a young girl, she had dreamed about being a powerful Cultivator. Someone like High Rankers, who could fight anyone. Whose very name was feared and respected. The more time passed, the more she realized that she would never be that.

She knew that her role would never be that. She was a leader, yes, she had the respect of her sect. The people had followed her despite her injuries, which made her feel confident. But she hated having to rely on someone else to do the things that she couldnt. If she was powerful enough, she wouldve already gone after Narya. The fact that Ryun with all of his power and arrogance was hesitating only served to make her more worried.

She didnt doubt his word. He would go after Narya and they would find her. But a tiny part of her worried that Nayra had decided to stay where she was instead of returning. She tried to push her mind away from such unproductive thoughts, but she failed as they kept coming.

Filled with worries her mind slowly drifted into sleep.