292. Tainted Fields II

292. Tainted Fields II Tenth

Tenth - The Human Kingdom Lands of Caval

A land of knights. A land of warriors. Ednas stint on the ninth world was short, so she and Kafa landed in the tenth world to find one filled with knights, and demons. It was something like Satrya, and yet not.

It was too familiar, and yet that familiarity also evoked a sensation within the lizardfolk.

Im starting to feel a little sick of traveling. Kafa mused as a joke. It was only partly one.

Edna agreed. Traveling too much does weigh on ones soul.

I think I understand why Hawas just eager to let go of worlds. At some point, I think I wouldnt be able to care.

Edna stared, and wondered how that escalated quickly. The lines between a stare and a glare were so thin. You shouldnt be like that. That will be our slow death.

Kafa looked back. Youre made of stronger stuff that I am, Lady Edna. I see these new worlds, and I realize at some point, why should I care? A part of me speaks to return to my familiar lands. Lands that are safe. As long as our homes are safe-

Death. Edna answered. We cannot be the only island in a sea flooded with demons. Death comes to us eventually. Together, with a coalition of the living, we can create a wall.

Kafa sighed. That was true. I know. I know. But this has been a lot more tiring than I expected. I thought the worlds would be interesting, but now we are in the tenth peripheral world and even if they are interesting, I wonder to myself whether I should care anymore.

Edna tapped the lizard warrior on his armored scales. Because we must. Because we are the only ones that can care for these worlds that are no longer cared for.

I know you are right. Kafa said but he looked at the world and felt a little blank. This is the burden of our existence, and we may have traveled a little too much.

Edna nodded. Lets get a break. We can return home and rest. I suppose we do need it. I will continue on with the others.

Kafa nodded. I certainly do need some time back home.

It was so tempting to relegate the world to just something of a copy paste of another world. Even when none of the worlds theyve been to were actually proper mono-human societies.

This was a world with only humans, and they fought demons.

Naturally, in mono-race societies, anything or anyone that doesnt resemble that mono-race is automatically assumed to be a monster. Or a demon. Both, if the demons had possession and corruption abilities, and that race had inherited trauma from past parasitic demons.

We still see this in the Southern Continent where some humans still experience micro-flinches at the sight of non-humans. Perhaps not outright hostile, but a reaction nonetheless.

Well, to be fair this human world fits your powers like a glove. Kafa laughed a few days later as they explored the world of Caval.

On the other hand, I could think of about a hundred or two other Valthorns and allies that would benefit from this world. Edna countered. There were also many others who could exploit a world of multiple city states.

Maybe the next one is a sandworld.

I dont like sand.

I know. Some lizardfolks claim it gets between our scales and makes everything nasty. Kafa answered, and so Edna chuckled.

I thought some lizardfolks are native to the sands.

Some. Kafa said. Im not one of those. Im the swamp kind, and sand irritates me.

Then we should visit a swampworld. I bet theres one. Maybe not the peripheral worlds, but beyond that.

The tenth peripheral world of Caval was one of not many gimmicks. It was just humans and demons. Its population was fairly large, and in the past, the city states that received heroes from the old gods prospered. But somehow, the cities never quite formed up into large empires.

Its social structure was also fairly similar to the humans of the eighth peripheral world, and even the old human empires of Treehome. The feudal aspects naturally reoccurred throughout the multiverse, and that was a fairly sad thing to think about.

I believe its a product of the power and combat based systems. Societies where the powerful can exert power much more easily over the weak would naturally be more feudal, simply because there is no check or balance on the authority of the strong.

Well? Any views? Edna asked.

Kafa just sighed. If what we want is gaming the odds of getting talent, I suppose this isnt a bad place. It has most of the basic resources and resources, and with Aeons influence, it should be possible to turn this world into a farm for soldiers over a few decades.

Overall, where would you place it?

Below the mageworld, and that overpopulated world. Or even the Three-Ringed world. Hell, at least Landas has a magic tree. This world of humans is a little ordinary to be worth a clone.

Ordinary could be good. Mountainworld is fairly ordinary as it goes, and it is now our core world.

Then why choose? We could just roll the dice. Kafa said. Each world has a ceiling for population size it can comfortably absorb, a ceiling to its mana output. I suppose given this worlds ordinary design, it should have a fairly balanced mix of resources, so thats one thing going for it.

Edna laughed. Youre perfectly right. Alright, Im not going to tease you more. We should keep going.

***

The seemingly ordinary world of Caval wasnt totally ordinary, once they started to investigate the heroes and defenses of the various city states of Caval. There were segments of uniqueness to it, such as the many magical swords on the world of Caval. for new novels

The heroes of Caval, when they were summoned long ago, would also arrive with something called the [Seed of the Hero Sword]. Each hero would then, through their own growth journey, grow this Sword Seed into a magical weapon worthy of them, and throughout the world of Caval, there were hundreds of remnant hero swords, left by earlier heroes.

Completed hero swords were extremely powerful, they contained a large fragment of the heros power that grew as the hero developed over time. Even incomplete hero swords, left by the heroes that died too young or early, were still decently powerful artifacts.

***

Fifth world - Magisar

Lausanne and Ebon looked at each other during a short break. Just a while ago, they helped the Magisarian humans out of the rubble. Some of these humans, who didnt want to live under the rule of the Tower Masters, left the tower and decided to strike it out in the vast wilderness.

The wilderness, filled with monsters and the demon golems, plants and demonic hybrid plants, was a hostile environment, but these refugees decided rolling the dice was worth it, at least compared to the cramped and slum-like living standards of the Towers.

This group of refugees were not that big. Just about one hundred people.

Are you really from another world? The leader of the refugees was a relatively strong mage at about level 52. He was supported by a group of thirteen level 40 mages.

Yes. Hoyias calming presence worked like a charm. To the refugees, she was the presence of the divine itself, a woman of tremendous holiness that even the mages cannot help but believe. The man stared. But I am not the hero.

The heroes of Magisar, at least, some time ago, used to arrive once every two to three decades. Not enough to quell the demon kings reign, but enough to buy time.

The hundred or so were fed, and given food. The food provided had to be plant based, because the differences in blood type were then immediately noticeable. They vomited when given meat from other worlds. It was alien meat to them, and their bodies, though similar in appearance, were not able to tolerate the meats from the other worlds.

At least they responded to the healing energies, and that sort of energy transfer still worked.

There would be a lot of things to study. The interactions of the Magisarian humans with all the different types of materials available would be something they needed to check. Despite the natural magical aptitude of the Magisarians, if the side effects of their body were serious, it may seriously hinder their ability to operate offworld.

***

Lausanne snuck into Gorfort Tower. It wasnt difficult, aligning ones mana to the frequencies of the teleportation spell was fairly simple, compared to the mana attunement required to travel through demonic rifts.

Every single Level 125 Valthorn is familiar with the basics, even advanced versions of a few other major disciplines. They had to be, because out in the fields, it was really hard to know what the other worlds could throw at them. Even if they didnt receive a class in those unrelated class trees, the skills and knowledge still helped their overall performance.

How is it in there? Ebon asked via their message network. He was located a distance away, clearing out the demonic hives. It was quite easy to locate more refugees, once they figured the patterns. The refugees generally preferred wide open spaces where its hard for the golems to surprise them.

So, rather than look for easily defended places, the mages exploited wide open spaces where they have range and it is easy for them to use spells.

Its surprisingly sad. Lausanne found the living conditions terrible. Due to the space scarcity in the Towers, everyone was crammed into a small space. Ultimately, Lumoofs information guided them to one of the mages they stalked.

The mage Metteria Hudrot lived in a small room, just big enough for a bed, and four shelves. There were no bathrooms, and instead, for their level, the bathrooms were shared by a few units together, similar to a dorm.

She lived in a less pleasing place when she was lower leveled. Under level 30, a mage was pretty much just a peon, and would only have a bed and a small box as their personal living space. Even children were centrally managed. For the low level mage-parents, they were pretty much living in tiny rooms with stacked beds.

Whos there? Metteria Hudrot looked around, and Lausanne smiled. Who- who are you?

It was easy to tell they were different. Their skin tones were different. Their build was different. Lausanne had dense, lean muscles throughout her body, while Metteria was thin, almost boney. Unlike Lausannes rounded joints, the Magisarian humans lacked the muscle mass and their joints protruded from their skinny frames.

Lausanne knew it wasnt the diet. She knew of humans that strictly consumed vegetables that still had muscle mass. This difference was in their blood and genes. Their stick thin appearance is a norm.

Hello. Id like to talk.

-what?

Im sent by the man you saw during your mission a few weeks ago. The man that vanished.

Metterias eyes immediately widened. It wasnt an illusion!

Of course. Now, will you come with me? Lausanne approached her, and suddenly a magical portal appeared right next to Lausanne.

Metteria gulped. Where are we going?

Somewhere we can talk in greater detail.

There were probably a million questions going through the mages mind, but it was important to learn more about the Tower Masters of the various Towers, before making contact. So, they had to infiltrate and learn about their society from the middle, where they had enough knowledge and access to see the bigger picture.

Lausanne would try to contact Metterias master, next. It would be easier if Metteria could do the introductions.

They would slowly find potential allies, learn about the various Tower Masters pain points and weaknesses, and see how they could absorb these Towers into the fold peacefully.

By Lausannes own estimates, Aeon had much to offer these Magisarians. She only hoped that they were wise enough to accept the deal.

Announcement

Oh look, Avitue's book is on Amazon!

Unliving Book 1!

For the longest time, Aideen Fiachna had only one prescient wish; to be the daughter her parents could take pride in.

The idea was a tall order, especially as her father stood at the head of the Templar order, and her grandfather as the Pope. However, she endeavored to try nonetheless.

Yet fate had a different path in store for her.

For all her efforts, all her best laid plans, were but the broken off crumbs of 'one day'. That day, she was brutally slain by a vile, accursed undead being.

Though, not even restful eternity awaited her in death.

She awakened inside a coffin. Her coffin. During her own funeral wake. Discovering, to her horror, that she had risen. Not somehow resurrected, no, but back in the form of that most hated of beings--the curse of /dp/B0D1PV2ZQ8