Chương 98: Mithril

Ryland took a deep breath as the monster reared all three of its heads. Physically speaking, each one was more than big enough to swallow not just him but the train he had come in on. Their eyes glowed hotter than coals, their scales glimmered as dark and glossy as obsidian, and every jagged tooth and broken horn promised a gruesome end for the weak and unwary. And yet, for the time being, the monster wasn't attacking. Not while it was facing Ryland.

He took that time to continue rearranging the pocket Realms within the wound. A wound that, technically speaking, he had delivered. And now, he was here to fix things. In a sense. It was sort of ironic. At the time, the incident had been massive for everyone involved. Ryland's body hadbeen broken into too many chunks to identify, his soul retaining its form despite that because one of the connected Realms that the Manabreak had touched upon had held the sort of mana that Incarnations lived on.

And of course, there were all the wider, societal impacts from the First Manabreak. The establishment of Living Mana as a near apocalyptic threat to daily life, the discoveries and changes it had inspired and forced, the way Arcoryx City had been forced to regrow and adapt. So many fallouts. So much change. And that was it, wasn't it?

By the time Ryland had come back to his own, by the point in time where he was not just fully capable as he had been, but also far stronger than he had ever even aimed for to begin with, things had changed. Irrevocably. A part of him had wanted to address the issue of the Manabreak. It was a devastating incident. One that had caused the loss of so many lives, had uprooted so much of society, had forced so many shifts in the trajectories of civilizations. The effect was mind-boggling. Even for someone like Ryland.

So of course he was determined to address it. To right the wrongs, to fix the mess, to make reparations of a sort. Especially once he was really capable of it. After all, that was why he was searching for the pieces of himself. To prevent more disasters like the First Manabreak. And yet, when Ryland had eventually made his way back to Vyrd, few things were as they used to be. People had adapted, as they often did in these situations.

In fact, they had risen to even greater heights thanks to the adversity they had faced. What had been a disaster capable of wiping out civilization as it had been known had instead evolved the very landscape of magic to a higher level of being. For the First Manabreak and its fallout was also one of the key influences of a rather powerful and overly ambitious mage called Blaszius Kolmik. And therefore, it had greatly influenced the establishment of the Grand Frame.

All that was to say that, when Ryland had pushed back his goal of addressing the First Manabreak, he didn't care for it. There was nothing to fix. Not really. Not when people were already making good use of it. And yet, Ryland was now back. Not only that, he was also actually fixing things, in a sense. Actually rectifying the problem he had essentially created by destroying the fabric of reality under the city of Arcoryx. All while ensuring that civilization wouldn't be hurt by it.

Strange how things worked out The huge Demihydra roared at Ryland. Its triplicate cry pierced through the air, rooting him to the present significantly harder than anything else so far. Apparently, one of them was losing patience. Ryland smiled, letting more and more of his manasoul emerge. Well, if it wanted a piece of him, then he would be happy to provide. Which turned out to be unnecessary.

"We have things handled over here," Academ Jules shouted.

"You all can handle that monster!" Ryland didn't turn, but a quick cast of [Omniscience] had shown him that the Academ in charge of the Excursion Club had failed to fully restrain the students under his care. He had finally given in, with Excursion Leader Alendra dutifully forging the path to where the students were taking on those flying lizard monsters from earlier. Which freed the Miner Mages to rush towards Ryland's position and take on the Demihydra. Just as Academ Jules was saying. Ah. So that was it.

The enormous manabeast wasn't losing patience in its standoff against Ryland. It was literally responding to the growing threat of a small army of mages heading for it with murderous intent. Since dealing with the Demihydra had never really been his goal to being with, Ryland continued focusing on pulling the pocket Realms into the right order. Just a few more left, and then he could call it done. All the gaps would be closed then. No more Demihydras or other monsters barging into Vyrd through the Manabreak.

Aside from the continued outpouring of the Living Mana, of course.

"Don't be afraid!" Head Miner Milva shouted at her compatriots.

"We are an army. We are the barrier that protects Arcoryx from any threat the Manabreak can throw at us. We will never fall, never falter, never be defeated, because we have not just our lives, but those of hundreds of thousands more depending on us!" The rest of them returned the rousing words with roars of approval. Then the magic came flowing out. Significantly stronger than the Miner Mages though it was, facing that storm of magic would take a toll on even the most powerful of creatures.

Flashes of lightning and fire and beaming light struck the draconic heads from all sides, leaving molten marks on all its glassy scales. Impacts hammered with terrific force and power, forcing the Demihydra back just a bit. Ryland had to admit he was a little amazed at the way the Miner Mages had regained their fortitude and bravery. He wondered just how much of it was Milva's impact. For now, Ryland focused on the remainder of his task. The Realm pockets were almost in line.

With their new positions, the Living Mana wouldn't be as difficult to manage as they had been, and the miners would no longer need the Vestige even if it was recovered. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He increasingly doubted that this was a possibility since the Order was involved. It wasn't that Ryland wouldn't get it back. He would. But he was also realistic about these things.

For even if he did reacquire it from the Order, he figured they would not be leaving it in a condition where it could be used like it had been before the theft. The Demihydra roared. Its scales flashed with an alarming set of prismatic hues, the glow even throwing off several spells aimed for it. When its three maws yawned wide, a trio of lasering breaths shot out amongst their midst. The Miner Mages screamed and fell back.

One of the monster's blasts struck Ryland and bounced off in a different direction, but the roar of compressed beams of energy drowned out all the other sound in the area. Nevertheless, he made sure most of the miners and their relentless leader were okay, so they could continue distracting the creature.

"This is nothing!" Milva shouted.

"We eat Living Mana for breakfast. We can handle this!" Ryland wasn't quite sure how much of a metaphor that bit about breakfast was. It sounded convincingly real from her. They renewed and redoubled their efforts, despite several of the Miner Mages now having fallen back due to injury. Even fear, in a few cases. They forged on with irrepressible determination, their shielding spells rippling out stronger and their offensive magic hammering against the monster with crackling impacts. The Demihydra roared and cried.

One of its heads reared back, its maw bristling with dark fire. But just before it could spit out its flames, more magic struck its face. These were like tiny golden meteors cannoning into the monster's teeth, nostrils, horns, and snout. Through the dust of the golden explosions, Ryland was pretty sure he even caught one of its eyes winking out under the magical assault. Magic of that level…

sending his senses a little bit farther back confirmed that the old Sentinel with the Prime Minister had stepped into the fray too. The Demihydra shrieked out so hard, the noise itself was interrupting spell casting all over the area. All three heads drew back close to each other. They were pummelled and bleeding, their scales cracked and splintered, but the monster was still alive. Still seething, going by the way its eyes were flaring with incredible heat.

Yet again, its scales flashed with that riot of prismatic colours. The difference this time was that power was building on its scales too, not just its mouth. A power so dense, it was like every scale was about to burst. Ah. Ryland figured he understood what the creature was aiming for. As such, he needed to put a stop to it. He had only one Realm pocket left to slot back into its correct position. The Realm that had birthed the Demihydra. So, Ryland let his manasoul flare out.

The monster had been about to fling out its impressive, Primordial-ranked magic at them all, but then it froze. And it wasn't just that ginormous Demihydra. The slow appearance of Ryland's manasoul had everyone else on the battlefield freezing as well. They were all, monster and person, staring at the glow of magic coming off his body. At his Glyphic crown. At the sheer amount of power he could generate and give off. The world itself was bowing before him.

Like always, everything was turning into a combination of Conceptual Glyphs.

"Just one warning," Ryland said, his voice echoing in the chamber.

"Leave, or perish." The three heads regarded him for a short while. Then they promptly pulled themselves back in the way they had arrived through the wound in reality. A moment later, the Demihydra was gone entirely. Hmm. That threat had worked quite well. Maybe he ought to try that more often. With that little bit of trouble dealt with, Ryland ignored everyone else and focused on his task. All he needed to do was draw the last of the pocket Realm into the right space… and there. All done. Ryland had succeeded.

[Achievement Recognized: Unprecedented Manabreak You have reformed a legendary Manabreak. Rank up from Adamantine [95] to Mithril [13]. Reward: 5 Encapsulation Prints for spatial spells.]"It's finished," he said. He supposed it wouldn't feel as climactic or dramatic in any way because most of them couldn't even see what was going on in the wound. But it looked like at least one person did.

"Is it really taken care of?" Head Miner Milva asked with awe and wonder. She stepped close to where Ryland was slowly floating down towards.

"The Wound is… the Living Mana…" Having already explained as much as he cared to, Ryland didn't go over it again. Although, he certainly felt a strong urge to do so. Maybe that was his teaching instincts talking. He didn't need to do so because the Miner Mages were already climbing all the scaffolding in place to start working on the wound again. They were certainly dedicated about their job.

It hadn't even been a minute that Ryland had finished working on things and they were testing the edges with their Glyphtech equipment.

"Your subordinates are quite disciplined," Ryland said." Colleagues," Milva said.

"I stand corrected."

"And yes, they are. Speaking of which, I should go check myself. If you will excuse me." She was about to go but then paused.

"Thanks for everything. You really are… something else." Her eyes squinted.

"Right at the end there, when the Demihydra just left, you turned into—""Head Miner!" one of the others called from farther off.

"You really need to see this. The Living Mana is different now." There wasn't any alarm in the man's voice. Just awe. Milva shot one last look of suspicion mixed with wonder before she shot off.

"A productive little exercise!" the Prime Minister said as he walked over to Ryland. The old Sentinel and the Senior Warden were following in his trail. The former looked conflicted, the latter appearing as though he wanted to be anywhere but here. Poor fellow must have been dealing with a good deal of fear.

"Or should I say, excursion!" He turned to the students with his beaming smile, who only returned unfortunately mixed responses at best. Some were just awed that they were being addressed by the Prime Minister of all people. Others were clearly unimpressed by the man. Ryland could understand the latter. For all that he was hailed as the most powerful figure in all of Androvia, he hadn't actually shown any of that power. At least, not in a form that academy students would easily recognize.

"It was indeed productive," Ryland said. He was glad for the help he had administered to the Manabreak mine, though he wasn't about to say it out loud. Giving people like the Prime Minister even a fingerbreadth wasn't wise.

"As I hope the return I was promised will be."

"Of course, of course. We at the Royal Court are nothing if not productive." Ryland wasn't quite sure he agreed with that, but he didn't bother interjecting with an argument just then.

"You sound like you have something quite specific in mind, Ryland." He supposed the Prime Minister of all people would know how to read a person, even people like Ryland. His eyes briefly flickered to the young excursionists who were watching the conversation with rapt attention. He smiled.

"I do have an extra request, Your Honour."

"Is that so? Name it, please."

"The Rhellian dignitary came to Androvia, to Arcoryx, to the academy itself, for specific reasons that I'm unaware of at the moment. Yet, it's clear to all that the reasons revolve around their entry into the Accords and how we all might benefit from it. So I ask that you allow me to take advantage of a benefit." For the first time, there was a tiny frown on Klyne Faldor's heretofore smooth forehead.

"Oh? How so?"

"Simple. Allow me to accompany the students going on the exchange semester to Rhel." The students gasped and murmured. Alendra's eyes widened. Academ Jules gaped. Both the old Sentinel and the Senior Warden sputtered to various degrees. It seemed most people were unaware of the news. Hmm. Had Ryland spoiled it for them, then?

"Bold," the Prime Minister muttered.

"That's bold indeed…"