Chapter 6 Part 1 of 3 (Patreon)

Chapter: Escape

Several days later Erik was heading for the libraries, he’d skipped out on his protection detail wanting to be on his own. He was in Alva and Egbert was watching him all the time and could teleport him away in a moment’s notice.

Erik was thinking of what Lee had said and Delilah. Recently the talk of mana and elements had stopped being two different subjects but rather a discussion on the combining of the two systems.

A horse rushed past, much too fast for the road.

Sha? Erik frowned catching sight of a rifle as he lifted his head.

They wore fine red and blue cloaks with golden weave, their armor as ornamental as it was functional, muskets in musket bags on their mounts or slung on their backs.

"Move damn you!" One yelled at a trading cart that was trundling along. Using some spell of light and noise that went off next to the beast, startling it, the beast whinnied and ran towards the pavement as the driver blinked to try and clear his eyes.

The Sha riders laughed at their game as they continued on.

Erik reached into the heart of the dungeon, drawing the power from the dungeon core.

His power flooded back to him as his inhibitions was washed away with the mana burning through his muscles.

He threw out a calming powder, a wind spell pushing it into the beast's face as he picked up the cart so it flew over the people on the side walk, clipping building with its momentum.

His domain stretched out as he reached out with the earth element, three hands extended from the ground, grabbing the beasts from the ground, jolting the Sha riders as they shot backwards.

Trying to be low-key.

Erik took off his hat as he settled the runaway cart down.

He looked at a stunned girl nearby.

"Get a police officer please."

She looked at him with round eyes, he gave her a smile, making her blush as she hurriedly pulled out a sound transmission device.

The trio came to a halt, the stone hands holding their mounts above the ground still.

"W-what!?"

"Are you okay?" He asked the cart driver who was shakily getting down from his cart.

"M-my lord!" He realized who was speaking to him and dropped to his knees.

"Woah," Erik held the older man's arm, wincing as he pulled him up.

"My lord?" The man said wanting to drop to his knees but being held up. Erik fiercely fought punching the man for the pain running through his body. It was bad enough supporting his spells that burned through him.

Erik used the scan spell on the man.

High heart rate but all okay.

He turned to look at the trio held aloft.

"And what brings three of the Sha Clan members into my city, creating havoc upon my roads?" Erik asked, drawing stone from the road to create steps that met his feet as he got close to them. Each creation like tearing a strip from his insides.

"L-lord West?" One of the men said, the other two's eyes widening and faces paling.

"We- carry an invitation, for you." Another said, more blue that the others, pulling out a letter.

Erik hid his clenched teeth, flames turned into a tiger the size of a mouse, next to the man and pranced across the air to Erik's hand, disappearing as Erik opened the letter.

He read it all, releasing his hold over the surrounding mana, allowing his body to rest and start healing the damage he had incurred.

He noticed police officers rounding the corner and coming to a slow as they saw the stalled street, talking with the girl that had called them.

An invitation to the Violet Sky Realm. Erik's excitement lifted, at the same time he feared how long he could keep this charade up for, thinking of the places nearby he could hide. Quickly reaching his limits.

"I have recieved your invitation. There are rules in Alva, officers" Erik nodded to the police officers and stepped into the sky on hardened mana, the density enough to put the lower earth realms to shame as he walked off into the distance.

Out of sight he coughed and started descending and pulling out his sound transmission device, turning from descending into a slow fall as he took out a revival needle and stabbed it into his leg.

"Matt, I need your help."

***

"Momma, Erik?"

"In the living room," Matt said.

Rugrat frowned, closing the door and walking in to find Erik laid up on a couch as Matt put up an IV stand he'd hurriedly hidden in his storage ring. Egbert was sitting in a corner, reading a book-casting healing magic on Erik once again.

Rugrat looked in the hallway and closed the door to the room.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just had three Sha riders running through the city, nearly drove a cart into the sidewalk," Erik let out a wet cough and pulled out a letter.

Rugrat took it and read it as Erik sighed, pulling out another potion and drinking it.

"Found him round back of a bar, burned himself out," Matt said.

"Did you?" Rugrat looked up from the letter.

Erik shook his head, a shadow passing through his face.

"No, I didn't pass the trial, you?"

"No," Rugrat said. "Just kept asking me why I fight, thing is broken, just beat on me with golems, then showed up in the seventh realm, no sign of George, you seen him?"

"Nope."

Rugrat looked at Egbert.

“I entered the trial, but appeared in the ninth realm. I took a look around and returned here.

Rugrat went back to reading.

"So inviting us to the Violet Sky Realm- protection some of the loot, what's the catch?"

"I dunno, want to show off or something?"

"Could do, Delilah know?"

"Nah, had some, problems." Erik gestured.

"I'll take it to her, see what she says."

"Get us on it, Delilah can't go up there, she doesn't have the fighting experience, we do. Should be a cakewalk, but Alva and the alliance needs her here."

"And staying cooped up here would suck."

"Bingo."

"And keep your problems on the down low?"

"Just make them worry and stick me in a healing tank, when I can do just the same thing with my concoctions."

Rugrat looked at him, weighing his words.

"I'll be fine," Erik held his gaze.

"Alright. Nicce save Matt." Rugrat patted him on the shoulder.

"Glad to be of help."

Rugrat walked out of the house.

"Maybe the Violet Sky Realm can help. Why do I fight, what dumbass kind of question is that. I know the answer even if the damn test doesn't. Like it knows the answer better than I do." He pulled on his jacket and headed towards the dungeon headquarters.

Delilah sat at the head of the council table in the rebuild dungeon headquarters, in the fighting the entire area had been torn apart, leading to the Headquarters taking over the three nearest blocks, absorbing all of the different government buildings within. Other facilities, stores and restaurants had been relocated to new buildings around the dungeon headquarters.

"Members of the alliance are still pushing for us to take aggressive action in the fourth realm to take control," Glosil sighed.

"And they want us to lead the charge as returning to Vuzgal."

"Yes, to gain our favor there are many in the alliance and those that joined who went against the forces that assisted the Sect's Alliance Army under the Willful Institute. All of the surrounding cities are controlled by someone in our alliance."

With the inception of the alliance, it had been a death knell for the Willful Institute and their allies. Now their cities had been added to their allies while Alva had extended their trade and recruiting routes.